Dream a little dream - Ella Fitzgerald

Before finally reaching - in my opinion - the Greatest Voice, Ella Fitzgerald!

Cry me river - Dinah Washington

Another great voice,

Misty - Sarah Vaughan

From here to Sarah Vaughan ...

Years may come (Hermans Hermits), blogs may go... on.

Bé, en aquests ultims mesos que no he penjat gaires apunts, m'ha passat per alt el 5é aniversari del blog! Vam fer 5 anys el 23 d'abril. En aquests 5 anys i 3 mesos hem arribat a penjar 848 apunts i cançons, i diu la maquina que hem rebut gairebé 60.000 visites. 

Les coses han canviat en aquests anys; al primer any vaig aconseguir complir amb l'objectiu de penjar una cosa cada dia, i durant dos anys més potser vam anar a 3 o 4 per setmana. Des de llavors ha anat baixant el ritme fins arribar al "lamentable" ritme del 2014 - 23 punts en 7 mesos! 

Al principi només escrivia en català, ara intento fer apunts bilingües. Els primers anys rebia més visitants i comentaris - cosa normal, ja que la gent no visita tant un blog mig mort com ara; i també crec que le gent hem canviat. Em consta que gent continua visitant (perque m'ho diuen en persona) pero ja no es paren tant  a escriure un comentari. Gràcies al gran augment en smartphones, facebooks, twitters, i whattsssups, ara tots tenim molt més acces a tot - i molt menys temps o paciencia per res. La gent tendeix a llegir moltes coses rapidament en diagonal i au, però prendre el temps i calma per escriure un bon apunt (el blogger) o pensar en lo que has llegit i comentar-ho (el lector), pos, cada cop semblen més habits del passat.

Aquests ultims mesos despres de sortir d'un problema de salut i caure en un pou de feina, a més a més que el meu estat d'anims, m'ha portat també a centrar-me molt menys en el blog - cosa que em fa rabia perque m'encanta escriure! Com és habitual quan no puc blogguejar, aquests mesos he pensat en deixar-ho correr, però com sempre he decidit continuar encara que sembla que cada cop em costa més...

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Missed the 5th anniversary of this blog while I was busy making other plans. 5 years old on 23rd April! In these 5 years and 3 months it turns out I've written 848 posts and posted about 848 songs, and received almost 60,000 visits.

Things have changed over these years. The first year I almost achieved my "post a day" aim and in years 2 and 3 I managed about 3 or 4 per week. Since then things have slowed down dramatically, or even ground to a halt for most of 2014!

At first I only wrote in Catalan, imagining my audience would be basically people I know, but about 3 years ago I started writing in English and Catalan so as to please my international visitors. Visits and comments reached a high point around year 2 to 3, but have since fallen. One reason is obvious; if your blog is half-dead (case in point) people don't keep coming back. But I also believe the boom in smartphones (and social networks and the dreaded whassup thing) has led to a change in habits. The easier it is to surf, from anywhere, any time, the more we surf and the more we waffle and the less time we have to take anything seriously. Many people just skim straight through stuff all day without the time or patience to read it carefully or leave any kind of comment. (I'm not complaining for my blog as my aim isn't to be "famous", just I think this is a rather common problem looking at many sites I visit). I'm also guilty. I used to comment all the time on a local newsite, but no longer find the time for it. Back to my blog, I do have a couple of loyal commenting visitors - owe you a beer guys! - and also a few local friends still read me but no longer write anything (they just tell me in person "Oh, nice post"). 

Given my struggles to keep blogging - this year's excuses include recovering, physically and mentally, from a health problem, work overloads, family and friends, other ways to "waste" my time on the net etc - I have thought, for the umpteenth time, about giving it up. But, as usual, I've decided to carry on. There's life in this dodo yet...

Back to the beach with the Beach Boys - I get around

Un altre tema, més que interessant! Quan jo era petit i viviem a Anglaterra, anavem a passar el dia  a la platja alguns dies a l'estiu. Despres de banyar-nos, jugar, banyar-nos, jugar etc, just quan mons pares ens deien que era hora de marxar, ens tornavem a banyar per aixi marxar fresquets de la platja - amb una tovallola baix lo cul al cotxe. 

