Olympic Inspiration

Another Olympic post. Sorry but I am consumed by it.

One it the Olympics legacies is that it will inspire young people to take up sports. Has it inspired us or are we just great a spectating and celebrating other’s achievements?

Etch A Sketch

Does everyone remember the Etch A Sketch? What a fabulous toy. My children have one and it goes everywhere. I was so pleased to see the Spanish basketball coach using one to convey strategy and tactics.

In the modern days of electronic tablets, the most common of which, the IPad, this was somewhat surprising. He was able to quickly draw and erase his messages to each of the players, making it all look as simple as child’s play.

The Spanish team beat Team GB whose coach decided to take them to the classroom by using a whiteboard. Not quite as cool.

Bunty

 

19 Olympic Medals

Last night saw American swimmer Michael Phelps become the greatest Olympian of all time by winning gold in the Men’s 4x200m relay. A sensational race and emphatic win for the 19 medal Olympian which had me glued to my seat.

Celebrated by the entire Aquatic Centre and the millions watching on television, it was a proud moment for Great Britain. History was made at London 2012 beating a 48 year old  record of Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina.

Olympics Open

Wow! Innovative, inspiring, celebratory, surreal, humorous, the words go on….

Danny Boyle’s imagination and story telling of British history was spectacular.

Let The Games Begin

The Olympic Games are now officially open. The opening ceremony hasn’t even occurred, the Olympic torch is still doing its rounds but Team GB have won their first game in women’s football.

Well, we don’t like doing things in order do we? Despite the great win, race relations overshadowed the opening games today with two headlining stories.

Olympic Team Lost In London

Did I hear this right? Were athletes from the American and Australian Olympic teams lost in London yesterday? Can you imagine spending between 6 and twelve hours on the plane and upon arrival to London, spending a quarter of the day trying to get to your accommodation  because the coach driver didn’t know where he was going….

I don’t whether to laugh or cry…

Olympic Security Scandal

Well, who can’t organise a p**s up in a brewery?????

LOCOG???

Amazingly the London Olympic organising committee commissioned one company, G4S, to hire and train 10,000 security guards for London 2012 and now the Territorial Army have been called in because they have a workforce shortage.

Gallant Loser

What a Wimbledon final!!! Britain hasn’t seen a finalist in Wimbledon in 74 years and despite Andy Murray’s bad PR a few years ago, it really felt like the nation was behind him and what a worthy finalist he was. The last British champion was Fred Perry in 1936 and in the first set, it looked like he it could be Andy Murray’s day.

His post match summary was extremely British. Dignified in defeat heralding the champion and ready to move on.

Just In Case…..

News out today is that British Pregnancy Advisory Service will be sending out contraception packs called “Just In Case”. In the pack will be the morning after pill and a couple of condoms all sent by post for free for Londoners during the summer months. The reason; apparently our health services are going to be so overwhelmed that they will not be able to service the numerous unsafe promiscuous encounters that may take place during the Olympics.

The slogan: “just because your car has a spare tyre, doesn’t mean you want to get a puncture”.

Football Shame: Euro 2012

Following a BBC damning documentary investigating racism in football in the Ukraine and the recent Olympic ticket touting by their General Secretary, I am left to wonder how they have even been allowed to host Euro 2012 and why they are not banned from the Olympics. The ethics of the country is appalling.

Olympic Tangle

The ArcelorMittal Orbit opened last week as the newest addition to the London skyline and caused much debate.   Publicly funded, the structure was designed by artist Anish Kapoor and it offers a panoramic views from the top for an entry fee of £15.

Criticisms have been compared to

Bus-Tops

A new initiative as part of the 2012 Olympic cultural legacy is to use the tops of bus stops as spaces to display art. Bus-Tops project digital art  in London on the top of 30 shelters in 20 boroughs offering commuters a surprisingly pleasant view from the top of a double decker bus.

  

Olympic Torch Nightmare

If you’ve been travelling on the London underground recently you may have noticed the huge posters naming people who have been nominated to carry the Olympic torch for a portion of its journey to London.  The posters also ask people to nominate someone they think should be put forward to have the honour of being torch bearer.  Being nominated and winning would be my worst nightmare.

5 Rings Gets My Vote

Countdown to the London 2012 Olympics has officially started.  People can now register for tickets.

However, the debate surrounding the Olympics today is split into two camps.