is there a doctor in the house?

Monday loomed and there were tennis matches on the horizon...but none of that wimbledon faff, we were off for real tennis. First stop was the court at Hampton Court Palace, where Henry the 8th played. We caught the tube past wimbledon and laughed at all the people in the queue....it makes the australian open line up look like a piece of cake and made me very glad that I've been able to score tickets to the open for the last few years - I'll be taking advantage of this come summer! Arriving at Hampton Court Palace at 8 am means there are no tourists, so we had an uninterrupted view of the palace and took some happy snaps. When we advised the security guard on the gate that we were there for a real tennis match he pointed us right then left in the direction of a security checkpoint. Rohan's name was on the list so we got waved through the checkpoints and into the bowels of the palace where the royal tennis court are. It was hard not to be overwhelmed by the sense of history at this court. The rumours are that Henry the 8th was playing tennis on this court when told about the death of Anne Boylen. The clubrooms were opened by Prince Edward and his own personal locker was in the changeroom where Rohan was getting changed. This was a great chance to see a side of the palace most tourists don't get the chance to see. I watched Rohan battle and win Robert, a local player and then we were winding our way out through the security checkpoints and joking with the guard who had let us in earlier that day - meanwhile the hordes of other pleb tourists lined up to enter the palace. Surely this is the way to travel!

After tennis we decided to make a quick stop at home for lunch, and as an email junkie I logged in. There it was, the email saying 'examination results'. I started to shake. Three years of my life on the line and here was the judgement. I went for one of the other messages first and read it - from one of my supervisors saying congratulations - I figured that was an easier way to get the news! Now, its official - I have passed! 2 examiners requested no changes at all, the third wanted some more paragraph breaks in one chapter - that I can do! Is there a doctor in the house? Why yes there is! I skipped down the sunny footpaths of London as we headed off to queens and the second tennis match of the day.....