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As the title says the organisers have revealed the opening ceremony plans for the Olympics..... and at the moment, I've got to say, the idea really sounds like utter cr*p!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18392025

Apparently the show will create "a picture of ourselves as a nation." Well I flippin' well hope not!

If they really DO want to show a picture of the real UK, then surely they'll need a section with some tattooed chavs beating up an old lady for the change in her purse? Perhaps a massive queue to a benefits office with an official handing out free cash to everyone, and even more to those with 8 or more kids? Maybe a mock-up of a One-Stop (a 7/11 for you non-UK folk) shop front with hoards of 13 year old single mums standing outside in pink velour tracksuits, smoking heavily and feeding their kids pasties and sausage rolls? Perhaps the police could also put a few average speed cameras by the finish line to nick the sprinters if they go by too fast? And then they could end the games with a massive riot and some looting of the souvenir stands.

Yeah, it's gonna be great.....

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Not from the UK but I will second that! I feel your pain!

Now granted I left the UK 15 years ago, but just how much 'countryside' is left now within a couple of hours of the host city?

Tell us how you really feel.

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SHARKMAN

WOW! That may be even more harsh that our Breitling bashing. I thought everyone in the UK behaved like Princess Kate?

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

For me UK and England has always been one place I've always wanted to visit. Absolutely love British culture.

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"I don't got the bright watch I got the right watch" -Jay Z

Reminds me of that Simpsons episode when Mr. Burns trys to block the sun from shining over the town. LOL.

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-RJ

Well, i do understand your comments, but I must add my own.

Consider the vast number of exceptional youths who form a group called the Young Ambassadors.

http://www.youthsporttrust.org/how-we-c ... adors.aspx

These fine young people work within their schools to assist in bringing sport and the disciplines it instills into the lives of those who are maybe investing their time in less worthy causes.

I've been working with these young men and women, all from decidedly differing backgrounds, and they are why we should be proud, and have hope that all is not lost.

I've been to Washington. Two blocks from the White House, it's frighteningly poor & dangerous to wander around at night. Same in London. Cross the river South it's not safe to walk late at night. Rio. One side of the road the 5* Sheraton, the other a Fivela. Corrugated iron village where the families go to the beach to wash and live until night falls.

I come from a decidedly broken past. I've known abject poverty. Many of us have. I have big toes that point straight up from not having new shoes from age 5 till i was "Rescued" at age 8 by Hounslow Social Services. Things did not totally go perfectly from then, but hey.

So yes, we could just go ahead and point out to the world that we have social problems. Yep there is a level of extreme poverty and all is not shiny and pure. Oh and there are nothing but baddies in the UK

But be fair, Seb and his mates could hardly put on a show of our inner city slums or our welfare culture as a symbol of the UK. Get real matey.

The games are what they are. Games. A place for those exceptional humans from every country to compete against their counterparts with the wind in their hair, sand in their shorts and water doing it's best to slow them down.

The world is not as big as it was. World news reaches everyone. We are not exempt. Take the view that we are the only nation who's football fans have a violent tendancy.....which is widely thought of. there is a long list of countries who's fan's behaviour is less than angelic... Or indeed a few of the South American teams, who's fans attack officials after a bad decision is not totally uncommon!!!

Driver, i understand your damning of the "This green and pleasant land." Ideal. But actually some of it, actually quite a bit of it, is still really rather green, pleasant and positive.

I put it all down to sales.

It's a sales pitch.

Those who buy it will bring tourist pounds into the UK.

When they get here they will find the cities are cities with all the problems they have in every part of the world.

The countryside is indeed mostly green and pleasant.

The beer is warm unless you order Lager by mistake.

And mostly the people are friendly and will happily take your money for a pie, pint or stick of rock.

Go inner city......off the tourist track. Then think about your own cities and be advised. We are all the same.

I love the British Isles, hate the poverty rejoice in the hope that one day we will be without poverty crime and pain.

But I doubt it.

Shoot me down if you like. But I hope. And I have seen courage and determination in our young people. So, with luck they will succeed.

D

Spot on.

"This green and peasant (sic) land."

Quote: Perhaps the police could also put a few average speed cameras by the finish line to nick the sprinters if they go by too fast?

No, this is the only bit you got wrong, there'll be NO winners, we can't have that, the teachers wouldn't like it.

Grumpy old man bit over.

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Behold my disciples, for I am He, the ClangMessiah. Self-appointed Clangification Crusader and upholder of the true faith. The Clank Gospel.

@Damnfoolman

Hi Davey - I'm certainly not going to shoot you down for your opinion at all. After all, that's all anything on this forum is - nothing but people's opinions - and we're all entitled to keep our own.

