LOCOG Float In A New Pitch
I took this picture from the Emirates Air-Line today.
LOCOG Float In A New Pitch
Are LOCOG, the Olympic organisers, floating in a new pitch for one of the events?
Or perhaps it’s for one of the demonstration sports; overwater British bulldog. In this verion pushing contestants into the river is allowed.
Rules For Athletes At The Games
There used to be a whole set of rules for visitors to London, mainly made up by Gerard Hoffnung. The only one I can remember is the one, that said that all brothels had a blue light outside of them.
Some of his rules and those who have parodied him are very appropriate for the Olympics.
- Have you tried the famous echo in the reading room of the British Museum?
- Winston Churchill’s favourite branch of Starbucks was the one in New Oxford Street, because he considered it to have the cleanest toilets
- All buses are actually like taxis, and the driver is legally obliged to take you wherever you demand. All you have to do is climb on and declare where you wish to be taken in a loud voice.
- It is important to shake hands with everyone in your train compartment.
If you type Gerard Hofnung into Google, lots of more inappropriate suggestions will be found.
I did find one for hurdlers and high jumpers, that it was OK to jump the barriers at Underground stations. On the other hand, after what happened to Jean Charles de Menezes, I wouldn’t try it.
The Athletes Have Arrived
The Olympic Village is now open and athletes and officials are now arriving and moving into their homes for the duration of the Olympics.
I went twice through Stratford today.
The first time, I took the train DLR from Stratford International to the Emirates Air-Line and the only Olympic person I saw was a lost G4S security guard trying to get to Star Lane station. She was Swedish in her mid-twenties or so. So much for jobs for local people!
In the evening, I walked through the Eastfield shopping centre and there were a few athletes about, buying a few things they’d forgotten.
As I took the Central line back to Bank for a bus home, I started to think what might have been.
C and I liked our sport and especially the equestrian disciplines. We had also planned that we would be retiring to London and whether we would have done so by now, I do not know. But I suspect not, as politicians had made the stud virtually unsaleable.
But I’m here now. And alone!
So in some ways, I’m rather sad, but then there are athletes ready to give that lift that I need, just like Chris Brasher, Chris Chataway, Derek Ibbotson and Bruce Tulloh have in the 1950s. I always had a soft spot for Tulloh, who wasn’t the biggest and often ran barefoot. I’ll rerember seeing his victory in Belgrade that I watched on black and white television as long as I live.
Wiggins Plays The Gentleman
It’s not often that the Corinthian spirit shines through in modern sport, but when someone decided to throw tacks on the route of the Tour de France yesterday, Bradley Wiggins slowed the peloton to allow one of his rivals, Cadel Evans, to catch up. Read about it all here. Here’s an extract.
Race official Jean-Francois Pescheux confirmed: “The nails were mainly thrown on the ground around 200m from the summit.
“It was obviously done on purpose. We have the tacks but we don’t know who spread them. They are imbeciles.”
However, he was quick to praise the actions of Wiggins. “Sky showed they are for fair play,” he added. “They saw that something had happened and they slowed the peloton so that things could come together for the ride to the finish.”
Tour etiquette dictates that rivals do not take advantage of another rider’s misfortune and, as soon as he realised what was happening, Team Sky’s lead rider called for a truce.
“I thought it was the honourable thing to do,” said 32-year-old Wiggins who is aiming to become the first British rider to win the race. “Nobody wants to benefit from someone else’s misfortune.”
So in fact Wiggins was just following the etiquette. It’s a pity other sports don’t do the same.
There’s more on Wiggins here, who has now been hailed as Le Genteman by the Press.
Two Chariots of Fire
I’m off in a minute or so to see the new stage play of Chariots of Fire.
Then hopefully, it’ll be to the cinema to see the newly-re-released film.
What a way to tee-up the Olympics! Sadly alone!
I did run out of time as the play was longer than I thought. So it was either go hungry and rush half-way across London or come home and eat and see the film tomorrow or later in the week.
I chose the latter, especially as that allowed me to have a soaking in my dreadful bath.
Are Rangers Really Going To Play In Division 3?
This post on the BBC web site leaves a lot of holes to be exploited and arguments to be settled.
There’s going to be a lot of money kilted by lawyers.
Tour de Force In The Tour de France
It has been fascinating watching Team SKY control the most difficult stage in the Tour de France today. As ever ITV’s coverage has been ruined by advertising breaks. At least there is a decent commentary onf BBC Radio 5 Live.
I suppose if Team SKY get some of their riders on the podium in Paris, we might get the Tour coverage on one of their channels.
Olympic Security in Perspective
It has been reported, that two British climbers and five are missing after an avalanche in France.
We are rightly worried about security for the Olympic Games, but I think we are very much overly so.
Most of the people-related problems in the Olympics, will be drunks falling under Tube trains and serious health problems like heart attacks. As a regular user of London’s transport network, I know my places, where problems are likely to occur, but I won’t follow the government and most of those listening to radio phone-ins and scare-monger.
As I write this there is a Colonel on the radio, saying that we wouldn’t be able to provide the extra security, once we’ve reduced the size of the Armed Forces. I’ve heard his arguments many times before from left-wing union leaders, when a factory is being closed.
The real security failure has been the non-fulfilment of the contract by G4S to provide the security, they said they would provide.
The largest mole, I’ve ever seen, has just scurried down my road in the direction of the Olympic site. I assume, he’s part of the moles’ Mountain Brigade.
Does Trump Have A Brain?
In this report from the BBC, about the opening of Donald Trump’s new golf course near Aberdeen, there is these two paragraphs.
The development at Menie has been controversial, with environmental campaigners opposed to the construction of a course on protected sand dunes.
However, Mr Trump said he believed he had created the world’s greatest course.
I know nothing about golf, except a few good jokes, but no sporting venue could be called the greatest in the world, just after it opened. If I take my local football stadium, the Emirates, where Arsenal play, it was designed to be one of the best club grounds in the world and it is certainly good. But no Gooner would say it is the best for a few years yet, until he or she has visited every club ground with a capacity of over 60,000 or so.
Trawl the Internet and there is a lot of deep discussion about this golf course. I have read some tonight on respected web sites and I can’t get it out of my head, that the development has annoyed too many people to succeed. As I said, I know nothing about golf, but many others do and they will build developments, that will appeal to Trump’s target market. If they are better courses, the punters won’t go to Trump’s course. Trump should also remember he’s not dealing with bumpkins in the Southern part of the United States, but proud Scots, who don’t like being told they are wrong. Has he ever watched Local Hero?
I also feel that Trump is going to have to fight the dunes at Menie. I used to live at Felixstowe and I know Suffolk isn’t Scotland, but the dunes there had a mind of their own, which didn’t help the golf course by the Deben.
Trainers Boycott Race at Worcester Over Low Prize Money
It had to happen, as after all bookmakers can go off-shore to avoid paying tax and the levy, which funds prize money, but trainers can’t train horses in Gibraltar and fly them in for the race.
Unless a solution is found, racing will die in the UK and the mugs will bet on football, videos of horse racing and flies crawling up the wall.
If the British public reckon bankers are an evil lot, then they should take a strong look at bookmakers.
The Anonymous Widower 