Originally posted by ahinton
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I really enjoyed the opening ceremony - I thought it was interesting and crazy and different. But the thing which impressed me most, and excuse me if this has been mentioned before, was that I didn't get an inkling of what was going to happen. In these days where news breaks before it happens and we get, for example, 'Today' saying that this afternoon Mr Cameron will say.......etc etc, it was so great that all the ideas were kept under wraps - Queeny and Bond, the flame lighters for example. When it was announced that Rattle was going to play the theme from 'Chariots of Fire', I thought ' How predictable!' and then the camera cuts over and it took a moment or two to recognise Atkinson and I burst out laughing - best bit of orchestra comedy since Mr Preview. I liked the show because it kept surprising me and it made me happy that people involved had kept schtum. -
She's not the only one......Originally posted by Caliban View PostCan't wait for Anna to check back with this thread...
Perhaps she is maintaining a dignified (or horrified) silence
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Do you mean we haven't heard from the seaside wind instrumentalist, salymap?Originally posted by salymap View Post
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This thread had many witty, focused observations concerning the whole Olympics she-bang - it now seems to have gone flaccid.Comment
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Absolutely. I haven't yet seen the whole of the 'show', but it does sound suitably bonkers, & the only follow-up to what was, apparently, the regimented precision of the Beijing games - & only Britain would have the audacity to do it. The whole process of the torch arriving in the stadium & being passed on to seven young athletes (which made sense of the flame's 'journey' through the UK) to light the cauldron, & the cauldron being formed by 'petals' (which will apparently go back to their countries with the teams) carried by children accompanying each team was inspired.Originally posted by amateur51 View PostI agree johncorrigan
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"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
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With you all the way JohnOriginally posted by johncorrigan View Post My secretary is a volunteer, she was at the technical rehearsal. All I could get out of her last week was a quizzical smile 
I had absolutely the same reaction to Rattle's arrival ( mine was something like: "**** ****! Getting him over just to conduct some film music..
more bloody dumbing down")... and then the deadpan bathos of Atkinson. It was a beautifully-sold dummy. I thought the whole thing was a great joke - as you say, the 21st C equivalent of Previn and M&W (actually I think I mentioned that earlier)
"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
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Yes I have always found Rowan Atkinson amusing. I thought that the Queen and Bond sketch was awkward but it was at least brave given the It's a Knockout fiasco and the potential for her and the Duke to appear in the stadium at the wrong time.
An 80 year old on the radio yesterday provided yet more food for thought. His story began ordinarily. He has to use a motorised scooter and has a carer. Calls to the organisers about access to the stadium had been answered by staff who were unconcerned and ill-informed. Their advice to him was not to buy tickets in case there was no way for his scooter plus carer to get in.
What he then went on to say was far more fascinating. After war service, he had formed the first ever scout group for the disabled and had got the disabled scouts involved in sport. In 1948, he heard that Ludwig Guttman, a neurologist, was working with war veterans with spinal injuries at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and starting to use sport as part of the rehabilitation programmes.
He contacted Guttman to suggest that competition could be a component of those programmes and then arranged the first matches between the two groups which were in archery. Following this remarkable initiative, Guttman set up a competition with other hospitals to coincide with the London Olympics in that year. It proved to be the starting point for the paralympics.
On hearing that the paralympics were coming to London in 2012, the ex leader of the disabled scout group thought it would be terrific to attend the paralympics opening cermony. He wrote to Lord Coe with his story and said that he was looking forward to it. Coe's reply was terse. He just noted his contribution and then added that he should apply for tickets in the normal way.
Footnote - Tickets for the paralympians' athletics final are still available for £20. If anyone feels they have to attend an event, I agree with those who are suggesting that this might be the most decent way. Otherwise, there are two marathons, both of which are free. One thing is very clear - while a wide range of ordinary people are volunteering, working for little financial gain, and being required to give up holidays, many with big money haven't got the slightest interest in any of it and are giving nothing.Last edited by Guest; 30-07-12, 14:08.Comment
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I watched the first hour of the opening ceremony. Humour is a tricky thing to do, as it doesn't usually travel well, but beforehand when trying to think of humour that did travel, Mr Bean was my first thought. I know he's popular in many countries. I didn't imagine that he would actually appear, and I enjoyed that.
My family predicted James Bond and Harry Potter, though I didn't think of them. When Daniel Craig came on I didn't know who he was, though the kids soon told me. I last saw a James Bond film in the 1960s, I think. I'd have preferred Beatrix Potter to Harry. Wasn't sure about the Queen's involvement - on the whole I didn't think it was a good idea, though apparently she insisted on doing at least some of it herself. The corgis were very good!
Thank goodness for the Proms.Comment
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Yes. On further thoughts, I think he must be in his late 80s or even 90 rather than 80 if he did see war service. Apparently his story is published somewhere in the press although I can't find it on the net. If anyone locates it, I would be interested to see it.Originally posted by kernelbogey View Post
For those not in Central London, it is being reported by many there that it has never been so quiet. Businesses are reporting far fewer customers and a lot of theatres are closed. In some areas, it is alleged that there are more troops, police and security people than all other people put together. Of course, many public sector workers have been told to work from home. But one suggestion is that all the "heaviosity" has put many people off from heading into town. If so, that's another own goal.
The 180 odd cyclists who were arrested on Friday night ended up in a windowless garage in Croydon. Some were then put into a bus which had been turned into a cell. One 13 year old was handcuffed. Arguably, they were stupid for going near to the stadium that evening when they had been told that Section 12 of the Public Order Act would be applied if they did. However, they have been cycling every last Friday of the month for 18 years. The worry was that undesirables would attach themselves to them.
The same section of the Act was applied to black cab drivers to prevent their protest taking place the same evening. They had argued that they should be able to use the special lanes to retain levels of income and to provide street access to the disabled. The protest was always going to be a long way from the stadium at Hyde Park/Marble Arch but the timing of it was disliked by the authorities. At the last minute, they complied and it took place earlier at 2pm. Still, there were rows of riot police there, albeit without shields. The pictures have been shown on television in Spain and Portugal and have not created a good impression.
The word in security circles is that a terrorist attack of the more lurid kind is far less feared than a cyber attack. If so, it might make many wonder why all of this draconian lockdown stuff is necessary. It is also somewhat ironic that electronic communication has so far been affected when it mattered by something much more benign. The BBC was unable to report accurately the positions of cyclists in Saturday's race simply because too many excited spectators were using their mobile phones at the same time.Last edited by Guest; 30-07-12, 16:32.Comment
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You're welcome! But the iplayer link to ceremony minus commentary is not on the iplayer page but here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...emony_no_comm/Originally posted by Resurrection Man View Post
I've found the only local people who are going to the Games, they're a married couple in their late 60s and they set off this morning at 5am to see - the Beach Volleyball!!!
They've been texting back pics to my neighbours ......
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