STRIKERS

@thin ice wrote:

@Wordsworth50 wrote:

And before we even stop to breathe, the Govt announces that the budget for the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics has been increased by over £40 million.

Want some more bread to go with those circuses?

but just think of all that lovely foreign money coming in to the country
every hotel in london full
charging maximum prices
the taxis ,the buses and the trains
full of johny foreigner spending dosh
the cafes the restaurants all full
not just london mind
even scruffy coventry is hosting football
lots of money coming to the midalnds
when all the stadiums are finished with all sold of or leased
and not to mention the current decline of the building industy
how much worse would it have been with out all the construction prodjects in the east end for the last few years

well done britain
every thing built on time
its win win win
dont it make you proud to be british
instead of slapping this country down every two mins
why dont we all stand proud
and recognise this wonderfull nation for what we are
GREAT BRITAIN
im proud
how about you

I make no secret of the pride I have in my country, and my pride is in Britain as it is, not just nostalgia for what I imagine she was. I include the diligent and ethical public servants who provide high quality services to all levels of society.

The £40 million increse is just on the budget for the opening ceremony. London will be full for the Olympic Games as a whole.

The security budget has also been increased by over a quarter of a billion pounds, but I’m not criticising that despite my tendency to scepticism, because security is a high stakes gamble.

However to believe that a half decent spectacle could be produced for the £40-odd million pounds originally budgeted and approved is not to put one’s country down, or you would have to accuse Sebastian Coe and the others who drew up and approved that budget of doing so.

@mrs_teapot wrote:

You obviously know your stuff regarding the financing of the games words… I wont pretend to be as well informed… but I do think thin has a point.

We do tend to focus on the negative in this country not just the games but just about everything.

For instance we dislike companies to do too well, if Tesco (not that Im a fan) were an American company it would be hailed a world beater and they would be proud of its success… same with companies like BA and BP.

We even do it in schools… focusing money on underachievers instead of rewarding excellence… Im not saying ignore kids who need help but why aren’t we celebrating excellence… we only get the negative news on how bad things are.

I think Im waffling now,,,, but we should back the Olympic games as a nation… its once in a lifetime, lets try make it a good experience for all of us.

Mrs T, I agree with your point about people putting the UK down. I disagree with some of the detail – I don’t think Wal-Mart is any more highly favoured than Tescos, even in the US and maybe I have been lucky, but I have seen a lot of effort going into encouraging high achieving kids locally.

However I have little interest in the Olympics or sport in general. I hold no grudge against those who do. I would not personally spend much money at all on it, but I am proud of our sporting achievements, express support for my local football teams, for England and team GB and the other British nations even when they play badly.

I know well the value of the tourist industry. The figure I have queried is not, I repeat for the Olympics as a whole, but is in addition to a considerable sum already being spent on the opening ceremony alone.

Bear with me. If I was complaining that I was so skint that I could justify my health being allowed to suffer, and that I could no longer support people I claim to care about: If I then borrowed a considerable amount of money and used a huge chunk of it on fireworks, and a state of the art camcorder so I could produce a video of my house to attract overseas B&B guests, I think a lot of people would think I was being irresponsible. They would probably point out an adequate but cheaper camcorder and impressive but less expensive fireworks.

I draw parallels with the Government sanctioning extra spending for a TV show when the health and well-being citizens and the pensions of public servants are described as extravagant. Criticising a government decision which I believe is not good for the country is hardly unpatriotic.

@mrs_teapot wrote:

You make very valid points words and its difficult to take issue with anything you have said.. except maybe we all need a boost… and as has been said there is hidden value in holding the games…

Have to say Northern inner city schools do tend to focus on underachievement, maybe thats the environment or maybe its because to do so attracts additional funding. I just wish that the kids who do well got equal media coverage.

You’re right, a boost is needed all round. Humungous sporting events don’t lift me that much, but I’ll take one for the team. I hope in the intervening months, the Government leaves us with enough hope that the Olympics gives the kind of boost of which it’s capable.

As to the underachievers getting attention, maybe next time someone waffles on about crap educational standards, universal rudeness, rubbish teachers, exams getting easier and other things that devalue what our high-achieving kids are achieving we can all give them a bit of chat-kicking.

@thin ice wrote:

well done britain
every thing built on time

Thin, the most optimistic estimates for the Olympics themselves are 40% over-budget (how do your customers react when you run that kind of increase over initial estimate past them?) NOT including increased security and regeneration costs. This is to be borne by London council tax payers and lottery funds. That’s an extra 900 million, so it had better be on time.

Most of my favourite public projects were over over-budget, so I’m actually not as bothered by that as the Tories who say the budgeting has gone “disastrously wrong”. I am however irritated by the government’s stance on other areas of public spending, where vulnerable people are the most affected.

I do hope the Olympic legacy lives up to its promise of regeneration. This hasn’t been the case for most previous Olympic projects around the world. But we might be lucky.