Anyone for tennis?

There are two weeks in June when the spirit of being British comes out in all of us. There is something quintessentially British about sitting on the lawn watching tennis, wearing pearls, sipping Pimms and dining on strawberries and cream. Wimbledon embraces all of these aspects, adding to the mix another favourite British pastime, queuing.

We may ignore the sport for the rest of the year, but as soon as Wimbledon hits the BBC we are all hooked by the excitement of the games, which are fought down to the last point – and can even keep us on the edge of our seats over 3 days, as in the case of the Isner vs Mahut record breaking marathon match.

Even the Queen got caught up in the excitement of Wimbledon this year for the first time since her Silver Jubilee in 1977. She greeted the stars of the lawn looking stunning in her turquoise outfit accessorised with large round pearl earrings and a triple strand pearl necklace – the classic “can never go wrong accessory”. You can get her look with a pair of large round freshwater pearl earrings (£95) and a classic 3-strand biwa pearl necklace (£262)

In an interview with the Guardian, Jon Henderson, author of a recent biography of Britain’s last Wimbledon men’s singles champion Fred Perry (winner in 1934, 1935 and 1936) said that in England “Tennis hasn’t really moved on from its roots as a genteel middle-class sport. It was originally conceived as a way of whiling away sunny summer afternoons.”

However, Wimbledon is an accessible event, and for just £20 and a few hours patience you can get a day’s entertainment for better value than many other sporting or leisure attractions, allowing you to experience the buzz of the atmosphere, or the pick of the games on the outside courts – possibly even witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime record-breaking match. Taking part in the queuing process only adds to the excitement and the atmosphere. Only a British event would have a guide book called ‘A Guide to Queueing for the Championships’, should you need some advice!