Anglian’s Kirk Is Enjoying His Surreal Olympics Experience
Today we have the latest update from Anglian Home Improvement’s very own, Kirk Lanckmans who is managing the press for two events – badminton and rhythmic gymnastics. Here is how he is getting on after 3 days of volunteering.
“I’ll admit that so far my Olympic adventure has been somewhat surreal at times, but it has been a fantastic experience thus far. It began early on Saturday morning with a drive down to outer London, before a short tube journey to Wembley Arena where I will be based on and off over the next 16 days. Perhaps it was a bad idea to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics the night before, given that I would only be afforded 3 hours sleep before my journey, but the amazing spectacle presented by Danny Boyle and a whole ensemble of volunteers was a sight to behold in itself and I’m glad I had the chance to enjoy it.
Stepping off the tube and walking down towards Wembley stadium was a treat in itself. Draped in the purple London 2012 livery and crowned with the Olympic rings, it was almost a completely different venue to the one I have visited many times before to watch the football. Turning right towards Wembley Arena, I was a little shocked to be greeted not only by another huge set of Olympic rings and so many other Games Makers on their way to ‘work’, but also by the swathes of spectators already queuing and adorned in colourful and often patriotic clothing awaiting entry to the venue at 7am in the morning!
Once inside, debriefed and pitch side, I had my first chance to take in some of the Olympic ‘atmosphere’. I have to give credit to all the people who had travelled from far and wide to be there – given that it was now around 8am in the morning the crowd was electric. From the moment the first game started to the end of the afternoon session, they whooped, cheered, laughed, clapped and celebrated alongside each athlete not seeming to care which country they represented, but appearing more interested in the spirit of the Olympics itself. Day 1 also saw a Royal visit from a certain Prince Charles who even seemed to get a little animated and excited as the British mixed doubles pair Adcock and Bankier took to the court in their first game of the tournament.
So far each day has been exciting and exhilarating, sometimes it has been a little hard to focus on the role in hand and I’ve had to remind myself that I’m not there as a spectator! I am enjoying every minute of it though despite some very sore feet (my feet have been blessed with a desk job for far too long) and today not only did we receive another Royal, this time in the form of Princess Anne, but I met a rather gracious and down to earth, Gail Emms (former Team GB badminton player). Before I finished though I must give some credit to our armed forces personnel whom are also at the venue. Forgetting the reason for their inclusion at the games for a moment, I’d just like to say how professional, polite and efficient they are. They are all working tirelessly to help the games run smoothly without so much as a grumble, no real recognition’ and they’re still managing to keep smiles on their faces. They’re a credit to us all.”
If you are on Twitter then you can follow Kirks (@kirklanckmans) to see live updates of his experience volunteering with the Olympics.
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