By now the Olympics are over and we are all just sitting around in the heat, occasionally hugging our Wenlocks and cruising the ticket website for more Paralympics tickets. Watching Olympic highlights on tv. Wasn't it all just great? Oh look, the opening ceremony is on again. I think the BBC could start up a whole channel devoted to the Olympics and we would all watch it. Sigh.
I got a few sets for the Paralympic last year. I am firmly of the opinion that watching people compete when they can see or have all their limbs is amazing, anybody doing it with less is miraculous. Plus, I wanted to get to see the Greenwich Park setup from the inside. So, we are taking Junior to the Paralympics. The tickets were also ridiculously cheap compared to the Olympics.
I am completely psyched for the equestrian and the wheelchair tennis. Plus we've got day passes to the Olympic Park itself, but I am not sure if we'll be able to get to see anything then. Will report on that here later.
We spent our last Olympic day on Friday at freestyle wrestling and basketball. In basketball, we saw the 2012 version of the Dream Team in action against Argentina. Even though we were up in the gods at the North Greenwich Arena, our view was excellent. They had a kiss cam like the one that caught POTUS and FLOTUS out recently, as well as a bongo-cam. However, that all happened far below us.
It was all very American, tho. I had my little flag. Mr had his foam hand that seemed to be the envy of all. I was particularly impressed with the troop that came on of double-dutch jump ropers, who did amazing things with their ropes, during one of the last breaks in play. I don't mind basketball much. It seems to move pretty quickly. The US won.
The freestyle wrestling was a bit chaotic because they were running three matches at once on the mats. Made it kind of hard to follow. The Georgians and Iranians were out in force as it seems to be big there.
Transport to and from these venues was easy, athough the cable cars were pretty packed. The queues moved fast. The shuttle buses moved us from the train station to North Greenwich. I miss the shuttle buses.
Oh well. It all seems so long ago. Roll on 29 August. I can figure what to do with my life after the Paralympics are over, ha ha.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Greco-Roman Wrestling, ExCel - 5 August
Also, Hockey, Olympic Park – 6 August
I am going to lump these two together and also mention that we went to boxing on 29 August. Basically, I am so shattered by storming around the Olympic park yesterday, after two kiddy parties and a long stint at the allotment over the weekend, that I can’t even comprehend trying to write about the boxing. It was great, as I vaguely recall. It all seems so long ago.
Wrestling at ExCel. These were the tickets we bought because we thought nobody else would want them. But there were plenty of fans there from many countries. This sport seems to be Asia led – there was a wrestler from Krygystan, one from Belarus and the gold medal winner of one class was from Iran. The other gold medal winner, in the 74kg category, was Roman Vlasov from Russia. Mr wound up getting his autograph on the ticket as he very kindly came out where the spectators were leaving at ExCel. So it made his night.
I did feel like the Belarusian was a bit of a sore loser, as he lost out on the bronze medal and would neither shake anyone’s hand, nor stop weeping by the side of the mat. Finally his coach came along and collected him. I wanted to say, sometimes if you offer them an ice cream, they cheer up. But we liked the Belarusian wrestler because he was the first to do a flip when he won. Then they all did it. One of the gold medal winners practically did a whole routine. Mr got a photo or two.
We took the cable car over and back, and it’s a part of London I haven’t really roamed around much before. Lovely water views. Of course, it helped that they were parking the tall-masted ships in the ExCel Docklands basin.
Again, the organization was brilliant. Can’t fault LOCOG for how they’ve set it all up. And we realized just how amazing they were when we got up bright and early the next morning (bit too early, having stopped in a local pub, The Pilot Inn, on the way home to catch Usain Bolt’s sprint) to go to the Olympic Park.
We took the advice to get off at West Ham instead of Stratford, and were rewarded with a pleasant enough 20-minute walk to the park. Then, once we got there, the steward said, you have another 20 minutes to go to Riverside Stadium. Oh. On we trudged, past the lovely wildflower meadows (not sure why when I let the weeds go on the allotment, they don’t get as picturesque as this, ha ha) and the massive temporary structures.
I would like to say the Americans covered themselves in glory playing hockey (or field hockey, as we call it in the States), but they didn’t. Mr joked that perhaps they were confused and were waiting for a puck. South Africa took the opportunity to rout the Yanks and stormed ahead. Final score was 7-0. A killing.
At least the weather held and we had a nice woman next to us who explained the scoring and rules with the hockey. Never played it myself. We left the arena and wandered around a bit, and then we espied some US fans in those morphsuits. Took a photo and then realized we were surrounded by most of the losing women’s hockey team. Mr was delighted and got two of their autographs, plus one from the winning South African team.
We planned to go to the world’s largest McDonalds for lunch, breaking my personal rule of never eating there, but the queue was so huge that we gave up and waded back through the throngs to the fish and chip stand we had passed on the way.
Note on the crowds: I have never seen so many people in one place in my life. And yet it all ran so smoothly. Many kudos to the Olympic volunteers.
