From WIMBLEDON: The gentlemen at Wimbledon

Here we are in the second week of the championships and SW 19 has been a meteorological minefield. A heat wave descended upon us mid-Sunday — our day off from the festivities at The All England Club — and continued into the second Monday. What a beautiful day it was.

Not such a beautiful day, however, if your name ended in Williams, as both sisters made an early exit from Wimbledon. The day also saw all the usual suspects book their way into the men’s quarterfinals: Nadal, Federer, Murray and Nole...but you guys know all this.

Yesterday the weather went back to being the “grump” England is famed for...but of course all this unpredictability just adds to the magic that is Wimby.

Every day tells a different story here but the one thing that is pretty standard is the fact that people who work here during these two weeks can’t seem to get enough. The number of stewards and staff who have proudly proclaimed this is their “32nd year” (or whatever) working just goes to show while this fortnight is hard work, it is seductive and addictive to the point that coming one year simply is not enough.

The uniformed staff have hard-and-fast rules. Unless you work directly with the agents or in an area for the players, talking to the players is strictly off limits. Or should I say the rule is more like “Do Not Disturb Them” — which is extremely fair. How tiresome would it be if every security staff member or ball boy shoved an iPhone in their faces in the hope of adding their favorite player on Facebook?

I asked one colorful personality who has been working here since the 1970s if he was beginning to feel jaded.

“Good grief, no!” he guffawed.

“Working on Wimbledon is one of the highlights of my entire year and I’ve become like a piece of furniture!” And, as if on queue, a popular player walked through the gates, a toddler in tow, and said to the aforementioned steward: “Look, Al, I’m still breeding!” A lovely sense of familiarity and respect all rolled into 6 seconds of friendly exchange.

I read in the English papers that it is these older men, in their purple, who have become iconic. Their flirty manner and easy way with the thousands of people that come through the gates every day is a definite quirk of Wimbledon. I have been stopped a couple of times just for a little chat and a chuckle, normally peppered with a cheeky line that always makes me smile.

So yes, we all know that watching tennis here on the beautifully manicured lawns is a sight for sore eyes, the weather is always a topic of discussion, the strawberries are the most luscious shade of pink and the royal box attendees enough to make you need to wear shades...but...Wimbledon is Wimbledon because it is so idiosyncratically English. And nothing is more English than a gentleman in an All England Club blazer and boater.

As Vijay Amitraj likes to bellow:

“Oh, I say...”

Catch Paula Malai Ali’s coverage of Wimbledon on STAR Sports and ESPN HD.