We're here...

we're queer, get used to it...

Actually, where we are is the Radisson Blu in Cologne which is mega comfortable and friendly. Fiona and Jon and Rhys are here, Sue and Pete fly in tomorrow.

We've got our accreditation, the Opening Ceremony is Saturday night and my first game is on Tuesday.

And so, it begins...

I have a court booked for Sunday for some last minute practice . Judy plays her first game on Monday - doubles (D grade) with Suzanne.

You can feel the Gay Games buzz - lots of team members on the train from Paris, gays and lesbians everywhere in the City  and the organisers keep giving us girls - wait for it - condoms... ah well - mass production of welcome kits can only be customised so much and one shouldn't assume that the girls who are here might not also sleep with boys..

I've had my first German beer - yuuuum

Le Dernier Jour en Paris

Rhys has a future as a ball-kid. For one whole hour, he retrieved all our tennis balls - one by one at times and successfully dodged serves, ground-strokes and mis-hits.

I'm much happier with my serve - goes in when I relax - who woulda thought? Judy can punch the ball back all right but she's not so keen on running so I get to play sneaky shots when I play her (not that she's playing singles in Cologne).

A slack afternoon for us today because we have to pack to be ready for the 10.00am train to Cologne.

Rhys, otherwise known as "Underpants Boy" because he has a tendency to drop his dacks, is very excited about the train trip. He's only been on relatively short trips so far. I do hope he doesn't morph into Underpants Boy on the train - but on the other hand .....

Absolutely Nothing To Do With Tennis

Today we spent touring various iconic highlights of Paris - filming Judy singing...

I will say no more because I have absolutely no idea how the end product will be but we had fun at the Louvre, the Arc, the Eifel Tower and outside various shops and other Parisian landmarks. Maybe this will be the next YouTube sensation?

Then back to the apartment for a nap and tonight we're going to outer Paris to eat Vietnamese - well why not?

First practice hit up

Jude andfound our way to a very average municipal court - I was hoping that they might be clay courts but unfortunately they were some kind of weird green bitumen. Still, a practice hit is a practice hit.

Rhys joined us for the last ten minutes so that he could play tennis too. I gave him a small racquet for his birthday which he tends to use like a cricket bat - eh - who cares.

The hotel bed in Geneva has done something nasty to my back but there is a Chinese massage place just a few blocks down from our apartment and I am booked in at 6.00 this evening to get the kinks ironed out.

This afternoon we plan to visit the Paris Plage - the fake beach they set up on the banks of the Seine.
It will be a relief to be away from the utter stench from the dog and human urine and excrement that this arrondisement appears to be drenched with. There's one particular covered walk-way that is so bad, that we literally have to hold our breath as we go past.

Another practice hit is scheduled for Thursday - and I plan to hit buckets of serves - gotta get that groove hapenning.

Monday in Paris

A quiet day today - just a short trip to blvd Haussmann with Fi and Rhys and Judy to buy jeans for Jude (her old ones died in Gstaad).

A light lunch.

An afternoon nap.

Dinner with our friends tonight and a tennis court booked for 9.00am tomorrow.

Sunday in Paris with 4 year old

Rhys told me that he had such fun today with me that he was in love.

He also asked why I was old and wrinkly.

Four year olds are special indeed.

I had Rhys to myself for much of the day. We went to the Bastille market - oh the cheese, the cheese, indeed blessed are the cheesemakers, bought roast chicken and then Rhys and I waved his mother and father off when they went on a 19km roller blading outing with a couple of thousand other people. This happens every Sunday, thousands of roller bladers meet at a designated spot and then skate for up to 25kms around Paris. Volunteer marshalls and police on roller blades manage the road closures and keep the group tight.

Normally, Rhys would accompany his parents in his pusher but since we were here we decided to have a little time with him and let his parents skate to their hearts' content.

We walked back from Bastille to the apartment with Rhys demonstrating his prowess in jumping off things, skipping, hopping, twirling and running really fast. He also "scared" me 5 times - 5!

We all had a nap after that and then Rhys and I went to the little playground at the foot of the apartment. It's not a particularly nice playground - I suspect it is more of a hang out for serious drinking and perhaps drugs but we were the only ones there and we had further demonstrations of leaping, jumping, balancing and other gymnastics.

My first game is a little over one week from now so tomorrow it's time to get onto a court and have a gentle hit with Judy.

Paris

Neither of us slept well last night but we caught the 8:17 train to Lyon and then on to Paris today. Jonathan and Fiona and Rhys met us at our apartment which is just a short walk from them in the 11th arrondisement.

I have eaten far too much today but that's all too easy to do in Paris.

We will meet up with J&F&R tomorrow and go to the market and then we get to have Rhys all to ourselves for the afternoon while his parents go on roller blading around the city. Every Sunday, thousands of people gather to go skating. Normally Rhys accompanies his parents in his pusher (with helmet and suitably chic sunglasses) but we will find a park or two to take him to.

