Wimbledon Village

“The Village” as it is called, is normally a small quiet place with attractive, upscale shops, bars and restaurants. It’s the kind of place you expect to see flowered curtains and lace linens. Chic country would best describe the atmosphere. It backs up to Wimbledon Common, where country gentleman, and women, gallop along the heath on horseback. The area has been inhabited since the Iron Age, with written records dating back to 1087, and the high street still has a medieval feeling.

However, during the Wimbledon fortnight, the atmosphere changes dramatically. The streets, bars and restaurants are crowded with fans, players, press and anyone remotely connected with the tennis. The shops windows are all decorated in the tennis theme, and signs inviting tennis people to imbibe front the public house.

If you walk up the hill from the All England Club to the Village, the first pub you see is The Dog and Fox. This place is always jammed to capacity, and on a nice summer evening you will be lucky to even find a small standing space on the patio. Around the corner is The Common Room, which is also quite popular. They have a big screen TV and a very loud DJ.

I usually start out at the Dog, and then move to my personal favorite, the Eclipse. This is a small bar down the block from the Dog and Fox with a cool atmosphere. The music is by DJ with a Latin drummer pounding out Brazilian rhythms. They used to be the only bar open after midnight so you had to get in early or there would be a huge line after the “Dog” closed.

This year, however, the law has apparently changed or the bars have gotten a new license, because the “Dog” is open to 1AM and the Eclipse to 3AM. Progress is coming to Wimbledon Village. Of course with this progress comes profit, there is now a 10 pound cover charge for the Eclipse, pretty stiff when you convert it to USD, but the atmosphere is good, the crowds are fun, and you will usually see Boris Becker in one of the plush upholstered booths. The thing to drink here is the Watermelon Martini. This is made by slicing fresh watermelon into a shaker with vodka and shaking hard until they are blended. Great, dangerous, but I don’t have to drive home so I can indulge.

I shoud add that we more than drink in the evening. A popular place for a light and not horribly expensive dinner is Pizza Express. If you want something more substantial, I love the Indian place on the corner across from the bank. A lot of players eat here so it's a good place for player watch. Piccolino on the hight street has a contemporary atmosphere with good Italian cooking, or for French try Cote, also on the High Street.

The big news at the Championships today is Andy Murray defeating Richard Gasquet in five sets. Down two sets to love I actually left the match because it was getting dark and it looked like Andy didn’t have a chance.

I had left the site to have something to eat with a friend in the village, walked past a restaurant with a TV and saw that it was 2 all in the fifth. No Way! I hurried back to the site hoping to make it for match point. The score was 5- 4 by the time I got back, and I knew I’d never make it on court in time, also it was really dark so I wasn’t going to get a good photo. I settled on going over to Henman Hill. The crowds were tremendous. The fans were jubilant. Andy won. Great day for the Brits, Murray has reached his first quarter final in a Grand Slam.

Sightings: Dinara Safin walking along the street in Southfields, talking on her mobile, wearing red and white sweats. Boris Becker at the Eclipse, Dimitri Tursunof at Pizza Express, Rajeev Ram and Bobby Reynolds at the Dog and Fox.