There is so much to say !
For once being a couch potato proved its weight in "gold" and I sat mesmerised as the drama unfurled. Lucky the Third World War didn't break out it would have been relegated to the second page !!
As with all great stories it is the people behind the event that captures my imagination, the commitment and effort to meticulously plan towards an event which was four years away and would mean putting ones "other life" on hold to give one only a "chance" of success. Progression is incremental and usually comes with rewards along the way but with an Olympic Gold the opportunity is minuscule when compared to the effort.






I have been fascinated by various sports. Naturally the athletics gains most of the spotlight but the cycling and the rowing were equally engrossing and British seemed on top of their game in all these disciplines. 

Rowing seems such a clean, clear cut sport, the winners clearly having to have the stamina, strength and technique to win. The races unfold and one is left hoarse cheering your team on and on to the finish. The stories of triumph and disaster sat on the shoulders of all the contestants as they tried to put behind them the demons of previous attempts. 

We had the Redgrave / Pincent era to remember, could we repeat those great times, did we have any more giants to wheel out to compete with the rest of the world. Well we certainly did and we did it in three boats and very nearly four !!
At this point I have to mention the spectators. They have been truly magnificent. 


Olympic week started with the cycling road race and the cycling time trial. The crowds lining the roads were marvellous as was the weather and the UK was seen at its best. 
The rowers were deafened by the cheers, as they rowed towards the finish from the grandstand of adoring people and it made ones hair stand on the back of the neck to be carried along towards the finishing line.
The jingoism or partisan, take your pick, the crowds were here to shout their team home and the poms were in the ascendance. The noise in the cycling velodrome was awesome and the local cyclist responded with gold medals it was tremendous, I loved it.
Could it be beaten, it could and it was !! 

The Athletic Stadium and the noise as the spectators cheered and screamed their people home was out of this world and truly memorable. Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah had me on my feet yelling at the TV screen urging them both on. Could they, would they, yes yes yes !!!
      





So here I was the arch sceptic, the games had cost too much, the disruption to traffic, why couldn't we develop parts of London because they need attention and not because we need to parade ourselves to the world. But as the Games moved into gear the images, the tears, the noise, the unfurling excitement the human content were all unavoidable and uncontroversially hypnotic.
The BBC has excelled in covering the whole event. Wall to wall coverage uninterrupted by any sort of commercialism !! I did for some reason change channels and dropped into one of those horrid, banal, time consuming adverts. It was like jumping into a bath of ice water after the uninterrupted, quality coverage of the BBC.                       
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