Olympics London 2012

Olympic Flame on the long walk at Windsor Castle 10 July 2012.

Thousands of people poured into Windsor today to view the Olympic Torch relay on the long walk of Windsor Castle. It was a beautiful sunny day until 15 minutes before the flame arrived when the heavens opened and rain poured from the sky. Visitors came prepared and brollies went up in true English style. Hundreds of local school children from nearby towns were blowing their whistles and waving their flags. As the flame came down the hill from the Castle, thousands of people followed it as it left Windsor towards Old Windsor. The atmosphere was electric and everyone had a great day out.

26 July - A beautiful sunny day in London as preparations get underway for the Olympic opening ceremony called 'Isles of Wonder' which will start at 9pm at the Olympic Park on 27 July 2012. London Mayor Boris Johnson shows his support with the Olympic barge floating on the river Thames in front of his office and street dance video streams projected on the river view of the Mayor's office - very cool.

On most days visitors can watch Tower Bridge raise to let passing vessels through, but what is that hiding under the top cross section between the two towers?

How clever to decorate our favourite London Bridge with Olympic rings! Outside the Tower of London many Olympic teams and their supporters were taking in the sights and sunshine, and our Olympic Mascot was there to welcome them.

Many of London's favourite attractions such as Horse Guards Parade have been transformed into beaches for beach volleyball. Increased security on the streets of London was highly visible on the day before the Olympics opening ceremony as troops marched along Whitehall past 10 Downing Street.

There were no visible displays of support at Westminster, except for one lonely white flag with Olympic rings on the roof of  the building next door. Come on Prime Minister, surely you can do better than that?!

28 July - Wow! Quite the opening ceremony we enjoyed last night.  The children singing from all four corners of UK brought a tear to the eye, then things got a little confusing but all was saved with the fireworks display that they could see on Mars.

I am sure Mr Beckham was thrilled with his boat trip down the Thames, but not so sure Her Majesty would have enjoyed sky diving from a helicopter. We were all trying to guess which countries were going to enter the stadium next, and could not quite believe how many countries start with the letter 'B'

With a turnout of 204 countries represented at the 2012 Olymipics, many British folk were left humbled by the variety and talent we can all look forward to enjoying over the next few weeks.  Apparently the stadium was sold out even though some tickets were still available the day before the event, but we could clearly see some empty front row seats, probably stuck in traffic on the M25.  In spite of all the fears about how London would cope with the scale of this event, the opening ceremony certainly appeared to pleasantly surprise us all and we can safely say it was a huge success, starting off the Olympics with a bang.

3 August 2012
It is safe to say the medal race has officially openend.  UK shot up in the medal tables to 5th overall after yesterday's sterling performance.  This morning's opening tables showed China in first place with 18 gold, 11 silver and five bronze medals whilst rival United States boast 18 gold, 9 silver and ten bronze medals.  The higher count of silver medals puts China in first place even though US have a higher overall medal count at 37 vs 34.

Korea (7g, 2s, 5b), France (6g, 4s, 6b) and UK(5g, 6s, 4b) follow in 3rd, 4th and 5th places respectively. Today marks the start of the Olympic athletics battle, and it would be very interesting to see how the medal table swings with our favourite track events thrown in the mix.

4 August 2012
Mo Farah turn up the heat! There have been so many amazing performances from Olympians this week, but as an amateur athlete in my school days I know all too well that the 10,000m race is the ultimate test of endurance, stamina and strength that every athlete dreams of in trepidation. What an amazing performance from Mo Farah to stride through the finish line with enough time to look back at his rivals crossing the line. Jessica Ennis takes Gold for the Heptahlon, a true test of all round endurance. What a great day for London 2012.

12 August 2012

An amazing week behind us and team GB have surpassed our wildest expectations.  Mo Farah's amazing race last night was celebrated in pubs accross the country and the atmosphere in the Jamaican pub at the O2 almost made my heart stop.  There is no doubt that this ancient sporting event can work magic in bringing cultures and countries together in one spirit and proves why it has withstood the test of time.

Inside the O2 the American ladies basketball team not only took the Gold Olympic Crown in true style, but entertained the crowds who were leaping out of their seats, dancing and leaping out of their seats with joy. We enjoyed the 3rd floor suites in magnificant style with a bird's eye view of the whole event, sipping ciders and munching on first class nibbles.