Rio 2016 : The Olympic Boulevard - Access to all (oh, and the Flame)

So on a damp, grey day in Rio, what's a girl to do? No tickets, this was supposed to be a catch up, cheap rest day unless a stroke of genius struck. Good choice not to be at rowing - no rowing. Good choice not to be at tennis. No tennis. Might have been a day to grab a last minute ticket to gymnastics (but the price & then sold out). Not a good day for sitting by the pool. Might not have mentioned that the B&B has one?

08:30 breakfast & then decision time. Walk to Metro but no Sta Teresa's tram service about to depart so grab last seat on that. This service is wonderful. Door to door to Metro and free but it only runs until 16.00 and has a limited stretch. The Bonde is much loved in Sta Teresa but a few years ago there was a fatal accident and it's only recently started running again. Most of the tracks aren't used which is a pity as Sta Teresa's narrow streets and hills need it. Think San Francisco on a smaller hill but with a wider network.

I hadn't said hello to Ipanema so headed down there and decried to brave Coacabana again. This time it was OK. There were far less people and I got a sense of the open expanse that I remembered. Kept being offered a rain cape and when I pointed out that I was wearing one, the sellers suggested that I bought another for reinforcement!

At this point, I should have stopped for lunch but no, time for one of the Olympic Boulevards. Advertised as being able to watch the Games, live music food stands, museums and culture. I liked it. It brought the Olympics into the centre of the city, available to all. For many cariocas the Games are out of reach. Tickets are limited and expensive. If you are going to spend money you probably want to go to your favorite sport or maybe sit at home or in a bar and watch from there. Many have rented out homes and left the city to cash in and who can blame them. The Olympic Park is inaccessible unless you have tickets for an event. Cleverly instead of having to go to the Olympics, the Olympics have been brought to the people. The Olympic flame stands proud but small and visible to all. I think it's right following the exclusivity of London's flame and the extravagance of othes. Rio and Brasil are very different places from the ones that won the Games both economically and politically. The Olympic Boulevards have become very popular.

A meal from the Nordeste rounded off an interesting and cheap day! Oh, except the shopping!

Rio 2016 : Slalom Canoeing A Gold Medal Day

I chose my events based on different venues, sports I was nterested and I would like to have said cost. That was true to begin with but I seem to have develooped the attitude of "It's only money" which isn't healthy. Don't do this at home & all that!

So, why the canoeing,? Well at University I was a keen member of the canoe club. We actually kayaked but hey we're British. I tried a bit of whitewater (very small weir) and sea-canoeing but I have to admit I was one of those canoeists who were in it for the long-haul (unless it was to see how many students you could get on a pyramid on 3 canoes,). The past is another story. This kind of fitted the bill. Should have been going to the canoe sprint but I did fit that one in in London so chose rowing instead.

Having been delighted to bump into a friend and former colleague, we discovered we had tickets for the same event. Me in the cheaper seats, Chris and Damien in the more expensive ones. Due to a problem in phone technology (my fault I fear) we had to resort to the old-fashioned method of agreeing when and where to meet. Also, bear in mind that none of us had been to the venue before. All agreed Until I found myself playing a game of eye=spy and spotted Chris coming up some stairs having taken a photo. The scene was set. Biscuits sampled, course inspected. We then realised we didn't know the rules. Turned out fairly simple, 10 fastest out of 15 semi-finalists qualify for the final and then it's the fastest. Hit a gate and it's a 2 second penalty. Green gates, go through from up stream, red ones go from downstream. After the first man had battled his way down we discovered that it didn't matter which way the canoeist faced as long as he went upright and the right entry to the gates. Confused? I'm sure you can look it up!

Rio is quite a relaxed place and so I joined Chris and Damien . At that stage, we weren't too sure which stand we were supposed to be in but we were on top of the fearsome looking Gate 17 and a tricky cross-over section. I did keep asking Chris if he could arrange for an umbrella at Gate 7 to be removed but somehow he never got round to it.

The power that the kayakers need to force their way through the water should not be underestimated combined with timing & concentration. It's power on speed and water. Scary stuff. You could also see that athletes could get badly hurt. As the runs went on we started being more assured of times & smoothness through the gates near us and started to look for unlucky 11th. Mr Burrows from Australia missed by 0.07 seconds. How cruel is that? That's sport.

Having learnt & filled up water bottles early. for once I didn't have to join the long line so decided on lunch. The guys had tried the pizza in another venue. There was the stand saying 'pizza'. One problem - no pizza! Managed to forget the biscuits in bag and sulked (for 5 minutes). However, I am now the proud owner of 3 beer cups. I' been eyeing them up as good presents for the kids (hope /freddie isn't reading this) but there was a snag. Only came with beer and I don't like beer so thanks guys. One more to snaffle and that's the presents sorted. Yes, I am being a cheapskate but they are nice r than most of the merch! Here's one with the knitting!

So we settled back to enjoy the final. Now, I mentioned earlier that there was a slight differential in price between tickets and the stand we had been sitting in was the more expensive. Being the bad ticketing managers that we are, Chris and Danien went in, Chris came out, Chris and I went in. Oh the joys of unreserved tickets.

We were onto the serious stuff. David Florence had the Brit crowd out, the Slovaks were out in force and the French were supporting the Olympic champion. There were also 5 Japanese fans. The tribes were ready, the canoeists were ready. We'd finally worked out that the finish was further away than we thought and was actually where it said finish! Funny that.

The 97 or so seconds that each canoeist took were exhilarating. Where were they on the splits? Follow on the screen until below you. Hit gate 17 or not? struggle to get through 19 across the water. Were they faster? How long to the finish line.

As is recorded elsewhere David Florence did not have his best run. It was obvious by the time it got to the supporters but he was cheered until the end. The Slovaks went mad. as early on their athlete took the lead. Could he be beaten? It look not. Then we had the mighty French man, the power, the force, the spee, the Brits were applauding right the way down, the Slovaks were standing. At the end of the run he was first - with one to go. The Slovaks warmly applauded. That's sport and sportsmanship.

So Gold to France, silver to Slovakia and bronze to Japan (?), we left before the medal ceremony but then we saw something better. A group of Braziliam kids climbing on the Rio 2016 sign.

That's the Olympics.

Rio 2016 Rowing is Oarsome & a gentler side of Rio

The sky was overcast, there was a calm on the Lagoa. Clouds drifted over the Corcovado (Christ Statue) but there was a buzz in the air.

Rio was about to have its first day of good rowing conditions and there was an excited audience for it. OK so it wasn't entirely smooth as 2 capsizes showed but it was definitely my favourite day to date. There were various reasons, whilst the Braziliam crowd had enjoyed the dressage & their cheers and Mexican wave for their competitor was great in the dressage, in the rowing we had racing and not just Brazilian supporters getting  excited. It's also a lovely venue. Even with the clouds scudding across, hills, water, intimate setting & two very good commentators one English & one Braziliam.

Whilst I've not had any problems with transport, it has to be said that it does take time and this was easy.

For the first time I wore a GB t-shirt (query - aren't we Great Britain & Northern Ireland, so where's the NI?) and it was very interesting. Easy to get absorbed into the tribal atmosphere but fewer appraches from random Brazilians and an assumption that I don't speak Portuguese. It was the right day to wear it though given the British levels of involvement in the rowing.

One of the many highlights of the day was bumping into someone I used to work with. Chris has been to every Olympics since Sydney. I'm impressed. I'm here because I wanted to see if I can fall in love with Brasil again after so many years and the Olympics is a good way to do it. It says a lot for the Olympic movement that it can be so motivational.

