London 2012: August 2012

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Sharing the Story

I found this quote on the walls of Kensington Palace. The same is true with me. There is no end to my stories from London either. My experiences and memories will go on forever. Thanks to all of you who have encouraged me to share them in this blog. This is my favorite quote from the book, The Way of the Traveler,Making Every Trip a Journey of Self-Discovery by Joseph Dispenza.

"When we return from our travels, we display the evidence of our venturing forth, and it is a lesson to those who stayed at home. If we have not shared the story of our wanderings and what we learned from them, we have not completed the epic round of the adventure."

Welcome Home!

Chocolate Gold Medals for ALL!

Emma and Cal enjoy spinning.

Cal loved his British flags.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Keep Calm and Carry On

This poster was originally produced by the government of the United Kingdom in 1939 during WWII. It was intended to raise the morale of British citizens. Today its popularity is widespread both in the UK and around the globe.

Flag Display

This huge display of world flags was right across the street from Parliament and Big Ben. It made me think of people coming together for the Olympics...that maybe for a brief moment in time there could be peace and unity.

Museum Visits

Two interesting sites I visited were the National Portrait Gallery and the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms.

A Churchill Quote

The Cabinet War Rooms are fascinating. At Nazi bombing raids flew over London, Churchill and his leadership team lived, worked and made speeches from this underground location of 25 plus rooms. It was closed at the end of the war and parts can now be seen exactly as they were left in 1945.

The Churchill Museum was completed about five years ago and traces the stages of Churchill's 91 years. Here Churchill is given credit for coining the phrase "Iron Curtain". The multimedia exhibit is full of artifacts, speeches, and photos and draws from the reflections of those who knew and worked for him.

The National Portrait Gallery had special Olympic displays. One had life size cutouts of individuals who had carried the Olympic torch prior to the games. Very interesting to read their nomination entries which were submitted by friends and family members. There was also a large exhibit of individuals who had contributed to the London Olympics...everyone from London Mayor Boris Johnson to members of the royal family.

In addition there was a wonderful exhibit "The Queen Art and Image" to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The pictures were group by decade and included a large variety of mediums. Very interesting to see how the press coverage of Queen Elizabeth and her family has changed over the course of her reign.

Liked this one. The queen was posing for a portrait and reportedly blinked her eyes during a break.

Thought this was a special shot because it caught Queen Elizabeth in a very relaxed and happy moment. It was taken on the royal yacht Britannia.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is a phenomenal church that has been in use since 1066. There are tombs of royalty, politicians, scientist, writers and soldiers. Coronations, funerals and weddings are held there, most recently the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William. Rather than take the official tour, I went to one of the 5 o'clock evensong services. You enter and can enjoy a worship service complete with choir and organ music. The day I went was during international week. The guest speaker was from Singapore where my brother Phil and his family live. I loved being inside this amazing church and hearing the sounds of music. Of course, I kept visualizing all the pictures of the royal wedding in my heading and picturing where each royals sat! I was seated on the Middleton side.

Wrestling

Looking out of our hotel room to ExCel

Wrestling competition was held at the ExCel Center adjacent to our hotel. Under the guidance of Doug Brooker, who won the bid to cover the wrestling for the Olympic Broadcast Services, the crew of 60 had fun and produced a great package for OSB and fans around the world. Russ was fortunate to work with a terrific group of professionals and the ties/connections went all the way back to the first Olympic work Russ did in 1984. Doug Brooker came to Russ in 1984 asking him to put in a word for him with the ABC hiring crew. That was the beginning of a partnership that has lasted through Olympics Games and the Goodwill Games for 28 years. Thank you Doug, we indeed have come full circle. Being able to partner with our friend Bob Lanning, a former wrestling producer for NBC and TBS, was a bonus too. Big Ten colleagues Joe McFarland (Michigan) and Jim Humphrey (Indiana, OSU) made for lots of laughter. Evidently Russ was in charge of the "Joke of the Day" at the 9am production meetings.

Thanks to Mitch Hull for getting me a ticket for the morning session of the final day of competition. It was fun to see the arena and where Russ had spent his 12 hour days. I found it hard to just sit in the stands and watch after being in the center of the action/research/competition for six Olympics. I did enjoy sitting with Jim and Mary Keen and John Graham during the session. Dear friends and lots and lots of great memories shared with them.

US wrestlers Jordan Burroughs and Jake Varner won gold medals in freestyle. They will each receive a $250,000 bonus from USA Wrestling for their gold medals!!! The US also added bronze medals from Clarissa Chun and Coleman Scott. In the team medals, Russia had a total of 11, followed by Azerbaijan with 7, Japan, Iran and Georgia with 6, and USA 4.

Russ, Tom Smith (handheld camerman, hardest working man in the venue), Joe McFarland, Jim Humphrey, and Tim Johnson

Olympic Broadcast Services Staff - Wrestling

Trafalger Square

National Gallery

Big Ben and Westminster Abbey

Countdown clock to the Parolympics.

One of the nicest places to spend time people watching was the area around Trafalgar Square. There is a column honoring Admiral Nelson, a WWII war hero. Tarfalgar Square is considered the center of modern London. My favorite sandwich shops is the PRET A MANGER in the background. On one of my visits there, I told them PRET was my favorite. They said thank you, gave me a free banana and one of their gingerbread cookies. Supposedly there are 25 in the US. I have only eaten at the one in DC.

St.Martin-in-the-Fields is a beautiful church built in the 1720s. The church is famous for its concerts and cafe. There is now a glass entrance for the church's updated gift shop and the Cafe in the Crypt. Beautiful and the apple crisp is as wonderful as always!