Olympics takes my mind off scan results
29 Jul 2012
<The Men's Olympic Road Race heads out through Richmond Park>
I get the results of my latest CT scan and bone scan tomorrow and - although I've tried to push it to the back of my mind (and also tried not to raise my hopes about the outcome) - it's been hard to stay completely calm about them. But the Olympics have been a helpful distraction and the fact that I am here enjoying them is a reminder that some 16 months ago, when I received my lung cancer diagnosis, one of my aims was to stick around long enough to watch this sporting extravaganza. So that's one aim achieved!
On Friday we cycled along the Thames towpath to watch the Olympic flame making its way down the river in the Gloriana. I was amazed by the numbers of people who had turned out. From Kingston to Teddingon lock (and no doubt well beyond) the crowd was several deep.
Yesterday, the excitement rose several notches with the Men's Road Cycle Race. Again we were lucky as it passed so close to us. I joined thousands of other cyclists (and pedestrians) in the car-free Richmond Park to watch both the outward and return sections. The cyclists whizzed past in blur, with hardly time to take in who was who, but the build-up was terrific. Just a shame that Team GB couldn't match the recent successes in the Tour de France. What is clear, though, is that we have become a nation of cyclists and huge fans of cycle racing. There were thousands of bikes parked up in the Park for the event - a wonderful sight.
In the evening, we went to see some volleyball at Earls Court. The security was very smoothly handled by the army and it took only a few minutes to get in. We saw a great match in which the USA beat South Korea by 3 - 1 and watched the start of Brazil v Turkey (a 5-setter which I saw later went on until about 0100). The only small complaint: why do they insist on playing loud, bass-heavy music throughout, drowning out the commentary. It seems to be a bit of a trend at the Olympics and sports events generally. I'm also sorry to say there were quite a few empty seats, particlarly in what looked like the VIP/corporate section nearest to the court. Shame when so many people are keen to get a taste of the Olympics.
All in all, though, a great start to the Olympics ... and it's certainly helped take my mind off medical results.So as they say in the wonderful 2012 comedy spoof - 'that's all good then!'.
Search this website
