Wimbledon and Merchants

Wimbledon – June 2011

It feels like such a long time ago..

I always make a point of going to Wimbledon each year – after all, it’s without a doubt the best tennis tournament in the world, and only 15 minutes up the road from where I live, in a very beautiful corner of South West London.

Still, being close to Wimbledon doesn’t mean I don’t have to queue. I was 3574th in the line.  This was at 730am.

All digital, mostly 50mm f1.8

The atmosphere was great – it was like one big picnic.  The sun helped.

Stickers were handed out that read ‘I’ve queued in the sun for the 125th Championships Wimbledon 2011’.

Everything about Wimbledon is very British.  Queues, strawberries, Pimm’s, and poshness.

3 hours later we were on the move.  It really didn’t feel as long as 3 hours – the picturesque scenery definitely helps.

..And we’re in!

Henman Hill, or Murray Mount as it’s now called:

I love that people queue and pay to get into Wimbledon, and then sit on a bit of grass watching show court tennis on a big screen.  I can’t imagine this happens anywhere else.

You can buy umpire outfits:

Yours for only £900.  That’s for the jacket alone.

Xavier Malisse:

Lots of big lenses were on display.

Djokovic on Court 1:

Inevitably, it rained.

Then the sun came out 15 minutes later.  That happened all afternoon.

Last year John Isner won the longest match in the history of tennis on Court 18:

This year he was back on Court 18.  His second round match was against Nicolas Almagro.

John Isner is a giant.

He lost to Almagro in a pretty engaging match.

That was after a few rain delays.

Wimbledon is so much fun – it has so much character and atmosphere like nowhere else, and if you go in the first week, you’re bound to see lots of seeded players on the outside courts – definitely worth the £20 entrance fee and hours of queuing.

Merchants of Bollywood – Peacock Theatre, London

This superb show was back which my good friend Bipin Tanna made the costumes for.  I blogged it last year  – http://www.tanya-n.com/?p=573

The awesome Carol Furtado:

If you missed it this time, definitely try to catch it the next time this show is back in town, or check if they’re in a city near you : )

RIP Brian Haw

Anti-war campaigner Brian Haw, died on 18th June, 2011.

He had camped out in front of Parliament for over 10 years, and many could argue he had become an iconic and familiar figure in Westminster, and London in general.

He could often be seen chatting to the public, and campaigning against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was no doubt an integral figure in these protests. He was, however, never without controversy, and despite the government’s attempts to get rid of his camp, he remained there, and refused to give up his vigil.

In 2006 he was voted the most inspiring political figure at the Channel 4 political awards.

Here are a selection of images I’ve taken of him over the past few years.

Some may have felt he was a bit of a loony, and although the last time I saw him he told me to ‘fuck off’ for asking how he is, we also had some enlightening chats. He never gave up protesting in what he felt most strongly about.

Brian Haw – Wiki Page – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Haw