One Year On ... Rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games

One year ago tonight I was lucky enough to attend the first public rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games and blogged about it here.  I saved the surprise and only posted photos after the ceremony had been broadcast.

I remember it like it was just last month, a sunny Monday with an endless blue sky and leaving work early to head off to the Olympic Park at Stratford. I remember the happy crowds, everyone excited at being able to go into the Olympic Park for a look round and then go into the Stadium to take our seats. Many of the audience were friends or relatives of the thousands of volunteer performers or, like me, one of the other Olympic volunteers. I was a London Ambassador and proudly wore my Ambassadorial trilby to the event.

The rain we'd had earlier in the month, followed by glorious sunshine, made sure that the grass was green and the flowers all in bloom. The whole place was new and sparkling and mighty impressive.

And then I was inside the Olympic Stadium. I never thought I'd be able to say that. I remember David Hemery in Mexico and Mary Peters in Munich, Seb Coe and Steve Ovett in Moscow, Sally Gunnell in Barcelona and, of course, Kelly Holmes in Athens. The Olympics was something I watched on TV, not attended. But there I was, in the Olympic Stadium in London.

I remember thinking back to Beijing and wondering how we could possibly compete with the cast of thousands involved in that Opening Ceremony. Would ours be embarrassing? All I'd seen about the ceremony was the pastoral scene at the start and that's what was going on as we gradually took our seats, looking across the stadium at a leisurely game of cricket, the May poles and milkmaids with pales. Then Danny Boyle asked us to #SaveTheSecret and it all started...

The pastoral landscape changed as the hoards emerged from under the World Tree and marched down to roll back the grass and destroy the houses as the industrial revolution took over and we saw chimneys spring up out of nowhere and the Olympic Rings were forged and raised up high. We had the homage to the National Health Service, we saw Lord Voldemort defeated by dozens of flying Mary Poppins, we saw our musical legacy from the Beates through the Sex Pistols to The Prodigy. I *loved* seeing the words 'Pretty Vacant' spelled out in the crowds on the other side of the Stadium from me. And we were introduced to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Internet. And so much more.

That was all one year ago tonight as the sun set in east London and I was in the sparkling new Olympic Stadium.  The Olympics would start four days later. I watched the Opening Ceremony on telly and then watched the Olympics as often as I could. I did my shifts as a London Ambassador on the sunny Southbank. And then I went back to the Olympic Park and the Olympic Stadium to see the Olympics! I saw David Rushida break the world record for the 800m and win Gold and I saw Usain Bolt win the 200m and another Gold to add to his collection.

I went to the Olympics, y'know, and, in my own small way, was part of them. I will never forget. London was pretty in the sunshine with Olympic banners flying in the breeze and was one of the most friendly places in the world for a few short weeks. I remember the pink signs on the Tube, Boris's announcements on the buses, the excitement mounting and the sighs of relief when we won our first Gold Medal courtesy of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, followed by Bradley Wiggins.

I'm going back to the Olympic Park on Sunday for the Anniversary Games and the Open East Festival. I know it'll have changed by now but in my mind's eye it will be the same. The Greatest Show on Earth will just be starting again...

Do you remember the London 2012 Olympics?

Jessica Ennis CBE and Nicola Adams MBE

Jessica Ennis CBE and Nicola Adams MBE went to the Palace today to meet the Queen and pick up their much-deserved medals. They both already have Gold Medals from the London 2012 Olympics, obviously, and are therefore heroes.

Jessica is now a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and Nicola is a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. There isn't a British Empire anymore but that's a detail.

Here they are with Greg Rutherford MBE, also an Olympian and Gold Medal winner.

There's also a nice article about Nicola, the first woman to ever win an Olympic boxing Gold Medal, on the Sporting Life site.

Oops, sorry, I meant Nicola Adams MBE, obviously.

The Plastic Bag Awards 2012

It's time for the annual Plastic Bag Awards, the Baggies 2012.

2012 has been a special year for us in London with the Olympics and Paralympics over the summer and, before that, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. So much has been going on from Shakespeare plays being acted by actors from all over the world in their own languages at the Globe to pop-up themed musical festivals all along the Thames. As every year, there are revivals and tours, new records released and exhibitions of the great and beautiful. In other words, a lot to choose from.

