Tuesday 31 July 2012

It was cold in the pool this afternoon ...

.... but so much fun!











Castle Park with Katharine

 {plus Jonathan and Karen}

We had planned to meet up at a farm park - but the weather forcast was horrible.
So we changed the plan to Colchester Castle.

However the promised rain didn't arrive - so instead we had a lovely time at the park -
much of it in the sun!

{and a lovely lunch at the cafe!}









Monday 30 July 2012

Canoe Slalom at the Lee Valley - London 2012



Pictures from a glorious sunny afternoon at the Canoe Slalom - such a lot of fun - the crowd was fanatistic - and all the Team GB paddlers got into the semi-finals!








Home for two weeks



The rather lovely Plover Cottage, on Bird's Farm, just outside Colchester

Sunday 29 July 2012

When staying in a new town...

.... the first job is always to find a playgound!



This one was at Castle Park - it had lots of great equipment -
 but tonights favourite was the trampoline!





(Non-Olympic) Swimming

Sunday morning - trying out the pool at Bird's Farm -
 Megs was so excited to discover we were staying at a cottage with an outdoor pool -
she's determined to use it as much as she can!



Saturday 28 July 2012

Sunset from Plover Cottage

After a long, hot day at the London 2012 -
 it was late when we got to Plover Cottage at Bird's Farm.

The cottage is "upside down" - bedrroms on the ground floor -
and countryside views from kitechen/dining room in the roof!



As we unpacked - the sunset was fabulous!

Cycling Road Race - London 2012

Ok - So it wasn't the hoped for sprint finish -
Cav didn't win gold -
 Wiggins didn't lead Team GB triumphantly onto the mall -
But after 20 years of wathing the TDF -
 I finally got to stand and watch a major cyclling road race pass!

We found a lovely spot on the Brompton Road, just down from Harrods,
 shady under the trees with a wall to sit on.
Pret and Boots were in 30 yards - so we kept up the supplies for a long wait.

From time to time police and marshalling bikes shot past -
I followed the coverage on the guardian live blog -
and exchanged info packed texts with Kathie (thank you dear friend!)

Before they arrived we knew that the plan had gone awry -
 but that didn't dampen the excitment of the  shouting and flag waving crowd!

The two leaders shot by..


... followed by the breakaway group...

.... and then the peloton. Too fast to really spot the riders that I know so well from TV.

And that was that - apart from solitary/injured riders trailing in over the next 20 minutes.

It might have ben over in a blink, but I loved it
 - one day I will get to France and see the biggest, badest  version of the road race!



Judo at ExCel - London 2012

It was early rising to get to ExCel at the recommended time of 7.30am, for a 9.30am start.


Despite all the pre-games tales of transport meltdown the train/tube/DLR ride in was fine -
 with helpful TFL staff and Games Makers pointing us in the right direction.

The security checks were quick -  
smiling soldiers with friendly purple games patches on their arms -
then it was into ExCel


We discovered that our seats had been moved -
 (the giant screen had been placed where we should have been) -
 and we were relocated to the very front! 







 
The action was great - and the atomosphere electric-
 even though Ashley McKenzie misfired ...



.... and team GB were out of the running in the first round.

An unexpected highlight was the group of Italian coaches/players who came to sit by us - the most passionate and excitable supporters I've ever met!



We left the session slightly early, so we could eat our lunch in the sun by the Victoria Dock before heading off to Central London to catch the cycling road race.