Go Team GB

A strange thing happened to me this morning. I came over all emotional. Indeed, I started to well up, almost unable to contain my joy. It's hard to remember the last time I felt like that. The occasion was when snowboarder Jenny Jones received her score from the judges after nailing her second and final run in the Slopestyle event. It put her in the gold medal position, although with all the remaining finalists still to come down it was very unlikely that she'd stay in front or even finish on the podium. What got to me was her sheer unadulterated joy in her performance, in giving her all and delivering when it mattered. She knew that she couldn't have done any better.

I'd never even heard of this event in the Winter Olympics before this morning. I'd not even heard of Jenny Jones. Working every hour of the day at the moment I'd barely acknowledged that the Olympics had even started. I put the TV on this morning while having breakfast and got totally sucked into all the drama. I'm not particularly patriotic or nationalistic but there was something so charming and unassuming about this GB athlete that I suddenly felt an intense pride in my Britishness. I found myself rooting for this complete stranger, helped along by the very enthusiastic BBC commentary team which included one of her teammates, the vivacious Aimee Fuller.

The odd thing is that in rooting for Jenny Jones I was hoping that all the other girls would wipe out! And all but two of them actually did!! Jones won the bronze medal. It was the first medal Britain has won in a snow event in the entire history of the Winter Olympics. Watching this amazing sport, with complete absorption, made me acutely aware of how all great sports are built around the taking of measured risk. Success comes of knowing exactly how much risk to take at any given moment. And how much risk your talent and technique allows you to take.

This particular sport is so brutal because the stakes are so high. Take too much risk in order to go for gold and you are likely to wipe out and end up with nothing except some serious injury. It was incredible to watch. There was also the camaraderie. These women all know each other really well. They have tremendous respect for each other. It was so refreshing to witness. Even those who blew their chances of a medal had a smile on their face at the bottom of the run and hugs for all their fellow competitors. I guess they are all glad to finish without breaking any bones. What a sport. If only I were younger!!

Since then I've been in the office, grinding away. I'm a bit bleary-eyed as I post this. It's been another long day but at least I've made quite a bit of progress. And a few days off are coming my way soon. Thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback on yesterday's shot. You're very kind to me.

I don't know if this Union Jack is always flown at Shipley Town Hall, but I just happened to notice it today. It was also windy enough to be seen at its best. This shot proved irresistible.