The Olympics
 

As above, i've heard varying reports on the radio etc as to the "enthusiasm" or rather the lack of it, in some parts of Scotland for the forthcoming games, it would be interesting to hear views on this as i know that a lot of people in Scotland seem to be totally disinterested, and would rather see the money spent on something else, so whats your take on it. :)

Re: The Olympics.
 

l think the Olympics is a once in a lifetime event and as such we should alll get behind and support this magnificent spectacle as it will not come again in our lifetimes.

Re: The Olympics.
 

I'll be taking my daughters to see the torch in Glasgow on Friday evening. They've both been doing school projects about the olympics so are very enthusiastic.

There is a element of the Scottish population that doesn't feel part of it but I suspect that's for political rather than Geographical reasons.

My view is that Scotland is part of the GB so it's as much our olympics as you want it to be. You're certainly not going to ever be closer to an Olympic games. We've also got our own Commonwealth Games in 2 years time so I'm sure we can learn a lot from all the venues used for the Olympics.

Personally I always look forward to the Olympic Games but much prefer Games that are in my timezone.

Re: The Olympics.
 

Good stuff, it seems from what i've heard that most of the schools have embarked on some sort of olympics projects, this is really good as it may enthuse the children to become more active in sports, and lets face it, it's something really needed in the UK as far too many children aren't taking part in sports anymore and would rather sit behind a desk at their PC or XBox etc, my kids have been out of school for years now so i'm only commenting on what i've seen/heard via the media, showing my age eh?.......:D

Re: The Olympics.
 

Part of 7 year old LR's project was to find out about one particular olympic sport.

She picked Beach Volleyball:D without any encouragement from me. In fact I tried to steer her in a different direction for fear of her teacher thinking I'm an old pervert. :o:

She picked it because that's her favourite game on the Wii.... Honestly


.....still what a cover story to explain my browsing history ;)

Re: The Olympics.
 

Of course she did LR....... :LOL:

Re: The Olympics.
 

I would say to the scots to stop being such party poopers and mind their own business cos it's not their money we are spending :D

Re: The Olympics.
 

We ain't all party poopers...:p: and considering over £9 billion is coming out of the public purse, i'd say thats from taxes collected etc, wouldn't you?

Re: The Olympics.
 

Well the Opening ceremonys ruined, Paul bloody McCartney top of the bill.

Re: The Olympics.
 

We have been sending Olympic-themed mini-projects into school with two of our children for weeks now (torches, models of proposed Olympic sports, etc). I have no doubt the torch relay routes will be as busy around here as anywhere down south. On the Saturday morning it passes by us we will all be at Blue Peter live in Dumbarton and I suspect we won't be the only ones.

I have found that famous British reserve is far more pronounced in Scotland than it is in England and it doesn't pay to assume that reserve equals indifference. We are all very excited about the Olympics in our house. Cannae wait! :D

Re: The Olympics.
 

I find nothing to excite me about the Olympics and indeed find that the whole thing is overhyped. In our area roads will be closed much of the weekend for a cycle race. Yet the cyclists will be through in less than a minute. Is that inconvenience justified? Roads are being dug up so that a few cyclists will spend less than a second traversing a junction, yet we suffer traffic congestion and diversions for a week. Many events that would normally be run over summer but are now cancelled because of closures, staff and security issues. We are lead to believe the Olympics is a benefit, but has anyone really considered the real costs of disruption to everyday activities?

Re: The Olympics.
 

I am really excited for the Olympics. I have tickets for the gold medal ceremony of the Canoe Slalom event, it's taking place in my town, in a park where I literally used to ride my bike a lot growing up. That itself is pretty cool. I also have tickets for Basketball quarter finals. I am going to Victoria Park to watch the Opening Ceremonies on a large screen.

It's going be very cool. The Olympics will be in London and for the major events people around the world, millions and sometimes billions of people, will be watching how we do. They will be watching London and Britain host the games and hopefully we'll put in a show that will impress them.

It's sad when people make economic arguments alone. Is it a waste of money? Will we recoup any of that money? Why are we hosting a giant party when making cuts elsewhere? That misses the point completely and is a fairly miserable way of looking at life. There are some things that matter more than money, that are worth losing money, and when I die I will have had more pride and enjoyment at having watched the Olympics held in a park where I used to play than knowing the Government reduced the deficit by 0.001% in the Summer of 2012. Likewise I suspect the millions of people that will see the Olympics being held in their city, or their country, will remember that for the rest of their lives. I think that outweighs any monetary loss.

