When you were a kid did you ever get into Lego? Perhaps you still are?

I have adults friends and relatives who love a bit of Lego, and these days the constructions come in all themes and all shapes and sizes. From farmyards to Star Wars and Harry Potter's Hogwarts, these kits come with strict instructions, specialist bricks and other objects, which when carefully and meticulously put together, turn into something quite magical. If you want you can recreate the White House, or the Roman Coliseum, the London Sky Line ... all in Lego!

But today I'm not talking about these modern marvels. No, I'm thinking about those basic, simple plastic blocks in bright primary colours which I loved as a child.

There was no order to it  ... usually the Lego bricks were kept in a box and then scattered on the floor. Like the kids of today, we then rifled through them to find what we wanted, making a lot of noise and grabbing what we needed to build that simple house, or car, or even people (before the days when Lego made plastic people) And of course, the best thing was, at the end of it all, we could smash it to pieces and the following day we could use the bricks again to make something new, confident in the knowledge that whatever Lego piece we chose, it would always connect with another.

It all seemed so simple, but of course, it wasn't. The development of the child's toy had not happened overnight.

It has all begun around 1932 when a Danish carpenter called Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys. Two years later, his company became known as 'Lego' - in Danish, the phrase leg godt  means "play well" ! 

By 1947 the company was developing plastic toys and in 1949 they began producing a new product, 'Automatic Binding Bricks'.  Other companies were also producing similar self-locking blocks, and Lego continued to refine and develop the ultimate 'locking' design, and to search for an outstandingly durable material from which to make their building blocks.

And so it was that 63 years ago today - on January 28 1958 - that the modern Lego brick design was patented.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Back at the start of it all Christiansen had a motto -  "only the best is good enough". He encouraged his workers to never skimp on quality, always producing the best. That is still the Lego Group's motto today and it's stood the Danish company in good stead because Lego is now one of the most recognisable and valuable brands in the world. Not just all those building bricks and incredible kits for adult Lego connoisseurs, but even amusement parks. I've had a few fun days myself at Legoland in the town of Windsor in the UK!

Films, competitions, those theme parks dotted around the world - the Lego Group continues to develop it's brand and products, but I guess it's that iconic brick which we all remember. We certainly remember it when we unexpectedly step on one of them in bare feet ! 

But what I love about Lego is that the original concept and even the fancy kits today are all about IMAGINATION and creativity. And it's about perseverance ... if at first you don't succeed, try try again.

The individual blocks in themselves are nothing. But locked into another, and another, and another, and another ... we can build something out of nothing. We can imagine something and build it. And if we're not happy, we can admit it hasn't worked, and try again, re-building  it using the same blocks which we discarded on the first design.

Out of the chaos of the multi-coloured masses of Lego pieces scattered on the floor in front of us can come order, so long as we have the determination to keep trying, re-thinking our design, and maybe use the bricks and blocks in a slightly different configuration.

There's something spiritual about that.

Out of the chaos of our lives can come order. With a motivation to do our best, some imagination, a good deal of determination and maybe a guide to help us from time to time, we can create something beautiful.

And if it doesn't happen the first, or even the umpteenth time, if we develop our skills, and talents and creativity and motivations, and use them again, and again perhaps in a slightly different way, we can begin to create that beauty in our lives which we have craved.

And - if we think beyond ourselves, the same can be true for our communities, our world. We just need to be committed to creating that beauty, determined not to give up, even if at the moment everything looks and feels so messy!

So - maybe it's time to start building!

Right now I'm spending a bit more time than usual watching sport on the TV.

No - I'm not talking about the football (or if you're reading this in the States, the 'soccer').

The Euro football tournament is  currently happening and of course, it's all over the British media, especially now because the English team will face up to Italy in the final at Wembley stadium on Sunday this weekend!

I put my hand up and admit that I'd actually rather watch paint dry than endure a football match on TV. I've been to 'live' matches and they are different. Great fun, much excitement.

But watching on TV, it's not just about the actual game. Hours upon hours are dedicated to all the pre-match conversations, then there's the so called 'expert' chat during half time and of course at the end of the match all those experts unpicking every minor detail of the 90 minutes of play - why what the 'experts' thought would happen didn't happen, and so on and so forth.  I find it all rather tedious. So I'm not talking about watching football.

