The 2012 London Olympics (free-fire).

Couldn't agree more Jonathan.

The olympics started off on a sour note, namely, how a country with nearly 3 million unemployed, unemployable and no intention of ever working people, couldn't find enough bodies for the security task.

But, wow, what a show case for GB. I think the organisers, athletes, volunteers, et al connected, have just put the Great back in Great Britain. I understand from news snippets that the perception of this nation outside of these shores is much, much higher than it was previously. Even some of the French athletes were waving Union Jacks at the closing ceremony; never thought I'd see the day!

On a question close to your heart Jonathan, how many gold medals do you think Yorkshire will get in the Para Olympics?

Best,

Steve.

Now, now-stop winding him up

Lesley

 

Well Steve, personally I hope the Tyke athletes win loads and you should know full well that if the boot was on the other foot we'd be doing exactly the same! The day we ain't having a go at each other will be a very strange day indeed.

 

Now, now-stop winding him up

Lesley

Well Steve, personally I hope the Tyke athletes win loads and you should know full well that if the boot was on the other foot we'd be doing exactly the same! The day we ain't having a go at each other will be a very strange day indeed.

My wife and her family are from East Yorkshire, and my wife and I used to live in Lancashire. I know full well how the banter between the two counties goes; couldn't resist the comment though.

Be good both!

Best,

Steve.

 

The Olympic Park is a site the country should be so very much proud of

What, despite the overspend?

yes, and set to be my club's new showcase ground!

but the heavily oversubscribed sunday morning football pitches
have been turned into a carpark for journo's.

Not much to be proud of about that...

"The history of the Olympics is really a narrative of crippling debt, dispossession, marginalisation and the erosion of basic civil liberties. What is really breathtaking is how it’s sold to the public: a carnival of national pride. It’s only a matter of time before we and our children bitterly regret the last two weeks..."

 

Well I am sorry if the pitches have been lost but is it not a case of looking at the bigger picture in the regeneration of Stratford? I only ask because I can think about what happened in east Manchester after the Commonwealth Games in 2000. Short term pain for long term gain.

 

it hasn't been 'regenerated'. It's still a dank shit hole,
and always will be, but with a very expensive shopping
centre and now a selection of pokey flats for sale -
unaffordable by any remaining local people...

 

it hasn't been 'regenerated'. It's still a dank shit hole,
and always will be, but with a very expensive shopping
centre and now a selection of pokey flats for sale -
unaffordable by any remaining local people...

Where is your Citizen Smith spirit? Get out there and squat those pokey flats with your friends. They belong to the people!

You know I like numbers...
We got 63 medals for a total sports funding of 264,143,753 GBP. Now if we'd spent the whole 9 billion (plus hidden extras) on sports funding we would have 2,160 medals, won in some other republic. Simple.

 

It seems that Team GB is top of the 'losers medal table'

The Wall Street Journal have awarded imaginary medals for Last place (Lead), first from last place (Tin), and second from last (Zinc). And We've come top.

Looking at the London Metal Exchanges prices, US$ per tonne:

Lead: 1,888
Tin: 17,850
Zinc: 1,821

Even allowing for the density of the metals, the medal relative values are wrong.

Numpties.

Team GB tops ‘losers medal table’, according to Americans | London Spy - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

 

Well if this a dank shit hole then it must be a veritable Garden of Eden where you live chief.

 

It seems that Team GB is top of the 'losers medal table'

The Wall Street Journal have awarded imaginary medals for Last place (Lead), first from last place (Tin), and second from last (Zinc). And We've come top.

Looking at the London Metal Exchanges prices, US$ per tonne:

Lead: 1,888
Tin: 17,850
Zinc: 1,821

Even allowing for the density of the metals, the medal relative values are wrong.

Numpties.

Team GB tops ‘losers medal table’, according to Americans | London Spy - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Total BS, since it only covers finals. So Tim Brabants, who came sixth in his canoeing final, is apparently a lesser athlete than those who didn't make the final at all. That makes a lot of sense. Not.

Also worth noting is that the WSJ is owned by that well-known Anglophile Rupert Murdoch. Oh, no, hang on - I mean that well-known Australian Anglophobe who became a US citizen for business reasons.

 

Come on
stand too

keep the old British spirit going



Monty Python - Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - YouTube

 

Well if this a dank shit hole then it must be a veritable Garden of Eden where you live chief.

I live within that photograph, son I see some trees. A bit of lawnery.
I see some stadia which will most likely be demolished in a few years and
no-one questioning the original cost. I also see the worlds biggest
McDonalds (and a pricey shopping centre).

What I see is facilities not affordable for local people (like the leaky
roof swimming pool) and tarmac laid on popular local playing fields so
that journo's can park cars. At the closing ceremony I saw rubbish
(passed off as art) which would have kept my local library open.

