Well our family was no exception! Over the past month and a half, me and my family have (between us) attended the Olympic Torch Relay, Football, Hockey and Handball at the Olympics, the Paralympic Torch Relay and Swimming and Athletics at Paralympics. My daughter and I have also done all six of Discovery Trails put together by The Mayor of London, on which different types of Wenlocks and Mandevilles have been placed. We have even been to see some local gold postboxes! You could basically say we have Olympic/Paralympic Fever!!!
Let's start with the Olympic Torch Relay. There is definitely an advantage to living in London, considering the Torch was not due to come through our area until the beginning of the Summer Holidays, meaning none of my children missed out on seeing it. The disadvantage, how big the crowds would be. Luckily I stumbled across the map provided by our local council and discovered that there was a disabled area. I contacted them promptly to check was it for those in wheelchairs only or for anyone with a disability. Mattie is autistic and I wanted him to feel comfortable while waiting. The reply I received granted us permission to use the area so Mattie could see, which I really appreciated. We arrived an hour before the torch was due to come through and it was already packed. It made me relieved that we were able to use the disabled area. Sadly, some people directly next it blocked our view on the torch's approach and while it bothered me at the time, I am now not (and you will find out why later in the blog). The kids were very well behaved despite the long wait and dancing along with the music as each vehicle came along as part of the proceeding procession! The best part about where we were, was the fact that a changeover was to take place there. It was on the other side of the road but the fact we got to see it was still amazing. The kids had a great time, loved the freebies and cheered really loudly when the torch came past. They even got to wave to Sir Patrick Stewart as he went by on the Torchbearers' Bus!
Next up in our Olympic schedule was the Women's Football at Wembley. I had booked these tickets nearly a year before the groups were drawn and matches announced. So it was pure luck that I had managed to get tickets for the final game of the group for the Women's Team GB squad, which was against Brazil! It meant I had one very pleased husband. As getting a babysitter, proved impossible, I asked my Dad if he wanted to go. He jumped at the chance as he had never been to new Wembley and this gave to chance to finally go and be part of the Olympics. They both had a great time especially as Team GB won 1-0!
Next was our first of four trips to Olympic Park and to see the Hockey at the Riverbank Arena. Now I will say this, in the months proceeding the Olympics, TFL had been warning passengers to leave extra time for travel as it would be busy! I can safely say our tube was near empty, but perhaps it was because we were travelling to the Park for one of the first events of the the day and perhaps because the Athletics had yet to start. Either way, we had an easy and smooth journey up to the Park. We arrived with plenty of time, but still arrived after the start of the match as it was a bit of walk from the entrance of the park to the entrance of the arena. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the hockey, despite only watching one out of the two matches in our session. They loved being able to play it even more. The Riverbank Arena was the only venue that provided a chance for children to try out the sport they were there to watch! We ended leaving half way through the second match, which ended up being good timing as after leaving the souvenir shop, we were lucky enough to meet Nicole Cooke, a cyclist for Team GB! To top off our great day at Olympic Park, we headed over the Royal Opera House in Covent Gardens to see an amazing exhibition, The Olympic Journey! The children were fascinated by the story of the Olympics and loved seeing all the previous torches and medals. At the end we had a family photo with the London 2012 torch.
A week later, I was back at Olympic Park with my Dad for the Handball at the Basketball Arena. I had never heard of the sport until I came to book the tickets and I had read that I should just pick a team and start shouting for them! We had arrived early so that my Dad could get a chance to see the Olympic Park and when we finally started walking over to our venue, we discovered just how much the Europeans love Handball. The Norwegian fans were dressed up in the colours, chanting while shaking cow bells (don't ask, I have no idea either) and it really caught the crowd's attention, with many people asking to take photos. Once we got in there, it was so loud that you could tell how much their love this sport. The match we were seeing was the Women's semi final, Norway versus South Korea. If they hadn't got the Koreans to cheer, I doubt we would of known they were there. Handball is a fast, rough and crazy game! I loved it and really do hope the sport catches on in this country! The game is only made up to half an hour halves, but it goes so quickly! We had such a great time that I will probably watch this sport again given the chance!
The day after, I took Mattie on a search for the Gold Postboxes near to where we live. These postboxes had been painted gold in honour of every Team GB Olympian who won their event. The first we visited is no longer there as it was painted in the wrong place but we took advantage while it was there! Joanna Rowsell's first gold postbox was near Carshalton Ponds and her second one is in Cheam Village, down the road from the High School we both attended. Then we shot across to Wimbledon to see Sophie Hosking's, which is near Wimbledon Station and Andy Murray's second one by Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club! It was a long afternoon for Mattie but he loved seeing all the postboxes! I am planning on taking Owen around London to see other gold postboxes painted for both Olympians and Paralympians!
To keep the Olympic spirit alive, Rachael and I undertook five out of the six Discovery Trails. These are trails located across London, set up by the Mayor of London, to give people a chance to discover different areas of London, while finding different types of decorated Wenlocks and Mandevilles along the way! We begun with the Purple Trail, which gave us a chance to see Piccadilly and Oxford Circus with its amazing architecture. Next up was the Red Trail, a walk giving us the chance to see Westminster and the South Bank. Then came the Blue Trail, which us around some the London Bridge area, allowing us to see some important areas of our British history. Next was the Pink Trail set in the heart of Theatreland and finally the Yellow Trail, a chance for me and Rachael to finally discover the East End. For someone who has lived in the London area all her life, I never realised just how little of London I had seen!
On our first trip to London to do a discovery trail, we were lucky enough to meet a Spanish Olympian, who had competed in the Rhythmic Gymnastics. As Jon's side of the family has Spanish Ancestors, whenever Team GB were not competing, Rachael would cheer on the Spanish instead. We were lucky, that despite their basic English, they agreed to have a photo with Rachael, which she was happy about!
Finally it was time to revisit Olympic Park for the Paralympics with the chance to visit the two main arenas. First up was the swimming at the Aquatic Centre. It was incredibly hot that I am now not surprised the children started arguing! But for the hour, they just about managed in there, they did enjoy. We got to see a number of Paralympics GB qualify for the final of their events! Luckily Daddy turned up to take the boys out towards the end so me and Rachael got to enjoy the final few races. After that, we went across to Regent's Park for the final Discovery Trail, which the boys thoroughly enjoyed. My only moan for that day was the shock of a long queue for the javelin. We had no trouble during the Olympics but as it turns out around half a million were expected to travel through London that day alone for numerous sporting events taking place!
Our final trip was to the Olympic Stadium to see Athletics. Sadly the day starting with a few annoyances. Being advised to go a different route to which I planned, which I ignored and the one and only buggy area being a long walk from the entrance which then had a long queue, which I proceeded to jump as I needed to avoid a meltdown from Mattie who hates waiting! We finally got into our seats around half an hour after the start of the session and amazingly managed to survive till final race! I knew we were in higher seats, so thought our view would not be so good, but it was! The stadium has been well designed so that no matter where you are sat, you can see what is going on, especially when directly in front of your block! Mattie was fascinated by all the different types of disabilities racing that day and was so delighted to be able to see Aled Davies win Gold in the discus, which happened to be located in front of the block we were sat in! The roar in the stadium when it was announced, even before his final throw, that he had won was incredible. You can only truly grasp and understand the atmosphere from being there in the stadium as it is nothing like what you see on TV. Despite that, Owen still managed to have a nap after having a good nosey at the those light things attached to the seats! If you didn't get to go to the Olympic Stadium, it is a shame as it is really a once in a lifetime experience! But luckily, it will be hosting the World Athletics Championship in 2017, so take advantage!
To finish off my London 2012 experience, I will be attending the Team GB Parade in London on Monday with Owen, Charlie and Jon. So keep an eye out for the next blog!
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