THE OLYMPICS

Don't miss our post on the Hatfield proms. Our post on the Hatfield prom.

With the Olympics over we were finally able to prise the kids away from the TV, but only until the start of the Paralympics which they are now avidly watching! Usually Aisha & William watch very little TV and almost never during the day. Once the Olympics started though it was very hard to drag them off the couch as they lay there watching hour after hour of ANYTHING that came on. We are sure that if the Olympics showed 6 flies crawling up a wall they would watch it claiming at least one was Australian! They enjoyed the Olympics but not Australia's results, which were disappointing and quite surprising. 

Despite that, it was great that the Brits did so well. It would have been very sad, and the last thing the country needed just 12 months after the riots and with the worsening economy, if it had rained all through the opening & closing ceremonies, the transport system had fallen over and Team GB did not achieved all they were hoping to. That didn't stop us showing just whose side we are on. Fortunately the Poms did not crow too much about how well they went and how poorly we did. 

Not a squirrel !

Along with half the UK, we applied last year in the ballot for tickets through the London 2012 website. The process was disconcerting in that we had to first sign up with credit card details, select events and commit to paying for them without knowing which if any we would be allocated. We then waited months, checking our bank balance to see if any money had been taken out. It was only when it was that we knew we had been allocated something ( most of our friends and neighbours received nothing). Once that had happened we had to wait a further few months to see what the money had actually bought us.

Putting in for a stack of tickets could mean that you received them all, some or none. Our initial wish list was worth around £6,000 so we culled the selection back to a more modest £3,000. In the end we were allocated £850 worth for 3 Olympics events (basketball, wrestling and the closing ceremony) and a similar value for 7 Paralympics events (opening ceremony, athletics, swimming, judo, table tennis, tennis and murder ball). We feel incredibly lucky, but also guilty since this process has left so many friends and colleagues with no tickets at all.

As we now all know, the Olympics went fantastically, but it was really with the country-wide torch relay that people really started to get excited about what was largely a nervously anticipated Olympics. Would the weather be any good? How would the tube system cope? What about the traffic? Would they really have to shoot down rogue planes from the tops of various apartment buildings?

William and Sally first saw a used and unlit torch at the Highgate fair.

Several weeks later Aisha was at girl guides camp and saw the torch with the girls.  All credit to the leaders who managed to rouse 19 teenage girls at 5.30am on a Sunday morning and walk the 30 minutes to a good vantage point in a nearby village!

Happy at 5:30 am.

Mark & William went up to nearby North Finchley to see part of the torch relay too. The streets were lined with people, many of whom had waited several hours for their chance to see 10 seconds of someone jogging behind numerous sponsors' buses while carrying a bit of fire. We arrived about an hour before the torch was due and as the crowds grew, a bit of a carnival atmosphere developed. By the time to torch was in sight the normally busy streets were empty of cars but filled with people.

Blink and we could have missed it.

At 08:12 on 27th July 2012, everyone across the UK was invited to ring in the first day of the London 2012 Olympic Games with an event called All the Bells. We joined in by going down to watch Big Ben chiming 40 times in 3 minutes. This was a historic event, being only the 2nd time ever Big Ben has been put on manual and chimed other than to tell the time. The first time was in 1952, when it tolled 56 strokes for the funeral of King George VI. It was strange hearing the strikes for so long with the clock saying just after 10 past 8.

Like most of the UK we stayed up watching the opening ceremony. We thought it was very good, especially The Queen's surprise role, the industrial revolution scenes and Mr Bean. In hindsight we thought it was very British and, judging from some of the international commentary, perhaps a lot of it wasn't fully understood.

You may be surprised, but then again perhaps not, that the Olympics is one of the few times Mark has ever paid to watch sport. Our first Olympic event was two matches of women's basketball quarter-finals. The first of the matches was USA Vs Canada. The Canadian's valiantly did their best but were soundly beaten by the Americans. We were pleased to be decked out in Aussie flags, scarves (very generously sent to us by William's best friend Luke in Australia) and colours as, by chance, the 2nd session was Australia Vs China.

It was a fast, physical game with the lead changing several times but never by much. It was very thrilling for the kids, William yelling so much that his voice was almost gone the next day. Even Mark, not known for lowering himself to such things, was heard to offer several hearty 'hurrahs'. Apart from the final Australian victory, the kids were pleased to find themselves shown up on the big screen. The pictures below show just how close the match was and the final score. 

The half time entertainment was good with some spectacular French acrobats performing some amazing stunts.

 

We were amazed at the size of Olympic park. While the transport to the park was quick, efficient and not too crowded, the walk to the actual basketball arena within the park took almost 30 minutes. Even though there weren't many events on that day there were still endless masses of people.