In the distance, I can see where I and my forefathers grew up. That
place equally wasn't changed for the (local) better through the idea
of 'regeneration'...

I'm afraid Cockney's have a much different view on all this 'legacy' malarky!

 

I know one group that REALLY appreciates you Cockneys!


The Sports Business Journal reports that in the past four years the IOC had revenues of $5 billion, $3.9 billion of which came from television income during 2009-2012 — a 50% rise over the previous four-year period.

I'm sure they spent it wisely!

 

All back to normal around here now, then!
LEYTON: Teenager murdered during fight in street (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

legacy.... sustainability...

 

Yes, because the Olympics completely cures crime, and eliminates social and economic problems in poor neighbourhoods.

 

well, it kinda does. We had a murder here
a weekend before the Olympics opened,
no murders during the Olympics and now
a murder straight after...

Seems pretty clear that the Olympics reduce crime!

Or was it to do with the fact that my borough was 120
police short of requirements prior to Olympics, then we
had 'the surge' of the 12,000 extra coppers and now
we're back to being short of police again...

-

Anyway, the paro's are about to start, so perhaps it will improve again.

A real shame that it has been decided to only give them a silver torch
instead of a gold one. Could be interpreted as a second class torch for
second class athletes?

 

Army servicemen were 'attacked, verbally abused and harassed' during the Olympics - Telegraph

 

Was in my lounge today at 3:30 pm watching BBC1 showing the parade of the athletes.

At the same time, I heard a bit of a racket going on outside, so I took my Samsung mobile outside and just managed to get a very quick shot of these 4 Helicopters making their flight heading South.

I then went straight back in the lounge and within a few minutes was watching the same helicopters flying over Buck Palace.

What a super way to end the Olympics

Ron

 

I have a very good friend who lives not all that far from me and I usually manage to visit on a weekly basis.

Despite being heavily disabled, thanks to an immense positive attitude to life and a brilliantly supportive wife, he gets around much more than I do and I was not surprised when he told me he'd got tickets for the Olympics.

Out of interest, I asked him for his view of the games, as seen by a disabled person, and his report, received today follows below, virtually untouched by myself.


Dear Ron,

Sorry that we weren't able to see one and other last week but I just had to write to tell you about the three fabulous experiences we had at the Olympics and the Paralympics since we last managed to get together.

I was fortunate enough as you may remember to have been allotted two tickets for my my wife and myself to go to the Olympics in the original draw, so when the day came we headed out towards Stratford in our car expecting it to be a complicated and tiresome experience and oh how wrong we were!!

From the first contact with some uniform clad stewards (called games makers) and more important young services men and women they checked our car inside and out under and over and politely sent us on our way to the disabled car park which in it's previous life was the shopping centers car park. We were directed to our parking bay and as we unpacked our car an equally polite young young man came up to us and asked if we needed a manned wheelchair to any particular point in the games park, which we were glad to accept with a ride to the Mobility Tent. Here we were able to sign up for a days free hire of an electric motor scooter to get me around the Olympic site and to be returned no later than 01:00 believe it or not!!

Our next experience was to be security check by several young men and women in their forces uniforms, each of whom could not be more efficient of more polite, more pleasant and nicer than they were. Oh weren't we lucky that that private company (S4Gee or whatever they were called) messed up their contract and made them call in the armed forces to get them out of trouble at the Olympics and the Paralympics because they sure showed everyone how the job should be done and carried out their duties ta perfection!!

I must tell you that not once not twice but all three times that we were there they carried out their orders with a smile and a pleasant word for everyone, nothing was too much when you asked them a question, they didn't grunt and point in the direction in which you should go, but they all but carried you all the way there!! Many of them spent their time off duty in camp sites set up around the Olympic sight or in temporary bunks on war ships moored on the Thames. Most had just got back from the middle East and most were supposed to be on time off at home with their families, but not once did we hear a complaint nor a bad word about their predicament. Nothing but good humour and an over all politeness!!

Then when it came to it that the Games were all over on the weekend there they were working harder than most and again never complaining and pulling their weight more than the rest. Boy can we be proud of our boys and girls of the Armed Forces !!

I know that you are proud of spending your time in the forces and do a great deal for your ex comrades and those who too deserve to be thanked for what they have done but let me tell you, the men and women and boys and girls who represent the Armed Forces also deserve to be looked up too and should be thanked without question for all that they do for our country without fear or question and should be better looked after and not ignored because they are far too valuable and too good at what they do and we truly could not keep this fine country of ours moving along as smoothly as it does with them at the controls

I sincerely look forward to seeing you very soon and have loads and loads more to tell you when we do.

All the best till then

H

 

Ron,

You should get your friend to take a leaf out of your book and have him send this off to The Times.

geoff

ps I saw a G4S man in Morrisons yesterday - I had wondered where he was.