And so to the rowing. Seen close up, the technique that goes into rowing makes it look so smooth and powerful. Somehow they seem to glide effortlessly through the water with great timing. The reality at the end of the race is exhaustion. It's tough. The timing and teamwork has to be second to none. It's also fascinating how the stroke rate varies (thanks screens) and then you think someone can't be caught but they are overhauled while others storm to a lead and are easy victories. The women's pairs was a terrific race with the British pair trailing. In athletics it might be described as tucked in behind but in rowing they were 4 lanes apart. Just in front of us they increased their pace and you knew they had them. "They've got it!" I shouted as the momentum built. The team member in front of me agreed. "Was that spelt Oarsome or Awesome?" I queried.

And yet, while I loved the Brits it was wonderful to hear the support for the Brazilian women & the Irish mens pairs were terrific too and I shouted for them as well. Again the unallocated seating worked as groups could sit together, friends with friends, tribe with tribe, different supporters applauded the other's teams. Football - eat your heart out.

Incidentally, knitting came too!

Now in previous posts, I've moaned about the ability to get water. The food is terrible but things sank to a new low yesterday. The first outlet I tried had no coffee! I'm in Brasil... Say no more.

After an extended time at the rowing. We built in some of yesterday's rowing, I walked round to the Jardin Botanico stopping off for lunch. Bar/restaurant with a menu entirely in Portuguese. Once the waiter had established I could speak Portuguese but was English he started asking me about Brexit & informed me that those who had plenty should share with those who had nothing. He came from the Northeast near Forteleza with beautiful beaches but had never gone to Sao Paulo. We discussed the quality of life & transport in cities reflecting on the problems of having been dependent on petrol while developing cities. 

And so to the Botanic Gardens. All I can say is wow! They are not Kew as there isn't the wide range of plants but the layout, the specimens, conservation and love. All of that is there.

Rio 2016 Dressage & the grittier side of Rio

If the tennis, Olympic Park and the smooth transport system demonstrated aspirational Rio, today I saw the grittier side of Rio as I headed out to the equestrian Olympic Park and the Dressage.

Train journey was easy but real life wss on it. The new metro to the Olympic Park is just for ticket holders with the Games equivalent of the Travelcard but to get to the Deordor area you take the sumburban train. The railways were orginally built by the Brits but haven't been developed in sthe 20th century so this is a rarity in the country. The tranline seemed to go through some of the poorer areas but not the favelas. The street-sellers also made the most of a captive audience by offering crisps and sweets, hanging their offerings from the handrails. Rminded me of how they used to visit the bars on the Copacabana.

The equestrian centre could not be more different from the architecture of the Olympic Park. One concrete stand and the rest made of sold scaffolding. I don't know much about dressage other thatn what I could remember from childhood pony books but I found it hypnotic as you really did start seeing the difference between how horses reacted to doing the same test. Somehow there was something magical about horse and rider doing something technically demanding, elegantly, quietly and without drama in fairly basic surroundings. Sport truly was King.

There was also a lovely atmosphere inside the stadium with lots of families. I like the fact that there is unallocated seating in many of the venues. It gives it a really fun feal and you can try and avoid the sun! We had a Mexican wave to celebrate a Brazilian rider and then the Braziliam F1 tractor team came out to play, I mean rake.

Below the less than glamorous horse's (centre) backside.

On the way back, I changed train at Marcana station. Of course, I got out to take a look. hat stadium has more magic for me than Wembley as my first football memories are Brazilian. I've longed to go there, be there, & now I've seen it. Next time I'll be at a match there. It's been rebuilt I know and there does seem to be a real mix of styles. A wish of mine has come true - I've seen the place where fantasies have come true such as England beating Brazil!

My final stop of the day was Copacabana. New food stands & Olympics media city detracts but the street sellers are still there, the musica is still there as are the beachlovers. memories and reality jostled together and I will draw a veil over the rest,

Got a taxi up back and to my joy the driver asked me how long I'd been living in Rio. Compliment to my Portuguese even if I speak it with a strong British / Sao Paulo accent.

I enjoyed today. It was Olympics at its purests and Brasil true to itself.