Re: The Olympics.
 

^This.

Re: The Olympics.
 

^This also

We're actually getting quite excited about having a family evening out tomorrow to watch the torch relay. :D

There might be a few showers about but I'm sure we'll cope. ;)

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Yup, and they'll prob' be on the Buckfast....:D

Re: The Olympics.
 

I think this is incredibly petty of the GB Taekwondo team. Not selecting the World Number 1 and current European champion just because he left the Official training program.
Thought the Olympics was about seeing the best...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/oly...-omission.html

Re: The Olympics.
 

Pathetic.:td::(

Re: The Olympics.
 

In response to the OP; If Glasgow this evening is anything to go by then Scotland is very enthusiastic about the Olympics. Great turnout and great atmosphere.

Re: The Olympics.
 

Yup phenomenal turnout over in the South Side for it and a fantastic amount of support despite some of the G4S rent-a-cops trying to ruin it for some people. :mad:

One especially thought he was robocops harder brother till a Police Chief Inspector put him right about a few things.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the amount of union flags alongside the saltires.

Re: The Olympics.
 

No problems like that in the city centre. I noticed your colleagues on a couple of occasions being helpful, directing people to vantage points etc.
I didn't notice many saltires, mainly union jacks and blue Samsung inflatables stick things. Ideal for kids to hit each other with.:)

One of the union jacks made it home with us. The other had been waved with so much enthusiasm that is started ripping from the wee pole. It finally gave up the ghost on the train home. There then ensued both daughters laying claim to the surviving flag and me promising to get another over the weekend.

If anybody finds a wee plastic flag minus a stick somewhere between Cambuslang and Uddingston can you return it to London Road c/o Cable Forum.:D

Re: The Olympics.
 

Plenty of union flag waving at Levengrove Park this morning. Alex Salmond must be sick as a parrot this week. :D

Re: The Olympics.
 

He's been quite quiet recently. It's been nice. :D

Re: The Olympics.
 

:D

Link

Re: The Olympics.
 

You think you have it bad. My office is next to an olympic venue. We've been told that there will be major disruption to the transport in the area for the whole duration of the Olympics and Paralympics. So, we are at risk of disruption for the whole of August and nearly half of September. Our campus is also part of the route for people entering or leaving the venue, so it will be handling up to 50,000 extra visitors a day.

Because of this, we are not allowed to accept deliveries during this time (which is normally when we do our major upgrades as students are not around). Because of a combination of this, and the fact that we have been told that we cannot be sure we'll be able to get in to work every day during that period, our boss has asked us to get as much of the work we normally do during the whole period of the summer holidays before the end of July.

On the plus side, if we manage it, there should be very little to do during the Olympics and Paralympics.

Re: The Olympics.
 

I think it would be nice to have the olympics in the UK if we weren't in the middle of a recession.

Billions of pounds of taxpayers money is being spent, with no chance at all of recovering that money. And when you think about all the cutbacks that are being made, then I think it is a disgrace.

It almost feels like the rest of the contenders didn't really want it this time, so they let the UK have it, because we were stupid enough to take it on when we can't afford it.

As for Scotland. Well I can understand the lack of interest, due to the travel distances to actually see any events.

Re: The Olympics.
 

The Games were awarded to London in 2005 and at the time a lot of other countries wanted it. Including France, which wanted to bring the Olympics to Paris. The economies of the West were doing perfectly nicely as well (or so it seemed).

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but any thought that we were somehow saddled with an expense we couldn't afford at a time when nobody else was stupid enough to take it on is just fanciful.

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Even at the time, the country couldn't afford the olympics, as it was steadily getting into debt.

The trouble is that the IOC seem to have too much power. If they say jump, then our government will say how high.

Re: The Olympics.
 

Received my tickets this morning! :)

Re: The Olympics.
 

Thats great news Shadow and l hope you and your family enjoy it as its a once in a lifetime experience.

Re: The Olympics.
 

What are you going to see?

Re: The Olympics.
 

Football at Wembley and table tennis.

The tickets are very nice, perfect to keep as a momento. Also i wasn't aware you get a travel card for the day of the event with each ticket.

Re: The Olympics.
 

