A food processor : A first?!

This week I bought a food processor.

It was a first because it was the first major thing I bought for my mother's kitchen.

For sometime, I have been experimenting with cooking classes. I thought it might be good to go to a knife skills class and then I realised that as I don't cook fish (don't particularly like it) and am unlikely to want to dismember a chicken. What I tend to use knives for are onions, mushrooms, carrots. Yes, vegetables. Do I need a course for that? No. It was cheaper to buy a food-processor.

Why is it a first? I have bought a food processor before but this time it was for my Mother's kitchen. It was the first major purchase for her kitchen.

I have been cooking in her kitchen all my life but since she died it's been where I have been doing the bulk of the cooking as it's been no fun cooking in mine for some time. After she died it was basics as it was for my father who likes straight forward meat and potatoes whether it be fillet steak or sausages. Chicken is fine but stews are tolerated. Potatoes are preferred.

Recently things have progressed and flavour is dominant. Last time I asked, "something I wouldn't normally have". We are never going to go down the chinese, vegetarian and soup route but at least my cooking is different from ready-meals, smoked salmon & boiled eggs.

It's strange being in charge of my Mother's kitchen. I use her radio, her knives, the wonky beater. I know how to bake her apple-cake. I use puff pastry for mince pies as she did. Over the years I have made several meals there and have been responsible for Christmas lunches. We've had loads of meals there. I have cooked for dinner parties. But the kitchen is not a place for being morbid because you need it to eat. There are more ready meals and things in the freezer.

Over the last few months I have started to enjoy cooking again but baking more. I know that a food processor will be used. Gradually the kitchen is feeling more like more like my space. I got rid of things I would never use. Surprisingly getting rid of a few things, made better use of space. It's my choice of recipes. I still haven't been through her files of newspaper cuttings. 

It will never be my kitchen but I am enjoying doing my own thing and with the food processor have put my first stamp on it.

Two Choirs : My 2nd first

Everyone Sang

Everyone suddenly burst out singing;

And I was filled with such delight

As prisoned birds must find in freedom,

Winging wildly across the white

Orchards and dark-green fields; on - on - and out of sight.

Everyone's voice was suddenly lifted;

And beauty came like the setting sun:

My heart was shaken with tears; and horror

Drifted away ... O, but Everyone

Was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.

Siegfried Sassoon 1919

Siegfried Sassoon wrote this following the Armstice. He had been a soldier, an anti-war protester and an acclaimed war poet. He wrote later how the words had come to him. Perhaps they are an expression of the end of war or inspired by the singing in the trenches but it is a poem that has always resonated with me. Music and singing in particular can be comforting but can also encompass sorrow or, in this case, horror and when you share the emotions via music rather than another person they can be magnified, triggered and sometimes dispersed.

I joined Kensington Singers a few months after my Mother died. I had been thinking about joining a choir since stopping shiftwork. Unemployment, loneliness and the need for belonging to a group prompted me to get on with it. My criteria were simple. No auditions, friendly, near home & not on a Tuesday (clash with Portuguese classes). Kensington on paper (sorry web-page) met all of these plus the web-site said pub afterwards. Now I wasn't in the mood for the pub afterwards & a few years on, I still haven't been but I reckoned that a choir who makes a point of this must be friendly.

When you join a choir, one of the things is that you have a responsibility to the other members and the choir director (Hannah Brine in our case). There are the common things like being on time, remembering your music, helping set up and putting things away. You should also do your homework. Hannah records MP3s for each song and each part. This could be up to 8 if each of the parts split (soprano, alto, tenor, bass). She also sends round a newsletter highlighting what we have done each week and what we should work on for the next week and there is also a concert at the end of each term. This means that you need to spend time outside of the rehearsals practising and getting to know the songs.

For the first term, I failed miserably to do this for about 7 weeks. I was enjoying the new experience of being part of the group but it wasn't working for me. Then I tried to get my mind around a complex arrangement of A Partridge in a Pear Tree. I started crying and I realised that I was struggling because I couldn't face Christmas as my Mother had left such a hole in our family and she so enjoyed Christmas. 2017 was better but again I struggled in 2018 as not only did my Aunt leave another massive hole in our lives but 22nd December was the anniversary of her death.

But still I persisted. Spring and Summer terms have been fantastic. (with the possible exception of singing "Requiem" in the first rehearsal of the term following my aunt's death!).We've sung so much with a great range of genres and works by Eric Whittaker, Bob Chilcott, Billy Joel, arrangements by the King Singers and songs from musicals incluing Sunday in the Park with George. My favourite has to be Baba Yetu from the video game Civilizatin IV. This led to an invitation to sing the Napa High School Alumni Choir at St John's Smith Square. 

