Gary Gale

Posts about london2012

The Olympic Tube Map

soft spot for maps of the London Underground network ever since I saw one on the back of an old London A-Z street map far too many years ago.

In case you hadn't noticed, London hosted the 2012 Olympic Games a few weeks ago so what could be more natural than a map of the Tube with famous Olympic athletes in the place of the more familiar and geographically correct station names. Maybe Chris Boardman instead of Swiss Cottage, Victoria Pendleton instead of St. John's Wood or Daley Thompson in place of Baker Street?

Hop over to the Transport for London web site and for between £3.99 and £49.00, the Olympic Legends Tube Map can be yours. I certainly want one. Huge amounts of kudos go to my darling wife for spotting this in the first place.

Not all maps are created equal. I've always had a soft spot for maps of the London Underground network ever since I saw one on the back of an old London A-Z street map far too many years ago.

In case you hadn't noticed, London hosted the 2012 Olympic Games a few weeks ago so what could be more natural than a map of the Tube with famous Olympic athletes in the place of the more familiar and geographically correct station names. Maybe Chris Boardman instead of Swiss Cottage, Victoria Pendleton instead of St. John's Wood or Daley Thompson in place of Baker Street?

Hop over to the Transport for London web site and for between £3.99 and £49.00, the Olympic Legends Tube Map can be yours. I certainly want one. Huge amounts of kudos go to my darling wife for spotting this in the first place.

When The Olympics Left Teddington

the end of the road in the part of London where I live.

And then the Games finished, but they left something behind. A Teddington Olympic legacy if you will.

Definitely to be filed under local interest only, but a few week's back the 2012 Olympic Games came to London. Part of the Games came to the part of London where I live. Actually part of the games came to the end of the road in the part of London where I live.

And then the Games finished, but they left something behind. A Teddington Olympic legacy if you will.

Look out for our painters in Teddington tomorrow. @mo_farah will have a 2nd #GoldPostBox appearing there in the morning!

— Royal Mail News (@royalmailnews) August 11, 2012

It turned out that Mo Farah, only the seventh man in history to win the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races in the same Olympic Games, used to work at Sweatshop, a local business in Teddington founded by British athlete and founder of the London Marathon, Chris Brasher. In honour of Mo's success, his management company sponsored the Royal Mail to paint a postbox gold. This is not the first of Mo's Golden Postboxes, the first is over in Isleworth, but it's certainly proved popular with the local population and makes a lasting, though for how long no-one knows, legacy of when the Olympics came to and left Teddington.

Normal maps and geo related postings will resume soon.

When The Olympics Came To Teddington

But also yes, the opening ceremony was amazing. And yes, my home town in the suburbs of London is slap bang in the middle of the cycling road race events.

Generic Photo Shot

And yes, when the Olympics came to Teddington, right to the end of the road where I live, it was utterly and truly amazing. For once, the overused cliche of "once in a lifetime experience" seems utterly apt.

Yes, it was difficult if not impossible to get tickets. Yes, it's overly political. Yes, LOCOG has been overly aggressive in protecting its idea of what the Olympic brand is and in supposedly protecting the interests of the sponsors. Yes, it absolutely sucks that you can only use a Visa card to pay for anything Olympic related.

But also yes, the opening ceremony was amazing. And yes, my home town in the suburbs of London is slap bang in the middle of the cycling road race events.

Generic Photo Shot

And yes, when the Olympics came to Teddington, right to the end of the road where I live, it was utterly and truly amazing. For once, the overused cliche of "once in a lifetime experience" seems utterly apt.