LONDON VAUXHALL DEALERS

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.