Monday 5 December 2011

AUSTERITY OLYMPICS? NOT ON YOUR LIFE

The cost of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics and Paralympics in London, are set to more than double after David Cameron saw the original plans and found them too niggardly and un-grand for him.


Given the hard economic times, the poor old "hard-working taxpayer up and down the country" so often cited by politicians, was promised an "Austerity Olympics"...an Olympics fit for the times. Nothing showy, just an opening (maybe SIR Elton John doing his 'Candle in the Wind' rewritten, yet again for yet another unhappy national occasion), followed by the sport, and then a closing (probably SIR Cliff Richard singing 'Congratulations').


But it seems that now that the time is near, Cameron wants to preside over something rather grander than the ration book games that had been foreseen. I'm sure I read somewhere were to have the biggest medals ever. (Yes, I did, and I found the link.) You couldn't make this up.


Apparently the money will be found from within the £3 billion sorry... very out of date figure... £9.3 billion that has been given to the Olympics by London the UK.


Additionally, they have had to revise the security costs upward. It had originally been thought that £271 million would cover it, however, when Seb  found his calculator and redid his sums, just a small error was discovered... ooops. It's going to cost £553 million. Terrible when you can't add up isn't it. 


No, it seems that instead of 10,000 guards, they are going to solve the unemployment problem for London by employing 23,000... close though, huh? (Actually it's not bad by, say, MoD standards.)


SIR Seb must have been washing his hair when this bad news was due to be released because they trotted out some totally unknown English sports minister called Hugh Robertson (what no SIRhood?), to take the flack. 


He said that the extra money was being spent so that the UK (the UK, mind) could reap the maximum economic benefit from the games. He said that he wanted people to have the best possible impression of the country, so that they will come back again and do business.


OK, so first of all these games are damn all to do with sport. It's all about making money, which, if I'm not mistaken, no one ever does from the Olympics, and this shower are even less likely to, because although their arses and armpits seem to be there, they just don't know which is which.

Secondly they seem to think that people will forget the overcrowded late trains (and drunk women telling them to speak F******* English when they are in her country), the over-priced hotels and restaurants, the surly staff and awful food, the disorganisation (because let's face it, they haven't exactly shown themselves efficient up to now, and I see no reason to expect anything else in the future), the crime, the beggars, the street sleepers, and the general air of unhappiness, shabbiness and discontent that pervades the whole place, ............and only remember how wonderful the opening and closing ceremonies were...?


They are mental.


All the security staff will have to be screened by the security services, and  that should be fun. I wonder how much that will cost us and how many potential terrorists they will let through.


Actually, they'd never admit it, but I suspect that the security increase is at least partly due to the fact that the USA was unhappy about security and wanted to send 1000 of their own CIA people, toting guns.


We probably won't be able to offer that level of skill and training, but under the Big Society some of the unemployed off the estates will be given a half-day course and then let loose with their new uniforms (how much will that cost us?) They can probably supply their own weapons.


Frankly, I wouldn't go to London next summer if you paid me, and I'll offer sanctuary to any of my London mates who need to escape for a while. 


No, I'm going to sit here and wait for the economic benefit that my tax money has bought Scotland. 


It's just as well that in addition to being very patient, I'm easily pleased.

17 comments:

  1. tris

    If Bob crow was First Minister Id vote for Independence(twice)

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/02/london-overground-olympics-bonuses


    Hundreds of rail employees will receive £650 for working during the Olympics under a "ground-breaking" deal announced by their union.

    The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said its London Overground members will receive the extra payment in return for flexibility of work patterns during next summer's event.

    The agreement will see additional pay for station, conductor, train care, fleet maintenance and revenue staff with an enhancement rate of 25% paid (normal time plus one quarter) for shifts worked during the Olympic and Paralympic games, the RMT said.

    Over the period covered by the agreement, staff will see a minimum gross payment of £650 which could rise with additional shifts and overtime, the union added.

