Gold!

So the Olympics pretty much rules the waves at the moment*. I have been keeping up with it via online news, watching some on TV and following the exploits of sporting bloggers (like Titus - great pics of the Olympic Park on her latest entry). As a person who's not very keen on hanging about in crowds these days I didn't think about going down to London this summer for one second (or even a hundredth of a second...) but seeing some of the happy pictures online I have had fleeting "it might have been nice" thoughts. It does look amazing. No giant disasters yet either.

I realised as I watched the sports this week that I particularly like the events where the competitors have only their bodies to rely on (no expensive bikes or boats or horses) and so I'm enjoying the gymnastics, the athletics and have even watched a bit of judo. Last night I watched the women's 10,000 metres for example (that's 25 laps people!) and the Ethiopian runner Tirunesh Dibaba won it in spectacular form (see the last lap or so over here). It was just lovely to watch - the winning athlete was so capable, so confident, so impressive. I'm not one for patriotism (ever really... though it is always good to be above the French in the medal table, I have to admit... why is that?) so I don't necessarily cheer team GB more than anyone else but I can get swept along with a good story or a simply dazzling performance. What a race.

Tirunesh Dibaba after her 10,000 metres win last night

There have been sad moments too of course - we flicked onto the badminton at one point (this year's sport of scandal!) and watched as Japanese player Sayaka Sato had to retire in tears (story here) due to injury. We watched it for maybe five minutes, I had never heard of her before and yet I was in tears too as we saw on this young woman's face the disappointment, the years of preparation, the total lack of anything she or anyone else could do about it - her Olympics was just over, that was all there was to it.

On a related note I ended up in a facebook debate yesterday about whether using this image of Olympic hopeful Louise Hazel was a good choice for the Fairtrade campaign. A lot of people (me included) were disappointed that such a predictable "sexy" image of a woman was being used for this important campaign. Others were happy that Fairtrade was using advertising's favourite methods (sex sells and all that... yawn...). In fact I saw the athlete in question on the TV last night (talking about her performance in that day's heptathlon events) and hardly recognised her (she looked good but not much like the woman in the ad!). One particularly fervent online defender of the image called everyone who was not thrilled with it "prudes" (that old label!) and totally failed to see why others didn't find it as purely positive as he did. Sometimes it feels like the 1960s and 70s never happened... and, for me, it's especially disappointing in a year when so many women athletes are doing so well... in their sports (for that's what matters - their sports!).

And finally, the image at the start of this post is Gutter magazine's new issue (it's gold!). I'm quite excited to have a poem in this issue of one of Scotland's most eye-catching writing publications (and it's a simple little poem, a rhymer too... I always have had at least one foot in the gutter...). The guest editor was Alexander Hutchison so huge thanks to him for picking one of my not particularly sexy, no frills little pieces (I don't make it to the finals that often... have sent to Gutter at least once before). Lately I've been writing very little poetry... even wondering if that part of me had died completely but seeing something in a "proper" publication like this has made me realise that maybe it's not over yet for me and the pen. In poetry, at least, a run of injuries doesn't necessarily put you out of the game forever...

Back to the track now... women's triathlon just concluding...



*There have been a few other things going on... it's been sunny so lots of beach trips for a start! Daughter has yet to catch Olympic fever... has been sneaking off to watch "Glee" instead whenever possible!