Games wise life continues to be very busy although we are clearly on the home run now. Today I spent all morning sorting out the results from the ‘flat’ canoeing which is now taking place out at Eton Manor as the rowing has finished. The room that I work in has 40 photocopiers in 5 banks of eight. They spring into life when some-one at a venue sends through a result or other necessary info so today canoeing was going balmy and the system wasn’t set up properly.
Canoeing has different race categories – C1, K1 etc, different genders and different race lengths so it is very easy to mix up race results – men not women, wrong distance etc. The semis, fairly obviously, involve the winners of the heats but we do actually have to be accurate about who is in each of those – correct gender, classification, distance etc – if not, chaos ensues…which it did…..I had it correct by 5pm, having started at 6.30am, but if anyone watched it and the commentators were confused well, erm, just pass that buck in this direction. Disaster!
Socially, I met up with Graham and Amanda on Super Saturday. Thanks for the beer! We watched the action on the big screen when they were all done in the stadium. The atmosphere was amazing and the noise for Jess Ennis deafening. An amazing night of athletics, most of which I missed as PB’s, world rankings, starting line-ups, lane draws etc whirled off photocopiers!!! Oh well.
On Sunday I had the day off and with a Wimbledon ticket from a friend in my pocket I headed out to the All England Club. I really don’t quite get how I ended up with a stressful job here but on Sunday I was out to have fun…..Pimms (but due to IOC sponsorship rules they had to call it Fruit Cup!) was £7.30 a glass, bubbly was £47.50 a bottle!! Outrageous!
You are only allowed to take 100cc or less of liquid into an Olympic venue and that has to be in a 100cc container, not splashing about in a bigger bottle or drinks container, so if one wishes to do the Wimbledon thing and indulge in the odd alcoholic beverage it pretty much means a bank loan. I allowed myself one fruit cup with a promise of a second should our Andrew win…..which, of course, he did. Monsieur Roger was not at all ‘appy that as this weekend was now a GB gold fest, no one, even at Wimbledon, was on his side……bless, how sad, ho,ho.
Late into the evening we were on Centre Court under the roof watching the mixed doubles bronze medal match and then the mixed medal ceremony. You have to feel for Laura Robson. I bottle it if anyone turns up to watch on Parson’s Croft……but Centre Court at 18 during a crazy weekend for British sport….tough.
We watched the Men’s 100m on an iPhone on the tube on the way home with the whole carriage trying to get a look and hoping that we didn’t go underground! Brill, you couldn’t script it.
Finally….Olympic Park joke of the day……
Q: Why is it important that kids learn how to spell?
A: So they know the difference between ‘Australia have one gold’ and ‘GB have won lots of golds’
Ho,ho.
Only 4 more shifts and 6 more days to go. Trying to get a Top Hat ticket to see Tom Chambers on a day off. Home after the Closing Ceremony as they need my room for a Paralympian…..I shall give it gladly but have so enjoyed being here. Truly a once in a lifetime thing.
Thank you to Val for her latest report – working in the Olympic Park.
PARWICH.ORG 
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