Sunday heralded our first (and probably only unless we get some last minute tickets!) visit to the Olympics. We were off to Wimbledon and wary of the travel advice we headed off early. As it was a Sunday we didn’t have commuters to deal with and although a little busier than usual the train was not packed and the children were able to sit by a window. There was a thrill of excitement as we passed the Olympic Park and could see people milling about, the main stadium was not yet in use but there were still plenty of things going on. We managed to get onto the central line and again all was quiet and even the changeover for the district line held no problems. We arrived at Southfields at about 1045 and there was the fairly long trek to the entrance, there were taxis operating but not the usual stream of shuttle buses. Our only real problem came getting into the venue, we walked to where we had been directed to enter but were then advised to walk on to another gate as there were less queues. We did just this only to find that this gate was meant to be exit only so the queue was restricted, by now the children were fed up with walking around the outside of the courts and were beginning to moan, in the end the volunteer let us join the queue. We had to get the children to drink their drinks so they weren’t confiscated and our bag was scanned and we were all searched and security wanded. It took me a while to convince Pixie that it was OK to stand there and I was a bit put out that a four year old ended up getting quite distressed for no real problem.
The rain storm that had been threatening to soak us then did so as we got into the venue but the children enjoyed seeing the hardworking groundsmen putting the covers over and then beginning to inflate them. We were lucky enough to have centre court tickets so even though it was throwing it down we were guaranteed play thanks to the roof. We had a wander about and took the kids picture by the huge Wenlock topiary and then we made our way to our seats.
There were a lot of stairs to climb and luckily for us our seats were on the end of a row so it was easier for us to come and go as necessary. Pixie who had hardy slept the night before decided very quickly that she wasn’t too bothered and so she went to sleep on Mr T’s lap! The other two watched attentively and tried to get their heads around the scoring system which I had tried and failed to explain to them. Lunch came after a long first set and again queuing was minimal, the children also enjoyed spending my money in the London 2012 shop and all had new keyrings for their school bags. We got back just as Pixie work up and watched the end of the match before what the children were looking forward to Murray!
They had all made their own union jacks and as the players warmed up waved them enthusiastically, they also went a bit closer and took some pictures. They enjoyed the atmosphere and cheered and clapped in all the right places and were pleased when Murray finished with a win. Having for the most part sat and paid attention they were getting a little antsy so we went for a wander around the grounds. In so doing we walked past a fair few players, had the kids picture taken with the chair umpire for Murray’s match Lars Graff and got a picture of Judy Murray. Davydenko waved from the players area and we saw Ancic being interviewed with his doubles partner as they awaited the end of the rain! A large crowd was gathered under the media centre where we could see Murray being interviewed after his win, as it started to rain again he turned waved and smiled. A hot chocolate later and we wanted to head back to our seats to watch Sharapova, unfortunately it was really raining, we had failed to bring an umbrella with us so ended up buying a couple.
The children were amazed at the noise Sharapova made and struggled not to giggle, Pixie declared she was bored and started to be a pain so after Sharapova finished we headed home, making sure our tickets were scanned so someone else could go and watch Tsonga, I felt bad about leaving early but with the kids it was the right decision. Again we got to Southfields and the trains were busy but manageable, at Earl’s court the volleyball crowds were emptying out but it was no worse than a commuter train. When we got to Notting Hill Gate and changed the central line we all got a seat and soon we were back at Liverpool Street.
All in all we enjoyed the day and saw some great tennis, the worst thing we have found it watching the events on TV and seeing so many empty seats and whilst they are filling them with army members and so on it is a shame that people who want to go can’t, Hpops would have loved to go to the equestrian or diving, and although there are some tickers for the top level events they are priced at top level prices, I keep trying for tickets and apparently there are more going on sale each night so maybe we’ll get lucky.
I was pleasantly surprised at the children’s enthusiasm, they have enjoyed watching the swimming and cheering on team GB, they are able to recognise the union jack as well as some of the other flags and are looking forward to seeing Usain Bolt on the TV as well as Tom Daley. We will be watching some on the TV but there is no substitute for going and soaking up the atmosphere. Lots of memories for the children though and despite the stresses of the day I’m glad they had the opportunity to go to an Olympic event and if they are really lucky we may even get to go the Olympic Park before it all ends!