Out in force: regardless of the dreary weather the Brits were smiling
If the magical festivities of the Queens Diamond Jubilee proved beyond doubt – and how could we have had any such doubts? – it is that Britons, deep down are happy people.
The London Olympics and Paralympics have always been a portent for a month of non-stop good times, but with this summer-long party having started in the most majestic of ways the Olympic concerns of transport, security and crowding are but just an annoying sideshow.
For while the economies of countries around Britain are tanking, the weather is bitterly cold, uninspiringly grey and sodden, the stiff backbone of the British character is shining at its brightest.
Who would have thought that the dismal weather actually enhanced the weekend celebrations?
The fear of Olympic organisers is for a fortnight of dreary conditions not unlike Sunday. Yet the Queen's steely resolve to stand and acknowledge the heaving riverbank masses of red, white and blue despite the damp elevated the river spectacle way beyond it being a simple I-have-to-be-there-moment with strangers cuddling close to keep warm.
Commentators have talked about crowds 20-deep along the Thames on Sunday, but I rode my bike the length of the parade on the south side and 50-deep was the norm. From my vantage point, underneath the Millennium Bridge where artists were painting the modern-day Canaletto panorama, there was British sparkling wine in plastic cups, crisps and chocolate (in the shape of the Union Jack) shared around, and a subtle shuffle of order when the pageant started so that the little ones could get a better view.
Tens of thousands of spectators then weaved their way back to the railway stations. A queue of colourful umbrellas 700-yards long – presumably with people underneath sheltering from the driving rain outside of Waterloo – transformed this drab part of the city in to an eclectic party scene. Even so, taking the bicycle turned out to be an inspired choice.
Railway chiefs will have noted the failures of the trains to cope with the thousands of passengers turned away at Birmingham and other major cities and the chaos at tube stations like Westminster and Vauxhall.
Seemingly the crowd – officially 1.2 million – was much bigger than organisers expected. But we have seen throughout the Olympic torch relay that everyone across the country wants to get outside and engage with their community.
This is the summer of wearing funny hats and getting to know neighbours (the things you learn at a street party: mine is that a neighbour is a member of a popular boy band).
Yet some of the pageant spectators were perturbed by the sight of police carrying assault weapons along the river, others were frustrated by the crowd control officers more concerned with getting their packed lunched and sliver of a vantage point, rather than assisting those that were struggling especially families with young children.
With the Olympics security force now above 42,000 (military, Met Police, G4S staff and Locog security volunteers) Games planners can learn much from the river pageant.
More carriages on the trains, more toilets, more entertainment near critical transport hubs to turn a wait into a more relaxed time should be top of the list.
Organisers will have also seen that the good-natured crowds will put up with nearly anything if the mood of those in uniform is happy and relaxed and there appears to be some semblance of progress. Keep Calm and Smile On.
London 2012 Olympics: Craig Bellamy breaks silence to reveal he has been selected for Team GB's football squad - Daily Telegraph
“I had a difficult season with Liverpool but the Olympics is a one-off,” he continued. "It’s a different challenge."
Pearce will confirm his 18-man squad later this week and Ryan Giggs, Joe Cole and David Beckham have been touted as other players over 23 who could join Bellamy.
London orchestra to mime Games opening - ABC Online
Updated
There is outrage in London about the decision by Olympic Games organisers to have the London Symphony Orchestra mime its performance at the opening ceremony.
It has emerged the world renowned orchestra will pretend to perform while a recording made six weeks ago blasts out of the stadium speakers.
Considered to be one of the best orchestras in the world, it was awarded the contract for the 2012 Games.
But when the athletes walk in to the stadium in front of a worldwide audience of 4 billion people, the orchestra will in fact be pretending.
Twitter has been abuzz with outrage.
"What a bloody joke," one person said, "The London Symphony Orchestra told to mime at games opening."
"You'll see the London Symphony Orchestra at the Olympics, but you won't hear it - how ridiculous, what a farce," another posted.
