More medals for Team GB at Eton Dorney

From Olympic Rowing

Another exciting day watching the rowing at Eton Dorney, only this time I was here as a spectator rather than a worker. An unofficial perk of being a Gamesmaker is that we can use our venue pass to get into events on our days off.  It was great being able to watch from the crowd, and take a few pictures of the rowers going past, then watching the finish on the big screen.  A fantastic atmosphere cheering on the GB team, and we were rewarded by another superb medal haul.
It seems to be customary for the medal winners to do a lap of honour after the medal ceremony to acknowledge the support they received from the spectators. Normally this just takes in the spectators in the grand stands, but on this occasion, the women's pair gold medallists, Katherine Granger and Anna Watkins made the effort to row back all the way to the 1000m mark, against quite a stong headwind, to show off their medals to those of us sitting on the bank.
After the end of the ceremonies it was fun just sitting in the lakeside park with thousands of other happy spectators to watch the thrilling tennis on the big screen TV.
I did not get away with a totally work free day, as we were asked to help out with some last minute race information distubution for the forthcoming canoe events next week.

Team GB strike gold at Eton Dorney

From Olympic Rowing

Today was the first day of the rowing finals, and what a day it was!  Team GB's first gold of the 2012 Olympics in the women's pair, and a bronze in the men's eight.  The crowd here are amazing and the volume of noise as Helen Glover and Heather Stanning approached the finishing line was absolutely deafening.  Its a privilege to be a small part of the team that contributes to making Eton Dorney probably the best venue of the London Olympics.

Olympic Rowing, Eton Dorney

From Olympic Rowing

Today was my first day as a volunteer Gamesmaker working in the technology team at the Eton Dorney rowing centre.  The term technology is somewhat inappropriate when applied to what we are doing, which is distributing printed results (PRD) to various parties around the event site, unless you consider pressing a button on a photocopier a high tech activity. But although the job itself is totally trivial, the atmosphere working as part of the Gamesmaker team at the Eton venue is actually fantastic.  There must be over 500 of us on the site doing everything from race timing to hand holding the athletes, with only a relatively few professionals backing us up, so the smooth running of the even is totally dependent on the Gamesmaker input.
Our office is in the boathouse which is at the hub of the venue, so we can get a great view of the action just be sticking our head out of the door.  An added bonus of the PRD role is that our pass gives us access to all areas of the site so we are free to wander around the athletes and press areas and in the public viewing areas.  So when there is not much happening in terms of new results to process, we can soak up in the atmosphere and watch the race from the finish line.

Malta

From Malta

A short notice customer visit to Malta for a couple of days.  All went well so hopefully I could be back here doing an implementation within the next two months.  No chance to really see much of Malta on this trip. Maybe next time?  Now need to get back home to see the Olympic Opening Ceremony, again!

Olympic Opening Ceremony

What a show! You're in for a treat on Friday evening.
Sorry, no photos yet as that would spoil it for you, but check back on Saturday for an updated link.
We had a look around the parts of the Olympic Park that were actually open on the preview day, but many of the venues such as the velodrome, were still out of bounds. Anyway, good to have the opportunity for an advance view.  We will be back for another visit in a few weeks time for the Paralympic athletics.

From Olympic Opening Ceremony

Update, 22:20, Friday:
So, by now you will have had your minds blown by Danny Boyle's fantastic Isles of Wonder. (Surely it will be Sir Danny in six month's time?).  Here are a few reminders.

BT River Of Music - Somerset House

From BT River of Music

Another series of musical events as part of the Cultural Olympiad.  Of the six available venues, we went for the European Stage at Somerset House, partly because I wanted the chance to see the Penguin Cafe Orchestra perform, and partly because Somerset House seemed as if it should be an interesting music venue.
The evening did not start well for me as I was refused entry because I was carrying illegal substances - in this case a Pret club sandwich and a packet of cheese and chive crisps.  I was forced to sit outside listening to the first act whilst eating my sandwiches, in the company of a sizeable crowd of fellow potential spectators who had been similarly caught out by the previously unannounced food policy.
I'm not sure that I missed too much. The first act was a Finnish punk accordion player accompanied by a beat-box, dressed like a character out of Mad Max. Very weird!
Next up was Mariza, a fado singer from Portugal, who put on a good performance with loads of audience interaction.  It would have been helpful to have karaoke captions though, so that we could have seen what we were meant to be singing along to.  She handed over to an Afro-Spanish singer called Buika, who launched into a series of very self-indulgent numbers, which mainly consisted of her wailing and screeching like a demented version of Bjork, and went on far too long.
Which was a shame, as it encroached on the time available for the headlining act, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.  Under the direction of Arthur Jeffes (son of the original leader, the late Simon Jeffes) they sped though a selection of their greatest hits.  I say hits, but of course none of the Penguin's tunes were actually hits back in the day. But they were the sound track to countless TV programmes, films, and adverts, and as a result they are firmly etched in the conciousness of anyone who was around at the time.  A fitting way to end the evening, in what turned out to be a perfect musical entertainment venue.  Well done to BT and Somerset House (apart from the sandwiches).

Ealing Blues Festival

From Ealing Blues Festival

Not part of the Cultural Olympiad, the Ealing Blues Festival is an annual favourite, this year celebrating not only its 25th anniversary but also the 50th anniversary of blues in Ealing.  Possibly a little known fact that Ealing was the birthplace of the UK rhythm 'n' blues scene, with the opening of the Ealing Club by Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies in March 1962.  The club's artistes included such notables as the Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Yardbirds, et. al, not to mention the launchpad for the world renowned amp prowess of Jim Marshall.
I only had time to take in the first few acts as the evening's entertainment was to be the BT River of Music festival at Somerset House (see next blog entry), but I managed to see three sets on the main stage and a couple on stage three.  The highlight for me was a storming set from Bad Influence, who were on particularly good form that afternoon. They were obviously crowd favourites too as the main tent was packed by the end of their performance.