Olympics

Better late than never, right?  I LOVE the Olympics.  This isn't surprising to anyone who lived through my previous Olympic experience in Vancouver.  Let me tell you, the recurrence of Olympic Fever is more intense than the first go around. 

 

I started off the games at a wonderful party at at friend's flat (Thanks MA!) that overlooked the Olympic Stadium.  I was a great night all around running between the balcony and the TV.  It seemed that every flat in her building and the surrounding ones was doing just the same thing and it made the evening feel like a big community event as we talked from balcony to balcony.  The only other night like it that I remember was NYE 1999 as we celebrated the arrival of the new century.  The best moment?  Since Stratford Station was exit only, they performers had to walk down to the next station, Homerton, to get home.  Since they were all still in costume it was pretty easy to figure out where they were coming from.  As they waited for their train we, being all the people on the surrounding balconies, gave them a round of applause.  They reciprocated with an impromptu reprise of their dance number from the opening ceremony right on the train platform for us!  It was amazing and totally blows my Dad's theory out of the water that song and dance numbers don't just pop up in the middle of everyday life (he's a bit of a musical hater).  I have to say pop-up musical moments have happened many times in my life.  Maybe you have to be a believer to experience these things.

The next day I was fortunate enough to meet up with E&J (an aside - this acronym makes me laugh because of the obvious reference to Ernest & Julio Wine...which is not so good...if only you knew how much vino E&J and I have drank over the years!!) for some quality time at Hyde Park watching the Men's Road Race on the big screen with a few thousand other city dwellers.  It was a lot of fun.  We followed up with a rambling walk through Mayfair through to Covent Garden by way of a couple of pubs.  The best way to spend an afternoon in London!

Sunday saw me and N get up early to catch a train out to Box Hill (south of London) where we trudged up a hill and sat for 4 hours waiting to see our hero Clara Hughes in action. Many new day-friends (you know the sort...you've never seen them before and you'll never see them again but on that day it is hard to understand how you never ran into each other before) where made on the way up the hill and while hanging out for a few hours.  We could hear the race over the loud speakers and it reminded me of listening to Rider games on the radio as a kid.  When Clara finally appeared she was leading the pelaton up the hill!! Exciting does not begin to describe it.

It is always surprising to me how much the Canadian presence in the wars is valued in Europe.  We were clothed in our best Team Canada attire for the occasion so our allegiance was pretty obvious.  On the way up the hill a local man told us all about the Canadian military history in the area.  I realized that he was actually telling me the British perspective of the stories that my next door neighbour, Roy, in Winnipeg used to tell me about his time stationed in England.  He would have been stationed there.  Small world.

Tuesday saw me with N again to watch the Women's Weightlifting competition where Canada won a bronze!  If it weren't for the "Weightlifting for Dummies" video a few minutes before the event we wouldn't have had a clue.  All in all it was a really good event to watch.  There was far more strategy than I realized.  The woman who won gold had two chances to break the world record with her final lifts.  She didn't make it but the whole crowd was totally behind her.  For me, there is no better Olympic moment than when the whole crowd is cheering, not for a specific country, but just because the display of athleticism and achievement in front of them is so amazing.  I wish she would have made her lift.  The crowd would have roared!

Wednesday was my final day of Olympic activities...Beach Volleyball with my friend S!  I don't dispute the athleticism of the players...anyone in my grade 9 Phys Ed class could tell you that I was a disaster on a volleyball court... but I am still not sure it is an Olympic event.  However, it is definitely a good time!  The location, right in behind Horse Guards Parade, is fantastic.  They even have a dance team (in bathing suits) that do little numbers in the breaks.  Good fun for sure.  Plus, I did see a guy who was 6'11" playing for Russia.  If you don't have to jump to get your hands over the net it is a pretty good advantage!

S & I spent the rest of day wandering about the parks winding up back at Hyde Park to watch on the big screens again.  It was a really nice day to be in the heart of the tourist zone.  Hardly any traffic and almost no tourists.  You could even be in front of Buckingham Palace without guards yelling at you to keep moving as there weren't enough people about to even bother yelling!  Generally, that was the weird thing about London during the Olympics, there was nobody around.  The trains were less busy than normal, there was very little traffic on the roads, and even foot traffic was lighter than normal.  People did what they were told and stayed off the trains when they were going to be busy, worked from home, or just took holidays, and it worked.  They increased usage on the system by 30% which is incredible.  As hard as British Journalists tried to find disgruntled Olympic fans to interview, all they got was a bunch of happy people who where nothing but impressed with the TFL (Transport for London...the dark under-lords who hold us hostage on their trains daily).

For the record, Vancouver was better.