Wimbledon weather

Earlier in the year Mrs Tips (pictured), feeling a little fed up with the dull roofing jobs I kept giving her, expressed an interest in the champagne lifestyle of the professional tennis circuit. As an indulgence, last Thursday, we hit the All England Lawn Tennis Club Championships at Wimbledon, hopeful of a full day's play, strawberries and cream and glasses of bubbly sipped romantically together on a typically tranquil English summer afternoon.

In the event we were fortunate to see two ladies' quarter finals matches and roughly forty minutes of Roger Federer's match with Juan Carlos Ferrero before the rain came, big time. It wasn't big rain, you understand, but it was the sort of rain that stops tennis being played and it was accompanied at times by a gusting wind. Initially we were informed that the rain would pass through and play in the evening was a distinct possibility. Three hours later, at 7.10pm, The Man told us he'd been kidding us all along (because it was good for business) and there would be no more play at all.

When play gets stopped at Wimbledon, there's surprisingly little to do other than spend your hard earned on souvenirs in the Wimbledon Shop or overpriced drinks. I searched everywhere for a betting shop (see picture), but to no avail. Still, the action was to be savoured and we'll certainly be applying for tickets to next year's championships.