Olympics - that's a wrap!

And now that the Olympics have finished up - we're with the rest of the Brits here in getting through our Olympic-withdrawals. It's been two weeks of watching highlights on the TV, planning our trips into town to see the free events (cycling, triathlon, marathon swimming) and running into pubs to watch the indepth coverage (and maybe a beverage to help with the cheering).

Truth be said, with the BBC coverage, you wouldn't have known that other countries were competing except Team GB (and Jamaica). Even the Canadian swimmer (actually, a Victorian to be more specific!) who won the bronze medal in the marathon swim had less coverage than the GB team member who came in fifth. Ah well, I'm sure it was the same if you'd switched on CTV two years ago - all red, white, maple leaves and Sidney Crosby.

So we'll put these shirts away for a little while - but they'll be at the ready in case people start mistaking us for Americans some more:

And as the networks have done, here's our montage of highlights of the London 2012 Olympics...well, the quirky stuff, at least.

The local "Bay" department store over here is John Lewis and they had the official rights to the Olympic souvenir sales. Their newest store, in the huge Westfield-Stratford Mall, overlooked the Olympic Park from the top floor. Also on this floor, away from the windows, you could get a close-up look at the inside of the stadium.

Yes, it's Lego. The near-scale version of the stadium was fabulous, but the real show-stoppers were the audience within. For everyone who has bought & built the little Lego figurines - you'll appreciate that they are all a part of this incredible display.

It's obviously the opening ceremonies because the torch bearer is on site...

And any stadium scene wouldn't be complete without Darth and Luke battling it out in the bleachers with light sabers:

And from small scale to large scale.

As with any it city hosting a big event, there is going to be street art. This series was entitled "Gifts from the Gods":

And his big brother the shotput:

And from implements to mascots. Prior to the start of the Olympics, the phone booths we blogged about earlier were gone overnight and human (?) sized Wenlocks and Mandevilles were installed.

Each was painted by an artist and was to be auctioned of after the Olympics and Paralympics finish off. Mandevilles (named after Stoke Mandeville, the nearby birthplace of the the Paralympics) and Wenlock (named after Much Wenlock, the town who held their own Olympian games before the rebirth of the modern Olympics) are posed throughout town.

Cassie's here with the Houses of Parliament/Westminster Abbey Wenlock.

And again, with the slightly smaller, plusher and affordable version. He/she/it will make a good shelf mate at home for Mukmuk:


And to close off the Olympics with a visit by the Queen. A very sweet, jelly-belly version of her: