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The Ratchet is Back

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 14, 2012
Posted in: Where's that Handcart?. Tagged: , , , , .

Well, at least the BBC Doom-Mongers gave us a day off before they transformed their bulletins back to the news equivalent of Leonard Cohen songs.

Volunteers from London 2012 still Feeling Good!

Today we were told that rail fares will be going up, that the Eurozone is almost in recession and that 54% of people think the Olympic spirit will be short-lived.  The first of those subjects was delivered with a technique that had been temporarily-retired for the last two weeks – the ratchet.  Continue Reading

If you build it, they will come

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 13, 2012
Posted in: London 2012 a view from the Couch. Tagged: , , , , , .

They promised us a closing ceremony that would be one heck of a party, and as the last Olympians drifted reluctantly away from the Stadium afterwards it was clear that, once again, our organisers had delivered exactly what it said on the tin.

The spirit of the Games rising from the flames

In sixteen extraordinary days of summer in the year 2012, Sebastian Coe and his team showed us that it is possible to have a vision and, if you continue to believe in it and work hard to achieve it, then it will become reality.  At the end of his closing speech, Seb captured the whole thing in four words – “We did it right!”

Sure there were a few things that were not quite up to par.  The graphics were best forgotten – I still don’t really get the jigsaw puzzle logo – but what they lacked, the imagination displayed by those who decided on the venues and the backdrops to the actual events more than made up for it.  Then there was the BBC TV Coverage – sportwise absolutely breathtaking throughout, news-wise at times simply nasty.  Even last night, barely minutes after that stunning closing ceremony, David Bond finally reappeared on our screens to snipe at anyone unfortunate-enough to appear in his crosshairs  (take my advice, Mr Director General, sack him – sack him now, and all his grubby cronies).

But the rest was nothing short of the description given by the IOC Chairman, Jack Rogge – “Happy and Glorious.”  Seems I heard those words regularly in a tune that was played quite a lot in the last fortnight.

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It was like Déjà Vu all over again

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 12, 2012
Posted in: London 2012 a view from the Couch. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

It seems strange to think of a quote by a famous baseball coach when you’re watching the final day of Track and Field, but that’s exactly what it felt like as we watched Mo Farah repeat his previous Saturday’s performance, but this time over half the distance.

Mo Farah shows his delight on completing the long distance double.

Mo’s second Gold was described afterwards by Seb Coe as being of “an extraordinary magnitude.”  He told BBC radio: “The real challenge of doing the double is not actually the physicality of going through rounds and races, it’s those three to four days between having won an Olympic title and then deciding it’s still important enough in your life to come back on to the track and do it all over again.”

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Dear Billy-Goat Gruff – can you bring your Video Camera with you?

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 11, 2012
Posted in: London 2012 a view from the Couch, Media. Tagged: , , , .

Day Fourteen was a nearly day for Team GB, with two Silvers in the Sailing, in both the Men’s and Women’s 470 classes, plus Bronzes for the Women’s Hockey Team, Anthony Agogo at Middleweight in the Boxing and Lutalo Muhammad in Tae Kwondo.  There were a few heartaches as well, as both BMX riders comfortably made their respective finals, only to lose-out in the winner-takes-all one-race finals, our men’s hope Liam Fields crashing-out heavily on the last-but-one bend having held a medal position up to that point.

The BMX team from Brodo Asogi return home after receiving a phone call

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By Jingo – more Gold!

Posted by Malcolm Toogood on August 10, 2012
Posted in: London 2012 a view from the Couch. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Day thirteen brought a number of unprecedented victories, including three magnificent Gold Medal performances by female members of Team GB – Nicola Adams won the first ever women’s boxing final in the Olympics, Charlotte Dujardin won her second, and Britain’s first-ever individual, Gold medal in Equestrian Dressage with team-mate Laura Bechtolsheimer taking Bronze, and 19-year-old  Jade Jones earned Britain’s first-ever Tae Kwondo Gold Medallist late last night in the Excel centre.

Usain Bolt silences the critics as Jamaica make a clean sweep of the 200 metre sprint medals

But the highlights of the day came in the Athletics, where Usain Bolt once more lit-up the Olympic Stadium by retaining his 200-metre title, the first time that any runner has retained both sprinting titles.  Continue Reading