Full Circle
Last week I left you all with the question of ' Just what will Danny Boyle do for Olympics opening ceremony?' And boy did he answer: *this is where my critical response comes into force* Artistically, Olympic ceremonies are strange beasts. Taking years to produce, they are performed only once, with an enormous cast of non-professionals. They must invent a script that translates the abstract of Olympic philosophies and the host nation’s idealised image into a largely wordless dramatic narrative using music, dance, mime and circus skills combined with an earth-shaking Bonfire night firework display.
In this modern age, a megawatt flashing light show. They are creative and technical nightmares and by their very nature, utterly surreal. So, in the midst of watching Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics. I’ll admit, I was cynical to begin with, BUT what a show - it’s was incredible!
This was about Great Britain; it didn't have to pretend, trying to have global appeal. Because Great Britain is already a melting pot and has a brand/identity, it doesn't need a monumental Olympics. But for China that was the only imaginable kind of international event. Beijing's Olympics were very grand - they were trying to throw a party for the world.
Stereotypically everybody outside of GB think "Men wearing bowler hats, a pin striped suit, a newspaper under the arm and carrying a long unopened umbrella. And possibly have afternoon tea with the Queen." Well this is not the case, unless you venture into the 'City of London' or 'Canary Wharf'... Anyway I was a bit disappointed with Paul McCartney and got a bit bored with David Beckham, but I loved the Queen and the Corgis; The whole world will have been thinking the same thing. She hasn't. Surely not. She won't and She did.
Loved the nurses/doctors dance. I thought Overall we did really well - Amazing music, cultural references galore and some wonderful staging. Kenneth Branagh appeared as 'Isambard Kingdom Brunel', JK Rowling reading 'Peter Pan', Rowan Atkinson stole the show as 'Mr Bean' and the Queen fell out of a helicopter with 'James Bond', not to mention Boyle’s canny comment on the NHS (National Health Service). A Grand night.
--
--
--
--
Like my friend said, "And THAT's is how you top Beijing!" - Image Source: Tumblr.com
---
After that Life was back to normal or as it seems... The streets are so quiet and the station is pretty empty - what’s going on? I heard there was a major problem in and out of Cannon Street on Monday, which led to 90 minute delays - make sure you claim your 80p Delay Repay folks. On Tuesday was my first proper Olympic commute. The train is advertised on time. An announcement just came over for a Mr. Lucky to return to the ticket office. Clearly Mr. Lucky isn’t so lucky as he must have left his card at in the chip and PIN machine.
The train arrived (on time O.O) and it is a new train with not enough seats, and although there are a lot of seats on board, I was sitting in the luggage rack simply because it is the most comfortable seat on board. The lottery has yet eluded me from a big prize, last week Friday - though today's Lottery draw is worth 138 Millions, will try my luck *fingers crossed*. I was toying with the idea of alighting at London Bridge just to see what it is like… If it is as dead as what I have seen so far, it will be a breeze. Where is the chaos? I was ready for a fight with a ticketed tourist but I have been denied.
Is it just me, or is everything going pretty smoothly so far? - Image Source: Google Images
On Monday I witnessed history being made - GB’s first Olympic men's team gymnastic medal for 100 years. Not too shabby, though we were in the 20th place (or so) in the Olympic Medal Rankings. however as of today; 3rd of August 2012 (@ 4:30 P.M.) we are 4th in the Olympic Medal Rankings. Great news to us as-well-as to Team GB. Congratulations to all.
There's not much to talk about today, because EVERYTHING is about the Olympics, which is all very good fun - I'm going to watch more of it with the neighbours on their 50" screen TV and enjoy the atmosphere.
In this modern age, a megawatt flashing light show. They are creative and technical nightmares and by their very nature, utterly surreal. So, in the midst of watching Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics. I’ll admit, I was cynical to begin with, BUT what a show - it’s was incredible!
This was about Great Britain; it didn't have to pretend, trying to have global appeal. Because Great Britain is already a melting pot and has a brand/identity, it doesn't need a monumental Olympics. But for China that was the only imaginable kind of international event. Beijing's Olympics were very grand - they were trying to throw a party for the world.
Stereotypically everybody outside of GB think "Men wearing bowler hats, a pin striped suit, a newspaper under the arm and carrying a long unopened umbrella. And possibly have afternoon tea with the Queen." Well this is not the case, unless you venture into the 'City of London' or 'Canary Wharf'... Anyway I was a bit disappointed with Paul McCartney and got a bit bored with David Beckham, but I loved the Queen and the Corgis; The whole world will have been thinking the same thing. She hasn't. Surely not. She won't and She did.
Loved the nurses/doctors dance. I thought Overall we did really well - Amazing music, cultural references galore and some wonderful staging. Kenneth Branagh appeared as 'Isambard Kingdom Brunel', JK Rowling reading 'Peter Pan', Rowan Atkinson stole the show as 'Mr Bean' and the Queen fell out of a helicopter with 'James Bond', not to mention Boyle’s canny comment on the NHS (National Health Service). A Grand night.
--
--
--
--
Like my friend said, "And THAT's is how you top Beijing!" - Image Source: Tumblr.com
---
After that Life was back to normal or as it seems... The streets are so quiet and the station is pretty empty - what’s going on? I heard there was a major problem in and out of Cannon Street on Monday, which led to 90 minute delays - make sure you claim your 80p Delay Repay folks. On Tuesday was my first proper Olympic commute. The train is advertised on time. An announcement just came over for a Mr. Lucky to return to the ticket office. Clearly Mr. Lucky isn’t so lucky as he must have left his card at in the chip and PIN machine.
The train arrived (on time O.O) and it is a new train with not enough seats, and although there are a lot of seats on board, I was sitting in the luggage rack simply because it is the most comfortable seat on board. The lottery has yet eluded me from a big prize, last week Friday - though today's Lottery draw is worth 138 Millions, will try my luck *fingers crossed*. I was toying with the idea of alighting at London Bridge just to see what it is like… If it is as dead as what I have seen so far, it will be a breeze. Where is the chaos? I was ready for a fight with a ticketed tourist but I have been denied.
Is it just me, or is everything going pretty smoothly so far? - Image Source: Google Images
On Monday I witnessed history being made - GB’s first Olympic men's team gymnastic medal for 100 years. Not too shabby, though we were in the 20th place (or so) in the Olympic Medal Rankings. however as of today; 3rd of August 2012 (@ 4:30 P.M.) we are 4th in the Olympic Medal Rankings. Great news to us as-well-as to Team GB. Congratulations to all.
There's not much to talk about today, because EVERYTHING is about the Olympics, which is all very good fun - I'm going to watch more of it with the neighbours on their 50" screen TV and enjoy the atmosphere.