Best Theatre - Play

The five nominees for best play are:

• She Stoops To Conquer
• What The Butler Saw
• Timon of Athens
• The Last of the Haussmanns
• Much Ado About Nothing

Three of the nominees were from the National Theatre ('She Stoops', 'Timon' and 'Haussmanns') and, of these, I'd pick 'Haussmanns' as the best production, both cheeky and funny with great characters. That came close to winning but the Baggie goes to the wonderful 'Much Ado About Nothing' starring Meera Syal in the innovative Indian version of the play that made me laugh out loud (and I never laugh at Shakespeare, especially the comedies). Meera showed her true acting skills once again, a great actor as well as comedian and writer, wringing every little bit of humour and emotion from the piece. This was the fourth time I'd seen Meera on stage and she keeps getting better. Well done!

Best Theatre - Musical

I didn't see many musicals this year and some of those wouldn't be nominated for a Baggie (such as the time vortex that was 'Starlight Express'). The nominees are:

• Matilda The Musical
• Torch Song Trilogy
• Come Dancing - The Concert
• The Harder They Come - The Concert
• Taboo

'Matilda' was a joy and it was lovely to relive happy memories with the concert versions of 'Come Dancing' and 'The Harder They Come'. It was also good to see 'Torch Song Trilogy' but the award goes to another revival, 'Taboo'!

I saw 'Taboo' a few times in its original run so it was good to see the current revival at the Brixton Clubhouse since it's the Broadway version with some subtle (and not so subtle) changes.  The cast were excellent and it was a delight to see Paul Baker in the role he made his own years ago, playing Philip Sallon. Sam Buttery was great as Leigh Bowery and Katie Kerr delivered a heart-wrenching 'Il Adore' as Big Sue. The production was due to close before Christmas but it's been extended, with a new cast, until March. A hugely enjoyable show with some great songs and performances. See it if you can.

Best Theatre - Entertainment

This is sometimes my favourite Baggies category for all the 'performances' that don't really fit anywhere else and this year was particularly rich in performances.  The nominees are:

• Matthew Bourne's Early Adventures
• Geo Wyeth @ Soho Theatre
• Rain of Poems
• The Unthanks - Songs From The Shipyards
• Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty

Matthew Bourne features twice with his 'Early Adventures' as part of his celebration of 25 years of his New Adventure company and with his new production of 'Sleeping Beauty'. Geo Wyeth is a New York singer, composer and performance artist and had a short season at the Soho Theatre in early summer. The Rain of Poems was a terrific event - and great fun - on the Southbank with poems printed on cards being thrown out of a helicopter in an artistic/political performance about dropping poems on cities rather than bombs. The Unthanks gave a marvellous live performance playing the soundtrack to a film about the growth and death of the shipyards on the Tyne.

All of these have their own merits but the Baggie goes to the magical Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty and its gothic tale of faeries and vampires. The sumptuous design, the story-telling and the twists and turns in the plot made it a joy to behold. I've already got tickets to see it again...

Best Gig

I didn't go to that many gigs in 2012 but did seem to go in multiples - three Amanda Palmer gigs, two Maximo Park gigs and two Buffy Sainte-Marie events (gig and a talk).

• Buffy Sainte-Marie @ Queen Elizabeth Hall
• Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra @ Koko
• Ray Davies @ The Fairfield Halls
• Maximo Park @ Shepherd's Bush
• The Human League @ The Royal Albert Hall

It's always a joy to see Buffy, particularly when she does an extended set and plays some of the songs we rarely hear. Amanda moved to a new level at Koko with her most professional gig yet and Ray Davies and Maximo Park both produced the goods as ever. But, the Baggie has to go to the Human League for their sheer professionalism, the amazing lights and staging, great sound and a set full of hit songs from the last three decades. From the second song the whole audience - including me - stood, clapped and sang along. Well done to Phil, Susan and Joanne - again!

