Lesley Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 The adverts....so many..... I agree it doesn't feel the same with adverts every couple of minutes does it *grump* - most channels manage to show a whole 45 minutes of football without adverts so why can't they do it through the Paralympics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbug Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 45 mins then a break that would be good enough time for cup of tea break etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Went to the rowing this morning, another excellent event. Knowing how much power you get from your legs I'm in awe of the rowers doing a km at speed just using their arms. ED and I went out in a skiff this afternoon and tried doing a 650m course at racing speed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 We were there too!! Amazing wasn't it. Yes, I was worried OH wouldn't get much out of the day as he doesn't ride but he really enjoyed it as well although couldn't tell why they might have lost marks in different parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Too many and too frequent adverts are getting in the way of watching this - having being to 3 venues in the first 2 days and trying to now follow it on the telly I cannot believe how much is being missed live and how infrequently medal table updates are shown. I an hoping radio 5 coverage will be better after the weekend's football is over (which is taking priority in airtime. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Help please? Should we eat before we get to the Olympic Park or is it relatively easy to buy food inside? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 There are many places to eat inside the Olympic Park - lots of stands doing fish & chips, curry, jacket potatoes, hog roast, pies etc. We used the deli one and I had a lovely quinoa salad. There's also a few McDs. They have seating at picnic tables with parasols. I'm not sure if there is anywhere inside to eat though. Outside of Westfield shopping centre there are lots of really nice looking restaurants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Help please? Should we eat before we get to the Olympic Park or is it relatively easy to buy food inside? I found it very expensive - fish & chips £8.50, cup of tea £2.40, beer £4.30, a pasty or a pie (on its own) were £5 each. In terms of inside eating there is a brassiere with seafood on the 1st floor. The brassiere was £29 for 2 courses or £34 for 3 courses - nice food and drinks were a bit cheaper than on the stands outside, seafood bar I guess would be very expensive. The 2 McDonald's are actually the cheapest places to eat and you can sit inside - even to buy water, tea, etc far cheaper than anywhere else. I do like there crispy salad with balsamic dressing - it is not all burgers! The shopping center by the station has loads of eating places and an M&S food department as you walk out of the station (with a cafe area). Despite not being able to take liquids into the park there are plenty of water points to fill up water bottles once you are in the park and plenty of people were buying picnics in M&S to take in with them or bringing in there own food. We ended up going to Liberties when we finished last Friday - cream tea there cheaper than eating in the park! I would come prepared unless you are not worried about the prices - I just resented the lack of value for money at most stalls. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I have the same problem with the Paralympics as with the Olympics, I think it is all too crammed together. I wouldn't have objected if the Olympics had been over three weeks, it was magical, and the Paralympics over at least two weeks. It is all over so quickly, and is only every four years, for goodness sake! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 M&S picnic it is then Thanks for all the advice. We're leaving the house at 7am and will not be back until around 2am, kids eat literally tonnes of food & drink so this is a huge concern of mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Had a cracking day out at the Paralympics yesterday - all good fun. We couldn't get tickets for the Olympic Park but managed to get into the Excel arena on a day pass - got to see a few sports, watch a few world records get broken in the powerlifting, and had my photo taken with a paralympic torch! Even got to see some of the competitors after the events! Food was v. expensive, but the whole thing from getting on the tube to getting in an event was extremely well run. Loved evey second of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I'm completely awestruck by some of the events. I saw the men doing one legged high jump yesterday. Mind boggling! This morning I was amazed by blind football! If you're not easily offended I highly recommend watching 'The Last Leg' every night on Ch4 after the sport has finished. I've rarely seen anything funnier on telly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I'm completely awestruck by some of the events. I saw the men doing one legged high jump yesterday. Mind boggling! This morning I was amazed by blind football! If you're not easily offended I highly recommend watching 'The Last Leg' every night on Ch4 after the sport has finished. I've rarely seen anything funnier on telly The last leg is funny, because they talk frankly about some issues - like the armless brackstroker having to finish in the pool with his head and the Australian presenter was discussing as a child with an artificial leg he wanted to where flipflops so had a space put between the two artificial toes, but they still flew off, so his mother ended up putting velcro on the bottom on his artificial foot and on the flipflops . It is a frank look at disability that you do not always get. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 We got a gold and silver medal in the archery Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 MURDERBALL STARTS TODAY! Really been looking forward to this event and there's swimming, athletics and road cycling to watch. My head is spinning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 The men's T43/T44 100 metres final tomorrow night looks like it will be amazing. Fastest qualifier is the super quick Jonnie Peacock (GB) and Oscar Pistorius and his Brazilian nemasis are also in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Did anyone just see the 800m visual impairment final? Exciting stuff! David Devine coming through on the line to get the bronze, I was squealing at the TV! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Yes, great stuff! I'm always shouting at the telly, forgot the back door was open tonight so next door got the full force of my enthusiasm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 it was interesting watching the mens' 4x400 relay - South Africa took only 5 seconds more than the able bodied Jamaican team from the Olympics. That world-record-breaking team had Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt: that's giving away only 1.25 seconds per person! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 The men's T43/T44 100 metres final was fantastic, it was so tense at the start, especially after the false start. Well done Jonnie Peacock (Team GB). It is a shame the Brazilian was injured and didn't run so well but a great race non the less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue_F Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Yes it was an amazing race! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 I'm so excited about going tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 That was a brilliant display of sportmanship. Gutsy, passionate performances. I am in awe. The entire Olympic/Paralympic experience has been wonderful and now I am really glad that London won the right to put it on. It's good to feel proud to be British again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I have to say, going sight seeing first was a mistake, my poor feet, I walked a billion miles. We visited Harrods, Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street, the Hummingbird Bakery, platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter film at Kings Cross and Westfield shopping centre before collapsing in a heap upon arriving at the Olympic Park at about 3.30pm. It was hotter than the sun, there was virtually no shade in the park, you can't take drinks into the park but can re-fill empty bottles at the water fountains for free but they were few and far between outside the stadium. I wilted under a tree while Daisy & Molly were sent to find McDonalds and vast amounts of diet coke! It's a wonder "Ooops, word censored!"ody died from heat exhaustion. Inside the stadium is MAGNIFICENT. I cannot praise it highly enough. I'm not sure what the current state of play is with what's happening to it afterwards but why waste it on football? The Olympics & Paralympics have been enjoyed by millions and I think have probably left us with a great thirst for more athletics on our tellyboxes and I'd happily go again and again, so would the girls, to watch it there. Too much sun! Our superb view from row 72, only four rows from the top of the stadium. I was in dire need of oxygen after scaling that peak. It's almost vertical. Who would've thought our cheap seats would've been so fab? We were in the shade, if it rained we would've remained dry, we could see everything, it was perfect. A rare sighting of me online, Daisy on the left, Molly on the right: Emily: Midget Minis. I would've liked to have seen them race! These are the remote controlled cars that return the javelins: A Mexican wave: Oscar Pistorious victorious: We stayed to see his medal ceremony and heard his interview and he thanked so many of us for staying. I'd say the stadium was at least 2/3 empty by then. There were around 5 or 6 medal ceremonies after his race, including the Iranian mens javelin winner. Everyone stood for every National Anthem, except for his where loads of people remained seated and despite what a despicable nation Iran can be he deserved more respect for his achievement. There was just so much to see, all at the same time there was a mens high jump final, mens javelin final, womens shot put final and at least 10-12 races on the track plus all the medal ceremonies. We loved it. The Games Makers and rail staff were incredibly helpful but getting home was a nightmare. We got home at 3am. My car did not. At Paddington while we were looking at the screens to see where our train to Didcot would be, a 'helpful' member of staff said that'd be platform 8. So off we go to platform 8 and sat down on the train. It eventually left, 30 minutes late, no announcement to say where it was going or stopping but at almost 2am we were beyond caring too much about helpful nuggets of info like that. It stopped at Reading, as it should, but the journey to Didcot seemed longer than usual. That was because the next stop was blooming Swindon! Where we were told the next train to Didcot was in six hours and turfed out onto the street as they closed the station. We got a taxi home, and the lovely driver stopped at a cash point so I could withdraw £20 to pay him. Mr Griffin drove me back to Didcot to collect my beloved this morning. If the train driver could've been bothered to say this is the 1.05am servive to Blah Blah Blah calling at Reading, Swindon and goodness knows where else, even once the train had left Paddington we could still have got off at Reading because I knew the last train from Paddington to Didcot was leaving at 1.30am and we could've got on that at Reading. Turfing a woman with three kids in tow out onto the mean streets of Swindon was an appalling thing to do. What if I'd been on my own? Would I still have been abandoned surrounded by drunks falling out of the pubs opposite? A feel a few letters of complaint coming on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Just watching the closing ceremony. As a friend posted on facebook it seems Steampunk has finally made it big time! It could just be Channel 4s outside broadcast, but I think we could do with a bit less dark and brooding and a lot more joy and celebration...or is it just me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
