The Relay on the Road: A history within reach?

Little did I know that when my dad asked if I would take a stall for my jewellery at the Royal Highland Centre in Ingliston in aid of the Motability "Under One Roof" exhibition that I would find so much reference to the Olympics and especially the Torch Relay.

I went with my dad to work to help him set up the hall. When we first arrived the hall was a vast, cold empty space with nothing but a few cables and fire extinguishers. Then the various cars began to arrive for the Motability motor show, from BMW to
Nissan, Volkswagen and Alfa Romeo. The cars were then carefully arranged in almost regimental fashion and polished and shined up to perfection. Upon closer inspection (and admiration) of the cars I noticed that the BMW cars all sported a cardboard Olympic Torch (an official one) and a sign that promoted the arrival of the Torch at the Eastern Motor Company in Edinburgh on Saturday the 9th of June, where visitors would be able to get their pictures with the Torch and autographs from various athletes as well. The blurb on the other side of these advertisements read that the Torch would provide "History within Reach". Without sounding brainwashed from corporate advertising, I happen to think this slogan just about sums up what the Torch Relay might provide for local communities, but also the reasons why people might find it a little limited. The Torch Relay is making history, a once in a lifetime opportunity for people to see the Torch pass through the very streets, villages, shops and offices where they live and work on a daily basis. A chance to stand on the same pavements they stand every day of their lives to see the historic torch pass through, carried by someone specially selected to represent their area. But history within reach also suggests that it is just that: reachable, but not touchable. So we can go out and stand behind our gates and be kept back by authorities and we can watch the Torch pass us by, we can take pictures of it and remember it forever through the lens of a camera, but a quick glimpse is really about all we will ever get to reaching it. We can reach but we can't touch. Unless of course we were lucky enough to carry it. Or rich enough to buy it on Ebay!

I also randomly got to see the limited edition London 2012 Mini, which on first inspection I thought was a really sweet and subtle nod to the year of the Union Jack. The car is a gorgeous Royal blue, with a red, white and blue strip down the front left hand side of the bonnet, the interior is leather with a red, white and blue strip around the head rests, and the most stunning part of all is the London skyline on the front of the glove compartment. What better symbol of London than the Mini? And here's a specially made London edition of the Mini, it can't get much more London than that! And then I saw that it was only £49 for a deposit on the car. So here's a specially designed limited edition Mini and it is a little bit cheaper than all the rest! Then I saw the roof top of the car. And emblazoned on the top is a huge London 2012 official Olympic symbol and suddenly the cheaper car begins to make sense.

 It seems to me that if you ever wanted a physical answer to the question of how big and lasting an impact will the London Olympic games have on Great Britain, then here it is. How long, really, would you want to drive about in a car with a huge Olympic logo on the top? It was a really sweet car until I saw the logo. I'm not against the logo, I don't have issues with it, but this car looked like it belonged on the road, driving behind the Relay, a sponsored car for this special event, not something you would ever want to own, nor be able to drive on the roads without a little bit of embarassment. It would probably last the two weeks the Games are on and then you would want to either sell it or hide it in your garage in the hope that it might be worth something more some day. Unless of course you could get the logo removed and it would be a really cool London Mini, but then that might just defeat the point of it being an official Olympic car...

My mum and I then went about setting up our stall (what I was actually there to do), talking to the visitors, chatting about the motor show. Some time passed and then my dad notifies me that there will be a Team GB althlete making her way to the motor show shortly. And I can't really believe my luck! Here I am randomly at an event that I didn't expect to have much connection with the Olympics and I am inundated with Olympic references and now I might just get the chance to speak to an athlete! I thought this would be great material for the #CitizenRelay project.

One of the organisers of the event, a lovely lady called Fiona, even introduces me to Lynsey Sharp, Team GB middle distance runner, and I pluck up the courage to ask if she wouldn't mind doing a quick interview with me. So I spend five or so minutes thinking up some questions then we go and have a chat about her involvment in the Torch Relay, the pressures of the Games being on home turf, the lasting impact of the games and if it encourages fitness and better sport facilities for the people of Scotland.

Lynsey was very lovely to talk to and extremely helpful with her answers, and I can only wish her all the best of luck for the future! If you would like to know a little bit more information about her then you should check out this website http://www.inthewinningzone.com/wz/Magazine/September-2008---Paralympic-Special/Committed-to-Excellence/349/

Lynsey has shown extremely inspirational dedication to her sport, and there is no better example of this than the fact that she has been training in an old railway tunnel in Edinburgh because, as she says in her interview with the Daily Record:


“I hate running on the treadmill and didn’t want to risk injury on the icy pavements.
“My mum remembered an old railway tunnel near Edinburgh’s Commonwealth swimming pool from her training days and we went to see if it was still there.
“It was, and it has been my alternative racing track since. It’s dark, dingy and smelly, but it’s nearly 700m long and protects me from all types of weather.”
(http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2012/01/01/scots-sprinter-goes-underground-to-chase-her-olympic-dream-86908-23672476/)

What better legacy then could the London 2012 games leave than to have the opportunity to provide better training facilities for up and coming athletes like Lynsey to perform to their full potential without having to train in this environment. Although this kind of environment proves that Lynsey is tough and dedicated to her sport, perhaps the London Games and the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 will help to provide facilities at a more professional level for athletes who aim high toward their Olympic dream. As Lynsey mentions in our interview, there have already been examples of this with the completion of the reopening of an athletics pool in Glasgow in time for the Commonwealth Games. And perhaps this Olympic pool will allow new generations of athletes to train in much better facilities and perhaps even perform even better in future professional games. This is something that is very much a promotional tool for the London 2012 games, with much of the building work for the London games claiming to be "with legacy in mind" http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2012/01/01/scots-sprinter-goes-underground-to-chase-her-olympic-dream-86908-23672476/. This is all fantastic to imagine but the age-old saying "only time will tell" is extremely applicable here, and will be something interesting to watch unfold (and possibly even report on in the future!).  

What a random day it was for me, I didn't expect to get any #CitizenRelay content at all but there I was with an interview with an athlete and lots of photographs to take with me! It also makes me really glad to have undertaken this project because it just goes to show that you can report from anywhere, at any time, using such little equipment as a pen and paper and a decent smart phone! You don't have to have the full package of fancy cameras and recording equipment, and you don't need to have a connection with a big media organisation like the BBC to be able to talk to people and report on your findings. If you would like to follow more community relay stories then follow #CitizenRelay on Twitter for up to the minute stories and photographs of the Relay!

Putting the United in United Kingdom?

The Olympic Torch has officially begun its journey around the United Kingdom in the build up for the 2012 London Games in July. Apparently the atmosphere in London is something close to electric as people begin their double celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee on June the Fourth, and in preparation for the Games. But what about the rest of the United Kingdom? Is there a buzz in the air for people in Scotland about the Olympics? Is the Torch Relay generating excitement here? Is it helping to keep the 'United' in United Kingdom? Well, operating as a #CitizenRelay reporter, I asked a couple of locals from the Falkirk area what they felt about the Torch Relay and the Olympics as a whole:

As you can tell from these responses, there is a feeling amongst people in Scotland that there isn't really much to do here for the Olympics, other than the Relay going past a few places, and that the London Olympics are very much just that, London's Olympics. And this opinion is entirely justified, if you don't feel that you are involved, and if you aren't much interested in sports, then why should you get excited about it? And these are some of the reasons why some people decide that they aren't interested in doing anything for the Relay themselves.

But I happen to have a slightly different view point to this, which can of course be disputed too. One of the biggest factors that has drawn me to this project is the idea of community, and getting the chance to chat to people in my local area about their views on the Olympics. I know it is understandable that if you haven't been actively engaging with the Relay as I have, then you might be tempted to think that there isn't really much for us to do here to celebrate the Olympics. But aside from the torch passing through every living room in every home in Scotland, the Relay couldn't really do much more than it is already doing, surely?

