Photos from an epic day (and the rest of the week!)
Last Wednesday I went to the Paralympics, and it was indeed an epic day, in every sense of the word. I left the house at quarter to five to catch the train down to London (via Retford, and with a slight panic that I was going to miss my connection). I studiously ignored all the Tube signs directing me on a roundabout route to the Olympic Park and took the direct route instead. I knew I was going the right way when I spotted a couple of Team Australia on the Tube :o)
Once at Stratford, I emerged into a gloriously sunlit morning and a bustling, excited crowd. It was a great crowd to be in. There was no jostling or frustration. It was fast-moving and everyone was excited as we approached the Stadium. Here I was first impressed by the amazing Games volunteers. They were completely brilliant throughout the day, always helpful, knowledgeable, friendly and cheerful. They kept the crowd moving ("Come on you lot, you're late!") and entertained ("Watch out for stray javelins!" said one, indicating the plaster on his head). I know everyone has said how wonderful they were, but I really can't sing their praises enough.
The army guys and girls doing the check-in were great too, and I was through security far faster than any airport. Then it was onward and inward. A mere 25 minutes after stepping off the Tube I stepped out to this magnificent view:
Ten minutes later, my parents joined me (We agreed it would be mad to try to meet up anywhere other than in our seats) just in time for the Games to begin. "It's just a perfect day" read the weather report on the big screen, and it was. The Stadium is an amazing place to be in. Because it's round and unobstructed, there isn't a bad seat in the place. It feels huge and intimate at the same time. As a crowd, we cheered, clapped, gave Mexican waves and sang the national anthem.
From our seats, we had a great view down the 100m straight, which was fantastic for watching the athletics. The track events were only heats, so sadly we didn't see any Brits winning medals. We did, however, get to see David Weir leaving the competition for dust in the 800m heats (He really pulled away in the last 200m) and later got to see him collect his Gold Medal for the 1500m the day before. We also saw Katrina Hart, who apparently went to my school, though not when I was there. Unfortunately she failed to qualify.
Probably the most amazing race to experience was the partially-sighted 4x100m relay. The athletes need absolute quiet for the baton change-overs, and you could almost hear a pin drop. Then as soon as the final change-over is done, the noise of 80,000 people cheering suddenly erupts once again.
The commentary tended to focus on the track events, so it was easy to miss what was happening in the field if you weren't paying attention. But we got to see the finals of the men's long jump, men's and women's shot put, and men's discus, followed by the medal ceremonies.
The session ended at 1pm. After that, we spent a short while enjoying the Olympic Park (and buying essential souvenirs). Then it was a short hop on the DLR to ExCel for the rest of the day. The ticketing system gave us "day passes" which meant we could dip in and out of any events in the five arenas there that we chose. Again, the volunteers there were brilliant and everything rans smoothly. Some of the queues moved so rapidly that we were encouraged to run to keep up with the back of them!
First up we saw the men's quarter-finals in the wheelchair fencing, where we practically had ringside seats. There were a bunch of very loud French supporters behind us, so naturally we were very pleased when their man was beaten by a Brazilian :o)
After that, we saw Ukraine vs. USA in the women's sitting volleyball semi-finals. It was a one-sided game (USA winning in straight sets), but a lot of fun. It was also the most entertaining arena to be in too, with a lot of long Mexican waves and clapping along to "We Will Rock You".
Once that match ended, we took a much-needed food break and got some fish and chips (£8.50, but that seems to be standard London price, so not as much as I'd feared). Then we watched the power-lifting, which was in a huge arena. It was great theatre with such a crowd (including a mad gang of Iranians, who engaged in Islamic-style chanting before suddenly bouncing up and down waving their flags), but very hard to follow what was going on and what constituted "good" as opposed to "no lift". Probably my least favourite event.
So we left that and returned to the sitting volleyball, where we saw the first two sets of the other semi-final (Netherlands vs. China), which turned out to be a much closer game. It was one set each by the time we left (China eventually won in five sets) at quarter to eight. We left ExCel as the sun was setting, said our goodbyes and began the journey home, tired but having thoroughly enjoyed an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime day.
Click here for more photos
The rest of the week was pretty epic too. On Tuesday I went to the Lego Discovery Centre in Manchester with three Chivers and two Bears for the Goblin's birthday. Friday was Jo and Pete's big leaving bash at the Hillsborough Hotel. On Saturday I had a brilliant day at the seaside with Edy, Clare, and the Haynes. And on Sunday evening I went round to Clare and Bez's to watch the Paralympics Closing Ceremony (Fire good, Steampunk good, shame about Coldplay) and toast the end of a fabulous Games.
