tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67906722024-03-14T05:04:01.427+00:00Robin the Robin at the London 2012 Olympic Games BlogRobin the Robin started out as a blog about visiting the Athens 2004 Olympic Games with a soft toy called Robin the Robin. But then the Olympics finished. We posted more pics for a while. Then we stopped. THEN LONDON 2012 HAPPENED AND ROBIN RETURNED!Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.comBlogger363125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-28292853318818545392012-09-08T20:59:00.000+01:002012-09-08T21:00:41.665+01:00The women's basketball final<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last night was my penultimate event of this whole 'lympics adventure, with a trip to the women's basketball bronze and gold matches at the North Greenwich Arena, aka The O2, aka the Millennium Dome. Here's Robin outside it...<br />
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They've just opened a new thing where you can walk over the top of the dome. Looks mad. And fun.<br />
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This one's on the way in. All this 2012 branding will presumably be gone by Monday. :-(<br />
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So we saw two matches - USA vs the Netherlands in the bronze match, which was won easily by the Netherlands (a big shock, as USA got gold in Beijing and have won a medal every Olympics since 1996).<br />
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And then it was Germany vs Australia in the gold match which, sadly, was also not a particularly close contest. Germany ended up winning at a canter, as Australia weren't taking their chances (they actually had more shots on basket, but missed a significantly higher percentage - including 11 of their 12 free shots).<br />
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The Germans, then, thoroughly deserved their gold - and here they are celebrating it, in this next photo. Really enjoyed watching both games - such a quick, physical and skilful sport. <br />
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Which just leaves one more London 2012 event for Robin and I. The 7-a-side football classification matches tomorrow morning in the Riverside Arena in the Olympic Park. One of them will feature Team GB. No doubt, 20,000 people will be cheering them, and these Games, as loud as they possibly can. </div>
Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-64559726131721576012012-09-07T14:47:00.001+01:002012-09-07T16:40:28.188+01:00Um, I went to the Athletics again on Tuesday...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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...but forgot to take Robin.<br />
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Great night, though. Highlights included seeing Jonnie Peacock win his 100m heat (that's him above, he then got gold last night), and Oscar Pistorius lead the South African 4x100m relay team to victory. Oh, and the incredible 4x100m relay for the visually impaired where the entire crowd were asked (and managed) to be silent until the final changeeover had taken place.<br />
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Tonight's I'm off to the women's wheelchair basketball gold medal match. Robin is definitely coming to this one...</div>
Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-78149912805717036812012-09-01T18:01:00.001+01:002012-09-01T18:36:13.330+01:00Robin's Paralympics debut<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We're just back from our first (of four) trips to the London 2012 Paralympics, where we'd managed to snag some tickets for the morning athletics session. We saw some great sport, including wheelchair races...<br />
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And an amazing race from GBR's Richard Whitehead, where he stormed to gold in the 200m despite trailing coming out of the bend...</div>
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Here he is getting his medal. Rapturous reaction from a very partisan crowd. Saying that, though, the crowd basically cheered anyone very loudly, whether it was a Brit storming to gold, the Finnish guy smashing the wheelchair 100m record, or the fellow from Djbouti who took more than 10 minutes to finish his 1500m heat (several laps behind the others) but was absolutely roared around the track.</div>
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And then afterwards we wandered around the Olympic Park (which was considerably busier than I'd ever seen it) and took some silly photos on a volunteer's chair and with Paralympic mascot Mandeville in the 2012 Superstore...</div>
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Next up it's back to the Stadium for athletics on Wednesday night....</div>
Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-33544555865680066192012-08-12T12:48:00.002+01:002012-08-12T12:51:23.213+01:00Our last event of the Games<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, yesterday we headed back to the Olympic Park for our last event of London 2012, the bronze match in the women's handball, between Spain and South Korea.<br />
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The Spanish fans were out in force, which is probably why the Koreans were handing out those inflatable clapping sticks they're so fond of...<br />
