16 Belles enjoyed a memorable trip to The All England Club, Wimbledon, on 28th May thanks to Sallie J. our organiser.
The trip was a great success and the ideal time to go; just weeks before this year’s championships we were able to walk the grounds and the surrounding corridors, whilst all around the final preparations were being put in place for the tournament. The pristine grass was being cut at 13mm by exclusive Wimbledon lawn mowers with 21 inch stripes, flowers were being planted, stands were being erected for the hand picked strawberries that were soon to be on sale, walls were being painted and the Centre Court roof was being inspected.
Our guide Alfie took us on an extremely informative tour of the club which was full of interesting facts and of areas, formally unknown or only viewed on screen, to most of us. We visited No1 Court with its newly finished roof matching the centre court’s, although shutting marginally faster; some of the outside courts; the television broadcasting area, including the BBC’s interview room where Sue Barker resides and all the different rooms for the international broadcasters; the players’ entrance, where they receive their winnings, their viewing area and even their hair and nail salon; the press interview room; Henman Hill/Murray Mount and last but not least the Centre Court itself.
Over lunch everyone agreed it had been a great tour but all was not over, we then had the chance to wonder around the shop and museum where we viewed how the game has evolved, not only in size but in clothing, equipment and technology, along with items of memorabilia and of course the coveted trophies!
As trips go, this one rated highly in the rankings and we all felt we had scored an Ace having been served a perfect day out!