Remembering the Olympics 2012

10 years ago today was the Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony - before Brexit, Covid and all the rest.

Sigh!

What an amazing summer...

 

Lea Valley Walk: Impressions

If I had to sum up the Lea Valley in three words, they would be Industry, Olympics and Regeneration, representing the past, the turning point and the future of this region.

The past of the Lea Valley is one of industry, such as Three Mills above, using the power of the river to grind wheat. That led to conflicts over water and the development of the Lee Navigation with its guaranteed depths of water to allow barges to transport goods.

As the industrial revolution kicked in, the area became more and more developed, from iron works to rockets. But then there was deindustrialisation and heavy industry was left to decay:

What remains are mostly faceless buildings that could contain anything from a server farm to a cutting edge performance space:

At the heart of the story of the Lea Valley in the 21st Century is the Olympics and Paralympics during that glorious summer of 2012:

Such happy memories from what now feels long, long ago, before the Brexit battles and Covid.

One of the buzz words of London's Olympic bid was 'legacy': what hosting the games would do for this part of the city. How much the Olympics actually made a difference is one for future historians, but there can be no doubt as to the regeneration that is now on display.

All up and down the Lea, centred on the Olympics Park and Stratford, are countless building sites, with new stations, colourful new apartment blocks, museums and performing spaces:

London is expanding east. It needs all these new homes, for its population has just exceeded nine million. This regeneration is generally to be welcomed: land is too precious to be wasted and there is space and housing for thousands upon thousands, with opportunities for green spaces, colleges, museums and the arts.

But there are casualties of gentrification, with some arguing that too many of these new apartments are priced out of the budgets of locals.

There's also been questions out on the Lea itself, with protests from the narrowboat owners. I hope a compromise can be found where the Lee Navigation will have less of the feel of a trailer park or scrapyard, so that in the future the banks are not one long line of boats, sometimes doubled up, blocking views of the water:

The water quality too requires more work, for the Environment Agency must live up to its name and not allow the continued over-extraction and pollution of Britain's rivers and waterways:

Yes, the Thames Tideway Tunnel is a good thing, but it's not enough. It wouldn't stop the flow of sewage I saw into the brooks of Meridian Water or Southern Water's pollution at Whitstable.

We need a new Bazalgette, someone driven to improve the waters of England, as was done at the Abbey Mills pumping station and all its supporting tunnels:

I can certainly recommend the Lea Valley Walk, in particular around the Olympic park and Three Mills, though all parts (apart from the Greenway) have their attractions. 

It's a good way to learn about London's past and where this great city is heading.

Lea Valley Walk 2: Three Mills and the Olympic Park

The idea of this walk was initially very simple: finish up The Line sculpture trail by walking from Three Mills to the Olympic park. But then I saw the maze of different water ways the Lea River / Lee Navigation follows and wondered how many of them I could explore.

Hence I ended up with this scrawl of a route that:

• Started at Stratford Tube
• Went down Water Works River 
• Then down Three Mills Wall River to Three Mills
• Back up the Lea River
• Round the Olympic Stadium (*)
• Down City Mill River as far as I could: the path ended at the railway line
• Diversion to Pudding Mill River, which was blocked south so headed north
• Covered the lower end of City Mill River
• Back down Three Mills Wall River
• Then round the other side of Three Mills Island, 
• Was unable to walk all round Three Mills Island as the path was closed (but see below)
• So crossed Three Mills Lock and walked down to Channelsea River
• Walked up to Channelsea Island, then on to Abbey Creek
• Here left the water ways to pass the amazing Abbey Mills Pumping Station
• Finally made way to West Ham tube and home.

Total distance was 9.7 km.

Note that the blocked sections are marked as yellow lines in the map above. As always in this part of London there was endless development work underway and it might be that they will be opened up in the future with walkways.

There's a huge amount of history in this part of London, from old mills to rockets. Yes, really rockets were developed here. Just south of the Channelsea River lay Sir William Congreve’s rocket works. As noted in this web site:

These were used in the Napoleonic Wars and the Anglo-American War of 1812. The ‘red glare’ of these rockets at the Battle of Fort McHenry is referred to in the American national anthem.

Some of the history can be seen on the walk around the Three Mills area, in the Three Mills History Walk.