Rio 2016 - tennis

Tennis - a newcomer to post-war Olympics : brings in the professional highly paid players who have their own Grandslams to the greatest competition on earth.

So how did Rio do? I cannot comment on Centre Court. I made it to No.1 with a quick entry into No. 3.

First and foremost, Wimbledon it ain't. I always knew the Wimbledon ball boys & girls were good but not how good! Umpires were continually having to chase up balls and there were a few agility issues but maybe the heat got to some of them! Players don't wear whites but their national colours. Are they playing for themselves or their country? I suspect the former.

The tennis itself was what you would expect from first round matches. Certainly unbalanced when it came to Cillic & Dimitrov. heather Watson was doing very nicely until I came along & then lost the 2nd set. I kept saying to myself no dramatics, sensible points but the thoughts didn't work. The match between Gilles Simon & Borma Coric was certainly entertaining. No one explained that if you had a ticket for the show courts you could also watch the outside ones which meant that there few for the Watson match.

Above : Cilic wins the toss and elects to serve while Watson feels the heat.

The Olympic Park has some superb buildings. I'd love to see more of them. The way the arenas flow into each other are stunning and I rather liked the orange of Centre Court.

I found the transportation impressive & there was a lot less further to walk than London. No issues with security other than walking the long way round when there were no queues! The issues that people feared I found to be no problem but it was the details that mattered.

There was very little shade other than picnic tables and boy was it hot which led to the major issue I did have was food and water. Food - you weren't supposed to leave the tennis area but they ran out of snack food - little choice & expensive. You weren't permitted to bring liquids into the grounds but the water fountains were few and far between. They also pointed upwards with variable water pressure so it took forever. I thought I might witness murder when one guy took out a cup after filling 3 bottles!

If you bought a bottle then it was served with the lid off. A cynical way of making money from the sustainable games?

People were loving being there. A warm and friendly atmosphere which grew as the day wore on as more people came. A good day out but maybe not a great one.

Travels with Margaret

One of the first social commentaries I ever read was recommended to me by my Mother - Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck. I still love it and am about to download it to my kindle! It certainly influenced me in doing my greyhounding and travels round Australia.

There is one person that more than anyone else will ever do that influenced my wonderlust and shared so many of my travels and that is my Mother - Margaret.

I understand that we clocked up our first major expedition on the way to live in New York for a couple of years and stopped off in the Caribean. I, as a baby, famously wouldn't be soothed on our final day. Nappy was fine, temperature was fine, had been fed. Just didn't want to leave. That set a precedent. Many years later Margaret and I visited Hyde Park, home of the Roosevelts, and we were asked if we had been before. I said no but Margaret said "yes, when you were a baby." back came the rejoinder, said directly to me. "you remember it well then." That said a lot about our trips together, historical, cultural and fun. We combined things that were new with things that either one or other of us had done before. These trips often included a pack of cards and competitive games of 'Hunt the Ten."

I had an exotic childhood. We lived for 5 years in Sao Paulo,  Brasil and then another 5 years when my father worked out there and my Mother comuted between London & Sao Paulo for a few months at a time. Looking back, I know I was happy at the time but now I realise that in many ways it was an isolated childhood but enough of that.

It was a special time for travelling. Margaret and I did things my Father didn't want to or couldn't. We also had some fabulous family holidays on the beach. Some worked and some didn't. Memo to other parents - taking an 8 year old to Mexico City was not the best idea in the world but taking an impressionable 12 year old to Machu Pichu before it became accessible was. Margaret and I combined trips home with other places. Jamaica for her & Disneyworld for me. Vancouver & Beautiful British Columbia (BBC) for both of us. Tango in Buenos Aires for her, Tom & Jerry film festival for me. I don't think I was supposed to laugh when she walked into a lamp post immediately afterwards. Sometimes we travelled first class. A highlight for me - making bacon sandwiches for the British Caledonian Captain, a highlight for her sharing the top deck of a Boeing 747 with Tom Watson.  It was during one of these trips that she made a tactical mistake in allowing me to rad an imigration form. I discoverd her date of birth did not coincide with how old she claiimed to be. But we had fun and we learned and grew together.

