And Now....

Monday 13th August and the Olympic Games are over - until the Para-Olympics start at the end of the month.
I am glad it has been a success, that so many people came and enjoyed the experience. I am glad we did well, well done to all those people who have worked so hard to achieve a medal. I am glad it's all over, can we get back to normal now, please?
Apart from the athletes in Team GB who did so well, I would like to spend a moment thanking the unsung heroes of the games. The people who built all the venues and got them finished on time. The people who came in and cleaned up every night after the spectators had gone, the gardeners who kept the Olympic park looking so wonderful, cutting the grass in the dark! The hundreds, maybe thousands, of Olympic Ambassadors and Marshals, not only in London but in the other cities involved, who gave their time, paid their own expenses and gave their services for no reward other than the honour and thrill of being part of it all. Without you all doing your bit the games would not have been such a great success.
And me. Well, I'm not interested in sport. I hate being in crowds. I like my life to be stable and things to be the same all the time. I turned the telly off on the 12th August and I'm not sure I will ever switch it on again, except for the News and Doctor Who, of course. While I'm sure millions of people enjoyed the constant coverage, in this day and age I could not see why it had to be on BBC1 all day and most of the evening, too. BBC3 ran all day, so why did everything else have to be shunted to BBC2? It's not as if people can't get other channels these days. Now that the country has gone digital I would think everyone has access to Freeview, so, yes, open up BBC3 and maybe even BBC4 and leave the other programmes as normal. Or maybe it's just me.
I hope something positive will come from these games; that a few, maybe more than a few, will be encouraged to take part in more sport in the future. But the training provision needs to be in place, all over the country, if the children of today are going to be the champions of tomorrow.  And let us not forget that getting to these dizzy heights means, hours, days, years of intense training and dedication, often involving pain and injury that will last for longer than the glory of a medal. I'm too lazy, always was, but good luck to those who regularly get up before dawn to swim, run, row or whatever. May your dedication bring you the triumph for which you strive.
Now, put your feet up and buy a book!