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Well I have a feeling I am going to be in for some very late nights the next fortnight – I much prefer the Winter games to the Summer version, they are so much more exciting to watch.
I went on a tour of the Olympic venues when I was out there some 18 months ago, including a visit to the ski jump.
We were taken to the top of the big hill – it made my legs turn to jelly and ever since then I have stopped laughing at Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards.
He may not have been a contender for medals but having seen the jump, up close and personal as it were, I have nothing but admiration for him. That guy has balls of steel in my book.
I also want to know how the mogul skiers do not completely wreck their knees and hips!!!
My oh my, Paul. After three years we have finally found something in common.
Absolutely love the Winter Olympics. Furthermore, the lack of meaningful British participation (i.e. opportunity for stultifying jingoism), is liberating in the extreme. Fair play to the BBC for covering it.
My interest waned in the light of the great Katarina Witts retirement from the the rink; it
was
love…. Midori Ito’s triple toe-loop was also a sight to behold…
The ski-jumping god that was Matti Nykanen also captured my imagination at the time, by out jumping his rivals
and
the hill, but the magic never returned after that, for me…
The mens downhill is always a good (watching now), but where are Tomba, Mueller and Zurbriggen?….
I suppose we can all be Canadians for the day Max
What beautiful scenery in the Men’s Downhill – those mountains in the background..
I see our competitor Ed Drake from Kingston Upon Thames has just finished 37th and will be ”better in 4 years time”….well let us hope so
Will be watching the skating. Shame the scoring has become so digitalised – all a bit anti-climactic.
I stopped watching before the Brit, but it was quite exciting
Looking forwrd to catching the highlights of the Pairs free programme tomorrow. I’m not stopping up I don’t get this louge [sp?] thing at all. I know it’s dangerous and very fast but the people doing just look plain silly and not at all dignified. I also don’t get how they can make themselves go faster and wondered if weight makes a difference? I was watching the skating with my grandson this afternoon and couldn’t believe the way these women get thrown around by their partners. Skating was very much the in thing when I was a kid; my mum booked me a course of lessons but I cought a cold after the first one and never went back. I have problems with any situation where my feet don’t completely touch the ground, which includes girlie shoes which I have never worn so roller skates and ice skates are a complete no no in my world. As for ski jumping; how anyone can do that is beyond me. I wouldn’t even be able to stand at the start without passing out. Then there was that downhill thing this afternoon where they had to ski over a series of bumps and somersault a couple of times. I couldn’t work out how they made the ‘bumps’ in the snow.
The Winter (and Summer) Olympics offer the opportunity to see some unusual, otherwise little seen sports and that’s what I enjoy about them : bobsleigh, ski jumping and speed skating are entertaining, though half hour episodes are about enough for me
The mountains above Vancouver do look inviting
The mountains above Vancouver do look inviting
They are indeed Drone – lovely clear air and in the summer months some great walks.
Vancouver itself, providing you ignore its very serious drugs problems, is a lovely city as well.
However the greatest treasures are on Vancouver Island – for us Victoria has to be one of the loveliest cities in the world. Add in the whale watching and the opportunity to see black bears foraging by the roadside (without having to pay a fortune for an organised trip) most evenings and there is very little else you can ask for.
(Unless you are someone who wants brash bars and nightlife – in which case probably not for you – although I somehow suspect you don’t fall into that category Drone
)Mrs Mare, I prefer to be a Citizen of the World on occasions like this.
Cut to:
a massed choir, with a thousand smiling, multicultural families at its heart, fringed on the natural perimeter by Native Canadians, lumberjacks, Mounties, grungies, hockeyists, surrealist film makers, Ice Road Truckers, recovering bison herds and foraging black bears, all singing "I’d like to teach the world to sing."
Brings a tear to my eye, Mrs Mare.
The 1994 Olympics in LA put me off any form of patriotism in sport, so I’ll be cheering wildly for everyone this week.
However the greatest treasures are on Vancouver Island – for us Victoria has to be one of the loveliest cities in the world. Add in the whale watching and the opportunity to see black bears foraging by the roadside (without having to pay a fortune for an organised trip) most evenings and there is very little else you can ask for.
(Unless you are someone who wants brash bars and nightlife – in which case probably not for you – although I somehow suspect you don’t fall into that category Drone
)Indeed, I’ve done my share of slicking in the city but it does require something of an effort whereas slacking in the country requires none, and the call of the wild is where the heart and soul remain
Long been an avid ‘armchair explorer’ and have a particular fascination with maps and atlases – the imagination of the mind’s eye. The west coast of Canada up into Alaska is an intriguing convoluted mass of inlets and islands and your words only bolster the image I have of spectacular scenery
I once applied for a job in Vancouver – Air Hostess with Canadian Pacific…..I didn’t get the job
never mind, I’m not sure if they’re still going…
..Max…you do make me laugh…yeah, I quite agree actually…so no jingoism on here then But Steve Cram commentating on Curling????
There wouldn’t be many sports in the Summer program that have any physical threat to the participants unlike the mad,barmy buggers in the Winter equivalent.
For that they certainly have my admiration,and a good old carve up in the final straight of the short track skating is always good for a laugh (although you always worry that there’ll be an accident with the sharp blades of the skates).
I cant take the winter olympics seriously.
There are some right slippery feckers in the contest!!!
God I’m on fire tonight!!
Grasshopper, you inspire me. XXX
But Steve Cram commentating on Curling????
Watched a bit of the Curling tonight – bowls on ice really, quite fun
Steve Cram seemed somewhat underwhelmed by it all, but hey, you’ve landed a paid winter holiday in Canada old chap, so make an effort
A white anorak suits Clare Balding I think – trim and chic ma’am
…yes she did look nice but I think she always does.
I’ve just watched the figure pairs skating, an event which I absolutely love and those two Chinese couples – just fantastic. Enjoy the skating more than any of the others really…
…hope others enjoy it tooDrone, I was a big fan of CB until she rejected the opportunity to defend horse racing (her heritage),in the face of the BBC coverage implosion so as to protect her general broadcasting career. Now I can take or leave her. Did enjoy the curling though.
If I had my time again, team, I’d pack in all this gambling malarkey and learn to snowboard, like, dude.
This snowboard racing is just unbelievable.
The BBC Coverage is as amusing as usual. Sue Barker commentating on Figure Skating?! It certainly was the biggest shock for me. I suppose it helps give her a worthwhile job as Balding and Hazel Irvine do the main presenting in two shifts rather than the Beijing approach of employing as many main presenters as possible. Commentating was an exaggeration for Barker – stating obvious facts and asking basic questions as Mr "Dancing On Ice" Cousins actually informs the viewer about the routines as they take place.
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