I haven’t
written on this blog for a few weeks as a lot has been happening. There was a
graduation (at last!); a holiday to Italy (hoorah!); getting married (best day
ever!); and, of course, London 2012. No sooner had we sent my in-laws back to
the land of Cristina the Botox Gaucho than we were sat on the couch with a decanter
full of wine and Danny Boyle’s imagination in bonkers overflow.
And there we
stayed. Well, that was when I wasn’t donned in purple, red and beige for my two
weeks as the welcoming face of Britain; as a helpful hand; as someone who was
trying to make the Olympics the best games ever. Yes, I was a London 2012 Games
Maker. It was an incredible experience.
We had just
got married and then I left him. I left him each day for the Athlete’s Village
where for eight hours I would greet, chat to, marvel at, help out, wave on, celebrate
with and congratulate athletes, coaches, VIPs, fellow workers, press and
families. In a team with other Games Makers and security professionals, we had
one of the best vantage points of the games. True, we weren’t on the finishing
line; or with a camera and microphone; or in the dressing room, but we got
snippets of triumph and disappointment, agony and ecstasy, medals and stories
as they passed through security. We made it an easy and pain-free experience
and always tried to give them something to smile about along the way.
In the few
hours I wasn’t working at the games, I was watching it. We lucked out and had
tickets for a men’s volleyball session in which Argentina played, and a men’s
hockey session in which both Team GB and Argentina had games. Music, lights,
cheerleaders, Mexican waves, interviews, playbacks, chants and incredible sport
made each session an unforgettable experience of highs and lows. It seemed each
venue had its own character, and characters which would make history there too.
Even
watching what I could on the television gave me goose bumps. I think one of the
most incredible moments personally was watching a rerun of Charlotte Dujardin’s
gold medal-winning performance. I’d never seen a horse do that, and to that
music… I was overwhelmed. Simply: WOW.
But there
were so many WOW moments over those two weeks. The personal WOW of meeting some
of our gold medal winners and congratulating them; the collective WOW of
Katherine Grainger’s top-of-the-podium moment; the personal WOW of wishing Mo
Farah good luck before his 5000m; the collective WOW as Eric Idle finally took
the closing ceremony by storm and we could ignore George Michael and the Spice
Girls’ efforts.
There had
been so much to look forward to. Now there is so much to look back on. The
music is over and London has temporarily turned out the lights. For me, it’s
back to reality: teaching, running, wedding planning (we’re having two), writing.
It’s not a bad reality by any means, but I am missing London’s energy, music
and expectation, those strangers’ smiles and tears, my tiredness, our pride.
I await the
beat of the Paralympics with baited breath. Let the music start again…
