Every day more athletes arrive and the atmosphere is building with each new morning at the lake. I feel particularly fortunate to have a great role within one of the most beautiful Olympic venues at Eton Dorney. I've signed up to do more shifts and will now be at the venue for all but one of the competition days.
Due to standard procedure I can't reveal much of the details but I can say it has exceeded my expectations and everything is rapidly taking shape. One of the highlights of my day is the cycle to work. The route from Englefield Green to Windsor is surrounded with quintessential English countryside. As I cycle at sun rise, I have the crown farm on one side, with forever stretching golden corn fields, and the ominous Windsor Castle emerging from the pinky mist on the other. The roads are empty and the birds are the only animals making a sound. I'm going to take my camera on this journey next week.
Inside the venue I am starting to reap the rewards of the sponsorship of Coca Cola and I hope this will be replicated by Cadbury next week. My role operates within the athlete preparation area and this up close experience is one of the main reasons why I applied in the first place. Bag drop is one of the few positions where you can readily talk to the athletes whether this is in espanol or ingles, depending on the circumstances a lot of the athletes enjoy a bit of light conversation and banter. USA are particularly gregarious and are always fun when they come in. I will find out after the Games whether I have made it onto 'The List' although I'm not particularly hopeful at this time.
I'm spending a day exploring London tomorrow before starting the incredibly busy wind up to the start next Saturday. Everyone is very conscious of the magnitude of the event. Four years is a long, long time to prepare for one moment and its intriguing to see how the enormity of the occasion is affecting each person involved. It should be an interesting week.
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