Mandiemoo
12-10-2011, 18:41
Day 1 - Friday
I left Mandiemoo towers at 06:50 for the long journey (did I mention it was 276 miles each way?) to Glasgow. I had the full mix of weather along the way & made 2 short stops to spend pennies!
Repeated attempts to get the Sat-Nav on the phone working failed so I followed the signs to Braehead Arena. I remembered that the Travelodge was near xcape so made my way there & was relived/excited/happy to spot the Travelodge building in the distance.
I parked up, let reception know I had arrived (& tell them no, I didn't want to spend £10 checking in early - they'd had enough money off me for the room!) & hot-footed it over to the shopping centre. It was about 12:45 so I dived into Primark for a white long-sleeved Tshirt & impulsely purchased a headband with 2 pink hearts on it - well, I figured no-one knows me here so why not?!.
Nipped into the toliets to change into my 'Team Murray' T-shirt then headed to Costa Coffee to find Sally. As promised, she was seated outside, along with James4578. Quick chat, got my tickets then went to boots to get a sandwich as we didnt know how long the matches would take. Sent a quick text to Hfwardhouse who I had been chatting with then made my way into the arena.
Found my seat & met PatMoren. Some of the other Forumites were waiting on the opposite side of the arena where the players entrance was. Hfw(ardhouse), Minnie98 & Tina arrived - it was lovely to finally meet Hfw after all her kind messages!. No-one was sure whether Andy would come out before play started.
I decided to head over to the other side of the arena where the other members were stalking, sorry, waiting for Andy & the reat of the team for autographs/photos. Supergran, Kels & Jambon had prime position on the front row. I introduced myself, had a little chat, looked up & there he was. Andy Murray. No more than a few metres in front of me. My first glimpse of him in the flesh. Pushed thoughts of leaping the barrier a la Colin Jackson to the back of my mind as it woudn't look good for the forum if I did!
It was a treat to watch him warm up. Taller & more muscular (is that a word?!) than I imagined, he was hitting lots of different shots with relish. He redid the grip on his raquet at one point, winding the blue tape round. A crowd had gathered by now & it looked to me as though Andy was a little reluctant to come off. He eventually came over & signed a few (including Minnie's - yay!) & Supergran used her charms (& school teacher voice lol!) to get a photo with Andy. He was soon gone, saying he would sign later. But wow, my hero in the flesh already & I had only been in Glasgow a few hours - what a fab weekend it was turning into!
We made our way back to our seats & more forumites had arrived including Pabbers, Linda & Lankster to name a few. It was time for the entertainment to begin. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers gave a fantastic performance & got us in the mood. We were seated directly opposite the Stirling University crew who were 'oiled' & ready to go - sponsered by Carling or similar!
The Hungary team came out & got a warm reception from us all. Then Team GB with a hero's welcome for Andy. A rousing rendition of the National Anthem followed before we sat down to watch the first match. I was a little shocked at how bright the lighting was but of course it is indoor so almost 'floodlit' tennis if you like. The atmosphere was good & we were in prime position.
James Ward vs Attila Balazs
Much of the detail of the actual match is lost to me in a haze of cheering & enjoying the spectacle of live tennis for the very first time. I had a great time joining in with all the cheering & playing along with the Stirling Uni crowd (every time you looked across at them, one of their number was stood at the top of the stairs with more beer!). We gave a very good account of ourselves in the cheering stakes & James needed all the help he could get when he got cramp & had to disappear off to be sick! But he eventually emerged victorious after 4 sets. Honourable mention must go to Sally's amazing chocolate brownies - yum!
Interval
A little treat here with Judy Murray leading a Mini-tennis demonstration. She had some help from some of the members of the Davis cup team including Ross & Colin. Plenty of laughs & some lovely kids. Had a text to say I had been spotted on TV cheering wildly & sporting 2 pink hearts on my head - oh dear, all my street cred gone!
Andy Murray vs Sebo Kiss
So it was finally time for me to see Andy play live just a few metres away from me. Cue butterflies! It has to be said he looked a little tired but he played very well for the first 2 sets. You really don't get just how hard he hits the ball on TV & how fast he chases down the balls. I couldnt tell you much about Kiss's game as I only had eyes for Andy! The 3rd set was a scrappier affair, going to a tie-break which took me by surprise. Andy threw himself into the tie-break, determined not to go to another set. He was chasing down balls, serving well & his class told as he secured the win. Plenty of cheers throughout, especially at the end.
Tired but happy, it was almost 9pm! I headed over to the Travelodge to check-in & freshen up. I went back to Xscape & the Harvester restaurant where many of the forumites were tucking into their tea. I gatecrashed Hfw's table & ordered a garlic bread as I was past eating. Andy's Dad was also having his tea in the Harvester with a group of others, no doubt proud of his son & pleased to be watching him play in Scotland.
It was a sleepy Mandiemoo who crawled into bed at 10:15pm. Decided to have a quck look at the LTA website on the mobile & was astounded to see a picture of myself & Hfw on the Homepage!
What a first day!
