So we got all dressed up (because it's guaranteed Centre Court seats on a final day, so who knows how many famous people you might see?), and headed to Wimbledon station all leisurely like around 10:30. There was a special HSBC shuttle (a Jaguar) to drive us over to Gate 9, which is where the entrance to the VIP Village is with all the hospitality chalets (their phrase, not mine) is. We were greeted with Pimms and champagne, which we drank on the deck as we chatted about the day and waited for lunchtime. There were cameras around filming people as they chatted, including us, which was a bit of a strange experience.
Lunch was served at 12pm, and it was amazing! We got to pick which and starter we wanted (Richard and I both had king prawns with mayonnaise and cucumber) which was totally delicious, and then luckily instead of having 7 mains and 4 salads to choose from, we had the main course buffet style! I had some poached salmon, pulled ham hock, kung pao duck and a few savoury tarts as well as bread. Everything was delicious. It was then almost 1pm, and with the men's semi final set to resume at 1, we got our goodie bags (with seat cushion, Wimbledon radio and pockets for snacks) as well as cold water, Pimms and Haagen Daaz and headed to the court.
Our seats were in section 317, which is actually quite close to the Royal Box. We could see Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton and even Emma Watson in the box! We did miss the first point though, so we had to wait until the end of the first three games before we could go to our seats. The tennis was amazing - they both clearly wanted it so much and there was some amazing rallying going on! As I'm sure you know, Djokovic won but it was a close thing and some amazing tennis got played. We were so pleased and feel so lucky to have been able to see that as well as what was to come.
The men finished playing at 3:35, so they announced a half hour delay before the start of the women's. So we returned to the hospitality area for some afternoon tea of little sandwiches, cakes and scones. Then, armed with fresh Pimms and cold water, was returned to our seats. Again we missed the first three games (although 3 games in the ladies is much faster than 3 games in the mens) but it was a very interesting match to watch after the men's. Serena didn't seem to move around very much and barely ran at all- but she didn't look injured, only tired. Kerber had some strange footwork which meant some of her shots she had to crouch to hit because her feet weren't in the right position, and she seemed to be the queen of getting back shots she shouldn't have been able to return! In the end, it was a straight sets win to Kerber for her first Wimbledon win. It was really cool to be able to watch that experience for her.
We stayed to watch the presentation of the awards, then headed back to the hospitality area to pick up our gifts - personalised Championship towels for each of us! A very cool memory and an amazing experience! Definitely once in a lifetime... Although I hope not.
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