Boodles Tennis at Stoke Park

For those who know me, you will be well aware of my love for tennis. For as long as I can remember, from the middle of the May to the end of the first week in July, I have been glued to every tennis match I can get my eyes on, from Roland Garros to Queens and finally Wimbledon. However I have a secret to tell you all. For the past three years I have worked at a relatively unknown tennis event hosting BIG players.

The Boodles tennis event at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire is one of the best kept secrets (well for now anyway!) in the British tennis season. Held at the exclusive luxury hotel and country club, which many will recognise from some highly acclaimed movies, such as James Bond's 'Goldfinger', Bridget Jones's 'mini-break' rowing scene and most notably Daniel Craig's dramatic ending on the steps at the front of the clubhouse in 'Layer Cake'. It is also very special to me - my cousin Charles was married here and my mum also won various tennis events herself here.

The tournament started in 2002 as a chance for the top players to practice in between their week of tennis at the Queens Club and the start of the much anticipated Wimbledon Grand Slam. The Boodles event, sitting between the 17th June and the 21st of June, sees the tennis elite casually wander around the grounds chatting to guests, warming up and then playing their exhibition matches. The show court on which they play the best of 3 sets is wonderfully intimate, you feel you could almost touch the players. Now when I say the top players attend this tiny event, I am not fabricating this point. Djokovic, Murray, Del Potro, Tsonga, Gasquet, Cilic, Isner are just some of the top seeds that grace the order of play on a daily basis - no messing around, clearly!

Here are some of the juicy snaps I managed to take over the delicious week.

Gasquet

Isner

 We saw more of Isner at this event than at Wimbledon this year (poor Isner and his knee!)

 And of course, how could I not mention the sexy Dimitrov! No sign of his girlfriend Sharapova (although she has made an appearance at the tournament in previous years!)

Dimitrov

 And then of course the creme de la creme of players

Djokovic

As you can imagine, all of the days are incredibly popular! The tennis is always spectacular.

I must admit, it's not just the tennis that brings the wow factor to this 'must attend' summer-social tournament. The clubs grounds boast marquees filled with bbq's, salad stands, champagne and pimms tents, all the while you can peruse the Boodles jewellery in the gallery, or for more masculine pastimes, the array of HR Owen luxury cars.

This year the event was sponsored by Veuve Cliquot - everything was orange (very in fashion you know!)

I will let you go now, but I cannot exclaim enough how sensational this tournament is. Its intimate, stylish and set in the most breathtaking location, just a stone's throw away from London. It's unmissable.

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Madame Butterfly

Firstly I'd like to apologise for being practically MIA over the past month and a bit. I do have a valid excuse however - finals. Now that they are over, I am back living in London with a huge backlog of posts. All in all thank you for bearing with me.

A few nights ago now, I did something completely out of the ordinary - I went to the Opera. I was very kindly invited by one of my best friends and her mother for an evening in Holland Park to watch Giacomo Puccini's vivid and atmospheric tragedy of 1899 - Madame Butterfly.

As always I was running pretty late, trying to veer my way through the Notting Hill crowds, but it also meant that when I did arrive I could snap a few piccys of the marquee and the glamorous opera goers without embarrassing my party.

I thought this guy was pretty beautiful

So before we all made our way in, we sat down to have a scrummy picnic and a glass of prosecco to wash it down with.
Suddenly a large bell rang to signal the start of the Opera. We hurried out of our seats in the food marquee and walked towards the stage. The way was lead with a sea of twinkly fairy lights that shone like the stars.

The girls in their almost matching flower power Zara blazers.

 As soon as we sat down, it started...

Now I will not ruin the story for those who haven't heard of Madame Butterfly before, but what I will say is that it was extraordinary. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting from the Opera, but what Madame Butterfly did offer was sensational music, wonderful acting and an incredibly touching storyline which left most of the crowd with mascara running down their faces. What made it even more special was that we were surrounded by such beautiful scenery in Holland Park; because although there was a roof to the marquee (classically unreliable British weather!), the sides to the marquee were open air, backing on to the ancient Holland House, all lit up with blue and purple lights.

 This night will not be forgotten in a hurry. What I will say is, if and when you are asked to the Opera, keep an open-mind, because i'm sure you like me will be pleasantly surprised.

The walk home was filled with wonderful thoughts of the night that had just passed. If you fancy having a look at tickets for Madame Butterfly or Holland Park's other sensational opera's then click here to check out their website.

The London Gossip x Follow @clemmiedarby