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It was an incredibly close match, level at half time, level at full time, level after overtime and then level until about a minute before the end of "double overtime", after which it would've gone to penalties.<br />
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But, partly thanks to some great saves from the Spanish goalkeeper (they had one who just came on for any penalties - and saved four out of five!), the Spanish eventually ran out winners, 31-29. <br />
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Given that the Koreans were overwhelming favourites to win and that it had been such a titanic struggle, the Spanish were pretty darned happy about getting their bronze!<br />
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After that, it was a short walk over to the Park Live part of the Olympic Park, where the big screens are, to watch Mo Farrah go for his double gold in the 5000m (and get a tourist pic of Robin with the Olympic rings). <br />
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Here's the crowd, just before Mo's race...<br />
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And here they are, watching it...<br />
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Definitely one of the most memorable moments of an amazing two weeks. Then we popped for some (overpriced but quite tasty) Thai food and came back to the big screens to watch the men's 4 x 100m relay.<br />
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Britain really *has* been quite great these last couple of weeks. Anyway, as soon as the relay was over, we hotfooted it back to the station, past the stadium, to beat the crowds. Inside the stadium, at this very moment, Usain and his Jamaican teammates were celebrating their world record run. You could hear the roar.<br />
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This afternoon, I'm off to Hyde Park to watch the closing ceremony show by Blur, New Order and the Specials. Given that those first two are among my very favourite bands and that they're showing the closing ceremony itself on the big screens, it should be a fine way to round off this incredible time. </div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-10862126038544955422012-08-11T22:52:00.000+01:002012-08-11T22:52:06.041+01:00Mo wins the 5000m<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Just back from the Olympic Park. Here's how the crowd watching the big screens reacted to Mo Farah winning the 5000m. This is what utter jubilation looks like.</div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-85672012862110295372012-08-10T20:21:00.002+01:002012-08-10T20:29:54.272+01:00Ten events down, one to go...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, after going to basketball, table tennis, archery, beach volley, badminton, water polo, volleyball, athletics, taekwondo and football*, tomorrow is our last event: handball (just as it was in Athens). Really looking forward to that. But already starting to feel a wee bit sad that'll it'll soon be all over. It's been such a wonderful couple of weeks. And it'd be hard to argue that London hasn't done itself proud.<br />
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* Plus, of course, Robin went to the canoe sprint too. </div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-5625510815093070162012-08-10T10:45:00.001+01:002012-08-10T11:25:25.523+01:00A humdinger of a women's football final<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last night, I headed to Wembley Stadium to watch the women's football final between Japan and USA - who'd contested last year's World Cup final, which Japan won on penalties.</div>
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The view you see when you emerge from Wembley Park tube station really must be as exciting as that from any station in the world...</div>
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Then you have the tradition walk down Wembley Way - or Olympic Way as it's officially known, because it led to the old stadium which was the main venue for the 1948 Olympics (the walkway was apparently built by German prisoners of war). </div>
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I'd love to know where the scarf factories are where they can knock up these scarves so quickly (the semi finals were only the other day)</div>
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With USA having made it to every women's football final since it was introduced to the Olympics, an awful lot of Americans had clearly taken a chance and bought tickets. There were stars and stripes everywhere, and "USA!" was booming out around the stadium, which was crammed with more than 80,000 people. There were lots of Japan fans too. And a great atmosphere.</div>
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Wembley did look nice with all its London 2012 decor.</div>
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Probably the best water bottle filling facility I've seen at any 2012 venue - it was the first aid office, with a line of medical staff passing the bottles down and filling them from the tap. That's pretty indicative of the kind of the unexpectedly helpful spirit that's characterised these Games. </div>
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As I say, it was pretty packed in there. A record for a women's football match in this country, in fact.</div>
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The game itself was a real humdinger - the two teams were very evenly matched, with both hitting the woodwork and both playing some terrific football. In the end USA won 2-1, but Japan (who I was cheering for) fought them close right to the end.</div>
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I'll leave you with a photo of my £5.70 half-time Lincolnshire sausage.<br />
Pricey, but tasty.</div>
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Only one more event to go - the handball tomorrow (unless I can *finally* win my battle to get some hockey tickets). Can't believe it's almost over. What an amazing couple of weeks. </div>
</div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-33758734854987008262012-08-10T09:05:00.002+01:002012-08-10T09:05:52.194+01:00Watching the 200m at Wembley<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Idh-_Z61hAc" width="560"></iframe><br />
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I was at Wembley Stadium for the terrific women's football final last night (more of which later), but one of the most memorable moments came just after half time, when a big crowd of people decided to stay in the concourse and watch the 200m on the TV. The video above shows what happened. </div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-16686625398306826552012-08-09T11:31:00.002+01:002012-08-10T11:47:04.766+01:001,500 visits!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We've just gone past 1,500 visits to this blog since the Olympics began. Which is a lot more than I was expecting for a blog I hadn't touched for four years. Thanks to everyone reading. Do feel free to say hello in the comments (you don't need to register or anything). </div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-18497305575330088582012-08-09T10:20:00.001+01:002012-08-09T10:30:15.285+01:00Taekwondo - more exciting than you'd imagine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Yesterday it was back to the Excel to see Taekwondo after I managed to bag a £20 seat from the ticket site over the weekend. If you're not sure what people do in Taekwondo, here's the one-word instruction manual...</div>
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They actually have electronic sensors on their feet to help them judge whether they've kicked the body (the pads have sensors too). All quite clever. The arena was packed, with big groups of fans from various countries (Spain and Thailand probably had the most). Actually, I think there were 7 different countries from three continents in the two lots of semi finals I saw. </div>
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The next photo shows some of the kicking as it happened. I saw the quarter and semi finals across two weights, one men's and one women's. The Spanish woman in this pic made it through to the final, as did the Spanish chap I saw. He went on to win his final, so they bagged a gold and a silver in one night. Obviously most Brits won't know about that, because (quite naturally) you only tend to hear when you're own country has done well. </div>
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But for Spain - who'd only won one gold so far this Olympics - it was obviously a HUGE deal to have so much success in one venue. That's the thing with the Olympics - there are massive stories happening all the time, but they're only really of interest to particular countries. Like Italy knocking reigning champs USA out of the men's volleyball last night in the 1/8 round. Huge shock. But doubt too many Brits know about it. Anyway, here's that kick...</div>
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The matches actually turned out to be a lot more exciting than I expected. There were two which ended up as a tie after the three periods (of 2 minutes), at which point they went to "Golden Point", ie the next person to score wins. And the use of video replays to check whether a score should've counted also adds to the drama. But the best match was the Spanish woman who was 9-4 down in her semi-final with a Thai with about 45 seconds to go and came back to win 10-9 following an amazing late flurry of scoring points. The noise in there at that point was incredible. And the Thai woman sitting next to me had tears of disappointment streaming down her face. </div>
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It did take a while to work out what/how they were scoring, but after a couple of hours, you do really get into it (helped by one of the best commentaries on the commentary radio that I've had). It's the first time I've seen Taekwondo at either Olympics I've been to, and it was definitely up there with some of the most enjoyable sports to watch. </div>
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Women's football final tonight. Japan vs USA. 90,000 sell out at Wembley. Very much looking forward to it. </div>
<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-48776055289094362622012-08-08T22:51:00.002+01:002012-08-10T11:47:15.219+01:00The flowers in the Olympic Park...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
... are very pretty.<br />
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<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-937670763685994872012-08-08T13:03:00.001+01:002012-08-08T13:14:14.200+01:00A night in the Olympic Stadium<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last night was perhaps our most awaited night of the Games - an evening session watching the athletics in the wonderful Olympic Stadium. We got to the Park just in time to see Victoria Pendleton not quite winning the gold in the sprint. There were HUGE crowds watching the big screens (you couldn't actually get into the big screen park to watch them - this was outside). You can also see the velodrome itself to the left of the big screen...<br />
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And then to the stadium, listening to Chris Hoy win his cycling gold on the radio on the way (I'm not always Five Live's greatest fan, but they've been great at these Games). </div>
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Here we are inside what was, not surprisingly, a packed stadium. The roar any time a Brit was involved was pretty incredible to hear. </div>
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We saw some great events - 200m women's qualifying, 800m men's
qualifying (in which a Brit had an astonishing finish to get through),
high jump final (a Brit got bronze, a rock n roll Russian took gold),
100m women's hurdles semis and final (won by an Australian with an
Olympic record), discus final (won by a German who celebrated by ripping
his shirt off then running down the home straight doing the hurdles)
and the 1500m final (won by an Algerian).<br />
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This French athlete made a false start in the 100m hurdles semi-final and was thus automatically disqualified. Poor woman. She looked devastated.<br />
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You can see the Olympic flame under the giant TV on this one...</div>
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We had such a fun night. Even the long, soggy queue to get the javelin train back to St Pancras couldn't dampen spirits. <br />
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Taekwondo today... </div>
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</div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-42003137456267067732012-08-08T09:44:00.001+01:002012-08-08T09:44:04.684+01:00Volleyball at Earls Court<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUwhx4NQm3Fp9R9MqMZ47NMFhIoX32Nf-eHFe-cD6tvVZrg20bPeFrx3f8_i9DIRo1fuJz7hzyGbjEUwrrRjnCh2hBX2HjZDnPgFKjnBDVNOQsa39ATWTXRAUqDoLHA2li7Ju/s1600/IMG_3319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUwhx4NQm3Fp9R9MqMZ47NMFhIoX32Nf-eHFe-cD6tvVZrg20bPeFrx3f8_i9DIRo1fuJz7hzyGbjEUwrrRjnCh2hBX2HjZDnPgFKjnBDVNOQsa39ATWTXRAUqDoLHA2li7Ju/s640/IMG_3319.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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Here's Robin at one of the best 2012 venues I've been to - Earls Court, where I watched a volleyball double header on Monday night. Earls Court has been around for a *long* time (Buffallo Bill performed there back in the day!), so it's well set up for this sort of thing. And you can really feel that the sport has had to play catch-up with beach volleyball in the last few years, making much more effort with crowd participation and inter-match entertainment/music. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrESowvNQyoNAnvECTgbB35SV8x2PAF2hr7L8GWJdBsdfjh4uq4WsReQn1vKGAz1H8TMRcaHqHYHu5S4PMih9c2I25iLxjil-fPuqyEeSavFg3hxnU2410lHPLKMfb4PUYfbBj/s1600/IMG_3321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrESowvNQyoNAnvECTgbB35SV8x2PAF2hr7L8GWJdBsdfjh4uq4WsReQn1vKGAz1H8TMRcaHqHYHu5S4PMih9c2I25iLxjil-fPuqyEeSavFg3hxnU2410lHPLKMfb4PUYfbBj/s400/IMG_3321.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We saw two men's games - the very capable USA beat Tunisia and then Brazil overcame Germany in a close game (which didn't finish until well after 11pm). I sat next to a very pleasant Bulgarian couple, who were very into volleyball. Bulgaria topped the other group and will play Germany next. I'll definitely be rooting for them. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0OUyI5A1hdDnbbuRrvH1lkcDuGBNhK-1xxqreRyZ6woKz2k6SXSeRMbMbUK35gEnhJb17x3EAW3YbMKBlSL-DTtsMmlFzi89qaf3uHR5aPYIp7nQhhh1ASkxyy4bpXgm-yJC/s1600/IMG_3327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0OUyI5A1hdDnbbuRrvH1lkcDuGBNhK-1xxqreRyZ6woKz2k6SXSeRMbMbUK35gEnhJb17x3EAW3YbMKBlSL-DTtsMmlFzi89qaf3uHR5aPYIp7nQhhh1ASkxyy4bpXgm-yJC/s400/IMG_3327.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-87758487168596343712012-08-08T08:28:00.001+01:002012-08-08T08:28:49.803+01:00Robin at the canoeing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_HUmU3acpq4eP9lQgYjv_EYHhsQKGVOGWtRBLj0RLgLGUl4Wy5vyaTJvcnZOgzyvD173V0Ahlu9KBuzzQ-vjuGcR6Ky3DYEsC0jFCskSYMG8Iusp2Lic6Za53q3GtqhZg3CJ/s1600/photo(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_HUmU3acpq4eP9lQgYjv_EYHhsQKGVOGWtRBLj0RLgLGUl4Wy5vyaTJvcnZOgzyvD173V0Ahlu9KBuzzQ-vjuGcR6Ky3DYEsC0jFCskSYMG8Iusp2Lic6Za53q3GtqhZg3CJ/s640/photo(3).JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Robin has now been to more London 2012 events than I have, as my mum took him to the canoe/kayak sprints at Eton Dorney yesterday. Apparently it was all organised like clockwork - everything at these Games really has been - and a fine time was had by all. As at all the events I've been to, the Brits were supporting the underdog if there wasn't a GBR competitor, which in this case meant cheering madly for whoever was in last place. Sounds fun.</div>
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Robin also had his first go on the official Park and Ride. Not particularly cheap - £12 + booking fee - but, again, very well organised. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCO4KeQU5Ds2TABY07afptYpuZYX5pHs8xnBQtlXNbLQUYFHwlHNnIBtUDmNlpjOSPptw_YZuZd58i-azLs3ynQgY8MOvME4pIxqCDNCDB825Z9UWC4FHS4FVH1ySQ-SAY-KK/s1600/photo(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCO4KeQU5Ds2TABY07afptYpuZYX5pHs8xnBQtlXNbLQUYFHwlHNnIBtUDmNlpjOSPptw_YZuZd58i-azLs3ynQgY8MOvME4pIxqCDNCDB825Z9UWC4FHS4FVH1ySQ-SAY-KK/s400/photo(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-64161524094789149242012-08-07T13:30:00.000+01:002012-08-07T13:51:30.385+01:00The London 2012 Commentary Radio<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ37QDAPus4fK7f35J6yPbmziozhzNdIyYfX_QtbC_7MJRyMvQ4XSKji7mX9WiiK3E2N1Hjn3S71Cqnt8q92SrqaPZUvUbZi3f311bMI63g1j-z_2bOFMfxyWjsEM8netcj4s1/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ37QDAPus4fK7f35J6yPbmziozhzNdIyYfX_QtbC_7MJRyMvQ4XSKji7mX9WiiK3E2N1Hjn3S71Cqnt8q92SrqaPZUvUbZi3f311bMI63g1j-z_2bOFMfxyWjsEM8netcj4s1/s640/photo.JPG" width="548" /> </a> </div>
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UPDATE: Having now taken the commentary radio to a bunch of events, thought I'd post a wee update to say that it's actually turned out to be a bit disappointing. At several events, the "commentary" consists only of what you can hear being announced over the PA anyway. So not really commentary at all. Only a couple of events have had actual commentary which other spectators wouldn't be able to hear, during the match. So far, the breakdown looks like this...</div>
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<b>PROPER COMMENTARY</b>: Badminton, Table tennis (and even the table tennis commentary abruptly finished midway into the session on Sunday)</div>
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<b>NO COMMENTARY</b>: Water polo, archery, volleyball, beach volley</div>
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Suddenly, that tenner doesn't seem quite so worthwhile, even with all the events I'm seeing. Really don't understand why they've bothered to have the technology in place (you can hear PA announcements at all venues) but not got a commentator. </div>
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If you're going to more than a couple of London 2012 events, then this clever commentary radio thing is probably worth a go. Head to one of the programme seller booths and, for £10, you get a wee radio which clips onto your ear and gives you access to commentary during the event. </div>
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That was particularly worthwhile at the table tennis where you got constant, informed commentary (albeit from a commentator with an extremely unfortunate habit of referring to the Japanese competitor as "the Jap", to the obvious discomfort of those around me with an earpiece). At the archery, though, the commentary in the earpiece actually just mirrored the announcements coming over the PA, which made is rather less useful. </div>
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Still, it should be really handy at the Olympic Stadium, as it can be quite tricky to follow all the various track and field things which happen concurrently. And, once the Games are over, you can press a couple of buttons and it works as an FM radio. </div>
</div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-55229122214890753172012-08-07T12:40:00.003+01:002012-08-07T12:40:52.663+01:00Robin and the Olympic torch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE33Hq-i3JpTdWmQtDFlX7LTyIY29_7Na8yanrHbdW9ktN_cBEKYLlmvDaETAvv__piJ9M714yqstHXCHwxyLfaZYHLhwegAVkRWrGKmjcRcft2IIYvifCjUnaFy3BBWD627Nw/s1600/IMG_3325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE33Hq-i3JpTdWmQtDFlX7LTyIY29_7Na8yanrHbdW9ktN_cBEKYLlmvDaETAvv__piJ9M714yqstHXCHwxyLfaZYHLhwegAVkRWrGKmjcRcft2IIYvifCjUnaFy3BBWD627Nw/s1600/IMG_3325.jpg" /></a></div>
At the volleyball at Earls Court last night, Robin was lucky enough to sit in an actual Olympic torch which was used during the astonishingly popular relay around the UK (we were popping to the loo during the first match and there was no longer a queue to pose with it, so it seemed daft not to).</div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-57172239373030044582012-08-07T12:35:00.003+01:002012-08-07T12:37:14.854+01:00Excitement and disappointment at the water polo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, we followed our visit to the Temple of Tat yesterday with a visit to the water polo arena to cheer for Greece in their crucial group match against Australia - with whichever side won qualifying for the knock out rounds. Here's the venue...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJ3jgHqc9ls4VfgOSAarLHuzxV5HhJQ1Wx5_MpUMwn914zX1tv2aPxSGCDPihf_nZYLx6NdnqSJ9is90FoN8gnDbhFkY_1FXsifbd49paU4_NTGz7sf9eSsTbRCuJoYFBgIKS/s1600/IMG_3313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJ3jgHqc9ls4VfgOSAarLHuzxV5HhJQ1Wx5_MpUMwn914zX1tv2aPxSGCDPihf_nZYLx6NdnqSJ9is90FoN8gnDbhFkY_1FXsifbd49paU4_NTGz7sf9eSsTbRCuJoYFBgIKS/s400/IMG_3313.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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And here's what the view looks like from near the top on the left side... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicY7Sgl7yn1B0gbMA1c2lq1Qc-fM1azM9JyVM3LamrJj3A7Ad7YhyphenhyphenCYqXkWJcWuHScK8gmC4QZ354EmupD15RfZZ6m3J-45X-M1YOGQ4Owghv1OaUrPLu-pM4PWGrvV3cCNyw-/s1600/IMG_3284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicY7Sgl7yn1B0gbMA1c2lq1Qc-fM1azM9JyVM3LamrJj3A7Ad7YhyphenhyphenCYqXkWJcWuHScK8gmC4QZ354EmupD15RfZZ6m3J-45X-M1YOGQ4Owghv1OaUrPLu-pM4PWGrvV3cCNyw-/s400/IMG_3284.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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And here's the Greek team coming on. Sadly, despite having more shots than the Australians, they couldn't make the most of the chances, and ended up losing easily. A real pity. But it was great to see our kids cheering so proudly for Greece (my wife is Greek) and lovely for their grandparents in Athens to see us on the TV waving our flag each time our boys scored. Just wish Greece could've scored a few more... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14dNaXpGluZz1dWPskVoQ_cL0AiNjl26_KamkcmiLZHa0OBOPtndXLLwajFnZ0LXouVwhgNOP15qrmwp55UqkSxOVbx6SKLj4Ko1gKGbZhteoqYB3zkD2m45rXpksJ2xppEN7/s1600/IMG_3303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14dNaXpGluZz1dWPskVoQ_cL0AiNjl26_KamkcmiLZHa0OBOPtndXLLwajFnZ0LXouVwhgNOP15qrmwp55UqkSxOVbx6SKLj4Ko1gKGbZhteoqYB3zkD2m45rXpksJ2xppEN7/s400/IMG_3303.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-34674266971746655282012-08-06T17:49:00.001+01:002012-08-06T17:51:10.055+01:00A visit to the Olympic Temple of Tat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We were back in the Olympic Park this morning, for the water polo. As the transport is running *so* smoothly during these Games, we got there quite early. So we thought we'd go for a potter in the Temple of Tat that is the London 2012 Megastore. It's HUGE...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvji6bVJEfV55UFV-8YP6ep1_lE1L7hoJebfaK0wI4CALM00tm6x0GwdFUU57AfKOVNnZu9HX8lMZb6ghRaWke2NzZHy1fJVuhKTue98p6ZhTvZFPKmzzbGx8AlWTiUNsvKDio/s1600/IMG_3257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvji6bVJEfV55UFV-8YP6ep1_lE1L7hoJebfaK0wI4CALM00tm6x0GwdFUU57AfKOVNnZu9HX8lMZb6ghRaWke2NzZHy1fJVuhKTue98p6ZhTvZFPKmzzbGx8AlWTiUNsvKDio/s400/IMG_3257.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As is "Team GB's golden girl" Jessica Ennis (who's so ripped with muscles, she didn't even notice Robin perching on her arm)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzjxJBZKKkQjD8M2QVCjDllzMorfqrDvINpCs214dowHi1go99QpAlKbVRJGP943adRks4MQMzwsVPDb9M_Zy2Rlo95J_-QYePzEMJeUKs1D1nm39ctWtJieVJbhk_-7I6nTt/s1600/IMG_3258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzjxJBZKKkQjD8M2QVCjDllzMorfqrDvINpCs214dowHi1go99QpAlKbVRJGP943adRks4MQMzwsVPDb9M_Zy2Rlo95J_-QYePzEMJeUKs1D1nm39ctWtJieVJbhk_-7I6nTt/s640/IMG_3258.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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There are an awful lot of Wenlocks available. If the people who designed Wenlock could see how OBSESSED my little boys are with him, I would imagine they'd be quite happy. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibaOFBg0wz5bB8YSxZo4Up5FjX7PEJZm4oNPM-U5yKECd1S4C_H-Ts9ux4DSYksrPSFV9cR-9fId7d25j1GfzH_hE75F02Uw8md4S5SmDE7OxNo-t7II33SBHxNFMAskv8Ek_l/s1600/IMG_3259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibaOFBg0wz5bB8YSxZo4Up5FjX7PEJZm4oNPM-U5yKECd1S4C_H-Ts9ux4DSYksrPSFV9cR-9fId7d25j1GfzH_hE75F02Uw8md4S5SmDE7OxNo-t7II33SBHxNFMAskv8Ek_l/s400/IMG_3259.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our elder boy wants one of these £15 golden Wenlocks more than anything (and the fact they're now giving a giant one to each athletics gold medalist isn't exactly helping to reduce his desire). And you can only buy them from venues. Hoping that by the time the Paralympics start they'll have reduced the bucket loads of them down to a tenner or something.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAN7HukXHdw401U1HrtuITg3Zoe-H4sx393z4P7Kf0Cp5LLWRLHa9aLQ16Kf_QeYPwzNyx6eHqGavAeU71wcJ-rtUVv5pbyk7OwGWuL0WvaE9jXyDeqtzClp1g77_kd2cq-8Q-/s1600/IMG_3262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAN7HukXHdw401U1HrtuITg3Zoe-H4sx393z4P7Kf0Cp5LLWRLHa9aLQ16Kf_QeYPwzNyx6eHqGavAeU71wcJ-rtUVv5pbyk7OwGWuL0WvaE9jXyDeqtzClp1g77_kd2cq-8Q-/s400/IMG_3262.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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While I was taking this next photo, I saw a succession of people coming up saying: <br />"Ooh, these are nice. What?! £65?!!! Are they mad???!!!!"</div>
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This one shows two giant Wenlocks in an Olympic Mini with Robin on the windscreen, obviously. </div>
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And you should've seen the queues at the checkouts... </div>
<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-4130141802977003752012-08-05T18:02:00.001+01:002012-08-05T18:16:22.146+01:00Badders and Robin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This morning we were up bright and breezy to head to Wembley for the two men's bronze semi-finals - singles and doubles - which began at 9am. Amazing to read the paper on the way over there, documenting the crazy excitement of yesterday's six gold medals for GBR (we only got ONE in the entire of the 96 Games).<br />
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Wembley Arena was one of the venues used last time the Olympics was in London, in 1948, and they actually still have the old pool under the floorboards (one of the reasons people say the arena has poor acoustics for music shows). The weather on the way in was typically London summer...<br />
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This badminton serve challenge is a LOT harder than it looks - you get six shuttlecocks, so the maximum possible score is 60, but the record for the entire Games so far is just 34 points. I was pretty pleased to get 6 points. My pal Nick (pictured) and plenty of others got the big zero. </div>
