London 2012 blog

I'm pleased to say the thirteenth day of the month was a good luck day for the sailors at the UK International Contender competition at Pwllheli. After three windless days, the sun shone and the breeze kicked in.

Seb arrived in time to meet competitors and watch the fleet launch off the beach.

Across Tremadog Bay the gleaming sands of Dyffryn Ardudwy were just visible and Seb recalled his training sessions running on the dunes.



Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club (in its 50th Anniversary) is celebrating its selection as a London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp earlier this year and we were able to demonstrate the positive impact the Games can create for local communities. Seb met several young club sailors, who enjoyed a conversation about their sailing ambitions.

For me Seb's visit was the culmination of ten weeks of success in North Wales. Firstly, with the selection of Plas y Brenin (Mountain Biking) and Canolfan Tryweryn (Canoeing) as other PGTCs, it confirms the world–class natural resources in Snowdonia for these outdoor sports.

Read more of “Welcoming Seb to a potential Sailing Pre-Games Training Camp facility”

Something pretty amazing must have been happening in Mexico in the mid 60s. Perhaps it was the summer of love that got to them. Of course they knew they had the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup on the way – maybe that was the trigger for a creative leap forward – especially in graphic design. I need to find out more and I now know where to go.

Last night was the opening of a remarkable exhibition of Olympic Posters at the Museum of Childhood in London’s Bethnal Green. The Museum is a branch of the V & A and they have one of the best collections of Olympic posters. To mark the year of handover from Beijing to London they’ve created the most exhaustive and illuminating of exhibitions. Just about everything is there – from formal proclamations of the early British pioneers of the Olympian Games in Much Wenlock and the Cotswolds in the mid 19th century through to the current crop of posters from Beijing and some glimpses into the future in London.

I'm wondering if I’ve got the 'sell' right here? Is the history of posters, and Olympic posters at that, a rather 'train-spotting' branch of cultural nerdism? Absolutely not.

Read more of “The Shock of the New……”