SMUG BUILDER (4)
I finished a wall today. There used to be a horrible lean-to shed round the back of the house, which I demolished a couple of years ago. I am now in the process of breaking up the concrete floor and dividing the area into two; a small terrace and a flower bed. The low wall is the dividing line between the two.
In a couple of weeks, after it has completely dried, I will paint it. Then I will fill in the smaller area with sand and put paving stones down for the terrace.
Needless to say, I was pretty pleased with myself. Photos in due course once I have finished.
Walter Blotscher
Friday 31 August 2012
Thursday 30 August 2012
U.K. HOUSING POLICY (3)
Net migration into the U.K. in 2010 was 252,000. The Government thinks that figure is way too high, both in itself and (just as importantly) in relation to the number of new houses being built, and so has vowed to reduce it to the tens of thousands (i.e. under 100,000) by 2015. That may be a politically sensible aim, but it also looks rather pie in the sky. New figures show that net migration in 2011 was 216,000, which means that there is still a long way to go.
The target may also be economically short-sighted. The drop was more than caused by a reduction of 75,000 (21%), to 282,833, in the number of student visas issued. Despite increased tuition fees (a maximum of £9,000 a year from this academic year), British educational institutions rely to a large extent on income from foreign students in order to make ends meet; fewer students will, therefore, automatically result in tighter budgets. The economy will also be hurt later on by reduced income from students who would otherwise have chosen to stay on and work in the U.K.
Governments often want income without the people who generate it. Unfortunately, they tend to go together.
Walter Blotscher
Net migration into the U.K. in 2010 was 252,000. The Government thinks that figure is way too high, both in itself and (just as importantly) in relation to the number of new houses being built, and so has vowed to reduce it to the tens of thousands (i.e. under 100,000) by 2015. That may be a politically sensible aim, but it also looks rather pie in the sky. New figures show that net migration in 2011 was 216,000, which means that there is still a long way to go.
The target may also be economically short-sighted. The drop was more than caused by a reduction of 75,000 (21%), to 282,833, in the number of student visas issued. Despite increased tuition fees (a maximum of £9,000 a year from this academic year), British educational institutions rely to a large extent on income from foreign students in order to make ends meet; fewer students will, therefore, automatically result in tighter budgets. The economy will also be hurt later on by reduced income from students who would otherwise have chosen to stay on and work in the U.K.
Governments often want income without the people who generate it. Unfortunately, they tend to go together.
Walter Blotscher
Wednesday 29 August 2012
Tuesday 28 August 2012
SINGING IN GERMAN
I tend to listen to Schleswig-Holstein pop radio in the car in the morning, it's an easy way of keeping my German comprehension up to speed. It also makes me thankful I don't live in Hamburg. 15 kilometers of "Stau" on the A7 to the Elbe Tunnel this morning.
Most of the songs are in English, but every now and then the presenters throw in a German one. Which always makes me think that German is not a language which is suitable for modern music. Wagnerian opera, that's one thing; pop songs, no.
It's not as if I dislike German as a language; I went to school in Germany and speak it pretty well. But it just doesn't seem to mix well with electric guitars, drums and bass; and when they do, you get this dreadful "schlager" stuff. Perhaps it's because of all those relative clauses and verbs at the end of the sentence.
I think that Germans themselves secretly realise this. When Germany won the Eurovision Song Contest a couple of years ago, the winning song was in English.
Walter Blotscher
I tend to listen to Schleswig-Holstein pop radio in the car in the morning, it's an easy way of keeping my German comprehension up to speed. It also makes me thankful I don't live in Hamburg. 15 kilometers of "Stau" on the A7 to the Elbe Tunnel this morning.
Most of the songs are in English, but every now and then the presenters throw in a German one. Which always makes me think that German is not a language which is suitable for modern music. Wagnerian opera, that's one thing; pop songs, no.
It's not as if I dislike German as a language; I went to school in Germany and speak it pretty well. But it just doesn't seem to mix well with electric guitars, drums and bass; and when they do, you get this dreadful "schlager" stuff. Perhaps it's because of all those relative clauses and verbs at the end of the sentence.
I think that Germans themselves secretly realise this. When Germany won the Eurovision Song Contest a couple of years ago, the winning song was in English.
Walter Blotscher
Sunday 26 August 2012
CRIMINAL INSANITY
Is there a difference between insanity for criminal purposes and insanity, as meant by the man in the street or doctors? The answer is yes, as two recent cases have demonstrated.
The first was the trial of Gu Kailai, wife of the disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai. After admitting that she had murdered British businessman Neil Heywood, she was given a suspended death sentence instead of the normal (for China) execution. Although this was no ordinary trial, she had pleaded in mitigation that she had suffered a "mental breakdown". Suspended death sentences in China are often converted into long prison sentences, and it is even possible that Ms. Gu may be released at some point in the future.
The second was the conviction last week of Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik, who had admitted murdering 77 mostly young people last July. Most people would consider Breivik more than a bit of a nut. But the Norwegian court judged that he was sane at the time of the attacks, thereby enabling him to be sentenced to ordinary imprisonment instead of being put in a secure medical institution.
In common law jurisdictions such as England and the U.S., criminal insanity is governed by the so-called M'Naghten rules, as amended. In 1843 Daniel M'Naghten shot and killed at point-blank range the secretary to the then Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. It was generally assumed at the time that he was intending to shoot Peel himself, but had got the wrong man. At his trial for murder, he was acquitted on grounds of insanity, and committed to a mental institution. Following the trial, the House of Lords asked a panel of judges a series of questions about the insanity defence, and the answers have become the cornerstone of this area of the law.
The crucial part is that "it must be clearly proved that, at the time of the committing of the act, the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong". The disease of the mind formulation can give rise to problems. Crimes committed by a diabetic having a fit because of a lack of insulin would lead to a charge of not guilty by reason of insanity; but those committed by a diabetic having a fit because he had taken too much insulin would be ordinary crimes (the insulin is an external factor, not a disease of the mind). Crimes committed while sleepwalking would also be covered by the insanity definition. Because of the stigma of insanity, some defendants of this kind have chosen to plead guilty, even though the insanity defence would have been open to them.
Medical knowledge of mental illness has increased hugely since 1843, so it seems odd to base modern decisions on something so old. Judges would undoubtedly - and rightly - say that changing such a controversial and long-standing set of rules should be the duty of Parliament, not them. Sadly, Parliament does not seem minded to try.