During the last week of the games we went down to one of the live sites to watch with the crowds. We ended up at Potters Field just near Tower Bridge. Sally joined Mark and the kids after work and we stayed until after dark. Again it was another one of those 'Am I really here?' moments as we glanced over to the bridge and the Tower of London just across the Thames.

Which country are they from?

As mentioned earlier we had tickets for the closing ceremony. By coincidence we also ended up with tickets for the wrestling that same morning which required a 7am departure for 8.30am start. At the Excel stadium, Sally seized on an opportunity to make up for the loss she has always felt at getting to the UK after her favourite program, The Bill, was axed from BBC TV after 20 years, by accosting local 'bobbies' for photos!. 

No Australians wrestled !

We were a bit unsure of how interesting wrestling would be but it turned out to be pretty good. There were some spectacular bouts between competitors from countries that don't get too much of a mention in the more high profile sports - India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Cuba etc. They were clearly well known and very much admired by their very enthusiastic supporters!

With the wrestling finishing just before noon there was enough time to get home for a rest before we headed out to the Olympic stadium for the 7 pm start of the closing ceremony. While Aisha & Sally went home, Mark & William headed off to the Tower of London to get some reciprocal presents to send home for Will's friend Luke. Purely by chance they got there just in time to see part of the marathon and three Australian runners run past the tower!

We got oursleves a bit more tarted up for the ceremony. We almost didn't take the Kangaroo with us, assuming that it would either breach security or the ubiquitous UK 'health & safety' rules. As it turned out no-one worried about it and in fact, Will and the roo got a great reception from spectators, police and games staff.



There was a great atmosphere at the Olympic Park before the ceremony. The weather, which had been fairly good for much of the Olympics, continued so for the ceremony and really added to the carnival atmosphere. (The next day it rained!) William was stopped for photos at least a dozen times and was also interviewed by the official Olympic Broadcast News crew. We aren't sure whether it has or will be shown. 

A random excited Austrian, not Australian.

Will interviewed by Olympic Broadcast News

posing with a games volunteer 
for an excited member of the public

Whole family asked to pose with another Aussie

Although our seats were up in the gods, the view was still very good. From what we have seen of the TV footage the cameras must have been pretty close to where we were, almost directly behind the Cauldron. While we wondered why some of the acts were included and others were left out, it was an amazing experience to be part of.

There we are!!

Needless to say the show was spectacular. It was amazing to watch the video of John Lennon and see the people around us, and us too, clearly moved by 'Imagine'. It was strange to then be among 80,000 people all following the musical prompts of a sadly long dead Freddie Mercury. If only he had really been there! One of the most impressive parts of the night was the use of the LED panels that sat behind every seat. These gave an amazing show in themselves. Sally's Mum had let us know that it was Campbell McKilligan, a family friend from SallyHobart childhood days who headed the IT element of Ceremonies 2012 - what a huge feat !

Getting out of the stadium at just after midnight didn't take too long. Finding an available toilet did. The real hold up though was getting onto Stratford station. We weren't the only ones waiting- although Boris seemed to get through the crowds quicker than we did. Not that he had a group of minders clearing the way, Boris speed walked from the stadium all the while acknowledging people's cheers and engaging with some on the rare occasion he actually slowed to a normal speed. We heard him comment at one point about being followed by a kangaroo.

As we tubed home the tiredness set in.

Putting a brave face on it all. 

Not to last very long though. 

Almost home ... at 2 am.

Just before our stop a young woman (not the one in the photo above) who had hopped on before us and fallen asleep, woke just as the doors closed at her stop. The next stop was ours. She seemed a bit bothered but, in typical British fashion, didn't make too much of a fuss and was grateful when William handed back her ticket that she had dropped. As we all got off at East Finchley, Mark asked her how she was going to get home. She thought a taxi might be around but, as it was 2am, there were none in sight. The usually reliable mini- cab company across from the station had no cars either. Mark offered to drive her home. She accepted and followed us home then came in while Mark got the Sat Nav. Thankfully she lived not too far from where the kids swim - about a 10 minute drive. By the time he got home again at 2:30 the kids were long gone and Sally was not too far behind them. The next morning Mark & Sally had a 'sleep in' until 7:30 while the kids snored on until around 1 pm. It was a fuzzy day for all but absolutely worth it!

As mentioned in earlier posts we are out of date with the blog but Mark is slogging away to get us up to date as soon as possible. Stay tuned for the post on the wonderful Paralympics and what else we have been doing on the recently ended school summer holidays.