Is London Ready?

This entry is as factual an account as possible of what I did on Tuesday 25th July.

It is written in an attempt to address the negativity there is from some quarters, about the Olympic Games, from their costs, to the degree of disruption Londoners especially will face, to the commercialisation of the Games, to the security blanket under which they operate.

Train into London from the Northern Home Counties. It was delayed in arriving at my station and then delayed on arrival in West London, due apparently to 'debris on overhead power lines'

Cost:  £38.60 for two off-peak adult return fares and one-day Travelcards for Central London. Parking cost £6.20 for the day.

Bought a sausage baguette, a vegetable samosa and 2 cups of coffee, take away (oh the high life!)

Cost:  £8.10

Travelled across London on the Central Line to Mile End then changed to the District Line to get to Bromley-by-Bow. This was done in about 30 minutes with no delay, seated all the way and for me, rather worryingly uncrowded; I was expecting many more people to be heading out towards the Olympic Park only three days before the opening ceremony

Met up with a Blue Badge Guided Tour around the perimiter of the Olympic facilities. This was pre-booked a day before at http://www.toursof2012sites.com/ and would be my second such tour, the previous one being in May of this year. It represents an opportunity to see, as close as possible within the constraints of the Olympic security programme, the facilities at the Olympic Park.

The tour began with a walk through Three Mills Island and alongside the River Lea, to the south of the Olympic Park. There has clearly been significant re-generation of this area and the guide also explained the level of clearing work that has had to be undertaken in this area to leech out the heavy metals poisoning the soil due to centuries of industrial pollution, before an Olympic brick could be laid. The River Lea had substantial sized fish in (Carp I was told), indicating a level of cleanliness capable of supporting life beyond algae. However, there were also unsightly mounds of Tesco's bags and detritus from picnics around the path of the walk.

Notwithstanding the significant and very visible new-bulid flats and offices, including the cleaning of the art-deco Yardleys bulding on Stratford High Street, there was also a substantial level of less-saloubrious (obviously) social housing on the walk.

There was a visible, but low-key security presence oserveable comprising green-shirted private contractors, Police and Army personnel.

Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and engaging about his brief. He was clearly pro-Olympics, however, when asked by a young boy in our party of 15 'why companies who make things that are bad for you, like McDonalds and Coca Cola' he said such questions should be better addressed to the Olympic authority, but pointed out that the tier 1-3 sponsors such as the aforementioned contributed £1bn to the Games, which was £1bn that did not come out of the taxpayers pocket.

He also admitted that Londoners have had to pay c. £300 extra in Council Tax to help put on the Games, but that he, as a Londoner, did not mind this.

Sticking to my brief to remain as factual as possible, I will not give my thoughts on the facilities at The Olympic Park / Village, beyond saying they looked ready from a distance of about 1/2 mile, but were in total security lockdown.

Very visible branding activity, including large coverage of several tower blocks by Adidas and Gillette among others, bit nothing visible, in accordance with the Olympic charter, within the Park facility itself.

Cost of walking tour: £18 for two adults, for c.90 minute tour.

Left Stratford station after listening to much cheering, flag-waving and bonhomie from members of the Mexican team and their supporters with whom many of the crowd at Westfield Shopping Centre were having their pictures taken. Overheard one local resident complaining about TV people making noise at 1.30 in the morning outside her house and that her car parking spaces were taken by media personnel.

Went to Tower Hill tube station and walked across Tower Bridge, along the embankment to London Bridge Station.

Plenty of tourists visable but no more than usual for a sunny day in an attractions-heavy part of the Capital. Ver noticeable clean-up operation taking place on the Bridge itself and in fact throughout the day one was aware of a higher-than-expected volume of litter pickers and cleaners working thoughot the Capital.

Saw the huge Olympic Rings suspended from the overhead walkway on Tower Bridge. Plenty of pictures being taken with this as a backdrop, by tourists of all nations. Also saw the construction of a very impressive outdoor photo exhibition by Tom Stoddart, on the walk to London Bridge.

Lunch of two rolls and two orange juices.

Cost of Lunch: £10 total.

Tube from London Bridge to Westminster. Sat down all the way.

Walked from Westminster Tube up Whitehall with the merest glimpse of the Beach Volleyball arena on Horseguards Parade. Entry was guarded by soldiers from the Rifles, who confirmed they had been given this task over 6 months ago and therefore were not part of the emergency call up of armed forces personnel as a result of the G4S shortfall.

Walked round Trafalgar Square, down Pall Mall, down Picadilly to Hyde Park. Into Hyde Park to see the Serpentine, venue for the Long-Distance Swimming and Triathlon events. Plenty of waterborne craft still on the lake but the towpath on the North of the Serpentine was closed for security reasons. The facility looked ready, to this untutored eye, if somewhat warm and sludgy (read 'unhealthy') for swimming. I hope competitors have had their injections.

Bought ice creams and drinks.

Cost: £7.75

Walked down Knightsbridge to see the window display in Harrods. No Olympic themes there however, in keeping with most of the streets of Central London, bunting, Union Jacks, Olympic and 'Team GB' paraphenalia were very much on display.

Grabbed a beer and a diet coke in a pub in Knightsbridge

Cost:  £6.80

Back to Euston on the Underground at 7.00 p.m and was unable to sit on what was a hot and uncomfortable train.

Baguette and orange juice at Euston.

Cost: £5.79

Homeward journey of c.40 minutes with no delays and a seat all the way.

Other than the above itenarary, there was visible security presence of which one was aware all day, especially around the major tourist and government facilities and of course at the Olympic Park. The pink Olympic Venue signage on the Underground and at other transport hubs was excellent and, there appeared to be a high number of people with Olympic Games accreditation throughout the whole of London, not just Stratford, who were enjoying themselves.

I winessed no acts of violence, drunkeness and very little graffiti during the day, however there was one guy openly smoking a joint in Hyde Park, something I have never seen (in public) on any previous visit to London.

Apologies for the very factual nature of this blog - I hope this helps you decide if London is worthy and ready for the self-styled 'Greatest Show on Earth', free from any taint of cheerleading or cynicysm on the Author,s part.