magikthrill wrote:before the vote i didnt care as much but now i am absolutely pissed. this actually hit me when i saw british flag waving around trafalgar square. how nasty.
tis a shame. enjoy the crap athens had to go through to create an infrastructure london. in the end it might be worth it.
Thrill, why are you pissed at people waving British flags in Trafalgar Square? Why is it more nasty than Greeks waving their flags after Paparizou won Eurovision, or the Greek team won Euro2004? I saw both of those events and joined in the flag waving, in no way did it offend me because I saw a people genuinely happy at having achieved something. Today, you should feel the same for us.
The country has just won the right to stage an Olympic games for God's sake man, we're certainly not like the Americans who wave their flag at any given opportunity, so you should allow us to wave it with pride this time and share in the joy that it represents. I don't know if you associate the Union flag with colonialism or whatever, but when British people wave that flag in celebration, it has nothing to do with xenophobia or nationalism, nor has it got anything to do with the lager louts who rampage abroad at football matches. I'm the last person you could accuse of being nationalist or super-patriotic, but I'm over the moon about this and if I possessed a Union flag or St. George's Cross, I would today fly it from my window in happiness. In fact, I'll do it on here instead...
"How nasty"... I'm quite frankly surprised that it's you who wrote that to be honest, I would have expected it from someone of NickTheGreek's ilk. I know you preferred Paris, but that comment about the flags is indicative of something quite different and disturbing. I don't mean to be personal as you are one of the select group of people on here that I have respect for, but I think that comment was out of order and offensive.
As for the Athens experience, the problems in Athens were accentuated by working to elliniki ora... i.e. they left everything late. Building work has already started in London, the train tunnel to Stratford is already complete and work begins tomorrow on the facilities. I don't know if you've visited London, but that part of the city is the most deprived part of this whole country and sits in the shadow of some of the richest areas on the planet. This project is the best thing to happen to that area ever. Yes, it might cost tax money, but for once the tax money will be going into something that will transform a poor area, rather than for resurfacing roads in Chelsea or Notting Hill. The amount of investment that will flood in there will transform the lives of people living there and make it a far more beautiful place to live than it is today. I can see no downsides to this, I really can't.
Therefore, I hope you'll reflect on your feelings and realise that a London Olympics will be amazing. I hope you'll be there to share it with us. If I'm in Cyprus by then, I'm certainly coming back for it.
