A Shambles or Creative Genius?
Olympic Opening Ceremony. Working Summer Holidays and Pigeons. Podcasting!
The 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony – a shambles or cultural masterpiece?
Well, — where do I even start? Was it a boring disaster as everyone says, or was it an all–inclusive spectacle highlighting France’s multicultural heritage? I mean, the arson attacks on the high-speed train lines didn't help, and neither did the rain, nor the athletes being robbed in their training grounds, or the Olympic flag being opened upside down or the food shortages for the athletes etc etc.
Lady Gaga serenading us on the banks of the Seine was probably the least French thing they could have done. No Jean-Michel Jarre, no Daft Punk. Instead, they went for that renowned French—oh wait, Canadian—songstress, Celine Dion. She was fantastic, but come on, France, don’t you have any home-grown talent left? And Snoop Dogg – wtf? What part of him is French?
The mastermind behind this production, Thomas Jolly from Normandy, managed to make it a litany of cringe-worthy moments. Honestly, I dozed off after about the 20th boat drifted down the Seine and had to catch the highlights later, though I didn’t miss the irony of seeing a bunch of Refugee athletes being shipped down the Seine by boat.
And let's talk about the press coverage. The Daily Mail, always the epitome of subtlety, proclaimed it the 'Worst opening ceremony ever!' worse even than the Seoul 1988 opening ceremony and the roasted doves. The Daily Mail labelled it ‘La Farce!’ The BBC was bit more diplomatic, calling it ‘disjointed’ but the New York Times didn’t hold back and called it a 'bloated made-for-TV spectacle'.
Meanwhile, the appalling Last Supper scene was too much and others called it a 'woke parody', but it also casts the Olympic Committee as hypocrites as it clearly states in Rule 50 of the IOC charter: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
Regardless, Celine Dion and Gojira managed to save some face as far as I was concerned and I'm eagerly awaiting the closing ceremony—surely, it can’t be worse? Go sports!"
Summer Holidays – Yay!
I am slightly envious of my friends who are holidaying in various parts of the world while I am back here in Blighty working. That’s the problem when you provide holiday clubs for kids – you work when everyone else is off. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. We are using a new school and they have 2 things going for it that are awesome. Firstly they have a superb Forest school area and secondly, they have homing pigeons! Apologies for the vertical format and the annoying ‘return to home’ whistle.
The kids love watching the birds being released for a fly-around and then being called back by a whistle. Even the weather has been kind to us, unlike in Paris. Ooh, schadenfreude!
Podcasting!
I have finally settled on a name and a format for the podcast that I shall start recording in a few weeks. I have even started putting together content for the show. You lucky people are going to be the first to see the logo and name. The final stage for me is learning about how to have the show hosted, either on Substack or else where; it’s a bit of a head-spinner!
Apologies for today’s substack being so short but I am very busy and will be taking a shot break, but will be back in 3 weeks with my latest newsletter.
Have a great summer everyone!
Simon