Month: August 2012

The Paralympics – time to join the mainstream?

I’ve been watching this evening’s Paralympic opening ceremony with an overwhelming feeling of humility at what the Paralympic athletes have overcome in order to compete in the Games. Their stories are moving and inspiring at once, and their athletic achievements are monumental. I blogged last year on International Paralympic Day about Tom Aggar and his…

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From the Land of my Fathers to the Land of the Free: Girl on the River crosses the pond

If you’re wondering why things have been quiet lately at Girl on the River, here’s a little clue: Yep, Girl on the River has been Stateside… and lovin’ it. It was more of an adventure than I expected; our visit to Boston was enlivened by a night in what  TripAdvisor cheerfully described as a “crack…

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Why rowing makes grown men cry

It doesn’t take much to make me cry. Adverts with babies in them. Weddings. Jerusalem. Rolf Harris’s Two Little Boys. Even, on one shaming occasion, Neighbours. And then, of course, rowing. At least in this last category I’m not alone – and (unlike with Neighbours) I feel no shame about being reduced to tears by…

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Heroic Bert and Dickie – no better than the match-throwing Badminton players?

There has – rightly – been much huffing, tutting and booing at the female Chinese, south Korean and Indonesian Badminton players who yesterday appeared to be deliberately trying to throw their matches in order to secure a more favourable draw. They have been charged with misconduct by the World Badminton Federation, and there’s talk of…

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