Quan vaig començar a anar a la platja aqui a Catalunya amb la meva dona, em va dir que no es fa aixi. Despres de l'ultim bany, t'has d'estar un bon rato a la platja, al sol, eixugant-se, per poder treure la sorra de damunt amb facilitat i marxar amb el cul (i el que sigui) seci aixi no embrutes el cotxe. Sempre m'he queixat perque aixo implica passar calor i marxar acalorat quan tens la mar al costat per poder marxar la bé de fresquet. 

No obstant això, l'altre dia vam coneixer algu "d'aqui" que també ho fa com ho feia jo abans. Conclusió: cada u fa el que vol, pero filosoficament ho miro com a la opció de pensar en la comoditat de la gent, o en la neteja del cotxe. Prefereixo lo primer (per aixo es van inventar les aspiradores!)

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Last but not least in this trilogy of amazing reflections. When I was a lad, and it was time to leave the beach, we'd always have one last dip so as to leave the beach nice and cool - and then sit on a towel in the car. But, when I started going to the beach in Catalonia with my wife she told me that things were done differently. You have your last dip ages before you leave the beach, thus allowing you to dry off  perfectly in the sun and brush all the dry sand off. And get in the car nice and clean. I've always moaned about this as it means leaving the beach all hot and bothered!

However, t'other week I met someone from here who said they do it like I'd do it.

To sum up; each to his own. And faced with the choice of my comfort and a sandy car, or my discomfort and a spotless car, I know what I'd go for. That's why they invented hoovers.

Excerpt from a Teenage Opera

Legend has it that you are allowed to break the Golden Rule of "Don't re-post the same old songs on your blog" when it's your birthday. So, happy birthday to me and today I'll repeat one of my fave tunes. I don't have just one favourite song, but there are a few which go round and round my "top 20" for different reasons - usually a mixture of bringing back great memories plus having everything I like in a decent ditty (in this case, simple understandable lyrics, great chorus to hum along to, trumpets, violins, children's choirs, a certain touch of strangeness and/or originality ...).

 So here goes ...

Beware of Ginger Baker

Continuant amb el tema. Aquesta setmana hem mirat el documental Beware of Ginger Baker. Bonissim!

Ginger és un dels bateries més coneguts i més bons de l'historia del rock, encara que, segons ell, el seu primer amor és el jazz. Als 60 va formar part d'alguns dels grups més interessants  d'aquella epoca, com Cream o Blind Faith. Després, la seva excentricitat, impulsivitat i ganes de experimentar noves coses li han portat per una vida "de pel·licula". No se sap com, però ha sobreviscut els excessos i les drogues i encara viu, i toca, a Sur Africa, el lloc on el documentalista li ha fet l'entrevista. Una altra de les histories inoblidables que ens ha deixat la bona musica.

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Sticking with the theme - this week, yet another rock-documentary. The fascinating Beware of Ginger Baker.

Ginger first came to fame as the drummer of 60s' groups like Cream or Blind Faith, and was quickly recognised as the first great rock drummer - although he'd rather be known as a jazz drummer. After the brief exhilarating lives of these groups, his excentricity, impulsiveness, and desire for new experiences led him to an amazing series of adventures in the world of music (and polo!). Somehow he also managed to survive his lifestyle and all the drugs, and still lives, and occasionally plays, in South Africa - which is where the documentary-maker went to interview him. Another fascinating story that rock music has gifted us with. 

Living in the Material World #GeorgeHarrison

Segon documental que us recomano; Living in the Material World. Aquest documental fet per Martin Scorsese sobre la vida de George Harrison és molt bonic, i molt interessant. La vida de George potser el menys conegut de totes les histories dels Beatles, però potser és un dels més interessants sobretot en l'etapa post-Beatles. M'agraden els Beatles, m'agrada George, i tots els projectes que ha anat fent, i m'agrada que un director de cine li dediques més de 3 hores de pel·licula.

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Second hot tip; the documentary Living in the Material World. Martin Scorsese's documentary on the life and times of George Harrison. Maybe he was the least talked about of the Beatles, but he led a fascinating life, especially post-Beatles - being involved in many amazing music projects all the way up to his death. I love the Beatles, I love hearing about them, I love George and his music, and I particularly love the way a director like Martin Scorsese has given him over 3 hours of film!

Something ...
Something ...

Scarborough Fair - Jove Cor Flumine / Simon & Garfunkel

La setmana passada va començar el nou concurs a TV3, Oh Happy Day, i ho vam mirar gairebé tota. Normalment no sóc fan d'aquest tipus de programa perquè sempre em queda el dubte de fins quin punt és real o "trucat", i tampoc són massa justos ja que el criteri per fer un bon programa de la tele no és e, mateix criteri per triar un bon cantant etc. 

Però ho vam mirar principalment perquè actuaven un grup coral de Tortosa i les Terres de l'Ebre (suposo que la majoria de cantants són de Tortosa, i la directora d'Amposta), el Jove Cor Flumine. Coneixem un bon grapat d'ells, tots joves i amb ganes de passar-ho bé. Trobo que van cantar molt però molt bé, i a més a més van triar una de les nostres cançons favorities, Scarborough Fair. Aquí la teniu, i desprès una versió dels Simon and Garfunkel d'aquesta cançó tradicional.

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As a rule I never watch reality shows on TV or these talent, singing, dancing, competitions. Mainly through lack of TV-watching time, combined with serious doubts as to how "real" these programmes are, and the fact that they are never fair - the TV producers are looking for a good show, not the best artist.

Anyway, last week we broke our rule and watched Oh Happy Day, a show where 9 Catalan choir-groups compete - choirs, but with a modern edge, singing songs by the likes of Queen and Adele!

We watched it basically as a youngsters' choir from Tortosa were taking part and we know the conductor (do choirs have conductors?) and half the singers. They were up against some tough opposition - semi-professional groups, music students etc - but did pretty well. Let's see how they get on next week when one has to be eliminated ...

To put the icing on the cake, they sang one of our favourite songs - Scarborough Fair - which you can see below, followed by another version of this traditional song by the one and only Simon & Garfunkel.....

Carrie Anne - The Hollies

Another blast from the past ...

Silence is golden - The Tremeloes #summer

Farem el blog en minims aquest mes com és habitual a l'estiu, ja se sap, Silence is Golden.
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I think we'll just keep the blog ticking over with minimal work this month, as summer is for other things ...! As they say, Silence is Golden.

The sun ain't gonna shine anymore - Walker Bros #ForStupidDrivers

Estic dissenyant un cotxe nou. Primer i principal no s'anirà a cap banda si no has posat els cinturons de seguretat o si nota que vas begut o drogat. Despres tindrà un gadget que t'avisarà si passes la velocitat maxim en qualsevol punt de la xarxa viaria. Si no baixes la velocitat imediatament, s'enviarà un avis automatic a la policia i et treuran la multa del compte bancari de manera automatic. Si passa uns moments més sense baixar la velocitat, el cotxe es canviarà de color - fucsia - i sortirà una pantalla dient "Soc idiota".

Si aparques damunt de la vorera o un pas de vianants, tindràs un avis de 10 segons per deixar el cotxe abans que explota i està xuclat dins un forat negre.

Si el conductor gira el cap per a parlar en la gent que este asseguda en la part darrera del cotxe, sortirà un braç de robot i li fotrà una clatellada. Si intenta contestar o usar un telefo movil, sortirà un altre braç de robot, que agafarà el movil i se li ficarà a un part del cos del conductor on el sol no li arriba ....

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Almost finished my design for a new car. Hopefully it'll be on the market next year. Let's run through a couple of the special aspects of it - firstly, the car will not start up if all the seat belts are not fastened, or if it whiffs the smell of alcohol or drugs on the driver. Secondly I'm installing a gadget which will warn you if, at any time, you're exceeding the speed limit. If this is so, and you don't slow down immediately, a message will be sent to the police and fine withdrawn from your bank account. If you still refuse to slow down, the car will become a bright pink colour and a screen will appear on the roof saying "I'm an idiot".

If you park your car on the pavement or a zebra crossing, you will receive a 10-second countdown to leave the car before it self-destructs and disappears into a black hole.

If you think you, as the driver, have to turn your head round to speak to those in the back seat, a robotic arm will come out and slap you on the back of your head. If you make any attempt to use a mobile telephone, another arm will appear which will then take your phone and place it in a part of your body where the sun don't shine ....

Time of the season - The Zombies #Summer

Una cançó perfecte pel calor de l'estiu, 'tat?
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What better song to suit the summer mood?

Bike - Pink Floyd #Incivisme_o_curtdegambals

Parlant de algú que sempre diu lo mateix, pos, au, torno al tema del incivisme i la meva incomprensió davant d'alguns actituds de la gent. Per que aparcaries malament davant o a prop d'una escola, posant en perill la salut d'aquella gent més fragil (encara que "només són 2 minuts")? Qui diu que els cotxes han de manar a la ciutat, per davant dels vianants o ciclistes? Per que pagaries per anar a un gimnas, si no ets capaç de aparcar correctament i caminar 5 minuts fins a l'escola per agafar els nens? En fi, ajunto un escrit a continuació, que ("jo m'entenc i ballo sol") m'han publicat al bloc Me Moc En Bici.

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Below, a letter I've had published on our local cyclists' group blog. Basically, my usual rant about bad parking and other nasty car-driver behaviour. Why would anyone with half a brain park illegally on pavements outside schools, or on zebra crossings, or double park, putting the little 'uns safety at risk as they have to negotiate this maze of danger just to get to school? Since when are cars the kings of the town, over and above pedestrians or cyclists? And, why the hell would anyone pay 50 Euros a month to go to a gym if they can't be bothered to walk 5 minutes from a car park to the school?

Here's the letter, it's in Catalan, but is basically just a long-winded version of what I've just said. And Pink Floyd.

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Us volia comentar un cas molt concret, però segurament la lliçó es pot aplicar a molts altres casos i indrets de les nostres ciutats. Si sou de Tortosa potser coneixereu l’Escola El Temple, i haureu vist que pels seus voltants hi ha diversos passos de vianants, i un carril bici. També potser estareu conscients que molta gent pensa que a Tortosa hi ha problemes per mancança d’aparcaments.

El cas és que, degut a que no hi ha prous aparcaments just al costat del col·legi per tots els pares que venen a deixar o buscar els seus xiquets a les hores d’entrada i sortida, gairebé sempre ens trobem amb cotxes aparcats damunt dels passos i el carril bici (quan no estan directament damunt de la Plaça del Temple, o les voreres!). Es veu que això es diu “tolerància”. Com que es pot aparcar, per “dos minuts” hem de ser tolerants i deixar que la gent aparqui on vulgui.

Doncs, crec que aquesta “tolerància” (suportar en els altres quelcom que hom desaprova) no ens porta a cap bon port. Per “tolerar” aquests conductors incívics, els altres usuaris de l’espai públic, com són els vianants o ciclistes (o fins i tot altres conductors), sovint hem de passar per situacions incomodes o de perill. I resulta que aquesta “tolerància” normalment només va en una direcció – que diríem els conductors (jo també, que també en sóc) si deixéssim bicicletes en els aparcaments de cotxes, o els vianants decideixen fer un pic-nic? No; sembla ser que la paraula “tolerància” bàsicament es resumeix en “el cotxe és el rei”.

En aquest cas concret, a més a més, no té gaire sentit que la policia local toleri aquesta situació, havent-n’hi centenars de llocs per aparcar correctament a 3 minuts a peu des de l’escola !

M’agradaria pensar que les bicis poden conviure a la ciutat, juntament amb els vianants o cotxes, però crec que de moment molts conductors no ho veuen igual. Una pena, ja que per molts motius (entre ells, la seguretat dels nostres xiquets) ens aniria millor a tothom una mica més de respecte!

No demano miracles ni que Tortosa es converteixi en Amsterdam, però si s’han fet unes mínimes infraestructures pels ciclistes, almenys que ara no ens posen pals a les rodes!

Austin Powers #Corruption_and_spying (2)

Continuant amb el tema d'ahir, avui toca espies:

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Continuing with the corruption stories we mentioned in yesterday's post - So how do we know all this? Well, presumably the police are doing their bit but there's also lots of stories being leaked to the press - from people who probably weren't getting their "fare share" of the "slush fund" (new word there: "a fund for bribing public officials or carrying on corruptive propaganda"), or who've been caught and are trying to either blackmail their way out of trouble, or drag the rest down with them. For example, apparently the King of Spain's son-in-law has been on the fiddle for years, but being who he is, well, only his "business" partner was having serious problems with the law. Until he decided to squeal! Watch this space!

But all this fun and games has now taken a new twist into the realm of Austin Powers or Tom and Jerry.....

An ex-girlfriend (can you trust them? Who knows, but it makes for a good story!) of the son of the ex-President of Catalunya (following?), has declared that this respectable President's son, has been driving to Switzerland for years with a car-boot full of €uros in cash (presumably) on behalf of the political party (CiU) they belong to. And how do we know? Well, she has taken her story to the press and the police, but before that, she spilled the beans at a private meal with the leader of the Catalan PP party, hoping she'd make use of the story. She didn't, she says. But how do we know about the meal with the PP? Well, apparently the flower vase in the restaurant was bugged - a private detective firm was following the ex-girlfriend to see what  dirt she would come up with about CiU? Who paid the detectives? Apparently, the socialist party (PSC)! Confused? So are they, I imagine!

This has now all come out in the press and it turns out that the private eyes have been spying on all 3 parties (PP, CiU, PSC) for years, presumably under the orders of the parties themselves! It seems that some parties even pay for the detectives to spy on their own members or ministers!

And you wonder why Merkel is unsure about bailing us out!

The Letter - Box Tops #Corrupcio (1)

Fa una mica de mandra, però suposo que toca dir 4 cosetes sobre l'actualitat catalana i espanyola, sobretot pels visitants al bloc des de països amb menys xoriços. Un petit resumen, en anglès:

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Ever since Noah had to pay a 5% back-hander to get permission to build his ark, corruption and dodgy dealings have been linked to politics. That is not to say corruption does not exist in other walks of life (who slips the back-handers to the politicians?), but when it's the very people you have placed your trust in to run the country, well, it makes more of an impact when the s**t hits the fan.

Either the press and police are getting more efficient at finding corruption, or they are just bringing it out into the open, but either way, over the last few years it has been a rolling news story in Catalunya (and Spain). MPs, councillors, mayors, people in high places in public bodies, have all been caught with (presumably or not) their fingers in the pie. And nothing happens. Court cases drag on for years, trials run out of steam, deals are negotiated with the public attorney, small fines are paid and Nobody goes to jail, Nobody pays back the money they've fiddled (or wasted - I'd include all the cases of incompetent misuse of public funds too), and Nobody resigns. And most get voted back into power. 

Recent cases include the treasurer of the governing party in Spain, the right-wing PP party, who has millions of euros stashed away in Swiss bank accounts (proven), and has (apparently) been taking his share of the illegal cash commissions paid by private firms to the party, for favours or work. The other share, he (apparently - not proven yet, but quite clear) has been giving out to PP politicians in regular tax-free cash payments in brown envelopes. Including President Rajoy (supposedly).

Here in Catalonia things are not much better. The judges have just reached  a deal with one of the parties currently in the governmental coalition, whereby they have been proven to have received illegal funding and will get off with a fine, and a slap on the hand. A couple of mayors have also been taken in for questioning, one for receiving back-handers, another for (supposed) links with the Russian mafia. And so on. No one resigns. One of the (Christian-Democrat) politicians involved went as far as to say it's a "natural" habit for humans, as old as prostitution! Another said it was simply one of the special characteristics of the Spanish people!

The only thing I ever get in envelopes are letters, and bills.

Beatles, Clint Eastwood and Bill Fay #newmusic

Primera entrada del bloc per l'any 2013, i encara que ja han passat dies, toca comentar la musica que vam rebre de regals de nadal. Despres de calcetins, potser el regal que més il·lusió em fa és la musica.

Pos aixo, aquest any m'ha tocat el segon disc dels Anthology dels Beatles :) Nyam nyam, bonissim, com tot el que han fet. M'encanta sentir les primeres versions de les peces que ja son classiques, o B-sides o "rarities" que dificilment sentiries si no fos per aquesta col·lecció.

Després ens ha tocat la BSO de la pel·lícula del Changeling de Clint Eastwood. Ja feia temps que volia agafar una de les BSOs que Clint mateix composa, m'encanten, i sobretot em van perfecte per a la "banda sonora" quan estic treballant a l'ordenador. Clint i un got de whiskey i ja et pots enfrentar a una nit de feina davant el teclat!

El tercer CD és el nou de Bill Fay, Life is People. Per si no esteu al cas, Bill va gravar 2 LPs bonissims al principi dels anys 70, i despres res més fins l'any passat. No puc fer el xulo i dir que ja li coneixia des de sempre - jo li vaig descobrir potser fa 5 o 6 anys a traves d'un article i vaig buscar els primers LPs pènsant que ja s'havia jubiliat o desaparegut del mapa. Sorpresa total quan l'any passat va publicar aquesta joia.

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Although we're well into 2013, this is my first post and we have to go over the Christmas music present list. After socks, what else could one wish for at Christmas but a few musical gifts.

This year I got the 2nd volume of the Beatles Anthology collection. Pure delight for Beatles' fans, with its early versions, B-sides, rarities, and a bit of Beatles' banter.

I also got the soundtrack to Clint Eastwood's film, Changeling, composed by the great man himself. Perfect listening for late night computer work. Clint's music, a keyboard and a glass of whiskey and the night is yours.

The third LP was the new one, Life is People, by Bill Fay - his first new work since 1971 I think! 

Blac Magic Woman - Fleetwood Mac #Halloween_Castanyada_Festa

Una festa no és una festa sense bona musica, i celebreu lo que celebreu avui, aquesta peça no pot faltar ...

That time of year, and here's another song for those late night spooky spine-tingling music compilations ....

Waterloo sunset - The Kinks #MadeMyDay

Aquest estiu ho hem passat de meravella mirant les olimpiades per la tele a Anglaterra. La cobertura del BBC ha estat molt bé, i hem vist de tot, i, com no, xalat com mai amb els èxits dels Team GB !! I els de Yorkshire – crec que van explicar que si Yorkshire fos un país hauria acabat 11 o 12 en la taula final de medalles.

Una de les coses més interessants que gairebé tota la premsa ha remarcat és que aquests jocs son un bon exemple de com es pot fer esport i ser educat, generós, honrat, humil – quan fins ara per molts de joves els seus role-models havien sigut els mals exemples dels futbolistes. A modo d’exemple, la primera dona en l’historia dels jocs en guanyar una medalla en boxeig, va resumir el seu èxit amb la frase, “It’s made my day” (m’ha alegrat el dia)!

A banda de l’esport, aquest any vaig decidir de mirar les ceremonies d’obertura i de closura com ja us vaig dir al bloc, bàsicament per a la música. Bé, si la d’obertura em va agradar molt, no puc dir lo mateix de la de closura. Va tenir moments impactants  com els Pet Shop Boys o The Kinks, però també trobo que, per ser una festa per als participants, es van dedicar massa temps als “vells” (George Michael, per exemple), que els esportistes de 20 anys ja no coneixen.

En fi, a veure fins a quan podem fer aguantar els bons sentiments que va generar el London 2012 

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Luckily we were in the UK for the Olympics and, although we couldn’t go to London, we managed to get through hours and hours of the BBC’s relatively good cover. What a year for Team GB, and for Yorkshire!

I was particularly interested to read many articles referring to the fact that most Olympic sportspeople seem to be polite, humble, honest, fair etc, and may provide a better role model for youngsters than some of our football players! If I had to stick with one phrase to sum up the Olympic spirit, I’ll go with what the first female boxer to ever win a gold medal (in the entire universe!) had to say, in a typically down-to-earth manner: “It’s made my day”. Wayne Rooney, watch and learn!

Apart from sport, I also made an effort to watch the opening and closing ceremonies for a change – basically for the music. I was impressed by the opening one, but found the closing one a bit of a let-down. If it was supposed to be a party for the participants, why did they have on so many “elderly” singers and groups that most 20-year old Russian athletes will never have heard of. Obviously a few exceptions made my night, such as the Pet Shop Boys and The Kinks. 

Surf's up - The Beach Boys