Happy and Glorious

29 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , ,

Like the rest of our great nation, I watched with pride Team GB competing in the Olympics in Rio.

The team exceeded expectations by coming 2nd in the medals table and passing their target of 66 medals. Among the medals there were unexpected successes; bronze for Amy Tinkler in women’s floor and bronze in all round individual men’s competition, gold on pommel and floor for Max Whitlock in our fantastic gymnastic teams. Also gold for our women’s hockey team in a nail biting and exciting game that kept me on the edge of my seat.

team GB medal winners Rio 2016

But what I really loved about the Olympics was seeing the athletes from all the different countries united by a common goal and belief. The games were a platform for forgetting political differences and conflicts if only for 2 weeks.

My favourite picture by far is the selfie taken by gymnasts Lee Eun-ju of South Korea and Hong Un-jong of North Korea.

Surely this photo epitomises the true spirit of the Olympics and hope for peace in the future.

north and south korean selfie

 

A Question of Equality

06 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

I was watching the new series of A Question of Sport the other night, partly because there wasn’t much else on and partly because I quite like the show that is almost as old as I am. It was first aired regionally in 1968 and became a regular fixture on the BBC from 1970. It’s Britain’s longest continuously running game show.

Through my childhood and formative years I watched team captains come and go, my favourites were the pairing of Emlyn Hughes/Bill Beaumont and John Parrott/ Ally Mc Coist. But over the years the common thread through the team captains is that they are all men, not only that but more often than not the contestants are all men too, with only a handful of women.

Now I’m no raving, hairy arm-pitted feminist but I think the producers of the show should make more of an effort to include more of our many fantastic sportswomen. They have more than enough to choose from, especially from our plethora of Olympians.

Of course the the regular female on the show is Sue Barker who has been fabulous in the host’s chair since 1997 and does a fantastic job keeping all those men in line and under control.

question of sport