Monkey's Blog - with a little help from Alice

The Gap, and the Olympics

I regret that there's been a lamentable Gap in our blogging recently. I've had plenty to say, but poor Alice has either been under the weather [there you humans go again! I mean, what's the weather got to do with it? She's been a bit unwell, she means] or too busy gadding about seeing films and making "altars" for Movement Medicine; or else overwhelmed by catching up with housework. In fact she's right now only just recovering from an exhausting bout of Spring Cleaning. Yes, I know it's supposed to be Summer, but even calling it Spring is optimistic here in Scotland. We're getting ready for a visit from my friend Onk, and his young assistant Angelina. I couldn't help very much, but I did sit on top of the heap of cushions while she huffed and puffed over the Hoover. She was grateful I guarded the duster, as she's for ever going "Oh, where on earth did I leave my glasses / the keys / Monkey / the dustpan..." You get the idea.

On Friday we watched the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in London. I wanted to wave a Union Jack, but Alice said we didn't have to be that patriotic, and the only flag we had in the house was a rainbow one Alice got in Peru. Quite jolly though, isn't it? What an event it was, too! The Telegraph called it, Brilliant, breathtaking, bonkers and utterly British. Quite. There were wonderfully choreographed and stage-managed scenes with thousands of volunteer movers and dancers. It started with the theme of England’s green and pleasant land; then with Kenneth Branagh as Brunel (apparently mistaken as Abe Lincoln by some Americans) taking us through the industrial revolution (to the dark, if not Satanic, mills); a celebration of the good old NHS and children's literature; popular music since the '60s, and up to the WWW (founded by Tim Berners-Lee) and other popular technology of today. There are pictures all over the web, if you didn't get to see it.


The bit I enjoyed most of all, however, was Danny Boyle's surprise of the night: a short film of Daniel Craig, in his James Bond role, going to collect the Queen at the Palace. Of course you think when she turns round it'll just be a look-alike actress, but it REALLY and TRUELY IS Her Royal Majesty!! 

It was secretly filmed back in March, and HM "got it in one take." She's a great old trooper, isn't she now? The two of them march along the Palace corridors, through the excited corgis, get into a helicopter, which dramatically swoops through the middle of Tower Bridge, and - THEN - you see her giving him the thumbs up, jumping first, and their two parachutes opening out to take them down to the Olympic Arena.  I refuse to believe the spoilsport scoffers who say that bit was stunt men.

Look at the BBC video and see for yourself.

I'm afraid I was really bored for the hour and a half it took for every one of the 204 teams of competing athletes to walk around the arena, even though it was rather lovely seeing all the different flags get planted on the Glastonbury Tor hill. Lots were from countries I'd never even heard of. Alice got ready for bed, but said we should wait for the end and find out what the copper "petals" were for.

That turned out to be a pretty spectacular lighting of the cauldron. See the photos, and watch this BBC video for how the cauldron ended up, as I'm stumped for words. [Another bizarre human expression - I don't even understand cricket, let alone play it...]

It was well worth waiting for.