Walter Blotscher
Is there a difference between insanity for criminal purposes and insanity, as meant by the man in the street or doctors? The answer is yes, as two recent cases have demonstrated.
The first was the trial of Gu Kailai, wife of the disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai. After admitting that she had murdered British businessman Neil Heywood, she was given a suspended death sentence instead of the normal (for China) execution. Although this was no ordinary trial, she had pleaded in mitigation that she had suffered a "mental breakdown". Suspended death sentences in China are often converted into long prison sentences, and it is even possible that Ms. Gu may be released at some point in the future.
The second was the conviction last week of Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik, who had admitted murdering 77 mostly young people last July. Most people would consider Breivik more than a bit of a nut. But the Norwegian court judged that he was sane at the time of the attacks, thereby enabling him to be sentenced to ordinary imprisonment instead of being put in a secure medical institution.
In common law jurisdictions such as England and the U.S., criminal insanity is governed by the so-called M'Naghten rules, as amended. In 1843 Daniel M'Naghten shot and killed at point-blank range the secretary to the then Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. It was generally assumed at the time that he was intending to shoot Peel himself, but had got the wrong man. At his trial for murder, he was acquitted on grounds of insanity, and committed to a mental institution. Following the trial, the House of Lords asked a panel of judges a series of questions about the insanity defence, and the answers have become the cornerstone of this area of the law.
The crucial part is that "it must be clearly proved that, at the time of the committing of the act, the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong". The disease of the mind formulation can give rise to problems. Crimes committed by a diabetic having a fit because of a lack of insulin would lead to a charge of not guilty by reason of insanity; but those committed by a diabetic having a fit because he had taken too much insulin would be ordinary crimes (the insulin is an external factor, not a disease of the mind). Crimes committed while sleepwalking would also be covered by the insanity definition. Because of the stigma of insanity, some defendants of this kind have chosen to plead guilty, even though the insanity defence would have been open to them.
Medical knowledge of mental illness has increased hugely since 1843, so it seems odd to base modern decisions on something so old. Judges would undoubtedly - and rightly - say that changing such a controversial and long-standing set of rules should be the duty of Parliament, not them. Sadly, Parliament does not seem minded to try.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday 25 August 2012
LANCE ARMSTRONG
Was he doped? The question has been around since at least 1999, when he came back from testicular cancer to win the first of his record-breaking seven consecutive victories at the Tour de France. Since then, the questions have become ever more persistent, as both competitors and teammates from that era confess to doping. Yet Armstrong, probably the most tested athlete in history, has never tested positive for anything. Federal agents, investigating whether the U.S. Government was defrauded (Armstrong's team for most of those victories was sponsored by the Government-owned U.S. Postal Service), turned over stones for more than two years, but eventually had to drop the case earlier this year.
At which point it was taken up again by the U.S. anti-doping agency USADA. They have apparently amassed a large dossier of evidence against Armstrong, his then team manager, and various medical staff associated with him, much of it in the form of testimony from past teammates. USADA believes it sufficient to warrant a lifetime ban for Armstrong, and the stripping of all his titles back to 1998. They gave Armstrong the right to challenge the evidence by going to arbitration. However, Armstrong, normally quick to litigate against anybody daring to suggest that he is not 100% clean, declined. Which means, in effect, that USADA's claims stand. The most successful stage cyclist in history risks being stripped of his seven Tour de France victories.
Lance Armstrong has always been a controversial figure; basically, you are either really for him or really against him. For what it is worth, and bearing in mind that I have never seen the results of any of the myriad of tests which he has provided during his career, I have always thought he was doped. My reasons are as follows.
1. All of his major competitors took drugs, and he beat them. Notably Jan Ulrich, a product of the former East German sports system and winner of the Tour in 1997 at the precocious age of 23. Ulrich was Olympic champion in 2000 and world time-trial champion a couple of times, but was still beaten by Armstrong at the Tour. Ulrich rode for the Deutsche Telekom team for most of that time, many of whose riders have since admitted to doping. That includes Danish sporting hero Bjarne Riis, winner of the Tour in 1996, who adamantly denied taking drugs for more than a decade before finally admitting it in May 2007.
2. Nearly all of his teammates took drugs, and have since admitted it. They include Tyler Hamilton, Olympic time-trial gold medallist in 2004, and Floyd Landis, who won the 2006 Tour before being stripped of his title for failing a drug test during the race. Both of them have said that they had to take drugs in order to stay on the U.S. Postal team. Furthermore, a large part of USADA's dossier is supposed to come from other former teammates of Armstrong, who have subsequently confessed.
3. It is true that Armstrong has never failed a test. But there are rumours of a cover-up following a negative test at the Tour of Switzerland. It is also true that drug-takers are often one step ahead of the regulatory authorities. When a new test emerged to detect EPO, the authorities were able to go back and retest earlier samples that they had considered suspicious, but could not prove because the tests did not exist at that time. Again, USADA is supposed to have done that with some of Armstrong's samples.
I accept that the above is circumstantial, but not proof. For me, the most compelling evidence is somewhat different. In seven years at the Tour, or almost 150 days of racing at the highest possible level, Armstrong never had one bad day; no crash, no flu (cyclists are very susceptible to colds and asthma), no going dead on a mountain, not even by 20 seconds. Secondly, and more specifically, when he won his first Tour in 1999, the key stage finished on Alpe d'Huez. Armstrong stood up on the pedals at the bottom and blew away Jan Ulrich and Josef Beloki by more than two minutes. What was incredible was that he pedalled the whole of the 14.4km (average gradient 8.1%) standing up! When you stand up on a bicycle, lactic acid forms in the legs, and it quickly begins to hurt. When Carlos Sastre won the 2008 Tour on the same mountain, he had two standing-up bursts of 500 metres each at the bottom in order to burn off his competitors, and then sat down the rest of the way. A fully-fit professional can keep it going standing up for more than 500 metres, but 14.4km sharply uphill is quite simply unbelievable.
Armstrong is still protesting his innocence. That in itself proves nothing; Riis. Hamilton and Landis were all in denial for many years, and Landis even raised US$500,000 from the general public in order to pay lawyers to help him prove his innocence (this week he agreed to repay the money within three years, otherwise he will go to jail for fraud). And I suspect that many will take the view that Armstong is guilty. Although cycling is still not squeaky clean, it is definitely much cleaner that it was. The best evidence for that is that average speeds are not increasing year after year, and that riders do have a bad day every once in a while. The chances of someone today repeating Armstrong's seven Tour victories in a row are, in my view, nil.
