This may well be enough to crash "The Google"...I decided to upload my pictorial Olympic Story...the images are in no particular order...but there are 310 of them...so please browse and enjoy
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
The Olympic Marathon Post
Monday, 30 July 2012
Pandemonium
My fifteen minutes has happened. Watched by 80,000 in the stadium and a billion worldwide, I rolled up astro turf and performed a series of choreographed movements called 'work prep', 'shovel pick axe', 'lever pull', and 'combo'.
I'd love to tell you all how it felt...but it's quite impossible. I woke up on Friday morning with no nerves, but with that that Christmas morning feeling...helped along by the door bell ring every twenty minutes. Time passed in a peculiar, disconnected, even timeless fashion before The Cat's Mother gave me a lift to the station for me to catch up with my fellow Working Men and Women at the Calf Pub in Westfield Stratford...a 1 o'clock drink. Walking through the shopping centre, there was a carnival atmosphere...the place was full of curious tourists, soldiers, Olympics Gamesmakers, volunteers, police, I guess a few shoppers...and athletes from all corners of the globe. We sat outside the pub drinking, chatting, singing, cheering, taking photos and indulging ourselves in the party atmosphere for a couple of hours before entering the park.
There was a long walk to our changing area...about as far from the Stadium as you can be...the Park had come alive with people...it was a remarkable transformation from the first time we had been there. Of course the excitement grew as the build up continued until we were called to the stadium at 8.00pm. We were held in the bowels of the Stadium listening to the pre-show stuff, until the countdown began...10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1......we appeared not so long afterwards...and well done everyone who guessed I was an industrial worker...we ripped up the grass and built the industrial world of the nineteenth century. As we came out, the stadium erupted with applause and we were galvanised into action.
You can see me cross from right to left behind the 'Brunels' who are bending down examining the grass...I'm at the back of the pack of Workers, wearing a dirty cream shirt and blue tie round my neck. Roughly twelve minutes in is where to look. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01l4ldk/Olympic_Ceremonies_London_2012_Opening_Ceremony/
We were on stage for 17 minutes....a truly remarkable and unforgettable experience that I shall treasure all my life. And most importantly, The Boy, The Cat's Mother and The Cat were all proud of me...and that matters so much.
I'd love to tell you all how it felt...but it's quite impossible. I woke up on Friday morning with no nerves, but with that that Christmas morning feeling...helped along by the door bell ring every twenty minutes. Time passed in a peculiar, disconnected, even timeless fashion before The Cat's Mother gave me a lift to the station for me to catch up with my fellow Working Men and Women at the Calf Pub in Westfield Stratford...a 1 o'clock drink. Walking through the shopping centre, there was a carnival atmosphere...the place was full of curious tourists, soldiers, Olympics Gamesmakers, volunteers, police, I guess a few shoppers...and athletes from all corners of the globe. We sat outside the pub drinking, chatting, singing, cheering, taking photos and indulging ourselves in the party atmosphere for a couple of hours before entering the park.
There was a long walk to our changing area...about as far from the Stadium as you can be...the Park had come alive with people...it was a remarkable transformation from the first time we had been there. Of course the excitement grew as the build up continued until we were called to the stadium at 8.00pm. We were held in the bowels of the Stadium listening to the pre-show stuff, until the countdown began...10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1......we appeared not so long afterwards...and well done everyone who guessed I was an industrial worker...we ripped up the grass and built the industrial world of the nineteenth century. As we came out, the stadium erupted with applause and we were galvanised into action.
You can see me cross from right to left behind the 'Brunels' who are bending down examining the grass...I'm at the back of the pack of Workers, wearing a dirty cream shirt and blue tie round my neck. Roughly twelve minutes in is where to look. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01l4ldk/Olympic_Ceremonies_London_2012_Opening_Ceremony/
We were on stage for 17 minutes....a truly remarkable and unforgettable experience that I shall treasure all my life. And most importantly, The Boy, The Cat's Mother and The Cat were all proud of me...and that matters so much.
