Last night was the formal opening of the Olympic Games held in Paris and we were promised quite a spectacular event. The French had decided to be both bold and innovative and chose to hold the opening ceremony not in the Olympic arena which is customary but to host a succession of craft, usually barges and the French bateaux rouge, which sailed down the Seine with the athletes celebrating aloft. This way, the French reckoned that the craft could go on a six kilometre route and be seen by many more people but at the same time some of the iconic buildings and beatiful bridges of Paris could be highlighted. This was an amazing concept but the weather was very much against them and the ceremonies were held in teeming rain. All countries use the opportunity of the opening ceremony to display some of the cultural and historical event that make a nation what it is but I have the feeling that a lot of what would be displayed might be lost on the wider world viewing audience. For example the way in which the French have a revolutionary tradition and disposed of the heads of many of their aristocratic elites might be lost on many people. I personally was not over impressed by the singing, dancing and gymnastics that took place but I was mightily impressed by the mechanical horse apparently ridden along the surface of the Seine depicting the way in which the Seine might have got its name. But there were quite a lot of technical hitches in such an ambitious project and the howling rain drowned out some of the spectacle so some people who come to watch went home to watch it all on TV. The UK ‘Daily Mail’ was scathing and labelled it all as a ‘farce’ but most of the British press were full of praise for French innovation and quirkiness. I personally would have liked a special programme edited for British TV in which some of the boring bits were cut out but a good explanation was made of all of the cultural references that the French were trying to convey (such as headless Marie Antoinettes lining the banks of the Seine from the prison she was once held whilst figures dressed in red hold severed heads peering out from the windows of the Conciergerie.) The ‘Daily Mail‘ was also delighted to point out amongst several technical hitches in the rain the spotting performer’s testicle hanging out during the ceremony as a dancer suffered an x-rated wardrobe malfunction. Today is filled with all kinds of competition and Meg and I have enjoyed some of the sculling and cycling competitions we have seen so far but the rainy conditions are making things nightmarish for the cyclists performing on the roads of Paris where obstacles such as wet pedestrian crossings have to be negotiated. Whilst on the subject of the Olympics, something was reported in the columns of The Times and then picked up by some of the other media. The French have equipped the Olympic village with some 3,000 beds made of an enhanced cardboard like substance. This has led some to complain that the French have provided athletes with ‘anti-sex’ beds as once athletes have completed their competition they are in the company of thousands of other athletes equally divided between the sexes and feeling free to party to their heart’s content once they have gone as far as they can in their own competition. After all, a sprinter could fail in their heat which means that their Olympics might be over in 10-12 seconds. One American athlete has claimed that some 70%-80% of athletics engage in amorous liaisons whilst at the Olympic games and therefore the question arises whether the beds provided are fit for purpose. As the sportsmen and women began arriving at their accommodation in the ‘city of love’, they were being directed to a ‘mattress fitting’ zone. They are measured for size and weight and an AI computer tool personalises their mattress’s density – to provide what the Japanese inventor claims will give them the comfiest night’s sleep an Olympian has ever had. Motokuni Takaoka, founder of the Airweave mattress company, told the Mail: ‘I was a marathon runner so I appreciate how important it is to have a good sleep before an event.’ The cardboard beds provided in Paris’ Olympic village are sturdy enough to hold up to three, according its inventor. A former marathon runner, Motokuni Takaoka said the beds were ‘very robust’ and ‘tough’ so athletes could do whatever they wanted on them. Yesterday Team GB diver Tom Daley, 30, was among those eager to debunk the myth, as he leapt about on his cardboard bed in a TikTok video while saying: ‘As you can see, they are pretty sturdy.’
As we went out this morning and I was wheeling Meg towards the main Kidderminster Road, we were intercepted by one of neighbours who lives around the corner but we have not seen for several months now. She was explaining to us how her daughter-in-law had lost a baby in the middle of the COVID crisis but now she is expecting twins shortly and is due to give birth in a couple of months. I explained the situation with myself and Meg and she told us to call around on a Wednesday when she is not at work. This we will almost certainly do because even though our domestic help calls around on a Wednesday, I often take Meg for a little walk somewhere so tea with a neighbour sounds pleasant. Our son and daughter-in-law are off on a break for the next ten days or so Meg will and I will certainly seize the opportunity to chat with people as and when we can.
In the American presidential campaign, I came across an interesting quote from ex-adviser to Donald Trump. According to this source ‘If I were on the Harris campaign, I would attack Donald Trump on his record with immigration. It was a total failure. Barack Obama deported more people than Trump. Trump said he was going to have Mexico pay for a wall. I would go in and say he has the greatest failure that we have had. And that is what the Biden administration handled’
© Mike Hart [2024]