From the sublime to the ridiculous; from Julie Andrews to Dick Van Dyke; from Kenneth Branagh to Timothy Spall. We were uplifted and astonished by the opening ceremony, then had a couple of weeks of extraordinary success while everyone smiled at everyone else and our athletes, commentators, volunteers did us proud. How to come back to reality after that? Of course - what a brilliant conception: put on a typically naff closing ceremony with a load of has-beens (The Spice Girls! - the less talented half of Oasis! - Fatboy Slim!) where the only surprise was the inexplicable omission of Bruce Forsyth, and, there we go: back to the real world, but - because it did have its moments - with a soft landing.
Once again it's OK to be slightly embarrassed about being British.
I am still feeling good about the opening ceremony. I was so impressed by what Danny Boyle and his team achieved. I am amazed by how well team GB did for such a small country. I had so much pleasure shouting at the TV. I will try to forget about the closing ceremony and its complete superficiality and celebration of the famous.
So I am not embarrassed for the moment. No doubt the present government will squander all of this goodwill with their incompetence and lack of vision.
Posted by: melvyn | August 13, 2012 at 12:17 PM
Closing ceremony highlights:
In the presence of 204 countries and their national flags a massive on-screen John Lennon sings "Imagine no countries".
The old men who are what remains of the Who sing, in "My Generation" - "Hope I die before I get old".
I think the irony was lost on most people.
Posted by: Trofim | August 19, 2012 at 08:20 AM