Just put the Ash in Ashes

What an awesome day! Its not everyday you get to go to the birthplace of cricket. Before I go into detail on what we saw I would just like to thank Tam for an awesome day. It was indeed a SUPERise!!

Where to begin... well we woke up this morning suffering from a killer hangover (as usual). Not only was the hangover killer, but breakfast was to die for :) eggs benedict alla Ash. At this stage I was completely unaware of Tam's plans for the day. All I knew was that it was a suprise that would blow my socks off! I still had no idea when we arrived at St John's Wood until low and behold Lord's appeared right in front of me. I could barely contain myself... overwhelmed is a word that comes to mind.

We had a guided tour that went for just under two hours, covering pretty much the whole complex. We started in the Lord's Museum which was unbelievable. Unfortunately they had a no camera rule so we were unable to take any photos of the memorabilia, but the following cricket treasure items were on display:

• The Ashes Urn and replica;
  
• A number of bats used by Brian Lara (including the bat used when he scored 501*);
  
• Baggy Greens from the early 1900's;
  
• Balls and Bats used in the very first Ashes series;
  
• Matty Hayden's bat used in his 375 run innings;
  
• Just to name a few...
  

Temptation was too great, we plucked up the courage to take a pic of the Ashes Urn with our phones. How could you not... Once we finshed in the museum we ventured into the Pavilion, where we got to see the members areas, committee rooms and the visitors changing rooms. Was really sureal thinking I was in the very room where so many cricketing legends have stood. Once again there was no photography allowed in any of these areas. Finally we got to inside the ground, and here we were allowed to take some photos. My first impression of the pitch was how close you are to the action. Its nothing like the Aussie grounds where you seem to be so far away. What an experience it would be to see a test match here. Our next section was the media centre. What a view... the journalists have the best spot, and free alcohol to boot. What more could you want! Anwyays thats enough of a novel, here are some of the pics... hope you like.