Travelling Day Should Be Dull But.......................

Well peeps. Arrived safe and sound in Birmingham on Monday night. Did the usual, met my cousin in the pub for 1 and left 3 hours later. We got home and had missed all the excitement of the men's gymnastics but we caught it on catch up and WOW!!!! what an achievement. Let's forget about the controversy of the scoring for Japan but just revel in what an amazing performance the lads all put in to win that bronze medal. Rest assured no one underperformed to lose medals - TeamGB just surpassed themselves with stunning performances from all and the bronze was richly deserved.

 
Today was mainly meant to be a travelling day so i assumed i would have nothing to report - how stupid of me to assume such nonsense. I showered and dressed whilst enjoying the climax to the 3 Day Eventing and was delighted to see Team GB pick up a silver medal. Was lovely to witness Zara picking up a medal from her mother and hilarious to see Camilla Parker-Bowles sitting in the rain wearing a bog standard see through plastic mac. Favourite scene though was Mary King going clear on her final round to clinch the silver medal for the team - a true legend of the sport!!!

Having put in a 2hr practise session for the doubles cider drinking, i headed to Birminham New Street station to start my journey to London. Something obviously kicked off in the station as police and security guards were sprinting everywhere, including 1 hapless bobby who fell the length of himself after tripping over my suitcase - OOPS!!!!
Having just got over this amusement, i boarded the train and which carriage did the tourettes sufferer choose to sit in - yup mine of course!!!!!! I was treated to a train journey more colourful than the Olympic opening ceremony. Isn't it strange that no tourettes sufferers seem to shout out "good morning" or "nice to see you"??? 
I arrived in London and made it to my friend Jude's who is kindly putting me up for the duration. We sat with food, drink and the TV for the evening revelling in all the action from the swimming pool. What an emotional roller coaster. The amazingly talented Chad le Clos beat Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly and this was another of my special Olympic moments.

To see this young lad who had beaten his idol and who had tears in his eyes whilst his bottom lip quivered during the anthem just summed up the Olympic spirit. And the award for best interview so far goes to Claire Balding who interviewed his father, possibly the proudest man in the world ever who could not quite believe his son had just won a gold medal.
With barely 30 mins to recover from this, both guys were back in the pool for the 4x200m freestyle relay and for this we witnessed history when Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian ever. It was delightful to see that the knowledgeable crowd recognised this milestone as 20000 people stood to applaud the great man on his anchor leg.to win gold!!!

All in all not too terrible a day for my quiet day huh? Now it's early bed night as tomorrow is my first day at the Olympic Park - excited does not quite cover it but rest assured the camera is fully charged and my pics will be coming to a blog near you soon!!!!! Night All xxxx

On your marks..... Get set.......Go!!!!

Well folks the time has finally arrived. I am on the train heading to Birmingham, which is the first leg of my journey to finally fulfil a childhood dream by attending the London 2012 Olympic Games!!!!! I even get shivers whilst typing it. Those who know me well know that i have been addicted to all things Olympic (particularly athletics) from a young age. My parents took me to The Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986 and the atmosphere was truly amazing. I still remember that feeling of excitement as i ran around with my autograph book getting to meet stars such as Debbie Marti and Peter Elliot!!! I know what you are thinking - who are they? It did not matter that they were not the Olympic Champions or World Champions but they were British athletes who took the time out to humour a young girl who was in her element at her first live sporting event.From then on I have attended dozens of live athletics meets including several TeamGB World and Olympic Trials but this is by far the biggest and most exciting event I will ever have attend. Some will say "Why the Olympics?"

Firstly - what is not to love about an event where commentators have a free rein to come out with classic lines such as "This lady has the biggest snatch i have ever seen", "He certainly had an impressive semi", "That was an incredibly strong jerk" and "What a powerful back end she had" I could go on but you get my drift!!

Secondly the Olympics is about more important things than just winning. Sure we love to see Team GB rake in the gold silver and bronze medals but that is not only what the Olympic spirit is about. It is watching the athlete, who is expected to come in 8th place, come in 6th. It's about athletes going out and achieving personal bests - even if they finish in last place. As Jessie J said "It's not about the money, forget about the price tag" - Athletes are out to perform for pride and for their country. It is not about millions of £££. Anyone who remembers Derek Redmond finishing his 400m race in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona will know what i am talking about. His dream was to win an Olympic medal and when his hamstring tore coming round the bend onto the home straight he buckled in agony only to get up and hobble all the way to the finish line in floods of tears held up by his father. This memory brings tears to me as I write this. It is about courage, team work and triumph over adversity.

Now my time is finally here. I finally get to be part of this amazing sporting event and witness it in person. I cannot wait to witness the power , strength and determination of these greats sportsmen and women. But hey it is not all serious. I must admit that half naked ripped male swimmers and sprinters in tight lycra might also be one of the major perks of this occasion.

So let the games commence!!!!!!!