London 2012 - Olympic fever!

London 2012

I have returned! And in the last week, I've been in and out of London twice, braving the Tube and trains around central London, including Euston, Victoria, the Circle, Northern and District lines, all whilst carrying a handbag, suitcase and another carrier bag full of books and shoes (i.e, my life in a bag, essentially) - I think that this deserves some kind of recognition! I went over near Canterbury to my Dad's, in case anyone was wondering who on earth would go through such travel chaos at a time like this.

Oh, and it turns out that Victoria is in the direction of the Olympic Park, and I also had the stops for Horseguards' Parade and Hyde Park to navigate around, but I did it, albeit having to literally stop and take cover with my suitcase at times, when the crowds became unbearable, and then I scurried like a little mouse to the stairs, before the next tube could come in!

Whilst I was at the coast I had time to look around the Turner contemporary gallery in Margate, go to the beach at Deal, and walk through Canterbury. Pretty good, except for the weather, I have genuinely never seen a sunny day in Kent, it's like a geographical black hole, or maybe I'm just unlucky.

Anyway, back to London 2012 and team GB. When I left, they had only 1 silver medal I think? What a difference 5 days makes! Currently 3rd on the medal table (which could change in a week) which is an amazing feat considering the size of our population, compared to the USA, Russia or China, which just goes to show, quality over quantity every time. (The same is true of Olympic medals I have discovered, it matters less the no. of silver and bronze, it's all about the GOLD.)

Unless of course, you are discussing Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice;

"All that glisters is not gold."

Creativity takes courage

Quote by the French* artist Henri Matisse, whose work I studied during my days of GCSE Art & Design! The title of this post is relevant to 3 things;

a) The above image is my first shaped set ever! I've never made anything like it on Polyvore, and I really like the fact that it isn't square and that the pieces don't quite fit perfectly, I think it adds something. Trying something new or different requires creative courage.

b) Today I watched my sister's performance (at my town's theatre) which was written for the Olympic culture festival, and so my sister and her friends are the original cast! Standing up on stage, reciting lines and acting, in front of the actual playwright and associated press (tonight was the first time that the play has been performed) takes massive courage.

c) I've been watching the London 2012 Olympics (well, I love watching sport on TV, and I am mildly patriotic, I watched the Diamond Jubilee, Royal Wedding etc.) since the Opening ceremony** and the amount of creativity and courage involved in the Olympics is really inspirational. It's not just Danny Boyle's opening ceremony which was creative - every dive, gymnastics/trampolining routine, dressage performance, every athlete's requires artist design. It's not just the competitors who need courage either, the organisers, and so that decided to make the 2012 Olympics so eccentric and so different to any really seen before must have had courage too.

Therefore these two things, as illustrated by the above examples, go hand in hand.


*Speaking of the French - what a good night for their swimmers! Well done for winning against some pretty tight odds and even fiercer competition!

**I absolutely loved the Opening ceremony, seeing as some reviews have been mixed about it. It wasn't a complete spectacle, like Beijing, but it wasn't supposed to be, it represented the people of Britain, all people, and the crazy British sense of humour. It focused on some of the darkest parts of our recent social history (mistreatment of workers during the industrial revolution, Suffragettes, World Wars) but then reminded the world what Britain has given to everyone, the internet being the most incredible and appropriate example, considering that you are reading this online! Sure, some of it was confusing and chaotic, but so is life - even athletes are not machines, we're all human, and that's what binds us all, regardless of nation, country, language. Isn't that what the Olympics is really about?

Regardless, GO TEAM GB!