Best Live Performance

I like to single out that special live performance, a performance that brings a song to life adding something above and beyond the recorded version. The nominees are:

• Maximo Park - Hips And Lips (@ Heaven)
• Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra - The Killing Type (@ Art Show)
• Buffy Sainte-Marie - Generation (@ Queen Elizabeth Hall)
• Ray Davies - Come Dancing (@ 'Come Dancing - The Concert' at Theatre Royal Stratford)
• Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra - The Bed Song (@ Koko)

Paul Smith's playing along to 'Hips and Lips', acting out the song for the first time at the launch at Heaven made me hear that song differently every time since then. Amanda opened her Art Show at Village Underground by scraping two knives together as the opening to 'The Killing Type', a perfect opening to a show. Buffy was magnificent singing 'Generation' a song I've never seen her play live before, with her band (aka Bruthers Of Different Muthers) adding an electric backing. Seeing Ray Davies sing 'Come Dancing' is always worth a trip out.

The Baggie goes to Amanda Palmer for her astonishing and emotional performance of 'The Bed Song' at Koko. The band left her on alone on stage as she played her piano and she told us her tale of unsatisfied love down to not talking. It's a tender song and that was a special performance. Thank you Amanda.

Best New Album

This was a very difficult category to judge - how can you compare the first PiL album in 20 years with the first ever record from Viv Albertine or the latest from Maximo Park, an album from Joey Ramone 10 years after he died or the latest crowd-sourced album from Amanda Fucking Palmer? It's impossible, right? We've had a goodly load of great new music this year - and I'll include new albums from Madonna, The Unthanks and Alphabeat in there too - but someone has to win the Baggie...

• Public Image Limited - This Is PiL
• Joey Ramone - Ya Know?
• Maximo Park - The National Health
• Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra - Theatre Is Evil
• Viv Albertine - The Vermillion Border

The judging panel decided to award the Baggie by a smidgeon to Viv Albertine for the excellent 'The Vermillion Border', full of innovative songs, a slight sideways look at life and a great under-produced sound.

Best New Song

Out of the thousands of new songs this year I've picked just five:

• Madonna - Give Me All Your Luvin'
• Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra - Do It With A Rockstar
• Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra - The Bed Song
• Tom Tom Club - Downtown Rockers
• Viv Albertine - I Want More

There's a tendency to either love or hate Madonna and me, I go for whether I like the songs or not, and I fell for the leading single from her latest album 'Give Me All Your Luvin', a great return to danceable pop rather than dance music. It was a treat to finally have some new songs from Tom Tom Club and I love 'Downtown Rockers' that name-checks the late 70s punk scene in New York (I also love how the girls pronounce it 'rockerzzzz'). Viv's album opens with the powerful 'I Want More' - 'no compromise, I want more!'.

The panel shortlisted two Amanda Palmer songs from 'Theatre Is Evil', 'Do It With A Rockstar' and 'The Bed Song'. The latter is a well constructed and emotional journey through a relationship that is beautiful and heart-felt and 'Do It' is a raucous and mad tale of need and threat and desperate lust. Amanda gave away 'Do It With A Rockstar' to people who'd backed her Kickstarter campaign back in May and, later, to anyone in exchange for your email address. I've listened to it countless times and then thoroughly enjoyed the video. So naturally it wins 'best song' since it ticks so many boxes. I would.

Best Exhibition

There's been a mixed bag of exhibitions this year with two great Picasso exhibitions and 'Bronze' at the Royal Academy and a rather ok-ish Pre-Raphaelite exhibition that didn't work for me (and so isn't nominated). Luckily I managed to catch the fascinating Yoko exhibition at The Serpentine and the small but perfectly formed punk exhibition at the Hayward, 'Some Day All The Adults Will Die'.

• Picasso and Modern British Art @ Tate Britain
• Yoko Ono To The Light @ Serpentine Gallery
• Picasso's 'Vollard Suite' @ The British Museum
• Bronze @ The Royal Academy
• Some Day All The Adults Will Die @ Hayward Gallery

The Baggie needs to go to either one of the Picasso exhibitions or to 'Bronze' and the panel decided it should go to 'Bronze' for the wide range of exhibits, the interesting way of collecting them together into themed rooms and for including ancient and modern works together. It lost points for the lighting but gained points for including the magnificent Piggy from Florence.

