Olympic Tickets

 We have picked up some last minute Olympic tickets and keep trying to get more but it's not easy.  I was given 2 women's gold metal round tennis tickets at Wimbledon Center Court and had to return them.  The tickets have the buyers name on them, shown here in the picture, and you need to show ID and have your name on the ticket or you won't get in.  This is to keep big blocks of tickets from being resold for a profit.  We have Football, gymnastics, and beach volleyball metal round tickets so far.  Julie has scored a corporate ticket with an invite to the men's 100 meter sprint final metal race.  This is the hottest Olympic final which will feature the worlds fastest men.  The ticket value is  £2500.00 or ($3,700.00).  I'm not invited but would be willing to go without a seat as it will be over in 10 seconds.  This is quit a party here in London.

The Games Begin

After a 70 day, 8,000 mile journey, the Olympic torch arrived here in London to officially open the 2012 games.  The opening ceremonies were viewed by millions all over the world with 204 countries being represented at this fabulous event.  This is a ginormous celebration for all the countries involved and quite an honor to be here for the experience.  There are 4 million extra people here in a city of 8 million, so you are at the party without even going to an event.  We have tickets to some events but its impossible to be everywhere, but never fear, the boob tube will get you a front row seat .  We have been blessed with  some unusual outstanding weather mixed in with our normal rainy days.  Love it!

UK Skydiving

Yesterday I traveled 2 hours by train to the North London Skydiving Centre.  I was under heavy stress from my Olympic commitments and needed a long overdue break.  Here in the little village of March I made my 15 th jump from 12,700 ft. and my first in England. That is 3 static line training jumps, 10 free falls, and 2 tandem jumps.  The tandem jump gets you the most free fall time if you don't have much experience.  I was cheated on the free fall time which was only 45 seconds as they open up at 5,000 feet.  I was denied my request to open at 3,000 feet which would have been close to a minute free fall.  They do follow strict rules here for safety.  The jump cost was £165.00, with video £80.00 extra, and with still pictures, £40.00 more. With pictures and video you have a jumper follow you down with a helmet mounted video camera.  I posted the full album on facebook and will follow with the video.  This is one of life's few rewards and for a short time you will forget all your trobules.  You just gotta do it!

Mega Yacht, Octopus

The huge Super Yacht, Octopus, arrived here in Canary Wharf yesterday ahead of the Olympics.  It is a 414 ft. yacht owned by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen. When it was built in 2003 it was the biggest private yacht in the world.  Now it is the 12 th largest super yacht being passed up a few times.  This yacht comes with the usual standard equipment including two helicopters, a 63 ft. tender along with 6 others, a ten man submarine, and jet skis to name just a few of the extra toys.  The cost of the Octopus was over 200 million and has a 20 million annual budget.  There are 60 permanent crew members on board, including several former navy seals.  She flies a British flag with a Cayman Islands, Georgetown registry.  Security is high around the Octopus but I got this first photo this morning with no problems. I'm sure Mr Allen will be hosting many high profile guests for the Olympics.  Unfortunately I won't get to party with them as I had a prior commitment with my mates at Roddy's Bar.  I hope Mr. Allen will understand.

Jumpers

With the upcoming Olympics the London transport system will be busting at the seams.  The London underground train system, called the tubes, moves about 3 1/2 million passengers per day.  I am one of them and posted a few tube photos.  We don't have a car here in the city, don't need one and don't want one.  The transport system is outstanding but does have occasional signal failures and about once a week, a jumper will muck things up for commuters. I am at my wits end, and dam sick of getting held up by 'Jumpers'.  A Jumper is a selfish inconsiderate moron who decides to solve all their problems by jumping in front of a train.  It affects thousands of travelers, it's crap for anyone on the platform close by and even worse for the poor train drivers who see this happen.  There is a big percentage who actually survive these jumps and are rightly prosecuted by the courts.   If you're thinking a jump will solve everything, why don't you get a life, deal with your problems and die of old age like the rest of us.

Pickpockets and Conmen

Con men, pickpockets, beggars and prostitutes have flooded into London almost as if it were an Olympic event.  They are here to prey on unsuspecting foreign tourists.  Organised gangs, mostly Romanian, target tourists by posing as plain clothes policemen asking for ID and personal info.  Romanian police have been deployed here in London to help in spotting the criminals. We have traveled to countless tourists attractions in 20 different countries and these are some helpful things that we do.  Always travel with valuables in front pockets.  After getting to your hotel, always leave passports, flight tickets, wallets, jewelry and purses in your room safe.  I take out a credit card, 1 piece of ID, some cash and my cell phone which all go in my front pockets.  If you carry a backpack or purse,  put in front of you on trains or crowded places.  These criminals usually work in pairs and are very good at what they do. Don't think it couldn't happen to you...BE AWARE...

Olympic Athletes Arrive

After 7 years of planning London Heathrow had it's busiest day ever with 237,000 arrivals.  Europe's largest airport had all staff working with 1,000 volunteers to help welcome the first wave of athletes from over 200 countries.  Along with the athletes are trainers, coaches, family and all of the specialized equipment the athletes use.  A normal day at Heathrow Airport is a bit over 100,000 arrivals and they stepped up to do an outstanding job today.  Transport into London was made smoother with the opening of "Games Lanes" on the major motorways. As they here in Britain "It's Hotting Up"

HMS Ocean

Friday evening we watched the Royal Navy's biggest ship come up the Thames river and anchor at Greenwich.  The helicopter carrier is here to defend London during the Olympics and will focus on air and water security. A 50 kilometer radius of London air space is now closed until August 15 th, to any aircraft except scheduled commercial flights.  The Royal Air Force is prepared to use lethal force during the games.  Trained snipers are aboard the carrier with experience of shooting the engines of fast moving vessels in the fight against the Caribbean drug trade.  Second pic shows the bow gunner with our home, Canary Wharf in the background.  There will be a huge presence of military force here for the games along with local police and private security staff.  The city has done an amazing job of preparing for the Olympics and we will enjoy being part of it.  I will try to follow the Olympics as best as I can with blog stories and Face Book albums.  You might get tired of my blab and lack of writing skills, sorry that won't change much ... but you just can't resist my wit and charm.

Scott & Brooke

We say goodbye again to more  US guests, our daughter Brooke and boyfriend Scott from Arizona.  We did have a great visit last week and had the usual fun touring London city. Again I had tour guide duties but had to dodge the rain most every day.  We did many popular sights and took in a couple popular London shows.  It's fun to catch up with Brooke who we only see once a year.  Top pic was taken on the 350 ft high London Eye, next of Scott and I on top of the O2 Arena and last of  Brooke and I in a Central London shop.  You might notice I like taking our guests to all the high places.  A fun week for Julie and I...

Roddy's Bar

After living here in England for 5 years I finally found the missing spot in my life.  Roddy's Bar is a small Irish pub in South Ealing on the West end of London not far from Heathrow airport.  I stopped at the Bar yesterday and met the bartender and a few of the locals.  The owner, I was told, is an Irish lady whose maiden name is Roddy.  My Great Grandfather Patrick Roddy, on my dads side was Irish, and settled in Nebraska in his early years.  I felt right at home sitting a bit with my extended Irish family and throwing down a pint of guinness.  A fine little pub right where I belong...

The Thames Cable Car

With sponsorship from Emirates Airline, the Thames Cable Car was built in less than a year at a cost of 60 million Pounds. ($100 million).  The cable car is part of London's transit system and the cost is 3.50 pounds using our rail cards, one way.  We took our first ride on the cable car last week with daughter Brooke and her boyfriend Scott.  I like it when the car swings a bit in strong winds, then I feel I'm getting my moneys worth.  The ride crosses 300 feet over the Thames river from the O2 Arena to the Royal Victoria dock by the London Excel Arena.  It is quit fast and will carry 2500 passengers per hour each direction.  If anyone gets nervous and hesitates getting on a car, thus holding up other passengers,  they will be beaten senseless and thrown into the Thames River with ankle weights.  The whole lot of us are in a hurry in this city especially with the upcoming Olympics, so don't be slowing us down....be courteous and step to the side if you want to gawk at the sights.......

The Shard

At 1016 ft. (309 meters), London's recently finished Shard is now the tallest building in Europe.  It is the 59 th tallest building in the world with the Burj in Dubai being the tallest at 2700 ft.  There will be 72 floors in the Shard with a viewing deck at the 800 ft. level.  It will be open to the public in Feb. 2013 with a fee of 24.95 pounds to go up. The building has a pyramid shape totally covered in glass and was finished at a cost of 450 million pounds.  This building which we can see from our flat passes the Canary Wharf tower next to us which was the tallest structure in England.  The new Shard will contain premium office space, a hotel, luxury flats, retail space and restaurants.  We were in Dubai when the Burj opened, bottom pic,  but couldn't go up as the lifts broke down.  We will not miss going up in the Shard next year. Gotta do it!

Cutty Sark

We toured the restored Clipper Ship, Cutty Sark this week here in Greenwich Park with Brooke and Scott.  Built in 1869 this Clipper, with it's enormous sail area, was the fastest clipper of her time.  For some 50 years she was used for shipping tea and wool all over the world.  During the 1930's the clipper was used here in London as a navy training vessel and after WWII she was dry docked here in Greenwich. In 1957 the refurbished Cutty Sark was opened by the Queen for public tours.  Since then over 13 million people have visited the historic clipper.  The ship is now again rebuilt an opened in a modern museum type setting.  If you are around Greenwich Park, have a look.  A worthwhile tour of British history.  Lower photo taken here in Greenwich, in the 1950's

What the Butler Saw

We enjoyed some British humor last night with Daughter Brooke and her boyfriend Scott.  We saw the West end comedy 'What the Butler Saw' at the Vaudeville Theater in London.  The play is the 1967 comedy written by Joe Orton. The story starts when a doctor instructs his new secretary to undress and is interrupted by his wife, her lover, a government inspector and a nosey policeman.  So there is a hidden naked secretary and identities are swapped. Characters lose the plot, their wits, and their clothes.  It was a fun night with a lot of laughs.