The Middle Sunday

How much do we love having the middle Sunday off? We are like children whose parents have promised them a trip to Disneyland. We look forward to it, we make plans, we treasure it. This is definitely one of the best traditions of Wimbledon. I’ve been here when rain during the first week forced play on the middle Sunday, and everyone was so depressed and disheartened.

Well, no worries this year. I’ve had a wonderful middle Sunday. I’ve wanted to go to Hampton Court Palace for many years and decided this was the day. Woke at a reasonable hour, got on the train, and started my adventure. It’s quite easy to get there from Southfields you take the underground to Wimbledon, then British Rail to Hampton Court. The whole trip takes about 25 minutes.

The train is clean, fast and comfortable. It passes through suburban neighborhoods, and I think to myself, how much you can tell about a family from their back yard. Some have some are neat, some cluttered with toys, some have beautiful flowers, some have vegetable gardens. It would be interesting sometime to do a story on back yards. I’m going to put that idea on my “to do” list.

I arrive at Hampton Court station, walk a short block and enter the Palace gates. I’m immediately impressed. The Palace is huge, the grounds beautiful it’s almost overwhelming.

Several different tours are offered, but I choose to wander about on my own. I start in the Tudor Kitchens, these rooms were a central part of palace life. They were not used for the preparation of food for King himself, but to feed the 600 to 800 people twice a day who served at the Court of Henry VIII. They consist of several huge rooms, one for meat, one for pastries, etc., one smaller room had a soup kettle that nearly filled the whole space. Amazing, and they did this without the help of Cuisinart appliances.

Next I tour the Kings apartments. You are not allowed to take photos inside the Palace, but I sneak a snap of the view over the gardens from his private bedchamber. Everything of course is on a grand scale. Huge intricate tapestries cover the walls, I stop to listen to a tour guide who explains that up to six weavers would be working on one tapestry at a time, and they would work from the back. How could they do that? They would have to create the whole scene backwards so it would read correctly when turned over. Very clever.

They didn’t really have corridors in the fifteen hundreds, so one room led to another. The apartments were arranged so that you began in the most public rooms and ended in the closet. This was the smallest and most private room where the King or Queen would not only dress, but write letters, and receive intimate friends.

As I walked though these Tudor rooms, rich with polished wood, crimson silk walls, I can feel and imagine the presence of the Royals who once occupied them. I run my hand along a door frame and wonder who else has left their fingerprints. I walk along the wooden plank floors and wonder if I am treading on the same wood as Anne Boleyn.

I look into the faces of people in the gold framed portraits, and think, what were their lives like? What were they thinking while they were sitting for these paintings? I look at the detail in the clothing, the delicate jeweled hair pins, the elaborate necklaces. I look into their eyes, hoping they will reveal something about the person.

I leave the apartments and walk along the gravel paths of the garden to the Royal Tennis Court. This is what they call a “real” tennis court, rather than a lawn tennis court, and is still home to an active real tennis club. The court is narrow with high walls. There is a game being played, and from what I can tell it is kind of a combination racquet ball and tennis as we know it. They serve the ball against the side wall over the net, then the point is played out in similar fashion to lawn tennis. King Henry VIII was passionately addicted to this sport, and legend has it that he heard of the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn as he played on this court.

Next I try my luck at finding my way though the famous Maze. Hmmmm thought I was very smart about directions, but much as I hate to admit it, I did get lost. I finally managed to find my way out, but only after several stops, turns, and dead ends. I wander through the rose, private and formal gardens, each different, all in bloom. There are over 60 acres of gorgeous landscaping here, so be sure to wear your walking shoes.

It’s 6PM and they are closing, I had planned to spend only a couple of hours here, but there is so much to see you could easily spend a whole day.

All this sightseeing has made me very hungry so I stop at a riverside restaurant for a bite of dinner and a glass of wine, a perfect way to end my tour of Hampton Court Palace.