Olympics and Paralympics London 2012

2012 was an astonishing year for London and the whole country with the Olympics and Paralympics. The summer started off gloomy and wet and then the sun came out for the Olympics and stayed till the end of the Paralympics before the rain returned. It was a magical time in which London changed, people smiled and talked to strangers and I became a London Ambassador dressed in my pink and purple uniform.

I can't possibly choose a single Olympian or Paralympian to receive a Baggie so, instead, have nominated different aspects of London during the Olympics and Paralympics. These are:

• Transport for London Signage
• London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony Rehearsal
• The Olympic Stadium
• London Ambassadors
• The Gift of the Gods - Shot-put
• Olympic Rings on Tower Bridge
• Beverley Knight - I Am What I Am

I loved the way Transport for London plastered pink signs everywhere in the Tube network and stations pointing the way to Olympic venues rather than signposting to different Tube lines. I loved those pink signs. I was privileged to see one of the rehearsals for the Olympics opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium  and will treasure that memory forever, just as will my experience of being a London Ambassador on the Southbank, walking up and down the south of the Thames handing out maps and guides and directing people to wherever they wanted to go.

London was dotted with art and oddness over the summer and one of my favourites was the 'Gift Of The Gods' installations around town in the strangest places. The 'gifts' were giant shot-put balls dropped from a great height that cracked the pavements and stood there as a testament to the powers of the gods ... all an installation of course, but great fun. I couldn't help but tear up the first time I saw the Olympic Rings hanging from Tower Bridge - that meant it was all finally real and was going to happen, the Olympics in London! I was both surprised and delighted by Beverley Knight appearing at the end of the Paralympics opening ceremony singing a newly arranged version of 'I Am What I Am' that worked so well and put Bev on the world stage.

The judging panel knows it's being a daft and a bit out there but it's gone for the London Transport signage if only because it was there every day, right in front of anyone travelling around London. I miss it.

And there you have it, the Baggies 2012.  I wonder what's in store for 2013....?

The Olympic Games London 2012

I've felt a need to do a big blog about the London 2012 Olympic Games but the slings and arrows of daily life have prevented me from completing it. Not least because my laptop died on me mid-way through the Olympics. So here is my tribute to the London 2012 Olympics - my Games.

A year and a half ago I first volunteered to be part of the wider Olympics, not as a Games Maker, but as a London Ambassador. I got through the selection process and the training days and it all started to become real when I received the pink and purple uniform - it sounds worse than it actually is, thankfully. I wanted to be a part, even just a small part, of the whole Olympic experience that won't happen again in my home city in my lifetime.

It's the job of London Ambassadors to welcome the world to London, help them find their way around town and enjoy the experience. My shifts were on the Southbank in the middle weekend of the Olympics when TeamGB went Gold medal crazy with Jessica Ennis, Mo Farrah and Greg Rutherford winning three Golds in less than an hour in the Olympic Stadium. The Southbank was packed with tourists and locals alike, all happy to take a map and a guide. I even had Londoners coming up to me asking where places in the guides were since we don't necessarily go out and see all the glorious sights in our home town.

My fellow Ambassadors were a lovely lot too and continue welcoming the world to London until the end of the Paralympics in September. All of us in our pink and purple shirts and jackets, black trousers or skirts, arms full of maps and trilbies on our heads. Everyone wanted to help out, support each other, answer questions that we didn't know the answers to and, generally, have a great time helping others to have a great time.

On my first day I had a question about the "shot put exhibition" on the Southbank, something neither I nor any of my fellow Ambassadors had heard of. So I found it in one of the guides and the next day, before my shift, I scoured the Southbank to find it, and I did. A giant shot put crashed to the ground as part of the Gift from the Gods exhibition, cracking the paving stones around it, and mighty impressive it is too. There's another one at Kennington Oval.

