Monday Moan 73

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT MOVES TO GLASGOW
Some commentators worried that the enthusiasm and spirit generated by the Olympics last year would not last and that people would soon forget the joy of sporting events  and the benefits that they could bring to communities and to society as a whole.

The next major sporting event in the UK is the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year.  From the huge response to calls for volunteers to the almost complete sell-out of tickets, it seems clear that the Olympic spirit has survived and been transferred to Glasgow.

And if you want further proof that the spirit of the Olympics lives on, then look no further than Bob Crow, General Secretary of the RMT transport union, who has called for extra payments for his members to recognise their importance in keeping the transport systems going during the Games.  

This barely-disguised strike threat worked wonders at the Olympics, securing lovely bonuses for people to go to work as normal, and having found the key to the treasure chest Crow was never going to forget where to find it again. 

WOULD YOU WANT TO BE A REFEREE ....... OR EVEN A COMMENTATOR?
Not content with providing the referees at the Rugby League World Cup with a natty shade of pink for their kit, the organisers also made an astute choice of sponsors ……… 

Rugby League has even fewer teams in with a realistic chance of being crowned world champions than Rugby Union.  But it still holds a World Cup tournament, in which the also-rans and minnows are given their chance in the spotlight.

The current World Cup tournament is being staged at venues across England, Wales, Ireland and France.  Wales must have hoped for some success, their 5th ranking seemingly placing them in a good position to progress from a group of matches against the USA (12th), Italy (13th) and the Cook Islands (18th).  Unfortunately for them, they lost all three matches.  The loss to the Cook Islands took everyone by surprise, including the BBC reporter who interviewed David Fairleigh, Coach to the Cook Islands, immediately after the game.  It was the Cook Island’s first victory in a World Cup finals and the reporter had clearly practised her questions on the assumption of a Welsh victory ……………  

WANT TO TRY TO SPOIL THINGS FOR OTHERS?  TRY THESE TRICKS
I went to a fabulous concert yesterday in the Royal Albert Hall, where Lang Lang, the extraordinary Chinese pianist performed a wonderful programme of Mozart and Chopin, followed by no less than 7 encores.

You really can’t beat the experience of a live concert, whatever your taste in music.   CDs and videos have made music and performance accessible to all, but being there in person is a totally different experience.

 

So why mention this in the Moan?  Well, of course, nothing is perfect!  So, if you go to a rock concert you expect the audience to be noisy, to participate, to hold up their smartphones throughout so they can upload their videos to YouTube, etc.  An audience at a classical music concert generally follows a different etiquette.  No less involved, but this is demonstrated by rapt attention, silence and sitting still.  

Only, of course it isn’t ever quite like this. So yesterday we what must have been the annual outing for the combined forces of the bronchial wards of every London hospital, who took it in turns to cough and splutter, rather than all going at the same time.  Then there were the people fiddling to find things in their bags, with periodic thuds echoing around the auditorium as having found them they then dropped them on the floor.   And whilst I can see that some people might have had to rush off at the end to catch trains home (although why book them with so little margin for error?), why did so many people feel the need to leave before the end?  Everyone knows you will get an encore or two at such concerts.  Lang Lang even announced that he had performed six at the previous concert and wanted to do more.  If the all the encores had actually formed part of the printed programme then everyone would have stayed to listen – so what’s the difference?

RULES THAT APPLY TO OTHERS BUT NOT TO YOU …………..

There is a growing list of rules that clearly do not apply to everyone.  Speeding and using a mobile phone when driving being obvious examples.

Yesterday threw up two more examples.  Those signs on trains that say ‘Please do not put your feet on the seats’ appear to apply only to those who are too old to raise their feet to seat level.  Below a certain age it seems that you must be required to put your feet on the seats as soon as you sit down – especially if the footwear within which they are contained has remained unacquainted with the concept of cleaning for a while.

Maybe these were the same people who ignored the reasonable request at the concert for people not to use flash photography during the performance.  No demand that you don’t take photographs, even during the performance, but please do not use flash.  Of course, that rule doesn’t apply to you if you feel that using flash will get you a better picture.  No, your needs are greater than those of the performer and the rest of the audience, so just carry on.