August 1st 2012 was a magical day when I appreciated the full effect of the Olympic Games on a city and a people and which I suggest will have a more lasting effect on the British psyche than any other development since World War II. The only other instance of a communal fever which I have experienced in my lifetime was the immediate aftermath to the death of Princess Diana and her funeral ceremony and even then the fever aspect only affected a minority of the British people. The mourning then was for the death of one iconic woman who appeared to take on the establishment and win, but also I suspect because of feelings of loss related to the individual psyches, and with for me bringing to an end the idealism, hopes and beliefs of my distant youth.
There is the possibility that from the Olympic Games London 2012 a new generation will emerge better educated and realistic but also fired with the belief that through individual and collective commitment and endeavour dreams can become reality.
The atmosphere in London in general during my few days in the capital city of GB was amazing although I did encounter one older couple on the overground train who were obviously put out by the crush in what was usually a quieter journey and later others who remained unimpressed and even hostile related to their own circumstances and backgrounds.
Fortunately I had prepared carefully the night before so between five and ten minutes later I was leaving for East Croydon Station without a drink or food. At the station I elected to take a one stop train to Victoria which was already in station rather than wait for the Train to St Pancras International. This was a mistake for although I was able to immediately get a Victoria Line train to Kings Cross I ended up on a merry go round finding my way out of the underground and at the wrong end of St Pancras for the fast direct train to Stratford International.
As was subsequently recorded for playing on London radio, the station announcer for the Victoria Line was in the Olympic spirit saying everyone on board, driver hold, ready, steady, go. The Railway stations above and underground were plastered with signs indicating the direction to take for the various venues Earls Court, Excel Arena North Greenwich(the 02 Arena) Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Horse Guards Parade, Lord Cricket Grounds, The Mall, Royal Artillery Barracks(Woolwich) Wembley Arena, Wembley Stadium and Wimbledon. There was also reference to getting to Hampton Court and of course to the Olympic Park. For me the ambition had been to get to an event or two at the Olympic Park and to one or more of the other London transport system arenas.
At Kings Cross I made the mistake of misreading the signs rather than following my instinct and ended up having a walk underground before coming out at the wrong end of St Pancras in part misdirected by one of many London welcomes, assist volunteers, the only instance in the following days when this happened. On arrival the previous day I had seen a queue for the Javelin High speed link to Stratford International as part of High Speed link routes from St Pancras. I had previously ascertained that the normal travel card did not apply and purchased the required tickets only to find that the Olympic Travel Card was being accepted.
The previous day I assumed the queue was for tickets as a sign suggested that one should walk into the station as I had been directed. However this was because provision had been made for an overflow queue on the outside pavement. In fact as there was no queue I was able to take the escalator stairway by the main booking to one of the three platforms used for the domestic High speed train routes.
Because I was late there was no queue for a train on the platform to my left but it looked standing room only so I made way along the second platform for seat only to then find it was quite a walk as there were two trains on the same platform-twenty four coaches total. The surprise was that apart from the first few moments when the train went at normal speed past the new developments at Kings Cross, the rest of the journey was underground so one lost the sense of obvious speed. The journey only takes a few minutes whereas using the underground it is necessary to break the journey and take a several stops overground train.
At Stratford International I made another mistake in going to the wrong escalator so that one had to walk back the same length to reach the exit which takes you briefly into the Westfield Shopping centre, a clever ploy, before taking you outside into the area just before the roadway across to the Olympic Park entrance, one of several around the vast acreage, but the busiest as adjacent is the bridge from Stratford Town centre bus and train station which serves underground and overground trains.
As I mentioned from my first visit to the site earlier in the year Dockland Light Railway Trains also end on of their routes at Stratford at a station the other side of the International Train station and which therefore makes Stratford one of the great public transport interchange systems in London.
Because I did not have a bag with me I had my own empty lane to where after putting my jacket into a tray I was able to walk through to collect after the contents had been x- rayed. This had the advantage of not having to take everything out into a see through plastic bag as had been the case in Newcastle and later at Wembley.
Close to this entrance are the swimming pool and Water Polo Stadiums either side of Stratford Way with the 80000 Olympic Stadium ahead and the Orbit Tower construction. Because I was late there was not opportunity to take in the site and my trot may have precipitated the blister and tender spots on both my feet which remained a problem until I returned home.
At the time I was determined to get to my seat for the start of the first of two Basketball games at the special arena constructed only for the games and which will be demolished afterwards although there hade been a plan to take it to Brazil for the 2016 Games. The arena seats 12000 and this will be reduced to 10000 for the paralytics to accommodate more spectators with a disability. It is located at the furthest end of the Park. Although temporary the arena has cost £100 million to construct! The problem is that with Wembley Arena in North London and Earls Court in the West and the Excel already in the East there is no market for a fourth arena of this size. The arena is 115m 100m and because of its temporary nature it is necessary to go outside to reach the toilet area which are part of the building and for food and other concessions to the outside had a good seat given that the cost was effectively £6.50 allowing £9.50 for the Travel Card.
The first match was between one of the favourites for the competition France and another strong women’s Basketball country Canada with the USA the strongest. Although France had the edge it was a closely fought contest as they took the first quarter 13.12 and the second 15-13, losing the third 15-14 but fighting hard to take the game with 64-60 with their final quarter of 22-20. I went to the toilet and for a drink just before the end half way mark purchasing a cold drink and gaining a seat in the process. Basketball is not a sport which has attracted in the past but I can well understand the enthusiasm in part because of the strong American influenced approach with great music and crowd warming including getting spectator couples to kiss on camera!
The USA headed the first of two groups winning all five games followed by Turkey China and the Czech Republic. The extent of their superiority is shown that they scored 462 points against 279, a difference of 183 whereas the points difference for Turkey was 27 and for China minus 17.
France headed the second group winning all their 5 games but with a point’s difference of only 37 followed closely by Australia with a difference of 6 and then Russia and Canada. Although Team GB failed to win any of their games they lost to France 80-77 and Russia 67-61 and Canada 73-65 and Brazil 88-66. They were well beaten by Australia 74-58. Australia beat China, the USA Canada Russia beat Turkey and France the Czechs. The USA beat Australia in the semi final and France Russia. The final proved the dominance of the USA as they beat France 86 56.
After the first Basketball match I made my way quickly to the Arcelor Mittal Orbit and from their to the Olympic Park Live site and then to Wembley for more Football. These will be covered separately
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