Bloody Olympics

[Digit]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Roy.

 

[Max Power]

"And as for this nonsense about "soft southerners", I remember working with two northeners when I was a Tree Surgeon, and every time there was a drop of rain they ran for the van! leaving this "soft southerner" to finish the job..."

Hey the lasses up here are as hard as nails

These two are actually a bit overdressed :shock:

 

[Max Power]

And apair like this

were out a couple of christmas ago proving to passing motorists they were not afraid to go commando :shock:
I was so disgusted I drove around the block just to check I hadnt imagined it :mrgreen:

 

[ricasso]

"And as for this nonsense about "soft southerners", I remember working with two northeners when I was a Tree Surgeon, and every time there was a drop of rain they ran for the van! leaving this "soft southerner" to finish the job..."

Hey the lasses up here are as hard as nails



These two are actually a bit overdressed :shock:

I wonder if their up for a bit of treework! :mrgreen:

 

[theartfulbodger]

Well being a southerner I think the Norfolk Broads are much prettier than the Bakewell Tarts!

Roy.

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Blister]

Don't start me off :evil:

£9.5 BILLION so people can throw a ball and a stick and run as fast as they can :roll:

Then they all go home and we have to pick up the bill :evil:

 

[Jonzjob]

I am staying out of this one. I have already had my fingers smacked for less than has appeared in this thread so far :mrgreen: :mrgreen: !

just as a matter of interest, my old man and my grandad were Cockneys because they were born within the sound of Bow Bells. I'm not as I was born in Brentford, not my fault!

All through the war there were NO Cockneys because the bells were silent, only to be rung in the event of invasion, so there are a boat load of Non-Cockneys out there! :shock:

 

[Gary]

Don't start me off :evil:

£9.5 BILLION so people can throw a ball and a stick and run as fast as they can :roll:

Then they all go home and we have to pick up the bill :evil:

But remember what Dave says, we're all in this together.

 

[cutting42]

I am staying out of this one. I have already had my fingers smacked for less than has appeared in this thread so far :mrgreen: :mrgreen: !

I like the thread, it keeps all the whining and moaning localised so the rest of us don't have to hear it unless we open the door

 

[BigShot]

I wholeheartedly concur, Jacob. I don't even live in the same country as the 2012 Olympics yet am already fed up with the constant coverage. I have no intention whatever in attending any of the events and I doubt that I will watch very much of it on TV. :-x :-x

Why we have to put up with (pay for) this type of over-extravagent event in such times of austerity, I do not know. :duno:

Rant over ... I shall get my breath back in a minute!! #-o

Mike

Well, as I see it, it keeps the likes of Seb Coe and his a** licking minions in the public eye, and its interesting to see what company's are jumping on the bandwagon of self promotion.

How is this festival of excess going to benefit anyone outside of a 10/15 mile radius of the various events? not at all!

lets be honest, the 2004 olympics in Athens didnt exactly do Greece much good long term financially did it, so how is this debacle going to help this country? just a thought.

A company in Coventry has the contract to make the Olympic torches.

This has meant that they were able to buy two new 2D and 3D CNC laser cutting and welding machines which, once the torch contract is fulfilled, will be used to expand their business into the general subcontract area.

So, more taxpayer funding of private companies.
Wonderful.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that their business has a chance to grow as a result - but it's not right that the rest of us are forced to invest in their company. It's not also all that fair for all their competitors who did not win (or perhaps, didn't bid for) the olympic contract and now are at a competitive disadvantage, having not had the taxpayers buy some shiny new machines for their company and also being unable to use the prestige of the olympic contract to their advantage.

I still think it should be held in Athens every year. The rest of us can't afford it and they could certainly do with the income it would bring them.

I just don't see why billions must be sunk into building brand new olympic facilities every 4 years.

Does anyone think the F.A. Cup has ever suffered from "going to Wembley" every year? Or that the World Cup suffers from using only existing stadia? Quite apart from anyone who dislikes football, it's fair to say neither have suffered a jot and that Wembley with the F.A. Cup is as much a part of the final as the football.
There's no reason to believe that focussing on making a repeating Athens olympiad better than any other could hope to be - without needing to spend but a fraction of the cost - or that it wouldn't gain the same "going to Wembley" atmosphere with "Athens" becoming as synonymous with the modern games as Olympia was with the ancient.

