Wednesday 8 August 2012

The Olympic Games

I wonder what the lasting effect of these Games will be on all of us. I think, without a doubt, that we were all in a pretty dismal mood - financial crises throughout the world, terrible, terrible bloodshed in so many places, famine in parts of Africa, all in all a general mood of despondency had settled in before the abject misery of the very wet 'Summer' and the constant flooding in one place or another.

Now, it seems to me when watching the television coverage of the games, that a kind of Dunkirk spirit has descended into all aspects of our lives. We have become intensely patriotic, cheering on Team GB and going absolutely wild when they win, singing the National Anthem as loud as we can(what have they done to the harmonies and that interrupted cadence in the middle?) and adding up the medals as they come in, our chests bursting with pride.

The lady who drives our local Post Office van and comes to the village once a week, expressed a wish on Monday that this state of euphoria would last after the Games and carry on into the Winter, so that we go into December on a high rather than an all time low. I can only agree with that.

On a lighter note and on the subject of the Games, Carole Midgely in The Times, expressed a wish that something different from Lycra be invented before the next Olympics because (I am afraid I agree with her here) it leaves so little to the imagination. This was particularly true I thought of the Australian cycling team, when I could hardly watch them cycling because my eye was drawn to that part of the anatomy which is best left to the imagination. It might be good for aerodynamics but do spare a thought for all us ladies of a certain age who feel compelled to open our eyes wide and stare in amazement at what appears to be on offer - and clad in bright yellow too.

17 comments:

Heather said...

Life is going to seem very flat next week. Like you I hope we can sustain the uplift the Games have given us and we can all adopt some of the wonderful spirit which has prevailed throughout.
As for the Lycra issue, well, it's better than looking at statues of great antiquity - they didn't even wear Lycra!

John Going Gently said...

Carol Midgeley should f*ck off!
give e lycra.....mr Hoy and more lycra!

Pondside said...

We see our fair share every weekend as the Weekend Warriors (cyclists) use our road for a training run.

Bovey Belle said...

Damn - and I missed them!! Still, the track events promised a lot . . .

I have really enjoyed the Olympic coverage and have been yelling for Team GB to win. I hope that the British press can warm to the idea of more positive news coverage when it is over, as their diet of doom and gloom is not one that lifts the spirits.

Hildred said...

I can only say that here in British Columbia there was great euphoria after the Olympic Games, and that it lasted for months after the actual event, and still seems to permeate now and then with the over-all pride and enthusiasm that was stirred up.

So glad it has had such a cheering effect on people in the U.K.

I have no comment on the Lycra - at least the statues of great antiquity are not mobile....

angryparsnip said...

I'm not even from the UK and every time you win a medal, especially Andy Murrey's Tennis Gold, I am very happy for you all.
But for me what I get excited over (beside the fact the women are doing so well and in some events doing better than the men) it is the women from the countries that have been subjugated to brutally in the name of religion, running a race fully clothed but running for themselves and the women of their country.
How wonderful and so brave.
I was just watching the final Equestrian event and I love all the "sights of the UK" jumps. The chalk horse of Uffingon (?) is one of the best !

cheers, parsnip

Joanne Noragon said...

I live in a national park whose only claim to faim is running/cycling--on our township roads. Just like regular traffic. The only redeeming aspect is the ludicrous lycra we're treated to anytime we leave home.
How's the hedgehog?

Elizabeth said...

Have enjoyed it all much more than I thought!
So glad it was a cheerer-upper!

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Apparently the legacy of the games is going to be that we all go out and play Handball and Hockey. In this neck of the woods everyone has gone indoors to watch telly.

Titus said...

Ah, the lycra Weaver! You should have seen the Algeria weightlifter. He had chalk on his hands, and kept on 'adjusting' himself. You can imagine.

Robin Mac said...

Will there be a Friendly games for the volunteers afterwards? There was something like that in Sydney and it kept the good cheer going. We even saw a lot of the Paralympics, and that was simply inspiring, without all the sniping about how well or badly the athletes had performed/been coached! Don't think there is a hope of changing the lycra. I can remember being embarrassed by that as far back as 1988! Cheers

ArcticFox said...

now, will I be the first to point out that the Olympic bubble, like the housing market, is merely a bubble that is likely to burst quite soon after the olympic flame has been handed over in the closing ceremony..... when you get high, you can only come down.

As for lycra.... it takes a special kind of physique to look good in it and if I had such a physique then perhaps I'd even wear it to go fishing in, or indeed down Tescos for the Friday big shop..... there's nothing wrong with a bit of window shopping and I'm not even going to mention some of the extreme slow motion footage of the gymnastics!!

Anonymous said...

Ah the lycra. It's when its wearing a bit thin that it's a problem. Husband is a cyclist and riding behind someone in the bright light of day has caused many a cyclist to say to another "time for new riding nicks mate." Even as a motorist, I've thought the same at times.

Em Parkinson said...

Lycra is all very well but when viewed from that strange pace setting bike camera, I had to avert my eyes. The girls look a lot better in it I think.

Really enjoyed all the events. I'm going to be bereft when it stops.

The Solitary Walker said...

Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again — one certainly fills in the gaps in one's knowledge about the female psyche and imagination when blog reading.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Even as I type this I have the Olympics on in the background and yes, I too will be bereft when they are over. Glad others agree over the Lycra issue! Thanks for visiting.

Golden West said...

Lycra - an amazing concoctiom - it leaves nothing to the imagination but sparks the imagination at the same time!