The Gherkin

This is a familiar sight on the City of London skyline. It is commonly known as the Gherkin but after being built for the Swiss re company in 2004 it has now been renamed to its street address of 30 St Mary Axe in 2007 when it was resold.

There was some controversy when it was built as it is surrounded by low rise buildings in a very historical area with medieval streets. However the 41 story, glass and steel structure has won many awards for its design.

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Andy Murray

One item on my bucket list was to watch Andy Murray play at Queens. Why here? you might ask and not Wimbledon. Well the simple answer is I have never managed to get a ticket for Wimbledon. Not strictly true , I suppose , as I did get an Olympic ticket for the tennis at Wimbledon for No 1 court but Murray was playing on Centre Court. All the top 4 players will always be allocated either Centre or No 1 court in the Grand Slams. Wimbledon is one of the most difficult of the Grand Slams to obtain a ticket as ordinary folk can only get them via a public ballot, hence my idea of seeing him at a smaller tournament.

Last year I visited Madrid to hopefully see him play but he was injured and didn't take part in that tournament so my hopes rested on Queens this year. After the disappointment of not seeing Andy  play on Wednesday due to the weather, I decided to see if I could get a ticket for the centre court on Friday. When I had checked last week all the tickets had been sold but on Thurs afternoon I couldn't believe my luck as some more appeared on the website and I was lucky enough to get one for the quarter finals on Friday. I was a bit concerned about the unpredictable weather but I needn't have worried as the day just got sunnier and sunnier.

I arrived at the court quite early although not as early as this lady who, despite the low temperature, was getting ready for some serious sunbathing.

My seat was next to the BBC cameras and commentary box.

Here are the commentators, Peter Fleming and Andrew Castle taking a breather from being inside their tiny  box.

Andy Murray was playing Benjamin Becker in the 3rd quarter final. Prior to their match I saw Cilic beat Berdych and Hewitt beat Del Potro. They were very close matches. By now every seat was taken as we were all waiting to see Murray.

Murray was playing Bejamin Becker. I had watched Becker beat Rolos(this is the player who knocked Nadal out of Wimbledon last year) so I knew he was a good grass court player.

I find Murray's style of play exciting to watch and wasn't disappointed. He won the match and went on to beat Tsonga in the semi finals yesterday. Today I will be glued to the TV watching the finals.

This week I am off to Eastbourne to watch the women in action at a tournament there but even more thrilling is that my daughter was successful in the Wimbledon ballot (I wasn't) and has given me a ticket to watch the men's semi-finals on Centre court!
 

Reflection by Anthony Gormley

This is so clever. The figure is reflected in the window as is the square/plaza behind the figure but you are not seeing the figure's reflection but another figure inside the building.

 

 

 From this angle you can just see a little bit of the reflection

 

 

 

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Tennis at Queens

It is now the grass season in the world of tennis and yesterday I went to watch some of the players in the Aegon championships at Queens in West London. I only had a ground ticket which meant I could watch any matches on the outer courts but not the Centre or No 1 courts.

This was Dolgopolov beating Giraldo

Jamie Murray ( brother of Andy) winning his doubles match.

The weather was like a winter's day with cold winds blowing and the threat of heavy rain but I had worn many layers so was well prepared.



My one wish is to watch Andy Murray play live and I thought the time had come. During a rain break many of the hospitality crowd left which meant I could buy one of their returned tickets very cheaply with the money going to charity. It meant that when the tennis started again it would be the continuation of the  Murray v. Mahut game and I would have a front row seat. How excited was I! I heard the covers were being taken off Centre Court so I quickly made my way to my seat. Sat down in anticipation and then the heavens opened with such a vengeance. Play over for the day. I had to content myself with watching them warming up prior to their match.

 

 

Murray

Murray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mahut

 

 

Marlborough House

Just across the road from St James's Palace is Marlborough House

Built by Sir Christopher Wren in 1709-11, this magnificent house was home to a number of Royals:
King Leopold of Belgium and Queen Adelaide
King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra,
King George V and Queen Mary.

 After the death of Mary in 1953 Queen Elizabeth II donated the house to the Commonwealth secretariat and it is now their headquarters.

At the back of the gardens is a short wooded path leading to the Queen Alexandra's pet cemetery

Caesar was the dog of King Edward VII and was his constant companion. When the king died in 1910 the dog walked in the funeral procession ahead of other kings and heads of state.

 

 

 

There is also this thatched sun house in the garden built for Queen Mary, which could be rotated to allow the Royals to enjoy the sunshine from whatever direction  they so desired.

At the far end of the garden all the flags of the Commonwealth are displayed.

Gardens of Westminster Abbey

 Westminster Abbey has several small gardens within its grounds, the largest of which is the College garden. Having been established in the 11th cent it is said to be the oldest in England, with its original use as a place where food was grown to feed the monks who lived in the Abbey. Although  a hidden gem,it is unlike the others I visited this weekend as the gardens can be viewed by the public on certain days of the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Cloister garden

 

This is a small enclosed garden with a fountain in the centre. the backdrop to the garden is the Houses of Parliament

 

 

 

 

St Catherine's garden

 

This garden has been created in the ruins of the chapel of St Catherine.

 

 

 

 

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Open Garden squares weekend (2)

Not a sunny day today but at least it wasn't raining as I set out to view more private gardens and squares. Yesterday I visited 9 different gardens and I planned to try and cover  a similar amount today. The first place on my list was the Inns of court to visit the Inner and Middle Temple gardens There has been a garden here since the 12th cent and the Temple church from that period is close by. I was there just as they opened so it wasn't too busy. I loved the Inner temple garden which is the largest of the two. Join me on a walk around the Inns of Court gardens in the heart of London's legal area.