please empty your brain below
Wow. We showed the world how it should be done. London, Great Britain, and the fantastic people from all over the world who came to our great city did us all proud. proud to be a Londoner, and proud to be British.

jag | Homepage | 13.08.12 - 1:17 a.m. | #

Hear hear.

I watched the Closing Ceremony from the very nice, well organised and no hassle big screen at Canary Wharf. Much more civilised than the big parks.

We all got up and danced, then stayed standing for the rest of it.

Games Makers got the longest cheer of all :-)

Stephen Hosking | 13.08.12 - 2:15 a.m. | #

Ooo, that Telegraph review was excoriating...

Thanks for all your Olympic coverage DG, you helped me navigate my way around Olympic Park and added to my enjoyment of the Games. More power to your keyboard.

THC | 13.08.12 - 7:51 a.m. | #

Hyde Park was full on Sunday for the last days events, and people were being advised to go to Victoria park instead. (fools). Another option for seeing the Olympics during its London visit, in comfort and a controlled environment, was that many cinemas were showing the Olympics "live" and for free. I think Vue cinemas were pretty busy for the closing ceremony last night. More comfortable than watching on a screen in a park and better quality pictures and sound.
I noticed last night that trains from Waterloo on the Windsor line no longer had Windsor and Eton as their destination but Windsor and E/Dorney.
Will be nice to get London back to normal, although it was fun while it lasted.
I went to bed about half way through the closing ceremony, I became a bit disinterested with the show, as I thought it was going to be about London, but turned out to be a sort of pop concert.

John | 13.08.12 - 7:59 a.m. | #

Thanks DG for your excellent reports on the Olympics.
Far better than any TV or media coverage.
Well done mate.

Bernie | 13.08.12 - 8:11 a.m. | #

Seconded!

Gordon | 13.08.12 - 8:50 a.m. | #

There is no doubt in my mind that your coverage of the Olympics over the past seven years and even more so over the past month has been second to none DG, thank you and for all your effort you are clearly the winner of the Gold medal for Olympic Information.
( Please all stand while I raise the flag above Bow and rush round to stuff a few flowers through his letter box)

fishislandskin | 13.08.12 - 9:11 a.m. | #

Thirded. A superb blog. Informative, credible, on a human scale within the proper context of East London and thankfully no unrevealing interviews with medal winners and losers. I have no idea why DG wasn't on the BBC. Far, far better summaries of the games than anything Matthew Pinsent, for example, could come up with for the BBC. Bravo.

rt | 13.08.12 - 9:15 a.m. | #

Fourthed. DG's Olympic coverage has been even better than I anticipated, and that's saying something.

Great Aunt Annie | 13.08.12 - 9:45 a.m. | #

"Fifthed"???

Cheers DG, as always.

BTW - I was popping down to Victoria gate each night when on Ambassador duty, we invariably picked up parties of bemused exiting spectators who were now "trapped" round at that side and shepherded them to Hackney Wick.

Also popped up there on Saturday in civvies and ended up giving directions to two groups.

The point is that without your initial walk through pre games I wouldn't have kept going down there and those folks wouldve bumbled around down there for even longer.

Take care.

CF

ChingfordFlaneur | 13.08.12 - 10:08 a.m. | #

What an absolutely fantastic 2 weeks. Will it be back to normal with a bump now, or can the Paralympics recapture the magic?
Either way, thanks DG for your amazing coverage and sound advice throughout.

CornishCockney | 13.08.12 - 11:20 a.m. | #

Overall, your coverage was much appreciated.

David | 13.08.12 - 12:04 p.m. | #

Thanks for all the fantastic coverage, DG!
@John: I went to Victoria Park, by choice, and didn't feel at all short-changed being there rather than anywhere else. It was fantastic, and there were people pouring in, in their thousands, pretty much right to the end. I thought it was brilliant, and >yes< the longest cheer at VP was also for the Games Makers :)
I actually skipped the last act or two on the big screen, so as to make a quick dash along the road, towards Stratford, to find a spot with a direct view of the stadium and the fireworks. Again, utterly brilliant.
But hey, DG... maybe it isn't all over yet.
Remember all those photos you took, at monthly intervals, to show the site being put UP? Well, it's only obvious what comes next :)

RogerW | 13.08.12 - 12:11 p.m. | #

Thanks.

Pity the BBC didn't have you curating the live Olympic coverage - there were bits I wanted and couldn't recover. I bet you would have noted them though!

B | 13.08.12 - 12:18 p.m. | #

Time to hand on the baton to the diamante companheiro down in the Barras.

Dan | 13.08.12 - 12:42 p.m. | #

Cheers mate.

Totally fantastic coverage as we knew it would be (as ever, lol!). You are a star

Cxx

Chris | 13.08.12 - 1:41 p.m. | #

Thanks from me to, DG. Great coverage with a personal touch that was lacking everywhere else. Really made a difference to our two visits to the OP. Now looking forward to seeing it all over again with the Paralympics.

Well done!

EskimoPie | 13.08.12 - 2:05 p.m. | #

Thanks for all your useful information over the last 2 weeks. I am sure you will have your Beady Eye on what will soon be called the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. As an East Londoner I will miss the airship over the stadium and the tracksuited athletes of Mongolia, Lesotho and Eritrea doing their shopping in Westfield. Bring on the Paralympics. Those of us who took your advice a few months ago will be in the Olympic Stadium for a tenner (travelcard included).

KissenMe | 13.08.12 - 4:25 p.m. | #

Many thanks for your informative blogs both before and during the games.

It's been an extraordinary 2 weeks of our lives, one we will never forget

Mikey C | 13.08.12 - 9:58 p.m. | #

Wot they all said.

Looking forward to Paralympics coverage and most of all your charting the development into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and beyond.

Thank you!

Carlbob | Homepage | 13.08.12 - 10:52 p.m. | #

Sixthed

Spot on as always!

You did us proud DG.

And more importantly you did us proud, GB.

Stephen Hosking | 14.08.12 - 12:44 a.m. | #

Another thanks. I've had a host of visitors stay with me during the games and they've all taken a printed copy of your guide to the Olympic Park - all found it invaluable.

IslandDweller | 14.08.12 - 7:34 a.m. | #

Dan - don't worry, I got the reference, even if nobody else did. :)

martin | 14.08.12 - 6:14 p.m. | #

My praise is superfluous, but you have provided a wonderfully comprehensive array of information about all aspects of the Games and associated events. I'm really looking forward to coming for the Paralympics.

Bob Lindsay-Smith | 14.08.12 - 7:24 p.m. | #

Thanks for all the brilliant, incisive coverage of the Olympics - what people like me who never went really wanted to know what it was like.
Also for that Forman's review. A shame Jim White of the Telegraph missed Mapp's Cafe when he emerged from Hackney Wick (a tad unfair about that area I think) I have a German friend who visits Mapp's when in London especially to savour a real UK transport cafe. Have you seen the Murals by the Achille Serre building showing the history of the area? (apologies if you have and I missed it)

felix | 16.08.12 - 4:26 p.m. | #











TridentScan v2.10.0 | Privacy Policy