london 2012 summer olympics - charlie and judith london trip report 2012.pdf · paddington green)...
TRANSCRIPT
LONDON
2012 SUMMER OLYMPICS
The Games of the XXX Olympics
By Judith
Charles and Judith Moore
July 30 – August 9, 2012
www.charlieandjudith.com
Summer Olympics! London ‐ 2012! Here we come! Charlie and I started thinking about this seven years ago when we were in Singapore listening to the IOC announce that London would be the Host of the Summer Games in 2012! We were disappointed that New York didn’t win that bid, but when we heard all the trash about how dysfunctional the host city would be and how impossible it would be to finish everything on time – well, we said, “OK better them than us”. This was London’s “Hat Trick”. (See ice hockey phraseology) They had hosted the Games in 1908, 1948, and now, in 2012. So, we began making plans to attend and cheer on our English friends.
We traveled with dear friends, Edgar and Margie Masinter, whose first visit to the Games this was. They were more than “game” ‐ stalwart, tireless and courageous.
Charlie very wisely decided not to write up the experience this time around. He was more interested in watching competitions than staying up all night making notes. So that’s why you’re reading about this through my eyes. (I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t horn in at some point, but on we go.) This will be shorter than our usual tomes, but I only know so many descriptive athletically‐inclined words.
We watched the Opening Ceremonies in our New York apartment with great excitement and no small amount of anticipation. Just think! We would actually be there in three days ‐ unpacked, tickets in hand, with the Underground System conquered and eager to see London in its Olympic finery. We flew overnight on Sunday, July 29 crammed into a three‐seats‐across Continental/United jet. Eating, sleeping (make that dozing) and watching movies was about all we could do until it was time to watch the sun come up over Ireland. We elected to taxi (Love those London cabs!) to Kensington where our dear friend, Veronica (from Kiawah days) had, many months ago, offered to loan us her beautiful flat for our stay. Of course we said yes. We were very conveniently near several Tube stations, very comfortably cared for and, as a bonus, enjoyed the most wonderful summertime show of magnificent white hydrangeas imaginable, just outside our door. Sheer bliss!
The weather in London can be iffy any time of year but with a few raindrops now and then as the exception, during our stay the weather was ideal – cool, mostly sunny, the windows open in the evening and really good weather when it counted.
We dined Monday evening in a local restaurant called “The Abingdon” with Martin, our friend’s son. He is excellent company and lives nearby. Superb bream, a lovely Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and perfect fried brie got us off to a rousing start. Martin also managed to hook up our various devices; iPad, cell phone, etc. We really settled in.
During the day, we had successfully navigated our way to the meeting points (Southwark and Paddington Green) where we were to pick up most of our tickets, so we were in a celebratory state. BBC Sports kept us up to date on the day’s events throughout our stay. No commercials, lots of British news and information (like where the Royals were sitting at which events) and very good commentary by a pretty English woman, whose name I never heard, Johnny McEnroe and Michael Johnson, of all people.
Tuesday morning, July 31,
Charlie and I, for all of our traveling, had never journeyed to Canterbury so this would be the day. The morning dawned cool and cloudy, but that only made the trip to Canterbury seem more typically English. Dean Robert Willis and his wonderful staff kindly showed us through the Deanery, the Gardens (where, of course, we had the pleasure of meeting Daisy, the rabbit) and the Cathedral, itself. The glory of it all, from the green house full of ripe tomatoes, to the scene of Thomas Becket’s murder through the dazzling stained glass full of ancient stories, to the Cathedral in all her majesty!! What an experience!
We were given a wonderful luncheon with Dean Willis, Fletcher, his man‐of‐all‐trades, and a young man called Matthew Barley and his recording crew. Matthew plays the electric cello and the group was recording a CD of John Tavener and Benjamin Britten’s music in preparation for a celebratory year in 2013. They worked at night when the Cathedral was mostly dark and still. Imagine! More interesting, even than that, is the fact that Matthew is the grandson of a former Dean of the Cathedral, Hewlett Johnson who served Canterbury from 1931‐1963. The train ride back into London was uneventful except that the high speed line was out of service so we had to take the “local” back to St. Pancras International Station. We were a bit late meeting Lord Michael Hastings, who had kindly secured some of our tickets for us and was waiting to hand them over. He gave us a beautiful
Tea at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel and we raced back to Kensington to dress for dinner at the Stafford with New York friends, Margie and Edgar Masinter, who had arrived this day to check in to The Stafford Hotel on St. James Place. Drinks in the American Bar and a delicious dinner in the hotel’s dining room completed the day.
Wednesday, August 1
Morning found us early at “The Muffin Man” for a breakfast of poached eggs on toast, coffee and an American muffin. Of course, I’m not cooking if I don’t have to!! More fun to explore the local eateries. About an hour of Tube travel took us to Olympic Park ‐ way out east of the city of London. You all know by now this is an area that has, for some time, been neglected and derelict. Building these facilities where they did is supposed to revitalize the neighborhood. For now, it is a huge collection of sports arenas with five or six different venues, a transportation hub, an immense shopping center, the Olympic Village and millions of kindly volunteers eager to keep us all from getting lost. We met Margie and Edgar at the entrance to the Village for a pre‐arranged guided tour. We were able to see some of our team using recreational, medical and living facilities. The US team wasn’t allowed to fly our flag from the railing of the balconies as most of the other countries did. Mustn’t attract attention!! It seems to me that any clever terrorist determined to do damage could figure we were the ones without the flag. Geez! We had a photo taken with members of the Women’s Water Polo Team and other assorted characters.
Margie had arranged for us to have lunch at a famous watering hole called Wolsley’s, an old automobile showroom located quite near the Ritz Hotel. It was delightful and obviously a place where the locals gather for luncheons lasting throughout the afternoon. That same evening, we went to see Team Handball back at Olympic Park. Spain vs. Denmark and Croatia vs. Russia. Spain won and I think Croatia did too. We left a bit early to get a good night’s sleep because of an early start the next day. Someone should have told the owl outside our window. How romantic though!
Thursday, August 2
Our goal, when we go to the Games, is to see a variety of events, ending with two days of Track and Field. So, having gotten Team Handball under our belts, we took the train from Waterloo to Windsor for a day of Rowing at Eton Downey in the shadow of Windsor Castle. It’s a good thing I have already been there a couple of times or I might have played hooky!
We’re getting wiser as we get older. We have no qualms about asking to ride the coaches designated for the elderly and/or infirm. We are the one and can pretend to be the other when needed. The stands just near the finish line were perfectly situated so that with the help of large screen TVs, from where we were sitting, we could see most of the races from start to finish. The sky was dramatic as clouds
piled up, sometimes threatening a downpour and then, magically, drifting off, giving way to bright sunshine. Only one time, did we have to duck under our ponchos and then only for a few minutes.
There was a woman sitting in front of us with “Les Miserables” embroidered on her jacket. I couldn’t stand not asking her if she had been involved in the recent filming of the movie made in London, starring Hugh Jackman. She said yes; she was on the camera crew and it will be out this December. I can’t wait! There were several semi‐finals and three medal races: Men’s Lightweight 4s, Women’s 8s (we won gold) and Men’s Pairs. Edgar had been the coxswain when he was at Princeton so they stayed to watch until the last ripple. Charlie and I went back to town and had a nice ploughman’s lunch in a pub near Earls Court Station.
We met Margie and Edgar at the Savoy for High Tea. And high it was!! Towering stacks of tea sandwiches, pastries, and whatever else you can imagine washed down with gallons of any kind of tea in the world. I had Moroccan mint. No fresh mint though. (See our Morrocan adventure at charlieandjudith.com) Beautiful re‐hab of the space at The Savoy. We saw a new musical called “Matilda”, a story about a little girl who is very bright and extremely underappreciated, most of all by her parents. An insightful teacher saves the day. Choreography, music, acting, sets, etc. ‐ all superb and most enjoyable. A long day but worth every effort.
Friday, August 3 – Happy Birthday, Susan!
We slept in until 9:00, grabbed a bite at “Hyde Perk”, an adorable little coffee place near USA House. The Royal College of Art farmed out their space (at great cost to the renters, I expect) to the USOC for this official gathering place. There are large TV screens with all of the current
events simulcast, wonderful food spreads, very comfortable seating areas to relax and “get together” and the ultimate shopping area with lots of Ralph Lauren and, if you work your way past that, Nike brand t‐shirts and other souvenirs and gee gaws. We labored over selecting tee‐shirts to fit each one of our children, significant others, spouses, and grandchildren. That’s a day’s work! “We’ll sort it out later”, we kept saying. We dumped our loot at the Stafford to be picked up later and hopped on the Jubilee Line to Stratford Station for Women’s Water Polo. We watched Hungary vs. Spain (Spain won). Who’s keeping track of their medals?? And Russia vs. Australia. The Aussies won. After cheering ourselves hoarse, we scuttled back to the Stafford to regroup for a fabulous supper at Al Duca. A relatively early night was just what the doctor ordered. Have I mentioned Charlie had a pacemaker implanted five days before we left for London?
Saturday, August 4
How do you do Beach Volleyball in downtown London? You commandeer Green Park, dump a bunch of sand in an area around which you build stands, hire a wacky (rakey – rakey??) commentator, pour young ladies full of muscle into bikinis and put a net between two teams of two and let them bat a squishy ball back and forth. The flags are flying from the Houses of Parliament, the sky is blue (again) and the band is playing. Sexy, scantily‐clad dancers are programmed every time the players need a break and spectators are as much fun to watch as the competition. This all happens after walking for an hour through Green Park to get to this place where the Queen’s Horse Guard “works out”. I had fun trying to identify the ducks we passed as we “qued” our way to the competition. This is a fast,
and furious sport – very unpredictable.
Charlie and I went to the Royal Academy to see the Summer Show after the matches. We didn’t buy anything this year. It was late in the show and everything we liked was either too expensive or already sold. In previous visits, we have come home with Michael Biddulph’s “Petersham Banks” and Alan Forsyth’s photograph of a parrot tulip, both on our apartment walls in New York. This year, we have an Olympic Poster to
show for our shopping efforts. We had a terrific Indian dinner at a restaurant called Amaya near Belgrave Square. Our usual routine of wine, cheese and commentary lulled us to sleep after another day of fun in the sun and navigating the Underground.
Sunday, August 5
Sunday morning, I decided I had to earn my keep so I checked the fridge to see what I could make of the goodies Martin had provided. Lo, there was smoked salmon, caviar, crumpets and fresh fruit. Could anything beat that? So….. I figured out how British appliances work, and set us up with a feast. God bless Martin! Lunch was at 2pm across the river at the Rose Pub on the Albert Embankment with Frank Marshall and Kathy Kennedy. They had just flown in and were wonderful to take time to visit so soon after arrival. The Kennedy‐Marshalls produce significant movies (Seabiscuit, Warhorse, The Bourne Legacy, etc.) and are always on the go. Kathy has an exciting new job, and Frank is assuming command of Kennedy‐Marshall, so they will now be even busier. They are staying in a posh flat right on the river whose owner has a significant art collection. They invited us up for a quick glance and OMG!! Even the Art Forum trips can’t beat this. Also, the owner is an author and his entire series of first editions has pride of place on the shelves. Very exciting and great to see Frank and Kathy.
Charlie and I visited the nearby Museum of Garden History where, in the enclosed garden, Captain Wm. Bligh is buried. Surprised to see him there along with some of his family. There is
an amazing stained glass window in what used to be a small church (now the museum) that tells the history of gardens from Eden on. Amazing!! There are some interesting sculptures of boat parts scattered along the Albert Embankment including one real live tugboat converted to an eating and drinking establishment.
Foil Fencing that evening was held at ExCel in London City. I know virtually nothing about fencing – not even the scoring – but it is certainly fun to watch. The arena is darkened and flashing lights appear to indicate the fencer’s success and failure. Of course, a tumble off the “runway” tells that story also. The German team won the bronze medal; Japan the silver and Italy, gold.
Usain Bolt was running his 100 meter final this same night, so Charlie and I left the train at Oxford Circus and set off to look for a bar with a TV that was still open. It was Sunday, of course, so this was not straightforward, but we were successful. You have to give Bolt credit for bringing such enthusiasm and personality to an event that takes so little time to accomplish. His gesturing and expostulating are part of the fun and, boy, he really is fast!
Monday, August 6
Margie had made arrangements for us to visit the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace (along with a few thousand other folks). We wandered over to the palace to pick up our tickets which were for 3:00pm, so, to fill in the interim, we visited Tate Britain and all those absolutely divine Turners! Lunch at the very famous Scott’s Restaurant was heavenly. Oysters, fish of several sorts and relative quiet. I’m sure they weren’t pleased about that last, but we reveled in the unhurried‐ness of this well‐known watering hole. Back to the palace to see the magnificent State Rooms, splendid works of art by such fellows as Vermeer, Van Dyke, and fabulous furnishings of all sorts. You feel a sort of hushed awe when you think of the very famous people and events that have occurred there and will continue to as long as there is an England. A spectacular display of royal diamonds was in a room decorated in black velvet, which, as we girls all know, shows off diamonds to their absolute best advantage. Lovely to actually see the bits and pieces that are so well known through photographs and television. The walk out through the park in the rear of the palace was wonderful. Coots or moor hens (I’m not sure which) were sprinkled around the grounds among amazing trees and flowers of all sorts. I could live there.
Charlie and I took the Victoria Line back to Olympic Park – this time disembarking at the West Ham Station and walking (seemingly forever) through fabulous, thoughtfully planted patches of wildflowers and past a few wonderful Victorian buildings. This was a much longer walk than the one from Stratford Station, but we arrived at the main stadium for our first of two visits in plenty of time for the Track events. Michael Hastings and his daughter were in the seats beside us. Our seats were just beyond the finish line so we were set for the performances.
The Olympic Cauldron is beautiful. Whoever came up with the idea of the multiple “stems” at eye level instead of high up above everything, really deserves a pat on the back. We were close enough to it to see the heat rising from the flames.
THE RACE, (the 400 meter hurdles, was won by a fellow from the Dominican Republic who couldn’t stop weeping throughout the medal ceremony. The US won silver (Michael Tinsley) and Javier Coulson of Puerto Rico came away with the bronze. I love the pole vault and Women’s Steeplechase and we also saw the Men’sShot Put finals. Prayers wafted skyward for Jim Fuchs. It was very crowded getting back to Stratford Station to go home, but the crowd was orderly and good humored. And those volunteers!! From all over the UK in all kinds of dress and uniform – always cheery and ready to answer questions and offer encouragement.
Tuesday, August 7
Cool with a suggestion of rain – well, maybe that’s typical London. We finally realized we were close enough to USA House to walk there so off we went to finish the shirt buying and have a
bite. We met Margie and Edgar at Blackfriar’s Pub near “the City” and St. Paul’s for the best fish and chips we had anywhere. Blackfriar’s is a quaint old pub with wonderful details inside and out. It’s a landmark and deservedly so. Blackfriar Station had been closed for renovation the last couple of times we visited London, so it was nice to see that they had fixed it up in time for the Games. We waddled off to the National Portrait Gallery to see an exhibition of Athlete’s Portraits. David Beckham sleeping was the most interesting one to me. There was also a fun contest to see which of a number of new acquisitions was being voted the Public’s favorite. Winner gets an extensive set of paints and drawing materials, which, if I win, I’m going to learn to use! The Gallery also displayed a great collection of portraits of the Queen in honor of her Jubilee Year.
In the spirit of things, someone placed a torch and the Union Jack on top of Nelson’s hat in Trafalgar Square and a wooden sculpture of a young child on a rocking horse in one of the corners. Whimsical to say the least. These touches went well with a London cab painted pink with black polka dots all over it. Incidentally, a shade of fuchsia pink was the chosen background for most of the trappings of the Games. Everywhere you looked, this very rosy pink popped up. The bright orange color sported by Team Holland was a refreshing counterpoint.
When we joined our friends again at the Olympic Stadium, we were the envy of all those around us as the Masinters came prepared with a “picnic” beginning with quail eggs and unrolling other delicacies through the course of the first few events. Wish we had a Fortnum and Mason in NYC! It tried very hard to rain but didn’t really get anything going. The Men’s High Jump was fun as we were seated close to the track and right in front of that event. Records were shattered of course. Faster, Higher, Stronger! (Citius, Altius, Fortius!) We went back to the Stafford with the Masinters for a Farewell Drink and to collect our packages. It had been a truly remarkable time together – one for the record books.
Wednesday, August 8
We had planned to visit Chatsworth, home of the Dukes of Devonshire, on this last day of our trip. However, we were so intrigued with Canterbury, we decided to go back there instead and save Chatsworth for another visit. So, off we went to be met at Canterbury Station by our new friend, Fletcher Banner. We were given tea, of course, and then a very informative tour through the Stained Glass Studio that not only repairs and conserves Canterbury’s historic and very beautiful glass but farms itself out to other church projects in the UK. So, not only is there lovely ancient glass, but also some contemporary designs in progress. Dean Willis was presiding at the cricket matches that day and was busily creating his rhyming blessing for the occasion, so
we didn’t see much of him this trip. Fletcher was kind enough to guide us to the upper reaches of the Cathedral so I could see the Music Rehearsal room and the Music Library. I think I need to go back for six months and volunteer to spruce that space up a bit. We climbed into the towers where, it is said, the Choristers scamper up and down willy‐nilly. I would have to see it to believe it. The Crypt contains an amazing sculpture of a man made of nails suspended above Thomas Becket’s tomb. This is in the oldest part of the Cathedral and may be the most interesting space in this wondrous building. How lovely and majestic place this old church is. So diginified and historic and yet so obviously accessible and caring. They will seat a new Archbishop in the next year. We’ll follow that with interest.
We ended our stay at 31 Rowan Lodge by celebrating with Martin and Fiona, whose Mum’s home we had been living in for the past week and a half. Dinner at The Abingdon again and then “home” to pack and leave the following morning.
The flight back was uneventful except that I watched “The Vow”, the movie directed by our friend, Michael Sucsy, with a cameo appearance by his mother, Sue, our neighbor in West Hartford. Our flight touched down in Newark at 3:25pm. What an amazing adventure – so long looked forward to and so soon over. Maybe we should investigate the Sochi Winter Games! Rio is just too long to wait for another Olympic experience!