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Picture daily 71
On the black volcanic sands of Iceland, this dilapidated caravan made for an interesting view
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Picture daily 70
The evening sun added atmosphere to this restaurant..just by the famous Columbia Road flower market
Friday, 27 July 2012
Looking out for number one
And so at long last the great day has arrived. I remember well when I first spotted that they were looking for cast volunteers, and secretly applying. I told no one, until I casually mentioned in conversation that I had an audition. A day before I came down with a heavy cold, so coughed and spluttered my way through a four hour session...wheezing worse than a seventy year-old who's been smoking Woodbine since he was fourteen. At the end I panicked, and fearing I would go no further, I put myself down for a rollerblading part...and then invested heavily in lessons over the next few weeks (I wasn't starting from scratch and in the past had done a marathon on blades)...fortunately they abandoned the idea, I got through to the second audition, meeting Danny Boyle for the first time. A couple of days before I went down with another heavy cold, so rather assumed that after another four hour session of coughing and wheezing, that would be it. There was a two month wait before I received the magical e-mail...it brought a tear to my eye.
Rehearsals began at the start of May and continued through June and July, consuming all my free hours. I've given some 250 hours of my time over to it, and I wouldn't swap a single one of them for anything (apart from some extra time with The Cat's Mother). First in the Three Mills film and TV studios before moving to the ever glamorous Ford Car Park in Dagenham and then the excitement of going to the Stadium itself.
Long days were spent, mostly standing, running, dancing and performing in the rain. It seemed that every time it was our turn to put on our dancing shoes, the heavens would open up - it's no real surprise that after a burst of sun and warmth, there is a thunderstorm predicted for tonight.
I want to say a very special thanks to The Cat's Mother for being such a supportive 'Olympic Widow' and The Cat and The Boy for being Olympic orphans...they've made all the difference.
Now I can't say very much... #savethesurprise...but if you are watching and you do want to try spotting me (The Cat's Mother and UP couldn't when they came to the rehearsal on Wednesday and I'd told them exactly where I'd be) here are a few clues:
1. At 20.12 the pre-show entertainment begins in the green and pleasant land and continues for roughly fifty minutes. I'm not in that
2. At about nine o'clock, things start to change...listen out for a countdown, listen out for Kenneth Brannagh and shortly I and a thousand new cast will come on. I am at the back of the crowd who go onto the area with the cricket pitch.
3. And the rest you will have to work out for yourself...but I don't think it's too sinful to show you a picture of myself here...although it may not help you in your challenge!
Rehearsals began at the start of May and continued through June and July, consuming all my free hours. I've given some 250 hours of my time over to it, and I wouldn't swap a single one of them for anything (apart from some extra time with The Cat's Mother). First in the Three Mills film and TV studios before moving to the ever glamorous Ford Car Park in Dagenham and then the excitement of going to the Stadium itself.
Long days were spent, mostly standing, running, dancing and performing in the rain. It seemed that every time it was our turn to put on our dancing shoes, the heavens would open up - it's no real surprise that after a burst of sun and warmth, there is a thunderstorm predicted for tonight.
I want to say a very special thanks to The Cat's Mother for being such a supportive 'Olympic Widow' and The Cat and The Boy for being Olympic orphans...they've made all the difference.
Now I can't say very much... #savethesurprise...but if you are watching and you do want to try spotting me (The Cat's Mother and UP couldn't when they came to the rehearsal on Wednesday and I'd told them exactly where I'd be) here are a few clues:
1. At 20.12 the pre-show entertainment begins in the green and pleasant land and continues for roughly fifty minutes. I'm not in that
2. At about nine o'clock, things start to change...listen out for a countdown, listen out for Kenneth Brannagh and shortly I and a thousand new cast will come on. I am at the back of the crowd who go onto the area with the cricket pitch.
3. And the rest you will have to work out for yourself...but I don't think it's too sinful to show you a picture of myself here...although it may not help you in your challenge!
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Daily Picture 68
Not surprisingly I've stuck to the Olympics theme this week...apart from the fox that has recently adopted us - although seeing him do an enormous poo in the middle of the lawn this morning may mean he is asked politely to adopt someone else. So today I chose
 |
| Not a sneek preview, but a photo I took of the Munich Olympic Stadium which The Boy and I visited in 2009....our last solus holiday before we teamed up with The Cat's Mother |
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Picture Daily 67
All the people in my section...I've spent an amazing amount of amazing time with them since the beginning of May, and will miss it and them terribly!
