Like many of you, I've spent the last six months making an Olympic sport of complaining about the Olympics. Complaining, I felt, is what we do best, along with being cynical, unwelcoming to visitors, and a bit moany about traffic. All the bloody adverts! Giving directions to tourists! Those awful mascots. Danny Boyle was going to have to come at me with a wrecking ball to break down the barriers of uninterest that I had erected. And in a way he did. In fact, it's really hard writing this without the excessive use of capitals. I don't think I've ever felt quite such a bewildering mixture of true excitement and national pride over things I never really had an opinion on before, like Harry Potter, or Mr Bean, who had me weeping with laughter. During the runup I was aware that there are things about England that I am proud of. Not sport, really, but culture, and the NHS. To see this reflected on the screen during the opening ceremony actually blew my mind. I thought the NHS scene was incredibly brave, and I loved how much pop music featured. I feel like Boyle got the tone right every step of the way. It was knowing, but sincere, dark and hilarious, like we are. And it was everything I needed to get excited about the next few weeks. By the end of the night, I was so addicted to patriotism I started cheering for countries that I'd love to visit, or that I'd once met someone from. It felt amazing. I think all the medals should be melted down and made into one giant medal for Danny Boyle. They should just make him king of something. He should get to marry the Queen. Neither the royal wedding or jubilee gave me warm feelings towards the monarchy, but the sight of the Queen jumping out of a helicopter with James Bond has just made me her biggest fan. I love how deadpan she was. It's like she's spent the last 60 years gearing up towards this moment, so we could see that her no-smile policy is a humour device. I feel like Kenneth Branagh in the industrial revolution scene right now, looking upon Britain with satisfaction and pride. All the best to all the countries participating in the 2012 London Olympics but I for one am TEAM KENYA !! Lets go, Kenya Lets Go !
Peace & Love :-)
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