My neighbour is furious - the dedicated olympics only lanes are, as you say, Games vehicles only. He's a cabbie - so he can't use those lanes, and the fact that they're there means that traffic will be barely moving the whole time. Effectively, if someone wants to go anywhere in East London, he's got to just refuse the work.

It's this that irks me the most. The use of the transport lanes, the advertising (most of the stuff contained in the Olympic games Act 2006. it seems to me to be heavy handed and surrendering the City to an unelected board of people that then go on relegate those that live in the city to second class citizens.

Isn't he legally bound to pick someone up once he's stopped regardless of destination within a certain distance, or is that a myth?

Yeah, 7 miles I think it is. I mean, he'll take the job if they still want to go, but he'll basically be saying "I'll be a 3 hour journey by cab. You're much better off getting a bus".

I know it's The Sun, and I know no one reads it but -

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... 342335.ece

Seems like a good summary, though I haven't read it all yet: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/ap ... e-sponsors

Locog insists the protections were essential to secure the contracts that have paid for the Olympics

I've had an email from TfL:

Crikey, they've even taken the roads.

A few weeks ago, one of the top beer writers Roger Protz covered the fact that Heineken have sole beer rights at Olympic venues, however they only went in as a third tier sponsor limiting them to having only one named product,in this case their namesake lager Heineken. In addition to this they can provide 2 other alcoholic products under generic names, so Strongbow will be supplied as ‘Cider’ and John Smiths Smoothflow will become ‘British Bitter’. Where an Olympic venue already has a preferred beer supplier such as Lords (hosting the archery) who serve Marston’s beer the pumps will need to be removed for the duration of the event and replaced by temporary Heineken provided equipment.

It is worse if you live in Cardiff where the women’s football is taking place. An exclusion zone around the stadium over which Heineken has marketing exclusivity takes in most of the city centre, and pubs in the area are not allowed to promote their own beers with banners or pavements signs. Brain’s, the countries best known brewer, who sponsor the Welsh Football and Rugby team based at the Millenium Stadium have to forfeit their pump positions and I’m sure are not best pleased about the fact.

http://www.seanliquorish.co.uk/blog/?p=854

Fascinating reading, this.

The same suuuuuuper long Terms and Conditions page has an exhaustive list of potentially dangerous and prohibited items. They start out with the usual suspects: firearms, illegal drugs, containers of liquid exceeding 100ml. Then they name a few items I doubt anyone would even try to bring to the Olympic games: really, I mean, how would one squeeze an entire motorcycle into the spectator stands? And because they’re already on a roll here, I guess, they go on and forbid: large quantities of coins (this is vague, tsk tsk), refrigerators (I mean…?), and flags of any countries not participating in the Olympic games (meow!).

"Pick up that non-official sponsor's can!"


http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/04/wait-y ... -olympics/



Are the IOC aware of the Welsh Flag?

I remember that the Olympic Cafe in London which has been around for years and years was forced to change it's name recently.

This is making me angry, so I'm going to stop thinking about it.

Is that the one I lived a few doors away from in Neasden/Wembley (where the last UK Olympics were held?)

If so, after MUCH argument, I believe they didn't have to change the name. It was all over the news for ages, which I think helped.

I wonder how much it costs to be a tier three sponsor. We should have grouped together and become a sponsor, and demanded that "belm" be the official cry of regret of London 2012.

Quite. One's a principality, the other is a mass delusion.

As far as I am able to tell, it looks like private sponsorship amounts to around £800MM. Public funding is currently pencilled in at around £9300MM.

Also, Welsh flags and Cornish flags will be allowed in as neither of them are countries.

million.

Roman numeral.

1000x1000.

I'm guessing, never really seen it used like that before.

No wait, MM is the Roman number for 2000, though

The plural of million is million when you talk about money!

Right, so what the fuck is a quart?