The magnificent display of sporting prowess is over and the conquering heroes and heroines have returned to well-deserved demonstrations of adulation from the press and public alike. After years of sweat and toil suffering pain and injury, three or more weeks away from their homes loved ones for the sake of their country and sporting glory; and exhausted after 12 hours travelling they still had one more duty to perform. No, I don’t mean running the gauntlet of reporters, cameramen, and TV interviewers asking inane questions which always seem to include the phrases, ‘What does it mean to you…?’ or ‘What does it feel like…?’ I mean the inevitable photo opportunity for Gordon Brown.
There he was standing on the tarmac with that nauseating simpering smile which makes him look like a schoolboy that has just masturbated in the toilet. Who was it that said, ‘The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you've got it made.’?. I don’t think there is anything more sickening than to see a politician trying to take credit for something for which they played no part. I would love to know what was going through the minds of the athletes as he stood there shaking their hands, making patronising remarks as if he knew what he was talking about, and attempting to bathe in their reflected glory.
It is difficult to imagine how the head of a government that has sold more school sports fields and closed more public swimming pools than any other, has the nerve to do anything other than apologise to the sporting community for making it so difficult for them to achieve anything at all. The Labour government’s only contribution has been to spend at least some of the lottery money for what it was intended in the first place, rather than steal it all for things that are supposed to be funded from taxation.