So, we lined up for fish and chips, and Gavin said quietly, There’s Dara O Briain. I said, Where? And whipped around looking for him in the crowd. He was right behind us in the line. Oops. So we chatted a bit and he signed Mr’s autograph magazine of the Olympic Day 10. He has gone to see the water polo and something else. Apparently the Irish didn’t do so well.
He was recognized more than once as he is about Mr’s height (6 foot 4 or so) and he is on the tv over here a fair bit. He seemed quite pleasant about it all, which was nice. He was also having lunch with one of the panelists from Mock the Week. Is that allowed? Never mind.
We parted ways when he went for the cod while we went towards haddock. Mr took a photo of the back of his head at the counter. I suggested that crossed the line into stalkerdom. Gavin was wondering why he wasn’t in the seafood and champagne building instead of the chippy line. I said, well, believe it or not, he’s probably a real person like us and enjoys a good plate of fish n chips.
And they were very good. Expensive, but not crazy, and very quality. I had mushy peas too. Pushed the boat out, as they say over here.
Then, it was another queue for the Olympics souvenir shop. That was only about a 10 minute wait. And what delights! Wenlock was there (we had seen him in East Greenwich on Saturday) hugging and shaking hands, and Visa also had some captive athletes who were signing these brochures and getting photos taken. Both were huge Scandinavians. I felt very small next to them and Mr.
Off home we went. The short train ride home was a relief. So many people! I went to bed early. No Olympics until Friday now. I need the days to rest.
Marks out of 10: 9. It is the Olympics after all and the food was better than expected. Loved the flowers too.
I am going to lump these two together and also mention that we went to boxing on 29 August. Basically, I am so shattered by storming around the Olympic park yesterday, after two kiddy parties and a long stint at the allotment over the weekend, that I can’t even comprehend trying to write about the boxing. It was great, as I vaguely recall. It all seems so long ago.
Wrestling at ExCel. These were the tickets we bought because we thought nobody else would want them. But there were plenty of fans there from many countries. This sport seems to be Asia led – there was a wrestler from Krygystan, one from Belarus and the gold medal winner of one class was from Iran. The other gold medal winner, in the 74kg category, was Roman Vlasov from Russia. Mr wound up getting his autograph on the ticket as he very kindly came out where the spectators were leaving at ExCel. So it made his night.
I did feel like the Belarusian was a bit of a sore loser, as he lost out on the bronze medal and would neither shake anyone’s hand, nor stop weeping by the side of the mat. Finally his coach came along and collected him. I wanted to say, sometimes if you offer them an ice cream, they cheer up. But we liked the Belarusian wrestler because he was the first to do a flip when he won. Then they all did it. One of the gold medal winners practically did a whole routine. Mr got a photo or two.
We took the cable car over and back, and it’s a part of London I haven’t really roamed around much before. Lovely water views. Of course, it helped that they were parking the tall-masted ships in the ExCel Docklands basin.
Again, the organization was brilliant. Can’t fault LOCOG for how they’ve set it all up. And we realized just how amazing they were when we got up bright and early the next morning (bit too early, having stopped in a local pub, The Pilot Inn, on the way home to catch Usain Bolt’s sprint) to go to the Olympic Park.
We took the advice to get off at West Ham instead of Stratford, and were rewarded with a pleasant enough 20-minute walk to the park. Then, once we got there, the steward said, you have another 20 minutes to go to Riverside Stadium. Oh. On we trudged, past the lovely wildflower meadows (not sure why when I let the weeds go on the allotment, they don’t get as picturesque as this, ha ha) and the massive temporary structures.
I would like to say the Americans covered themselves in glory playing hockey (or field hockey, as we call it in the States), but they didn’t. Mr joked that perhaps they were confused and were waiting for a puck. South Africa took the opportunity to rout the Yanks and stormed ahead. Final score was 7-0. A killing.
At least the weather held and we had a nice woman next to us who explained the scoring and rules with the hockey. Never played it myself. We left the arena and wandered around a bit, and then we espied some US fans in those morphsuits. Took a photo and then realized we were surrounded by most of the losing women’s hockey team. Mr was delighted and got two of their autographs, plus one from the winning South African team.
We planned to go to the world’s largest McDonalds for lunch, breaking my personal rule of never eating there, but the queue was so huge that we gave up and waded back through the throngs to the fish and chip stand we had passed on the way.
Note on the crowds: I have never seen so many people in one place in my life. And yet it all ran so smoothly. Many kudos to the Olympic volunteers.
So, we lined up for fish and chips, and Gavin said quietly, There’s Dara O Briain. I said, Where? And whipped around looking for him in the crowd. He was right behind us in the line. Oops. So we chatted a bit and he signed Mr’s autograph magazine of the Olympic Day 10. He has gone to see the water polo and something else. Apparently the Irish didn’t do so well.
He was recognized more than once as he is about Mr’s height (6 foot 4 or so) and he is on the tv over here a fair bit. He seemed quite pleasant about it all, which was nice. He was also having lunch with one of the panelists from Mock the Week. Is that allowed? Never mind.
We parted ways when he went for the cod while we went towards haddock. Mr took a photo of the back of his head at the counter. I suggested that crossed the line into stalkerdom. Gavin was wondering why he wasn’t in the seafood and champagne building instead of the chippy line. I said, well, believe it or not, he’s probably a real person like us and enjoys a good plate of fish n chips.