106
Any errors (spelling, grammatical) are entirely the fault of someone else.
I left Mandiemoo towers at 06:50 for the long journey (did I mention it was 276 miles each way?) to Glasgow. I had the full mix of weather along the way & made 2 short stops to spend pennies!
Repeated attempts to get the Sat-Nav on the phone working failed so I followed the signs to Braehead Arena. I remembered that the Travelodge was near xcape so made my way there & was relived/excited/happy to spot the Travelodge building in the distance.
I parked up, let reception know I had arrived (& tell them no, I didn't want to spend £10 checking in early - they'd had enough money off me for the room!) & hot-footed it over to the shopping centre. It was about 12:45 so I dived into Primark for a white long-sleeved Tshirt & impulsely purchased a headband with 2 pink hearts on it - well, I figured no-one knows me here so why not?!.
Nipped into the toliets to change into my 'Team Murray' T-shirt then headed to Costa Coffee to find Sally. As promised, she was seated outside, along with James4578. Quick chat, got my tickets then went to boots to get a sandwich as we didnt know how long the matches would take. Sent a quick text to Hfwardhouse who I had been chatting with then made my way into the arena.
Found my seat & met PatMoren. Some of the other Forumites were waiting on the opposite side of the arena where the players entrance was. Hfw(ardhouse), Minnie98 & Tina arrived - it was lovely to finally meet Hfw after all her kind messages!. No-one was sure whether Andy would come out before play started.
I decided to head over to the other side of the arena where the other members were stalking, sorry, waiting for Andy & the reat of the team for autographs/photos. Supergran, Kels & Jambon had prime position on the front row. I introduced myself, had a little chat, looked up & there he was. Andy Murray. No more than a few metres in front of me. My first glimpse of him in the flesh. Pushed thoughts of leaping the barrier a la Colin Jackson to the back of my mind as it woudn't look good for the forum if I did!
It was a treat to watch him warm up. Taller & more muscular (is that a word?!) than I imagined, he was hitting lots of different shots with relish. He redid the grip on his raquet at one point, winding the blue tape round. A crowd had gathered by now & it looked to me as though Andy was a little reluctant to come off. He eventually came over & signed a few (including Minnie's - yay!) & Supergran used her charms (& school teacher voice lol!) to get a photo with Andy. He was soon gone, saying he would sign later. But wow, my hero in the flesh already & I had only been in Glasgow a few hours - what a fab weekend it was turning into!
We made our way back to our seats & more forumites had arrived including Pabbers, Linda & Lankster to name a few. It was time for the entertainment to begin. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers gave a fantastic performance & got us in the mood. We were seated directly opposite the Stirling University crew who were 'oiled' & ready to go - sponsered by Carling or similar!
The Hungary team came out & got a warm reception from us all. Then Team GB with a hero's welcome for Andy. A rousing rendition of the National Anthem followed before we sat down to watch the first match. I was a little shocked at how bright the lighting was but of course it is indoor so almost 'floodlit' tennis if you like. The atmosphere was good & we were in prime position.
James Ward vs Attila Balazs
Much of the detail of the actual match is lost to me in a haze of cheering & enjoying the spectacle of live tennis for the very first time. I had a great time joining in with all the cheering & playing along with the Stirling Uni crowd (every time you looked across at them, one of their number was stood at the top of the stairs with more beer!). We gave a very good account of ourselves in the cheering stakes & James needed all the help he could get when he got cramp & had to disappear off to be sick! But he eventually emerged victorious after 4 sets. Honourable mention must go to Sally's amazing chocolate brownies - yum!
Interval
A little treat here with Judy Murray leading a Mini-tennis demonstration. She had some help from some of the members of the Davis cup team including Ross & Colin. Plenty of laughs & some lovely kids. Had a text to say I had been spotted on TV cheering wildly & sporting 2 pink hearts on my head - oh dear, all my street cred gone!
Andy Murray vs Sebo Kiss
So it was finally time for me to see Andy play live just a few metres away from me. Cue butterflies! It has to be said he looked a little tired but he played very well for the first 2 sets. You really don't get just how hard he hits the ball on TV & how fast he chases down the balls. I couldnt tell you much about Kiss's game as I only had eyes for Andy! The 3rd set was a scrappier affair, going to a tie-break which took me by surprise. Andy threw himself into the tie-break, determined not to go to another set. He was chasing down balls, serving well & his class told as he secured the win. Plenty of cheers throughout, especially at the end.
Tired but happy, it was almost 9pm! I headed over to the Travelodge to check-in & freshen up. I went back to Xscape & the Harvester restaurant where many of the forumites were tucking into their tea. I gatecrashed Hfw's table & ordered a garlic bread as I was past eating. Andy's Dad was also having his tea in the Harvester with a group of others, no doubt proud of his son & pleased to be watching him play in Scotland.
It was a sleepy Mandiemoo who crawled into bed at 10:15pm. Decided to have a quck look at the LTA website on the mobile & was astounded to see a picture of myself & Hfw on the Homepage!
What a first day!
106
Any errors (spelling, grammatical) are entirely the fault of someone else.