10 Reasons the Olympics Have Been Absolutely Awesome

Old Portmuthian Alan White is following the Olympics daily on his blog at The New Statesman:

" Ten Reasons the Olympics Have Been Absolutely Awesome

1. The opening ceremony
As Stephen Glover of the Daily Mail correctly surmised, this was a work of Marxist propaganda. Those of us familiar with Danny Boyle’s oeuvre have understood his political leanings ever since we heard about his famous homage to centralised work targets, 127 Hours. Mr Boyle’s ceremony was a classic piece of insidious leftism, from its flagrant celebration of the fact Britons receive free health care to its steadfast refusal to re-enact great moments in our foreign policy such as the Battle of Omdurman or the sinking of the Belgrano, both of which would have worked well set to something appropriate like Don’t Look Back In Anger. Despite these failings on Mr Boyle’s part, he somehow produced a performance that was quirky, heartwarming, witty and exciting.

2. The lure of the obscure
It’s amazing how quickly one can move from a) Not knowing what sport it is, to b) Not understanding the rules, to c) Being really quite engrossed, to d) Swearing at the TV when the British contestant does something wrong. During the trap shooting the entire process took me something like three minutes and thirty-seven seconds, which puts me in Medal Contention (see point six). . ."


You can also read Alan White's recent interview with former headmaster of PGS, Tim Hands, here:

"As headlines go, “Public school head accuses Nick Clegg of communism” makes for a rather marvellous page lead. This was the story that broke when Dr Tim Hands, the Master of Magdalen College School in Oxford, responded to Clegg’s suggestion that leading colleges should lower their A-level entry grades for state school candidates. Immediately, I wanted to talk to him . . ."