But of course the best thing is seeing all the athletes clumped together regardless of political or geographical boundaries, celebrating their experiences over the last 17 days. So watching the flame dwindle out is always profoundly moving. It's been a blur of energy, flooding through every part of London in a way that won over most (but not all) of the most die-hard cynics. yes, the Olympics are over-commercialised and ruthlessly corporate, but they also celebrate human achievement at the most simple, honest level. And it's a rare moment every four years when everyone gets together and forgets that they're at war with each other.
Second was poster boy Tom Daley, who dove at Beijing 2008 when he was just 14. Now 18, he had been the face of the Games for the past four years. So no pressure then when he faced off against the formidable Chinese and American divers in the 10-meter final tonight. He won bronze - not gold but still a major achievement.
Tonight the poster boy for the London Olympics, Tom Daley, seemed to struggle with the pressure. At just 18, competing in his second Games, it's difficult to imaging how he's coping with the expectations of the entire nation. And it's also not surprising that he struggled with his dives tonight. At least he qualified for the final, so the nation can sleep easily tonight. Even as he plays each dive over and over again in his mind's eye.
The main event in the stadium was the decathlon, and we watched the leaders Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee, and everyone else, in their 11-meter hurdles, discus throw and pole vaulting, as well as the women's high jump and the heats for the men's 4 by 100-metre relay, which had a strange wrinkle when two runners clashed, leaving Oscar Pistorius standing there unable to run his leg as part of the South African team, so they couldn't finish. In the end, the judges ruled they had been physically pushed, so they made it through to the final.
It was a long day in the sunshine (actually the seats were shaded all day), and even though the action sometimes faded a bit, it was great fun soaking up the atmosphere. The crowd was astounding - the cheers for the British competitors were a deafening roar.
My day today was a bit dull: I was at home reporting hourly on the Olympics for two four-hour shifts, and in between I had a live radio slot to do. That meant that I only got out of my flat briefly, but I also was able to watch the Games action all day long in the background as I looked for last-minute results and sought out interesting stories.
CRITICAL WEEK: I haven't had quite as much time for movies this past week, as the Games have kept me busy. But I did manage to catch up with a few things: the all-star action blockbuster The Expendables 2, which I'm embargoed from talking about until Monday; the shockingly unfunny Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn alien comedy The Watch; the creepy/silly independent British horror The Devil's Business; the devastatingly moving Cannes-winning French drama Our Children; and the stunning restoration of Alfred Hitchcock's first Hitchcockian movie, the 1927 silent The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, which has been given a remarkable new score by Nitin Sawhney.
And what a session it was. First up were heats in the men's Keirin, which Olympic champion Chris Hoy (in the front of the pack at right) led in fine style, while always acknowledging the support of the hometown crowd. This is one of the things that makes velodrome competition so exhilarating: the cheers circle the venue with the cyclists. And it's a relatively intimate venue as well - only 6,000 seats, so there isn't a bad view in the place. Both photos at right were taken from my seat, which was quite a way up.
It'll be fascinating to see what happens here after the Games. Several venues are temporary, with the stadium, velodrome and a much smaller aquatics centre as the main remaining structures. It's possible to spot where roads are planned to run through here, which will make it much more accessible. It's also right next door to Europe's largest shopping mall, so that's rather handy as well. And the surprisingly large Olympic Village will become rather desirable housing after the Games.
Fortunately, the rain stopped before the matches began. My seats were very good, surprisingly (I took these photos with my phone), and the atmosphere in the stadium was electric, as the announcer put on his cheesiest voice and worked everyone into a frenzy of cheering, clapping and stomping. As for the matches, Germany beat Brazil and Netherlands beat Italy.
After the glory in the stadium yesterday, Britain's performance was much more muted today, with several silvers and bronzes. But there was at least one big gold medal, as Andy Murray beat Roger Federer in the men's tennis singles final. The match was played exactly four weeks after the two faced off in the Wimbledon final - on the very same patch of grass. But this time Olympic fever took hold of the crowd, and all the love was for Murray, who won in straight sets. Olympic gold might be the only prize Federer has never won, but he had to settle for silver today.
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.
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.
It was pretty nonstop, actually, as the British fans screamed themselves hoarse while the media worked itself into a lather. And rightly so, as by the end of the day Great Britain had moved from 12th on the medals table to fifth place.
My day was pretty busy, as I headed out to our newsroom in Limehouse for a work shift, got involved in a radio programme discussing doping issues and tried to keep track of the results as they poured in. Then I headed into the West End to visit the Global Coaches House, a fascinating venue where coaches past, present and future can gather to escape the Games madness and share their experiences. I'll be out and about tomorrow as well.
The other big event today was the men's individual all-round gymnastics title, which went as expected to Japan's Kohei Uchimura. Less predictable was the scrum of able competitors going for silver and bronze - everyone had at least one key error, which made it a real nailbiter to watch. In the end, Germany's Marcel Nguyen claimed silver and America's Danell Leyva won bronze.
I stayed out of the Olympics' way today, only catching up on a few things on TV and reading results online since I've been reporting all day on the events. I also made one trip across town to a film screening - an uneventful journey with fewer tourists than normal for a London summer. Clearly all the visitors are in the venues!
Then I had more than two hours to kill inside the venue. So I ate lunch (not too expensive and rather delicious too), watched the people, spied through the doorway at the Germany vs Russia match that was still going on, watched other events on a big screen, then took my cheap seats for two matches: Argentina beat Australia and then the USA beat Serbia. (Above is the view from my seat, right is an Instagram version of that pic.)
There was a lot of music - perhaps a bit too bewildering in its swirling melange, and Paul McCartney singing Hey Jude was a bit anti-climactic. But it was great to see nods to Britain's social heritage, from women's rights to labour unions to the National Health Service. And the cauldron, combining flames representing each participating nation, is simply breathtaking.
Today saw the doling out of the first gold medals, and China emerged with surprise victories in swimming and shooting to top the medals chart. There's a lot more tomorrow, including the start of the diving competition. And I get to see my first live event tomorrow - volleyball at Earl's Court.