There were lots of photos, but I'll split them into two posts, here only showing those described on The Line web site, which were between Three Mile Island and the Olympic Stadium.

Heading northwards, first up is Reaching Out, 2020:

This shows a young woman, about 9 feet high, staring at her phone. She is a replacement for an earlier similar work of a similarly oversized man - as can be seen in this web site, hence I guess the date.

At the end (or start, depending upon how you walk it) of The Line sculpture trail there is the Anish Kapoor's ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture with The Slide going down it:

Of course this reminds me of those wonderful days of the Olympics 2012. This is the London Aquatics Centre built for the 2012 games:

(*) yes, I know, it is now a football stadium. But to me it will always be the Olympic Stadium

Update: The Three Mills Island Towpath has just re-opened!

The Greenway of East London

I walked to the Abbey Mills pumping station from West Ham tube station, taking a route along something called the Greenway. I thought it was a disused train track that had been converted in a similar way to the High Line in NY, but I was wrong.

It was actually part of Bazelgette's great work and one of the reasons for Abbey Mills.

Those great pumps that look like ammonites rise the waste up so it can fall under gravity to the outflow in Beckton. As the land is pretty flat it means that at this end the pipes must be several metres above ground level. So under this track are a number of huge pipes flowing down to the Thames.

While walking along the Greenway I had a flash back to a few years earlier, September 2012, when I'd walked that way without knowing what it was.

It had been near midnight just after the end of the final event of one of the greatest summers that London has known, the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympics:

It makes me sad as I look at the chaos today to remember those wonderful days and weeks when the UK was united and positive.

Olympic Gold Medallist Saskia Clark at the London Boat Show

After Sailing Uncovered's Alec Wilkinson had a chat with Mark Covell it was time to meet Olympic Gold Medallist Saskia Clark who came complete with her medal.

It's fair to say the home crowd were pretty tickled pink to see one of the heroes of Rio in person and it was enjoyable and interesting to hear her stories.

There was a short video clip in which she and Hannah Mills tested their knowledge of each other, asking crucial questions like who like chocolate the most (I think that was a draw) and who was most likely to forget their passport (alas that was Saskia).

Saskia received an MBE in the new year along with the other sailing golds, namely Hannah and Giles Scott (in the Finns). There was a great story about how they weren't allowed to talk about it (seriously, you are NOT to say anything to anyone) and yet they needed to as Hannah forget to reply saying yes and Giles lost the letter so Saskia had to do a bit of very off the record prompting.

Afterwards there was a chance to say hi, get a selfi and feel the gold medal, which was indeed very heavy and apparently mostly silver with gold plating.  She was very open about others holding it - suspect I'd go a bit Gollum and start talking about my "precious".

I had a chance for a brief chat and found her really nice:

I asked her whether she might switch to offshore sailing as some sailors do switch, such as Mark Covell in the Volvo, but she seemed to prefer remain inshore, maybe large yachts. She was also interested in increasing awareness of sailing in the UK which sounds like an excellent idea.

It must be tough for someone to be top of their game, genuinely the best in the world, and then be faced with starting again, but if anyone can I'd say she could.

Sailing Uncovered and Mark Covell at the London Boat Show

I've mentioned before that for me the high point of the London Boat Show is almost always the people you meet or hear from and this one was no exception.

The organisers seemed to be recognising this with a series of talks across the 9 or so days that the show is open.

The one I went to was hosted by Sailing Uncovered's Alec Wilkinson (above left) and first up was Mark Covell (above right).

Mark Covell won a silver at the Sydney Olympics in the Star class along with Ian Walker. The photo above is of their sail back to the beach knowing they'd won a medal. The Union Jack is actually upside down but the waves were so bad that Ian Walker refused to return to the foredeck to flip it over.

Since then Mark has gone on to build a career in sailing on and off the water. He was part of an America's Cup team (as grinder), was a on-board reporter on the Volvo Ocean race, managed the Boat Project (blogged here) and commented at races such as the America's Cup and Olympics.

He was full of interesting stories from those many years including how he ended up towing a Volvo Ocean Race yacht the hard way across the equator:

Up next was Olympic Gold Medal winner Saskia Clark...

