On Friday 26 Sept, along with Annabel from our Communications team, I accompanied Paul Deighton on a visit to the East of England region. We met with our host, Cllr Stephen Castle in Benfleet, Essex, before a meeting of the Nations and Regions East board, where Paul gave a motivational update on LOCOG’s current progress in preparation for 2012, and on the buzz generated by Beijing.

We then moved on to see some progress in action at Deanes school, Specialist Sports College in Benfleet. Here we saw students give a phenomenal gymnastics display, followed by some impressive karate, rigorous gym work and a round of hard hitting tennis, where Paul looked for tips to improve his forehand.

We got to see some of the proactive work this college has been doing since the bid was won and how they are using the Education programme Get Set, to involve students in the excitement of the Games 

Next Paul had the daunting task of facing a Q&A from an extremely informed audience of students.

We then paid a visit to the spectacular setting for our 2012 Mountain Biking Venue, at nearby Hadleigh Farm, a location owned and managed by the Salvation Army, on the site of a Norman castle.


Cllr Stephen Castle, Nations and Regions Group Member for East of England proudly descibed for Paul, plans for the venue and pointed out the view of the Thames estuary from where Canary Wharf can be seen on a clear day.

Finally we dropped by Chalkwell Park in Southend, where the 'Village Green' project which has been awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark, was busy setting up and rehearsing for the Open Weekend event the next day. Colette Bailey, MD of Metal and producer of 'Village Green', talked us through the plethora of activity planned for the weekend, before we got an impromptu performance from local band, the Seasiders.

This was a day filled with variety, enthusiasm and anticipation for four wonderful years to come.

Special thanks must go to Katie Huane (Regional Project Manager for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games NRE) and Loretta Sollars (Head of Olympic and Sports Development Policy, Community Planning and Regeneration, Essex), who arranged the programme for the day, and to Gemma Cooper, who managed our media moments and Liz Hughes, Creative Programmer for the East of England.