I have tickets for the woman's handball bronze medal match. I know - random event, but I really wanted to watch something at the Olympic Park as opposed to other venues such as Excel. And I think it could be a pretty exciting event to watch.

My daughter wanted to be part of the Olympics so we're having a family day there. Its on the last weekend of the Olympics too, there are some atheletic finals taking place that day which we will watch on the screens in the Olympic park (I assume they will have screens there).

I even bought tickets for the Orbit.

Ok it's not a cheap day out for the 4 of us, but I doubt it's something we will ever vbe party to again in the UK. Also I wasn't really much into the Olympics, but now I have my tickets I am really excited about going!

By the way - didn't realise you get travel cards with tickets - I've got teh Orbit tickets last week but not for the Handball as of yet.

Re: The Olympics.
 

I'm still considering getting tickets for something in the Olympic park, i really wanted athletics tickets but had no luck.

I go to football matches often, and have been to wembley a few times now, also the match i have tickets for could be two completely random countries, but for me it still feels special because its the olympics. I'm really looking forward to it.

I saw theres still tickets for beach volleyball available :)

Re: The Olympics.
 

I really wanted Diving but the cheapest I could find for the times I had available was @£170/ticket! Daughter not really into footy but I wouldn't have minded that either.

One of my mates has a spare ticket for the Hockey at the Olympic park so I will be tagging along for that too.

I still havent told the 7yo that she will be going to the Olympic Park but she will eb well chuffed!

Re: The Olympics.
 

I've just gone on the resale website and managed to get tickets for athletics :)

They are not for great events but i'm happy to be able to go to the stadium and be able to say i went to the olympic games.

Re: The Olympics.
 

They just put some up and I missed Opening Ceremony tickets! :(. Got Wheelchair Rugby final tho.

Re: The Olympics.
 

I bet there aren't any for the womens beach volleyball ;)

Re: The Olympics.
 

Maybe he wants the mens :D

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Haha Colin :p:

The sessions are mixed, both men and women matches. So you watch the women, then go to the bar when the men go on :)

Re: The Olympics.
 

lol :D

Re: The Olympics.
 

Now that's waht I call a plan :)

Re: The Olympics.
 

Just got back from a long run down to Woolwich dropping a load of bespoke timber off to a new Weatherspoons (the one that burnt in the riots) and had a chance to see the new Olympic stadiums ,it all looks very impressive ,shame about the surrounding area though ;)

One question though ,whats that big curly whirly metal tower ?

Re: The Olympics.
 

The Orbit. You get to go to the top and see across the Olympic Park. You need to pay £15 to go on it and a ticket in advance. If you're going to the Olympic Park then go to the London 2012 ticketing portal and get a ticket for the day you'll be there.

Re: The Olympics.
 

I'm doing the orbit too! I hope its a clear evening , should be some amazing views.

Re: The Olympics.
 

Cheers Damien .I won't be going anywhere near it when the Olympics are on ,i've just had a taste of what happens to london traffic when there is a bus strike on so god knows what it'll be like when the Olympics are in full flow :)

Re: The Olympics.
 

Well that was a big part of the rationale behind having the event in that location. It's transforming the immediate area and the regeneration will spread in time. It's fair to say, though, that when the games were being bid for nobody had a clue what sort of financial chaos was in the offing.

Glad you're enjoying the job BTW.

Re: The Olympics.
 

Lets hope that area does get some regeneration then because it would be sad that the only legacy left from the Olympics are a load of stadiums and big financial hole .There does seem to be quite a lot of building going on around that area though especially in Woolwich itself ,a good sign is the number of cranes that can be seen not on the Olympic site itself but surrounding areas

Re: The Olympics.
 

Stratford is doing quite well. The transport improvements were needed more than the homes, everywhere in London that has room will have a housing development on it at the moment.

Re: The Olympics.
 

It could go with a bang if G4S have anything to do with it.

Well done G4S, in addition to making a mess of the security vetting for games helpers and officials, binning a whistleblower and failing to perform searches on workers and vans entering the compound you've now lied about it to scam money from the government. :rolleyes:

Re: The Olympics.
 

I don't really think anyone expected G4S to do a proper job. That's why it will be the police who carry out a thorough search prior to the games opening.

As I'm sure you know Derek, there is a lot more security going on behind the scenes than most people realise.

