Monday, July 04, 2005

03/07/05 Make Hangovers History

...is what I should aspire to really...!
Looking into my crystal ball I see a month with very little alcohol disappearing down my throat. It's time for a de-tox.
One of the side effects of quitting smoking is a discernible cranking up of the normal rate of alcohol consumption.
I had a godawful headache this morning.
I managed to watch some of the tennis final. Roger Federer is the man. He's good to watch though, and something of an artist on court. Nice to see flair and artistry triumph over brute force, (eg Greg Rusedski)
I have to admit to being slightly shocked at the trophy presentation.
Ever since I can remember, the Duke and Duchess of York have entered the court area and them moved slowly down 2 rows of ballboys and ballgirls, engaging roughly every 3rd or 4th person in the column in some airy banter before moving on to the next "victim".
I was always intrigued as to what they spoke about.
"My you're a tall young man!", "Is this the first time you've done this?", "Have you any amusing "ballboy" anecdotes?", "Where are you from then?"
This procedure genrally lasted a couple of minutes, as the players shuffled about, anxious to get the ceremonials over with so they could bugger off.
However this year, the Duke of Kent, on his own (I think the Duchess is ill), just strode past all the ballpeople and never said a dickybird to anyone.
The ballpeople must have been devastated. They thought they were on a 4/1 shot to chat with Royalty and be seen doing it on live TV.
I can only draw the conclusion, that it was the Duchess of Kent who historically insisted on this corny little ritual taking place. Her husband obviously thought the whole idea was a complete waste of time, and seized the opportunity of her illness to drive a coach and horses through the whole concept of ballpeople interaction.
This is a sad day for ballpeople.
We may not have had a British men's champion for 362 years, but at least our Royals always delighted the public by selflessly chatting to ballpeople.
Not any more.
It's over.

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