A huge highlight for me was being part of the hastily put together WI Choir to perform at the Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall. (spoiler : there isn't a WI choir). We were the choir accompanying the stars and writers of the musical Calendar Girls. We sang Yorkshire. It's not the greatest song ever written but I have now performed with the legendary Gary Barlow! Waiting to make our entrance I was lucky to be at the door where many of the stars came in including Glenda Jackson, Ian MacKellan, Brian May and his wife Anita Dobson. I had the pleasure of singing to the back of Mark Rylance's head. If I had been on the lefthand side of our entry, it could have been Andrew Lloyd-Webber. No pressure!

Why two choirs? I decided last Summer to try Sing Broadway at Citylit. I like Citylit (more another time) and thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked singing with a different group, was slightly scared at doing a solo number for the first time. I discovered I thrived from group dynamics, I can deliver a performance but my sense of timing is dreadful.

Working part-time, I don't do Mondays. Other people may not like them but I don't do them so I decided to try out the lunchtime choir. The first week it worked out fine. The repertoire works for me. One hour at lunch and then 2 in the evening is fun. Different styles but similar techniques. New group. I think it will be just fine.

The 1st first : The Wallace Collection

I have spent most of life in London but I had never been to the Wallace Collection. I am not sure why as I grew up going to art collections. We live close to Dulwich and I went to school there so have been a frequent visitor to Dulwich Gallery all my life. When travelling, Vel I go to galleries and museums including smaller collections such as the Frick. There is no excuse, no logical explanation so last week I went.

My first problem was finding it. This is nothing to do with the Wallace Collection - it's clear on their web-site, it's a significant building. This was my fault. I had assumed it was another building just north of Bond Street. Oops! This meant I arrived later than intended but did get to explore St Christopher's Place which is a surprise of smaller establishments in contrast to the monoliths of the Oxford Street department stores.

I thoroughly enjoyed my brief visit to the Wallace Collection. It's another gem built up by a family with a very good eye and I think these collections are the most special. There's a link between the pictures and it's not overwhelming as the big institutions. (The only time I have been seriously lost in the US is when I have been trying to find the exit in the New York Metropolitan Museum).

Before going, I knew about the Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals I did not know about the Rembrandts, Velasquez, Van Dykes. There is an awful lot of armour and I am afraid that that is one collection I can live without. Dulwich of course has Rembrandts and for a while I was growing up when the local joke was "are the Rembrandts in or out?" Not because they were on loan but because they kept getting stolen. There was also one trip to New York when my Mother and I made our regular pilgrimage to the Frick only to find there was a temporary exhibition from Dulwich and the poster girl was the Rembrandt of a girl.

Back to the Wallace. Oddly one of the pictures that immediately jumped out at me was a version of Velasquez' the Infanta. The light was a delight. Also lovely to see a focus on the Infanta after seeing Picasso's interpretation in Barcelona.

I have always had a soft spot for Hals. He has a way of letting you identify with his subjects. I am not sure his Cavalier is laughing but he certainly has a twinkle in his eye and was probably very good company. If you go to the National Gallery and see his portrait of a family which is so human.

But yes it is Rembrandt that for me is the star. Look at his thoughtful picture of his son. His self-portrait isn't the greatest I have ever seen but it is unmistakable. His portraits in the Great Hall are terrific.

Lots of small details. A Fragonard, Whistler doing a photo-shop version of George IV. Delicate pieces of furniture.

It may have been the first time I have been but I am already planning to go back.

52 ways of banishing ghosts or a year of getting a life

'Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt about that.'

A Christmas Carol. In many ways my life over the last year has been dominated by what I have been calling ghosts. In the last 3.5 years, I have been made redundant, had a short term contract end just as my Mother died. A period of unemployment followed by the job that nightmares are made of. This has been accompanied by the death of both of my mother's sisters within 18 months and the sale of my Aunt's house, next door to my Father's. He is fine but a grumpy 84 year old. I also have a flat that needs gutting, rewiring that I fell write aboutout of love when upstairs' washing machine started backing up into my kitchen so I guess you could say that my life has not been exactly a bed of roses.

Written like that, it seems as though life has been all doom and gloom but it's not. I have a part-time job that I enjoy, I've started new things, got capital and have used one of the things I have inherited from the relatives - resilience. I am unmarried and an only child but very lucky to have good friends and wonderful cousins.

And yet - of course things get me down. I need to challenge myself, do new things, explore a new life. But I can't drop everything and go round the world because I haven't got that much capital and whilst fit, Grumpy (my Father) does like me dividing my time between my flat and his house. To be honest, I like spending time at his house too particularly as it has been a home to me since I was 13.

There are times when I have felt that life is dominated by ghosts. memories of things I did with my Mother, places I have visited, family times, experiences at work, weird and exciting shifts. I miss the eccentric independent life I used to have.

I have never been one to do New Year's Resolutions. After all, what's the point of trying to lose weight or do loads of exercise at the time of year (at least in Northern Europe) when it's dark, cold and miserable. Why add more of that to your life and condemn yourself to fail.

I do however believe in challenges. This year I am challenging myself to do one new thing every week and to write about it. They aren't going to be the big things. Colleagues have registered to do the Challenge 42 and go up Tower 42 or the NatWest Tower as I used to know it. I am not that crazy and besides I did a lot of those stairs in my twenties when I worked for NatWest Corporate Banking or NatWest Markets as it became. Walking down 29 flights was tough enough on the knees! Let's face it, when you go uphill you at least get to enjoy the view but you don't on those stairs.

I digress. My new things are going to be smaller, it could be the new term at choir, a new recipe, knitting technique, a new walk. It can be things I am already doing but a new chapter or perhaps a new book.

What brought this on? Some incredible lows over the last 2 months. It's a year since my Aunt died on 22nd December after a stroke on my cousin's birthday. Struggles with my Father over relatively small things and a huge issue over Christmas Day. To take my mind off things and have a break over the miserable Christmas period, I booked a weekend in Paris. I've been to Paris several times. I could spend so many weekends over there, not because I particularly like the city but because of the cultural jewels. Let's face it, it's a lot closer than New York! This time I decided I wanted to see the Blue and Pink period Picasso exhibition & the Impressionist & Neo-Impressionist rehang at the Musee d'Orsay & the Fauvist exhibition at the Marmottan which featured works in private collections.

I went to book the hotel in the Bastille area which I have stayed at several times but then I stopped. Why? I wasn't going to the opera this time, I didn't need to go back to the restaurants in the area, I didn't have to go back. I went for somewhere new on the Left Bank. To be honest, I think the hotel I stayed at, whilst lovely, was probably over priced for what it offered but Location, Location, Location costs. It was absolutely the right thing to do! I came back with a sense of peace from the Marmotten and joy in the Signacs and the Seurats looking so much happier on the top floor of the Orsay. I laughed when I got involved in a conversation with a Portuguese waiter and then forgot which language I was supposed to be speaking. I had switched off and relaxed.

This is what I want to continue this year so I am going to be writing about the new things in my life this year and possibly some old ones. I might even try and write about the love-hate I have with Picasso[s paintings.

Au revoir pour ce soir.

What to wear to a sporting event

At the World Athletics championships, I noted that there were a variety of t-shirts worn.

There were some specifically supporting an athlete or team that had been specifically designed, many supporting a national team and also t-shirts for a specific sporting event. We had the new Team GB t-shirts and those for the IAAF championships but many wore others. Team GB from earlier events, London 2012 t-shirts, general and Team GB. I probably got the prize for showing off the most. I wore my team Brasil for day 1, Rio Olympics for day2 & a non-marked Rio Olympics one.

I got a couple of smiles and surprised looks from a couple of members of the Brasilian team as I wondered round but otherwise no comments.

Now if you go to a football match, you are expected to wear your team's colours. You need to show which tribe your allegiance is with. What do you do if you are neutral? In England you work out which stand you are in and make sure you don't wear the other team's colours.

In Rio, I found it was very interesting. if I wore a tribal t-shirt I immediately spoke to other Brits but dressed neutrally then I got talking to some very interesting people. In the end I compromised, I wore a neutral or Rio t-shirt around the grounds but if I was joining in a tribal event such as the cycling I got changed at the venue.

You get a lot from being a member of the tribe at a sporting event. You share, you shout, you laugh, you cry with your team but you get a lot without it. New friends and the ability to cheer for another team,

A friend of mine and I went to the GBvs Brazil women's football at London 2012. I didn't wear a t-shirt that reflected either nationality. This was just as well as I found myself cheering for both sides and getting some very funny looks!

What do you wear for a sporting event? I wear a t-shirt, take socks in case of cold feet, a skirt, shorts or trousers that are long enough to cover that plastic seat & enjoy cheering for whoever puts on the best performance!  

PS Change to sweater for Winter event, plan for wet weather and consider a hat!

Why I believe America is already great (but nobody's perfect) by a Brit

I have had a love affair with the USA since I was a child. We lived in New York when I was a baby and it was a city that was so good that my parents never had a harsh word to say about it. My Aunt did the Greyhound bus as she travelled around in 1968 visiting hospitals as she researched renal treatment before setting up a unit in London.  As a child, I watched the US cartoons, I read their children's books. Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey twins, Sue Barton, Cherry Ames, they were as familiar to me as the Chalet School and Malcolm Saville.

I was part of the Americas living in Brasil and we had American friends and American imports. It was a county I felt I knew intimately except I didn't visit until I was 10 for Disneyworld and then I went round the States on a greyhound bus with the odd plane thrown in. It felt as though I was at home in Seattle and New York, Washington was extraordinary. The South was a foreign county, Texas spoke a foreign language (and I don't mean Spanish) while the Midwest was open and stunning. I did the tourist things.

Later I mourned the Twin Towers, celebrated the end of the Cold War, admired the Democracy and discovered Amtrak. America was great for me.

There are few countries that can have America's record on democracy -  a tradition of a President handing peacefully to the next. A Congress, a senate and a judiciary separated from each other and th Executive designed for checks and balances. A nation that believed in 'Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness'.

It's a country that has great respect for its history, the Presidency, the Stars and Stripes. Few countries can get away with their leaders instinctively saying 'God Bless America' and you know it's sincere. There is a delight in success and an inate belief in righteous and patriotism that in this country would feel insincere, be mocked or talked down. In America it feels right.

And yet now Trump wants to make America great again. Why?

Culturally the USA is magnificent. It has Hollywood, independent filmmakers, superb television drama, music from Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, American Idol stars. It has created its own genres in jazz, the blues and rock while continuing the country tradition. It's justly famous orchestras and opera houses are privately funded.

Environmentally, think of the natural landscapes, the oceans, the Great Lakes. The National Parks founded as early as the 19th century. There is freedom to hunt and fish, hike and camp. That's before you think about the extremes of Alaska, the Florida keys, Yosemite, Niagara.

Economically it's been strong. Independence Movement 'no taxation without representation', oil, coal, nuclear, Natural resources aplenty and a workforce with an entrepreneurial edge. A rewards culture and a belief in the American dream. A land of plenty and a land of immigration.

The land of the free. The land of the immigrant, the land that welcomed the Irish when they were starving, the land that welcomed the Poles when they had nothing, the land that welcomed Russian refugees, the land that provided a sanctuary for the Jews when they had none.

And yet it has never been without its flaws.

Early wealth was built on slavery. Michelle Obama, a descendant of slaves, talked about living in a White House that was build by slaves.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President by the electoral college but the Southern States were not part of their that and their cessation led to the bloody civil war from which there could really be no winers. In the rebuilding of the Union the first Civil Rights Act was later condemned by the Supreme Court as unconstituenal.

During the period of industrialisation, the native Americans were driven from their homelands, Rockefeller bankrupted the competion while building his empire, Frick's Art Collection is now a gallery and the Carnegie Foundation has done countless good and the Rockefellers went on to public service.

Was American great in 1930s following the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Few would say so. Prohibition was inglorious. Roosevelt supported the war effort but American would only declare war onnce Japan had attacked Pearl Harbour yet that was a war to challenge Hitler and Stalin. Did Truman have to drop bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki or was that a way to prove military superiority to USSR?

1950s saw economic development but the liberal wing was persecuted by Anti-American McCarthy who included Robert Kennedy on his committee.

1960s - a glamorous age of Camelot and space travel but an era of protest against segregation and for Civil Rights. An age of assassination with the loss of John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy and many whose names are unknown to all but their families as they stood up for what they believed in.It was an age of protest against the draft and Vietnam. Was America great?

1970s saw shame in the impeachment of Nixon yet it was prosperous. It was the age of protest for women's rights. Can a country be truly great if it treats a large proportion of society as second class citizens and denies full health-care. It was the age of 3 mile island, a misjudgement on Iran.

Perhaps Trump wants to take USA back to 1980s? An age of deregulation, no gun control and the loss of more citizens including John Lennon and countless others. it was the age of Challenger and the Iran Contra affair. The USA invaded Grenada. Was it right to do so? California saw the spread of AIDS which became global.

1990s and the end of the Cold War. Washington saw its share of disgrace through Mr Clinton but while America liberated Kuwait did it do enough? Race Riots in Los Angeles and bombings in Oklahoma and the World Trade Centre. 'Don't ask, Don't tell' Openly gay or bisexual people forbidden from serving in the military. Colombine High School & Waco questions gun control. In contrast, Dunblane and Hungerford puts a stranglehold on British gun ownership.

From 2001 America has had the shadow of the 9/11 bombings hanging over it. the existence of Guantanmo and waterboarding leave me uneasy. The invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan without a reconstruction plan and now Syria has left the word a poorer place.

And yet, America is a great country. Its industrial past may be rusting, its people have suffered foreclosures and racial abuse. There are too many victims of gun crime but

There is an energy and a self-belief that is second to none, a friendliness that has spread customer service and 'have a good day' around the world. It may have its flaws but 'quite frankly ... I don't give a damn' and after all 'nobody's perfect'!

President Trump, you do America a disservice. it's not needed to make America great again. In my biased opinion it already  is and righly there are celebrations every 4th July.

"We believe that these truths are self-evident and that we are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights and that amongst these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

"Yes we can. Yes we did."

God bless the United States of America.

New Avenues

For the last few months I've been focusing on trying to get a similar job in the arts. The problem is that there aren't very many and it is highly competitive. I've been unsuccessful.

Over the years I've had a few setbacks. A lack of confidence crept in. As I got nervous my verbal diarrhea set in. I got worse. I did an interviews course and that helped as the next job I went for I got. I also felt I had nothing to lose as I'd just been made redundant on the back of a terrible interview. The problem recurred when I went for the interview which would have made the job permanent. At that stage I was pretty relaxed as I felt that I'd got loads of experience in the year and that something would work out. I subsequently discovered that bereavement and job-hunting don't mix. Neither does job-hunting and heavy colds.