A special thanks to my colleague Roy for making the whole experience so pleasant. We met at one of the training days and teamed up on our first day on duty. Roy specialised in handing out maps and 'Time Out' and I specialised in the One Big Summer leaflet about the Southbank and the London Planner leaflet. If I didn't know the answer to something then Roy generally did, and vice versa. We patrolled the Southbank from the Big Wheel to the Oxo Tower, stopping to chat to colleague Ambassadors, chatting to the public and posing for photos for them, pointing the way to exhibitions and stations, agreeing that it was a shame that Olympic tickets weren't available and, generally, trying to be helpful. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am so pleased my shifts happened during the Olympics themselves. I even won my own 'gold medal' in the shape of a gold pin badge for 'excellence'.

I remember saying at one point, 'Who would ever have thought that the Olympics were happening 12 miles from my house...'

Being an Ambassador has had its perks, not least getting a ticket to see a rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony a few days before the actual Ceremony. It was a great thrill to get the tube to Stratford and walk into the Olympic Park proudly wearing my Ambassador trilby and with a big smile on my face, straight through the efficient security arrangements and gawping around at the stadium and all the other buildings we'd see so frequently on TV over the next few weeks. I was there and I saw most - but not all - of the Ceremony. There were still some surprises in store!

The first few days were nail-biting as we wondered 'where are the medals?'. We all got a bit hung up on medals and, nice as they are, some of our young athletes set personal bests without winning medals and that's a great achievement and something to be celebrated. It was awful to see Becky Adlington apologising for not winning Gold - you won an Olympic Bronze Medal, girl, be proud. We are proud of you!

And then the country erupted in joy when Helen Glover and Heather Stanning won our first Gold medal, which was also the first Gold ever won by the women's rowing team. I was on my feet cheering and clapping with the rest of the country. The joy poured out of the TV as we watched the laughing and crying, the hugs and the disbelief that they'd done it. There lots more to follow, of course, with big names and new stars winning gold, from Bradley Wiggins and Jessica Ennis to Alistair Brownlee and Nicola Adams. It wasn't all athletics - if anything, that was the junior sport. The rowing was an enormous success, horses did us proud, the Brownlee boys in the Triathlon were astonishing and our cyclists were, as ever, on the top of their game. That's part of the joy of the Olympics - so many sports in so few days, a feast of physical endeavour.

It wasn't just the Golds that delighted and raised our spirits. Gemma Gibbons winning a Silver in judo and saying 'I love you, Mum' to the sky was a lovely moment. As was the joy and dignity of the men's gymnastics team winning Bronze after briefly being named in the Silver medal position but still clearly delighted at winning an unexpected medal. It was lovely to see Steph Houghton celebrating scoring goals in the women's football and for a brief moment it looked like she'd get the team through to the next round but we didn't. And young Zoe Smith coming 12th in women's weightlifting, the best we've done in years and, of course, she has years ahead of her, so I'm looking forward to seeing her in Rio.

I was in the Olympic Stadium to see Usain Bolt win the 200m Gold and David Rushida break the 800m world record to win Gold. I saw the final two disciplines of the men's decathlon - the spears (aka the javelin) and the 800m - and cheered them on. I saw heats of the women's 800m and the 100m relay and the final of the women's spears. It was a grand night, seeing medal ceremonies, the lads playing in the sandpit (aka the hop, skip and jump) and I had a great seat with a great view of all the action. That's an evening I'll remember for a long time.

Our great team continued to win medals and set personal bests with the home crowd cheering them on, just as we cheered everyone on. Everyone got a cheer, whether first or last, it was the taking part that really mattered and all those athlete's mattered. One of my early promises to myself was that I'd name every TeamGB medal winner in my blog. There are too many to write about and includes photos but the roll of honour is below. Congratulations to all of you - you made us proud. You made me proud.

The atmosphere around town was incredibly positive and people actually paid heed to the pleas from Transport for London not to clog up public transport unless we had to. The Tube had a record number of users during the Olympics, more than ever before, and it coped admirably. I loved the new pink signage around tune stations, pointing to destinations rather than the tube lines - I still smile when I see the signs.

