When Starsky went to Wimbledon

January 1st 2000 – Starsky Residence

It was January 1st and the start of the new Millennium. There had been fireworks and parties last night and nobody had been up very early this morning, especially Starsky. No doubt Hutch had been up usual time as he had maintained to the last that everyone was celebrating the Millennium on the wrong year. Go figure.

"There was no year nought, Starsky. It just doesn't make sense. The start of the new Millennium will be January 1st 2001." If Hutch had said it once, he'd said it a hundred times but Laura and the kids had still made him have a party anyway. Thirty years they'd been friends and Hutch still surprised him with his quirks. Secretly, Starsky reckoned Hutch was right but he wasn't about to tell him that. 'Sides any excuse to get the two families together and have a party was all right in Starsky's book.

He poured himself a coffee and went to see what his wife was doing. Ali was sat at the dining room table surrounded by last year's calendar, her birthday book, her new diary and this year's brand new calendar. He'd forgotten her ritual of filling in the calendar for the year ahead with significant events. She always did it on January 1st, like clockwork. He plopped a kiss on her head and looked over her shoulder.

"Hey, how long have you been up? You've got to June already!"

"A little while. The neighbour's dog woke me up."

Starsky watched as Ali wrote her birthday on the calendar and made a face. Next to "Me" she'd written 50 and put a sad face. Starsky knew better than to comment but it did get him thinking about doing something extra special for her birthday this year. If he started planning now, he could do something really good. Maybe he could get Hutch to help him with ideas?

June 1st 2000, Ali's Birthday Party

Starsky handed his wife the last present: it was a thick white envelope. "Happy Birthday, darlin'. Hope you like it."

Ali opened the envelope and looked astounded when four plane tickets fell out of the envelope. They were: dated for the 28th June; first class seats from LAX to London Heathrow; and reserved for David and Alison Starsky, Ken and Laura Hutchinson.

"That's wonderful, sweetheart. Thank you." Ali gave her husband a kiss and hug. "Oh, but what about the kids?"

"Hey, they're old enough to look after themselves for two weeks. Besides, Huggy and Edith promised they'd keep an eye on all of them," Starsky assured her. "Look at the itinerary." As Ali pulled a piece of paper out of the envelope, Starsky added. "I've booked a few things but, anything else you want to do or see, we can arrange when we get there."

"I can't wait. Thank you so much."

Ali wrapped her arms around Starsky and left them there for a good while. The grin he gave Hutch was huge. Between them they'd planned a great surprise. Hutch smiled back, glad that both his friends were so happy.

July 4th 2000, the Strand Hotel, London

Starsky and Hutch were sat at the bar in their hotel when Hutch asked: "Starsky, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes. I want to go to Wimbledon. I told you that before we even got to the UK! I know the trip is all about celebrating Ali's birthday but this is the one thing I really want to do and she's okay with it."

"But that was before we found out you can't buy tickets. Did you realise you would have to get up early and queue?"

"No, but I still want to go."

"Even though you'll have to get up at some ridiculous hour and you're not a morning person?"

"Yep."

"Even though you're nearly sixty and not as fit as you used to be?"

"Hey, watch it, Buddy. I'm still fit! Yes, I still want to go."

"Even though there will be long periods without food?"

Starsky thought for a minute then said, "Yep."

Hutch looked surprised. "Okay, now I believe you really want to go! I'd better go ask Laura if she's up for an early start tomorrow. Do you want me to book a cab to come and get us?"

"Yeah, book it for six to go to London Waterloo then we're taking the train the rest of the way."

Hutch stood up. "I just hope it doesn't rain tomorrow!"

July 5th 2000, 0730, Wimbledon Queue

"Hey, this is terrific!" Starsky exclaimed, as they joined the queue.

"That's not the word I would use to describe it. Look at the queue already and it's raining," Hutch grumbled, pulling his collar up.

Starsky knocked his shoulder into his friend and said, "Hey, don't be such a grouch, Hutch. I thought you were a morning person!"

