Today I was still buzzing from
yesterday’s luck – both my own and Team GB’s.
I’m sure I was smiling all day, and that smile only got bigger when the
Venezuelans, by pure chance, left for lunch literally as Mike came in to tell
me that Andy Murray was winning the tennis final against Roger Federer. We managed to see the entirety of the final
set. I’m sure if this is the only gold I
get to see Great Britain win I’ll be happy.
Watching Murray win any competition at Wimbledon is very special.
There wasn’t much to do when
the Venezuelans returned. So much so
that when Goli mentioned a transport issue for tomorrow (the athletes are
starting to go home! I’m so sad!) it
took both me and Mike to go down to the transport desk to sort it out. I was so glad for something to do – I really
like watching the sport and the superstars doing what they do best, but I also
like being busy, especially as that’s what I signed up for here!
Once the transport issue was
solved, and once we’d had dinner, we waited for a couple more hours, watching
the Athletics, waiting for Usain Bolt and the Men’s 100m Sprint Final. With pride I watched Mo Farah get his gold
medal. The differences between here and
the Venezuelans stood out as they asked me where Mo was from.
“Well, Britain,” I replied.
“No, no, where does he
actually come from? Ethiopia?”
I know Mo’s Somali-born, but I
wanted to make a point, so I replied that I thought that his parents were from
there. It was such a strange
conversation to have, I thought at the time.
I guess people from that area of the world think of UK as being an
all-white population rather than the beautiful, rich cultural mix that we are. Not that Venezuela isn't diverse too. Or maybe they feel it’s less of a P-C issue
to discuss there. Just not a conversation I tend to have.
Happily for Mike and me, they
let us go just before 9, giving us an hour to exit the Village and make our way
to Park Live – the big screens in the Olympic Park – well in time to see the
100m Final. Seemingly everyone else had
the same idea, as the seating area was packed, and the area surrounding it was
getting busy. We stood here and waited,
with more and more people arriving. The
race itself was only 9 seconds long, but it was worth it to hear the cheer at
the end. Everyone wanted Usain to win
it.
Even though there were
thousands of people, the walk back to the station was brisk – we didn’t stop
walking in the 25 minutes it took to go from the big screen to the
platform. I’m so impressed with the
transport guys: the system worked really well!
Another slow day at the office,
but another one filled with the thrill and glory of the Olympic Games. I’m so glad I can be here to see moments like
that.
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