Nigerian Nails....

Nigerian Cone?

Team Nigeria NOC Assistants

The NOC Assistants for Team Nigeria; how we looked when we  first met and later in Games Maker uniform  in the Village  

 A B C D J & Me aka Alex, Bernie Cath Dapo John and Me.... 

Alex, Bernie, Me, Cath, Dapo, John

Design Concept for OLV Flag

Gold at the centre representing the Medals at the centre with the Olympic Rings

A thin annulus with the fiver colours of the Games Makers’ Uniforms – Beige, Blue, Light Blue, Red and Burgundy

Six colours - Green, White, Yellow, Blue, White and Black – found in all the flags of the 204 NOCs

Lunch with the Deputy Mayor

Yesterday I Had lunch with the Deputy Mayor  of the Athlete's Village thanks to a nomination by my fellow Games Makers, I along with six other nominated Games Makers , met the DM, received a limited a edition Village Pin (one of 10,000)  and had lunch in THE Dining Hall.

Compared to Workforce Dining  where  the choice was (is!) MacDonald’s or meat dish with a  vegetarian option the selection  and range of food in Athlete’s Dining was huge and international –American  and Mediterranean; African and Caribbean, India and Asian, Best of British and MacDonald’s. And as much as you could eat!

Within each gastronomic area the choice of dishes on offer  was impressive with great presentation served beautifully.

Access to the Athletes Dining is restricted to those with the knives and forks symbol on their accreditation. So this was not just a treat but a privledge such is the segrsation between Games Maker and Athlete services and access.

So it was a genuine  privilege to be invited in to THE Dining Hall with my Golden Ticket.
The food was just lovely the Jerk Chicken and coconut rice(African and Caribbean)  was the high light as well as the lively banter with the DM and fellow Games Makers. The latter like me were in awe at the choices and quantity of food available, most going back for more.

The most popular second helping was the Victoria Sponge as recommended by the DM, which though lovely to taste, the size of the portions defeated most of us who tried it!

Medals ?

I have yet to see a medal close up. I’ve been close on two occasions.

The first time was at the Medal Ceremony for the Men’s 62kg Weightlifting at the Excel . A theatrical  occasion with colour and pageantry as the three medallist paraded in with the officials and medal carriers all to the music of Chariots of Fire – almost on a par with a royal coronation or  wedding in microcosm  – underlining the significance of the event. The Ceremony was carried out with military precision, wonderful to behold.

Me & Jude Monye 4 by 400 Gold Medallist Sydney 2000

The second time was when I was asked to show Jude Monye around the Village. Jude was a member of the Silver medal winning from Nigeria's Men’s 4 by 400 relay team in Sydney – twelve years ago. They have just been awarded the Gold following the disqualification of the USA team for drug offences, sadly only three of the four are around as one has died. So there's me with a Gold medallist!

I know the medals are there as many of Village's apartments and the offices of some countries proudly display  how many medallists they have:

Seaside 1 Home to China and Korea

Seaside 2

Japan's Office

Seaside 3

Walking Update

Start date 13th July

Total distance walked in those 24 days 261.2 miles

Average daily mileage 10.9  miles

Since competition has  started things have slowed down and almost become routine with the morning and afternoon shift  patterns working well - three in the morning and three in the afternoon. My daily average mileage has dropped from 12m  to 10.9m reflecting the change.