Curious Incidents of a Flailing Mermaid

Day Eight: Wimbledon final

Prompt for day 8: Freeze a scene from your weekend and describe it in as much sensory detail as possible.

Sunday 7 July marked 77 years of Britain waiting for their very own Wimbledon men's tennis champion. Was this going to be the day that the country united in celebration?
Andy Murray walked on to Centre Court to a standing ovation at 2 PM. The heat must have been overwhelming - people at home, watching on, were boiling just as they sat and hoped. The temperature on Centre Court was a staggering 40* degrees - temperatures we are not used to experiencing in Britain.
The match, featuring the first and second male tennis players in the world, was grueling to say the least. The drama that unfolded throughout the 3-set final was indescribable.

At 5:11pm, just as Andy Murray served to win the game and his opponent returned the ball, time stopped!

The 16,000 people crammed into Centre Court, not to mention 17 million people watching on TV at home, were all on their feet. Every Single mouth was wide open, mid-cheer. All the negativity and criticisms aimed towards this man fell to the wayside as the ball hit the net: declaring, in no uncertain terms, Andy Murray the Wimbledon champion. With tears in the majority of Britain's eyes, we all looked on at the overwhelming joy, relief and passion radiating off the face of our new sporting legend.

Stood in my lounge, I was able to hear clearly the cheers coming from my neighbours houses as they celebrated at the exact time I did. Laughter and jubilation were flooding from the doors of every household in the neighbourhood.

In that moment, despite distance and difference, the whole of Britain this stood as one to celebrate the end of a 77-year wait and the beginning of a new found respect for the tennis hero, Andy Murray.




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The following photo was meant to be in my blog post yesterday but for some reason it didn't quite make it. It is a photo of a display a primary school put together to welcome me last week: