Happy Olympics!

In honor of tonight's festivities, I listened to Lord Sebastian Coe's Desert Island Discs. The man is absolutely fascinating. And really likes jazz.

I also have been gearing up for the Olympic Games by watching "Twenty Twelve". It includes an All-Star cast featuring Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham), Jessica Hynes (Spaced), and Olivia Colman (Peep Show/That Mitchell and Webb Look). The best part is that it's narrated by a completely dead-pan David Tennant, which ties the entire thing together. It's more of a parody/satire than an actual comedy but it also so close to real-life Britain where nobody ever wants to insult or cause problems but still continually causes problems. And you could urn this easily into adrinking game where you take a drink everytime Sioban Sharpe (Head of Brand from PR Company Perfect Curve) says "Sure" and Ian Fletcher (Head of the Olympic Deliverance Committee) says "Yes... no... absolutely..." And also every time I hear someone say "it's about Legacy," I think "no, I think it's actually about sustainability..."

I'm also wearing my Mind the Gap T-shirt, which I bought the very first time I was in London completely by myself. I will never get rid of it. Incidentally, it was also the very first thing I bought EVER on my first trip to London alone. 

I was actually in London (and Paris) when they were vying for the Bid. I wrote a city comparison between those two cities and that was part of my focus. BACK THE BID certainly paid off for London.

And now here are my favorite things about the Opening Ceremonies. The most favorite thing was definitely how FAST the athletes walked in (Bob and Matt told us that about fifteen million times- what a quick clip! we're editing our notes! ok we get it!). But here are some other favorite parts- because I certainly loved the uniquenesss of these ceremonies.

Mary Poppins, the trampoline beds and fighitng the reallllly frightening puppets

The sets were incredible.... from idyllic green island...

to the Industrial Revolution that totally shaped Britain to be what it is today

This was hysterical.... "Mr. Bean" daydreaming about his life as a runner....

I thought this was so clever- each country carried one of these petals and then
the torch set one aflame and the rest quickly lit up as well...
finally the petals all rose to create the Olympic torch: breathtaking

Most people thought this was weird but I read an article about how the
Ceremonies were all about what gives England its identity. And the
NHS certainly is one of that

 Oh Olympics, how I love you, for your good, your bad, your humor, your tear-inducing moments, your commercials, your national anthems, you moments of triump. Here's to two plus amazing weeks!