Paralympics

Writing this in the camper van in a small campsite near Brands Hatch where the Paralympic Road Racing is being held. It’s a very strange little site, very ramshackle with the bare essentials. The kind of place I would run if I was just a bit older and dafter than I am. Thank Margot from keeping me from such follies. Anyway it’s fine for us as we are pretty self-contained.

It did mean I had to take a cold-ish shower  using our solar water heater (cold-ish as the sun had long gone down) as the site is being used by ‘Games Makers’ – the volunteers who meet and greet and generally tell you where to go. They got back just before me and used up all the hot water. Never mind – they earned it. They have been the making of the Games.

I took the opportunity of a ‘free day’ to take a bike ride over the North Downs to the Pinetum at Bedgebury Foret -  80 miles of hilly back roads including an 8-mile circuit of the Forestry Commission mountain bike track (red route – ‘difficult’ – even more so with a handle bar bag on). Arrived back just before dark exhausted but a good sense of achievement. A perfect cycling day – sunny but not too hot and no wind. This part of Kent is  very picturesque with lots of oast houses (mostly converted into residences so not sure how they make the beer, or maybe we are drinking less - unlikely) and ‘ arts and crafts ‘ mansions with exquisite views.

But

The ‘free day’ was because Margot and I went to the Paralympic athletics at the Olympic stadium, , after a fairly quiet week at home, the highlight for me being the Sailing regatta at Naburn at whih I actually won a prize, some sort of first for sailing and for Margot a trip to Edinburgh for her selection at the Book Fair though she stayed over the weekend meeting most of the family including the new grandson.

Driving south again for the Paralympics we camped at Sewardstone - in the Lea Valley again but further North. We (I) intended to cycle in to the Olympic Park as we had a slightly later start but a puncture before we even left the campsite meant a hasty change to Plan B and a couple of buses in with our free Travel Passes. The atmosphere in the main Stadium was great and we had seats three rows from the track (all one price for OAPs!)  with the long jump right in front of us. We were on the wrong side for the running finish line but with the help of the big screens you could see what was what. The Stadium was full and the roar of the crowd stunning, except when the blind long-jumpers in front of us were running up as they are guided by the voice of their coach. Brilliant. After the athletics were over we had a picnic lunch in the Park Live watching the   wheelchair basketball on the big screens and then headed off, taking the fast ‘Javelin’ train – also  free - to St Pancras - where we had expensive coffee in the fancy hotel. We then walked across to the new Kings Cross entrance which is a real improvement, stopping to admire what they had done to the German Gymnasium which many years ago I was employed to convert into offices for Circle 33 but put myself in hospital pratting about on the swinging ropes that the Germans had foolishly left in place. Also prompted to look up A.W. Andes a plumbers merchants I used to drive for who were based under St Pancras arches. Now AWA are based in Biggleswade and their warehouse is  a bijou café/wine bar. Their website has a ‘history page’ but strangely doesn’t mention me.

We caught the rush-hour Victoria Line back to Walthamstow and a bus right back to the campsite giving us time to eat and head off to the nearest pub. Allegedly 1 mile but more like 2 across the open fields  which meant an interesting walk back in the dark. We took torches but there was enough reflected light to make out the path until we got to the woods.

Next day I dropped Margot off at the Underground and headed south across the river on the Woolwich Ferry. I was supposed to be meeting Alan but he was unwell but I went as planned to the Royal Artillery museum in the old Arsenal. Interesting, though a bit geeky and not much about the period when my dad was in service in India. There was however a movie clip of a group of officers planning the evacuation of Singapore and one of them could have been him but I would have to look at it again to be sure. He certainly was on the last troop ship out before the Japanese arrived.

In the afternoon I cycled up the hill to the Paralympic Archery site at the old Academy where dad was trained about 1930. It was easy to get good seats and with the help of binoculars and a big screen it was quite an intimate venue. Interestingly most of the successful teams seemed to be mainly of Mongolian extraction – including the Chinese and Russians. Ghengis Khan lives on.

That evening I drove down to Brands Hatch arriving too late to get on the site but slept fine in the car park ready for Thursday’s ‘free day’.