To me, the definition of community means a group of local people coming together in unison in support of a particular idea, argument or event. And that's exactly the way I feel about the Relay. Surely as a community coming together to share this historic event, we don't need official organisers to help us do this. We don't need someone to say "At 12:15 on the 13th of June such and such a street and such and such a street will have an Olympics party at such and such place." That's just insulting to us anyway. If the community want to feel a part of it then they can make themselves a part of it. If we don't feel like they are bothering about us then let's make them bother about us. If you are interested in celebrating the Olympics then why not have a street party? Or a BBQ? A dinner party? An Olympics themed quiz night with friends?

The thing we are all most excited about is the fact that this is something that will probably never happen again in our lifetimes. When will the Torch ever pass through my neighbourhood again? Chances are, never. So instead of feeling unincluded, let's make ourselves included. When your Grandkids say "What did you do when the Torch came past your street all those years ago?" do you want to say "Oh, nothing, there was nothing happening for us in Scotland". Or would you rather say "Well, actually, we had an Olympics party and we all got together and watched the torch coming past our street and had an Olympic themed day at work..." Even if you don't much like sport, the Olympics are about countries coming together bringing their best athletes to compete in a competition that celebrates our strengths, hard work and talents, not only in athletics but in many other areas too, such as architecture, art, tourism and schools. So if you want to feel a part of that then make your own celebrations!

However, from my own observations I will say that the community projects that are organised by officials are very geared towards the younger generation. And of course this is important because if it teaches kids about fitness and encourages them to get active then that can only be a good thing for a future healthier Scotland. Recently I acted as an official witness for Big Dance 2012, a series of organised events across the UK to celebrate the diversity of dance, in hundreds of different places such as schools, high streets and parks. This is all part of London2012 Festival, which is the culmination of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

http://www.bigdance2012.com/

The particular event I attended was at a local primary school where pupils from Primary 1 to 7 joined schools across the UK to participate in a danceathon using various Olympic themed dances, such as swimming, running and cycling, in order to beat the Guinness World Record for most dancers dancing at the one time! The pupils in the school I visited were extremely excited as their normal Physical Education classes had been taken over by learning these dance routines for the record for the past few weeks. And as if they weren't all hyper enough, as soon as it was announced that someone from the Falkirk Herald had come to take their photograph, they went absolutely beserk! And this was the moment that touched me the most, and made me forget about all the economic arguments about the Olympics and worrying about how involved Scotland feels. It made these kids' day to know that what they were doing was important enough to be in the Falkirk Herald! It made them feel special and significant and super excited! Somebody cared what they were doing enough to take their picture! And maybe there are things in the bigger picture to think about, but for that one minute this little community felt like someone cared about them, and to me, if the Relay makes even just one person from one little community feel special then it can't be such a bad thing to want to get involved!

I do agree though with much of what my interviewees said about the lasting impact of the games. Whilst it is encouraging that an ethos of fitness and healthy lifestyle is being generated by excitement surrounding the games, how long might this last? Will we indeed just think about the next Olympics as soon as this one is over? What will happen to the stadiums? Is it wrong to think about the end before it has even begun?

My First Blog

Hello hello

So, I have finally gotten around to starting up my own Blog. I have been encouraged to do this for some time now but have always felt "why me?" what have I got to say that is so great?

I am a recent University graduate trying to make a path for myself in the arts industry during a double-dip recession? What's with that? Who's idea was that? Oh yeah hang on...

So after being basically unemployed for the past while, offering my services on a voluntary basis hoping to get some form of experience, I stumbled upon an opportunity to do some citizen reporting for the Olympic Torch relay around Scotland.

Working through media organisation #CitizenRelay, I want to hear about the Olympic Games from the voices of the community. My quest is to find out what local communities have planned for the torch relay as it makes its historic journey through Scotland. I want to know how involved people in Scotland feel toward the Olympic Games?

Basically I want to hear the communities' voices telling me what the Olympics means to them, and in turn might just find out what it means to me.

Here's me holding the Olympic Torch last year. Very exciting moment!

So thanks for reading my very first blog. I might realise eventually that I was right, I don't have anything worthwhile to say. But I'm going to give it a good go anyway.