The decision was made by the London Games organising committee, which is worried about the acoustics and the uncertainties of the British weather.
"Due to the complexity of everything involved in staging the ceremonies, it's not possible for all the music in all the shows to be live," a committee spokesperson said in a statement.
"There will be live musical elements, but many of the songs will be recorded to track in advance of the shows.
"This is standard practice for an event of this scale, and the performers have no issue with it."
The music to blare out of the stadium at the opening games ceremony was recorded at the famous Abbey road studios.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra operations director Lou Oppenheim says the decision to pre-record the music is not unreasonable.
"Performances such as the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games are incredibly complex from an operational perspective," she said.
"The inter-relationships between a whole lot of different elements, including the musical elements, the pyrotechnics, the announcements, the lighting of the cauldron - everything has to be done to split-second timing."
Ms Oppenheim says a whole lot of different things can influence what can happen with the timing which is calculated to the tenth of a second.
"The wonderful thing obviously, the audiences will be still hearing the sounds of the fabulous London Symphony Orchestra, so it's not as if they're miming to, you know, another orchestra," she said.
"But if that's what's happening I would understand that that's possibly why that might be the case."
What might come as a surprise to many is that the Sydney Symphony Orchestra mimed its performance at the opening of the Sydney Games in 2000, and the backing tape was recorded, in part, by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Ms Oppenheim says live outdoor performances are difficult to manage and it is important that nothing is left to chance.
"I think it's important that we hear orchestras in the best fantastic light and if they've actually had to make a call that that's the way they've got to do it for this, I think you know, some understanding around that and to make sure that all of the elements of the ceremony can come together as smoothly as possible," she said.
Topics: music, olympics-summer, england
First posted
To London, to look at the Queen - deccanchronicle.com
The past weekend belonged to one city — London. The British capital was a cornucopia of lights, colours and celebrations. Queen Elizabeth II celebrates six decades of her reign and there was no dearth of young Indians who managed to be a part of the celebrations which began on Saturday and will end today.
For freelance photographer Aakash Rao, who is on assignment in London, it was one of the most spectacular sights he has ever seen. “I landed here last week for work and wanted to watch Coldplay perform. My friends told me that the weekend was going to be a blast and it truly was. Localites have been out on the streets since Saturday, partying and making merry. The culture of Britain has really come through over the weekend and I’m glad I got to be part of this event.”
Amrita Vijay, a PhD student, whose BBM status read ‘Jubilee Weekend, party time!’ had a wonderful time at the Thames Pageant. “I went for the Thames river pageant. Seeing 1,000 different ships was an awesome experience like never before. I even waved the British flag! I must say that the Queen is very cute,” she says adding, “It was really crowded. There were easily over a million people there.”
It was a treat for the eyes as the entire city wore a festive look. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this was the largest flotilla of boats ever! Thousand boats made their way across Thames as the city watched on in pride and wonder. Jewellery designer Jhanvi S lives in Birmingham but drove down to London for the big event. “I saw the Queen! She waved at me!” she says in excitement adding, “The weather was a bit of a spoilsport but nothing mattered when the Royal Family stepped out in a show of solidarity to the Queen.”
For the ones who wanted to make a style statement, this was the perfect opportunity. There were scores of women who made creative use of the Union Jack, by donning the blues, reds and whites on them as skirts, dresses, maxis, hats, scarves and more. Apart from the fashion accessories, there were several souvenirs available all over London.
Stars like Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Jessie J entertained the 86-year-old monarch as the city enjoyed the concerts. “I have always wanted to watch Paul McCartney live and I had gooseflesh when he came onstage. I sang along to all my favourite Beatles tracks with my friends who have come down from different parts of UK to watch this extravaganza,” says Sushant VS, a management student at Westminster University.
London teen pregnancies hit record low - BBC News
Free condoms have helped teenage pregnancies in the capital reach a record low, NHS London has said.
