Even though I don't think I watched 5 mins of the Athens 2004 Olympics but over the last two weeks we became Olympic junkies. It was impossible to be in Beijing and not be caught up in the excitement of the events and be amazed by the splendour of the venues.
Boris, Seb Coe, David Beckam and Gordo (in yellow square) watch the US win the men and women's 4 x 400 relay on the last night of the Beijing Olympics Of course, seeing Britain enjoy such success was a big plus. What a result - we held on to third place in the medal table (non-US ranking system; most golds lead) for nearly the whole of the second week and just lost out to Russia by two golds in the last 24 hours.
The final event we went to was the last evening of the athletics where, along with Beckham, Seb, Gordon and Boris, we watched the USA sweep the men's and women's 400m relays and an amazing Belgian woman - Tia Hellebaut - jump 2.09m. Afterwards, I stood against a wall and measured the height. I just couldn't believe that anyone was capable of jumping this high off the ground totally unaided.
And how about the London 'teaser'? We presented the five great pillars of UK society - the London Bus, the privet hedge, rain, Led Zeppelin and David Beckham. How much did we pay Beckham to stand there smiling, waving and then kick a ball into the crowd? And what was story with Boris? Good for him to fly economy to Beijing but surely the mayoral budget runs to funding a suit with a jacket that buttons up and the has the right length sleeves? At least we, and the rest of the world, didn't have to look at Ken Livingston's smug grin as he waved the Olympic flag. London so deserves more than either of them.
Anyway, we have next four years ahead of us for the memory of last night to fade and for London to get ready. I'm sure we will do a great job and I am ready to volunteer!
I'm ready, and in training, to carry the torch for GB in 2012
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