My final thoughts ..........

Unfortunately the fine weather that we had enjoyed for the Olympics deserted us on Monday and we had a very wet visit to Stonehenge.  4 NOC assistants and 10 Costa Ricans drove to Stonehenge via a very dodgy Little Chef at the beginning of the A303.  I had suggested that Leeds Castle may have been easier to get to but since almost every Olympian seems to have visited Stonehenge at some time I can only assume their publicity was better and they were very happy to give us a group discount.  I can now see why they have been trying to build a Visitor Centre since the current facilities are distinctly 'quaint'.  After a wet viewing of 'The Stones' we managed to find a traditional English Pub in Amesbury who were very welcoming and opened the cavery especially for us.


A wet and windy Stonehenge

Outing to Amesbury

Monday: The Day after the Closing Ceremony

So it's all over and the teams are getting ready to depart. The role of the NOC assistant continues until everyone has left.  The athletes would like to have a final trip to Stonehenge and Bath which will be great provided the first day back at work for everyone else does not mean jams on the M25 and everyone is awake when I arrive at 8.30! Apart from driving our final jobs will be checking out the apartments and washing the BMW's to pass over to our Paralympian colleagues.

Athletes Entrance to the Village

Sunday: The Mountain Bike Race

Finally the mountain biking took place yesterday - and it was a great spectacle to watch with 19,000 other people. It was fabulously organised and we got there really early since I wanted to ensure our athlete got there without mishap (rules say never drive an athlete to a competition).  Amongst the medal winners there was a sprint for the line after one and a half hours of cycling. Paulo came in 37th but as he told the press - giving an interview on the way home - he was proud to have represented Costa Rica and it was a great experience to ride with the best people in the world. The crowd was fabulous and cheered everyone home which made his day.

Hadleigh Country Park on race day 

Paolo Montoya before the race

The Costa Rican Cycle Team 

WOW What a Closing Ceremony



Olympic Stadium ready for the closing ceremony





Nicola will blog about her day at the Cross Country Mountain Bike Race once she has time, but what a fantastic closing ceremony....For me the music was Muse, The Who and Queen, but Jesse J was fantastic and Spice Girls and Take That fantastic. Not forgetting Elbow as professional as always. But the biggest cheer of the night was rightly for Nicola and the other amazing Gamesmakers. We have so much to live up to as Gamesmakers for the Paralympics!. Pity we could not all be together to share the experience.

The games may have finished for the Athletes but Nicola is back in the Olympic Village tomorrow morning as usual to help the partygoers get to the airport and safely home.  

Bicycles in Dorking

Cycling Statute outside Denbies Winery, Dorking 

As bikes seem to have been such a big part of Nicola's Olympic expeerience I though I would post this picture from the road outside Dorking in Surrey on the course of the Cycle Road Races.

Saturday: To Essex and Back

Nicola spent a lot of the last two days at Hadleigh Farm for both Mountain Bike practice and technical registration and checks. She took the opportunity to stay on in the Olympic Park Saturday afternoon and sit on the grass with the crowds at the big screens.  Pleased to see the Gamesmakers getting such good press and the suggestion they should get the team award at the BBC Sports Personality of the year !!!


Crowds watching the big screens from anywhere they can 

Thursday: On the Final Straight!

Thursday - another day at the Mountain Biking Circuit at Hadleigh Farm which was previously a country park overlooking the Thames Estuary about 10 miles from Southend.  At least I do now know how to get there; ignoring the sat nav as necessary.  Yesterday the weather was wonderful and I also found my way to the track as you can see from the photos.  On the way back we even managed to find a cycle shop where we could buy a new sadle - the previous one having been destroyed in a crash.  The mountain biking is the last event of the Games although we do still have a man in the marathon.  We are now acting as tour guides in the main with one  of my colleagues going to Stonehenge yesterday and another sorting out a trip to the Tate Modern and the British Museum.

The Mountain Bike Circuit

Paolo Montoya on the circuit

Back in the Village, below is a picture of the Team GB quarters.

More Gold and Silver inside this bulding that the Bank of England!!!