Legacy

The Closing Ceremony has begun. The Games are over. David Weir blew our minds this morning when he won the wheelchair marathon. I have a host of new heroes after these last ten days, but David Weir is the one I admire the most. And tonight he is one of the flag-bearers of Paralympics GB with Sarah Storey. When I wrote about the opening ceremony, I said that I expected we would become as familiar with the Paralympians as we had the Olympians. So it has proved. Yes I knew about Oscar and Ellie, David and Sarah. I even had a passing acquaintance with Johnny and Hannah , but it wasn’t like it is now, where I feel as though I have been on an exhilarating and unforgettable journey where they have lead me to highs I never knew about. And I have a hero on the French wheelchair rugby team, Riadh Sallem who kept my attention riveted with his determination and competitiveness. He has star quality, by which I mean you have to watch him, he radiates such energy.

Sallem Makes a Break

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Closing Ceremony Ticket Scare

I am very glad that I have some Irish whiskey in the flat. I may need a large glass of it in a minute or two. I opened my emails and found a message from London 2012.
This is how it started:
Important update from London 2012

DearIsobel,
We are writing to let you know that the Olympic Park will close early on 9 September in preparation for the Closing Ceremony.

When arriving for your 7-a-side Football event on 9 September, bear in mind that Victoria Gate will be closed for entry from 2pm. You can find further details of gate closures on the London 2012 website

Due to the late finish of your 7-a-side Football event, we suggest you stay inside the Olympic Park after your event to wait for the Closing Ceremony – but please be aware that many of the facilities inside the Park will be closed as the final preparations are made. Follow the directions of staff to a designated area where you can wait to enter the Olympic Stadium.

Lovely, you might think. What’s wrong with that? Well, two things. I don’t have tickets for either 7-a-side Football or the Closing Ceremony. Later in the message, it mentions letting others in my party know. The only tickets available for the Closing Ceremony when I looked the other day started at £250. A message implying I had bought more than one, and tickets for another event, made my heart beat wildly with anxiety.

Thank You London, It’s Been a Blast

I love Ray Davies, and Waterloo Sunset is probably the best hymn to London ever written, and hearing a Beatles’ recording beat a live Macca hollow,but the moment I felt engaged with tonight’s closing ceremony was when they showed the footage of the highs and lows of the past two weeks.
Until that moment, I thought I might switch off and read my book. It has been an amazing two weeks. I freely admit I did not want London to win the Games bid. My friend Sarah was in Trafalgar Square when the news broke and was ecstatic. I had a more cynical attitude.
Well, she was right and I was wrong.