Wimbledon 2007 - Day 9, July 1

Moving day.  Woke up and was amazingly not hung over, but had once again slept through the alarm.  I think it is to quiet, but it is a cheap one I carry only because European hotels don't offer in room clocks and I hate wake up calls.  Got the rest of the room emptied and packed into my too large suitcase.  Got down to the desk for check out and saw the first signs of the increased terror alert in London.  The concierge now had a security wand and was swiping all baggage left for storage.  I was quite surprised to see that.  Add in two extra gentlemen who could only be described as additional security and it was obvious this wasn't going to be a typical day.

Hailing a cab on Cromwell Road is always dodgy to begin with.  The hotel has a light on a billboard on the road, but it never seems to attract cab drivers.  Add in the odd fact that cabbies will intentionally avoid fares that they feel will have low value of return (like airport runs) and you never know how long it will take to actually get a cab.  In the end, we chose to wheel down to the road and hail one ourselves.  Had we known then what we were soon to learn, we likely would have just waited patiently at the hotel.

The cab driver that picked us up told us there had been a significant bomb threat in Wimbledon and we'd not be able to get there via the open road.  Instead, he offered to take us to a tube station that put us on the Northern Line.  That in itself seemed questionable because there was no play today.  It is Middle Sunday.  What would be the point of a threat with no one at the stadium?  Add in that the Diana Memorial Concert was at Wembley, I don't think that was an accurate statement.  But, I was hung over, and hauling a large bag.  I could have simply gotten out of the cab as we were across from Gloucester Station and taken the train trip we'd chosen to get a cab to avoid.  So, off to London Bridge station.

Congestion, likely due to the London 10k race, meant that getting around downtown was spotty.  Suddenly, he made the decision that we'd need to go to Waterloo station and that actually meant we'd gone past where he was now going to drop us off.  Swerving madly, making significantly illegal u-turns and careening down streets looking like he'd side swipe parked cars along the way (even into the oncoming traffic lanes at one point) and he decides that we cannot get to Waterloo station either.  His new choice is Elephant and Castle, another 3 or 4 miles out of our way.  We finally arrived and he dropped us off on the side for the East London line, which meant a ton of work navigating stairs and ramps.  In the end, the ride was 35 Pounds and I am sure he took us for a figurative ride as well. :-)

The tube ride was uneventful and we got to our hotel.  The new hotel is a Holiday Inn Express and it is very similar in style to the one Colleen and I stayed at in Belfast.  It is small, requires the room key in a power slot to keep electricity running and provides few amenities.  That said, it is clean, it does have air conditioning, and a bed.  I cannot complain.  It will mean bus rides to work now instead of the tube, but the Oyster card still works on the bus so I don't mind that either.

Today there was no play, and while the weather had been forecasted for heavy rain the entire day, we only saw a couple of passing showers.  In the end, the day was very nice and while I am glad they chose to not play Middle Sunday, they could have had they needed.

The IBM UK team held a party again on Middle Sunday and that is a very good time.  They have a skewed perspective on  what cold beer actually is, but all in all it was a good spread.  We played a variety of games, including what appeared to be a lawn version of Jenga and I even tried my hand at cricket.  That was comical because I was so tipsy by then I let the bat slip out of my hands and never made solid contact with the ball.

Got back to the room around midnight and settled in for a good night's sleep.  I know I'll be paying for it tomorrow because I had far too many English beers, but still it was worth it.

Cheers!