Volunteer Games Makers army rules!

It's hard to believe its my final night in London Town, as tomorrow will be my last shift on the Olympic Park.  Saddened at the thought of leaving the Olympic bubble that I've been living in over the last two and half weeks!  What's making it even worse is that I have made some great friendships with a fantastic bunch of volunteer Games Makers.  We laughed, some cried, our feet ached, so did our legs but ultimately we made the best of this amazing situation!  Not only have I met volunteers from all over the UK, but from many European countries as well.  I've forged some great friendships, already taken contact details as there is talk of a reunion next Summer!

The publicity in the press and media has been overwhelming, it has helped motivate the volunteers more than ever.  I never expected that such a huge bunch of volunteers would make a great impact on the spectator experience!  Some links below, highlighting just how great we have been:

• Games Makers will deserve a pat on the back and a good rest
• London 2012 volunteers make the Games
• Olympic volunteers are earning the 'Games Makers' title
• London Olympics: How volunteers made the Games

We certainly have made the games exceptional, hosted the world and exceeded all expectations.  My Games Maker family will be missed greatly :(  A couple of pics below, which just captures the whole essence of some of the crazy but wonderful volunteers that I've had the pleasure to work with!

A megaphone, scanner & the police

Wow, unbelievable, just over half way through my Olympic shifts!  We had been told at training that time would be pass quick but did not realise just how fast.  I am living and breathing in an Olympic bubble and don't want this fantastic experience to end so soon!

I've spent the last couple of shifts validating and scanning tickets, helping with ticket resolution and finally got to a go on a megaphone (no wise cracks please)!  The megaphone was an experience, I had to prevent the build-up of queues of spectators and help deal with bottle necks.  Well, spectators are like sheep, like to follow and don't listen.  To be honest, they are so excited at being present at the Olympics, they tend to wonder all over and are oblivious to what's going on around them!  Even though I was quite clear and vocal with my instructions via the megaphone, I might as well have been talking to myself.  By the end of this shift I was more than ready to hand the megaphone back - never again!

Ticketing is great, I get to meet not only all the excited spectators, from all over the  world, prior to going into the venue, but get to work with a great bunch of volunteers as well.  I've been meeting some really excited and keen volunteers, with whom I have been sharing this immense experience with and will remain in touch afterwards.  Met, for a very brief moment, as he scurried on by, Sir Steve Redgrave on this shift.  Unfortunately because he was in a hurry I didn't get the opportunity to take a pic!



The calm before the storm

Scanning wars!!!

A mass exodus (egress) after the swimming!

Pin badges, this is not familiar territory but apparently it's very popular at every Olympic games.  Keen enthusiast's collect pin badges from all over the world, from different Olympics they have attended, and then gather at Olympic games time to swop these badges.  I was amazed at how many spectators are involved in this hobby and the vast variety of badges that are available.  Volunteers have too been receiving Games maker pin badges every now and then when we check-in for our shifts.  To date I have a multi-coloured, bronze and silver one and I guess, as some point, I will be receiving my gold badge!  It's great that we are receiving these freebies, to help keep the spirits and motivational levels of volunteers up - every little bit helps!

My limited edition pin badges!

The armed forces, police and other security teams have had a great presence at the Olympic games.  They are constantly in high spirits, just like us volunteers, and join in the carnival games atmosphere that is present around London Town!  This, by far, is one of my favourite pictures to date.

Strike a pose!

What an Olympic first week!

Day off today, time to relax (finally), reflect and take in what has happened during this fantastic week.  So much has happened, seen so many sites, met millions of people, amazing venues, great experiences, awesome memories, which will be with me for the rest of my life!  I am exhausted thinking about it.

Day one was amazing, busy working with a great bunch of volunteers.  All of us mega excited to be part of such a momentous occasion.  Spent the day checking accreditation for press, media and Olympic family.  Great to meet such a variety of people, from all over the world.  Managed to sneak inside to take a pic or two, especially when Becky was swimming for the qualifiers!  The atmosphere was electric, the entire venue exploded with cheering, shouting, clapping and support for Becky.  She did us proud, qualified and was awarded a bronze medal for all her hard work.  Big congrats to Becky, well done!!!


Inside the amazing whale shaped Aquatics Centre

Spent the next couple of days validating tickets, scanning tickets and assisting with ticket resolution.  It's surprising how many spectators arrived at the wrong venue, for the wrong session and some managed to turn up without their ticket.  I guess they are over excited by the sense of the occasion and who can blame them.  You'd think after spending hundreds of pounds on tickets spectators would be more prepared! 

Managed to spot a celeb or two, Sharron Davies, Gary Lineker, David Cameron, the French President and DJ Chris Evans to name a few. The best part of this day was seeing all the spectators, many dressed from head to toe in their country colours and costumes, with their respective flags of support.  Some fantastic wigs, entire Team GB suits, leggings, dresses, t-shirts, you name it, the spectators where wearing it!  Amazing face paints, awesome traditional dress and many many more colourful sites!

My first day off was spent back on the Olympic Park, this time in the magnificent Copper Box.  Watched Team GB play Handball against Sweden.  A great opportunity for me to see another venue and experience a different part of the massive Olympic Park.  An interesting Olympic sport, took some getting used to and I could tell from the off that this was not something the Team GB would excel at, Sweden beat us by a slight margin, 42-19!  It was obvious that Sweden where on a different level, the players where taller, faster and played tactically - much better.  The entire album from the game can be viewed here.



Team GB, arriving into a packed venue ahead of the Handball!

The next shift involved working inside the Aquatics seating bowl.  This mainly comprised of showing spectators to the relevant block and seat.  This was an interesting position to work in and was extremely stressful at times.  Queues soon built up, especially prior to the start of competitions.  I had to ensure that main stairwells kept clear and spectators did not stand and/or block the accessible seating viewing area.  I managed to take a pic for my collection of some of the volunteer team that I worked with on this shift, what a great bunch they are!



Team Aquatics - woohoo!

Thursday was a fantastic day, with a much needed family visit to the Olympic Park!  Not that I needed anymore of a boost, but it's always a welcome treat to meet up with loved ones! Spent the afternoon having a stroll around the Park, soaking up the atmosphere and showing the family around my 'home'!  It was quite surreal finally seeing them on the Park, where I had been training and working for so long!  The entire family was just as amazed at the size of the Park, structures and venues.  We walked as much as we could, but it was difficult to get around the entire park without the kids getting tired.  Spent a fortune in the London 2012 Mega Store, but we are only going to be here once so what the heck!  The album from the family visit can be seen via my Facebook page here.  Here is my favourite picture from the day!



The Chaudry's at the Olympic Park


The final day from week one had arrived so quick!  It was hard to believe after all this build up I was half way through this great experience.  Met up with a friend from work, again, like the family meet, it was surreal to meet people you know from your 'proper' job in this amazing environment.  Only had five minutes or so for a quick catch-up, as I was waiting to be deployed to my post for the final shift of the week.

To sum up, I am a little saddened but also amazed just how quick the week as flown by.  The experience and atmosphere is out of this world, unreal, nothing like I have ever experienced before in my life.  Meeting people from all over the world, all the different cultures, has by far been the best part of the whole experience to date.  Hope Team GB continue to rise up the medal table and keep the pressure up!  Looking forward to seeing what the week ahead will bring for both all the competing athletes and for my final week as an Olympic volunteer.

Olympic shifts underway and celeb spotting!

After all these months of training, waiting, travelling to and fro from London Town I've finally started working at the greatest show on earth!  And what a first couple of days its been.  Worked 19 hours over the last 2 days, exhausted.com but the excitement, adrenaline and celeb spotting had made it all more bearable. 

Day 1 - up and out travelling to the Olympic Park at 5.00am.  Jumped on the tube and noticed half a dozen other volunteers also on the tube, quite surreal, this early and we dominated the train!  Arrived at Stratford International and wow, masses and masses of volunteers everywhere, scurrying towards the Olympic Park.  Could already sense the excitement and we all made our way to the security check!

    

It's off to work we go!

Once all the back of house tasks had been completed, all staff deployed, it was time to let the waiting public in! 

The calm before the mega army of people!

I had to take the obligatory pic!

Wow, in masses they certainly came, all full of excitement, with flags, banners, costumes, snapping pics, what a carnival like atmosphere. It was amazing, this is what we'd been led to expect, but you don't really appreciate the atmosphere until you are in the thick of it.

Spectators as far as the eye can see!

Inside the Aquatics Centre the atmosphere was just as amazing as outside.  Spectators as far the eyes could see, flags waving, people screaming with excitement, cheering on the swimmers.  This is what I had come to witness!  The entire roof erupted as Rebecca Adlington entered the pool, OMG, I was there and managed to not only soak up the atmosphere but also got some pics as well!

Check out the swimmers, including Rebecca in the pool!

Check out the view - OMG!

Yay, she successfully qualifies by finishing first in her heat!

The heavens opening around lunchtime, typical British Summer, but I had hoped, liked the rest of the nation, that we would have some sort of Summer, especially during the games.

A sea of umbrellas!

The hardest group of people to deal with is the press and media.  There are thousands and thousands from all over the world, never seen so many!  They assume because they have a camera in their hands this gives them the right to access all areas, in any venue.  They don't take no for an answer and certainly don't like being challenged, especially when they don't have the correct accreditation!  I've had to challenge a couple, but the presence of the armed forces and police make the job a little easier!

Oh yes, I bumped into a few celebs whilst on shift.  Saw David Cameron, who stopped and acknowledged all the hard work volunteers where doing!  Saw DJ Chris Evans and also the French President, who had the biggest entourage I've ever seen!  Not a bad start to the week and not your average day in the office!  Looking forward to seeing who else I may bump into during the remainder of the week.

30th Olympiad has finally begun!

What an emotional and amazing opening ceremony!  I am still exhausted from last night and woke thinking did it really happen, was I there, was it a dream, after all the waiting the games of the 30th Olympiad have finally begun!

The atmosphere in London Town was absolutely electric, carnival like wherever I ventured yesterday.  To add to this the sun has not stopped shining since I arrived - I guess I brought it with me from Nottingham!

The countdown to 9pm, the start of the opening ceremony seemed like an eternity!  When it did finally arrive the world certainly new about it.  I won't describe the opening ceremony in great detail, as the viewing figures speak for themselves.  My favourite part of the entire opening ceremony was when the Olympic rings came together in mid air, during the Industrial Revolution segment of the performance.  The music, the smoke, the noise, the atmosphere - what an amazing show piece of the opening ceremony!  I want to re-live that moment again and again, was an awesome spectacle.  Well you can via the video link here.  One of the best nights of my life, the memories will stay with me forever!  Danny Boyle certainly did us proud, how everything came together on the night is beyond me. 

I managed to take a selection of pics from the opening ceremony, which can be viewed via my Facebook page here.  One of the best image from the night can be seen below, what a sight!

Check out the miniature athletes!

An early night for me tonight as I have a 4am alarm call in the morning, my first shift starts at 7am.  Am I excited, oh yes, ready and waiting to finally put into practise what I have been learning over the last few months.

Awesome opening ceremony rehearsal!

After an emotional farewell from family and friends in Nottingham I finally arrived at my destination for the Olympics yesterday morning. What a scorcher, 32 degrees in London Town! I unpacked, showered, changed and headed straight for the Olympic Park.

The parameter was packed, full of eager people, waiting in anticipation, the atmosphere was carnival like and this was before I entered the stadium! As I passed the security checks, the size and scale of what was about to unfold finally hit me! Not sure it is was because the entire park was open or maybe it was seeing public roaming freely for the first time. People everywhere, fellow volunteers already in uniform working, press, media, police, army, security, a mixture of young and old, people of different casts and religions - wow, this place was buzzing!!!

 

As I manoeuvred around the place it soon became apparent just how enormous it actually is, mammoth venues, huge structures, beautiful landscaping, the biggest Macdonalds I have ever seen, plus a whole variety of other eating places. The sun was shining, not a cloud in sight and people as far as the eye could see - I had finally arrived for the Summer, and what a Summer it promises to be!

I made my way round to the main stadium, had my ticket scanned and was shown to my seat by fellow volunteers, something I will be doing next week! The stadium was huge, I've been to a few but nothing on this scale! Now to use an old cliche, to cut a story short, I am not allowed to log or show pictures of what happened next. The next three hours where absolutely amazing, what a performance, what a show! 10,000, yes 10,000 performers in the opening ceremony, a mixture of music, lights, singing and dancing! All I can say is that the entire nation are in for an absolute treat this Friday evening and I encourage you all to watch this amazing spectacle! It's nothing like Beijing and without being too biased it's fantastic! The highlight for me was when I heard Chariots of Fire being played around the stadium - what an emotional moment, this summed up the entire journey for me. I'm not afraid to admit I had a lump in my throat, the whole sense of occasion just took over - wow wow wow!

10 days and counting!

T minus 10 days & counting - can you believe it!!!

T minus 9 days & counting - the sleepless nights have begun :)

 

T minus 8 days & counting - looking forward to watching this Olympic special!  

 

T minus 7 days & counting - it's hard to comprehend that in just 7 days time I will be attending the rehearsal of the opening ceremony in this gigantic stadium! In the words of my pop idol Kylie, WOW WOW WOW WOW!  

T minus 6 days & counting - on this day next week I'll be attending the finale of the Olympic Torch Relay in Hyde Park, along with 80,000 other excited Olympic fans, bring it on!!! 

T minus 5 days & counting  - it's a Friday, it's the first day of Ramadan & 7 days until the opening ceremony.  A happy Olympic Ramadan Friday to all!!!

T minus 4 days & counting - I think we are in safe hands lol!!!

T minus 3 days & counting - my new home, the Aquatics Centre, will be open to the public soooooon :)

T minus 2 days & counting! Not only have I got deal with the excitement and adrenaline, but now have to re-evaluate my packing because of the sun - its a hard life!!!

T minus 1 day, yes 1 day & counting, until I take part in the rehearsal of the opening ceremony!  I may burst a vain or two with excitement!!!