Miscellaneous Forum

I live about 30 minutes walk from the main site and really wish I could miss it, it has been nothing but a complete annoyance for years and is going to going to get worse. I will be able to escape the thing for about ten days and my destination of choice is Broadstairs on the Kent coast where I am playing the excellent folk festival.

good luck its going to be messy and loud. The French spending much time around London are the least ticket buyers for the event, that tell you something.

i well remember the sydney olympics when my tiny village had buses on the hour every hour taking us to the rail hub i just used them to get around and visit friends - and do you know i was more than often the only one on the bus apart from the driver my neck of the woods was not a bit interested on getting up to town to see the olympics but you knosw they probably watched it on telly

Im going to avoid it like the plague...even on the telly...I wont watch a minute of sport....no no no where is the sport dedicated chennel for all that to stop them messing up my programming?????

I too will avoid it like the plague and will sped my time either decorating (o joy) or gardening or taking myself on daytrips around the UK. I'd fully intended to fly somewhere in Europe for at least part of the time, but the ridiculous hikes in airfares during the Olympic period have put paid to that idea. I simply will not pay an increase of 60% (or even more).

I shall be decorating too....rather that than gardening! Smallest Child has chosen lime green wallpaper and wants black and silver stripes painting on it...too much Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen and Anna Ryder Richardson if you ask me...

Anywhere will do.

I didn't think I was alone in looking forward to the Olympics, but it seems I might be after reading these... I work in London and I know travel is going to be bad/difficult/absolute nightmare, but it is not often half the world comes to your backyard for an Olympic games. Really looking forward to it!

If it was only transport that would be OK. I only got back to UK a couple of days ago and have heard some horror stories. My two friends are self-employed carpet fitters and have their premises in the East End. The only access to the yard is from the A13 and they have been told they will not be able to drive in or out from, I think, something like five in the morning to seven at night. They asked the officials who told them that what they were supposed to do and were told to work at night. How can they work in people's houses at night when the occupants are sleeping? They pointed this out to the official and were told that they should sign on for unemployment benefit for the duration. Hw much damage will that do to the goodwill of their business? How much money will they lose? They have been told they are not eligible for any comensation for this loss. These games were supposed to have generated jobs in the East End which was one of the many lies the bid was based on. All it appears to have done is close a lot of small businesses round Stratford and now threatening other small businesses. Nobody here wanted the Games, nor were we asked if we wanted them. They have caused misery for years. The sooner they are over the better although I will undoubtedly be paying for them for years. Can I come and camp in your garden in Kent? That should be far enough away, I think.

Fergie - your views are shared by almost everyone in Scotland. Funds which should be used for sport in Scotland have gone into this Olympics black hole. Tickets are very expensive, even if they can be obtained at all. When you add on the cost of travel, accommodation & subsistence for a trip to London, it's way beyond what most are willing to pay. Scotland is to be graced with a few Olympic football games in Glasgow. We're supposed to be grateful for the chance to see Uzbekistan take on Tunisia in the women's tournament. Last I heard ticket "sales" for those games were at about 20%, and many of those have been given away to schools. I did wonder if my view was a bit jaundiced, so asked my German buddy how Bavarians would feel if the games were to take place in (say) Hamburg, and her view mirrored mine exactly.

I'm glad it is not just me. I am not going to bore the members with all the nightmare tales I have heard but they are legion. Personally, I will not be able to get my normal bus into central London during the Olympics / Paralympics and will have to walk to the Tube station. Thankfully, I am in good health and able to do it but Heaven help anybody not so mobile. The whole thing is a disgrace and I will go on record now as predicting that it will lose a lot of money (they have already said the security bill is going to be much higher than budgeted for) and that I will be paying for it for years to come. Why?

It was a Tony Blair/Seb Coe ego trip/fundraiser.

Absolutely.

Yup, agree. Fergy, your horror stories do not surprise me in the least. Sadly.

Thanks for your input. It is difficult to work out the real extent of the unpopularity of the Olympics because, of course, it is not reported in the media. It seems to be the case that most Brits are opting to holiday at home this year, regardless of their attitude to the Olympics.

Thing is, most Brits haven't a snowball's chance of a) being able to afford tickets b) actually getting tickets in the apparently very badly-organised ticket 'lottery' even if they can afford them c) being able to afford travel and (most especially) accomm costs to see whatever event they've been lucky enough to get tickets for. Much easier and vastly less expensive to just watch it on the telly, if you're interested.

Of course it is not reported in the media as anything vaguely anti Olympics is completely stifled. Ask yourself a question, who is going to make a huge amount of money from them? British TV stations, BBC, ITV or whoever. They say that truth is the first casualty of war, apparently it is also the first casualty of the misfortune of getting an Olympic Games.

indeed Olympics are very expensive shows, and host cities end up losing money and with installations that most do not know what to use for afterward. I think in today's time the Olympics will have to be done sort like the football championships with share hosts. so the UK Olympics will be a better name for it. So come over to Brittany nice beaches great seafood and you already here all over lol!!!