The Olympics through the eye of The Beast

Sorry for the lack of BlackLOG action but the last few weeks has been a blur featuring, on top of my normal working week, the first 10 of my 8 hour London Ambassador shifts, attending 4 Olympic events plus various concerts including Blur - closing party at the Hyde Park live site ....

So, without further ado let me introduce you to the Olympic games, as experienced by BlackLOG through the lens of The Beast, plus some interesting Olympic facts  ....

I must admit that after the first couple of days of Olympic competition and without a sniff of gold for Team GB, I found myself countering the foreign guests' enquiry as to why Team GB was so rubbish with -

"We've been very generous hosts but it's about time we stop
giving away all our gold, Gordon Brown already tried that and
look where that got us...."

With the sudden gold-rush that followed we have been left with the not inconsiderable problem of trying to decide who is going to be the British Sports personality of the year. 

My suggestion would be a composite sports personality made up as follows :-

• Bradley Wiggins' side burns
• Jessica Ennis' torso
• Mo's Farrah's celebratory move (Even a certain Mr Bolt joined in)
• Chris Hoy's tearful eyes
• Ben Ainslie's revengeful comeback 
• Laura Trott's youthful exuberance 
• Nicola Adams' punch

Feel free to add to the list,  if you have any ideas of body parts or traits of Team GB Gold Medal winners that deserve recognition...So no Bolt legs...not unless he wants to become a UK citizen and brings his gold medals with him....

My favourite Olympic facts...

• The very first attempt to stage a modern Olympic Games took place in the English village of Much Wenlock. and inspired Baron de Coubertin to found the International Olympic Committee. One of the London 2012 Olympic Mascots is named 'Wenlock'.


• GB is the only country to have won at least one Gold medal at every one of the modern summer Olympics... 


• London is the only city to host three Olympic Games  1908,1948 and 2012


• A ten year old Greek gymnast, Dimitrios Loundras, is often named as the youngest participant in the Olympic Games but there is a record that a hastily recruited seven year old French boy was part of the Dutch team that won the Coxed Pairs Rowing Race at the 1900 Paris Games. Unfortunately, he became bored and wandered off before anyone recorded his name.


• The top prize at the first modern Olympics, 1896 in Athens, was the silver medal and an olive branch. Second place got a bronze. Third place got a great big fat nothing...


• In Paris 1900, the winners got paintings instead of gold medals, with silver and bronze going to second and third place. Gold, silver and bronze medals weren't given out until the 1904 St Louis Olympics. 


• The 1912 Stockholm Games was the last time that solid gold medals were awarded to Olympic champions. 


• London 1948 saw Gold medals handed out for :-
•   - Architecture
•   - Literature
•   - Music
•   - Painting and graphic art
•   - Sculpture


• Some of the events that have been dropped from the Olympic Games over the years include the Tug-of-War, cricket, polo and the shooting of live pigeons (They must have been short of clay pigeons in Paris in 1900). 


• The Olympic flag was created in 1914 by Pierre de Coubertin. It contains five interconnected rings on a white background. The five rings symbolize the five significant continents and are linked to represent the friendship forged by international competitions. The rings are blue, yellow, black, green, and red and were chosen because at least one of them appeared on the flag of every country in the world. The Olympic flag was first flown during the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games. 

Olympic uniform

What Mrs B and I wore during the Olympics.... as hard as I  tried I couldn't convince the London Ambassador program to adopt the Union Jack Jacket for my shifts...




While I am probably too old to wear the Union Jack Jacket I'm fortunately to bold not to.  I've had nothing but praise whenever I have gone out in it (even in Bishop's Stortford....)- with people coming up-to me and saying - "Love the Jacket - where did you get it?".  At times it feels a bit like being the minder of a celebrity. 

Rhino the internet based company who sell the jacket have been great - They are a fantastic advert for how to treat a customers.  I managed to lose the neck strap and the lovely Philippa not only managed to tack me down a replacement but sent it recorded delivery and did not charge me a thing.  So a big thanks to Philippa and Rhino ...





If only I had a boat we (The jacket and I) could
have won a Gold for sailing...



Mrs B outside the Olympic stadium...



Mrs B's Union Jack shoes 



Me and some of the ladies on one of my shifts

I can't say I'm loving the Pink and purple
but it does stand out...



Even the jacket can't carry off the pink and purple...

 The London Look



 Nelson got into the spirit of the Olympics
adding a bit of Colour to his perch high
above Trafalgar Square....



The O2 or North Greenwich stadium as it became known 
during the Olympics due to advertising rights....



Tower Bridge joins in the Olympic fun....



One of the many country Houses set up during
the Olympics....In this case the French House.. 



Big Ben as seen from Horse Guards parade ....



The Orbit - £23 million pounds of statue....



London Bridge at night...



The Orbit - like something out of
War of the Worlds

Olympic events 

Fencing 

I was a bit disappointed when I first discovered that fencing did not involve creosote or even stolen jewellery but it turned out to be a fascinating if Italian dominated sport - the Italians hacked and thrust their way to Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Foil competition that we watched....





Looks more like a game of musical statues...



Bentley (GB) celebrates prematurely as she gets knocked
 out in the 1st round against Peterson (Can) ....



If you can't win with the sword counter with the
sweaty arm pit....



That's more like it - proper fencing... 



Errigo (Italy) floats with excitement as she reaches the
semi-finals by beating Kiefer (USA)

Athletics

Just when we thought we were not going to see any of the Olympic Athletics Mrs B got us a corporate  invite to the first night of the Athletics....



Sea of people - we didn't last long in the throng and
soon ran for the air-conditioned comfort that is
corporate entertaining.... 



Jessica Ennis on her way to Heptathlon Gold 



Jessica comes across for some coaching ....
or was it to take a closer look at the UJ Jacket???



Start of one of the women's 100 metres heats....



Having managed to miss the Olympic torch relay we finally
get to see the Olympic flame....



Louise Hazel (UK)-  12.81M and 715 points in the Heptathlon shot put.



Jessica on her way to  14.28M and 813 points



Mens long jump heats - conventional attempt



Mens long jump - has this competitor  clearly
not heard of aerodynamics ....?



Heptathlon 200 metres 



Mrs B - the Union Jack jacket and myself at the
opening evening of the Athletics....



Mens Shot put final - Poland's T.Majewski throws 21.89m....



...and it's enough to give Majewski Gold 



Women's 5000m heat... 

I always felt that the Marathon (rumoured to be 
 re-branded the Snickerthon )  should be run 
over a number of heats, a quarter-final, semi-final 
 before the final  (all in the same day)- that would 
certainly sort out the elite athletes from the fun 
runners.....



Pavey and Bleasdale  (UK) celebrate qualifying for the
5000 meters final....I wonder what they would have 
done if they got a medal....



Olympic stadium at night...

Beach Volleyball 

The hot ticket in town...





China beating Austria



It was a bit too easy - straight sets victory
i.e. less time watching 



Horse Guards Parade - incredible venue
for the Beach Volleyball...



The joys of winning..free tickets for events

Some of our Gold Medal rowers watching
the Beach Volleyball...



Italy might look stylish but they got trounced by
the eventual gold Medallists: USA...



All those straight sets victories
left time for the....

Price of fame match

Our gold medallist rowers are forced to come down
and show how not to play Beach Volley ball...

Mens Olympic Football final 

Ridiculously expensive tickets but since we ended up in a box (with its own private loo - making for a very happy Mrs B) and entry via the V.I.P. entrance which helped me get The Beast in.  There were no searches, despite a warning that no cameras with exchangeable lenses would be allowed in. I had even driven to the venue in case they wouldn't let The Beast in. We took our football mad nephew Alex who seemed to enjoy the game if not the result...... 


No Team GB, who predictably went out on penalties in the Quarter-finals, so it was Mexico who were set up as canon fodder for the firm favourites Brazil....only they didn't appear to have read the script...


1 : 0

















With just 29 seconds on the clock and many people still
finding their seat, Mexico go one up.
Peralta pounces on a mistake in the Brazilian defence 

Fortunately The Beast and I were ready....


2 : 0





Only it wasn't - 
Peralta's second effort was ruled off side 




Shall we try that again?
75th minute 
2 : 0











Mexico still not reading the script and this one counts ...

Finally, Peralta gets his second 



91st  Minute
2 : 1











Just when we hit injury time Brazil
finally registers on the score-sheet....

Hulk (no not the green angry one in the 
purple shorts - Just how did they manage to 
stay on during transformation???) pulls back 
one for Brazil....


Injury time
What's this? 2 : 2 ? 








But no,  Brazil's deep into injury time chance for an
equaliser goes begging and with  it any chance of an extra
half an hour of playing time...  

Mexico are Olympic champions 



Queue the final whistle...



The Brazilian goalkeeper prays to the gods
but it's too little too late - he knelt there for
a good five minutes - what was all that about?



One very happy Mexico fan......
I'm just glad she shaved for the occasion...



Our first gold medal ceremony was a long drawn out affair
- with the podium taking about 20 minutes to build and then
each member of the  squads getting their medals presented
 to them - it was like watching 18 separate ceremonies

....Z Z Z Z Z Z Z z z z z

Gold - Mexico
Silver - Brazil
Bronze - Korea 

Once you have seen one ceremony you've seen them all....



Finally time to celebrate -
even though most of the under 23 players
were now over 23.......  

Closing Ceremony concert at Hyde Park

The Beast got in but only in truncated from - they let me keep the 50mm lens but I had to put the 70-200mm lens into storage.... I've never seen such a thorough search - they even discovered the secret compartment in the Kitchen Sink (ruck sack)....



This is what 80,000 people looks like at close quarters ... 



The Specials bring a bit of 70's Ska to the proceedings 



Blur lead singer Damon Albarn - leaps with joy...
I nearly died getting this shot as The Beast and I had 
to fight our way into the moshpit....

My feet didn't need to touch the ground as 
I swayed from side to side like a ball 
floating in a storm racked sea.... 

Most of my other shots of
 Blur really were a blur.... 

So that's it - next week it's V-festival 2012 time, before the Paralympics (or Paralytic Olympics as spell checker insists on trying to change it to....)