There continued to be plenty of things to see in London. Even the British Museum had displays related to the Olympics
Once the Paralympics started, there was more daily entertainment on the South Bank. This time, I managed to get a seat on one of the very few deckchairs to watch these acrobats from France who perform acrobatics on what look like two giant bicycle wheels about 15 feet high, which are fixed together about 5 feet apart.
You can probably see from my photograph what a small space they have for their performance, surrounded by hundreds of people. They were able to control the huge wheels just with their weight alone, and rolled them around gently while they balanced and did handstands and stood on one another's shoulders. It was a short performance, but very popular, as you can see.
When it was over, I left the deckchair for another tired person and went back to the Royal Festival Hall, where the Lego world map had been replaced by a giant inflatable man.
He wasn't fully inflated when I took this picture, but I didn't have time to wait if I wanted to catch my train home. There are only 3 trains an hour back to Oxted, 2 from Victoria and 1 from London Bridge, so you have to be careful not to miss the one you are intending to catch; it's either 30 or 60 minutes until the next one, depending on which London station you have chosen.
The next day, I had tickets for Brands Hatch to watch the cycling Time Trials. It was a hot sunny day, so hats and sun cream were necessary. We drove there, as otherwise we would have needed to catch a train to London Bridge, another to Sevenoaks and then a bus.
I've never been there before, so I found that interesting. There was airport style security to go through before we got in. This is a good overview of parts of the track. At the top of the hill were a group of wicker figures on bicycles. The sun was so bright I couldn't see what I was taking, so this is about the best of the pictures.
I need a camera with a viewfinder - that big screen you have on modern cameras is no good in bright sunlight.
I found the event quite exciting, as there was a very good commentary and I had a good spot on the railings about 150 metres from the finish. This is a photo of Nathan Smith of New Zealand, who, as you can see, only has one leg.
It was quite a humbling experience to see how many of the athletes were missing limbs or other severe disabilities but could still compete at this level. What courage and determination they have. It is a great lesson to the rest of us to stop grumbling about our minor problems and make serious attempts to get on with life, as these people have done. I don't have many good pictures, as the cyclists move so fast - I have quite a few pictures of back wheels, as my shutter is rather slow, as are my reflexes! Also, the athletes are followed round by cars and motorbikes as you can see in the photo, so the track is quite crowded at times.
Paul was seriously bored by the whole thing, I am sorry to say, and soon wanted to go home. He was hot and uncomfortable, and couldn't make any sense of the commentary so had no idea what was happening. I was able to persuade him to stay long enough to see Sarah Storey win the Gold Medal for GB in her class, then I agreed to go home too. He was willing to drive home himself and drive back for me later, but it had been quite a long drive, so I thought it would be better if we both went. I guess it was a poor idea to get him to come, he wasn't interested in any of the Olympics or Paralympics or any of the associated events in London, so I suppose I should never have suggested he come with me. He's only interested in golf, the prospect of which bores me to tears within a very few minutes. I don't think I'll try to persuade him to Rio in 2016!
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