Walter Blotscher
Was he doped? The question has been around since at least 1999, when he came back from testicular cancer to win the first of his record-breaking seven consecutive victories at the Tour de France. Since then, the questions have become ever more persistent, as both competitors and teammates from that era confess to doping. Yet Armstrong, probably the most tested athlete in history, has never tested positive for anything. Federal agents, investigating whether the U.S. Government was defrauded (Armstrong's team for most of those victories was sponsored by the Government-owned U.S. Postal Service), turned over stones for more than two years, but eventually had to drop the case earlier this year.
At which point it was taken up again by the U.S. anti-doping agency USADA. They have apparently amassed a large dossier of evidence against Armstrong, his then team manager, and various medical staff associated with him, much of it in the form of testimony from past teammates. USADA believes it sufficient to warrant a lifetime ban for Armstrong, and the stripping of all his titles back to 1998. They gave Armstrong the right to challenge the evidence by going to arbitration. However, Armstrong, normally quick to litigate against anybody daring to suggest that he is not 100% clean, declined. Which means, in effect, that USADA's claims stand. The most successful stage cyclist in history risks being stripped of his seven Tour de France victories.
Lance Armstrong has always been a controversial figure; basically, you are either really for him or really against him. For what it is worth, and bearing in mind that I have never seen the results of any of the myriad of tests which he has provided during his career, I have always thought he was doped. My reasons are as follows.
1. All of his major competitors took drugs, and he beat them. Notably Jan Ulrich, a product of the former East German sports system and winner of the Tour in 1997 at the precocious age of 23. Ulrich was Olympic champion in 2000 and world time-trial champion a couple of times, but was still beaten by Armstrong at the Tour. Ulrich rode for the Deutsche Telekom team for most of that time, many of whose riders have since admitted to doping. That includes Danish sporting hero Bjarne Riis, winner of the Tour in 1996, who adamantly denied taking drugs for more than a decade before finally admitting it in May 2007.
2. Nearly all of his teammates took drugs, and have since admitted it. They include Tyler Hamilton, Olympic time-trial gold medallist in 2004, and Floyd Landis, who won the 2006 Tour before being stripped of his title for failing a drug test during the race. Both of them have said that they had to take drugs in order to stay on the U.S. Postal team. Furthermore, a large part of USADA's dossier is supposed to come from other former teammates of Armstrong, who have subsequently confessed.
3. It is true that Armstrong has never failed a test. But there are rumours of a cover-up following a negative test at the Tour of Switzerland. It is also true that drug-takers are often one step ahead of the regulatory authorities. When a new test emerged to detect EPO, the authorities were able to go back and retest earlier samples that they had considered suspicious, but could not prove because the tests did not exist at that time. Again, USADA is supposed to have done that with some of Armstrong's samples.
I accept that the above is circumstantial, but not proof. For me, the most compelling evidence is somewhat different. In seven years at the Tour, or almost 150 days of racing at the highest possible level, Armstrong never had one bad day; no crash, no flu (cyclists are very susceptible to colds and asthma), no going dead on a mountain, not even by 20 seconds. Secondly, and more specifically, when he won his first Tour in 1999, the key stage finished on Alpe d'Huez. Armstrong stood up on the pedals at the bottom and blew away Jan Ulrich and Josef Beloki by more than two minutes. What was incredible was that he pedalled the whole of the 14.4km (average gradient 8.1%) standing up! When you stand up on a bicycle, lactic acid forms in the legs, and it quickly begins to hurt. When Carlos Sastre won the 2008 Tour on the same mountain, he had two standing-up bursts of 500 metres each at the bottom in order to burn off his competitors, and then sat down the rest of the way. A fully-fit professional can keep it going standing up for more than 500 metres, but 14.4km sharply uphill is quite simply unbelievable.
Armstrong is still protesting his innocence. That in itself proves nothing; Riis. Hamilton and Landis were all in denial for many years, and Landis even raised US$500,000 from the general public in order to pay lawyers to help him prove his innocence (this week he agreed to repay the money within three years, otherwise he will go to jail for fraud). And I suspect that many will take the view that Armstong is guilty. Although cycling is still not squeaky clean, it is definitely much cleaner that it was. The best evidence for that is that average speeds are not increasing year after year, and that riders do have a bad day every once in a while. The chances of someone today repeating Armstrong's seven Tour victories in a row are, in my view, nil.
Walter Blotscher
Friday 24 August 2012
A LEGAL MONOPOLY
If you live in another country for a while, as I have done, then every once in a while something crops up, which is surprising. Not just surprising in the sense of "not what we do in my country", but surprising in the the sense of "not what the other country is supposed to stand for". Today's Danish surprise was when I learned about the Kammeradvokat.
The kammeradvokat (literally the chamber lawyer) is an office founded way back in 1684 by the then King Christian V. His role was as a counsellor, who worked exclusively on state business. In 1936, the post was given for the first time to someone who was allowed to retain his existing private legal practice. Nothing wrong in that; though there could have been conflict of interest issues. The real problem is that the private practice in question has retained the kammeradvokat post, with its monopoly of Government business, ever since. With the growth of Government since then, it now brings in an income of some kr.280 million (roughly £30m) a year. A nice little monopoly.
This is not the way that things are done in the U.K. However, and more fundamentally, lucrative monopolies are not something I associate with the modern Danish state. After 75 years, the politicians seem to have woken up to the problem. The office of Kammeradvokat is to be put out to tender later this year. I might even bid.
Walter Blotscher
If you live in another country for a while, as I have done, then every once in a while something crops up, which is surprising. Not just surprising in the sense of "not what we do in my country", but surprising in the the sense of "not what the other country is supposed to stand for". Today's Danish surprise was when I learned about the Kammeradvokat.
The kammeradvokat (literally the chamber lawyer) is an office founded way back in 1684 by the then King Christian V. His role was as a counsellor, who worked exclusively on state business. In 1936, the post was given for the first time to someone who was allowed to retain his existing private legal practice. Nothing wrong in that; though there could have been conflict of interest issues. The real problem is that the private practice in question has retained the kammeradvokat post, with its monopoly of Government business, ever since. With the growth of Government since then, it now brings in an income of some kr.280 million (roughly £30m) a year. A nice little monopoly.
This is not the way that things are done in the U.K. However, and more fundamentally, lucrative monopolies are not something I associate with the modern Danish state. After 75 years, the politicians seem to have woken up to the problem. The office of Kammeradvokat is to be put out to tender later this year. I might even bid.