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Bubble
At the moment I'm living in an 'Olympic bubble' and barely connected to the real world, which is a challenge as I'm coming into the office everyday, and I assume clients expect me to make some kind of sense.
We had the first dress rehearsal last night...in front of an audience variously estimated at between 40,000 and 60,000. We all felt it went well...very well indeed in fact, but more importantly, the audience thought so too. Whilst everyone is supposed to to keep it secret, there have been various leaks...you can see what's being said on Twitter by, ironically, searching the hashtag #savethesurprise I'm truly delighted that the comments seem to be universally positive.
The Cat's Mother and Up are coming to the final dress-rehearsal tomorrow when the stadium will be full. They are being tasked with taking lots of photos for posterity. I hope they love it.
But apart from work and Olympics, we've been doing some other stuff too...which I think I've forgotten to mention. We saw Simon Russell-Beale in Timon of Athens at the National last week . And here's the thing, it's a play that none of us knew and all went along apprehensively. As it turns out, it was utterly superb...brilliantly envisioned and set in a modern world with a harsh comment of the state of it. Even if you don't like Shakespeare I'd recommend it for an extraordinarily entertaining evening out.
Did I mention we'd been to Lates at London Zoo? A Friday night of cabaret, comedy, music and drink amongst the animals. truth be told there aren't so many animals any more (which is a good thing), but it was an unusual and fabulous way to spend a balmy, and eventually wet, Friday evening. The place was full of people who would probably not come within a mile of a zoo, let alone a wild animal normally, so I hope it works well in raising money for their animal conservation work. The Penguins were a particular delight...but then they always are, aren't they Mr Attenborough? I've got some lovely pictures which I'll try to add later when I've found them...oops!
Oh yes, we did get to see The Temper Trap at Somerset House which was a delightful combination of my favourite band at my favourite venue. According to my much younger fellow-Olympic performers I shouldn't be going to see bands like the Temper Trap because I'm too old. Ha! Is all I can say.
We missed out on Matthew Bourne because The Cat's Mother was struck down...so that was a shame, but she at least is on the road to recovery.
And don't forget to watch the Opening Ceremony...it will be remarkable....
We had the first dress rehearsal last night...in front of an audience variously estimated at between 40,000 and 60,000. We all felt it went well...very well indeed in fact, but more importantly, the audience thought so too. Whilst everyone is supposed to to keep it secret, there have been various leaks...you can see what's being said on Twitter by, ironically, searching the hashtag #savethesurprise I'm truly delighted that the comments seem to be universally positive.
The Cat's Mother and Up are coming to the final dress-rehearsal tomorrow when the stadium will be full. They are being tasked with taking lots of photos for posterity. I hope they love it.
But apart from work and Olympics, we've been doing some other stuff too...which I think I've forgotten to mention. We saw Simon Russell-Beale in Timon of Athens at the National last week . And here's the thing, it's a play that none of us knew and all went along apprehensively. As it turns out, it was utterly superb...brilliantly envisioned and set in a modern world with a harsh comment of the state of it. Even if you don't like Shakespeare I'd recommend it for an extraordinarily entertaining evening out.
Did I mention we'd been to Lates at London Zoo? A Friday night of cabaret, comedy, music and drink amongst the animals. truth be told there aren't so many animals any more (which is a good thing), but it was an unusual and fabulous way to spend a balmy, and eventually wet, Friday evening. The place was full of people who would probably not come within a mile of a zoo, let alone a wild animal normally, so I hope it works well in raising money for their animal conservation work. The Penguins were a particular delight...but then they always are, aren't they Mr Attenborough? I've got some lovely pictures which I'll try to add later when I've found them...oops!
Oh yes, we did get to see The Temper Trap at Somerset House which was a delightful combination of my favourite band at my favourite venue. According to my much younger fellow-Olympic performers I shouldn't be going to see bands like the Temper Trap because I'm too old. Ha! Is all I can say.
We missed out on Matthew Bourne because The Cat's Mother was struck down...so that was a shame, but she at least is on the road to recovery.
And don't forget to watch the Opening Ceremony...it will be remarkable....
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