London and its delights. Part 1. The Olympics

I was offered the opportunity to spend 10 days in the capital. If that wasn't enough, I also had the chance to explore London as much as I liked in my free time.  This was particularly appealing to me who lives fairly close to London, but is prevented from visiting frequently due to the cost of the transport to get there, and the other more readily accessible towns and cities such as Brighton. As a result, my previous time in London has almost exclusively been dominated by shopping- so on my list were a number of places to explore.

As already alluded to, the primary reason for my being there was the Olympics, and on the day of the closing ceremony it seems apt to begin recounting my adventures with this first stop on my list of destinations. So here goes with ..

number one.

The Olympics

..something unique to London solely this summer

I had the good fortune to see the park at 7am and 12am- I say good fortune, but that did involve 5am starts, so we'll leave that to your own interpretation of fortunate. This did allow me to admire it in all its golden glory throughout the whole day and night.

as did many other people..

This roller-coaster structure is called the Orbit. I'm pretty sure no one has any idea what it's for, given how many people have asked me. 

So, I will inform you incase you did wonder: 'Standing 115 metres high, the Orbit is the tallest art structure in Britain – offering stunning views over the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park and the whole of London. Located in Orbit Circus in the south of the Olympic Park, the Orbit is London’s major new visitor destination – both during the Games and beyond.'  Read more here

The Park was truly something else in the evening.

What I have loved about the London 2012 Olympics is that it seems to have touched everyone in some way.  People have watched the torch go through their town, been interested/participated in the sports that have been on everyone's TV screens, travelled to Hyde Park to soak up some of the atmosphere, or been to the park itself.

As you might have seen in my previous post, I went to watch the men's hockey. India V Korea and Australia V Holland

 lots of Dutch supporters!

                   

It was a wonderful experience so here are several photos to epitomise the loveliness

I will leave you all with this patriotic supporter, I wish you good tidings, and hope that you tune into the closing ceremony this evening- and of course Part 2 of London!

             

Olympic Reading

You could call me a snob, but that's neither the noun I think is most suitable, nor the most polite! I confess that predominantly I read works in the canon, classics, or literary renowned novels. Now there are several reasons: I have a penchant for 18th-19th Century literature, and prefer them to the writing styles of many modern novels, (obviously this is a huge generalisation); and secondly, I suppose I like to know I'm reading something of quality that is intellectually challenging. However, I would like to think I'm open to giving most texts a try, given that they all serve different purposes. I might well prefer the works of Austen and Brontë, but is that just because I know they're highly acclaimed?
My Dad came to me with a book recommendation which was topical, and whilst I would never have picked it up, I thought it was worth a try.

James Patterson's 'Private Games'

From the title you may well have inferred that it relates to the Olympic Games and is a detective style story. Incidentally I spent last week working at the Olympics, unfortunately the book wasn't particularly comforting in light of this.

The novel follows a detective whose aim it is to discover who is behind the calculated and shocking murder of a member of the Games committee on the eve of the Olympics. The person responsible for the murder, and with the ultimate aim of sabotaging the 2012 Olympics, calls themselves 'Cronus' and systematically carries out his plan with a subsequent explanation given as to the reason for his victims' guilt. He/she targets Olympic officials and athletes, under the explanation that he/she  is rooting out the evil and corruption in the modern olympics and attempting to restore the Olympics to their ancient glory. We spend our time hoping that the person attempting to destroy the Games is caught, the lives of innocent victims saved, and the motives behind this terrorism, revealed.

My thoughts
The chapters are very short, and the novel is fairly rapidly paced with a lot of action, but simultaneously a quantity of anticipation and tension.
Seeing into the mind of the deranged Cronus was interesting, although I ultimately thought that his motive was weak, far-fetched, and a bit unrealistic- in essence the link to the Olympics was a little tenuous. 

I didn't dislike the book, but that was primarily due to the context of it. Being at the Games it felt more alive than it might have done otherwise, and I enjoyed imagining the buildings I walked past in jeopardy, (not in a crazy psychotic way.)
Embarassingly I must confess that I did not identify the killer, 'Cronus', but all the same I was irritated by Patterson's constant attempt to convince me it was someone that it obviously wasn't.
Ultimately, and as aforementioned, the book was very unrealistic: from Knight's children's premature development, to the ending. The ending was terrible. I re-read the fatality to check that I hadn't missed anything, but honestly the most unlikely death in the history of fiction.

For me the book was good in light of the Olympics- a pleasant read, but nothing extraordinary.

In other news. Spending time in the Olympic Park and watching the hockey was very enjoyable. The atmosphere was incredible, despite being drenched in the first 10minutes then exiting accompanied by a slightly pink nose- oh the joys of the British weather! It was heart-warming to see Britain successfully hosting and participating in the Games, (despite Patterson's prophecy, as well as Team GB coming together in support.. more from my time in London to follow