Olympic Post Number Something

I don’t know what number of Olympic posts I have put up. I said this one was my first. But it wasn’t. It was probably my third.
My excuse is that I didn’t know my real first Olympic post was my first. I thought it was about the new James Bond Film. I was almost right.
I had, however, forgotten about this one with the Olympic rings on Tower Bridge; and this one, where the artist seems completely out of key with the rest of London.
Since every day for the past goodness knows how many has been dominated by the Olympics, I have no idea how many of my posts have an Olympic link anymore.
Anyway. Here are some pix from today’s haul, all part of the Cultural Olympiad.
First up, the House of Flags in Parliament Square.

House of Flags

Now, when I read about this one I was quite excited. I saw it in the early stages of its constructions and imagined it like a rather over the top house of cards. Finished, it’s a bit of a disappointment. Maybe the traffic wardens are thinking of ticketing it. This is what the House of Cards’ creators say about it:

A House of Flags is unveiled across from the House of Commons. 206 panels present the flag icons of all the nations participating in the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. Combined they make a large building jigsaw, a united ‘House’. A matrix of symbols, shimmering colours, shadows and perforations invites everyone to experience an image of the world as well as an image of multi-ethnic London.

Hmm. Maybe I am missing something.

Outside St Margaret’s, the church originally built for the laity beside Westminster Abbey, this gymnast is doing her stuff.

Gymnast

You have to snap while you can as there is a constant flow of tourists having their photographs taken beside her. London’s museums may be empty; her open spaces aren’t. Here’s the gymnast again.

Gymnast Again

It is by Eleanor Cardozo, and called More Than Gold. Cardozo has made a series of sculptures, but I haven’t yet seen the others. This is what she says about them:

With twenty years as a professional sculptor I have used my knowledge of the human anatomy and my experience as a gymnast to create a collection of bronze gymnasts to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games. Each sculpture perfectly conveys the Olympic philosophy of combining in a balanced whole, the body, will and mind.’

The Post Office is painting a postbox gold for every gold medal won by Team GB in the Olympics and Paralympics. We are also promised a stamp for every gold medal winner, featuring him, her or them in an action shot. I don’t think they expected so many. The post boxes will be chosen for their proximity to the medal winner’s home. This one in Westminster was the prototype, to show the public what to expect in the eventuality of a gold medal being won.

Gold Letterbox

To say we are having fun with London 2012 is the understatement of the century. Already there are calls for the cultural Olympiad to become a regular event. On the radio this morning someone was saying they wanted the Olympics always to be held here.
So the next news story you hear that claims that Londoners are fed up and negative about it all, don’t believe it. It’s a load of bollocks.

Advertisement