Day 4: a day off...to watch more sport!

My first day off for a long time, having gone straight from work to working at the Olympics. So, with a full day of leisure to do whatever I pleased, it was off to watch more sport! Well, this is me and there are Olympics out there on my doorstep to play with...

First, off to Earl's Court to watch some Volleyball.

Match 1: Italy beat Argentina 3 sets to 1 in what I, unfortunately, thought was quite a dull match that didn't really endear me to the sport of volleyball.

Then it was on to USA v Germany, a much more gripping game.

Below is Germany just missing a block, again. This was a feature of their their 3 sets to 0 loss, although that score flatters the USA unnecessarily flatters the USA, and belies how close the game was.

Then it was over to Excel for the evening session.

Excel is hostiing seven sports, as the signage shows, although I was there for Table Tennis.

North Hall 1, set out for the Quarter Finals, and so with only one table in the centre.

Here's Romania's Adrian Crsan being beaten 4 sets to 0 by Chih-Yuan Chuang of Taipei. It was my first ever live Table Tennis match and, whilst I'd been warned about quite how fast the games are, it was overwhelming for the first few minutes. Before it, sadly, settled down to a somewhat dull and predictable match.

The second Quarter Final of the evening was the Danish man Michael Maze very narrowly losing to the (formerly Ukrainian) German Dmitrij Ovtcharov. This was an incredibly tight 4 sets to 3 thriller that went down to the final point, and really caught my interest.

All in all, two sports I would never in a million years have paid to go and see live if it had not been the Olympics. But watching and enjoying different sports is yet another brilliant part of what makes the Olympics so great.

Back to being a Games Maker tomorrow...

Day 3: Beach Volleyball and the Olympic Park Greenway Gate

Heading down to the Beach Volleyball, the Admiralty Arch end of the Mall was looking all 'Jubilympics' with its union flags and Olympic signage.

The temporary stadium at Horse Guards Parade from the outside...

 ...and from the inside, with the fabulous backdrop (and with the Latvia v South Africa men's Beach Volleyball game in full flow).

Adding to the congas, macarenas and even the Benny Hill Show theme tune that have been reported on TV, here's the Cliff Richard 'Summer Holiday' sequence from the dancers. Most odd.

I have to say that, for all the jokes about it being an event designed to showcase, um, ladies' charms to gentlemen perverts rather than sporting prowess, I rather enjoyed the Beach Volleyball (and that has absolutely nothing to do with the rather attractive Norwegian gentlemen playing in the 3rd match of the morning. Of course not...!).
In all seriousness, credit must go to the compere for geeing up the crowd to create a really buzzing atmosphere (no mean feat at 9am). Also to the commentator for making a good go of explaining what in the world was going on on the pitch to a clearly novice crowd. All in all, a really enjoyable morning watching sport.

From there, it was back off to the Olympic Park for another shift. From Horse Guards Parade the District Line was the easiest option, so I decided to check out the Greenway Gate. Basically, it's a 20-minute walk from West Ham station along the disused railway line that is the Greenway...

...but for the Games it's full of smiley, chatty Games Makers. Most of whom are also wearing large foam hands for you to practise your high-fiving as you banter and bimble on by.

Going through the gate itself (by Pudding Mill Lane DLR) and underneath the railway tracks, you climb a gentle slope towards the Olympic Stadium, with the Orbit and Orbit Circus to your right.

It seems a lot emptier than every gate, except for Eton Manor on the North Side. I highly recommend it as an alternative to the congestion of Stratford Gate if you are coming from the south, or even central London.

Heading back into the Copper Box for my shift, it was good to see that those of the copper-haired persuasion are being catered for by LOCOG.

Monday was another day of great Handball (which I will talk about at length in another post), and the last game of the day was Sweden women Vs Norway women. The involvement of Norway means fabulous, loud supporters really whipping up a storm of atmosphere.

Oh, and MORE COWBELL : )

Day 2: stormy skies and storming shots

Today the atmosphere was still buzzing, just soggy and buzzing. After heavy downpours mid and late morning, by the time I headed into the Olympic Park in the early afternoon the sky was looking grey and loaded. 

The Street Market, between the Basketball Arena (left) and the Velodrome

Mind you, this smiley chap with the Olympic rings at his back has got one of the best jobs in the Park. That's having a megaphone from a vantage point, and being able to chat and banter with everyone passing by.

Heading past the Olympic Village, here's a little quiz... who lives in this block?!

Thundery skies (sadly, I just missed the lightning due to an exceptionally slow shutter speed on my camera) over the Olympic Stadium.

'Run' into the Copper Box, because the heavens are about to open yet again.

 
France (in white) sadly out-classing GBR (in red) at Handball in the early evening. Although it was not at all a bad showing from Team GBRs first ever major tournament for a team only formed six years ago.

Onwards and almost certainly, particularly given the buzz that is building around Handball during the Games, upwards.