    General secretary Bob Crow

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  2. LOL Niko, why not three times?

    Good for them!

    But who's paying for all this generosity to stop the railways going on strike over the Olympics?

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  3. Psst! £2 for ten how many do you want p&p extra.

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  4. They must be genuine British Treasury coins. They've got a pirate on them.

    How many for 50p?

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  5. I've just read that the policing bill (different from security?) will be £475 million making the total cost of security over one billion pounds.

    Good to be filthy rich.

    I wonder who's lending them that!

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  6. Difficult to see why they are concerned about railway workers - the only people who can afford to attend will be turning up in their luxury cars.

    PS: Who is Cliff Richards?

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  7. Do you remember an article fom a few years back about the Police being allowed to enter homes and remove any anti-Olympic posters or literature under the 2006 enabling act

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  8. John: I don't think any one else actually got tickets to anything anyone would want to see.

    I've no idea who Cliff Richard is. Didn't he used to be called Gracie Fields? Or was that Madonna?

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  9. Lord no, Anon. I never heard of all that. I wonder if they will take down this blog, seeing as I think The Olympics is a big fat waste of time.

    If they want to have games, good. But it's not about sport any more.

    It's about big business making a lot of money and the public forking out for it.

    How much sport at grass roots could we have had with the £80 million they are pouring into an opening and closing ceremony.

    Who's performing? Barbra (one song $1 million) Streisand? Are they bringing John Lennon back from the grave to play in it? How long does it go on for, 48 hours?

    And why is footballs in it? Don't we have enough football tournaments with the national leagues, national cups, European Cup, World cup. We need some more?

    It's about MONEY.

    We'll be paying for this in 10 years time.

    And will WE have got anything for it? Not a scrap.

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  10. warning, Daily Mail link

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1201171/Police-given-powers-enter-homes-tear-anti-Olympics-posters-Games.html

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  11. Bigger medals?...that's inflation for you eh!

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  12. DM Warning noted Anon...

    I note from the tex the following quotes:

    "Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: 'This is a Government who just doesn't understand civil liberties. They may claim these powers won't be used but the frank truth is no one will believe them.'"


    "Liberal Democrat spokesman Chris Huhne said: 'This sort of police action runs the risk of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. 'We should aim to show the Chinese that you can run a successful Olympics without cracking down on protestors and free speech.'"

    So, they will have been repealed?

    Farcical odious little creeps, the pair of them.

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  13. Inflation of self image if you ask me Nominedeus.

    They have to be bigger and better than China. What a bloody joke.

    They had the chance, due to the Western world's economic malaise, to offer an austerity Olympic games...

    They could have used the reasoning that while people are losing jobs and houses and going without it was immoral to spend vast amounts on entertainment.

    They could have given a lead; a lead back to the times when the games was about sport.

    But that have they done instead?


    Stupid Asses... as the Americans would say.

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  14. It is the old Roman trick tris, bread and circuses, we get to eat bread and the rich get to go to the circus, I have heard a rumour that there is to be one of those mechanical hares they have at greyhound races on the track with a Tesco 1 years food voucher attached to it....we can expect many long standing records to be broken in London next year methinks!

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  15. Och well, just as well I won't be there, Nom. I'm not overly keep on Tesco and I don't like circuses. Just as well I like bread, eh?

    :)

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  16. There always seems to be money available for those with big egos and power. The politics of the London Olympics

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  17. Sollistone:

    I apologise to you profusely. Your comment got caught up in the spam filter for some reason and I've only just seen it.

    Thanks for contributing and for the interesting link. It's true that they look like they are actually going out of your way to be awkward and put people off.

    It is, of course all about big money and no one gives a toss what the locals think. They won't be going anyway. It's too expensive and in any case Coka Cola have all the seats!!!!

    Anyway. I hope you'll contribute again, and apologies once again for your post getting lost....

    Tris

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