Olympics blog post 2

Went to my first event, the opening round of Women's Indoor Volleyball.  The indoor volleyball is being held at Earl's Court Exhibition Centre, which happens to be a 15-minute walk from my flat.

The event began at 9:30 am, and the guidance suggested arriving at the venue two hours ahead of time.  So, like an obedient Brit, I arrived around 7:30 and got in the queueuueue. Once they opened the gates, I pretty much sailed through security because it was so well-staffed

Everyone was cheerful in the typically British way, even the visitors from strange and foreign lands (I was behind a family from a place called "Canada").  Once inside (7:45), I bought the official programmmmme for the entire games and killed time by reading and wandering about Earl's Court, which was decorated with banners commemorating the 1948 Olympics with pictures and recollections from competitors in the "Austerity Games" (e.g., "If we wanted to eat meat, we had to bring our own," and "I had to ask my foreman for the day off so I could compete in the cycling.").  The longest lines were for the water taps.

As things were warming up, I went to my seat.  Unfortunately, Block 25 Seat 35 did not exist, so I was very helpfully directed to the Ticket Remediation booth, where they already had printed replacement tickets for me, which were in a much better section than my original tickets.

The venue looked great

First match was Japan vs. Algeria.  The Algerians were raucous and lively, and lost.  Ladies, maybe a team hug after each point -- won or lost -- is an unnecessary expenditure of energy.

There were quite a few empty seats, considering that the event was "Sold Out."  The ticket sales system has been enough of an Epic Fail up to this point, now that the games have begun and, apparently, the empty seats are common in the first two days, it's graduated from Failure to Debacle.

The second match was China vs. Serbia.  The Sebian women were giants -- the captain is 6-foot-five.  They started off dominating the first few minutes, but then the Chinese took control, and it was no contest.  In both matches, it was the blocking at the net that made the difference.

The food and drink were reasonable, and if you went to get them while a match was one, the lines were not too long.  Leaving the venue, everything was very well-organised, getting thousands of people into a Tube station without fuss.

Olympics blog 1: Opening Ceremony

My favorite part of any opening ceremony is counting the number of countries represented that I have never heard of.  This year it was three:  Nauru, Kiribati, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.  Sure, I've heard of Macedonia, but apparently they have to use that unusual name in the UN (see this Wikipedia post http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_naming_dispute).

As for the rest of the show, I loved seeing Frank Turner as a warm-up act (might not have been televised in other countries).  Liked the sheep (and the sheepdog), and the whole Industrial Revolution sequence was entertaining.  The "Salute to the National Health Service" only makes sense if you know that there are few things the Brits are more proud/fond of than their health care system.  Rowan Atkinson in the "Chariots of Fire" bit was a hoot.  Emelie Sande singing "Abide With Me" was moving.  The torch lighting sequence, with James Bond and the Queen, Becks bringing it by boat, and that amazing cauldron, was the highlight for me.

As for Sir Paul, I'd always rather see someone sing live rather than lip-synching, but in this case, ouch.

Curious parallels between Philadelphia and Glasgow

When I visited Glasgow in December, 2011, it reminded me of Philadelphia in many ways.  In fact, while I was there a film crew was shooting a Brad Pitt picture, with Glasgow being used for scenes supposedly set in Philadelphia.  (The presence of a huge hill in the "financial district" shots didn't seem to bother the filmmakers, even though Center City Philadelphia is as flat as can be).  Other things I have since learned:

Glasgow is the 5th largest city in Britain.
Philadelphia is the 5th largest city in the USA.

Glasgow has an area of 348 sq km
Philadelphia has an area of 369 sq km

Glasgow has a population of 1.2 million people
Philadelphia has a population of 1.5 million people

Glasgow has two subway lines, operated by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT)
Philadelphia has two subway lines, operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA)

I'll see if I can find more fun parallels.

Christie's Auction Preview

The Wharton Club of London sponsored an evening viewing of a collection of art that is soon be auctioned off by Christie's, the world-famous auction house.  The collection included numerous Degas sculptures, and paintings by Picasso, Monet, and Renoir.  Most intriguing to me was the large collection of Picasso pottery -- I never knew he did pottery.  The Renoir painting in the auction is expected to sell for $18 - $25 million, and it is spectacular.

Two impressions (pun intended) that I came away with:

1. Most of these works are coming from private collections, and will probably be sold to private collections, so this preview may have been the only opportunity in decades to see them displayed to the public.  The curator referred to the Renoir as 'the kind of painting that changes hands once every 50 years.'

2. I asked the curator about how many works of major artists are in private collections, vs. how many are in museums.  By her estimate, only 30% of Renoir's known works are in museums, and 70% are in private hands.

Ally Pally

Alexandra Palace is a...well, it's hard to explain exactly what it is...in North London.  It was built in 1873 and promptly burned to the ground less than three weeks after it opened.  It has been a concert hall featuring The Grateful Dead, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, and the Kinks.  It currently houses an ice skating rink, a restaurant, and remains a concert hall.  For the 2012 Olympics, it will house the Dutch Olympic team, presumably on the ice rink.  Ally Pally is surrounded by a large park that includes a boating lake.

 A shining city on a hill..

 Iconic BBC broadcasting aerial.  Still in use (has been featured in Dr. Who).  The tower was used in WWII to broadcast jamming signals to the German bombers.  It it said that these jamming signals caused 75% of German raids to be unsuccessful.

 Pretty good view of central London

 Ummm...ok

 "Ven papa was captured by de British, dey kept him prisoner at a real palace!"

 Rose window was blown out by a German bomb during WWII.

 South entrance

 South entrance

 Collonnade

 So let's go inside to the Palm Court.

 Not quite the Palm Court of the Ritz, but has it's own charm.

 A Palm Court requires palms.  So here they are.

 2) These columns are:
a) Doric
b) Ionic
c) Fine Corinthian Leather

 Naturally there must be a sphinx

 Emergency backup sphinx

 That's really an impressive barrel vault

 It's nickname is the People's Palace, which was to be the original name.  It eventually took it's name from Princess Alexandra (the Denmark one), who was married to King Edward VII and was the mother of George V.

Nessie boats on the lake.

Chelsea Flower Show 2012

People come from all over the world to see the Chelsea Flower Show.  I bought the tickets four months in advance.  Weather was as good as it gets in London.

I lasted two hours.  Just not my bag of potting soil.

 I got to the show at 8am on the final day.  Walked right in (Brits are not morning people).  By the time I left at 10, there was a 30-minute line just to get in the front gate.

 Prize-winning Show Garden.  Show Gardens are where professionals set up landscapes with a theme.  They can spend over $400,000 on a display that is up for one week.

 Another show garden.  This one came in second.

 Psychedelic sea creatures

I would have voted for this one

 John Deere booth at the flower show

 People in London don't have lawns

Deere - the Royal lawnmower

What every Londoner needs

 Show garden on a QR Code theme

 Inevitable and unavoidable

I really like this garden of fountains

 This show garden is something like five stories tall.  There's a lift to the top, and a fun slide to get down.

 Royal corgi

those are lions and unicorns, symbols of the royal family

 More corgis

 Lion with a yellow mane

Another show garden

Show garden

Battersea power station












By 10am the crowds were getting too thick for me to bother.  A quick pass through the judging tent, and then on my way.