Be Excellent To Each Other

Well, if James Bond has taught me anything, it is always your missiles/helicopter/nuclear sub which is used against you, so I can only hope these are fakes.

HMS Ocean, on deployment in the Thames as part of the Olympic security preparations, had a close encounter with the Thames Barrier as it made its way up the river.

The ship, which was being led by tug boats, squeezed through the central gate supports.

An MoD spokesman described the manoeuvre as 'near perfect' and said the ship's path through the Thames Barrier helped counter a brisk crosswind.

HMS Ocean open day in Greenwich

Date: 07 May 2012
Location: Greenwich Pier, Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich, SE10 9HT
Time: 10:00am - 5:00pm

I wonder how quickly Seb Coe would sue us if we subtitled this site: 'Be Excellent to Each Other: official opponents of the 2012 Olympics (and Stewart Lee)'

Fucking hell, the ticketing system for the football is beyond retarded.

On August 1st you can pay a maximum of 40 quid in Cardiff to watch Mexico vs Switzerland AND Team GB vs Uruguay.

At least the Olympic flame burned brightly and strongly for the first two days. But on day three of the relay the flame went out as it was being carried through the Devon town of Great Torrington.

The torch was attached to the side of para-badminton star David Follett's wheelchair when the flame went out shortly before 10am.

It was not a complete disaster: the torch was re-lit using a backup flame that is transported around with the torchbearers. A spokesperson for the London 2012 organising committee blamed a malfunction within the burner and said it was not uncommon for flames to be extinguished.

The spokesman said: "The flame went out due to a malfunctioning burner. It is not uncommon for a flame to go out and this can happen for a number of reasons, for example, in extreme winds. We keep the mother flame alight in specially designed miners' lanterns so if the flame does go out for some reason we re-light it from the source of the flame."

The committee was also facing questions after it emerged that a woman taking part in the relay may have made up to £150,000 by selling her torch on eBay.

Sarah Milner Simonds, from Somerset, says she will pass the money on to charity but has received abusive emails and could be in for a frosty reception when her turn to carry the flame comes on Monday afternoon.

She is one of a number of runners who are selling their torches, which they can buy for £199 on the internet auction site. By Monday morning one torch bearer from Cornwall, where the relay began on Saturday, had received a bid of almost £40,000 for a torch.

Another torch from the Scottish leg of the relay, which does not begin until the middle of next month, is already on sale together with the bearer's "relay uniform". According to the description, 5% of the money made will go to charity.

It is not yet known if the bid Milner Simonds has received is genuine. She said she would put any money she made to the People's Plot, a west London community allotment.

There has been some surprise among onlookers that each of the 8,000 people taking part in the relay has his or her own torch. The flame is passed from one bearer to the next in what is being termed a torch "kiss".

A spokesman for the London 2012 organising committee said there was nothing they could do to prevent the sale of the torches or the white uniforms worn by relay runners. "The torches are the torchbearers' to do what they want with them. We hope they find a good home," he said.

There was some criticism when it was announced that torchbearers would have to pay £199 if they wanted to keep their golden torch, although organisers argued the cost was subsidised.

Another surprising element of the relay to some is the fact that the flame is not carried exclusively on foot but is transported for part of the way in a vehicle in "convoy mode" On Monday morning, the convoy – flanked by police outriders – was driven along the A30 from Exeter to Okehampton in Devon as the third leg got under way.

Later it was being carried by the former England cricketer Marcus Trescothick and farmer Tony Hill, 86, who was due to be a torchbearer at the 1948 Olympic games but had to dash to hospital instead with appendicitis.

Hill, a former cross-country runner, said: "I never thought I'd get another chance. It's a real honour. I've been doing a bit of jogging to get fit."

The convoy travelling with the flame is made up of 14 core vehicles. There are also sponsors, media and security vehicles plus a command car. A crew of approximately 350 people are set to be working on each day of the 70-day relay.

It wasn't just those who are running in the relay who are looking to cash in. The limited edition aluminium bottles of Coca-Cola being handed out by the soft drinks giant along the relay route as part of its role as a "presenting partner" were selling for upwards of £26 on eBay.

But despite concerns about some participants' efforts to make money from the event, the start appears to have been largely positive.

Police said the population of Cornwall doubled for the day when the relay began on Saturday and business leaders there estimated there had been a £1.1m boost to the economy. The test will be whether the crowds continue to appear over the days and weeks to come.

And someone in Greece decided it was a good idea to sell the ones they had as well (completed listing for almost £5,000)

The ebay link http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/sis.html?_nkw ... 0845977525

Highest one that has bids on that i can see is £10,000

It was up to £153,000 when I checked at the weekend. I assume lots of joke bids etc...

I'm waiting for Seb to condemn those selling the torches, because he didn't think of it first.

Seb has already sold them though. £200 a pop to each of the 8000 people taking part.


In other news, at the place I work we were all given anniversary t-shirts a while back (I forget which anniversary it was) which had a slogan on the front and our employee number on the back.
One guy sold his on ebay It wasn't hard to find out who it was! It didn't go down amazingly well with our founder

Are you a footballer?

I assume so - from the story above some people have threatened the sellers as well.

That's the bit that concerns me. Who gets so worked up about it that they would actually threaten people?

That's the bit that concerns me. Who gets so worked up about it that they would actually threaten people?

What kind of numpty goes to watch the Olympic flame relay anyway?


(waits patiently)

The militant wing of Mumsnet.

Their schedule for it's drive up that side of the country is a laugh too. Presumably they've just google mapped it. It'll take them more than the allotted time just to get through the twisty bits up the North end of Loch Lomond & heaven help them if they get stuck behind a caravan convoy!

The flame passes by Lewisham DLR station at 7:45am a couple of days before limpics. I normally leave there at 7:30 each morning, so it is likely that I'll be caught up in it.

You'll be caught up in the investigation when it gets nicked borrowed at 7:46am to light a fag, certainly.

You'll be caught up in the investigation when it gets nicked at 7:46am, certainly.

Been working on some social media stuff (including the Torch Relay) for Coca Colas Olympic Intranet

I think he's attempting immigration by stealth.

Well, it goes to show that perhaps more people like the olympics than some one here thought (if people are turning up in their droves to watch just the torch!)

Malc

(if people are turning up in their droves to watch just the torch!)

Are they?