Day 1: amazing atmosphere

This morning, simply walking the 3 1/2 miles from home to the Olympic Park was great. Many people smiled as I walked past, several people stopped me to ask questions or for directions (even, bizarrely, a random quiz question!), and two people (also in Olympics Games Maker uniform, and clearly headed to the same place) stopped to offer me a lift.
It didn't feel like anonymous, stand-offish London at all. If anything it felt like being back in friendly, dear old Leeds. So if this is the Olympic spirit, I want more.

Entering the Olympic Park from the Eton Manor gate, I finally got the up-close view of the Velodrome that I'd been waiting years for.

Heading south towards the white tent-like structure of the Basketball Arena, it was all sunshine and smiles(oh, and a couple of lost children - just like Oxfam steward tabards, the Games Maker uniform attracts trouble!)

Having a little walk in the nature area of the Olympic Park, alongside the river, with the Olympic Stadium in the background.

Cheering on Cav and Wiggo in the men's Cycling Road Race amongst the crowd at the Park Live floating screens (Basketball Arena in the background).

Heading into work. This is the Copper Box, my "office" for the fortnight.

Inside the Copper Box. Very few empty seats, amazing atmosphere and some great matches to watch.

Goal for GB women against Montenegro.

I'm seriously getting into the fast, frantic excitement that is Handball already. After just one day.... I know!

And as for the atmosphere, well the Olympic Spirit is rather good, isn't it? I'm loving the friendliness and the camaraderie of it all. As I mentioned above it's very "un-London". But I'm already hooked, and already thinking about how I can find a way to work at Rio 2016.

Greenwich, and the Torch Relay

Saturday started with a trip to Greenwich to see a couple of bands at the Oceania Stage in the grounds of the Old Naval College, as part of the Rivers Of Music Festival...

...and for a bit of a nosey around the venue building in Greenwich Park. The grandstands for the Equestrian events are bigger than I expected them to be, and towering behind the Queens House. The front grounds are full of search tents, scanners and metal detectors.

The Greenwich Royal Observatory is now framed by a frame that will shortly hold a video screen, and another grandstand sits just behind the National Maritime Museum.

Three temporary bridges have been built across Romney Road to carry spectators from the DLR and river to the venue (it's unclear, by the way, if the pelican was consensual in the humping!)

From the open-air cafe at the back of the Sammy Ofer Wing of the National Maritime Museum, the grandstands look pretty spectacular.

Later, I shuffled up to Hackney Town Hall for my first encounter with the Torch Relay (note the "tribe" of grey-suited SIA-badged security guards flanking the Torch at all times).

Back home in Walthamstow, it was clear that the small area and big crowds for the presentation event at Hackney Town Hall had stopped all the commercial elements from parading by.

And finally, the true essence of Walthamstow... the Olympic Torch outside a ropey East-End Chicken Shop!

The alternative Olympic rings

It has been raining a LOT recently. It might still do this a lot during the Games, but we're British and we know how to have a damn good party in the rain! Therefore this will not be a problem.

Even, as Charlie Brooker says, it looks like we're 'trying to host the Olympics underwater'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/15/how-fix-british-summer

The Walthamstow Knitted Olympics

Walthamstow (aka. Awesomestow) has some very artful people. One lady has expended a huge amount of time, effort and creativity knitting the Olympics for her front garden. This is one of the coolest and sweetest things I have ever seen. Enjoy...

The whole front garden is full of knitted Olympic wonderment, and the attention to detail is really quite something. Whoever you are, thank you.

The whole front garden

Knitted Olympic Rings on the window, and a Team GBR athlete on the top step of the podium at the back!

Phillips Idowu

Cathy Freeman

Beach Volleyball ladies (steady on, boys!)

Swimming Pool (note headless USA swimmer and someone seemingly floating in the Dead Sea to the right!)

The Jamaican Three-Legged-Race team ambling past a smiling bucket

The British torch relay pair, seemingly holding
each other up on the way home from the pub!

...and finally...
they even knitted a ginger kid!!

Games Makers - final training

This afternoon I went into the Olympic Park again, for my final Games Maker training in-venue. It's starting to look really good and colourful, with a lot of the landscaping complete, and the finishing touches being put into place.

Prominent signage entering the Olympic Park from Stratford Gate (with the Aquatic Centre, Orbit, and Olympic Stadium behind).

The ribbons are in place around the outside of the Olympic Stadium, and the trees and flowers all planted.

The Water Polo arena, with the Olympic Village and Basketball Arena behind.

The 'run' sign outside the Copper Box.

The Olympic Stadium from the North West, and the funky, coloured sprung floor.

Ginger flowers (!) in front of the Aquatic Centre.

One of the many water channels flowing through the Park, with the Water Polo Arena to the right.

The Orbit, to the right of the Aquatic Centre.

Roll on July 27th. I'm rather excited now...