Crisis? What Crisis?

Has Olympic fever completely taken a hold yet? Not quite – the temperature has certainly risen – but that’s the weather – a high of 32 centigrade signalled that summer really is here.

So far so good – ish.

The traffic chaos isn’t quite as bad as predicted as the dedicated Olympic road lanes are in put into action. But drivers are getting frustrated as VIP’s and official vehicles speed past as they queue in reduced number of lanes, risking a £130 ($85) fine if they stray into the exclusive channels.

As visitors and competitors continue to flood into our airports, there has been a national sigh of relief as the border agency staff have called off their strike, planned for tomorrow. The government challenged the legality of the balloting process leading to the call to industrial action and the PCS union came to their senses as the weight of public opinion was leaning heavily against them. But this victory was tempered by the embarrassing story of an 11 year old boy who found his way through UK security, passport check and boarding scrutiny (not) to take off on a flight from Manchester to Rome, with no ticket, no passport and no boarding card! Even more embarrassing was the fact that the diminutive stowaway was spotted by fellow passengers as airline staff failed to notice that he didn’t even have a seat! Oops..

Rather oddly, the sport started in earnest today – with the women’s football tournament kicking off – three days before the opening ceremony on Friday evening. The good news is that Team GB started with a 1 – 0 victory over New Zealand – go girls!

But again this positive start was nearly overshadowed by another ‘oops’ moment as the North Korea vs Colombia match was almost cancelled as the flag of South Korea, not known as a best friend of their neighbours North Korea, was shown in error alongside the team announcements. The North Korean women stormed off the pitch and could only be persuaded to return after an hour’s grovelling. I know it is a serious issue, but I can’t help smiling as I imagine the heart stopping moment as officials were told of the faux pas….

Still, as my grandmother used to say. ‘Worse things happen at sea’. Everything seems to be on track - apart from our triple jumper Phillips Idowu, Team GB’s triple jumping medal hope, who is not only not on track, he seems to be nowhere near any track as he failed to join the team at their training camp in Portugal.

As the Nation holds its collective bated breath and start to enjoy the greatest show on earth, we can only hope that any other ‘oops’ moments will be equally minor. Crisis? What crisis? All is well – after all – us Brits are usually pretty good in a crisis any. Aren’t we?....

2012 Olympics – the good, the bad and the ugly (so far)

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. All around us ‘The greatest sporting event on earth’ unfolds. Olympic fever is abound and I seem to sway from enthusiasm and excitement to embarrassment and despair in equal measure – much like the rest of the UK population I suspect.

The good:

‘And the 2012 Olympics games go to…… London’.

Winning the bid to host the games was a fantastic achievement. The UK pitch was spot on – the right mix of history, emotion, technology, youth, celebrity and the ‘L’ word – legacy. A much deserved victory.
The Olympic Park.
Finished on time, within budget. An impressive vista with plenty of green space, some soon to be iconic buildings and, a prerequisite for most public spaces – a controversial sculpture. The Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Velodrome and Basketball Arena all look well worth a visit, even without the sport. This regeneration of the shabby and neglected East London landscape is stunning.
The Torch Relay.
What a wonderful idea. The young and old, strong and not so strong, superfit and unsporty, the good and the great,  famous and revered, the humble and charitable, the physically challenged and previously unsung heroes have all been worthy couriers of this precious cargo. By the time the flame completes its 70 day journey the Olympic stadium it will have been carried by 8,000 inspirational human beings. It will have travelled within 10 miles of 95% of the population of the UK. A truly ‘once in a lifetime’ event.
Our police force and our armed forces.
The lads and lassies who are stepping into the breach after the security debacle will provide the best security we could wish for and add some class to the occasion. Bless ‘em all!

The Bad:

Team GB Football.

How can David Beckham NOT be selected for Team GB football? That’s the David Beckham who played a massive part in winning the bid for the games in the first place. The David Beckham who is such an iconic sportsman and global celebrity that he was first choice to welcome the flame into the UK as it was helicoptered in to the furthest tip of Cornwall one miserable and wet day in May. The David Beckham who wears his heart on his sleeve and his country in his heart. The David Beckham who, by his presence in the team alone would most likely have prompted the sale of at least another 100,000 tickets for the undersubscribed football matches. The David Beckham who is a motivator, play maker and, most significantly who scored a fantastic goal from 35 yards in an LA Galaxy match only 10 days ago. Stuart Pearce – the Team GB football manager who didn’t select the best loved footballer in the world – shame on you.
Trying to get on with your daily business in London.
I am fortunate enough not to have to go to London too often but even last week – it was seeeething with tourists. Yes, we welcome you and your dollars/yen/euros and even enjoy your company.  But we do not enjoy your rucksacks or your pull-along suitcases. I am short so every time a traveller with a rucksack turns round on the tube I seem to get smacked in the mouth. Last week a visitor (to be fair she may not have been here for the Olympics) wheeled her suitcase over my feet and then side swiped me with her holdall as she sat down. Enough already!
The Olympic Traffic Lanes.
It’s probably a wise move to dedicate lanes to Olympic traffic but it is very confusing and the re-phasing of traffic lights is a nightmare.
G4S Security.
Yes it’s old news now but to award a massive security contract for the games to only one firm seems naïve at best – downright folly at worst. What a monumental c*ck up – and how embarrassing to find that just 2 weeks before the main event the security firm of choice have underperformed to the tune of around 5,000 personnel. Is this such a disaster though? Will we miss the dodgy looking geezers in ill-fitting uniforms, many of whom would have a limited command of the English language and security backgrounds that would make ‘Del boy’ look like Mother Theresa? I think not.

The Ugly:

The British Press:
Always focussing on the negative - the traffic, the security, the ticketing. Come on chaps – we’re not doingthat badly – some good news stories please.
Team GB (again)
How can a team that excludes aforesaid David Beckham, include drugs cheats Dwain Chambers and David Millar. To be fair, the British Olympic Association did try to maintain the lifetime ban but were overturned by the Court of Arbitration for sport, but they didn’t have to select these bad examples. Like they didn’t select the Taekwondo world number one Aaron cook, apparently just because he chose to train independently from the GB team. Shocking and disappointing.
The home affairs select committee.
The public verbal mauling of G4S security firm managing director Nick Buckles at a specially convened committee achieved nothing apart from feeding some dubious egos of also–ran politicians. If you have a crisis, you get together and fix it. Then you have the inquiry and post mortem. The public humiliation of the G4s boss, who accepted responsibility for the potential security debacle simply highlighted the vacuous and self -serving nature of this type of inquiry.
The striking UK border agency staff.
The public and commercial services union have called a strike on Thursday – one of the business days for incoming Olympic visitors. This action is planned on the basis of only 1 in 10 members voting for to strike. Will the public will support them in this sabotage? I doubt it.

And to all the nay sayers about London 2012…….As Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, said the other day ‘stop whingeing and put a sock in it’

To my overseas readers, he meant - ‘stop complaining and shut up’

Hear hear…