Why Does He Do It?
I gave up on Andy Murray, as I could see his stop-start performance getting him out of Wimbledon last night. So I went to bed. But at least he pulled the match out of the fire!
He seems to make so many mental mistakes.
At least with Tim Henman and Greg Rusedjski, you got what it said on the tin, even if they were inferior tennis players. Rarely did they not play to their level.
Where Is Bill Mclaren?
The events at Queen’s yesterday needed Bill McLaren, as there was as he would say a spot of “Argy-Bargy”.
Just as some great sportsmen live on in peoples’s minds because of what they did, some great commentators live on because of what they said.
An Enterprising Aussie
it has been reported on the BBC, that outside the ladies singles final in Melbourne today, between those two grunters; Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, there was a man selling ear-plugs at $3 a pair.
A Wanted Extra
I needed a new bag for my tennis things. As real tennis rackets aren’t the normal shape, a lot of bags don’t work. However, I found this one at Wigmore Sports, just behind John Lewis, which fitted the bill well.
A New Tennis Bag and a Wanted Extra
For display purposes they’d padded it with an old shoe box. As I have to post a pair of shoes, I’ve just sold on eBay, I was pleased to take it home with me.
I would certainly recommend the shop to anyone.
Is Novac Djokovic’s Success Down To Going Gluten-Free?
According to some web sites, like this one, it is.
I’m sceptical, especially as that site has an agenda!
But statistically, the fact that I only know of one top class sportswomen, Hayley Turner, who has been diagnosed as a coeliac is way under the expected odds.
What’s Gone Wrong With Murray?
He won the quarter-final at Wimbledon without any pain.
For us that is, not him!
Gluten Free For Players At Wimbledon
According to The Times today, gluten free food is there if the players want it.
Very good!
Manchester is a Top Place to Go
Who says this crap? It’s apparently in the New York Times list at number 20 of 41 places to go in 2011 ahead of Miami and Zanzibar.
Manchester is a poor city and is very much second class compared to Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds and of course London. You could argue it does have two good football teams, but London has three. It’s got no iconic buildings and it is not a World Heritage Site like Liverpool. I suppose you could argue, that Manchester has a couple of good hotels and is well connected by train to Liverpool and Leeds for days out. It also has a real tennis club.
Things I Have Never Done
Everybody has lists like these, which often include such things as making love in a hammock or aeroplane, which for most people are very unlikely. I won’t comment about the two I mention here, except to say that I did have my own plane for many years. But it didn’t feature a hammock!
Two things on my real list are learning to swim and having someone deliver a takeaway meal, which I then pay for at the door. As to the latter, I’ve never even had one delivered by the vendor. The learning to swim will stay forever, but as I have a branch of the Bombay Bicycle Club just round the corner, a takeaway will probably be delivered at some point in the near future.
Unusual things I have done include.
- Gone to Royal Ascot with someone else impersonating someone who had died many years before. The gateman said she looked well. She still did, when I saw her a couple of weeks ago.
- Crashed an aircraft and walked away from it. As did all my passengers! The plane was a right-off!
- Hunted three types of hare hounds; harriers, bassets and beagles in one day.
- Been extremely drunk on a Mersey Ferry.
- Seen the Beatles perform live.
- Piloted a light-aircraft all round Australia and even on to the Great Barrier Reef.
- Been present at the birth of all my three sons. For the first, my wife was three weeks late and she fooled the Middlesex Hospital into believing she was in labour. More…
- Won a National Championship at real tennis.
- Seen a Transit of Venus.
- Had dinner in Rick Stein’s restaurant with two widowed daughters of an heriditary peer. More…
- Came off best after a mugging in Naples. More…
- Hitched a Lift in the cab of a High Speed Train from Edinburgh to Inverness. More…
My late wife always said she married me because she knew life wouldn’t be boring. I intend to keep proving she was right. I must not let her down!
Was Andy Murray Victimised Over Lockerbie?
I’ve just watched Andy Murray crash out of the tennis in Cincinnati. It was to be expected as it was his seventh successive start in the heat of the day. He did ask for a later start, but this was refused. Here’s what the BBC said.
The Scot was treated court-side for the heat in the second set, which Fish took with ease as Murray’s strength waned.
Murray showed immense reserve to force the final set to a tie-break but Fish proved just too strong for the Scot.
The players took to the court at 12pm local time (1700 BST) in temperatures reaching 33 degrees in the shade, after Murray’s request for a later start on Friday was rejected by tournament officials.
I wonder why they rejected his request?
Could it be that Murray was a Scot and the Americans wanted to vent their fury over the release of Al Megrahi on someone Scottish?
What’s the odds that he gets a terrible draw in the US Open?
The Anonymous Widower 