Always Believe

It feels like it's been an extraordinarily lazy few days, limited exercise (hmm, scrub that, no exercise), no forward planning but a whole load of living in the present.  Which has been strangely good for my equilibrium.

I have been on the first of three whistle stop trips to London which makes me giggly excited.  It's weird to find that day trips to London are a source of more excitement than I could possibly have expected.  Perhaps it's the distance between me and The Smoke these days.  I grew up near to Watford, with a 20 minute simple train journey into Euston, and from a child this train trip was something we did at holidays, to go to the museums or to go to the office with Dad.  As a teenager it was something I did with friends, and as an 18 year old I moved to London to go to University, living there until the age of 29.  That's a whole load of London contact, enough you would have thought that it would make me feel somewhat blasé about the whole thing.  And yet it's not, my pulse still heightens, my eyes open wider, and I'm hyper alert to take everything in.  And I find a true pleasure in still being able to negotiate the Underground and get myself independently to wherever it is I need to be.

It was kind of frustrating to find myself at the Lee Valley Water Park watching the crazy and rather splendid sport of Kayak Slalom while my first love cycling was taking place out on the roads of London.  Text and twitter updates were avidly pursued between every slalom competitor to see what was happening in both the women's and the men's time trial.  Having worked in the vicinity of Bradley Wiggins for 14 years there was a vested interest in properly truly wanting the gold for him, in believing it was not his right, but somehow yes, maybe that, his right to demonstrate that in this event, he is the best the world has to offer.  A worthy winner.  Equally an interest in Chris Froome, having been busy during 2007-8 assisting and supporting with the paperwork to confirm his fundamental Britishness.  An Olympic bronze and he's in the background.  But he's happy with where he is, he knows his time will come.  A true team player, cyclists in the UK honour his achievements, maybe quietly but we know what he's done and gently doff our hats to him.

Back in the office for a break now ... I've done lots of reading and writing on the train, and am feeling a fundamental faith in myself and a feeling of solid confidence in my future.

For so many reasons, this song is on my mind today as the Olympic Games heads to the velodrome:

Thanks to Spandau Ballet for this one:

"oh but I'm proud of you, but I'm proud of you
there's nothing left to make me feel small
luck has left me standing so tall
gold
always believe in your soul
you've got the power to know
you're indestructible
always believe in, because you are
go"