 

[henton49er]

Bigshot,
Don't get us started on the FA Cup and Wembley!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

It's bad enough that the "New Wembley" was built in the remote bottom right hand corner of England and not in the middle where it should be, let alone getting going on the time and excessive cost of building it!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Mike

 

[BigShot]

I dunno about should have been built elsewhere... and I don't really care enough about football to think much about it anyway... but it can't be denied that having the same stadium for the final every year hasn't harmed the atmosphere or anticipation (for those who care about it) of the event at all.

Costly and late (two of the reasons I'm opposed to government doing about 90% of what it currently does) for sure, but as an example of an annual (as opposed to an olympiad - which I think would only be better anticipated) event taking place in the same place every time it's a good one.

Athens every year, if you ask me.

 

[Digit]

I still think it should be held in Athens every year

Absolutely, declare a part of the country international territory, have every olympic committee contribute to the construction and each games could be sponsored by a 'winning' country so that they put their own 'brand' on the games!
Do wonders for the Greek economy as well!

Roy.

 

[Jonzjob]

Unfortunately it will never happen. too much money to be made by the leaches as it is! And they will bleed anyone as dry as they can!

Long live the Olly Folly, the Olympics are DEAD!

 

[Sawyer]

What gets me is the 'keep up with the Jones' ' nonsense that each Olympiad must surpass all others in facilities, razzamataz and profligate expenditure. :x

And why does anybody take even the slightest interest in the opening and closing ceremonies? :? :roll:

Here endeth the moan.

 

[Jake]

Costly and late (two of the reasons I'm opposed to government doing about 90% of what it currently does).

Very little of it was taxpayer money, mostly FA (not public sector).

The body found responsible in the courts for the cost and lateness issues was - very largely - Multiplex (now Brookfield), the (private sector) head contractor. If you can face a dull read, the various judgments give an interesting perspective on just how rubbish the private sector can be at all the things it is supposedly so good at.

 

[cambournepete]

... that the World Cup suffers from using only existing stadia...

It doesn't just use existing stadia - look at Japan/Korea or Qatar, or even France '96.

 

[kirkpoore1]

I think you guys need to blame this guy:

And the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. If that hadn't made $250 million in profits, nobody would have been able to sell them since.

Kirk
who was 300 miles away in 1984 and carefully didn't get any closer...

 

[BigShot]

Digit - Athens had olympic facilities built a few years back. No need for anyone to chip in for new stuff (well... maybe once in a while if something is starting to crumble like the ones at Olympia).
I don't think I'd even bother having anyone else sponsor it. Just let Greece keep it and get really, really good at putting the games on. After a couple of runs they'd be far better than anyone else could ever hope to be.


Sawyer - completely agree.


Jake - as I understood it the FA paid up about £150 million of the nearly £800 million price tag. The rest being paid for by Sport England, the Lottery, London Development Agency and the Department for Culture Media and Sport. Generally private sector is pretty quick and efficient (the need for profit encourages such) but when companies win big, government contracts there's less incentive for that.


cambournepete - no, not all... but were any of those examples markedly improved by having purpose built facilities? Do any of the others notably suffer from not? I'm not so sure they do.
My point is that having major events in old (but good) facilities doesn't detract from the events at all... and in some cases (Wembly and the FA Cup final to repeat my previous example) the old facility plays a huge part in the event.


Jonzjob - unfortunately I think you're right. With so many politicians clamouring to spend the hard-earned money they've stolen from their serfs on the olympics I can't see any change to a sensible format (Athens based or otherwise) on the horizon

 

[RogerS]

........(or perhaps, didn't bid for) the olympic contract and now are at a competitive disadvantage, .....

You really do have a very weird sense of logic.

Let me get this straight...because a competitor decided not to bid for the business, somehow this is the fault of us staging the Olympics? Did I get that right?

Weird. So weird.