I’m writing this the day after the parade. It all feels very final. Louis Smith may be confirmed for Strictly, Victoria Pendleton’s book is now on order, and my flag still flaps defiantly above the telly, but we don’t live in that happy place anymore. Soon, the fact that we saw a horse dance to the Lion King will be a distant memory. We’ll have to nudge ourselves to remember all those grown-up-people on little-people bikes and how they used to fly over things called the Widow Maker. And this red button, what’s this for, I’m sure it used to be for something really important?
Do we really have to wait another four years before we can get emotional about rip entries? And sink into a hypnotic state while watching someone shoot pink pellets? I will miss high-fiving the pink and purple people on the way to work. I will miss watching Jake and Cav falling in man-love. And I will miss it being OK to have that rare form of tourettes where you can scream ‘OMG IT’S AMAZING!’ at anyone that accidentally makes eye contact with you on the tube.
But as I drag myself towards the general acceptance that it’s over, I refuse to let go altogether. That wide-eyed, anything-is-possible attitude that took hold of us for those magical few weeks. And as part of this flurry of inspiration / difficulty-accepting-change-and-moving-on, I present to you my new blog.
I plan to have a go at every Olympic and, where possible, Paralympic sport, and report back to you on how easy (or not) it is to get involved, what it’s like to start from fresh as an adult, and what it’s like to train. Because it’s not just the kids that were inspired. Many of those sports looked like great fun and could potentially be a way for us to get fit and stay in shape, to meet new people in our local area, or just to try something new! How fun does that canoe slalom look?! Flying around a jacuzzi for giants?! Yes please!