There was of course a pause in our travelling but in the last 15 years it began again. A trip to New York. One amazing and the other when she ended up being stuck there due to the volcano. She did end up with an encyclopeadic knowledge of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That trip we discovered Brooklyn but were astonished to find that the Frick had an exhibition of the works from Dulwich Art Gallery. We hadn't gone all that way to see our local paintings. Together we explored Kykuit, first the house and then the grounds. We postponed a trip due to 9/11. I had to drag her to the Air & Space Museum only to have to drag her out at closing time.

Her Euopean trips were mainly shared with her closest friend Janice but we fitted in a few and more in the last few years. I had wanted to taker her to Nice knowing that she would love it. She resisted having gone off the South of France when she became seriously ill with food-poisoning from unwashed grapes. We went and together visited Vence for the first time. We did manage to find a yarn shop and she bought a bag and I her Chrismas present - well, she chose the wool & I knitted it. The Chapel overshadowed all of that. It was an artistic highlight of both of our lives and the Cut OUt exhibition at Tate Modern that followed, a bonus. We both came to learn and love Matisse together. Another French highlight - a day at Giverny and a country restaurant. I could and will go on.

I didn't always get it right. Knowing she would love Aix and Arles I took her there. Only for her to comment that the Aix Hotel was not as grand as she was used to and that the bathroom was too small. The view from the balcony did however compensate and we loved the open-air opera even if the production of Don Giovanni was dire. Zerlina sings her great aria clutching Don Giovanni's coat?! How does that work? As for Arles, it had Romans, Van Gogh and sun. Fortunately the hotel although small was perfectly formed! By the time it got to Nice I'd upgraded ...

And so to Rio 2016. She's been so supportive of my trip coming back, excited by the Olympics and London Brazilian celebrations. There was never an idea that she would come to but I have a suspicion that she wanted to. I will not be able to share this one with her but I am glad I'm here even if the area isn't the glamorous Copacabana she loved and the Bed & Breakfast isn't very grand.

Dedicated to my mother Margaret R 22.11.193? - 3 July 2016.

A Summer of Socks - Sporty Socks

Now, I'm not the most active person in the world. Exercise for me takes the form of a long walk in the countryside. About 8 - 10 miles preferably with a minimum of up! (Unless of course it's the South West Coast Path which is par for the course!). Where I am sporty is that I love to watch sport and over the last few years I've started going to more sporting events.

In 2012, the Press were horrified by the sight of a woman knitting at Centre Court rather than being riveted to the action. What is wrong with that I ask? If you have a small simple project, you don't need to look at the work and you have something to occupy your hands. You can easily drop it to your lap. Would there be the same criticism of someone on their phone, tweeting, texting, facebooking? I don't think so because these have been common practice. I would have more sympathy with this outcry if the argument had been that the clicking of needles was distracting to others or that the knitter was seen as a fidgeter. Of that I have a lot of sympathy because if I'm at a concert then I feel that way about restlessness & people using their phones. In that case, I would expect the person next door to say something.

I've taken socks to Wimbledon & Lords. No one has complained, I've had the odd converations and had to persuade a security guard that 2.5mm (diameter) & 15cm wooden knitting needles weren't going to be a serious weapon. OK so at Lords the person originally sitting next to me swapped with his friends but that mightn't have been the knitting, maybe I smelt?! The other thing about bringing knitting to a cricket match, is that really as distracting as the amount of beer that people drink & the comings and goings to get more or to relieve themselves. Again, at Lords you are actively encouraged to tweet about the game & given free wifi so what I'm doing is it that distracting? I'm not sure.

OK, so rant over. Why do I bring knitting to sporting matches? Yes, I'm an addict & so a leisurely day spent outside seems a waste without having some knitting to do. Kntting is easily portable and easy to pick up and put down unlike a book. A phone, well, you worry where you've left it & drop an electronic tablet? Not a good idea besides which they are heavy & don't take such good photos as a camera.