No - I'm talking tennis.

Yes, I know many of you reading may think that watching a tennis match is also pretty boring. But not me.

You see, it all comes down to personal interest and personal choice.

I can't bear watching all the hype around football and all the machismo around the players and the game. But I love watching those tennis players with all the thought and tactics that are employed. I love experiencing the ups and downs of play, which can swing so quickly in favour of one player or the other. There's so much 'thinking' involved ... as well as the athleticism and dedication which we can all marvel at.

One of the tennis 'Grand Slam' tournaments, and the only grass court 'Major' competition  - is held in a town in southwest London which is world famous. 

Wimbledon.

In fact, the Wimbledon Championships is recognised as being the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. 

Right now we're on the brink of the final weekend of Wimbledon 2021 ... it's the Ladies Singles Final tomorrow (Saturday) and the Gentleman's Singles Final on Sunday. And there will be the doubles finals as well. These days there are junior tournaments and the Wimbledon Wheelchair championship matches.

But on this day back in 1877 it was the start of the very first Wimbledon Championship. The tournament was held, as it still is today, at the  All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (AEC & LTC) in Wimbledon, London.

The AEC & LTC had been founded in July 1868, as the All England Croquet Club. But as the interest in croquet was waning, in February 1875  lawn tennis was added to the interests at the club.

In June 1877 the club decided to organise a tennis tournament to pay for the repair of its pony roller, which they used to maintain the lawns, or the outdoor grass courts.

Although the game of 'tennis' can be traced back to 12th century France, in England it became what we now know as Real Tennis which was (and still is) played on an indoor court and became known as the 'Game of Kings'. There appear to have been various incarnations of the game in different countries.

It was the introduction of technology, namely the invention of the first lawn mower in Britain in 1830, which is thought to have led to the ability to prepare grass courts - or lawns laid to grass - which could be used as a fairly safe playing surface. This in turn enabled sports and leisure enthusiasts to create  pitches, greens, playing fields and ... tennis courts!

This development meant that the sports became more popular and people began to want standardised rules. It was in the mid 19th century that modern rules for many sports were first conceived, including ... lawn bowls, football, and lawn tennis.

The world's first 'tennis' club was actually founded in Leamington Spa in Warwickshire in England in 1872. In nearby Birmingham in the English Midlands, a few years earlier (between 1859 and 1865 actually) a chap called Harry Gem, a solicitor, and his friend Augurio Perera had developed a game that combined elements of another past time called 'racquets' (similar to squash) and the ball game pelota which hailed from the Basque region of Europe, on the French and Spanish border.

 

The duo first played the game on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham and a few years later the friends got together with two local doctors to  set up that first club on Avenue Road in Leamington Spa. It's here that the term "lawn tennis" was used as a name of an activity by a club for the first time. 

 

The game caught on and by May 1875 the Marylebone Cricket Club drew up the first standardised rules for tennis. 

 

Just two years later, the organisers of the first Wimbledon tournament had no precedent so, using those MCC regulations, they had to come up with a set of rules for a tournament.  

 

That first event only included a 'Gentlemen's Singles' competition, and 22 men played on the now famous grass courts, having each had to pay for the honour of taking part ... the entry fee was one guinea.

 

The tournament began on 9 July 1877, and the final – delayed for three days by rain – was played on 19 July in front of a crowd of about 200 people who each paid an entry fee of one shilling. Hopefully the club made the money they needed for that pony grass roller!

 

Until fairly recently, rain was an issue for Wimbledon and I've spent many an hour over the years watching re-runs of old matches on TV while 'rain stopped play'. However, in 2009 the All England Club put a retractable roof over the famous Centre Court, and in 2019 the other main show court, No. 1 Court, also got a roof.

 

Back on World Poetry Day on March 21, my 'One Day at a Time' blog featured one of my favourite poems - 'If' by Rudyard Kipling - but what I didn't point out at the time is that there's a line in the poem which is engraved over the entrance to Centre Court at Wimbledon.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:

 

These are words, of course, to inspire those players who are about to perform, hopefully at their best, on one of the world's most prestigious courts at the oldest tennis tournament in the world, with all the history that involves.