The medals continued to be won right up until the last few competitions and then we had the marathon and the closing ceremony. It was lovely to see Ray Davies stepping out of a black cab to sing 'Waterloo Sunset' and those Spice Girls whizzing round the stadium bringing a a sense of fun to the proceedings. It was disappointing to miss out the '70s (where was glam? punk? disco?) but good to see Fat Boy Slim and The Who. And in a flurry of fireworks it was all over, the flame dimming only to rise as a phoenix flying to Rio.

And the Olympic Games of London 2012, the XXX Olympiad, were over. These were my Olympics, a mere dozen miles from my house and I went there and watched it. I cheered and cried, I celebrated and then celebrated some more. I was even a part of it in my own small way. I hope a tourist on the other side of the world  will look at their photos one day and think how pretty London was in the sunshine with Olympic banners streaming in the breeze and maybe see a splash of pink and purple and think of the bloke who directed them to the tube station.  We welcomed the world to London and I hope they all look back on their holiday in London as one of the best they've ever had.

Farewell London 2012 Olympics, you'll stay with me forever.

Now it's time for Round II - bring on the Paralympics!

Gold medal winners

• Anthony Joshua, boxing, super-heavyweight

• Mo Farah, athletics, 5,000m

• Luke Campbell, boxing, bantamweight

• Ed McKeever, K1 200m canoe sprint

• Jade Jones, taekwondo, 57kg

• Nicola Adams, boxing, flyweight

• Charlotte Dujardin, equestrianism, individual dressage

• Sir Chris Hoy, cycling, keirin

• Laura Trott, cycling, omnium

• Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester and Laura Bechtolsheimer, equestrianism, team dressage

• Alistair Brownlee, triathlon

• Ben Maher, Nick Skelton, Peter Charles and Scott Brash, equestrianism, team showjumping

• Jason Kenny, cycling, sprint

• Andy Murray, tennis, singles

• Ben Ainslie, sailing, Finn

• Greg Rutherford, athletics, long jump

• Mo Farah, athletics, 10,000m

• Jessica Ennis, athletics, heptathlon

• Jo Rowsell, Laura Trott and Dani King, cycling, team pursuit

• Andy Triggs Hodge, Pete Reed, Tom James and Alex Gregory, rowing, men's four

• Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking, rowing, lightweight double sculls

• Philip Hindes, Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny, cycling, team sprint

• Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh, cycling, team pursuit

• Victoria Pendleton, cycling, keirin

• Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins, rowing, double sculls

• Peter Wilson, shooting, double trap

• Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott, canoeing, double

• Bradley Wiggins, cycling, time trial

• Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, rowing, pair

Silver medal winners

• Samantha Murray, modern pentathlon

• Fred Evans, boxing, welterweight

• Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, sailing, 470 class

• Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell, sailing, 470 class

• Victoria Pendleton, cycling, sprint final

• Nick Dempsey, windsurfing

• Christine Ohuruogu, athletics, 400m

• Andy Murray and Laura Robson, tennis, mixed doubles

• Louis Smith, gymnastics, pommel horse

• Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson, sailing, Star

• Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter, rowing, lightweight double sculls

• David Florence and Richard Hounslow, canoeing, double

• Richard Chambers, Peter Chambers, Chris Bartley and Rob Williams, rowing, lightweight four

• Gemma Gibbons, judo, 78kg

• Michael Jamieson, swimming, 200m breaststroke

• Tina Cook, William Fox-Pitt, Mary King, Zara Phillips and Nicola Wilson, equestrianism, team eventing

• Lizzie Armitstead, cycling, road race

Bronze medal winners

• Tom Daley, diving, 10m platform

• Lutalo Muhammad, taekwondo, -80kg

• Women's hockey

• Anthony Agogo, boxing, middleweight

• Laura Bechtolsheimer, equestrianism, individual dressage

• Robbie Grabarz, high jump

• Jonny Brownlee, triathlon

• Beth Tweddle, gymnastics, uneven bars

• Ed Clancy, cycling, omnium

• Max Whitlock, gymnastics, pommel horse

• Karina Bryant, judo, 78kg+

• Rebecca Adlington, swimming, 800m freestyle

• Alan Campbell, rowing, single sculls

• Will Satch and George Nash, rowing, men's pair

• Constantine Louloudis, Alex Partridge, James Foad, Tom Ransley, Ric Egington, Mo Sbihi, Greg Searle, Matt Langridge and Phelan Hill (cox), rowing, men's eight