So, Wimbledon. I love going. I've only once been lucky enough to get a ticket for Number One Court for the whole day thanks to a Debenture Holding friend of my Mother's. The rest of the time, I've queued like normal people. But are we normal? Maybe not. After all to get into the queue, I tend to get up at 4am and be there for 5.30. That has never been early enough to get a day ticket for a Show Court but it does get you the Court of your choice for the early matches. That's a bit of a lottery. You choose something that looks like it should be good but no, your match on Court 18 ends up straight sets and easy while over on Court 5 there's a real humdinger going on or do you head to Court 3 and see what happens there?

It's during the queue that it's worth taking your knitting. You sit and hang around for quite a while. If you are lucky, you are next to people who you can exchange pleasantries but you could easily be next to someone who is desperate to get onto Centre Court and is comparing Wimbledon unfavourably to the Australian Open. Humph... There's something so civilisedly (I know this isn't a word!) English about the Wimbledon queue. You obtain a card with your number so that there is no queue jumping and on that card is the rules for queueing. The Stewards ostensibly keep an eye on things and move the queue along when necessary but in practice they play the charming and polite hosts to perfection. Encouraging, informative, welcoming. At 7.00am you aren't awake so soothing knitting is perfect as is the bacon sandwich from the mobile catering.

The queue begins to move, you've gone to the loo and not sure where your place was. Your queue helps as you check someone else's number & move accordingly. You think that this is it but no, the tents are down, you move further up and more people fit in. You look behind you and cannot believe the numbers behind you. You smile smuggly, Your sleep sacrifice has been worth it. You think you are getting somewhere but what the newcomer doesn't realise is that there is a long way from opening the gate to the queue to getting to the ground. You cross the Park, passing entertainment from the former tenis players on a mock court, tempted by soft drinks from the sponsors. You are moving albeit in a stop start fashion. At this stage, knitting isn't so great as you are on your feet moving slowly. I would then recommend either enjoying the atmosphere or get out a lightweight reading device such as a Kindle. Round the corner,then you see it. Centre Court looming there in front of you. Airport Security, wooden knitting needles passed OK, you pay (cash only) and you are in. There's a queue for the loo but you don't bother, you work out the nearest way to the Court of your choice. You've been through so much and it's only 10.30 am with play not scheduled to start until 12.00.

Welcome to Wimbledon rings out and you are advised of the weather and in particular if it's going to be hot or interupted. Water is advised on hot days but you pray you get the tap rather than the rain variety. Then the thing I love the most, the courts are opened and a line of stewards including the forces and fire service walk slowly towards the courts ensuring no running, no panicking, no shoving. Technically once you've sat down that's it, no moving or you jeopardise it but in practice, dump stuff (ensuring you take valuables including knitting & hop to the loo). it's then that you really need your knitting as you are condemned to sit in a not very comfortable seat until play begins. There's no wifi at Wimbledon so any tweeting is done on your own accout but who cares. You are there.

Am I that woman who knitted in 2012? No I'm not. I have to admit that my head is like all the others and is transfixed by the speed of the ball and the agility of the players but I do find that when the players take their extended breaks I do pick it up. If I choose to watch a match on the big screen from Henman Hill then yes I do as a screen is far less compelling than actually being on Court.

The end of the day? A little sojourn on a show court. Wimbledon has the best returns system I know. show court ticket holders on leaving can return their tickets, you can then buy them for a donation of £10 for Centre & £5 for No. 1 & No. 2. The courts remain full, you get to see the tennis and charity benefits. Perfect! That way I've seen Leyton Hewitt in his final match at Wimbledon, the most generous sportsmanship from Jo Wilfred Tsonga. I've not made it to Centre and possibly I never will unless I get lucky in the ballot (providing I remember to enter it!) but I would rather see the top players on No.1 than waste time during a perfect Day at Wimbledon!