A day at Wimbledon 2015

Oh, Wimbledon, how do I love thee?

Big time, that’s how.

As a gal who is not a huge sport-watcher, my love of watching tennis is somewhat random but very real.

And Wimbledon is just my fave tournament of them all.

I love everything about Wimbledon. The tradition, the Britishness, the way the whole nation goes tennis-mad for a fortnight. It’s the best.

Remember how much I enjoyed my first trip to Wimbledon two years ago? Well needless to say I was over the actual moon when mum announced she’d managed to get tickets for the whole fam this year.

ALL FIVE OF US!

I don’t know about you, but it’s pretty rare that we’re all together these days, so that was just the strawberry on top of the cake.

I’d been looking forward to yesterday for so long, and our day at Wimbledon was somehow even better than I could ever have imagined.

We arrived on a gorgeous sunny day – it was hot, but not unbearably so thanks to the breeze.

Dress – Naf Naf. Sandals – Topshop. Bag – Kate Spade. Necklace and bangles – Kate Spade.

Priorities sorted, we headed straight for the tennis and grabbed seats at the first court we came across. It was still morning so play on the show courts was yet to begin, but I absolutely love watching the matches on the smaller courts – being so close to the action is incredible.

We started with a spot of Ladies’ Doubles.

I think doubles tennis is particularly good to watch as you get to see the incredible teamwork between the pairs. It’s insane how in sync they are.

After a while, the brother discovered Jamie Murray was playing on a court round the corner, so we shuttled off to find him.

Through the well-dressed tennis fans we walked (Wimbledon is a people-watcher’s dream), past the many tempting food and drink outlets.

One of the things I love most about Wimbledon is the lack of brands. All you see is some very discreet Slazenger, Evian and Robinson’s here and there, but it’s all very tasteful.

The grounds are also gorgeous, with pretty purple flowers everywhere. There are lots of loos, plenty of drinking water taps and loads of helpful staff dotted around.

Luckily for us, we managed to squeeze into a spot with a view of the Murray (Jamie, not Andy) doubles match.

It was fab!

We soon decided lunch was in order though, and successfully found a free spot on the benches underneath lots of pretty hanging baskets. How nice (and rare) it is to be all together!

I hadn’t realised but you are actually allowed to bring your own alcohol into Wimbledon (to an extent, no one wants drunkards heckling the players), which I think is great. It’s reeeaaaally expensive inside!

So, the famalam cracked out the Champers and we toasted to tennis and family.

Mum had brought an M&S feast for lunch. (A lot more than in the above picture, just to clarify.) Yeah, it was a good picnic.

Pic stolen from the sis.

Post-lunch I headed to Murray Mound and somehow managed to find my dear friend Charlotte - remember Charlotte from my year abroad? - who was there with a group of her uni mates.

We caught up, sipped wine, snapchatted (obvs), watched the tennis on the big screen and soaked up the sun. And when I say soaked up the sun I mean melted.

But there was no time to sit around and sunbathe for too long as play had kicked off on the show courts!

I felt super lucky as the madre had managed to get tickets for No. 1 Court!

First up, we caught the end of the Isner vs Cilic match.

The standard of tennis of all the players at this level is simply mind-blowing. It's such a treat to be able to watch from the courtside.

Espesh with strawbs. Because it's Wimbledon.

Next up was the match I'd been most looking forward to: Pospisil vs Ward. Did you watch? It was a nail-biting five-setter!

However - and don't hate me for this, fellow Brits - I was supporting Pospisil. Had Ward been playing anyone else I would've been behind him all the way (I love to be patriotic), but Pospisil is my actual fave.

He's Canadian and young and ambitious and quite nice to look at and I'm just a big fan.

My heart basically melted for him in that stadium yesterday. Naturally, 95% of the spectators were very vocally behind Ward, which meant poor Pospisil had a real challenge on his plate.

With basically the whole crowd against him, I have no idea how he did it. But he did, he won! I wish the crowd had erupted, but they didn't. Which is understandable. But hey, I was super happy.

And I got to watch an absolute cracker of a match. It was so tense! My heart was beating so quickly, I was short of breath, right on the edge of my seat... WHAT A THRILL! God, I love tennis.

After that match, I was exhausted quite frankly. A quick break was necessary.

And Pimm's. Pimm's would also help. Super kindly, my generous Auntie Margarete (with whom we'd met up earlier) offered to treat me to a cup. Such a babe. Because at £8 a cup, it's not really within the budget of a #funemployed graduand like myself.

Pimm's on tap? Shamaze.

Oof, I do like me some Pimm's. Another beautifully British beverage.

Back to the court we went to watch the Monfils vs Simon match!

Another pic stolen from the sis

A cup of Pimm's in hand, family by my side, incredible tennis to watch. It was just perf. I was one hell of a happy bunny.

We stayed there as the evening drew in before finally accepting we'd have to make a move if we wanted to get home before 2am. Not without a quick stop in the Wimbledon shop, of course (much to the exasperation of my father).

I really regretted not getting some of the fine chinaware last time I went, so this time we remedied that.

How adorable is this? 

On the inside it says: "Game, set and match! The Championships, Wimbledon". I love the design and the shape, and I just know it's going to make tea taste amazing. The ideal souvenir of the most fabulous of days.

It had all been so much fun! And how lucky I did feel.

Wimbledon, see ya next year! (I hope.)

Have you ever been to Wimbledon? Do you love it as much as me? Let me know!