Our schedule for the Games has changed. Judy will play on Monday but my first game is now not until Tuesday. And unlike previous games - there will be a play off for the bronze... 

I think this competition will be tougher than it looks.

Au revoir

The Last Day

of intensive tennis training - at indoor courts unfortunately because it was belting rain.

We had the farewell dinner last night. Roy delights in making people sing "Waltzing Matilda" and we had fun telling them that our national song is about a sheep-thief who commits suicide...

Today I got to play with Lady Joan (yes really) and we had a ball frustrating two other players who had treated us with disdain because we can't hit has hard as they do - but Joan is the queen of the lob and I'm getting better at the net.We had a lot of fun watching them get more and more frustrated...

We are now in Geneva and catch the train tomorrow to Paris early in the morning...

I'll play at least twice while we're in Paris just to keep tuned up.....

Horseflies!

I can feel that I am coming to the end of my stamina - feet are sore, legs a bit heavy, and these bloody huge horseflies (which bite!) have decided apparently that I make an excellent breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-between-meal snack.

I hit one fly so hard as it bit me that I now have a bruise in the shape of my hand on my leg. Not to mention the increasing number of welts from the bites that I am accumulating.

My left knee is starting to hurt a little - partly from all the work but also I think in reaction to the change in weather - we're moving from sunny and hot to humid and hotish. But I've iced it a bit and that seems to be doing the trick.

Roy's been giving me some really good feedback on my ground strokes - basically don't over-do it. Economy of motion gives you time to hit the ball. You don't need to whack the thing to win the point!

So simple and yet...

But that's the game of tennis.

We head off to Geneva tomorrow and then to Paris to see Fiona, Jonathan and Rhys (our favourite 4 year old). There are some tennis courts near our apartment in Paris so we'll book those at least twice and Judy and I will have a gentle hit just to stay tuned. I've also organised a court for Cologne for the day after the opening ceremony so that we can have another hit the day before the tournament starts.

You do realise don't you - those few who read my blog - that all of this could be over in one match on the Monday? Still, I will have given it a pretty good shot.

Day Four

My feet are sore!!

Not surprising when you work out that I've played 17 hours of tennis in four days. Mind you, I was reminded of home when I put my tennis socks on - they clearly bore the marks of having been one of the pairs of socks that Hari (my Brown Burmese cat) had taken to stealing from my suitcase in the days before we left.

And Judy has a new girlfriend....

Her name is Sophie..

She's five years old and has decided that Judy is the adult du jour...

I watched them this morning on the grass underneath the breakfast terrace playing a kind of football and catch with a supersized tennis ball. I'm not sure who was having the most fun! Sophie is tri-lingual. She speaks Swiss-German, German and English. She's an utter joy to watch as she skips around the hotel.

I think she is partly enamoured of Judy because Sophie collects coins and Judy has given her a full set of Australian coins. The 50cent piece has been a particular success.

Some of the other kids we see here are so formal - already in their suits and loafers - bored adult/kids...

Another five hours of tennis tomorrow, then the farewell dinner, then another 2.5 hours of tennis and the week is over. Roy has persuaded Judy to sing at tomorrow night's farewell dinner. It's been a little tricky working out what she'll sing given that most of her stuff is reasonably political and this is not exactly a left-leaning kind of group - but I know my girl and I know she'll knock their socks off!

I am having the last of my massages today - a facial treatment first (well I have been in the sun for a few days now) and then a hot stone massage. It's difficult to take but I'm managing.

Day Three

Well, it's really day two and a half - we only played this morning before heading off to a picnic in the Alps - tough eh!

I am pleasantly surprised that all my training has actually paid off. Despite spending five hours a day on the court, I am surprisingly unstiff.

Roy had me working my guts out yesterday - really getting me to run and make every possible attempt to get that damned yellow ball back. He asked me if it was ok to be pushing me like that - and my bravado said "Bring it on!"

We now have the draw for the first round. My first singles match is on the Monday (2nd August) at 9.30 with doubles at 2.00. Judy has also entered the Games and will play her doubles at 12.30 which is great because it means that I can be her cheer squad for a change.

Roy's promised me a bit of singles time which I'm looking forward to. The tennis pros he has here are simply fabulous. Roy's son Antony is particularly good - he has this wonderful graceful style in his own game and an air of quiet authority on the court. His feedback and corrections are both positive and really useful.

Only a few more days of "camp" and then we're off to Paris to play with our favourite four year old.

Day One of Tennis Camp

Forehands, backhands, volleys, a couple of doubles sets and...

I'm stuffed.

Well at least I'm not as stuffed as I was two years ago when I did this.  Basically it's five hours of tennis with one tennis pro to three participants which means you get a lot of attention and you get to run... a lot...

I am pleasantly surprised by the improved level of fitness - truly - I'm just a little bit sore in the legs but not too bad. I do have to confess to having a little sleep after the morning session though. The lovely Judy ran a hot bath for me at the end of the day - bliss.

Judy spent her day doing cryptic crosswords and working on the jigsaw puzzle we brought with us. Dunno which one of us is having the most fun.

Last night we had a welcome to the tennis week dinner and Judy and I sat with an older woman - Marion - who miraculously escaped the holocaust. She was arrested as a 14 year old returning to Berlin from boarding school in England in 1938 - charged with moving money out of Germany. She was required to attend a police station where the officer did two remarkable things - he gave her passport back and told her to get back to England as fast as she could and then said to her mother (who had been arrested on Krystallnacht) "Leave this country - leave now". And they did - to Shanghai where they were safe until the communist revolution and again her family escaped but this time to America.

I wonder what happened to the police officer - did he survive? Did he help others escape?

On a much less serious note:

At dinner tonight there was a three piece combo playing cocktail lounge classics - made me thing of our friend Tricia who thought the words were "On the bus and leaning over" instead of "Blame it on the Bosonova".

Another five hours of tennis tomorrow - and a massage at the end of it. I think I can manage that.

Starting to get serious...

Last night we went to the opera. Ho hum, I hear you say. Wrooooong. The physical theatre is one thing - red, gold leaf, rising tiers of opera boxes, ushers in black uniforms with bronze medallions around their necks.

And then the  conductor comes into the orchestra pit - oh God - he's very young, and I don't recognise the names of any of the singers. Have I hyped this up too much in my mind?

And then the overture begins and there is nothing but subtle, precise, beautiful strings and an achingly,piercingly haunting oboe - oh yeah.

We're here to see The Barber of Seville - a romantic comedy/farce. I don't have the words for the music but if you ever get an opportunity to hear Joyce DiDonato (Rosina) or Lawrence Brownlee (Count Almaviva) - run to the ticket office as fast as you can. These are musical athletes - not just technically sound but with profound control, perfect timbre.

And the staging was subtle but spot on...

But I digress because the real reason we are in Europe is to play tennis. So it's off to Gstaad for pre-tournament fine-tuning.

We had to change trains in Montreux. So there we were just sitting in our seats and a Swiss woman walks by and yes - it's Ursula - who runs marathons and who is the partner of the woman (Michelle) who beat Judy in the tennis at the Chicago Games. Yes, they're coming to Cologne but no, not playing tennis - just (just!) run the marathon. 

We are here now at the Gstaad Palace Hotel where I will shortly start a 6 day week of intensive tennis training with Roy Emerson and his team of professional coaches.

A relaxing dinner tonight (and a glass of champagne just because I could) and a relatively light day tomorrow. Down to the village to pick up supplies - I don't pay $15 for Heineken if I can help it! A swim and a workout to get the kinks out of the body and then a cocktail reception. Training starts for real on Sunday,

This will be the first real test of my fitness - let's see how that holds up although I have to confess to whinging a bit about having a sore right big toe. Judy, ever solicitous of my well-being, has suggested that it might be gout. I refuse to have gout - and that's final. It's just something else - minor and all will be well in the morning - right??

And so it begins....

First stop - Milan. Hmm, what can I say about Milan? If you are into serious label shopping then this is most definitely the place for you. And let's just say that shopping for anything other than size micro is almost impossible.

On the other hand, it's just a 2.5 hour train trip to Venice - Judy's favourite city. So that's where we've been - off to Venezia for lunch.

Tomorrow is a lazy day - we are going to La Scala to see The Barber of Seville but given how hot and humid it is at the moment - it's unlikely we will do anything more vigorous than walking to the theatre,

On Friday I start getting into serious preparation for the tennis - that's when we catch the train to Gstaad where I spend 6 days and a total of 25 hours on the tennis court.

Flying Out Today!

We had lunch yesterday with Victor and Ev. And Ev has lent me something very special - her Australian Olympian cap that she was given (as were all former Olympians) at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

We've taken the cats to The Cat Motel - had to do a small detour there today because I had left something behind. Sherlock has settled quite well, Hari was in his cat bed and seemed glad to see me, but Rufus was still hiding in the cat house. Their cat suite has a large run that goes up the wall and gives them lots of room for running like mad things - which I am sure they will do.

I packed my bag today and then re-packed it three more times - kept needing to check that I had the right stuff there..

And now all we have to do is wait to get picked up and taken out to the airport and the adventure starts...

The Final Countdown

Last comp night and I won the singles in a scrappy match 6-4 and we won the doubles 6-1.

Last lesson with Victor.

Last workout with Alicia


And a holiday haircut ...

The Last Week

Ok - we've picked up the AceGirls shirts - and they fit and they're great and it was pub night which was good.

My last tennis lesson tomorrow night.

Finals of Thursday comp this Thursday.

Last personal training session on Saturday.

Going away booze up on Sunday.

Fly out on Monday.

I have no brain for work.