Laura grinned. "He's more of a midday person now he's nearly sixty."

"Hey! Whose side are you on," Hutch protested, "and anyway I'm not nearly sixty, I'm just over fifty-five."

"Of course you are, sweetheart," Laura said and kissed her husband's cheek.

"That's better."

Starsky looked around the scene. "Hey, this is really something, isn't it? Great atmosphere already. All these people chatting about who they hope to see. And did you see all those people who'd slept the night on the sidewalk? Wow! That's dedication."

They were standing on a tarmac pavement at that moment on the opposite side to the grounds of the Wimbledon All-England Club. The queue was all along the road ahead of them, three or four people deep and there were more and more people joining behind them. In the few minutes they'd been standing there, the end of the line had extended and disappeared around a corner so they could no longer see it but they could see people still pouring down the hill to join it.

They chatted for a while and then, around 8 o'clock, the line started moving forwards at a steady pace. The Starskys and Hutchinsons looked a bit bemused as they weren't expecting to be let in yet. It became apparent that a gate had been opened on this side of the road and the queue was being led into a field with a temporary wooden pathway stretched out across it. Here there were portable loos and a booth selling coffees and water.

The rain got heavier. Laura pulled an umbrella out of her bag and offered to share it with Ali.

"What about me?" Hutch asked plaintively.

A woman's voice asked, "Would you two like to borrow my brolly? We've got plenty between us."

Starsky and Hutch turned to find the voice had come from one of the four women standing in the queue just ahead of them.

Starsky took the proffered huge blue and white golfing umbrella and said, "Thanks! You ladies seem to have come prepared. I take it this isn't your first trip to Wimbledon."

"This is my second visit. My sister and her friend have been a few times. Both my friend and I came last year for the first time and we queued for ten hours in the sun! They were so many people we only got in in the evening and only saw a couple of hours' play. That's why we made sure we got here early this year."

"And last year didn't put you off!" Hutch exclaimed.

"Nope! Made me more determined to get in!"

Starsky laughed out loud. He offered his hand to the woman. "I'm Dave, this is my wife, Ali, and this is my best friend, Hutch, and his wife, Laura."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Emily. My sister's JJ, our friends are Julie and Faye."

"Well, Emily, as you guys are experts perhaps you could fill us in on what's going to happen next?"

"Well, in a little while, they'll be stewards coming along with programmes. If you get one now, you can decide if you want to try for tickets at the gate or just ground passes. Last year we could only get ground passes but we managed to sneak onto Centre Court for the very last game of the Rafter-Enquvist match because some people had gone home. That was fun!"

"I wouldn't go home till they kicked me out if I had seats for Centre Court!" JJ said.

Emily nodded in agreement but added, "I wouldn't ever bother trying to get tickets for Centre though. It's so huge it's like watching tennis played by mice from the cheap seats!"

"Who else did you see last year?" Starsky asked.

Emily answered: "Lyndsey Davenport playing doubles on Court 13. She's such a nice lady and it was great to watch her play."

Just then a steward appeared and gave everyone a sticker that said: "I queued in the rain at Wimbledon." Everyone took one. Starsky proudly stuck his on his jacket. The rain eased off a little and umbrellas started coming down.

"Anybody want a coffee?" Starsky asked. He took orders from Hutch and their wives and then turned to Emily and her friends. "Ladies? Can I get anyone a drink?"

"No, thanks. That's really sweet of you but we're well prepared." The four of them proceeded to pull out flasks and bottles from their rucksacks.

Starsky and Hutch went to get coffee. By the time they got back to the queue, Emily had pulled out a tub full of sandwiches and was having a disagreement with her sister. Starsky just heard the end of the conversation.

"It's too early for sandwiches. That's supposed to be our lunch, Emily!"

Emily gave her a look. "It's never too early for any kind of food and you know me….When we were on holiday last year, what time did we have lunch that Thursday in York?"

"Eleven-twenty. Don't remind me! You're hopeless. You're always hungry."

