Torch

L.A. man Beckham with  London Olympic torch

Oh wonder of wonders! The sacred Olympic flame is now making its long journey throughout  the British Isles. It's a stupendous media-marketing event with special torch tracksuits for the lucky bearers who have the opportunity to buy their shiny designer torches and then possibly place them for sale on e-bay. So it was in ancient Greece.

Sometimes the torches go out but have no fear for in the trusty back up vehicle the "mother flame" is cradled in a miner's lamp, flown to Cornwall  with Princess Anne, David Beckham and a bunch of other celebrities including Roland Rat, Gordon the Gopher and Sooty. Why worry about the costly and dubious use of aviation fuel? So it was in ancient Greece.

Is it just me? But I am beginning to find all this Olympic razzmatazz rather nauseating. Don't get me wrong - I admire sports people who have the guts, the talent and the physical attributes required to arrive at the pinnacles of their particular sports - but do we need the T-shirts, the mugs, the overpriced tickets, the complimentary five star hotel rooms for members of the International Olympic Committee, corporate tickets by the score? It's all gone a bit mad. That's not how it was in ancient Greece.

If I were back in England and not lounging by the Blogland Social Club pool, I am afraid I would not venture fifty yards to see the stupid Olympic torch relay passing by. Nonetheless, I hope the London Games are a tremendous success and that the weather is kind in those weeks. Lord knows, the economic pollution that is spreading through Europe like an oil slick has left that continent  in need of a "feel good" boost.

I wasn't going to say but I'll say it anyway - I am quietly fearful that something big and bad will happen during this year's Olympics in spite of the massive and hugely expensive security arrangements surrounding the games. I really hope I am wrong but there's something in the air - I can sense it - and it's not just the smell of another dying torch flame.