Of course, the day has now changed totally. For those friends of mine who have contacted me, thanks for your thoughts. We are both fine right now, but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to reach me on my mobile, as the networks are deluged with people trying to contact others. BBC News has the latest.
My Silverstone Countdown: I’ll be leaving in a couple of hours – tent packed with a carload of food, and I’m getting pretty excited by the prospect of the whole event. Silverstone is so much fun, and now David Coulthard is defending it. He has hit out at Silverstone’s critics ahead of his bid to secure Red Bull’s first-ever podium finish in Sunday’s British Grand Prix:
The Scot believes the Northamptonshire circuit has been unfairly targeted by some of the sport’s leading figures.
“It has looked for several seasons now that they are desperate to get it off the calendar,” he said.
[Source]
Who knows if I’ll get a chance to post, but keep an eye on the Flickr feed to see any pictures I’ll be sending.
It’s time to lighten the mood a little bit really. All this talk of Olympics and Motor Racing at Silverstone is making the site a little butcher than it should be. Thanks to Steph and Alek who pointed me to live8boys we can all enjoy the images of cute boys at the Live8 concert in Philadelphia. Making Poverty History never looked so good.
I am speechless and excited right now. I still think it would be fantastic for London, but it’s also brilliant for the rest of the UK. The bid team did a brilliant job. Seb Coe has made himself a hero for a second time. Roll on 2012.
But this is going to encourage a lot of whinging, I know it is. Yes, people are going to whinge, we’re British, and we love whinging. Yes, some people may not think this is a worthwhile thing. But I disagree. It’s a great thing.
Elsewhere: Anna celebrates too
and in pictures … elsewhere: Awarded to the city of …
My god. We’re hosting the 2012 Olympics.
2005: A Few Moments Of Reflection
2005: Preliminary Vote
2005: What Have You Done Today?
2005: The G8 Summitt
2004: The Day F1 Came To London
2004: Formula One Comes To Regent Street
2002: Beer
In all the excitement I had missed the fact there was a preliminary vote and we weren’t certain of making it this far:
There are a few gasps in the press room as Madrid exits the vote, as some Spaniards at the back had earlier given some noisy support during its bid presentation. We now have the London-Paris finale that the whispers in the past few hours had indicated [source].
Aggghh … the tension.
2005: A Few Moments Of Reflection
2005: 12:46
2005: What Have You Done Today?
2005: The G8 Summitt
2004: The Day F1 Came To London
2004: Formula One Comes To Regent Street
2002: Beer
I have two countdowns on the go right now. Today is the day for one of those countdowns to reach 00:00:00. Rachel Stevens and Melanie C will be performing live in Trafalgar Square later today (see here) as we wait to find out the result of the race to host the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Watch the London2012 videos and keep your fingers crossed for us. I’ll be updating later.
I didn’t watch Live8 over the weekend. Unlike Live Aid, I didn’t get caught up in the moment. I am too cynical now, and while I believe it was set up for all the right reasons, it was hijacked. If every one of those performers had given up all the revenue from increased record sales in the next 6 months, then I would have been less cynical. If the ‘Multi-millionaire rock stars performing in Philadelphia’ gave back their free gifts worth $12,000 (£6,800) [Source], I would have been even less cynical. Alexis Petridis, in The Guardian, says, “even the most cynical observer would be forced to admit that, even judged on music alone, Live 8 has been a remarkable day”, but, unfortunately, I heard very little. Still, I have higher hopes for today’s G8 Summit. Really, I do.
Olympic Countdown: The Prime Minister has arrived in Singapore to join the London team ahead of the crucial vote to elect the Host City for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games [Source], and England Football captain David Beckham has arrived in Singapore to join the London team, hoping to secure the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games [Source]. The BBC has a summary of the final push to the big announcement.
Silverstone countdown: get familiar with the tracks so you can work out where you would like to be on certain days. I think the people I am going with will know better than me, but it’s still fun to watch the speeds. In the meantime, keep an eye on the weather at the Silverstone circuit, though I have seen conflicting reports from different sources. Sun? Showers? A year ago tomorrow, we were watching them race around the streets of London. Somehow, that would have been much more convenient, don’t you think?