Olympic Fever

The London 2012 Olympics have arrived!  Along with tens of thousands of other people (working or volunteering), we are now part of the giant machine that is the Olympics. It really is amazing how many people it takes to put on such a show.  We are working a Lords Cricket Ground which is hosting archery.  This venue is quite modest in size in comparison to other sites yet there are hundreds of meet-and-greet volunteers, security staff, vehicle drivers, food service employees, and of course our favorite, the traffic marshalls and their supervisors.  Let alone athletes, coaches, and spectators.

The traffic management has been going alright: I've been working at the VIP entrance getting important people (well, their drivers) parked up properly. Pat has been working a busy road ensuring accessible shuttle buses, media vehicles, and taxis all get into the correct drop-off zones efficiently and without too much confusion.  On the plus side, we've seen Princess Anne, the staff break area overlooks the venue, we get a free meal on our break, and we're outside all day when it's sunny.  On the down side, drivers can be crazy and unpredictable, there are grumpy people who seem to think the people in high-visibility yellow vests are personally responsible for their horrible day, and we're outside all day when it's rainy.  BUT, that's why they're paying us the big bucks!

As archery is finished on Friday, Aug. 3, we just have two days left at this venue and then hopefully we can get some work down at the Olympic Park which hosts most of the other events.  Otherwise, we've pretty much been just eating and sleeping.  Today we had a day off and went down to the Olympic Park to try and have a wander through the grounds but sadly you need a ticket to get inside.  And the tickets are only sold online.  And they are all sold out most of the time.  It is certainly reminiscent of the Vancouver winter Olympics with the masses of people and having to stand in line for all Olympic related things.  But the atmosphere is good!  And London is so big and international on an ordinary day that it seems to just soak up the Olympics in stride.  And just when we start to get used to the diverted traffic, masses of people, and all our new work colleagues who just came on board for these couple weeks, it will be over!  And Olympic pandemonium will begin again somewhere else...

Here are some photos I took when Pat and I went to the Borough Market, a food market, on our last day off.  Also, I added a link to a map showing some of the fun things Pat and I have done in London so far.  Just click on 'Our London Map' under the blog title.

Typical British fare.

The Shard, the tallest building in Europe.