Michael,

I was trying to think of a suitable gift and decided it should be a travel BBerry e-mail in several parts. This is the first one, and it will be mid-night here shortly so I decided it is permissible to send it.

First, I got into the Stella  Artois grass court tennis tournament in the suburbs of London on Fri. against all odds, as it was sold out weeks in advance.  (It’s a prelim for next week’s Wimbleton.). The agent tickets were going for a minimum of two at 200-250 Br. Pds. a piece, or 800-1000$.

I went at mid-day, as was suggested, got a ticket for Court 1 (which is other than Center Court) from a fellow on the street, which in turn allowed me into the stadium to see doubles, and then wait for so-called “resale/turn-in” Center Court tickets to become available at the end of the day when people leave.

All told, I spent 7 hours watching tennis, the highlight of which was seeing Raphael Nadal win a tight third set tiebreaker against a very tall Ivo Karlovic (maybe 6’11”) – this after they split sets each on separate tiebreakers.

After that I got a little tired on my feet, as I had to stand a bit, so had to have some cold salmon and shrimp in what appeared to be an outdoor clubhouse for commoners and upper class alike.  Molly would have done better than me with the accents, although I was asked about my Dublin College cap several times. (I don’t know why I brought that with me other than it was less sweat-stained than others.)  Nor do I know what the inquiries belied.

By day’s end it was freezing, as the sun had gone down and the breeze picked up in the stands. I felt like I was in Maine.  Accordingly, that survivalist thing kicked in, and I stayed in the seats with increasingly fewer and fewer folks left, and proceeded to watch an exceptional match between Australian Nalbandian and young hardhitting Frenchman Gasquet.  I was close and could see the strain in both their faces – maybe 30 feet away, given the court positioning and stands.

Moral: what you have done for us has lasting effects. Without Maine cold, I would not have known that freezing unexpectedly is an occasional but necessary part of life in some places.

Lesson: dress more warmly the next time.

I went back to the courts again today, after seeing theatre, and put on several layers – all I had, which was not much (thought it was summer when I was packing).  Fortunately, I got in again, this time on a 5 Pd. turn-in ticket and saw the doubles final. It is amazing how even exceptionally skilled athletes can make mistakes in stressful situations, as did Max Mirny and Scotsman favorite Jamie Murray. They lost in a 10 point super- tiebreaker after splitting sets and were dispirited.

Moral: never count your chickens even if you are used to the weather.

Lesson: There is none.  The sun came out and it was relatively pleasant.

Tomorrow’s birthday note: theatre and a familiar jadpanther anecdote.

Best and feel well; you have contributed to all of our welfares in one way or another.  This is no small achievement.

Mark