Fantastic Rio

Must admit I didn't really get into the BBC's dedicated stream for the sailing until the medal race week so missed a lot from week one but what I saw was fantastic. Races with skill, drama, twists and turns and plenty of story to look back on:

• Annalise Murphy winning a medal after just missing out in 2012
• The Australians and Croatians battling it out in the pre-start and across the course in the Lasers
• The Australians battling it out again, this time with the Greeks for the 470s
• The Australians and Greeks in the 470s almost falling overboard as they trapezed out as far as they could
• The Americans getting their first sailing medal for many years in the Finns
• .... but agonisingly crashing out of the medals in the woman's 470s by taking the wrong side of the course on the last downwind leg
• Plus of course two golds and a silver for Team GB (yay!)

I just about managed to see Hannah Mills & Saskia Clark get their gold medal as was streaming it to my phone while on train so big gaps but saw the celebratory sail to the beach to see friends and family (ah, bless).

But the best story of all was of course that of Argentina double handed Nacra 17 helmed by 54 year old Santiago Lange who'd battled lung cancer the previous year, was across the line early and had to take a penalty in an tense race. But he and Cecilia Carranza Saroli fought back and got the gold by a single point. Bravo! It was great to see him celebrate and watch his grown up kids (also competitors) swim out to greet him. 

There should be more sailing like this on the BBC!

What was your favourite memory?

I want to be in Rio

I want to be back in Rio, to stand again on Sugarloaf Mountain, to go for a swim again on Ipanema Beach and of course to watch the Olympic sailing.

Two fantastic medal races already this afternoon, starting first with the women's Laser with a Brit winning the race but no medals:

Then the men's and a dramatic battle between Australia and Croatia pre-start:

... resulting in another Australian called Tom winning gold:

Fantastic stuff!

Go Team GB!

... like this (from the fab BBC feed):

Update: this Yachts and Yachting post sums up the day's races perfectly

The Brazil Job

Go Team GB's sailors!!

(via The Final Beat)

Alas, no trips to see the sailing this Olympics.... bit further to travel than Weymouth.

London Walks: Limehouse Canal Loop

Over the holiday break I did one of London's urban walks along the canals and rivers of east London, starting and ending in Limehouse. It's a loop recommended in the book the "Thames Path in London" as a diversion from that route and very enjoyable it is too.

Starting from the DLR station it starts off heading north up the pathway on the east side of the Grand Union Canal (not the west as shown in the map in the Thames Path book, which apart from this small "feature" is very good indeed) passing locks and heading under one of the old bridges:

While the commercial traffic might have moved from the waterways to the roads, the canals still are enjoyed:

It's not all urban landscapes, with some welcome wildlife, plants and animals:

Ok, maybe not all the animals were quite so welcome.

Just after the Roman Road the route turns right into the Hertford Union Canal alongside Victoria Park until a wondrous sight, full of happy memories and glorious sounds:

Sigh.... the spirit of London 2012 lives here, forever (unless, of course, West Ham spoils it).

Anyhow, then its down the Lee River where to be honest the route is rather concrete jungle for a bit:

But its worth pushing on as there another's high-spot just a bit further down the Lee, at historic Three Mills Island:

From here leave the Lee behind and join the Limehouse Cut, a straight line bordered by rather anonymous new apartments, until you return to the starting point.

At this point I felt rather hungry, thirsty and in need of a bit of a rest but this being London there was just the thing nearby:

A great walk: the book says 6 miles but with the odd detour the Google Earth track above is nearer 7 miles (11 km).

Definitely worth a hike if you feel like stretching your legs and exploring this side of London, historic in its own way.

Blighty's Booming Boating!

"Ben's bloody brilliant!" booms Buff.

Ok, enough alliteration, but it is good news for boating as it appears that its not just cycling thats had a boost in the last few years.

According to the Telegraph "between 2010 and 2014 the number of people who took part in boating activities went up from 2.75 to 3.5 million."

In addition, the "number of craft, including yachts, canoes, dinghys and windsurfers, owned in Britain has also gone up, from 1.1m in 2011 to 1.2m in 2014" (thanks to Chris we can now add at least one to those numbers).

Is it the post-Olympics glow or is it Ben Ainslie's America's Cup challenge or new cool ways of getting out on the water (such as the foiling Moth, above, from the ACWS, or of course the RS Aero) or warmer weather or ...

Jolly good news any way you look at it.

Thank you Scotland

I was looking at this photo last night while wondering about the referendum results.

