Official Olympics Moaning Thread

**Fruity** · 04-08-12, 22:12

Originally Posted by murcan

If you don't mind, we'll present the officers side of the issue, thank you.

BTP? What's that when it's at home?

Home Page - a national police force that covers the rail network.

**murcan** · 04-08-12, 23:41

Originally Posted by Fruity

Home Page - a national police force that covers the rail network.

So transporting wanker cyclists would be part of their job then.

**Mussels** · 08-08-12, 10:07

I was hoping that a visit to the Stadium wouldn't be painful with a couple of young kids, unfortunately it looks like I'm wrong. Shame really as I'd like to take the family but not if I can't take water in and there are long queues for inadequate facilities. Their answer to not enough drinks fountains was to have extra staff selling water, they should have been giving bottles away as they screwed up. I see the same problems here as I do at any big London event, the Millenium dome was the same. Events with heavy public subsidies should be run for the public and not spoiled to make the sponsors a few more quid. They never seem to learn, or maybe it's the suffering public that needs to learn.

BBC News - Olympic food and drinks shortages prompt supplies boost
BBC News - London 2012 Olympics: What's it like to bring the kids?

**murcan** · 08-08-12, 11:46

Originally Posted by Mussels

I was hoping that a visit to the Stadium wouldn't be painful with a couple of young kids, unfortunately it looks like I'm wrong. Shame really as I'd like to take the family but not if I can't take water in and there are long queues for inadequate facilities. Their answer to not enough drinks fountains was to have extra staff selling water, they should have been giving bottles away as they screwed up. I see the same problems here as I do at any big London event, the Millenium dome was the same. Events with heavy public subsidies should be run for the public and not spoiled to make the sponsors a few more quid. They never seem to learn, or maybe it's the suffering public that needs to learn.

BBC News - Olympic food and drinks shortages prompt supplies boost
BBC News - London 2012 Olympics: What's it like to bring the kids?

That second link is and advertisement, not a report.
I really have to think that when they installed the water fountains the organizers were thinking they can't make money off of free water, so they put in the minimum number of fountains public safety would allow.

**Mussels** · 08-08-12, 12:47

Originally Posted by murcan

That second link is and advertisement, not a report.
I really have to think that when they installed the water fountains the organizers were thinking they can't make money off of free water, so they put in the minimum number of fountains public safety would allow.

It starts off like an advert but later on points out there is almost no shelter in the park and long queues for the few things that would keep kids amused, parents are commenting about having to chase their bored children around. It seems parents are taking kids as an educational trip rather than a nice day out, I don't fancy putting us through all that hassle just to say we were there.

**McNab** · 08-08-12, 12:51

Originally Posted by Mussels

It starts off like an advert but later on points out there is almost no shelter in the park and long queues for the few things that would keep kids amused, parents are commenting about having to chase their bored children around. It seems parents are taking kids as an educational trip rather than a nice day out, I don't fancy putting us through all that hassle just to say we were there.

It's a sports arena, not Alton Towers.

**Mussels** · 08-08-12, 12:56

Originally Posted by McNab

It's a sports arena, not Alton Towers.

Considering the tag line is 'inspiring a generation' and it's all about getting children into sport and getting famiies into the stadiums they haven't really thought about it.
I'm not looking for Butlins entertainment but I do at the minimum require drinking water as I'm pretty much banned from taking it in with me. Adequate shelter is also pretty high on the list of requirements, they seem to not care as long as it looks good in promo photos.

**McNab** · 08-08-12, 13:16

Originally Posted by Mussels

Considering the tag line is 'inspiring a generation' and it's all about getting children into sport and getting famiies into the stadiums they haven't really though about it.
I'm not looking for Butlins entertainment but I do at the minimum require drinking water as I'm pretty much banned from taking it in with me. Adequate shelter is also pretty high on the list of requirements, they seem to not care as long as it looks good in promo photos.

Sorry, it reads a bit more brusque than I intended. I left one of these

off the end I think.

I'll agree about water if you can't take your own, but people moaning that they had to keep their kids entertained is a bit off. It's a sporting venue set in a park. If you went to a normal park you'd still have to chase the kids, play football or fly a kite to stop them getting bored. You also wouldn't take them to stand outside Wembley statium or Anfield and expect there to be entertainment laid on for them.

As for shelter, again, at a normal park it's not provided as standard.

I've got to say, I've been pretty much anti-games so far, but seeing that it all seems to be going quite smoothly, everything was finished on time, Team GB is doing well and there hasn't been gridlock, I don't mind it so much any more. Sure I'm still not interested in the actual sports, but at least I can look at it and think that Britain did a good job of putting on the games and if there are people enjoying that, I wouldn't take it away from them.

That last bit isn't aimed at you, Mussels, just a general comment.

**Yarbles** · 11-08-12, 00:41

Wankpiss

**Hawkman** · 11-08-12, 11:32

A mate went to the outdoor thing at Hyde park and said he objected to the £5 pint of Heineken and £2.50 for a bottle of coke etc.

**murcan** · 12-08-12, 11:16

Have they had the closing ceremonies yet or is that tonight? I've only caught a glimpse or two of the games. Fortunately this thread won't have to end because there will be no end of repercussions from the games in coming months. Questions about were they worth it to London? What's going to happen to the venues now? Will the neighborhood be improved or will it all go derelict in a few years? Were the games run at a profit for LOCOG? Did the Tories come out of it with more money than when they went in? How did their cronies fare in the games. Will local businesses be able to use London 2012 and other phrases from the public domain immediately or do the sponsors still need to make up for their investment in the games?

**1913** · 12-08-12, 15:14

I wonder what the fawning arse lick BBC will use as an excuse to avoid doing a Panorama program on the reality of this multi million pound fraud.

**NyseriA** · 12-08-12, 17:31

I've just got back from policing it and there are 4 points that I'd like to make (although some may indeed ramble into what could have been 5 or 6 points

1.) The atmosphere was excellent. Yesterday, we counted in the first 5 hours that we had pictures taken with people over 500 times. It lulled a bit whilst the main events were on but then rocketed up to 700 and then I lost count because there were so many. Doing The Mo and The Bolt for visitors from all over the world, particularly the spectacular 6 foot blonde from the Czech Republic who had a flag on both sides of her very ample cleavage, was a duty that was a pleasure. I haven't checked (and I kind of hope it's not there, because words may be had) but we did have a photo taken with the whole PSU (18 officers, 3 sergeants and a chief inspector) with a large contingent of Jamaicans with the flag and everyone doing a Usain Bolt). Brilliant

2.) The crowd were so warm to the police. We had a family come up to us for a picture and the youngest son (about 6) was terrified, trying to run away from his mother who was trying to drag him back. The father gave me the infant (must have been about 9 months) and the 6 year old eyed us suspiciously. After a few minutes of trying to coax him over, I gave him my hat and he beamed a massive smile and came over. In broken English his father said that he was scared of police officers because where they were from (no idea where, he said it in his native tongue, but sounded African) the police officers routinely beat people. I hope they use the picture in training to show their police what the entire point of being a police officer is...

People from everywhere, including the UK were coming up to us and saying thanks, it makes a change from people hurling abuse but then, I suspect that it's entirely different sectors of society that we were dealing with and it was nice to deal with nice people for once.

3.) An American Decathlete (I think it was Tim Bright) came up to us afterwards and, quite emotionally, said how it was the best games he had ever been to by a considerable margin and he had been to 5 in total. He said that everything from the venues, the crowds, the city, the volunteers, the police and the military had been exceptional and that all the athletes in the village had said so.

If we have atheletes AND the public saying they loved it, it must have been good. It would have been nice to see some of the commericalism removed a little, particularly these reports of not enough water if they were true, but perfection only happens in nirvana.

4.) I saw Sharon Davies and she is stunning. Shortly after though:

ERMAHGERD!.jpg

Denise Lewis is absolutely stunning (and very pleasant, despite being in a rush

)

PS: Lirish, were you one of the CO dudes in blue who were per...monitoring the crowd from high up in Westfield?

**Splat** · 12-08-12, 17:42

Originally Posted by NyseriA

If we have atheletes AND the public saying they loved it, it must have been good.

I was thinking this doesn't look much like moaning. Are you easily confused, or is it the nature of your job that you'd only have posted here if there had been riots, mayhem and projectiles thrown at you?

PS: Well done for the positive comments about the police.