The will to go job-hunting is subsumed by supporting the family. The focus isn't there during interviews. The confidence is knocked. And then it happened, I got an interview, I didn't get it but the reason was that my skillset wasn't right, I apparently was terrific. I did have a little cry but it boosted my confidence so I'm now looking different avenues.

I had the courage to tweet about job-hunting, I'm writing this. I've also cast my net a little wider. I've got an interview for a commercial company for a more junior post. I've been contacted by an agency, I've got a presence on Linkedin. I'm back.

What I would say though is that recruiters seem to forget what it's like to apply. I applied for a job before Christmas and still haven't heard anything. This employer is totally mechanised and I know off the record that the position was offered before Christmas. There are employers that say due to the number of applicants they won't reply unless you have an interview but don't tell you the timescale. I can sympathise up to a point but it costs nothing to send an email and generates goodwill. I won't be applying for another job with the first company I mentioned given that it is the 2nd time I've witnessed this treatment. Neither will I be in a hurry to give it my trade.

A Change of Focus

For most people January is a time for making New Year's Resolutions. I made mine in September and the beginning of the academic year. I did this for 2 reasons.

January is miserable enough in the UK without giving up things that are fun and trying new discipline. Let's face it, if it's sunny it's cold, if it's mild, it'll be cloudy. Quite often it's damp, in the south it rarely snows and the hours are short!

The other reason why I did it was an attempt to keep positive and focused. My Mother died very suddenly in July and at the end of August my one year contract came to an end. I had been made redundant the previous Summer and had only just got my confidence back. Life hasn't been a lot of fun but at least I'm still here ...

I haven't written about any of this as I am not someone who does her washing in public let alone scatter it round the world and don't intend to now. What I would like to do is to use this as a record of what it's like to job-hunting when you are a certain age and don't quite know what to do. It's also a record of how knitting can help and maybe a few walks. I've also joined a choir. Last year I studied Portuguese to help me with my trip to Rio but I'm not continuing that this term. I wasn't enjoying it so much and it's expensive.

So I do not have New Year's Resolutions. My September goals were to get a job, keep positive, do new things and that's what I am sticking to. I have decided to discipline my knitting or my life could just be sitting and knitting and that's not going to pay the bills! My goals are to work on the following at anyone time:

A pair of socks a month on a them of the London tubelines. This month it's the Bakerloo Line
a hat a month,
learn continental knitting & do a project
finishing my cotton blanket
a spoil me project.

I've documented some of the yarn I've got and so I will not be buying any more unless it is to replace something that I've used or I've got the amounts wrong.

That's me for today....

Rio 2016 : Witnessing Usain Bolt Make History

There's definitely electricity in the air when Usain Bolt is expected. There's a sense of anticipation and excitement. A lot has been said about ticket sales and audiences' negative partisan reactions in Rio. There are some athletes who transcend all of that and Usain Bolt is one of them.

When I first started following athletics Britain's middle distance running was at its height with Seb Coe, Steve Cram and Steve Ovett. Although we had Allan Wells and Carl Lewis was dominating in the US somehow I never really got sprinting, possibly because it is all about speed and not tactics. Ben Johnson didn't help either.

Usain Bolt is different. He is an outstanding athlete in a time which is once again tainted. He is a showman but has the ability so he can carry it off. He makes people laugh with him. He can act the clown but you never doubt his competitiveness, his ability nor his desire.

I'm not going to watch the relay live. At least I don't think I am because in many ways I am sated with live sport and athletics. The last two days at the Engenho stadium will stay with me for the rest of my life. A lot of that is due to the athletics but it's also due to Mr Bolt.

Wednesday night saw the semif-final of the Men's 200m. Semi-finals aren't formally announced. Race is called and athletes appear so there was a sudden roar as the crowd spotted that Bolt was on his way. A casual jog round to the start of the 200m, a bit of a wave. I like the way he acknowledges the fans unlike many of the swimmers and then down to work. There's so much to do before a race starts. You tend not to see that on TV as there is so much to cover. The athletes adjust their blocks, settle in, test, adjust & sprint. There's last minute runs before you see them on the blocks. There have been very few races that there is absolute silence (other than the beat of bass, see decathlon posts) but there is for Bolt. The world awaits...

Wednesday Bolt took off, cheers & excitement. Looked like he was slowing down, was he going to be caught? No, he was just saving himself. The crowd were on their feet throughout the race, the noise was phenomenal. Bolt was in the building. Little celebration afterwards - why would there be? The final was still to come.

The race however that should have made the finals had Gatlin & Gemilli. Bolt unites the audience, Gatlin divides it and there were boos. At the conclusin, Gemilli through but astonishment that Gatlin was out. For all Bolt's showmanship & pacing himself, you feel that it is because he is carefully working out how much effort he needs. I do not believe that he would ever risk losing, like a Rolls Royce he just goes into another smooth gear.