It would have been nice to go and see at least one event, but it wasn't to be. So if you do see me there, then thets just say, 'it's time to leave'. ;)

Re: The Olympics.
 

I am .

Re: The Olympics.
 

I did, the Olympic organisers did and the public who are paying for them did as well. I'm not surprised they messed up but shocked they would lie about it as blatantly as they appear to have done.

With the government going full speed into partial privitisation of Policing and G4S being the main driving force behind it things do not bode well if they've failed and tried to cover it up at the first hurdle.

I'm very aware the security operation isn't just a couple of cops standing at the corner of the street in a high viz. :)

Re: The Olympics.
 

G4S don't exactly have a good track record. Remember prisoners escaping when they first started transporting them?

Re: The Olympics.
 

Indeed. And now they're running the custody suite and prisoner transport in Lincolnshire as well as vehicle maintenance and preparation. Expect shortly to see cops on bicycles chasing escapees..

Re: The Olympics.
 

Talking to another driver yesterday and he said his company along with most other courier companies have been given a 38 page directive from some official body saying that during the Olympic period all deliveries into London will only be allowed into London between the hours of 12 midnight and 5 am ,anybody missing that slot will have to park up and wait for the next delivery period ,so be warned it's going to be chaos :D

Re: The Olympics.
 

I am still waiting for my tickets to come through for the main event as such. My Orbit tickets for the same day have come through. Should I be calling them up?

Re: The Olympics.
 

We received our tickets yesterday. My wife got a text yesterday morning to inform us they would be delivered on the day. Then she got a text saying they had been delivered. Which they hadn't. Then yesterday evening my postie neighbour knocked on our door to deliver the tickets. So, I think him taking possession triggered the 'delivered' text. It all seemed pretty slick. I'd say give it a couple of days before ringing them.

Re: The Olympics.
 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18579631

Well done that man and all the other like him who're facing such huge challenges!!!

:clap: :clap: :clap:

---------- Post added at 14:02 ---------- Previous post was at 14:00 ----------

Nah, it'll be business as usual and everyone knows the M25 is the biggest car park in Europe lol

:D

Re: The Olympics.
 

oh no - I've changed my mobile since placing the order! My Orbit ones were just put through the post (albeit in a Timed Delivery envelope), we didn't have to sign for them. I was expecting the same here. I might go online and see if I can amend my number.

What are you going to Daniel?

Re: The Olympics.
 

I will be because that's where the lorries will park when they are refused entry into London :D

Re: The Olympics.
 

That's why my company isn't doing any delivery runs during the olympics.

Re: The Olympics.
 

rumor is that DHL have refused as well .We do regular runs into london for shopfitters which will still continue

Re: The Olympics.
 

We bid for the Velodrome and the Waterpolo finals. We didn't get the Velodrome, but we did get the Waterpolo. We were hoping to see the Dutch women defend their Olympic title, but they failed to qualify. Ah well, my wife used to play waterpolo, so I'm sure she'll enjoy it.

What are you going to?

---------- Post added at 14:19 ---------- Previous post was at 14:18 ----------

Off Topic: Why is it that I ALWAYS misread shopfitters as shoplifters? :D

Re: The Olympics.
 

I my experience mate ,one and the same :D

Re: The Olympics.
 

We're going to the women's handball bronze medal match on the 11th Aug. Bid for diving but the only tickets were almost 180 each and I needed 4!

After that my main motive was to get into the park and watch any event I guess - so this was a cheapish way to do that and take in an event. I really wanted to get into the pool but when I got round to bidding all the waterpolo tickets were gone too!

Re: The Olympics.
 

Anyone want to hear the official song of the Olympics?

http://muse.mu/news/article/785/muse...-the-olympics/

Re: The Olympics.
 

I see Beckham has been turned down for team GB..However if cheat Dwain Chambers can get in why not Becks?

:)

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All this hype has shown a lot of people have completely lost perspective. Team GB is NOT all about England.

Ryan Giggs has never played in a major international tournament, Beckham has. In the interests of fairness alone it makes sense that Giggsy gets in at Beckham's expense.

RG has been playing at the highest level for the last 21 years. DB has been playing in America's "soccer league" for 5 years.

No comparison in my view.

Re: The Olympics.
 

Beckham's yesterday's man when it comes to on field activities and ought to carry on doing what he and his wife do best - promoting Posh & Becks Inc. Chambers wouldn't be in if the BOA had got their way. He'd be banned.