And they were very good. Expensive, but not crazy, and very quality. I had mushy peas too. Pushed the boat out, as they say over here.
Then, it was another queue for the Olympics souvenir shop. That was only about a 10 minute wait. And what delights! Wenlock was there (we had seen him in East Greenwich on Saturday) hugging and shaking hands, and Visa also had some captive athletes who were signing these brochures and getting photos taken. Both were huge Scandinavians. I felt very small next to them and Mr.
Off home we went. The short train ride home was a relief. So many people! I went to bed early. No Olympics until Friday now. I need the days to rest.
Marks out of 10: 9. It is the Olympics after all and the food was better than expected. Loved the flowers too.
Thursday, August 02, 2012
The Olympics - 10m womens & mens shooting at Woolwich, 28 July
The Olympics are on here in London and luckily for us, Mr and I have snaffled some tickets. The funny thing is, you apply for them so far in advance, we barely remembered what we were scheduled to go to. Now that they are here, they have exceeded our expectations.
I think it's kind of embarrassing to gush, but the Olympic venues are fab, the traffic is light, all the volunteers are so nice, and well, it's like living in an alternate universe London. Where people help you if you're lost and are generally jolly. Where lots of things are painted in very bright colours, and where one-eyed cyclops dance around for your amusement.
On Saturday, we left Junior Gig in the capable hands of our babysitter Lizzy, and headed off to Woolwich on the bus. We didn't do the 8:15 start, as I'm not really a morning person. Chatted with the squaddies on security, and went into the grounds.
I thought the venue would've incorporated a historical building or two, but the site instead had these cool cubes as buildings. Big white marshmallows with different coloured spots. We looked around a bit and then joined the large queue forming outside the finals building. The biggest one with red spots.
Got inside, and then we waited. They shows these informational videos about the sport you're about to watch, which is helpful. I had no idea about shooting. Then a brass band came on, and then Wenlock the mascot did a bit of soft shuffle to the music. Luckily for me, the 10M air pistol is not a loud gun. Pop pop pop. I had brought some earplugs, which Mr mocked me for.
The Chinese contestant Guo Wenjun won, and we watched as they took away the shooting range, and put up the medal podium. Aw. It was nice to see. I always think of how proud their mums must be. It was also the first medal of the entire London Olympics. How cool is that?
There was a Chinese fan contingent and they went a bit mental, waving their giant flag and jumping up and down. Mr took a photo of them.
After the final we had a coffee and watched men shoot coloured clay things into dust while we ate our sarnies, during the break. Then, it was back to the queue, where the band came along and played for us while we read our papers. Got back into the cube, where we watched men shoot. South Korea won.
When it was done, Wenlock shuffled forlornly without the band to accompany him while we waited for the medal stand to be put up. It seemed whenever he was done, he would consult with a nearby minder. Nod, and then do a little more softshoeing. Poor fella. The men seemed to be worse shots, but Mr pointed out that they did it one-handed while the women did it with both hands.
Marks out of 10: 8, particularly for the dancing mascot
I think it's kind of embarrassing to gush, but the Olympic venues are fab, the traffic is light, all the volunteers are so nice, and well, it's like living in an alternate universe London. Where people help you if you're lost and are generally jolly. Where lots of things are painted in very bright colours, and where one-eyed cyclops dance around for your amusement.
On Saturday, we left Junior Gig in the capable hands of our babysitter Lizzy, and headed off to Woolwich on the bus. We didn't do the 8:15 start, as I'm not really a morning person. Chatted with the squaddies on security, and went into the grounds.
I thought the venue would've incorporated a historical building or two, but the site instead had these cool cubes as buildings. Big white marshmallows with different coloured spots. We looked around a bit and then joined the large queue forming outside the finals building. The biggest one with red spots.
Got inside, and then we waited. They shows these informational videos about the sport you're about to watch, which is helpful. I had no idea about shooting. Then a brass band came on, and then Wenlock the mascot did a bit of soft shuffle to the music. Luckily for me, the 10M air pistol is not a loud gun. Pop pop pop. I had brought some earplugs, which Mr mocked me for.
The Chinese contestant Guo Wenjun won, and we watched as they took away the shooting range, and put up the medal podium. Aw. It was nice to see. I always think of how proud their mums must be. It was also the first medal of the entire London Olympics. How cool is that?
There was a Chinese fan contingent and they went a bit mental, waving their giant flag and jumping up and down. Mr took a photo of them.
After the final we had a coffee and watched men shoot coloured clay things into dust while we ate our sarnies, during the break. Then, it was back to the queue, where the band came along and played for us while we read our papers. Got back into the cube, where we watched men shoot. South Korea won.
When it was done, Wenlock shuffled forlornly without the band to accompany him while we waited for the medal stand to be put up. It seemed whenever he was done, he would consult with a nearby minder. Nod, and then do a little more softshoeing. Poor fella. The men seemed to be worse shots, but Mr pointed out that they did it one-handed while the women did it with both hands.
Marks out of 10: 8, particularly for the dancing mascot
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)