• Chris Froome, cycling, time trial

• Louis Smith, Sam Oldham, Kristian Thomas, Max Whitlock and Dan Purvis, gymnastics, team

• Rebecca Adlington, swimming, 400m freestyle

• Liam Heath and Jon Schofield, K2 200m canoe sprint 

London Ambassador Day 1

Today was my first day as a London Ambassador and, while I thoroughly enjoyed it, my feet are going 'ow, ow, ow' from walking up and down London's Southbank seeing what I could do to welcome the world to London. There's so much going on on the Southbank - we have the London Eye, the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the National Theatre, art installations galore, pop-up restaurants and bars, the roof garden on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Fisherman's Wharf, Jubilee Gardens... so much there and so much going on.

I met some lovely people - my fellow Ambassadors amongst them - who seemed really pleased that there was someone to give them a map of London and answer a few questions. Our job is to make visitors visits better, whether they're from elsewhere in the UK or around the world, and I hope we did that. I got slightly distracted on occasion by all the street artists along the Southbank - well, you've got to watch and enjoy!

I had three, small, personal highlights. Firstly being stopped by a woman from Holland who said she's been in London for two days and was thoroughly enjoying herself and that all the volunteers need to keep their energy levels up and be positive. Secondly by a bloke who asked what all the pink and purple shirts meant and was impressed that we were all volunteers and doing it for free. And thirdly that I met one of the planners of the Marathon who showed me her maps for road closures in exchange for one of my Olympic maps.

The whole time was positive, smiles everywhere and even my fellow cynical Londoners smiling and saying 'no thank you' when offered a map.  Well, some Londoners look like tourists too. I didn't hear a single negative comment.

There was a single major sadness. I approached Russian and Canadian Olympians (there seemed to be a lot of them about) and none of them wanted a map. My challenge over the next week is to persuade an Olympian that they need one of my maps.  Whichever team it is, they will be a star and fully deserve a Gold medal.

Watch out for the pink and purple shirts on the Southbank... it might just be me!

London 2012 Olympic Games - Day 6

Today was a bit of a medal rush for TeamGB with three Golds and three Silvers in a range of sports.

Gold and Silver were won in the two-man canoe slalom with Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie winning Gold and David Florence and Richard Hounslow winning Silver. Two medals in the same final isn't bad at all. That led on to winning Gold in the men's cycle sprint team with Sir Chris Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny winning in a new world record time. That'll be a big weight off Chris's shoulders as one of the leaders of TeamGB who held the standard for the team at the Olympic Opening Ceremony. The final Gold was won by Peter Wilson in the men's shooting.

The second Silver was in rowing in the men's lighweight coxless fours with Richard and Peter Chambers, Rob Williams and Chris Bartley, and this is the team's third rowing medal, keeping the sport in the spotlight. The final Silver was for Gemma Gibbons in judo and, I think, I'm most pleased about that. Seeing the  footage of each of her bouts, the personal battle and her joy and celebration of each win was a lovely sight. She enjoyed herself and that comes across strongly - that's what it should be about. Well done Gemma!

London 2012 Olympic Games - Day 5

Today TeamGB delivered not one, but two, GOLD medals. The first gold medal for the team was in rowing and was won by Helen Glover and Heather Stanning in an amazing race that saw them effortlessly pull away from the rest of the race and power into the finishing line to the sound of a very euphoric crowd. It's particularly special since they've only been rowing together for two years, which is no time at all for a rowing team. Where do they go next, I wonder? It would be great if they stayed together and worked to get more women into the sport and more women winning. They seem like really nice people and potentially really powerful role models. Well done girls!

The second gold was won by Bradley Wiggins, who won the Tour de France last week. That's a great testament to his incredible fitness to recover from the Tour and still win a gold medal. It was one of those expected golds in which you half expect something to go wrong but it didn't. It was a commanding win from Bradley and he's all over the news this evening. It's an astonishing achievement and much is being made of him having now won more Olympic medals than anyone else in this country, which is pretty special. Note to the media - please remember Helen and Heather won gold first and deserve some coverage.