Day 2 = Bolt no showed for the 4 x 100m relay. Guess he had enough to do with the 2000m but the team won and again you don't realise the preparation that goes on. Athletes put sticky tape on the ground measured out by going foot against foot, presumably to guide their team mates before they reach them on distance as the team member taking over the baton have official marks as to where they can start.

It's also true that TV is actually a lot better for relays than live. It's all a blur and you can only see one change if it's in front of you and difficult to make out on big screens. There are few repeats other than the finish. I was there but in the wrong place for the US,  Brasileiro & Dutch problems. I did see the US run their race again. The crowd cheered them on but I'm not so sure. Stuff happens in racing, it's how you deal with it and demanding a rerun is that really the answer? I find by checking my sources that USA have won but I can't be overjoyed for them. China didn't get the chance to run & Brasil ended up disqualified. Perhaps occasionally it would serve the US to come over as good losers.

The race of the day was the men's 400m hurdles. The top 5 all achieved records or personal bests. Must be hard not to get a medal when you are so close but hopefully no regrets because you gave your all.

And so that 200m final. The razzmattaz that introduces a final borke out and Adam Gemilli shot out. First to the blocks, Bolt came out half way through. Definitely the showman was out as the acknowledged the crowd. He took a long ime over his blocks before the camera introduced him and he did his clown bit. Can't say I blame him. Athletes must feel really self-conscious with the cameras in their faces at that stage. Swimmers don't have the problem of a camera going past them as they wait Time to settle, the routine goes. Bang, cheers, applause, bass ... Yes, Bolt wins in a season's best but he isn't pleased. He waves his hands at the crowd requesting silence. No chance. They've witnessed athletics greatness. I waited until he came round. Stopped and waved. i didn't see the Bolt. I made a Bolt for home but I was there the night that Usain Bolt won his 3rd consecutive 200m Olympic Gold Medal.

Rio 2016: The Decathlon dazzels & why I got it wrong!

I started following athletics in the 1980s when Crystal Palace stadium (not Selhurst Park that's football) hosted the great international meetings. I saw Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Steve Backley, Steve Cram, Steve Smith, Steve Jones (just kidding re last 2!) but despite Daley Thompson's heroics I didn't get the decathlon. On TV it came across aas athletes doing 10 sports not as well as the specialists. When I decided to buy additional tickets for today it was for the relay heats and the evening races including the 200m men's final. I thought it might be interesting to see how the decathlon progressed.

I WAS WRONG!!!!! (doesn't happen very often) the decathlon is a fascinating test of stength, agility, speed and versatility. Above all you need stamina. It breeds cameraderie. There are twists and turns as the scores change and in any round an athlete can get knocked out if he fails to score. Heartbreak. Throw into this mix a defending Olympic athlete, a Brasileiro top 10 athlete ... If you have to compare it to Mr Bolt well, it does go on for a lot longer. Blink and you miss the 100m, rub your eyes and that's the 200m gone! The decathlon lasts two days.

The first event I witness was the high jump. Fascinating how for the events athletes are split into pools so that one height moves more quickly than the other. As suspected you start seeing characters and rooting for different athletes. The Japanese enthusiastic, determined regarding the high jump. The Algerian who jumped the highest with a seasons best but didn't continue to save his strength for later.

The discus didn't excite me but that was probably because the athletes were opposite me so I couldn't really see them other than the screen and I couldn't do my favourite of guess the distance! It was the Pole vault was amazing. I've never been up close to one before and the warm-up alone was worth the price of a ticket. Running, testing the poles, jumps with a cord, without a cord. 2 pools again. Take a look.

Then the Australian won me other by being the only one to comfort the distraught Czech who went out without a clearance. The Belgian sat through 2 hours of competition with only 2 jumps because he is that good. The French no. 2 who remained on the track to keep the French No. 1 company. The disappointment of the Australian in not getting higher, the passion the Brazilian crowd had for their athlete.  The sheer determination and inscrutabality of Eaton and Warner the Canadian.

I was lucky I was in the shade. I still ended up with a bit of a headache because of the incessant heavy beat music playing throughout. At times it was difficult to hear the commentary. I'm old-fashioned I know but I believe that music should be used to enhance, to make a point, it's not constantly needed. Do javelin throwers need electronic moving through the air sounds. Doesn't the arc of a javelin make its own image and drama? Where does that leave the crowd if you cannot hear them?

It was during the javelin that you really saw how things could change with the rankings going up and down. The Cuban took the stage, the Brasileiro go the loudest cheers but his throws seemed like an anti-climax until you realised he'd thrown a Personal Best.

The first heat of the final event seemed like a jog until you saw at the end that many of the athletes could no longer stand. One of the Germans collapsed in pain and I think they might have brought out a wheelchair for him. The second was more of a race and then the medealists were announced. Yet you had had a feeling that the bond between these athletes was so strong that it was almost more important to be an Olympian. There was a lap of honour led by Eaton and the Brazilian. They stopped and thanked the crowd and then they lined up, took hands and took 3 bows. Thank you gentlemen for thanking us, we thanked you.

Rio 2016 : Water Polo

I entered the hallowed portalls where Michael Phelps and others had made history. I was not there to witness history but to watch the women's water polo semi-finals.

First up, Brasil vs Australia. (This is not a typo, while I'm here I tned to use the Portuguese spelling.) We dablled a little at school and also played a version at home when I was at in Brasil but that is a long time ago. It's much easier if you are allowed to put your feet on the ground. Experts of course cannot not. It's a tough game. I'm not sure what you do to gain a exclusion penalty (sin bin) but Brasil were very good at that. Sadly Australia were better at scoring goals.

it starts ith a fast and furious swim to the ball and then continues from there. Like past Brazilian men's football teams there was some glorious passing but Australia's directness seemed to work better!

Sadly, Brasil didn't win. Not doing to well the Brazilian women. I'm still upset that the footballers got knocked out at the semi-final stage. Interestingly no one stopped a lone protester who is against the current interim Presidency. Not the time or the place to get into this one!

Russia and Italy followed. Strange to hear the Soviet anthem once again. This time it was Russia who lost. Interestingly there was no acknowledgement between the players afterwards although the coaches shook hands. Russians walked straight past the Italians and no one said a word that I could see. Wasn't watching the first match so not sure if this ts typical!

The real hero was the ball girl. Every time the ball went out of play down her end, a replacement would be thrown in. She would take off her glasses, subtly lower herself into the pool and collect it. Get out, curl up in a her towel again having put on her glasses once again.

I was sad to leave the Olympic Park for the last time but this made me smile and say so?

Next stop Decathlon and that man Bolt... Here's a teaser

Rio 2016 : Athletics Session 1 : Fabulous Friday

The first Friday night of the athletics and you don't see much of the decisive action. Why entitle this Fabulous Friday? It's because in the initial rounds you see the nuts and bolts, you cannot see people win medals but you can see how they can lose them. Sometimes it's those who are there to do their personal best that are the exciting ones to watch. A favorite might not qualify but if you were there in round one, you will have seen them.

I didn't witness Van Niekerk break the 400m record but I saw him win his first round. I didn't see Matthew Hudson-Smith go out in the semi-finals I saw him run one of the races of his life and qualify faster than Van Niekerk. I've seen the fastest women in the world & not just the top 8. I can't share the photos because sadly they move too fast, well, the 100m were the other side of the track & 400m spread out. When you see them live it's even more difficult to work out who is winning particularly on the 400m bend.

I have a confession to make regarding Greg Rutherford. I saw him warm up, I saw a foul for his first jump but then got caught up with other events so only found he'd qualified on looking at the scoreboard.

The hammer qualifying was at the other end and you could tell the Pole was due to go on to great things qualifying with her first throw. It was enormously satisfying to applaud Sophie Hitchon's delight in qualifying.

I'm excited about what happens next in the women's 1500m. The other thing to remember is that the finals do not include everyone's favourite athlete and there is a much better atmosphere if there is a Brazilian around & the different heats attract different support. Helps if there's a Brit or a certain Jamaican. The Brits were once again out in force. Not the greatest photos but they are the ones that didn't run away ...

The most fun moment was the introduction of the women's shot put finalists. Why? The samba band of course. All athletics meetings should have them!

The competition of the night belonged to these three athletes.

The headlines might have belonged to the Saturday and that javelin throw but seeing Jessica Ennis-Hill run over to her coach during the shot-put, their total focus on the 200m at a time when they had all to play for. Unforgettable.

This may not have been the result but I left satisfied looking forward to what was going to happen next, knowing that I witnessed a part of the story.

There have been so many comments regarding the athletics so let me add my views. It's not the prices per se, they are similar to other sports finals. It's certainly not the location, whatever Michael Johnson might say, as it's one of the easiest to get to. If you are going to spend the sort of money that is being charged for sports events then you are going to be choosy about what you go to. 

It is the classic demand vs. supply scenario. Tickets are expensive but people will pay those prices if they really want to go but there are an awful lot of seats to fill in that stadium twice a day. Athletics has limited appeal in Rio. Ultimately there isn't the demand at that price for those number of seats.

Let's face it, there aren't the Brazilian heroes that there are in football. Kids in Brazil dream of being footballers, it means their way out of poverty and the favela. Athletics does not have the same pull / the same means of escape.

The sports that Brazilians follow in real life are volley, handball, boxing and of course football. These are dominating the TV output and I think reflects the priority that athletics has.

Let's look at athletics stadia. They are white elephants. Manchester City now play at the purpose built Commonwealth Games stadium, West Ham at a reduced capacity London stadium. Botafogo lease the Rio stadium. 

My question is this. Did the Olympics need such a large stadium for a limited audience?  I fell in love with watching athletics at Crystal Palace. It was small, it had a great atmosphere. You could see lots. I preferred that atmosphere to that of the Olympic stadium in London. I enjoyed Friday because I sreated the seating as unallocated and was close to the action. The velodrome was amazing because the atmosphere was intense and I think that athletics should learn from that.

Rio 2016 : Team Cycling

Cycling was one sport that I couldn't get at first and no other tickets came up. Not surprised as I think all the British supporters wanted them. So on a wet Wednesday evening having failed to get last minute tickets for the rowing final, I was astonished when cycling popped up. Grabbed them, cost made me wince a little but I was proud possessor of a cycling ticket. The only thing was that the only thing I knew about the session were the time, location and that it would involve  bicycles. A glance at the programme showed men and women team events in a weird order. Closer inspection revealed there were two mens team events - sprint and pursuit. Still hadn't got a clue but why worry! Velodrome and a closer look at the Olympic Park called...


So reaching the Olympic Park on Thursday, I was later than on my first day so queues were bigger & I think there was a basketball game sttarting so some anxious people. It did give me time to have a look around. Classic Olympic Rings with queues to take photos alongside them. Again, some very good buildings. Take a look.

However, it was the Velodrome that I'd come to visit but first a bit of t-shirt shopping & a derivation on a Cologne lnch. This was defined while inter-railing - black coffee and a Mars bar. These days I guess it;s usually a potst-walk tea - black coffee and ice cream. The Olympics is very fussy about what is allowed to be sold in their Park. Unilever is not an Olympic sponsor so their ice creams cannot be sold but 'sempre tem jeito' - there's a fix. You can sell the ice-creams but not have posters with the brand on it! Only in Rio.

I diverge (yes, I;m good at that, probably why I'm bad in interviews). Team cycling and the Velodrome ...

Love the way the roof follows the contours of the track. Once inside it's stunning how steep the track curves are, how intimate a space it is & that cycling can challenge F1 for support rems albeit without engines.

The secon thing you notice is  how many British fans there are. A bit of Rio that was definitely British. Glad I was wearing my tribal T-Shire (team GB London 2012). 

And so to the cycling. We had one round of team pursuit (men & women) and all of team sprint. I'm not a reviewer so I'm not going to do this chronologically. Team pursuit, 4 cyclists doing 16 circuits in the case of the men & less in case of the women. Keeping in line with the first setting the pace and then swooping to the back. Most teams relied on one rider to do the hard work for the first portion of the race and then drop out to let the final 3 sprint to the finish. Time is when the 3rd crosses the line. We were reminded that there is a reason why cyclists wear helmets. They can fall. One of the Dutch touched wheels and flew off, bits of bike came through the air and he ended up at least 10 metres from where he came off, directly in front of me. There is not a picture.  I do not take them of accidents - I am not a journalist & I am not a disaster gawper. Fortunately he got up and didn't need a stretcher but it was a sobering moment and I couldn't enjoy the next 2 rounds. Track needed repairing too as holes had been gouged. into it.

I was less a fan of the pursuit until you came to the final teams and how the times they took. The US have a new bike with the driveshaft on the inside which they hoped would make it a fast bike. I felt quite resentful until I realised that that's what we had been doing for years. Result show that yes the bike helps but you also need the athletes. I have now seen Laura Trott and Bradley Wiggins do what they do best. Interestingly, Bradley Wiggins was the only one to give his bike to the support team and walk straight off, the others wound down on non-racing bikes.

The noise was intense for the British teams and the sprints were unbelievable.. I didn't think it could be more exciting after the first few rounds while trying to see who was leading the splits. The medal races took it to a new level and when the gun went for the winners, France in bronze & Britain for gold it was mindblowing particularly given that the French pipped the Australinans at the last minute and the Brits had wound  it up. Sprints are particularly exciting as they start with 3, 1st drops off, 2 complete a lap and then the 3rd goes hell for leather. Team sport but so dependent on individual expertise & talent.

I cannot explain the crowd. At first everyone was encouraged to make some noise, get behind the athletes & then came the French, Australians, Kiwis and the crowd made noise. Team GB the crowd exploded. Remind me, am I in London or Rio? Britain had colonised the Velodrome. With support like that, you put away the camera, you applaud, you cheer. You jump with the gun and vicotry. Witnessing  your home team win a gold in front of what feels like a home crowd is like nothing else in the Olympic spectating experience!

The only thing that marred the day is that the medal presentation is made facing the press with the cyclists backs to the fans and their families. OK so more people are watching on TV but hopefully teams will remember to turn round to properly salute the crowds. Interestingly each team subconsciously faced the crowd first before realising where the medals were coming from. I cannot describe the emotion, the joy, the drama. I only hope that you saw the coverage and that these pictures give you some idea of what it's like but nothing can substitute for the realisation that you were there when they broke a record or won the medal.