Friday 27 July 2012

The Olympic Games

Like Religion and Politics perhaps the Olympic Games, which start today, is a subject that should not be discussed in Blogland. From the little snippets I have divined during the past few weeks there does seem to be quite a large body of folk totally against them, or at best not interested in them.

Of course we are all entitled to our own opinions. I don't know the political leanings of any single one of my followers (maybe I could have an educated guess at one or two!) - and I don't want to know - we are not in Blogland to discuss them.

But I must say here and now that I am quite excited about the whole thing. I think the Torch Relay has gone marvellously well and has shown up some wonderfully brave people, all of whom have obviously considered it an honour to be asked to carry the torch, and all of whom have certainly made me feel quite humble. I didn't know about the Bell Ringing at 8.12am this morning until about three minutes before when a friend told me. I switched on the TV and saw all the thousands out on the streets ringing their bells. I thought of all the thousands that have lined the torch route. Well it can't all be bad can it in what has been such a miserable Summer so far?

And let's not forget that a lot of people have put in huge amounts of time - alright - some of them have been paid an enormous amount of money but not all. There are thousands of volunteers, there are thousands of athletes who have trained eight or more hours a day for months.

Alright, so things are not all good. The price of the most expensive seats for tonight;'s opening ceremony is obscene; the fact that some people didn't get into the football match to see their team (Mexico) until twenty minutes before the end; the cock-up over security.

But please, for the sake of all those people who have tried to make it all a success, do sit back and enjoy it. We are a great country and it would be good to put the Great back in Britain. Goodness knows we need it in some form or other. So keep your fingers crossed for an opening ceremony without too many hitches.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

i love watching the olympics and i am looking forward to the opening ceremony. of course with it being a huge event like the olympics, there are bound to be glitches in the organisation, but i am sure once the games are properly underway, people would be focused on the sports and nothing else.

i love london and wish i was there right now.

John Going Gently said...

here here !

MorningAJ said...

Oddly, the bell ringing bit is the only part of the whole thing that's grabbed my attention. So I was sitting in the office at 8.12 this morning, windows open, headphones on and tuned to Radio 4 so I could hear Big Ben start it all off.

What could I hear from the streets of Nottingham?

Nothing.
Nil.
Nada.
Not a squeak.

Guess I'm not the only one who's indifferent.

Robin Mac said...

I am really looking forward to seeing lots of the Olympics on TV here in Australia, and the wonderful part is that I don't have to sit up till the middle of the night to see most of it! Cheers

Dave King said...

I'll say Amen to that!

The Solitary Walker said...

I thought I wouldn't be interested, Pat, but now that they're almost upon us, I feel oddly excited.

Heather said...

Fingers, toes and eyes crossed Pat for a wonderful Games. I look forward to the opening ceremony this evening and will try to watch as many athletic events as I can. Odd for me as I am the least athletic person I know, but I admire their dedication and discipline so much that it doesn't always matter if the winner is not wearing a team GB vest.

jeanette from everton terrace said...

I had no idea people were against them or that there had been problems. I hardly watch TV, but we do watch the Olympics and enjoy them.
I love the put Great back in Britain slogan. My mother is from England and I spent many happy summers there as a child, it will always feel like a 2nd home to me.

Pondside said...

I look forward to watching at re-run of the opening ceremonies when I get home this evening. They are always a wonderful national showcase and the moment when the athletes enter is always very moving.

angryparsnip said...

I like the Olympics and will watch some of it on TV. I do have issues with NBC coverage of it.

The thing is when you live so many time zones away it does make it sometimes hard to watch. One year all the events took place when we were sleeping so we mostly saw time delayed.

I wish I was in London right now, I have loved every trip I have taken to the UK and I especially enjoy walking around London.
You live in the most beautiful country with the most wonderful people.

I do have quite a few political issues with the IOC especially since Beijing.

Sit back and enjoy the fun...I will be watching with you.

cheers, parsnip

Anonymous said...

I can't wait for opening ceremonies and will be cheering athletes on during the whole thing.

Crafty Green Poet said...

I used to be a huge Olympics fan when i was younger. I'm fairly indifferent now but I couldn't ignore the red arrows as they roared across the Edinburgh skies earlier today

Elizabeth said...

So let's all enjoy the good part and try to ignore the snafu's
and all in all CELEBRATE and have fun......
and Mr. Romney should be sent packing soonest.

Have a super weekend.

Cloudia said...

Yours is perhaps 'the' great country - allow an American to say it happily!

You well explain the residue of 'true & good' that has not been commercially bleached from The Games. Bravo for standing against reflexive 'against-ism'


Do accept my sincere apology for the unthinking rudeness of our (*shudder*)
presidential pretender/challenger!
HOW can anyone prefer him, especially to my dear Barack?!

There'll ALWAYS be a Great Britain;
Wish I felt as confident in the political savvy of my own countrymen.

As for political 'sport' I to generally steer clear of it, though I do speak my mind as clearly as I am able. today, for example...come read my calm, reasoned rant!


Aloha to you,
from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
<(-'.'-)>

> < } } ( ° >

Reader Wil said...

The Olympic games are enormously important for people to get in contact with other cultures. To exchange ideas and opinions, to learn to listen and understand other traditions.The OG open doors for all of us.

Midlife Roadtripper said...

Our satellite TV had trouble with the feed. My husband and I planned our evening around watching the opening ceremonies - delayed on American TV until after our dinnertime. Later in the evening I tried again and saw the lighting of the torch and Paul McCartney and Hey Jude. Who would not have liked that! Perfect beginning.

I love the Olympics.