There was more gold for Britain today, which has kept the mood incredibly buoyant here in London. And with another sunny, warm day (with a few sudden, short showers, all of which I managed to miss), people are out in the streets en masse. I was out most of the day in the West End, and it was very, very buzzy.
Competition started in athletics today, so cameras are back inside the stadium, giving us an idea of how the cauldron is interacting with the events (see right). I'll be in there next Thursday - can't wait. And on this first day of track and field, Britain even had an athlete to cheer for in Jessica Ennis, who stormed her way through the heptathlon hurdle round so fast that she would have won an gold medal in the individual event at the last Olympics. Add triumphs in rowing and cycling, and Britain was momentarily at No 3 on the medals table (until Korea won another gold later in the evening).
Walking around town, I saw lots of athletes and officials in the streets, tourists snapping silly photos and even the fashion/art event that put hats on several of London's iconic statues all this week. Lord Nelson, atop his column in Trafalgar Square, looks much jauntier with this colourful hat and torch on his head! Apparently it was made by the same hatmaker who made his actual hat in the 17th century.
Tomorrow is the busiest day of the Games, with action in almost every venue. So I plan to lay a bit low. But with the entire city in such a good mood, it's difficult to stay inside. At least I have 25 dedicated BBC Olympic channels so I can watch everything live in high-def!
Winners from every nation are honoured in different ways. In Britain, gold medallists are pictured in their moment of glory on a first class stamp, issued the next day in their home town, where one of the local red postboxes is painted permanently gold. The Royal Mail has been very, very busy these past few days! In athletics alone today, Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah were an inspiration.