However what your post has highlighted to me is the need for me to clarify a couple of things to avoid people getting the wrong idea.

Firstly, please do not think for one second that I'm in any way belittling or having a go at anyone who is under-privileged or less fortunate than others. This is not my intention at all. I was certainly not born with a silver spoon in my mouth and anything that I have achieved in life is purely down to considerable sacrifices made by my family when I was young, and my own hard work and care in the choices I've made since : I am certainly not "to the manor born". I've also done charity work in the past including both raising money and providing manual labour for charitable projects, so having a go at anyone less fortunate was not my intention here at all.

However what I AM having a bit of go at are two things -

Firstly (and this is the main thrust of my original post), I just think the idea of having the Olympic opening ceremony based around showing Britain as some kind of turn-of-the-century (the LAST century that is!) farming community just sounds a bit lame and cr*p to me. The opening ceremony is supposed to be a grand spectacle and seeing the stadium kitted out as a fake field, with real farm animals wondering about and people having picnics just doesn't sound that great to me - sorry. Additionally as far as I'm concerned, over 50% of the population don't live the green and pleasant part of Britain - they live in the cities - so I feel it's an unrealistic view of the UK. Of course I don't remotely propose we show inner city violence (I really was kidding about that in my initial post!), so I think they would've been better off steering clear of any "picture of Britain" completely and gone with just providing a great spectacle like the last two Olympics have managed so well. Lastly on this point I will say that I'll be the first to eat humble pie if the ceremony turns out to be amazing. Rest assured I'll be on here retracting this and my earlier post the day after the ceremony if it's as great as we all hope it will be! And believe me, I DO genuinely hope it will be fantastic as I love the Olympic Games both as a spectacle and as a showcase for the country, and also for the competitors and the work they've put in to get to the very top.

Secondly, my post was also having a bit of a go at the system, and what I see as the failure of the social framework at the highest level. I don't want to get political here, but I believe I have certainly seen the country change (and not for the better IMO) over the last 20 years or so. The phrase "Broken Britain" is still very much alive to my mind. I completely agree that there are a lot of areas in the UK that are still green and pleasant - yep, the generally expensive parts - but as with any country on Earth there are also a large number of areas that aren't either green or pleasant, with social degradation rife, and IMO this is a failing of the system. Like you, I've seen similar situations in other countries, but the UK is historically supposed to be one of the most advanced countries on Earth and yet the system still regularly fails a huge swathe of society. Yes there are a large number of private individuals and organisations doing extraordinary things to improve the situation for millions, but the fact these are needed at all is indicative of consistent failings at the highest level of the system. Take for example the situation I read about recently whereby it works out better for some people to keep having more and more children and remain unemployed as they get more money in benefits than they would if they worked. Who's to blame - the people claiming the benefits, or the system that makes it cost effective for people to live like that? IMO it's not the people at all, it's the system.

Maybe I'm just a cynical and jaded man these days - I dunno - but I'm personally not remotely proud to call myself British these days. Sorry.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Your views will change if you ever get a chance to live here. Ask me how I know . . .

In all seriousness, I do appreciate the culture here and it's been a wonderful experience for me over the last year, but it's very different from what I expected, and drastically different from the US. I didn't expect "customer service" to be such a foreign idea here.

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Chronomat 01- Sierra Silver/Steel
Navitimer 01- Limited Edition #1337/2000

I agree. Ive been to London a few times, and while I love it, its just like any other big city. Davey really summed it up well. There are the places you see on TV, and then there are the slums not too far away. The "British culture" fades quickly when you realize that everybody has the same accent and they arent all part of the royal family lol. London is great though, tons of things to do. Too bad its obscenely expensive.

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-RJ

You need to travel Britain a bit more, maybe Glasgow to Newcastle then Liverpool, Birmingham, the Welsh valleys and Bristol. You won't believe that they are all speaking the same language let alone the same accent.

Why aye man, de do don't dey. me duck!

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For more information on identifying Breitling replicas, please visit my web site
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Yep, I totally agree. What Britain lacks in customer service, it makes up for in its variety of accents. However, I don't find the accents as confusing as I do the actual words that are used.

I was horrified when I sat down to dinner with my family and my 10-year old son announced that a boy at school asked him for a rubber. My older daughter was quick to clarify this was a pencil eraser, as she'd already been through this. My son acknowledged this made more sense, as he thought it strange that a boy would ask him for a condom in the middle of class.

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Chronomat 01- Sierra Silver/Steel
Navitimer 01- Limited Edition #1337/2000