 

As today's competitors step under that inscription, I'm sure they are aware of the many many incredible sports men and women who have preceded them and all those who have also played on that hallowed turf. I hope so, anyway. Because although I'm sure they are thinking about their own game, the legacy of those who have gone before, including the early pioneers of the game, must be acknowledged.

 

But the words can also inspire us.

 

We might not be able to play world class tennis, or kick a ball at the highest level of football, or change the world, or do something spectacular.

 

But we all face 'triumphs' and successes, and 'disasters' and failures in our lives.

 

Life is like that. Ups and Downs.

 

And if we can face them both with equal measure - then our lives can surely achieve some sort of 'balance'.

 

More of that tomorrow!

 

 

I've been doing this daily blog now since January 1st ... 2021 ...

I know, it might seem longer to some of you, it does sometimes feel like an age to me!

And as the months have progressed, I've turned to my computer oftentimes to gain inspiration for my daily 'thought'.

Historic dates - like yesterday's reflection on the Battle of Hastings in 1066 - and marking days when people have been born, or died, or done amazing things. There are some great websites which are packed full of information. I've learned loads actually!

And then, sometimes, I come across just weird quirky stuff that purportedly happened 'On this day' in history.

Take today, for instance. October 15th.

I turn to one of my favourite websites which I've often plundered for inspiration - On This Day -and I find this ....

Apparently, on October 15th 1520 King Henry VIII of England 'ordered bowling lanes at Whitehall'.

I was hooked. What was all this about?

When we think on Henry the Eighth I guess we automatically think of his six wives ... Catherine of Aragon (Divorced) Anne Boleyn (Beheaded) Jane Seymour (Died) Anne of Cleves (Divorced) Catherine Howard (Beheaded) and the lucky Catherine Parr (Survived). 

And, if like me you adore historical films ... you'll think of Henry mostly as a big fat man who could hardly walk or ride a horse, let alone play bowls, so what's all this about?

I dug a bit deeper and on a fantastic site called TWISTED-HISTORY.com I discovered that indeed, on this day in 1520, King Henry VIII signed the orders to have bowling lanes installed at his Royal residence - the Palace of Whitehall - in London.

This was before he grew into that old, fat guy so desperate to have a male heir that he would do anything, including killing his wives. In 1520. Henry was still a young man, tall, very attractive to women (and he knew it) and athletic. He was a fit guy and having an indoor bowling lane at his home was a status symbol ... maybe like a super duper indoor gym today, with a swimming pool, outdoor tennis court and a personal cinema all rolled into one.  And he was KING!

So he 'ordered' the bowling lanes to be installed at the palace at Whitehall.  Actually, as King of England, he could 'order' anything he wanted. A new wife, a divorce, a new horse, new clothes, a new adviser ... the only thing he couldn't 'order' was a male heir! How ironic!

But this 'ordering' thing is intriguing and it's got me thinking ... what would I 'order' if I could had that sort of power? 

Material things?  A new house ... a cottage or flat by the sea would be ideal for me. Enough money so I don't have to wake up at night worrying about paying the bills or the future. As an author, I'd love to 'order' a best selling book/novel or ten ... that would be amazing. Although probably exhausting!

But actually I think if I could 'order' anything in my life I'd love to live in a world which is loving and kind, not competitive to the point of anguish, and a world where people just get on, less confrontational, no arguments, war and conflict. Some might say that's unrealistic because humans aren't like that... so maybe I'd like to 'order' people to work harder at love and kindness, to make themselves vulnerable to change.  Just to be better at doing this life thing!

I'd like to live in a world where we all try, at least, to get on with each other. Where no one feels they are superior to others. Where we are all treated equally, not judged for our possessions, looks, colour, sexuality, style, status, jobs, the place we live ... you know what I'm talking about. 

And yes, I'd like to 'order' a world where resources are more equally shared, so that those of us who have more are willing to give some of that up for those who have little. I live in an island which is beautiful, but unfortunately even here we have a great divide between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. I would like to 'order' a Jersey where it's not impossible for people to buy a house because costs are so high. I would like to order a world where some people don't have to work three jobs just to pay extortionate rents and to put food on the table for their family. 

 For that to happen I might have to order some radical social changes and that might not sit well with some people.

But hey ... I'm doing the ordering! 

And would I want a bowling alley in my house? 

No ... but (tongue in cheek)...  a swimming pool would be fantastic!!!!