Bradley's colleague, Chris Froome also won bronze in the same race, which is good for British cycling, but he's hugely overlooked in the media in favour of Bradley.

In the pool, Michael Jamieson won an amazing silver in the men's 200 breaststroke that saw him catching the winner, getting closer and closer and, if there'd been another metre or so, would have caught him. The winner set a new world record and Michael was a smidgeon behind with a new GB record (again). That was a great race!

We also won bronze in the men's eights rowing. What should have been a happy event seemed more like mourning during the post-race interview. Yes guys, you wanted gold but you won a bronze, that's an OLYMPIC BRONZE so cheer up! You might not be proud of it but I am on your behalf, so well done!

London 2012 Olympic Games - Day 4

The big news for Team GB is the silver medal won by our eventers Tina Cook, William Fox-Pitt, Mary King, Zara Phillips and Nicola Wilson. After three days of competition in rain and sun it's nice to see them get their reward on the medals podium, with medals being awarded by Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, who was a Team GB eventer herself back in the day. Well done!

Other highlights happened in the pool today, with Michael Phelps winning his 19th Olympic medal, the most ever won by one person. His 18th medal was a silver, coming second to a lad from South Africa who looked awe-struck by beating his hero. Michael was really gracious in defeat, showing the lad how to hold his medal, where to go for photos, encouraging him to enjoy the moment - that was all lovely to see.

There was also a delightful moment when Michael Philips and Andrew Willis both made it through to the 200m breaststroke final, with Michael coming first in his semi-final with a new GB record. That was quite thrilling, especially having two blokes in the final.

It was also great to see Steph Houghton scoring a goal against Brazil at Wembley in the first few minutes. Steph has scored in every match so far. I saw Hope Powell, the Team GB football coach, on breakfast telly yesterday an she came across as thoroughly professional and confident in her women. She said a rather strange thing, that the team had never played at Wembley before, but they have now - and won! Maybe this is the time for women's football to start growing?

The downside today has been the whispering campaign against Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen suggesting she's been taking drugs to provide her own personal best (and also a world record) to win a gold medal the other day, and another gold today. That's sad really and pulls away the pride from her young life. Winners are automatically subject to drugs tests so why not wait for the results of that rather than spreading rumours? It's not nice. The results of the tests say she's clean.

London 2012 Olympic Games - Day 3

Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympics and the big news is that Team GB has won its first mens' team gymnastics medal in 100 years. At first it seemed like they'd won silver but they ended up with a bronze and they were still over the moon! Congratulations to Daniel Purvis, Max Whitlock, Louis Smith, Kristian Thomas and Sam Oldham.

It was lovely to see their reaction to their historic success, both while waiting during the tense ten minutes of the Japanese appeal and on the podium. They were delighted and so was the crowd. After initial boos when the result was changed the crowd cheered the Japanese team, celebrating their excellent performance. But the stars are the five lads with bronze who couldn't believe they'd won an Olympic medal. Well done lads and good luck in the individual competition!

Other highlights of the day included Zoe Smith coming in 12th in the womens' weightlifting competition, setting a new GB record. Zoe featured in the documentary 'Girl Power' a couple of weeks ago, that followed three Olympic hopefuls over the past year and their training in weightlifting. Zoe was the one who went through to the Olympic trials to represent GB. She's only 18 so has a lot of years of competition ahead of her. Well done Zoe!

Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins broke the Olympic record in the double scull in rowing and are through to the final on Friday. Of course, that means the pressure's on them so lets keep fingers crossed...

I also caught the latter stages of the archery competition taking place in the Lord's Cricket Ground to see a tense competition being won by Larry Godfrey to take him through to the last 16. It was fascinating watching them take aim and fire to hit that target so far away and keep scoring 10 points in the centre of the target. How on earth do you do that? Taking into account the breeze buffering around Lord's, the distance, controlling the little tremors as they hold the bows and then whoosh! An arrow sticks into the yellow core of the target. I'll need to make sure I watch the next stage of the competition.