London 2012

[Sascha]

Congratulations to London for winning the race for hosting the 2012 Olympic Games. Geez, I'll be 36 when these games take place... I wonder if this forum and this entry still exist in 2012...

I'm a bit surprised that Paris didn't win -- boy, they got to be disappointed now: 3rd try, 3rd defeat. At least it was very close this time (54:50 votes).

[season]

I have to admit, I thought is was too close and we really wouldn't win.

[starbug]

Yeah! It's pretty cool. We could hear the roar at Trafalgar Square from my office when the announcement was made.

I am trying to work myself into a frenzy of excitement about it, and I *am* excited, but it does mean an increase in my council tax (as a Londoner - it's not being paid for out of general country-wide taxation, they instead chose to fund it out of local taxation and lottery grants). I also have serious doubts about whether our transport system is up to it - it once took me 2hrs30 to get home (7 miles), because it was snowing.

That said, it is a good thing, and I have a massive sense of pride for my city. Also, my friend bought a house in Stratford last year, so he has literally just made £100,000 overnight - the value of his property is going to increase dramatically because he will be a 5 min walk from the main complex.

Everyone here is pretty exited - I do feel for the French, but I think Chirac shot himself in the foot when he started with the unprovoked disparaging comments about Britain and British cooking. That's not very sporting!

[season]

Exactly my thougths. I had mixed feelings about it. But, I think they will be determined to do a good job of it.

[lance]

Yeah! It's pretty cool. We could hear the roar at Trafalgar Square from my office when the announcement was made.

I am trying to work myself into a frenzy of excitement about it, and I *am* excited, but it does mean an increase in my council tax (as a Londoner - it's not being paid for out of general country-wide taxation, they instead chose to fund it out of local taxation and lottery grants). I also have serious doubts about whether our transport system is up to it - it once took me 2hrs30 to get home (7 miles), because it was snowing.

That said, it is a good thing, and I have a massive sense of pride for my city. Also, my friend bought a house in Stratford last year, so he has literally just made £100,000 overnight - the value of his property is going to increase dramatically because he will be a 5 min walk from the main complex.

Everyone here is pretty exited - I do feel for the French, but I think Chirac shot himself in the foot when he started with the unprovoked disparaging comments about Britain and British cooking. That's not very sporting!

Ahh but why let diplomacy get in the way of a 700 year old grudge match.

I did hear that some cheered when New York got the axe. Gee, wonder why.

Too bad for Paris but congrats to London.

-LanceMan

[season]

Sacha, after reading you'll be 36, I realised I'll be 39! When I turned 30, it took weeks to get use to it and then to actually like it.

[Sascha]

Yeah, it's a bit weird how fast time goes by... It seems like last month when I turned 20 and now I'm already close to 30.


Whoa, I'm just hearing the news about explosions in London -- I hope it's nothing too serious. But it looks like the entire subway system of London has been shut down.