Walter Blotscher
Wednesday 22 August 2012
DIABETES
There are two types of diabetes. Type I is something you are born with, and is relatively rare. Type II is something you get during life, and is associated with bad, sugary diets and a lack of exercise. In Danish it's known as "old man's diabetes".
The number of cases is exploding here. In 2010, 286,534 Danes had been diagnosed with Type II diabetes, roughly 5% of the population, and more than two and a half times the number in 1997. Doctors believe that about the same number have the disease, but don't realise it. The official number is confidently expected to rise to 500,000 within the next decade. Those most at risk are teenagers and adults in their 40's.
The costs to society are huge. Basically Denmark eats too much sugar and is far too fat. This author can confirm this on the basis of a casual survey taken during last weekend's heatwave. A lot of people took the opportunity to shed their clothes; it was not always a pretty sight.
Walter Blotscher
There are two types of diabetes. Type I is something you are born with, and is relatively rare. Type II is something you get during life, and is associated with bad, sugary diets and a lack of exercise. In Danish it's known as "old man's diabetes".
The number of cases is exploding here. In 2010, 286,534 Danes had been diagnosed with Type II diabetes, roughly 5% of the population, and more than two and a half times the number in 1997. Doctors believe that about the same number have the disease, but don't realise it. The official number is confidently expected to rise to 500,000 within the next decade. Those most at risk are teenagers and adults in their 40's.
The costs to society are huge. Basically Denmark eats too much sugar and is far too fat. This author can confirm this on the basis of a casual survey taken during last weekend's heatwave. A lot of people took the opportunity to shed their clothes; it was not always a pretty sight.
Walter Blotscher
Tuesday 21 August 2012
MOLE WARFARE (10)
My last post on this was back in November; since then, mi hacienda has been pretty well mole-free. I did wonder whether the Mole Army would take advantage of my being in London for the Olympics to launch a summer offensive. And that has duly happened. Not, however, a coordinated offensive with many moles, but a single attack on the new lawn.
Readers of this blog will know that this was a doomed strategy. But as a tactical "let's piss Walter off as much as possible by ruining his new lawn" taupian suicide bomb attack, it had its attractions. Getting rid of a molehill made in long grass is a bit tricky. Mow the grass and you can easily make a complete mess of the molehill; but if you don't mow it, then it is difficult to see where the latest ones have been made.
But the gauntlet had been thrown down, and it was up to me to respond. First, some judicious mowing in order to cordon off the battleground. Secondly, some filling in of old holes. Thirdly, a triangulation of traps. Fourthly, patience. And lo and behold, this morning I got my man. Fleeing from the trap put in the newest hole, he followed his old path and went smack into the second trap. It was almost as if he had followed a sign saying "this way to the ambush".
All that I had to do this afternoon was clear up the mess. Now back to the killer snails.
Walter Blotscher
My last post on this was back in November; since then, mi hacienda has been pretty well mole-free. I did wonder whether the Mole Army would take advantage of my being in London for the Olympics to launch a summer offensive. And that has duly happened. Not, however, a coordinated offensive with many moles, but a single attack on the new lawn.
Readers of this blog will know that this was a doomed strategy. But as a tactical "let's piss Walter off as much as possible by ruining his new lawn" taupian suicide bomb attack, it had its attractions. Getting rid of a molehill made in long grass is a bit tricky. Mow the grass and you can easily make a complete mess of the molehill; but if you don't mow it, then it is difficult to see where the latest ones have been made.
But the gauntlet had been thrown down, and it was up to me to respond. First, some judicious mowing in order to cordon off the battleground. Secondly, some filling in of old holes. Thirdly, a triangulation of traps. Fourthly, patience. And lo and behold, this morning I got my man. Fleeing from the trap put in the newest hole, he followed his old path and went smack into the second trap. It was almost as if he had followed a sign saying "this way to the ambush".
All that I had to do this afternoon was clear up the mess. Now back to the killer snails.
Walter Blotscher
Monday 20 August 2012
FACEBOOK
When Facebook was floated on the stock exchange back in May, its shares were priced at US$38 each. Today they hit a low of US$18.75. That still makes it a US$50 billion company, which is not bad after a life of under 10 years. But a 50% fall in three months represents a terrible investment. Why?
In an earlier Tweet I said that I thought that the issue price was a tad overblown. In fact, I have to admit to being rather sceptical of the whole Facebook idea. True, I am a member; but that's mainly in order to keep in contact with my children, particularly my second son in Switzerland, who doesn't have a computer, and who seems to be permanently incapable of keeping possession of a mobile telephone for longer than two weeks. So much of Facebook's content is of the "hi, I'm doing x, what are you up to?" type. Which can be interesting, but is rarely informative. OK, maybe I am just old.
However, my scepticism turns into disbelief when it comes to Facebook's business model, which is based on advertising. The problem - for me, at least - is that the vast proportion of advertising is designed to make us buy things, yet Facebook is not intuitively the place to go to if you are thinking of making a purchase. Chatting to your friends, yes; sharing family pictures, yes; organising a party or protest, yes. Buying a new sofa? No. I would start with Google and go from there.
It's undoubtedly the case that if you have roughly a billion digital customers, then that must count as an asset in today's world. The difficulty is turning that asset into money. I for one would not be a member of Facebook if I had to pay for it; I suspect that is true for quite a lot of other people, young as well as old.
So, back to the question. I think that in the run-up to the share sale, everyone focussed on the number of customers and not many focussed on the "turning them into money" aspect. After the initial hype, the latter is becoming more important, and the solution is not at all clear.
Walter Blotscher
When Facebook was floated on the stock exchange back in May, its shares were priced at US$38 each. Today they hit a low of US$18.75. That still makes it a US$50 billion company, which is not bad after a life of under 10 years. But a 50% fall in three months represents a terrible investment. Why?
In an earlier Tweet I said that I thought that the issue price was a tad overblown. In fact, I have to admit to being rather sceptical of the whole Facebook idea. True, I am a member; but that's mainly in order to keep in contact with my children, particularly my second son in Switzerland, who doesn't have a computer, and who seems to be permanently incapable of keeping possession of a mobile telephone for longer than two weeks. So much of Facebook's content is of the "hi, I'm doing x, what are you up to?" type. Which can be interesting, but is rarely informative. OK, maybe I am just old.
However, my scepticism turns into disbelief when it comes to Facebook's business model, which is based on advertising. The problem - for me, at least - is that the vast proportion of advertising is designed to make us buy things, yet Facebook is not intuitively the place to go to if you are thinking of making a purchase. Chatting to your friends, yes; sharing family pictures, yes; organising a party or protest, yes. Buying a new sofa? No. I would start with Google and go from there.
