Olympic Round-up

Britain came fourth in the medals table- after China, the USA and Russia- all of whom have a few more citizens to pick from. I try very hard not to wave the Union Jack, but I do love my country- and it makes me feel good when she performs well- even when her success comes in such ridiculous activities as riding a pedal bike very fast and kayacking...

...or in such gruesome ones as boxing.  The middleweight contest in which our guy won gold was all clinching and wrestling and biting. Does it have to be this way? I'm a huge fan of Mohammed Ali's- and I don't remember his fights being so ugly. 

Our middleweight boxer was a rank outsider. I like it when the little guy wins. It happened again with the women's high jump, where the favourite was beaten by a Belgian girl in glasses. Fancy jumping in glasses! You'd think she'd be afraid of breaking them and hurting herself. There was a male hurdler who wore glasses too. He had them fastened round the back of his head with a leather strap.

So much human perfection, but it's the quirky things that stick in the mind.

Usain Bolt's performance, for instance- not because he runs supernaturally fast, but because he's a dude who broke the unspoken protocols and annoyed Jacques Rogge with his clowning around. 

And especially the glasses. I suspect I'll remember the glasses when I've forgotten most everything else.