(Foreword - sorry for the late update - the place I was staying didn't have internet. But now I do! I'll post daily, but the updates will be a week after the occurrence. Better late than never, eh?)
It’d
be a lie to say that I wasn’t nervous this morning. Images on the news of the media bothering
fellow “Games Makers” last night added to worries about language and my
responsibilities. But I was so
excited. After six months of interviews
and training, travelling down/ up to London once a month, this was it. My stint at the London 2012 Olympic Games was
beginning.
Despite
my dummy run the previous day, which I was grateful for, I left in good
time. At the moment I’m staying in
Bexleyheath with the wonderful Maxine and Matt – a good hour’s journey by
train, bus or District Light Railway from the village in Stratford, with about
30 minutes’ walking added on.
On
my way to the station I decided to stop at Sainsbury’s for a snack and drink –
the best bet seeing as it’s a sponsor of the Games and I didn’t want to get
into trouble for using an ASDA carrier bag/ products. However, I didn’t expect to see three workers
standing in the first aisle looking horrified.
I know the jury’s out on whether the uniform looks good or not, but I
didn’t think it was that bad!
“Are
you here for us or just for you?” one of them stuttered – they thought I was
there for an inspection!
I
laughed a lot, apologised and reassured them that I just wanted a snack for my
journey. After that they were more
relaxed, asking questions about my role.
I warned them that I’d probably be back.
I don’t want to be guilty of giving Sainsbury’s in Bexleyheath a scare
every day!
On
the train I felt a little conspicuous in my purple and red top, beige trousers
and grey shoes. I had a nice chat with
an American man, who works in insurance in the City. He seemed pretty positive about the Olympics,
which was nice to hear after so much negativity in the media. As the DLR train neared Stratford, more purple
and red shirts appeared on the train.
Rather than feeling nervously conspicuous I started feeling a sense of
pride and solidarity, which only grew as the train neared Stratford, the
beautiful Olympic Stadium standing proud for everyone to see, a little like a
crown.
At
the station I met Carlos, one of my team members, and a Spanish opera singer,
and we both walked into the Olympic Village together. After passing through the airport-style
security, manned by some very cheery security guys, I picked up my meal
vouchers and a bottle of water and we made our way up the path. The sight was amazing. Some of the countries have already arrived,
so the balconies of their residences have been draped in flags. Some countries, like Italy, have put massive
banners up too.
At
11 we met the other team members – Christina, Mitzi, Shernaz and Kathleen – and
we sat in the break room, exchanging numbers and waiting for Venezuela to leave
their initial meeting. 1 o’clock came
and went, so we made our way to the dining area. It was pretty much a school canteen, with a
McDonald’s in the corner, a salad bar and a hot food counter, with piles of
fruit and cereal bars in the centre, plus fridges of Coca Cola products and
water. I opted for a strange mixture of
toad in the hole and couscous (yeah, I know) and corn on the cob. There were so many people in the canteen,
which is amazing seeing as not everyone’s arrived yet. And there weren’t just people in purple, but
also in blue, army uniform and police uniform.
We were amazed by the number of guns the policemen had.
We
returned to the break room still not having been called. Instead of hanging around we went for a walk
to see all the apartment blocks and their decorations. Some athletes and officials were milling
around. It was so great to see so many
nations in one place. We managed to
sneak a peek at a team welcome ceremony – a short procession for every country,
which is important for some countries that may not win any medals, with a
colourful performance at the end.
Finally
at about 4 we got the call. Christina
went to greet the delegates (no athletes yet) and we headed to their apartment
block. Whilst we were waiting, the New
Zealand team walked by, dressed very smartly in black and white and carrying a
banner. We could only guess they were
going to their team ceremony.
Finally
a very tired group of Venezuelan officials arrived on a bus with
Christina. Together we greeted them all,
then a nice guy, Alex, from the support team showed us around, revealing that
we’d have to go into each of the athletes’ and officials’ rooms to do an
inventory of everything, to make sure everything was there and
functioning. The most bizarre was a
missing shower rail, and a whole apartment with missing keys. This process took a while, but it was fun
trying to speed the process up.
Christina and I became really efficient!
With
the Venezuelans sleepy and jet-lagged we were allowed to go at 7/7h30. Some people went straight home, but Carlos, Shernaz
and I opted to use our meal voucher. I
went to McD’s because I felt I deserved it!
On
the way back it was lovely to stand and talk with some other Games Makers – one
driving at ExCel and one doing accreditation (passes) at the Villiage – she’d
done some of the Venezuelans! It made me
realise that we’re all cogs in a very special, precious, important wheel. As the BBC demonstrated yesterday, perhaps
not everyone will appreciate this, but it doesn’t make it any less special or
exciting. I can’t wait for tomorrow!
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