Re: The Olympics.
 

And Dwain Chambers?Do we really want him on our team?:erm:

Re: The Olympics.
 

No he should have been banned for life full stop.

Re: The Olympics.
 

^ What den said, cheats should never prosper.

Re: The Olympics.
 

For anyone interested there has been a lot of olympics tickets released on the official website today, including athletics (mens 100m final) and both ceremonies. You probably have to be quick though as they go fast.

I managed to get some more athletics tickets.

Re: The Olympics.
 

Well done Shadow for getting some more tickets but l will just watch it on the box and that will do for me.:)

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Great ad for the Paralympics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAPP...ature=youtu.be

Re: The Olympics.
 

BBC secures Olympic broadcast rights up to 2020 Games.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/ne...020-games.html

Re: The Olympics.
 

A very well made trailer. If you are wondering what music Channel 4 licenced, the song is called "Harder Than You Think" and is by Public Enemy.

Re: The Olympics.
 

It's almost here!!!!

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I would never have known that ;)

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I do like the Muse song "Survival" that will be played at the medal ceremony, it sounds very Queenesque.

Re: The Olympics.
 

:hyper::cleader:.

Re: The Olympics.
 

The Olympic flame has arrived in London. Almost exactly 1 week to go.

I travel though Stratford everyday and I can tell you the signs are up, the posters are up, the place has a 'feeling' about it at the moment.

Re: The Olympics.
 

It's going to be terrific and I just hope the media now start concentrating more on the wonderful excitement which lies ahead. We should acknowledge the huge achievements of all those concerned (G4S excepted lol) in creating the facilities and treasure these few weeks because they'll likely never happen again in any of our lifetimes. To do anything else now would be churlish IMHO and there'll be plenty of time in coming months and years to debate the pros and cons.

Re: The Olympics.
 

People that went to the practise Opening Ceremony have reported very positive things about it.

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Depending on what part of London you deliver to, you may only be able to deliver between midnight and 5am :(

Re: The Olympics.
 

Have you seen the mistake in the ad with the kids and the tag line "to there mums they'll always be kids" or words to that effect.

The mistake is

Re: The Olympics.
 

Yes, their mistake is probably unforgivable.

Re: The Olympics.
 

That's this one.. It's not upside-down all the time but yes even when they do the flag bearer it's upside-down..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRaQRbAxXaA

It's a personal gripe of mine and even recently on the torch route the picture I took has many upside-down which I most hastily cropped out!!!

Here's the uncropped picture

Re: The Olympics.
 

Japan shock Spain with Yuki Otsu's Hampden winner.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18907917

Re: The Olympics.
 

Anyone have a link for a streamed HD view of the opening ceremony?
they say google is your friend but I'm obviously too special to use it :banghead: :D

Re: The Olympics.
 

wont it be streamed on the bbc iplayer in hd

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Why ruin a good shot, geez you need to get out more. :)

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TVcatchup should stream it in HD.

Re: The Olympics.
 

Hope so but I can't find a link

Re: The Olympics.
 

So now there's controversy because the Welsh players in Team GB didn't sing God Save The Queen.

Would the English players have sung along with The Land Of My Fathers? Not a chance.

The FA has hijacked GSTQ as the English anthem, they much now live with the consequences.

Re: The Olympics.
 

First world record at London 2012 - in archery. Apprently the guy is blind in one eye

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19013793

Re: The Olympics.
 

I thought most archers shut their non-dominant eye anyway? It certainly seems the natural way to do things. So, if you're blind in your non-dominant eye it won't make any difference.

Re: The Olympics.
 

Also, just because you are legally blind on one (or both) eyes doesn't mean you can't see anything out of them.

Still an impressive achievement for sure. :tu:

Re: The Olympics.
 

Reading up on this blindness, his eyesight is 10/200 and 20/200 for the two eyes, so very poor eyesight allround. He's just very good at aiming at a poorly defined yellow blob. I suppose it makes sense. If the yellow blob is consistently poorly defined it doesn't make much of a difference in terms of aiming at it. It just makes it difficult to determine where the arrow has landed, and that's where his team mates help out.

Re: The Olympics.
 

Plus the love for Ryan giggs the commentator had. going on about him.:rolleyes:

---------- Post added at 12:37 ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 ----------

No they have a "blimker type thing in front of the eye as IIRC closing one eye can effect the other.