My wife and I took our grandson to the Olympic site on an organised walk.  We couldn’t actually get in to see the inside of any of the facilities, but the guide was good and we got a good view of the overall setup.

London 2012 has cost 8 billion pounds to stage.  There is not the slightest chance of getting this money back, and the citizens of London, who were never consulted, will have to pay for it through taxes.  A staff member at our gym was complaining about the “lack of patriotism from the many people who were complaining about the games and were intending to leave town.”   Well, there may be people who are and will benefit, but it seems to me that Epicurus, and most of his ancient Greek compatriots  would be appalled at the pomp and cost, the drug taking and the exploitation of the games by administrators and hangers-on (and alleged corruption?).  He believed that all things  should be done with common sense and moderation, including sport.

The PR disaster and the big bone of contention has been the insistence of the international Olympics committee, against the strenuous objection of the British organisers, that many busy streets and traffic lanes have to be closed so that fat cats can cruise in their (UK supplied?) BMWs unimpeded by traffic lights and other vehicles, to their destination.   We had a new central heating boiler installed. The installation engineer, who usually takes 45 minutes to get to central London, took over 2 hours the day he came to us, which was two weeks before the games (the British always closing everything off ages before necessary). He was young, an athlete and he had had enough of the Olympics already.  This is shaping up to be an economic disaster for London. And then there are the overwhelming crowds………..and 700,000 unsold tickets.

A follower of Epicurus might conclude that this Olympics could teach a lesson about moderation to the over-mighty IOC.  Regrettably , I fear it will not.