'I was sitting in row B ... I just know Tim saw me'

Wimbledon Eye witness: Raymond Whitaker meets the Henmaniacs of SW19

It wasn't hard to diagnose Sue Callaghan's Henmania. At the front of the overnight queue outside Wimbledon yesterday (though she moved a few places down in our photograph in which she is number one), she was wrapped in at least two Union flags, one of which had "Go On Tim" inscribed in ballpoint pen on the edge. For good measure, she was wearing a Union Jack hat.

"I got into Centre Court yesterday to watch him," said the Surrey housewife, whose forearm was festooned with wristbands from previous days at the championships. "I was sitting in row B, and I know he saw me. I must get in again today. He needs the support."

Some people who had camped overnight in London SW19 confessed that they had hoped rain would cut short Tim Henman's semi-final on Friday evening, so that they would get the chance to see him. Their prayers were a little too fervent, however. Yesterday bursts of rain were disrupting the consummation of the nation's love affair with the Home Counties heart-throb, reducing the BBC to airing Bill Clinton's reflections on tennis.

Mrs Callaghan ("I do this every year") started queueing almost as soon as the gates closed on Friday. Once through the turnstiles she would be rushing to join another queue to buy returned tickets for Centre Court. Only the first handful stood any chance of getting in, especially with Henman seeking to become the first British men's singles finalist in 63 years. But, as Mrs Callaghan explained, being first in line outside conferred no privileges. "I will run as fast as I can, but some of these younger ones behind me might beat me to it," she said.

It was not enough for the whole nation to be behind Tim. Several of those on the pavement outside Gate Three seemed convinced that he could not become the first British winner since Fred Perry in 1936 without their personal participation. People such as Roy Walker [number 2 in the photograph], from Southampton, who was thrusting a piece of cardboard saying "Toot 4 Tim" at passing cars. Or George Tregoning [3], the turning-points of whose life coincide with Wimbledon.

"Today is my 25th wedding anniversary," he said. "Judy [4] and I got engaged on this very day in 1974, when Jimmy Connors beat Ken Rosewall. And our daughter Clare [5] is 18 today. Her sister Katy [6] is 13. It's the first time we've brought the girls along to watch." Mr Tregoning, who coaches junior tennis in the West Country, said a Brit getting through to the final, "win or lose", would boost the sport at the grassroots.

Sara Hirst [7], from Leeds, recently celebrated her 40th birthday, which made her reflect on all the things she hadn't yet done in her life. So she decided to spend her birthday money on going to Wimbledon for the first time with her friend Mary Taylor [8], from Eastbourne. Henman's progress was "a big thing for the nation", said Ms Hirst. "It's about time, anyway. He's going to come out winning."

Yes, but what about the issue of Tim's sex appeal? "Too young for me," said Lee Chamberlain [9], from Scarborough. "Rafter's all right," said her daughter, Dayle Austin [10]. What was the overseas view? "He doesn't do it for me," said Jenn Binning [11], a Canadian nanny in Wimbledon who decided on impulse to join the overnight queue with her compatriot, Stacey Patterson [12], after the pubs closed. "But sure, I'll probably cheer for him." On reflection it dawned that the kind of girls who squeal at tennis players are too young to be sleeping on pavements outside the All England Club.

Kusemi Dlamini [13], from South Africa, was a reminder that Wimbledon is a world event. A former Rhodes scholar at Oxford who was posted to London a month ago by the diamond conglomerate De Beers, he could not believe his luck at finding himself living within walking distance of the courts. "It's a splendid opportunity to attend a world-class tournament," he said.

Some longer-term residents of Wimbledon like to believe that the championships bring Sodom and Gomorrah to their corner of SW19 for two weeks every year. But the man in charge of policing the event, Superintendent Stephen Grainger, said yesterday that there had been only one arrest inside the grounds. Investigating an unattended bag, police found drugs inside, which was unfortunate for the owner.

After cocaine at Ascot, was Wimbledon succumbing as well? Superintendent Grainger was not going to be drawn. "I have about 50 officers under my control, and a lot of those are traffic wardens," he said. "We are not going to search 35,000 people a day for drugs."

As the turnstiles opened at 9.30am and Mrs Callaghan sprinted through, one woman working in a hospitality tent could be heard telling another: "Cheer up. Only another two days to go." Rain might yet interfere with that prediction, but it proved that even in SW19, Henmania was not quite universal.