My Day at the Olympics

Having tried and failed to acquire tickets for London 2012 when they were on sale, I wasn’t too worried that I would have to watch the events unfold in the comfort of my own home.

But as the time passed and I watched day after day and night after night of exhilarating action, in particular ‘super Saturday’, I was starting to regret the fact that when people asked me in the future what was London 2012 like, my response would be it looked great, from the sofa.

But as luck would have it a friend of mine was very gracious to offer me a spare ticket she had come by, and so it was to be I was going to the Olympic Park to witness some sporting history in the form of synchronised swimming, women’s duets.

The journey to Stratford was serene enough and thankfully the javelin train we were on managed to complete the journey without breaking down, then it was a quick hop-step-jump through Westfield Shopping Centre and we were into the Olympic Park.

The security operation was very slick and everyone involved, in particular the troops, were all smiling and welcoming, although it was a little annoying to have to produce our tickets about six times.

Being in the Olympic Park was a great experience seeing fans and flags from all over the world and the stadium looked fantastic up close, I can’t begin to express my envy of those who have attended a session inside, however the sight of the Orbit was a massive let-down

I saw it unveiled on TV and thought it looked like the result of an explosion in a slinky factory, but I thought I better get a look up close before passing my final judgement, but the nearer I got the worse it looked.

After a bit more investigating we headed to the magnificent aquatic centre complete with its unique pringle shaped roof, and took our seats for the start of the synchronised swimming, and after about 90 minutes of watching a succession of arms and legs gracefully waving about Russia took Gold, Spain Silver and China Bronze.

The atmosphere inside wasn’t quite as frenzied as I thought it might be, although I did think the roof was going to be blown off when the British team made their entrance, but apart from that it was a dare I say it slightly muted atmosphere, most probably because 99% of the audience (including me) had no idea if what they were watching was any good or not.

Having made our way out of the aquatic centre I was keen to catch the finals of the cycling sprint events on the giant screen near the velodorme, so we headed over there stopping for a moment to gawk at one of the BBC studios.

But by the time we got there the queue just to sit on the bank was a mile long, as were all the queues for food (well except the salad bar, but I’m not counting rabbit food), feeling like there wasn’t much more to do or see and with rain in the air we headed towards the exit and the end of our undoubtedly enjoyable Olympic experience.