It’s been ‘RIO’ nice Blogging you guys!!!

Tuesday 14^th August 2012

The curtains have now fallen on the Athletes village today, so it is with sadness that I send my last blog. We have now cleared out all of the apartments that the GB Athletes have called home, some since the 16^th July..

All the GB Olympic branding has been taken down, keys have all been handed now in the as all the Athletes departed yesterday.

Many went back home on the Buses that were provided for them, or some got the train. This was a superbly executed operation that went surprisingly smoothly, especially as most of these Athletes had only gotten a couple of hours sleep following the party the night before. There were also those that were catching flights aboard…

By 12.30PM on Monday we had waved off the last of the Athletes, ensuring they had water, limited Edition Coca Cola bottles and of course Cadbury Chocolate, Wine Gums and Chocolate Éclairs, which put the smile of every person leaving. We were thanked over and over again from Athletes to Team officials for an outstanding job we did of taking care of their needs.

All our 2 years in preparing for the roles we were given to do for the 2012 London Olympics were now well and truly over. I myself feel blessed and grateful for the opportunity of firstly working with the most enviable GB Team, and secondly being selected as someone to lead a team of 12 Gamesmakers in helping make this a success. I was given a beautiful bottle of champagne with a Great Britain Sleeve by the GB Team.

 The memories I will take from this are everlasting, the pride I still feel is so deep. Friends and Family will ask me what my best moment was?  and I will simply say, every day was special….

To work for a Company who helped make this dream and burning desire happen for me, the people who supported my absence from work for this length of time, as well as my  Line Manager who ensured  I had all the support and cover I needed while away I thank them from the bottom of my heart…

Not only have I had the time of my life whilst working here in the Village, I get to take away additional skills that I can use going forward.

 I hope you have enjoyed following me on this epic journey and it gave you a taste of what it was like to fulfil the role as a London 2012 Gamesmakers.

Last words from me is, here’s to a very successful Paralympics, wishing all our GB Paralympians every success and I cannot wait to watch it in 2 weeks’ time.

Looking forward to RIO already!!!

  

The Greatest Experience Ever!!!

Tuesday 14^th August 2012

The final day for sorting out the Athletes with the last of the Days tickets and in came Greg Searle, bronze medallist for Sailing in the Mens 8. I had promised him that if I could get him a ticket for the final of Anthony Joshua's Boxing Final then I would. Negotiation skills to the ready and I managed to source a spare ticket for him. Bless, Greg was so grateful not only did I get a kiss from him but he asked if I wanted a picture with his Medal...Well it would only be fair if he was in the picture with me and his 

Medal wouldn't it??

The Legend there is, the one and only Ben Ainslie who rocked up at the Athletes Village for the Closing Ceremony on Sunday to carry the Flag and I (looking dishevelled and wind swept) got to take him to his room and have that all important chat with him..

For those that know me I am never short of something to say… but right now as I write this block I cannot find the words to say how truly blessed I am to have been given this once in a lifetime opportunity to represent Kraft at the Olympics.

The final day of the Closing Ceremony saw myself and the rest of my team on a very important mission, in fact I would say this was by far the most import task of the whole of the Games….

We had this great Company (Kraft of course) that looked after each Athlete, by giving each and every one of them a 1KG of Cadbury Dairy Milk!! So what you might say, but this was not no ordinary bar of 1KG Bar, no, in fact each Bar had the Athletes name on the cover of the bar. What a genius idea and well thought out with a very personal touch to each person..

This took us an extremely long time to put all Sports and all Athletes in order, but as we did for the last f 5 weeks, we pulled as a great team and got the job done.

After doing the Chocolate bars we were called up to a meeting with the Chef De Mission, and Deputy Mission Andy Hunt and Mark England and some of the GB Staff and officials. After a heart felt  presentation, thanking us all for the best Games Ever for them and the hard work we put in to help make the Athletes, officials, staff and everyone we were in contact with, all 12 GB Games Makers were presented with a London 2012 Closing Ceremony ticket bought by them as a special Thank You. 

Lordy, Lordy we were all stunned, speechless, and totally surprised, never did we think that we could have been gifted with such a gift. I was so over whelmed. As a team we had all decided to go to a pub and watch the Closing Ceremony on the Big Screens, as we had already in the week told we had been invited to the GB Athletes After Party at Midnight. On top of this we were given a GB Goodie Bag with lots of top branded products. What fantastic gifts!! I know my three Chrildren, Nathan, Romayne and Savannah will have a field day going through that lot and bagging what they want...

We had a quick scramble to get changed to get ourselves over to the Ceremony, changing in the officials apartments. 

The Ceremony was absolutely brilliant, we had such a great time and we still had the After party to go to, things couldn't get any better...

Ok the Ceremony done and a quick scuttle back to the Village for a party!!  It was great to see the athletes relaxed and able to really enjoy their success.  I was given the task by my team  to talk to as many of the Athletes as possible in order for them to get  pictures taken with them… So a task that was too easy for me, so my mission  was well and truly complete and my team went away with some great shots and smiles on their faces..

Oh yes I still had some pictures I still wanted to take so it was happy snapping as I drank Team GB Limited Edition Coca Cola.  There was one person who I wanted a picture with and that was our very own Mo Farrah. Conrad Williams, 400M, Pops Mensha Bonsu, Basket Ball. Dwain Chambers 100M. As yo can see I was in my element..

Great to see my lovely Team having fun themselves after all the hard work everyone had done over the last few weeks, but while they had a few drinks (maybe even a few more than they ought to), we knew there was still the checking out of ALL Athletes and Officials the next morning at 8am, slight issue some of us rolled out of the party at 4.45am... Wow you may say, but some of the others rolled out at 6am.... OOPS Tomorrow was going to be fun.

Grand finale

To be revealed here Tuesday 14th August 2012.... Don't miss it!!!

The Penultimate Day on The Track...

Does this day finish off the whole London Olympic 2012 experience for me?? Oh yes indeed it really does...
Who better to blag their way into the Olympic Stadium than yours truly!!

There was no way I was ever going to come to these games and not get to see any athletics in person, not in a million years... As this was the last day of Track and Field I decided to push my luck and try to get into the Stadium, hey ho, not only did I get in with my partner in crime Jackie, but the seats we got if we'd have paid for them we wouldn't have got better.
Our seats were right next to the flame. It was great to watch the Mighty Mo gain his deservedly second Gold Medal

Oh what a night, after the much awaited race of the Great Mo saw the final of the Woman's 800M race, but the next 2 races were what I had also come to see, the Woman's 4 X 100M final, and what a race, such a shame for our girls but so pleased they reached the finals, but you always knew where to put your money on for this race, the American Women dominated all the way, so good to watch...

So to the last race on the Track, step up the Jamacian Boys because you knew everyone else needed to battle it out for silver and bronze!!!
They so didn't disappoint the crowd, what a show! What a performance! What a World Record. AND I WAS THERE.....
Dreams were made this night, but no more so than mine!

Hockey, Hockey, Hockey...

Friday 10th August 2012

Where do I start?
Today we had the Prime Minister David Cameron visit the Village as well as following suit with the rest of the Officials by visiting GB Headquarters.

He came to congratulate the GB Athletes and get a feel for where they stay.
I myself was more excited about my ticket to the GB Ladies Hockey match.

This proved a great game with the team winning 3-1, and picking up a Bronze Medal.. An electrifying game from end to end on a very warm day. Great to watch with a fantastic atmosphere.

To top the day I also had tickets to watch the loveable Tom Daley and Pete Waterford in the Diving. Great to witness Tom go into the finals, but hopefully he will do a lot better later...

Back to a busy day

Thursday 9th August 2012

Back in the Athletes Village today and all sorts of issues are being resolved!
I find myself dealing with hung over athletes who have either locked
themselves out of their rooms, lost room keys, or lost their accreditation .
Luckily nothing that could not be resolved.
The hardest job at present is ticket requests.. As the athletes who have finished competition request tickets to see chosen events, we get sent an allocation over but it doesn't always meet the demand we get. As team GB we do often try to push for even more than our quota in order not to disappoint our athletes.. They have a set time when they need to pick up these tickets, so if they fail to turn up 15 minutes after this time then the tickets get re allocated on a first come first serve basis...
The funny thing for me is seeing the athletes in their clothes and not their GB kit.
We had the lovely katarina Johnson-Thompson (heptathlon) call in the office to ask us if we can help her get into her room.....

This ones for you Sav!!!

'Don't hate me cos you ain't me', are the words I often hear my oldest son say when he jokes about with me...
Today I use those very words (only lightly though)...
Yes I almost wet myself I don't mind telling you, for who did I happen to see coming in from an early morning warm up? Ever heard of someone by the surname of Bolt??? Yep the one and only Usain Bolt, my daughter Savannah's idol, I know she will love this photo.

OMG how nice is this guy, no really?.. Mr legend himself gave me a hug and a quick photo before he headed off for a shower and rest (his words), before his semi finals later tonight. I am not usually star struck, but on this occasion I will allow myself that luxury..
Today finds me doing something completely different since being based in the Village! I am at the Queen Mary's University of London in Mile End on the desk. Here is where the rest of the Team GB staff are staying for the Games. They have booked out rooms while the students are away to ensure they cover additional accommodation for anyone connected to Team GB, from officials to Athletes who would rather stay here and not in the village for peace and quiet. I can tell you there are a couple of very well known athletes booked in here who are still in competition...
It is not the same as being in the Village, however it is great and I get to relax, watching as much of the sports to my hearts content on the massive projector. I will make the most of the day here as I will no doubt be run off my feet tomorrow back in the village ..

Ssshhh!

Tuesday 7th August 2012


Wow I've missed this place! Going home to spend a day or so with the family was lovely, and to be able to watch my daughters idol Ussain Bolt
hush all the doubters in the men's 100m final in peace was fantastic, just had to celebrate his win with another cheeky Malibu and pineapple juice....

Back in the village and you can tell a lot of the athletes have now finished their competitions, as the mood is extremely a lively affair. Athletes are coming to request tickets to see different events, which we have tried to accommodate where possible..
Something I was tasked with was to ensure every apartment had a polite notice on the door, to be respectful to their fellow athletes who are still to compete by keeping the notice down.. I am sure this will be adhered to... For now!!!

What a Night!!!

Saturday 4^th August 2012

How do you sum up a day like today.....

Truly, truly amazing, what a night of pure class we have witnessed.

I think my throat is hoarse right now as I have cheered on the rowers today, followed by the most incredible 2nd night's performance on the track. Everyone who is British must feel extremely proud of our Olympians.

First we had Queen Jess obliterate the Heptathlon To Olympic Glory. What a moment for our poster girl, how do you follow that? Step up Greg Rutherford in the men's Long Jump to take the Gold. If that was not enough we had Mo go in the 10,000m, and oh did he put on a show for us? Smashed the field to get his well deserved Gold Medal also...

Surely this will have now spurred the rest of the GB Athletes on!!

It is only right I mention the GB Football Team who went out on penalties tonight.

The team did us proud and I can only pay full respect to my nephew Daniel, who missed his penalty. This young man should have his head held high tonight, we are incredibly proud of him as he battled thought his illness with great courage to play for Team GB. This has been a very long season for a player without being ill never mind a player who has recently had viral meningitis. Hopefully he will get a good couple of weeks to recover before he returns back to Stamford Bridge. God Bless you Dan!!!

I will take a well deserved 2 days off to take in as much of the athletics as I can before I am back in on Tuesday... 

  

Track and Field guys make the GB Team complete

 

Friday 3^rd August 2012

With all these medals coming in thick and fast, and the gorgeous Vicky Pendleton putting her heartache to one side to win the Keirin cycling race Gold medal, this is now putting Team GB firmly on the map..

Now I am really excited all the track and field guys are in, which means I am chomping at the bit.

These guys are my heroes as Track and Field is what I grew up knowing all about……

It was my absolute pleasure to take Jo Pavey 10,000 meters (right) Louise Hazel Pentathlon Below),  Shara Proctor,  Triple Jumper and Tiffany Porter 100m Hurdles to their rooms with their bags.

 Following this I took Toni Minichiello coach to Jess Ennis, and Frank Attoh coach to Chris Tomlinson to get something to eat at the outside dining, and shown them round the village.

My excitement continues to lift on what is now almost the end of my 4^th week….

Zara adds to my Royal collection

Thursday 2^nd August 2012

You can tell the tiredness has started to set in now as I get my days mixed up.

Ok it was my turn to take my seat at the Team GB Headquarters, here we email maintenance with queries from the Athletes and their rooms, Ticket requests,

ensuring the selected Athletes are on time for press interviews etc.

 Today I had to collect 12 Medal boxes for Equestrian, Swimming and Cycling, to put there valuable Olympic Medals in.

One of those boxes was for the  lovely Zara Phillips, who came into the office wanting to know how she could get home to Gloucestershire. Earlier I had another 2 of Zara’s team members asked for help getting to their trains.

Would I really tell Zara to jump on the Javelin Train to get her to Euston and there to Gloucestershire ?? Not a chance, but not to be presumptuous and assume that she wanted a car to take her home, I asked her what she would prefer.

 What a great sport she was, she assumed that we could not get a car in the village even for her, but having made a call to the Powers That Be, we were able to send Zara off home in a car and not via the train line.

What was she like I here you ask?? A really lovely, friendly and laid back lady who had time to laugh and joke with me, even though she was shattered….

Now the Medals are coming!

Tuesday 1^st August 2012

Well at last, first we get one Gold Medal in the Women’s Rowing from Helen Glover and Helen Stanning, then Bradley Wiggins smashes his way to our second Gold Medal with his team mate Chris Froome taking a well-deserved Bronze Medal.

The Crowd at the Olympic Park did the boys proud with their amazing support, shouting them on all the way, from where I stood the noise was deafening. Great crowd, Fantastic atmosphere.

This will now spur the rest of the GB Team on to Victory now.

Meanwhile I had my new friend from Basketball Eric Boateng come into the GB Head Quarters looking for me to see if I was ok, he took the evening off to go see his family who live in London, before coming back into the Village today. What a lovely guy. (maybe I remind him of his mother!!).

As you can see even the highest of heels will still make me look like a midget compared to Eric... 

Now it would not be right if I did not mention how well the GB Men’s Football Team are doing!

 My young nephew Daniel is doing exceptionally well, with his late goal in the first half being enough to book their place in the quarter finals to meet Korea in Wales again on Saturday.

Let’s keep this going lads…

A Right Royal Occasion

 Tuesday 31st July 2012

After a busy day yesterday collecting most of the Track and Field Athletes bags  ahead of their arrival from Portugal today, we had a welcome treat.

We had been advised after the Queen's visit, that Prince Harry would be coming later this week. However he brought his Brother Prince William and Sister in Law Kate along with him, marking a right Royal Occasion for GB Athletes this week.

What Fine young Men William and Harry have turned out to be, they mingled with the Athletes, laughed and joked and really took a keen interest in all the Athletes had to say. They took their time walking round, shaking hands with as many of the GB Team as possible.

Kate - well what is there to say, Stunning  young Woman as you see her on TV, even stunningly beautiful in person. She too was as relaxed and enjoyed being here as much as William and Harry.

Bring on the medals now guys.....

Up close and personal

Sunday 29^th July 2012

I have never met a more laid back pair of Athletes the day before their biggest competition in 4 years.

My role today was to take the maintenance men around our GB rooms that needed missing door handles replaced or locks putting on the bedroom doors.

One of the rooms belonged to Tom Daley who was sharing with the rest of his diving team mates.

Whilst I needed to wait around for the job to be complete, I started to talk to Tom and Pete Waterfield who are partners in the Synchronised 10M Platform.

They will be competing tomorrow so I tried not to disturb them as I assumed they would want as much rest as possible, this was not the case, they were so relaxed and totally at ease about competing tomorrow that I stood watching the replay of the GB Ladies diving team with them while they analysed the teams.

Pete is on his 4^th Olympics and he explained that he will be competing for the next 2 years, but this will be his last Olympics, He told me he hits the water around 40 miles an hour and eventually it does take its toll on the body.

I asked Tom how he can be so relaxed before a big competition and he simply said that it helps him focus better. He is genuinely a fantastic young man, who even Pete paid  him such a compliment, saying he is such a nice lad who is so down to earth, and has time for everyone.

Tom knows he gets a lot of  attention but he told me that he loves to speak to and get  pictures taken with the fans,  he knows they turn up to watch and support him, therefore he feels he needs to give something back to them…

Now that is one young man with his feet firmly on the ground!!

I will be cheering them both on tomorrow, Good luck boys…

Meeting The Royal Family

Saturday 28^th July 2012

WOW!!!!

Coming into the Village today saw myself and the rest of the GB Games Makers a little worse for wear, but not because of the alcohol, but by being at the village for 17 hours yesterday, as we prepared for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, was this worth it? Damn right it was worth it!!!

We were told in the week that no one could have taken today off what so ever as the GB Team officials had something important that required all 12 of us to be in early for, that was all they would say…

 Little did we know that we had the most important guests of the Games wanting to meet with the Athletes and also meet the Games Makers that were helping to make the Games truly memorable for the Team..

The briefing we had was that The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Princess Ann, who would be the Lady In Waiting to the Queen today, were coming into the GB Headquarters to meet not only the Athletes but ourselves also.

How do you describe the emotion, the head rush, and the sheer craziness of knowing that you have been chosen to meet the Royal Family? I cannot so I won’t. All I will say is it was emotional to say the least..

I got to say hello to the Queen as she passed by, but Prince Philip stopped to ask me if I was looking after Team GB and were they behaving themselves...

The visit was a great boost to our GB Athletes just before they go off to compete for medals over the coming days....