Emily shrugged. "As ALF would say, can I help it if I've been blessed with multiple stomachs?"

Suddenly, Emily and JJ looked at each other and both hissed, "I shoulda locked him in the garage!" and fell about with peals of laughter. It was obviously an in-joke.

When Emily stopped laughing, she offered the sandwiches round. None of the other women took one.

"Would you like one, Dave?"

"I'd love one, thanks."

Hutch shook his head and said, "No, Thanks, I'll have something later." He watched Starsky with amusement as he made short work of the sandwich. "I can't believe you are always hungry even after all these years!"

Starsky shrugged. Emily offered Starsky another sandwich before she put the lid on the box with a sigh. "Suppose I'd better save some for later."

"Emily, as it's our first visit, have you got any advice for us?" Hutch asked. "Any tips for the best tickets to go for? Anything you think we should know?"

"Well, I hope you've got cash on you because that's all they take at the gate."

"Fortunately, they warned us about that at the hotel," Hutch said.

"Good. Well, let me see. I guess, around ten thirty, they'll start funnelling us through this park, over the bridge and then down to the turnstiles. Then we get herded into an area until about midday-"

"-Makes you feel like a herd of cows," JJ interjected.

Emily carried on: "When they open the inner gates, everyone makes a mad dash to get a good spot – that's if you have a grounds ticket. If you manage to get tickets for one of the show courts then it's not such a scramble because the matches don't start till one or two."

"That's good to know," Hutch said.

"Food can be expensive…well, it is on my salary…but, if you get nothing else, you have to have strawberries and cream: just because it's Wimbledon and it's the thing to do. You must get your photo taken at the scoreboard: that's a must. That's where we'll head first today."

Just then a man came along the line wearing a satchel and offering programmes for sale. Emily and JJ bought one each and Starsky bought one too. Emily started quickly flicking through the order of play section. The next minute she was squealing and jumping up and down on the spot. "The Woodies are playing! Oh, please, can we try and get tickets for Court Two? Please!" Her face suddenly dropped. "Oh JJ, Pat Rafter's on one. I know you like him but…"

"Hey, it's the Woodies! And anyway the tickets will be cheaper for Two and look the Williams sisters are on there as well. They're playing Navratilova and someone called de Swardt. Yes, let's try for Two!" JJ answered.

Starsky shared the programme with his wife and friends. It was tempting to try to get tickets to see Pete Sampras, who was going to be playing on Centre Court. They had a discussion amongst themselves.

"Up to you, Starsk, it's your day today. What would you like to do?"

Starsky thought for a moment and decided. "Court Two sounds good to me."

Ali and Laura nodded in agreement then carried on chatting to each other. Gradually the line started to move and after another half an hour, they reached the ticket booths. The ticket seller said to Emily, "What tickets would you like today?"

"Are there any tickets left for Court Number Two?"

"Yes."

"Great. We'd each like one, please."

"How many of you?"

"Four," Emily said then she looked at Starsky, who grinned at her. "And our friends here would like four as well."

"Okay, I'll try to get you seats close together."

That'll be eighty pounds for yours," the lady said to Emily. She handed her four tickets and Emily and her friends moved out of the way.

"Eighty pounds, please," the lady said to Starsky. As he handed over the cash, she handed him the tickets.

All of them walked through the gates into the holding area, trying to keep each other in sight. When they came to a halt, they looked at their tickets. Emily's group were sitting in Row B on Gangway F. Starsky's group were sitting in Row C on Gangway F and the seat numbers were almost the same. "Hey, that's terrific! We'll be able to watch the matches together."

"Great," Emily said. "When they let us in, why don't we go do photos by the scoreboard before it gets too busy? Then we can meet up in Court Two. The first match starts at one so you'll only have a little time if you want to eat."

Shortly, the gates were opened wide and everyone started streaming into the grounds. Emily and her friends headed to the scoreboard area and took pictures. Starsky took one of the group too and offered to take a photo on Emily's camera so they could all be in it. JJ took one of Starsky, Hutch and their wives on Starsky's camera. Emily snapped a shot too.

