Have been loving the BBC coverage which is superb. The red button service which allows one to pick whatever sport you want to see from time to time is just fabulous. You never know while watching some tennis when you suddenly fancy a bit of beach volleyball or a quick slalom run in the canoeing.
After a week of that, yesterday I went to the first evening session of the athletics. Brilliant. (Did I say brilliant before?) Everything.
First, the travel. After all the crap about how the system would fail, of course it didn't. My colleagues who are still working aren't finding it harder to get to work, and for those going to the Games, my experience of the Javelin from St Pancras to Stratford was well, just brilliant. A few minutes in a nice train and you are there.
The volunteers are pleasant and friendly and make everything tick over, just like you would expect volunteers to do (ie friendly outgoing people who volunteered because they want to do something, as opposed to grudging temps being paid minimum wage to do something menial when they would prefer to be playing computer games).
The Park is just stunningly well designed. Trying to absorb 200,000 folk isn't easy, but it manages. Its all made over canals, so it offers all these banks, which have been covered in flowers. So-o-o pretty. Lovely just to wander around, even with thousands of other union jack bedecked fans.
The odd busker out there to entertain us.
The spectators, well they are brilliant too. One of the great joys of London is that there is a community of almost every nation in the world already resident. So even without an influx of tourists we already have supporters for almost every country here in situ. (The mate I took with me to the athletics had just come from the Water Polo watching Hungary lose to Spain with his Hungarian wife. In the stadium we had a row of Argentinians in front of us with one large and very over-excited black American lady in the middle. One gene all Americans seem to carry is the one giving them the ability to whoop at high pitch. She was no different.) Unlike say football, there is no animosity here. Its all good. We are all after a good time. And are having it.
The venues look fabulous. Water polo arena
Other odd bits of architecture too.
Even the Mac Donalds looks fine!
The Orbit, I thought a bit silly. Until I got there. Now, I love it. You have to get up close to enjoy it.
And finally of course, the stadium. Impressive from the outside.
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| Yes me looking smug outside the stadium |
Very impressive inside.
The athletics, even though the the first Friday is the weakest night, was still, well, brilliant. Great performances from team GB. Both long jumpers through to the Final (including Chris Tomlinson who failed to do the same in a much weaker European Championships only a month before), both 1500m runners through the heats too, a valiant performance from Jo Pavey and Julia Bleasdale in the women's 10k finishing 7th and 8th in personal bests (and 1st and 2nd non-Africans), and above all, of course, Jessica Ennis, finishing the first day of the heptathlon with a terrific 200m. She really should win gold now, and then rake it in as Olympic gold-medallist who looks stunningly gorgeous and has a lovely infectious personality. Some folk have it all.
Not forgetting that there were some foreigners running and throwing things. Majewski of Poland retained his Olympic title in Men's Shot (time for me to claim my dual nationality) and as I predicted to my mate, Dibaba, came home first Ethiopian (at one stage the three Ethiopian and three Kenyans were running alternately in order in the first 6) with a terrific sprint at the end after running 9 1/2kms. In perfect conditions. No rain, not (as is often the case with Olympics) in blinding heat, just a mild summer's evening. (Have I used the word brilliant?)
And at the end, a few photos of the stadium at night. The journey home was of course easy - even got a seat on the train.
The only thing that darkened my mood this morning was the Today programme running an article on people who weren't enjoying the games, mostly eastenders whingeing about them not benefiting the local area (or. lets face it, not benefiting them, which in their eyes should no doubt be the sole aim of any national activity). Of course they weren't asked what they were doing. They could of course have volunteered to help, but that's not what they see the world as about. They should be paid for not doing anything. Apart from moaning.
Of course, I don't mind people not enjoying sport or the Games. Just so long as they do it quietly, slinking away under their stones. And staying there. Forever. After all, isn't that the most wonderful thing about the Games? Everyone is enjoying it and we are not listening to endless moaning about things? Yes I know Syria, and Iraq, and the Euro, and recession are all still out there. But endlessly whinging about them, or listening to experts (or worse still totally uninformed members of the public) wailing about how awful they are DOES NOTHING AT ALL TO IMPROVE ANY OF THEM. AT ALL. NOTHING. Its just pointless. Whereas watching young people giving their all, actually makes us all feel better. And almost everyone is feeling better.
And without wishing to be jingoistic, I really cannot imagine anything which could show the country, or at least London, in a better light than the Games. So well organised, so well presented, all so cleverly designed. Brilliant. Brilliantly brilliant.
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