The was a total of 960 pregnancies among under 18s in London in the first quarter of 2011, according to latest Office for National Statistics figures.
This is the first time the figure has fallen below 1,000 since records began, NHS London said.
"In the last year more than 50,000 condoms have been handed out across the capital," NHS London said.
The number of pregnancies among under-18s fell from 1,158 in the same period in 2010.
The pregnancy rate per 1,000 girls between the ages of 15 and 17 fell by 16% in the first quarter of 2011, compared with the same period the previous year.
This brought the capital in line with the national average of 32.8 pregnancies per 1,000 girls for the first time, NHS London said.
NHS London director of public health Dr Simon Tanner said: "We have worked with primary care trusts in London to develop better sexual health provision for teenagers, to improve access to contraception and education for young people about safe sex.
"We have improved access to sexual health services at further education colleges, working with young people to understand what they need and how we can provide the best service for teenagers."
Havering, in east London, was the borough that achieved the greatest decline in teenage pregnancies - a fall of 46.9% over a one year period.
Thug Gurmukh Goraya facing jail for biting off friend's ear - Kent Online
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by Keith
Hunt
A thug is facing jail for biting off a friend’s ear after they fell out one evening.
Gurmukh Goraya, of Vauxhall Crescent, Northfleet, was convicted of unlawful wounding and cleared of wounding with intent.
Balraj Sohal, of Coutts Avenue, Shorne, was cleared of both charges.
They both denied the charges.
Maidstone Crown Court heard how Goraya, 32, twice sank his teeth into Satish Kumar’s right ear.
It happened while Mr Kumar was house-sitting at his brother Onkar’s home in Maritime Gate, Gravesend, on February 19 last year.
He and Goraya, known as Gus, decided to watch football on television together and have a few drinks. They were later joined by Goraya’s friend Sohal.
Mr Kumar said Goraya and Sohal, 19, became “boisterous” when after midnight he told them it was time for them to leave.
Sohal, he claimed, struck him over the head with a whisky bottle and after he was bundled to the floor Goraya bit into his ear.
“I just couldn’t believe what was happening,” he said. “Everything was just squirting out of me.
"He finally got what he wanted – he took a piece of my ear off…” – victim Satish Kumar
“Because my elbows were in the way, he couldn’t get a good grip on my ear with his teeth. He finally got what he wanted – he took a piece of my ear off.”
Asked by Danny Robinson, prosecuting, how painful it was, he replied: “Very. I was in a state of shock.
“I could feel some sharpness around the ear area. I was struggling. I lost a piece of my ear. I don’t know where it went. I am not aware of anybody finding it on the floor.
“I just blanked out and came round at about 6am or 7am. It was just a blur. I needed to get some attention. There was blood on the wall.”
He went to Darent Valley Hospital and was referred to a plastic surgeon at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead.
“They helped to reconstruct my ear,” he added.
Goraya admitted biting Mr Kumar’s ear but claimed it was in self-defence.
Judge Martin Joy released Goraya on bail until sentence on June 29, but warned: “I want to make it clear to you, the reality is this is a serious offence and the injury is serious. On any view, it was a very nasty injury.”
Saturday, June 02 2012
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kippersmcgee wrote:
After a night of drinking I often fancy a bite of Indian as well!
04 Jun 2012 4:29 PM
London revellers stoking up for Jubilee rock concert - Globe and Mail
Thousands of people have started to converge on the Mall ahead of tonight’s Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is to join them to take in the show, which features performances by Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Paul McCartney.
Union Jacks billow in downtown London, the streets are awash in bunting and storefronts feature photos of the Queen.
With rain forecast for the concert, many revellers are sporting ponchos and rain jackets to keep them as dry as possible during the show.
The occasional Canadian flag can be spotted in the massive sea of Union Jacks in the Mall, with some Canucks making the trip across the pond for the Queen’s big party.
Harper will have an audience with the Queen later this week before heading to Paris and then home.