Suddenly, a group of four people in costumes that looked like weird bears in clothes and hats appeared and Emily and Faye started inexplicably singing: "Underground, over ground, wandering free, the Wombles of Wimbledon Common are we…"

"What is happening?" Hutch asked.

"I have no idea, Buddy!"

Faye was talking to the 'bears', one of whom took off his head and revealed a lad in his late twenties. "Great costumes, lads!" she said. "Can we get a photo of you?"

The 'bears' obligingly posed and then moved on.

"Who are those guys supposed to be?" Starsky asked.

"The Wombles of Wimbledon Common!" Emily and Faye chorused as if it was obvious.

To their new friends' bemused expressions, Emily said, "Well, I guess you need to be English and have been a young child in the seventies!"

"Well, it's early but we'd better go find some food, Starsk, before we start watching tennis," Hutch suggested. "Can't have you fainting away."

"Yeah, right. See you guys in a bit," Starsky said, waving to Emily and gang, as they went their separate ways.

July 5th 2000, 1255, Court Two, Row C

Starsky made his way along the row to seat 45 and found he was sitting behind Emily. She turned and greeted him with a pleased smile.

"You made it just in time! How was the food? Was it horribly busy?"

"Nah, not too bad. Thanks for the tip not to hang around though. The queue was really long by the time we came out…I've been wondering: are you mad about all sports or just tennis?"

Emily considered the question. "Well, I like watching quite a lot of sports but Wimbledon is a bit of an obsession. I've been brought up by a mother who has adored Wimbledon forever and brought my brother, sisters and me up watching Jimmy Connors. He's her favourite."

"He's left-handed," Starsky said, nudging Hutch who was sitting next to him.

"So's my mother," Emily said.

"Me too," said Starsky.

"She always says: all the best people are left-handed," Emily said.

"I think me and your mother would get on great!" Starsky said.

Hutch rolled his eyes.

"My father on the other hand curses Wimbledon every year because my mother basically ignores him for two weeks! And he's not keen on Connors… I think he's jealous because my mother calls him 'sex on legs'!"

Hutch choked on the coffee he was drinking and Emily fell about laughing while JJ looked embarrassed. A moment later, a ripple of applause started to be heard: first from one side of the court and then from all around as the Williams sisters and their opponents, Navratilova and de Swardt walked onto court and started to warm up for the match.

Emily and JJ cheered every important point and Starsky took his cue from them and joined in as appropriate. The Williams sisters won their match and lots of people got up and started to exit. Emily and her group had a quick discussion and then JJ and friends hurried off.

Hutch stood up and tried to stretch his back which was starting to protest. His legs were too long for the space assigned to them and he was finding it hard to get comfortable.

Ali and Laura decided they wanted hot drinks. Starsky spoke to Emily and asked, "Where did your friends go?"

"Oh, they've gone to get strawberries and cream and fresh tea. It's cup of tea time, after all."

"A great British institution."

"Absolutely. Plus I'm staying to make sure nobody pinches our seats –"

"-pinches?"

"Takes, steals, sits in them because they think we've gone!"

"Oh, I see."

"Well, to be honest, I don't think they let non-ticket holders in until after five but this is my seat and I am not leaving this court until it gets dark! I want my money's worth and I don't want to miss a second of the Woodies."

Starsky laughed. He suggested to his wife, Hutch and Laura that they go get strawberries and cream and stretch their legs if they wanted to. He said he'd stay and keep Emily company and look after their seats.

"Hutch?" Emily called after him. "I think they've got cushions in the shop if you're struggling."

"Thanks, I might have a look."

Starsky and Emily chatted for a few minutes and then the ripple of applause started again. The Woodies and their opponents had arrived. Emily couldn't have had a bigger grin on her face. People gradually trickled in as the warm-up started and most people were back in their seats by the time the third game was underway. JJ and friends appeared laden down with paper bowls of strawberries, plastic spoons and cardboard cups filled with tea.

Starsky saw Ali and Laura coming back carrying coffees and a bowl of strawberries each. They also each had a cushion tucked under one arm. Hutch was following with two bowls of strawberries and two cushions under his arm. He nearly tripped over someone's feet but managed not to go flying.

"Hey, Buddy, thanks a lot," Starsky said as Hutch handed him a bowl of strawberries and cream. "I hope one of those cushions is for me?"

"Get your own cushion!" Hutch said with a frown. Then he grinned and handed Starsky one. "Got ya!"

As the match went on, it was clear that there were a very vocal group of Canadians one side of the court cheering for Knowles and Nestor and an even larger group of Aussies cheering for Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde. Starsky, JJ and Emily were they only ones really cheering in their stand. Everyone else was clapping politely but not getting that vocal.

Starsky had thought Emily was a quietly spoken English woman when he'd first spoken to her, he was therefore somewhat amused with how loud she got during the match. The last set was really a battle royal with points going one way and then the other. Emily cheered every point the Woodies won and Starsky got caught up in the excitement and joined her. At the end of one very intense game, Todd Woodbridge threw a huge grin up at them as he walked back to his chair. Emily nearly fell through the floor and muttered: "I've died and gone to heaven!"

The match was finally won by the Woodies and the cheers went on for ages.

It was nearly seven p.m., by the time the third and what was to be the last match started. Hutch, Laura and Ali went off to find some more food, Starsky made them promise to bring him back a burger. Emily was persuaded to take a short break to get more tea and use the toilet. Her sister nearly had to drag her out of her chair to get her to go but she practically ran back to her seat just in time for the next women's doubles match to start. As it got to the final set, the sun started to go down. The grounds started to get quieter as matches finished and people started to head home. A few die-hards came and joined the slightly thinning crowd on Court Two. Everyone was glad to see a few more games of tennis before they went home. It was a close run thing to get the match finished before it became too dark to see but they just managed it.

Starsky's companions stretched their stiff muscles and gathered up their cushions and bags. Starsky tapped Emily on the shoulder. "Thanks for your company today. It's been great fun! A day to remember."

"You're welcome. I hope I didn't deafen you!"

"Nah! It was fun to have someone to cheer with."

"I think I got some great pictures of the Woodies. Would you like me to send you some copies?"

"That would be great. Here, let me give you my email address and then you can email me and I'll send you my address details," Starsky offered. He scribbled his email address on a receipt and handed it to Emily, who put it in her pocket. Then everyone said goodbye and exchanged hugs and headed out of Court Number Two and off to find trains home.

"Well, Buddy," Hutch asked as he flopped into a seat on the train. "Did you have a good day?"

"It was a great day! Thank you all for coming along!"

Hutch yawned. "Wouldn't have missed it for the world, Buddy. It was an experience!"

Three weeks later – Hutchinson Residence

"Hey, Hutch?" Starsky called, as he walked in through Hutch's front door. "Guess what arrived today?"

"No idea. What?"

"The photos from Wimbledon. Emily sent us some good ones."

Hutch looked over his friend's shoulder as Starsky held them out for him to see. There was a nice one of Starsky, him and their wives that JJ had taken for them. There was one really good one of him and Starsky talking that he didn't even know Emily had taken. There were lots of the Woodies playing their match and the last one was of a group of 'bears'.

"I still don't know what that was all about," Hutch said.

"Neither do I, Pal, but it's a great memory!" Starsky said with a grin.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N It's June 2020 and there will be no Wimbledon this year because of COVID-19. I'm really going to miss it. I started thinking about my favourite memories of trips to Wimbledon and one SPECIAL day came to mind. So here is my tribute to a wonderful Wimbledon memory with a "what if Starsky and Hutch had been in the queue behind me" thrown in. If only!

It also answers the May SHFAFF Friday Fiction prompt: "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Published June 29th 2020 for what would have been the start of Wimbledon.

The names of the real gang of girls have been changed to protect the innocent!