OMG Lord’s

So scratch this item off Ye Olde Buckette Lyst. Yes, I went to watch England play South Africa on Day 2 of the First Test match. Here’s the Grace entrance (named after the 19th-century cricketer, W.G. Grace, sometimes called the father of cricket).

Here’s the view from my seat in the Edrich stand. The Members’ Pavilion is the brick building on the right.

I’m not going to describe the action on the field, because it would be incomprehensible to most of my Loyal Readers (and the Brit Readers would have seen the highlights already anyway).

Some impressions of Lord’s.

1.) The ground was full to the brim, but for some reason, Lord’s has not worked out how to manage crowds. Lines into the several (not many) pubs, restaurants and snack bars were long and service was slow. Given that most of the people are there to watch cricket, and the breaks in play are short, this means that a huge number of people are going to miss parts of the match, and they did.
2.) The seats are all padded, and very comfortable. Compared to most all-metal seats in U.S. baseball grounds, at Lord’s you sit in comfort (a huge plus when the game starts at 11am and finishes after 6pm).
3.) With the exception of some visiting fans (Seffricans, ’nuff said), the crowd are fairly well-behaved, despite an astonishing amount of booze served. (Seriously; you may buy champagne by the magnum, and take it back to your seat.)

On this specific day, my fears of rain interrupting or even ending play were completely unfounded. It was sunny, and searingly hot (temps around 95F). I got sunburned — blisters-on-my-skin sunburned. Not to put too fine a point on it, I burned like a British person. My Afrikaner dad is doubtless spinning in his grave that my neck is in fact red.

Here’s one thing I noticed: the women who go to cricket are, with the exception of the Seffrican chicks, all impeccably upper-class. How did I know? By the way they looked. I did not see a single tattoo on a woman, all day — and in the heat, let me tell you, there was a lot of womanflesh on display. Here’s a representative sample:

When I later commented on the non-tattooed women to Mrs. Free Market, she remarked dryly, “Well, cricket’s a sensible game, isn’t it?”

My kinda people.

Despite the heat, despite the loud Seffrican spectators, despite the long lines to the service areas and despite the lousy play of the South African team, I was at Lord’s.

Words cannot express my pleasure, and my gratitude to the Free Markets for making it possible.

12 comments

  1. A lift of a glass, Scotch with a bit of water, to you our fellow Texan on your wonderful day. May you have many more bucket list checkoffs.

  2. Hmm, the womanflesh doesn’t appear to be in evidence. While I trust your word, this is very much a “trust but verify” situation!

    1. Note the phrase is *representative* sample.

      And we’re talking about upper class english dames ‘ere.

      The moderately open EXTREMELY white space is representative.

      Or I’m seeing a joke where there is none.

  3. In all these years, you have rarely mentioned your parents. If you feel comfortable doing so, please tell us more about them.

    Sorry about the burn. I had sun poisoning one time. Quarter sized blisters that scabbed over. Ironically, it was a 74 degree day and overcast. UV rays are no joke.

  4. Lots of decently stylish brimmed hats in evidence on the men in the photos. Very smart. Here’s to hoping that we see a comeback of them in the US. And no, boonie hats, bucket hats, and porkpie hats do not count, to say nothing of the ubiquitous baseball cap.

    1. I too hope for a hat comeback. I bought a nice hat last year. They seem to be making a slow comeback.

  5. > this means that a huge number of people were going to miss parts of the match.

    With cricket this is not usually a problem. Besides, people often take a hamper.

  6. Hope your sunburn doesn’t inconvenience you for too long; take care of it. I’m finally over mine from the 7/1 shooting event (I used SPF50 but they had us wear t-shirts all alike and I didn’t reapply on my neck… bad mistake).

    So to alleviate the long lines for food and drink, what would the British equivalent of a peanut/hot dog/drink vendor roaming the stands?

    What would they sell and how would they “sell”?

    1. I don’t care about tennis. I’ve loved cricket since I was five years old. Not even close.

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