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In the first match we saw, the Chinese guy beat the South Korean guy to win the men's singles bronze in a long three setter. It was great to see how chuffed the Chinese fella was. You'd sort of imagine that with them winning so many golds, bronze wouldn't mean that much. But he was properly delighted when he won.<br />
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And then it was the doubles, which was Malaysia vs South Korea. Malaysia haven't won any medals in these Games yet, so as underdogs had most of the crowd rooting for them, with these guys doing a good job of cheer leading. <br />
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Sadly, though, it wasn't to be, as the Malaysian pair blew a big lead in the first set and then quickly lost the second. Another great session, though. It's just such an incredible opportunity to see great sport played by some of its absolute finest players. </div>
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My first double header tomorrow - water polo in the morning, volleyball in the evening.</div>
<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-38586849277610098882012-08-05T17:36:00.002+01:002012-08-05T17:40:11.484+01:00Walk like an Olympian...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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One curious aspect of these Games has been the vast over-estimations by the organisers of how long it takes to walk somewhere. The travel website says it takes 26 minutes to walk from my house to Hitchin station: I usually do it in half that. Then there was a sign at Custom House DLR station the other day saying it was 8 minutes to the Excel: it took less than three.<br />
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And then this morning, switching from train to tube in Hampstead, they were claiming this journey from a lamp post to where the Underground sign is would take 2 minutes: it was more like 20 seconds. You can only assume they're trying to make us trudging spectators feel like record-breaking Olympians. </div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-87505274218189078352012-08-05T07:17:00.000+01:002012-08-05T15:48:44.097+01:00At the beach, miles from the sea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Just back from this morning's badminton, here's a wee blog about the beach volley, which is genuinely one of my favourite spectator sports. Unfortunately, when you say you're going to see it, people treat you a bit like you're off to a strip club - all nudges and winks - as if the women there couldn't possibly be taken seriously because they wear bikinis. Which is, of course, deeply annoying and unfair. But then the situation is not helped by the beach volley authorities, who force the female players to wear the skimpy outfits (unless it's below 15 degrees), thus exacerbating the problem.<br />
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Amyway, got to say, for a temporary arena, this was an enormously impressive one....<br />
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It's also the first time we've seen proper taps to fill bottles with, rather than a couple of low pressure water fountains. The irony being, of course, that there was nobody filling bottles. Most of the exuberant crowd wanted to drink something stronger than water. In fact, during the short gap between the two matches of our session, I popped to the loo and was amazed to see huge bar queues that must've been taking at least 30 minutes. Seems a bit daft to miss so much of the session just to get a beer, but then I guess it was Saturday evening. </div>
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So here's the arena, which is on Horse Guard's Parade in central London, a stone throw's from Buckingham Palace. The capacity is apparently around 15,000, and the atmosphere - as tends to be the case at beach volley games - was being very skilfully ramped up by the announcer and his music. We saw two matches - Latvia against Germany men's (won by the favoured Germans) and a big upset in the women's, where the Czechs, ranked 11 in the world. beat the Brazil pair, who were ranked 2, in a three set match. It really was a cracking game - the athleticism of the players in this sport is just incredible. It's been amazing to see people raving about beach volley during these Games. Really hope it continues to get some proper TV exposure once they're over. </div>
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Of course, they also like to have dancers during breaks at beach volley, but the vibe was much more tongue-in-cheek / kitsch than the straight-up bikini babes they had in Athens. </div>
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Um, here is the Brazil flag. </div>
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And another one of that incredible backdrop. </div>
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And then it was off to the pub with an old mate from college to watch that incredible athletics gold rush in the athletics stadium. What an amazing Games this is turning out to be. You don't hear many people grumbling about it any more. </div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-67161936238450912382012-08-04T16:49:00.002+01:002012-08-04T16:50:03.810+01:00At the beach volley...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There's quite a view. First match starts in 10 minutes...</div>