It's undoubtedly the case that if you have roughly a billion digital customers, then that must count as an asset in today's world. The difficulty is turning that asset into money. I for one would not be a member of Facebook if I had to pay for it; I suspect that is true for quite a lot of other people, young as well as old.
So, back to the question. I think that in the run-up to the share sale, everyone focussed on the number of customers and not many focussed on the "turning them into money" aspect. After the initial hype, the latter is becoming more important, and the solution is not at all clear.
Walter Blotscher
Sunday 19 August 2012
HUNG OVER
I woke up this morning with more than a bit of a hangover, due to last night's annual street dinner. The weather has been beautiful this weekend, sunny and 30 degrees. So it was wonderful to sit out in my neighbour's garden and be fed and watered. The only problem was that the amount of alcohol was generous, to say the least.
Wandering home at 2 am last night along a darkened village road under a cloudless, star-spangled sky, I thought that all was well with the world. Some eight hours later, I thought rather differently.
Walter Blotscher
I woke up this morning with more than a bit of a hangover, due to last night's annual street dinner. The weather has been beautiful this weekend, sunny and 30 degrees. So it was wonderful to sit out in my neighbour's garden and be fed and watered. The only problem was that the amount of alcohol was generous, to say the least.
Wandering home at 2 am last night along a darkened village road under a cloudless, star-spangled sky, I thought that all was well with the world. Some eight hours later, I thought rather differently.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday 18 August 2012
DANISH POLITICS
The current three-party Danish Government is not yet a year old, but is already in trouble. At the general election, the three parties, together with the very left-wing Enhedslisten (supporting them, but not formerly part of the Government) got 89 seats, to the opposition's 86. According to the latest opinion polls, that would now be 78-97 against. Indeed, it's even worse than that, since Enhedslisten have themselves progressed from 12 seats to a predicted 16.
Running a country in the midst of a financial crisis is never easy, even if a large part of the blame can be laid at the door of one's predecessors. However, the negative economic situation is compounded by a perception - long held by me - that Helle Thorning-Schmidt (the Prime Minister) and Villy Søvndal (the Foreign Minister) are simply not up to the job. The main beneficiary of this perception is the former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, whose Venstre party, already the largest, has surged ahead from 47 seats to a predicted 57.
Governments do not of course change until the next general election, not due for three more years. But I don't think that this one will last that long. A tax reform earlier in the summer alienated Enhedlisten, who are now looking to get their revenge by imposing conditions into the 2013 Finance Act. One of these will almost certainly be an easing of the dole rules. At the moment, up to 20,000 unemployed are liable to lose their right to the dole on 1 January 2013, a development which (apart from the human problem) will adversely affect the housing market and Government revenues. The coalition is already arguing about whether, and if so how, to deal with this problem; but such discussions and disunity merely add to the perception I mentioned above.
All in all, it's not a good time to be running Denmark. Lars Løkke will be fancying his chances of a return to office, and sooner rather than later. I agree with him.
Walter Blotscher
The current three-party Danish Government is not yet a year old, but is already in trouble. At the general election, the three parties, together with the very left-wing Enhedslisten (supporting them, but not formerly part of the Government) got 89 seats, to the opposition's 86. According to the latest opinion polls, that would now be 78-97 against. Indeed, it's even worse than that, since Enhedslisten have themselves progressed from 12 seats to a predicted 16.
Running a country in the midst of a financial crisis is never easy, even if a large part of the blame can be laid at the door of one's predecessors. However, the negative economic situation is compounded by a perception - long held by me - that Helle Thorning-Schmidt (the Prime Minister) and Villy Søvndal (the Foreign Minister) are simply not up to the job. The main beneficiary of this perception is the former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, whose Venstre party, already the largest, has surged ahead from 47 seats to a predicted 57.
Governments do not of course change until the next general election, not due for three more years. But I don't think that this one will last that long. A tax reform earlier in the summer alienated Enhedlisten, who are now looking to get their revenge by imposing conditions into the 2013 Finance Act. One of these will almost certainly be an easing of the dole rules. At the moment, up to 20,000 unemployed are liable to lose their right to the dole on 1 January 2013, a development which (apart from the human problem) will adversely affect the housing market and Government revenues. The coalition is already arguing about whether, and if so how, to deal with this problem; but such discussions and disunity merely add to the perception I mentioned above.
All in all, it's not a good time to be running Denmark. Lars Løkke will be fancying his chances of a return to office, and sooner rather than later. I agree with him.
Walter Blotscher
Friday 17 August 2012
A NEW CAR
I bought a car today. It's not new, in fact it's quite old, from 1998. But it was cheap, has just passed its MOT, and has a 6-month guarantee from the garage. Besides, Toyotas have a reputation for lasting a long time, so I am optimistic.
A modest increase to consumption in the Danish economy. However, the most striking aspect of the transaction is that it is the first time I have ever owned a car. I have had a company one, have owned them jointly with my wife (when we were in Africa), have used hers (when I have lived in Denmark), but never had one all to myself.
Until now.
Walter Blotscher
I bought a car today. It's not new, in fact it's quite old, from 1998. But it was cheap, has just passed its MOT, and has a 6-month guarantee from the garage. Besides, Toyotas have a reputation for lasting a long time, so I am optimistic.
A modest increase to consumption in the Danish economy. However, the most striking aspect of the transaction is that it is the first time I have ever owned a car. I have had a company one, have owned them jointly with my wife (when we were in Africa), have used hers (when I have lived in Denmark), but never had one all to myself.
Until now.
Walter Blotscher
Thursday 16 August 2012
GOLF
I played golf with my sons this morning. Nothing particularly taxing; 100 or so practice shots, some putting, and then 9 holes on a par-3 course. I am not a great golfer, and for my younger son, it was his first ever time. Nevertheless, being sporty and young, they both thought that they would thrash me. Well, suffice to say, the old man won convincingly.
The other point of note was that my younger son paid for the beers afterwards. Now that hasn't happened very often.
Walter Blotscher
I played golf with my sons this morning. Nothing particularly taxing; 100 or so practice shots, some putting, and then 9 holes on a par-3 course. I am not a great golfer, and for my younger son, it was his first ever time. Nevertheless, being sporty and young, they both thought that they would thrash me. Well, suffice to say, the old man won convincingly.
The other point of note was that my younger son paid for the beers afterwards. Now that hasn't happened very often.
Walter Blotscher
Wednesday 15 August 2012
LEAVING HOME (4)
Both my sons came home yesterday, for a brief visit before they leave again tomorrow for various parts of the world.
The elder one (he of the Globe 6 Adventures blog) is flying off to the United States, where he will spend the next term at the University of North Carolina. Like me, you will be able to follow his progress on the blog.
The younger one, having been part of Team GB's handball squad at the Olympics, will be taking the train to Basel to resume his handball career. He came back from London with 32 kg of new GB kit, not all of which he can use. So I have snaffled a Team GB dressing gown and a Team GB bag, which should give me inspiration before and after my cycling expeditions. All I need now are some Bradley Wiggins-type sideburns.
Walter Blotscher
Both my sons came home yesterday, for a brief visit before they leave again tomorrow for various parts of the world.
The elder one (he of the Globe 6 Adventures blog) is flying off to the United States, where he will spend the next term at the University of North Carolina. Like me, you will be able to follow his progress on the blog.
The younger one, having been part of Team GB's handball squad at the Olympics, will be taking the train to Basel to resume his handball career. He came back from London with 32 kg of new GB kit, not all of which he can use. So I have snaffled a Team GB dressing gown and a Team GB bag, which should give me inspiration before and after my cycling expeditions. All I need now are some Bradley Wiggins-type sideburns.
Walter Blotscher
Tuesday 14 August 2012
COLD TURKEY
I am suffering from cold turkey. Not, I hasten to add, because I have stopped taking heroin, but because this summer's sportsfest has ended.
Recent entertainment has included the European football championships, Wimbledon, the Tour de France, and finally the Olympics. Not only were these great sporting events, but they were on the television during both the day and the evening. For a lot of that time I found myself watching. And now that they're over, I find that I am experiencing huge withdrawal symptoms. Riding my bike and reliving some of the great moments is the sporting equivalent of methadone; but it's not quite the same as the real thing.
Still, the Vuelta a Espana starts on Saturday. Maybe I'll be able to get through to the end of August without having to check into a clinic.
Walter Blotscher
I am suffering from cold turkey. Not, I hasten to add, because I have stopped taking heroin, but because this summer's sportsfest has ended.
Recent entertainment has included the European football championships, Wimbledon, the Tour de France, and finally the Olympics. Not only were these great sporting events, but they were on the television during both the day and the evening. For a lot of that time I found myself watching. And now that they're over, I find that I am experiencing huge withdrawal symptoms. Riding my bike and reliving some of the great moments is the sporting equivalent of methadone; but it's not quite the same as the real thing.
Still, the Vuelta a Espana starts on Saturday. Maybe I'll be able to get through to the end of August without having to check into a clinic.
Walter Blotscher
Monday 13 August 2012
THE OLYMPICS (5)
As a Brit, I was an avid GB fan as they ran up their best Olympic result since the London Olympics of 1908. But how did Denmark do?
Their target was 8 medals, and they got 9; two gold, four silver, and three bronze. So that was a success, in fact the country's best result since 1948. The wrinkle is that they didn't win medals where they were expected to. Denmark is traditionally good at badminton and sailing, but there were no golds; these came in the men's omnium in the velodrome, and in the lightweight double sculls, where they overhauled GB in the last 50 metres. Rowing was in fact their best sport, with three medals.
The big disappointments were in swimming and handball. A number of female Danish swimmers are, or have been, world champions during the past couple of years, but both Lotte Friis in the 800m freestyle and Jeanette Ottesen in the 100m freestyle and butterfly came up short. The handball was worse. Although the women were not seriously expected to get a medal, finishing fifth out of a six-team group and so failing to make the quarter finals was a disaster. On the men's side, Denmark are the reigning European champions, probably the hardest competition of all to win. But player of the year Mikkel Hansen was a marked man, their offense sputtered without him, and they crashed out in the quarter finals to arch-rivals Sweden. The heavyweight teams - France, Croatia, Spain - were all in the other half of the knockout draw, so this was definitely a competition for the Danes to lose. They did.
The handball had a knock-on effect, since a large part of the Danish TV coverage centered on the sport. I went from watching all 26 sports categories on the BBC while I was in England to maybe 3 back here. I have already made a mental note to go on holiday abroad when the games are in Rio.
Walter Blotscher
As a Brit, I was an avid GB fan as they ran up their best Olympic result since the London Olympics of 1908. But how did Denmark do?
Their target was 8 medals, and they got 9; two gold, four silver, and three bronze. So that was a success, in fact the country's best result since 1948. The wrinkle is that they didn't win medals where they were expected to. Denmark is traditionally good at badminton and sailing, but there were no golds; these came in the men's omnium in the velodrome, and in the lightweight double sculls, where they overhauled GB in the last 50 metres. Rowing was in fact their best sport, with three medals.
The big disappointments were in swimming and handball. A number of female Danish swimmers are, or have been, world champions during the past couple of years, but both Lotte Friis in the 800m freestyle and Jeanette Ottesen in the 100m freestyle and butterfly came up short. The handball was worse. Although the women were not seriously expected to get a medal, finishing fifth out of a six-team group and so failing to make the quarter finals was a disaster. On the men's side, Denmark are the reigning European champions, probably the hardest competition of all to win. But player of the year Mikkel Hansen was a marked man, their offense sputtered without him, and they crashed out in the quarter finals to arch-rivals Sweden. The heavyweight teams - France, Croatia, Spain - were all in the other half of the knockout draw, so this was definitely a competition for the Danes to lose. They did.
The handball had a knock-on effect, since a large part of the Danish TV coverage centered on the sport. I went from watching all 26 sports categories on the BBC while I was in England to maybe 3 back here. I have already made a mental note to go on holiday abroad when the games are in Rio.
Walter Blotscher
Sunday 12 August 2012
BIG RUBBISH DAY
Our local town feels it is being squeezed out of influence, now that it is part of a bigger, 6-kommuner local authority. Everything seems to be going to the kommune nestled alongside the motorway or the one which is the local authority's headquarters. In response to this, local citizens have come together in order to promote more projects and activities that they think are being ignored.
Today was the first of those; big rubbish day. 50 or so residents, including me and my family, assembled at the school, collected rubbish bags and those prong-thingies that council workers use, and were sent off to scour the local neighbourhood. My wife and I were given the green areas on the edge of the housing estate. Much to my surprise, I have to say that our town doesn't seem to have much rubbish. We could barely fill half a sack, made up mostly of cigarette packets and cigarette butts.
The most common thing we saw was molehills. I don't know if moles constitute rubbish; though I would certainly have speared one with my prong-thingie, if I had seen one. But I think moles are too clever to be caught by a trick like that, you need something better. Fortunately, I have that too.
Walter Blotscher
Our local town feels it is being squeezed out of influence, now that it is part of a bigger, 6-kommuner local authority. Everything seems to be going to the kommune nestled alongside the motorway or the one which is the local authority's headquarters. In response to this, local citizens have come together in order to promote more projects and activities that they think are being ignored.
Today was the first of those; big rubbish day. 50 or so residents, including me and my family, assembled at the school, collected rubbish bags and those prong-thingies that council workers use, and were sent off to scour the local neighbourhood. My wife and I were given the green areas on the edge of the housing estate. Much to my surprise, I have to say that our town doesn't seem to have much rubbish. We could barely fill half a sack, made up mostly of cigarette packets and cigarette butts.
The most common thing we saw was molehills. I don't know if moles constitute rubbish; though I would certainly have speared one with my prong-thingie, if I had seen one. But I think moles are too clever to be caught by a trick like that, you need something better. Fortunately, I have that too.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday 11 August 2012
A NICE SURPRISE
I had a nice surprise today. Weeding my kitchen garden after time away in England, I discovered some blackberry plants. Even better, I discovered them in an area right next to the kitchen garden, as if I had planted them there myself. Since I love blackberries, this was a major find.
There is however one problem with blackberries; where they are, nettles inevitably follow. It's as if the head blackberry says "hey guys, since we're so delicious to eat, we have to make life difficult for the pickers by hiding in the worst possible places". Sure enough, there are lots of nettles next to the kitchen garden, which is probably why I never discovered the blackberry bushes beforehand.
I need to get my industrial gloves on, and clean up the neighbourhood. Blackberry and apple crumble will follow shortly thereafter.
Walter Blotscher
I had a nice surprise today. Weeding my kitchen garden after time away in England, I discovered some blackberry plants. Even better, I discovered them in an area right next to the kitchen garden, as if I had planted them there myself. Since I love blackberries, this was a major find.
There is however one problem with blackberries; where they are, nettles inevitably follow. It's as if the head blackberry says "hey guys, since we're so delicious to eat, we have to make life difficult for the pickers by hiding in the worst possible places". Sure enough, there are lots of nettles next to the kitchen garden, which is probably why I never discovered the blackberry bushes beforehand.
I need to get my industrial gloves on, and clean up the neighbourhood. Blackberry and apple crumble will follow shortly thereafter.
Walter Blotscher
Friday 10 August 2012
BMI (3)
In case anyone doubted it, I can confirm that spending ten days eating and drinking in rural Essex, interspersed only with train trips to Stratford and sports watching inside the Olympic Park, plays havoc with a middle aged man's weight. I put on more than 3kg in England, which it will take me quite some time to get rid of. My BMI has gone sharply upwards.
The big culprit of course is alcohol. I suppose that if you drink wine at lunchtime, plus beer and wine in the evening, every day, then it will have an effect. Unfortunately.
Walter Blotscher
In case anyone doubted it, I can confirm that spending ten days eating and drinking in rural Essex, interspersed only with train trips to Stratford and sports watching inside the Olympic Park, plays havoc with a middle aged man's weight. I put on more than 3kg in England, which it will take me quite some time to get rid of. My BMI has gone sharply upwards.
The big culprit of course is alcohol. I suppose that if you drink wine at lunchtime, plus beer and wine in the evening, every day, then it will have an effect. Unfortunately.
Walter Blotscher
Thursday 9 August 2012
SPORTING SUPERIORITY
There are some sports that some countries naturally dominate. Italy in fencing, for instance, Hungary in water polo, China in table tennis, South Korea in archery, the U.S. in swimming. Britain has some sports where it always seems to pick up a couple of Olympic medals; boxing, athletics, anything to do with horses. But there are two sports at this year's Olympics where Team GB has been absolutely dominant.
The first is rowing. There are 14 events in the Olympic rowing programme, 8 for men and 6 for women. Great Britain qualified in 13 of them (the exception being the women's single sculls), reached the final in all of those 13, and won 9 medals, 4 of them gold. The next best countries were New Zealand with 5 medals, then Germany and Denmark with 3. In the men's events, the heavyweight four won for the fourth games in a row and the eight put up a titanic fight - before finishing third - against a German crew that had been unbeaten in four years. The women did even better, winning the pair, double sculls and lightweight double sculls classes. In the double, 36-year old Katherine Grainger finally won a gold medal after three successive silvers; with those medals and six world championship titles in three different boat classes, she has a fair claim to be Britain's most successful female athlete ever.
However, that impressive performance looks rather modest beside that of the track cyclists. There are 10 events, five for men and five for women, and Great Britain won seven of them, beating the fabulous performance in Beijing. Both the men's and women's team pursuit thrashed the opposition, breaking the world record in the process. Sir Chris Hoy, the flagbearer at the opening ceremony, won the team sprint and keirin to give him six Olympic gold medals; together with a silver from Sydney, he is now Britain's most successful Olympian ever. Even in the three other events, Team GB went close. Ed Clancy, a member of the team pursuit, got a bronze in the omnium; while multiple world champion Victoria Pendleton, winner of the women's keirin, had to settle for silver in the women's sprint against her great rival Anna Meares of Australia. In the tenth event, the women's team sprint, Great Britain broke the world record in the heats and were favourites to win, but were disqualified for missing their handover by a couple of centimetres.
Track cycling is a very good example of a well-funded, well-targeted sports improvement programme, headed by a talented coach. British Cycling's performance director is Dave Brailsford, who is also head of the professional road racing team Sky. Having managed Bradley Wiggins' transition from Olympic track gold medallist to Tour de France champion, it would not be at all surprising if some of the younger crop of track cyclists such as Jason Kenny and Laura Trott now move on to great things on the road.
Walter Blotscher
There are some sports that some countries naturally dominate. Italy in fencing, for instance, Hungary in water polo, China in table tennis, South Korea in archery, the U.S. in swimming. Britain has some sports where it always seems to pick up a couple of Olympic medals; boxing, athletics, anything to do with horses. But there are two sports at this year's Olympics where Team GB has been absolutely dominant.
The first is rowing. There are 14 events in the Olympic rowing programme, 8 for men and 6 for women. Great Britain qualified in 13 of them (the exception being the women's single sculls), reached the final in all of those 13, and won 9 medals, 4 of them gold. The next best countries were New Zealand with 5 medals, then Germany and Denmark with 3. In the men's events, the heavyweight four won for the fourth games in a row and the eight put up a titanic fight - before finishing third - against a German crew that had been unbeaten in four years. The women did even better, winning the pair, double sculls and lightweight double sculls classes. In the double, 36-year old Katherine Grainger finally won a gold medal after three successive silvers; with those medals and six world championship titles in three different boat classes, she has a fair claim to be Britain's most successful female athlete ever.
However, that impressive performance looks rather modest beside that of the track cyclists. There are 10 events, five for men and five for women, and Great Britain won seven of them, beating the fabulous performance in Beijing. Both the men's and women's team pursuit thrashed the opposition, breaking the world record in the process. Sir Chris Hoy, the flagbearer at the opening ceremony, won the team sprint and keirin to give him six Olympic gold medals; together with a silver from Sydney, he is now Britain's most successful Olympian ever. Even in the three other events, Team GB went close. Ed Clancy, a member of the team pursuit, got a bronze in the omnium; while multiple world champion Victoria Pendleton, winner of the women's keirin, had to settle for silver in the women's sprint against her great rival Anna Meares of Australia. In the tenth event, the women's team sprint, Great Britain broke the world record in the heats and were favourites to win, but were disqualified for missing their handover by a couple of centimetres.
Track cycling is a very good example of a well-funded, well-targeted sports improvement programme, headed by a talented coach. British Cycling's performance director is Dave Brailsford, who is also head of the professional road racing team Sky. Having managed Bradley Wiggins' transition from Olympic track gold medallist to Tour de France champion, it would not be at all surprising if some of the younger crop of track cyclists such as Jason Kenny and Laura Trott now move on to great things on the road.
Walter Blotscher
Wednesday 8 August 2012
THE OLYMPICS (4)
There is only one word to describe being a part of London 2012, as I have been for the past 10 days. And that is FANTASTIC.
There will doubtless be some post-games carping at some point, but I think that London has done a brilliant job. True, I have only been in person to the Olympic Park (where I saw five handball sessions and one field hockey session, each session being two matches). But I have spoken to others who have been to the gymnastics at the O2 Arena, the rowing at Eton Dorney, the beach volleyball at Horse Guards Parade, and the sailing at Weymouth, and they all say the same thing; it's great.
The Olympic Park complex in Stratford, a formerly grotty part of East London that used to house a filthy river and Europe's biggest dump for old refrigerators, is really good, and will be a wonderful open green space once the games are over. The river has been cleaned up, and there are lots of paths, trees and wild flowers. We watched the handball in the Copper Box, a brand-new 7,000 seat multi-purpose arena, that will be staying (some facilities, such as the basketball arena, will be dismantled and sent to Rio for 2016). It fully lived up to its reputation as the "box that rocks".
Fears about terrible queues through security were completely overblown. The private company that was supposed to handle it had a pre-games meltdown, and had to be helped out by 3,500 squaddies from the army, a change of tack that was probably the best decision ever made. Stansted and other airports take note; it is amazing how you can change passengers' attitudes if you smile now and again, and don't try to be a Stürmbannführer. Six times through security, and none of them took more than three minutes. Combined with the enhanced transport links into Stratford, the logistics were really easy. On Saturday we went from a house in rural Essex to our seats in the Copper Box in under 90 minutes.
Indeed, the role of the army and the mass of volunteers was one of the best parts of the whole experience. It is not every day - to put it mildly - that you are greeted by a complete stranger every ten yards of your journey with "welcome to London" or "hope you have a great day". After my initial British inclination to ask "I'm sorry, do I know you?", I got to like it. I am sure the many foreigners did.
Finally, I should imagine that all of that British friendliness and support were of great help to Team GB, who are having a fantastic Olympics, their best since 1908, and who are sitting third in the medals table, behind only China and the U.S. Being cheered on by 20,000, 30,000 or even 80,000 sports nuts must make you give an extra x per cent, thereby creating a virtuous circle of more support and more success.
The Olympics will never take place in the U.K. again in my lifetime. It was a highlight of my life that I managed to see it in person.
Walter Blotscher
There is only one word to describe being a part of London 2012, as I have been for the past 10 days. And that is FANTASTIC.
There will doubtless be some post-games carping at some point, but I think that London has done a brilliant job. True, I have only been in person to the Olympic Park (where I saw five handball sessions and one field hockey session, each session being two matches). But I have spoken to others who have been to the gymnastics at the O2 Arena, the rowing at Eton Dorney, the beach volleyball at Horse Guards Parade, and the sailing at Weymouth, and they all say the same thing; it's great.
The Olympic Park complex in Stratford, a formerly grotty part of East London that used to house a filthy river and Europe's biggest dump for old refrigerators, is really good, and will be a wonderful open green space once the games are over. The river has been cleaned up, and there are lots of paths, trees and wild flowers. We watched the handball in the Copper Box, a brand-new 7,000 seat multi-purpose arena, that will be staying (some facilities, such as the basketball arena, will be dismantled and sent to Rio for 2016). It fully lived up to its reputation as the "box that rocks".
Fears about terrible queues through security were completely overblown. The private company that was supposed to handle it had a pre-games meltdown, and had to be helped out by 3,500 squaddies from the army, a change of tack that was probably the best decision ever made. Stansted and other airports take note; it is amazing how you can change passengers' attitudes if you smile now and again, and don't try to be a Stürmbannführer. Six times through security, and none of them took more than three minutes. Combined with the enhanced transport links into Stratford, the logistics were really easy. On Saturday we went from a house in rural Essex to our seats in the Copper Box in under 90 minutes.
Indeed, the role of the army and the mass of volunteers was one of the best parts of the whole experience. It is not every day - to put it mildly - that you are greeted by a complete stranger every ten yards of your journey with "welcome to London" or "hope you have a great day". After my initial British inclination to ask "I'm sorry, do I know you?", I got to like it. I am sure the many foreigners did.
Finally, I should imagine that all of that British friendliness and support were of great help to Team GB, who are having a fantastic Olympics, their best since 1908, and who are sitting third in the medals table, behind only China and the U.S. Being cheered on by 20,000, 30,000 or even 80,000 sports nuts must make you give an extra x per cent, thereby creating a virtuous circle of more support and more success.
The Olympics will never take place in the U.K. again in my lifetime. It was a highlight of my life that I managed to see it in person.
Walter Blotscher
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