Day 4 ! Tennis

It may not be believable from the first few posts but I am actually a published author. Well, poet to be precise. In primary 4, our teacher asked us to write a poem. Obviously my poem rhymed (as all poems should, to an innocent 8yr old). The sea likely featured along with a bee, some tea and a perhaps a flea or two (depending on how many bees).

Then the school joined some other schools in Edinburgh and had a genius idea to publish all the childrens' poems in a single book and sell it. What parents are not going to buy a book containing a poem their child wrote? (incidentally my parents didn't but we are Chinese and it wasn't a maths challenge award). But the idea was genius. Because fundamentally, all the poems were pretty crap. I don't remember my poem but I have no doubt that it was rubbish. If you'd ask me to solve an equation, calculate the length of the 3rd side of a right-angled triangle or find out how many apples the farmer sold today, I was in my element. But write an essay, poem or a short paragraph about my holidays? Urgh. Writing was not my forte. No siree. Which is interesting given the choice to write a daily blog. 

And of course I had writer's block when trying to review tennis. It's tennis. Everyone knows what tennis is. Everyone knows how the scoring system works (though no-one knows why it works like that). Perhaps not the ideal one to start with first day back from Fatcamp. But is was such a glorious bank holiday and L'il Sis wanted to exercise off her two burgers that weekend. 

So off we went and it turned out awe-some! Now, neither of us are overly talented, I can hit a ball and 8/10 times it'll go over the net, 6 of those will be in and 1 will be maybe not-a-bad shot. L'il Sis is a bit better but thankfully it was well matched enough on the day that there were some good rallies, lots of running and decent sunshine.The topless guy playing on the court next to us was a little distracting (and not in a good way) but who can blame someone for wanting a tan during our annual week-long summer. The thing with tennis in London is that there are a good number of free/ few quid per hour courts but all of them are outdoors. In the UK. But on a sunny day with a (or 3) friend(s), if you're able to get a court, it's a great way to spend a couple hours. On the free courts, there's the unwritten 1-hr-max-play-if-people-are-waiting rule which people tend to stick to. The court itself (near Shadwell) was not in bad condition, there is a cute park beside the courts for while-you-wait picnics/ sunbathing and the river is just nearby if you fancy a post-match stroll along the Thames towards Canary Wharf or London Bridge (and beyond!). And I was pleasantly surprised by the calories burnt - it certainly didn't feel like a chore while we were playing! Result. If only the council would build a roof over the courts, used by schools by day and booked by the public by night, lord knows how many Murrays might be discovered.

The Need to Know

- Where: King Edward VII Memorial Park
- Nearest Station: Shadwell DLR but also 6-7mins walk from Limehouse

- When: Open all year, weather permitting

- How Much: Flee! But you must bring your own racquets, balls,playing partner...

The Want to Know

- Waiting Time: We were lucky and got on within 10minutes but be prepared to wait for about 30-45mins. Ask the people who are playing already how long they've been on for so they know you're waiting and might be guilted out of court hogging

- The Crowd: Random mix - some decent players, some beginners,lots of kids, families. Hit'n'miss (geddit, tennis) for eye candy watching.

The Stats:

- Distance Covered: 0km (GPS off)

- Total Time: 1hr 06mins 

- Calories Burnt: About 2/3rds of a burger - 439!

- Average Heart Rate: 142bpm (HR Chart looks like interval training - lots of short sharp bursts)

- Max Heart Rate: 159bpm

I (very annoyingly!) forgot to take a picture with L'il sis at the courts. So this is a snap of  The Stats' producing watch!

First post-Fatcamp meal: Fishcaskes and Thick-cut Chips mmm!

Followed by a Chocolate Parfait! What Fatcamp?