It's from inside the Olympic Stadium during the 2012 Paralympics and shows huge crowds waving the Team GB flag. People from Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Island united in their support for our team.

Was it to be the last hurrah, I wondered?

It was not and I am very relieved. Now we can move forward and remember that slogan written high around the stadium during the inspirational Olympics opening ceremony.

This is for everyone

Sassi says 2016 is the new 2012!!

Hi Guys,

OMG!! We might be getting to have the best party ever all over again!!

Yup, told JP he was over-doing all that once-in-a-lifetime thing. The Olympics might be coming back to London!!

I must go shopping for a new party outfit, like, right now!! If only JP hadn't been such a tight arse and actually paid for all the work I did in 2012.

I'm going to party like it's 2012!! Again!!

Bring it on!!

Luv ya

Sassi xxx

Sassi asks #benainslie #gotgirlfriend???

Hi Guys,

OMG!! The America's Cup was sooooo HOT!!

No, I'm not talking that buck rogers spaceship stuff blah blah blah (hint hint JP and Buff: I DO NOT CARE ABOUT FOILS!!!)

What caught Sassi's eye was Ben Ainslie who can be my tactician any day!!

Hunk or what!!

Gotta go, Sassi's on a mission!

Luv ya! (Ben that is)

Sassi xxx


Ed: Er... Sassi, sorry to be the one to tell you this but he's been spotted with Georgie Thompson (above) so that looks rather official. Previously Ben was seen going double handed with Dutch sailor Marit Bouwmeester after the Olympics

Picture puzzle

This place was the site of some Olympic rowing, but:

1. Which Olympics?
2. What's the location?
3. What would be an appropriate colour medal for this town and why?

Ukrainian London 2012 Olympics Laser spotted on the Thames

...er... not sure what else to say.

(Background to the sale of ex-London 2012 Olympic Lasers here)

Looking back at 2012

I haven't seen many blogger's reviews their posts of the previous year - so far. I hope that will change as I enjoy a good reminisce, and it was certainly a good year to look back on.

My 2012 contained both the London Olympics and also the sail to the Artic Circle, and its hard to choose which of the two was the greater highlight.

They were in many ways completely different: for one thing, one experience was shared with just one other person, namely Tristan, while the other was a celebration that brought together a whole nation.

During the Olympics and Paralympics there was so much going on in London from the torch, to road races, to the rings on Tower Bridge, to the many sport venues, to the Olympic Stadium itself, to the National Houses, the art installations to the final parade and fly by (above).

While it's hard to pick one from what were an interlocked series of events, to be in the Olympic Stadium for the Paralympics Closing Ceremony really was an incredible experience. There were steampunk vehicles, dancers, acrobats, fire, fireworks, a million watt sound system, seat pixels,  light system, Coldplay, Rihanna and Jay-Z, together with the knowledge this was the last hurrah of a wonderful summer.

London also had the most eventful University Boat Race ever plus the Queen's Diamond Jubilee which alas I missed.

The year was also filled with its fair share of art, books and music, plus travel with trips to Helsinki and three times to Geveva.

I also, with spooky coincidence, blogged about the high stress loads and dangers of the AC72s a day or two before Oracle's big prang in San Francisco Bay. In the gap between the Olympics and Paralympics I also watched the Extreme 40's in Cardiff Bay.

It wasn't all great with too much work and recently a rather nasty smash while ice skating. Maybe we were fortunate during our sail north:

It hasn't put me off: I'd like to return, one day.

But it is likely to be a long, long time until the Olympics come again to London, and those two eulogising posts on the Spirit of 2012 and I was there don't seem excessive but rather a statement of what it felt like to be in the heart of this great city during 2012.

Olympics picture puzzle

It's fair to say that ol' blighty is having trouble saying goodbye to 2012.

All of the TV channels seem to be showing their take on the London Olympics, with everyone from Lord Coe to Sporty Spice popping up on the box or in newspaper columns. Today the New Year Honours were announced and as expected Ben Ainslie becomes Sir Ben while Wiggo becomes Sir Bradley.

As a Christmas treat I re-watched the opening ceremony and discovered a connection with the beach volleyball (above).

Can you find out what it is?

Updated: Tillerman is correct! The announcer at both events was the same, namely Layla Anna-Lee: