Dear BBC,
I love you very much. You are the national institution I have grown up admiring – the pinnacle of British class and intelligence. A worldwide information provider, and a global phenomenon.
As Adrian Mole, albeit fictionally, used to write to John Tydeman, sending in poetry to be appreciated by the finest eyes in the land, I now write to you, in rather a different capacity.
You see, I have a small problem. It’s small because, in the general scheme of important issues, it won’t feature on anyone’s list of top tens. It’s not a life-threatening situation, and it won’t matter to anyone else. Plus, there may be some egotism involved, on my part. Of which I am not proud.
My problem is this: on Friday, I had the most unbelievable luck. My brother and I had Centre Court tickets at Wimbledon. Wimbledon! The greenest and most wonderful sporting event in the world! Not only that, but we were going to be watching the man himself, ROGER FEDERER, play in the semi-finals. I cannot explain what an honour and a thrill this was for my brother and I. Like so many others, we have followed Mr Federer for many years, and to see him play in the flesh was a dream.
He did not disappoint.
My brother, in anticipation of this match, months ago, had purchased two fabulous red Roger Federer caps, so that – whether the great man was playing or not, we could show our appreciation for the years of great tennis he has given to the world. These caps are not cheap, I might add, but the proceeds go to the Roger Federer Foundation, and so all is well.
So, we were there, and Rodge was playing, and then Rodge won, and on top of all of that, we were on the television! Yes! My brother and I, in our red caps, were featured not once, but twice on your fabulous live match coverage, watching intently, egging our guy on.
Call me easily pleased if you like, dear BBC, but this means a lot. For years we have dreamed of being at a Wimbledon semi-final, and there’s the evidence! On screen, with Federer’s name next to us, and red hats displaying our allegiance. And given that, at the moment, I am living in a shed with my husband and our children, the Four Little Seymours, due to the fact that our house is a building site, a bit of excitement, glamour and escapism is very welcome indeed.
Friends messaged me, sending in screen shots of the footage. People stopped us as we walked out of the grounds, telling us to watch a replay when we get home! “You’re on the telly!”, they told us.
So, when I returned home, I did just that. I found the first half of the match on BBC iPlayer, and there we were, early on, watching the match. Marvellous! But when the lovely Sue Barker told us to go over to BBC 2, I could watch no more. Which is my problem. You see, just before Roger won, my brother and I were apparently shown at length, seemingly praying, and nervously willing Mr F through to his eleventh final at the good old AELTC. But can I find the second half of the match on BBC iPlayer anywhere?
No. I can not. It’s not there! To my dismay, there appears to be nowhere where I can re-live all of Roger and Tomas’ match in full, online, and see the clip where we, in our red RF hats, with Roger five games up in the third set, are “praying” to the maestro! Maybe I am wrong, but surely there are others out there who would like to see that BBC 2 footage, too…
Dear BBC, I do hope that this is an oversight on my part, and that I am simply being daft. But please, please can you tell me where I can find coverage of Federer and Berdych’s complete third set on Friday? I am sure you have it in your magical archive – after all, it only happened two days ago.
I remain, as Adrian Mole once put it, your humble and obedient servant. And I do so hope you can help me!
Yours sincerely,
Rebecca Seymour.
Go Federer!
0 Comments