Once at Stratford, I emerged into a gloriously sunlit morning and a bustling, excited crowd. It was a great crowd to be in. There was no jostling or frustration. It was fast-moving and everyone was excited as we approached the Stadium. Here I was first impressed by the amazing Games volunteers. They were completely brilliant throughout the day, always helpful, knowledgeable, friendly and cheerful. They kept the crowd moving ("Come on you lot, you're late!") and entertained ("Watch out for stray javelins!" said one, indicating the plaster on his head). I know everyone has said how wonderful they were, but I really can't sing their praises enough.
The army guys and girls doing the check-in were great too, and I was through security far faster than any airport. Then it was onward and inward. A mere 25 minutes after stepping off the Tube I stepped out to this magnificent view:
Ten minutes later, my parents joined me (We agreed it would be mad to try to meet up anywhere other than in our seats) just in time for the Games to begin. "It's just a perfect day" read the weather report on the big screen, and it was. The Stadium is an amazing place to be in. Because it's round and unobstructed, there isn't a bad seat in the place. It feels huge and intimate at the same time. As a crowd, we cheered, clapped, gave Mexican waves and sang the national anthem.
From our seats, we had a great view down the 100m straight, which was fantastic for watching the athletics. The track events were only heats, so sadly we didn't see any Brits winning medals. We did, however, get to see David Weir leaving the competition for dust in the 800m heats (He really pulled away in the last 200m) and later got to see him collect his Gold Medal for the 1500m the day before. We also saw Katrina Hart, who apparently went to my school, though not when I was there. Unfortunately she failed to qualify.
Probably the most amazing race to experience was the partially-sighted 4x100m relay. The athletes need absolute quiet for the baton change-overs, and you could almost hear a pin drop. Then as soon as the final change-over is done, the noise of 80,000 people cheering suddenly erupts once again.
The commentary tended to focus on the track events, so it was easy to miss what was happening in the field if you weren't paying attention. But we got to see the finals of the men's long jump, men's and women's shot put, and men's discus, followed by the medal ceremonies.
The session ended at 1pm. After that, we spent a short while enjoying the Olympic Park (and buying essential souvenirs). Then it was a short hop on the DLR to ExCel for the rest of the day. The ticketing system gave us "day passes" which meant we could dip in and out of any events in the five arenas there that we chose. Again, the volunteers there were brilliant and everything rans smoothly. Some of the queues moved so rapidly that we were encouraged to run to keep up with the back of them!
First up we saw the men's quarter-finals in the wheelchair fencing, where we practically had ringside seats. There were a bunch of very loud French supporters behind us, so naturally we were very pleased when their man was beaten by a Brazilian :o)
After that, we saw Ukraine vs. USA in the women's sitting volleyball semi-finals. It was a one-sided game (USA winning in straight sets), but a lot of fun. It was also the most entertaining arena to be in too, with a lot of long Mexican waves and clapping along to "We Will Rock You".
Once that match ended, we took a much-needed food break and got some fish and chips (£8.50, but that seems to be standard London price, so not as much as I'd feared). Then we watched the power-lifting, which was in a huge arena. It was great theatre with such a crowd (including a mad gang of Iranians, who engaged in Islamic-style chanting before suddenly bouncing up and down waving their flags), but very hard to follow what was going on and what constituted "good" as opposed to "no lift". Probably my least favourite event.
So we left that and returned to the sitting volleyball, where we saw the first two sets of the other semi-final (Netherlands vs. China), which turned out to be a much closer game. It was one set each by the time we left (China eventually won in five sets) at quarter to eight. We left ExCel as the sun was setting, said our goodbyes and began the journey home, tired but having thoroughly enjoyed an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime day.
Click here for more photos
The rest of the week was pretty epic too. On Tuesday I went to the Lego Discovery Centre in Manchester with three Chivers and two Bears for the Goblin's birthday. Friday was Jo and Pete's big leaving bash at the Hillsborough Hotel. On Saturday I had a brilliant day at the seaside with Edy, Clare, and the Haynes. And on Sunday evening I went round to Clare and Bez's to watch the Paralympics Closing Ceremony (Fire good, Steampunk good, shame about Coldplay) and toast the end of a fabulous Games.
