*Wednesday, July 13, 2005*
London, London.
I have to admit, I was glued to CNN (or was it BBC?) as Jacques Rogge prepared to announce the host city of the 2012 Olympics, silently hoping that London had won. It's not that Paris isn't a lovely city, it's just that Parisians are
too nationalistic for my liking. And rude. Some of them, anyway. Bah. Which is why I was grinning after hearing Rogge utter the words....the games of the 2012 will be held in....London. And as evil as it may sound, I was happy that the crowd of people in Paris looked dissapointed, and started to walk away - and to top it all, it started to drizzle. But the joy in Trafalgar Square!!! Everyone was jumping with joy, hugging each other, and some were even drinking champagne to celebrate.
People say that London won it due to Tony Blair's hard work, campaigning tirelessly for London in the final days. And he spoke in both English and French during his speech. I mean, I understand that the French are pround of their national language, but I do feel that Chirac could have spoken in English as well as French. Hell, even Putin spoke in English! [Hmmm, maybe this is getting too political]. But it was quite funny - Chirac insulted British food before the voting began, saying that after Finnish food, British food was the worst. And, there were 2 Finnish IOC members - and both votes went to London in the end. I think one of the London team members said it best - Chirac may have actually helped London win. 54-50, baby! =)
I definitely have some newfound respect for Tony Blair.
And I just heard that the Mayor of Paris is complaining that Blair did not adhere to IOC regulations when campaigning for London. I mean,
hello? If you wanted to complain about adhering to regulations, why didn't you do it before the votes were cast? If that were to happen, you could have tipped the scale in favour of Paris. But the fact is, you didn't. Paris lost. As upset as they are (they've lost the bid 3 times in the previous years, I think), I think this delayed reaction just reads: sore loser.
But that's just my opinion, of course.
And then, less than 24 hours later, I woke up to find out that London had been bombed. My first reaction was. No, no, no! Please, no. But it was true. I was glued to the news for the entire day (a very rare occassion) - 4 bombs went off in Central London, 3 on the tube, one on a bus. What was scary is that they targetted public transport. Something we take a lot. And it is frighteningly close to UCL. I'm sure everyone has seen the photograph of the bus on Tavistock Square, with its top completely blown off. And that's like...2 roads away from Gower Street. And King's Cross is also really close by. I don't get this. People die, just like that.
I'm just glad that no one I knew was hurt or injured in the blasts. And selfishly, I am glad I wasn't in London when it happened. Truth be told, I would probably have been sleeping when it happened, but still. I would have been shit scared if I was there, having to face it all. The terror. I'm still a bit wary when I think about going back to London, and using the tube or the bus. At least I live close by, so I won't use public transport much. [
The lastest reports have said that police think the bus bomb was intended for another train, but that it couldn't be placed in the train due to the delays and closures...but at least they now have their suspects. I doubt it will end with these suspects though.] Sigh. I admire the Londoners who can just get on with their lives, and continue to face their fears by taking public transport as usual. But sometimes, I guess you don't really have the choice. As they say, life has to go on. All we can do is to pray, and hope we'll be safe and protected.
The world is just such a dangerous place to live in nowadays. Sighhhhhhhhh.
On to happier stuff - Wimbledon [even though it is a little late to be talking about it]. The Venus/Lindsay final was simply amazing. One simply didn't know who was going to win - both of the women were simply playing some fantastic tennis, giving the viewers what they wanted. I thought Venus would walk away with the title, after seeing her amazing form against Sharapova. However, Lindsay was really surprising. She gave an amazing fight, and went down fighting. Even with her injury - she even took time out to get treatment, she managed to hold on to the very end. As happy as I was for Venus - she was jumping around like a little girl on drugs (haha), I did pity Lindsay. She mentioned in an earlier interview that she would trade her no#1 ranking for the Wimbledon crown. I just hope she can come back next year. I was utterly dissapointed in Justine though. I thought she would be a contender for the title, but she was beaten in the first round!!! =( Oh well. US Open for her then. More power to her and her one-handed backhand!!
And, Federer is simply unbeatable when he is playing well. I don't actually play tennis, but I know that it cannot be easy to make all those winners, whilst making them look utterly, utterly effortless. He looks as if he is just enjoying himself on court, while his opponents sweat it out. In the final against Roddick, Roddick was sweating like mad - sweat was dripping from his cap. And when the cameras go to the other end of the court, you see Federer there, as cool as a cucumber, just producing winners as if he has been doing it since he was born. Simply amazing. Not to mention he is the only player who can return most of Roddick's serves. I love Roddick, but I have to admit Federer deserved to win. Roddick is an amazing speaker though. I love listening to his post match speeches - beaten, but still funny. That is one department in which he beats any other tennis player, hands down.
Oooh. I baked these yummy cookies a few days ago -
'Urban Legend Chocolate Chip Cookies'. I haven't baked cookies in a while, and it was fun to experiment - I still love eating cookie batter. I don't understand how flour, butter, eggs, and sugar can taste so good. =) Ahh heaven.
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