Monday 30 July 2012

The Greatest Show on Earth.

Last night we went to see the Gymnastics at the O2, (AKA North Greenwich Arena as O2 aren't one of the Olympic 'family' of sponsors.)

All I can say is it was a joy from beginning to end.

Living just around the corner, the subject of transport hadn't really been much of an issue.
However, we were most impressed with the free service offered direct to North Greenwich from outside Charlton station.

We had planned to catch the 161 bus from Woolwich Road but once we'd spotted there's a non stop Olympic shuttle to North Greenwich, we jumped on that instead.

My top tip to anyone who lives locally and needs to travel via North Greenwich, even if you aren't going to an Olympic event, is to use the shuttle as it's speedier than the regular buses and you don't have to use up any credit on your Oyster card.

The buses, all decked out in just the right shade of Olympic pink must have cost a fortune. We counted a fleet of at least 8.

Once through the airport style security, we ambled about, dodging the crowds and watched people spend a fortune on Olympic tat that is for sale without queuing, and much cheaper, in all our High Street supermarkets and Sports shops.


Something has happened to London.
People are smiling and wishing each other good cheer.

All the greeters, helpers, security personnel, TFL workers and food outlet staff are currently trying to out do each other over who can be the most amiable.
The crowds are good natured and very, very different to my usual football experiences.
I like it.

I'm not someone who knows much about gymnastics so I really appreciated all the films shown on the big screen, explaining what to look out for and how the scoring works.

I was amazed at the little rubber people and what they can do with their bodies.
I came away a big fan of Romanian Catalina Ponor.
At the age of 24 she's quite 'mature' for a gymnast but her work on the beam was incredible.

London knows how to put on a show and last night was no exception.

It's basketball for us tonight, over on the 'other' side of the river.
I've certainly caught the Olympic bug.

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