<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-27403301504754025942012-08-03T21:08:00.001+01:002012-08-03T21:27:01.804+01:00Back at the ping pong<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Had another very enjoyable session at the table tennis at the Excel this morning - where we saw the first round of the women's team event. There were four matches going on concurrently, with the format being best of five matches: first they play a singles, then another singles, then a doubles, and if a team hasn't won 3-0 already, they move on to more singles to decide it. Takes a bit of getting used to trying to concentrate with all that happening, but you soon realise you just need to focus on one match.<br />
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Actually, three of the matches were 3-0 drubbings and over within an hour (of a session billed to last three hours). Luckily, in the one right in front of us, Poland gave Singapore a really good go, despite being massive underdogs. In fact, one of the Poles actually beat Feng, the Singapore player I saw narrowly lose her semi-final the other day, and who picked up the bronze. Poland - whose team also included an incredible player with only one full arm - made a real contest of it, but eventually lost 3-1, long after the other three matches (and, slightly annoyingly, the in-ear commentary) had finished.<br />
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Saw this at the Excel. Ah, memories...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzRhmrvP0R25EIQtmHSyJXh7URsFgVIPf2yosOyMhIbp049lbSjjkyNgOIp4r33DvfmvNGUC0AQLYR5Xq28YJBBkyhpZsLehv5g54KdCHemvcTF5mcH4g_UeeSJIK9GjPOkZ1/s1600/IMG_2164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzRhmrvP0R25EIQtmHSyJXh7URsFgVIPf2yosOyMhIbp049lbSjjkyNgOIp4r33DvfmvNGUC0AQLYR5Xq28YJBBkyhpZsLehv5g54KdCHemvcTF5mcH4g_UeeSJIK9GjPOkZ1/s640/IMG_2164.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-80104345686055497642012-08-02T17:54:00.002+01:002012-08-02T17:54:39.961+01:00Harsh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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(This was near the Excel Centre, which we're back at tomorrow for more table tennis.) </div>
<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790672.post-37119673837950175662012-08-01T22:17:00.003+01:002012-08-01T22:52:20.129+01:00Good arrows at Lord's<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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And so it was to Lord's cricket ground in North London this morning for my third London 2012 event - the archery. As well as being perhaps the most famous cricket ground in the world, Lord's is an extremely lovely place...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6ARv0cC0GvpqKF6M1JZc91b8KP0MkGjm4_SPV9txWjeUn8z86ZVHMAGkBbQs8IMTGVUTqYvyDYKXZV5H7PJ05ApiOb-GcEew7rfJ1eC7Ja06NefCLeTDs0wVjZnOJZWXRFQn/s1600/IMG_3179.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6ARv0cC0GvpqKF6M1JZc91b8KP0MkGjm4_SPV9txWjeUn8z86ZVHMAGkBbQs8IMTGVUTqYvyDYKXZV5H7PJ05ApiOb-GcEew7rfJ1eC7Ja06NefCLeTDs0wVjZnOJZWXRFQn/s400/IMG_3179.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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They even have a Robin the Robin gate...</div>
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As we discovered in Athens, although it's quite hard to see the arrows themselves, archery is an oddly compelling spectator sport, with some genuinely thrilling moments. I was particularly chuffed to see Viktor from Ukraine - the current Olympic champion who had to listen to the tannoy announcer / commentator telling the crowd that he really hadn't been on form recently - winning a dramatic sudden death play-off in his 1/32 round, and then going on to cruise through his 1/16 round. <br />
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Archery is also a sport in which the women are just as good as the men: we saw about a dozen of each sex and of the two perfect 30 scores - 3 x bullseye 10 - that we saw, one came from a man and the other from a woman (and they all shoot from the same place). In fact, that female 30 came against the plucky Brit, Amy Oliver, who won her first match that we saw, but then went out to an Indonesian on some amazing form in her 1/16 match (where her opponent scored an incredible 28, 28, 28 and 30 in the four sets). As the woman next to me in another friendly, chatty crowd said, it could easily be a mixed event. <br />
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Still, it was great to see my first Brit of the Games. The response from the crowd was quite something - massive roars and Union Jacks ahoy!<br />
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Robin even made a new Team GB-supporting friend...</div>
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Saying that, their friendship didn't last long, as the chap on the right was gobbled up by a hungry 2-year-old shortly after this photo was taken.</div>
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I've got a day off the Olympics tomorrow (I already feel a little bereft). Will post some of the photos I haven't got round to posting yet. And then on Friday it's back to the table tennis. Can't wait... </div>
<br /></div>Kithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616508598800436444noreply@blogger.com0