An Olympic Moan

Having been involved in routine felling and timber removal from Grenwich park.I am well aware of the full extent of the damage that was done to the park by the Luftwaffe .Every tree over 70 years old is absolutely riddled with schrapnell.The place was blown to pieces by bombers going for the docks(in fact tricks were played to try to get the bombers to drop their load on open areas like this) The park recovered from that devastation.It will recover far easier from the olympics .
 
Having been involved in routine felling and timber removal from Grenwich park.I am well aware of the full extent of the damage that was done to the park by the Luftwaffe .Every tree over 70 years old is absolutely riddled with schrapnell.The place was blown to pieces by bombers going for the docks(in fact tricks were played to try to get the bombers to drop their load on open areas like this) The park recovered from that devastation.It will recover far easier from the olympics .

We need a like button. Most sensible view with regards to the damage.
 
I'm a Greenwich resident. And a horse owner. I also have a ticket for the Cross Country event, but I'm so angry about the way us locals have been treated that I no longer want to go. The ticket was a gift so I'm not in a position to sell it on, otherwise I would.

I deliver drugs education to young people, and have to use a car to travel to north and central London schools with equipment, etc. The park has been closed to traffic for a month nearly and our journey has already become unbearable.

The park is closing to the public next week and won't re-open to traffic until October.

They were going to try and keep the Observatory open but they've decided that's no longer an option.

The area is gridlocked. Passing through at midnight last Sunday, the traffic was at a standstill and the queues went all the way back to East Greenwich.

Worst of all is the feeling that it's a privilege, somehow, and we should be grateful.

If there was any kind of legacy, fine, I'd shut up. But there really isn't. There are acres of wasteland in Erith, in Slade Green, in parts of south east London with 20th century road systems where they're desperate for any kind of re-generation. When I think of the environmental waste, all the cross country fences torn down, all the stabling torn down, the 26,000 seat arena (whose construction involved the removal of precious park topsoil), the surface, where's it all going? What a tragic waste. (Although if anyone knows what's happening to the temporary stabling, do let me know as I could do with a new field shelter).


Here's just a little example of how us locals are feeling:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/save_greenwich_park/7456512478/

Moan over.

This is not true. You can take a reasonable amount of food with you - enough for lunch, for example. You can't take more than 100ml of liquids with you, but you can take an empty plastic bottle and fill it up at the free water coolers inside the venue.

I suspect you'll find there are a lot more dangerous things than ground to air missiles within a five mile radius of your house. An aircraft flying over central London every two minutes is one example that springs to mind. Or how about a few tube lines - I seem to recall they were quite popular with terrorists a while back.

Yes, you are being inconvenienced (and compensated in a small way) but is it really the end of the world?

If you genuinely didn't want to go to the X-country I would be delighted to buy your ticket from you :)
 
Ro5ie, the ticket was a gift so, even if it were legal, it's not mine to sell on!

I've just had yet another drenching, cycling home from the yard, and I was wondering what the blazes they're going to do if the rain keeps up, as is predicted? I've never been to Badminton, but I can't imagine it's anything like as tight and steep as this course is. Do they have a bad weather contingency?

Actually genuinely curious, not being snarky.
 
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