........Party time.......

So Glasgow 2014 ended as all major Games do with a closing ceremony...........but it's not over for the volunteers!

When Manchester 2002 came to the final day i wasn't rostered to work.......I couldn't get tickets for th closing ceremony...they were like gold dust...and not evn the SVG Chef de Mission could blag me in with him.........I was gutted......and had to watch it all on TV at home.

But..........the day after I was working...........athletes needed taking to the airport for flights home.......or to other events like the European Diamond League athletics.........I made about 4 trips to the airport.......the accomodation had to be checked...........it was nice to find that Team SVG had left little gifts for us all.......they didn't have much but they had signed Manchester 2002 posters for us......mine is on the wall in my office at work........and we all had a SVG t-shirt.

The cars needed ferrying to a compound........five trips for me..............they were to be auctioned off the recoup some of the costs.

Wandering round the rapidly emptying village was strange......this is when I met the Lesotho athletes looking for souvenirs and gave them some of my kit...........and eventually at the end of my shift I had to hand in my mobile phone and charger .......and that was it..........out of the front gate........across Oxford Road...onto the last shuttle bus to the volunteers car park...........and I was driving home........the Games just a memory.

At least that's what I thought........a couple of days later the S & H and I got letters in the post...........letters with the Manchester 2002 logo on the envelope.......I assumed it was a standard "Thank you" letter...........but inside were two tickets to a "Thank you" party.

So....two weeks after the Games ended......I took the Boss and the S & H took the Daughter...........back to the volunteers car park.onto a shuttle bus..............and into Whitworth Park...........and what a party.............fun fair......auction of mobile phones and other items..........free ice creams and drinks (as many as we wanted).............two free beers or soft drinks from the bars.....each.........a Chinese restaurant.........an Indian restaurant.........an Italian restaurant.......a choice of free meal ........ each.........a concert, with Beverley Knight as the headline act.............and a huge fire works display.............we arrived early afternoon.......and didn't leave until almost midnight........and that really was it........over........finto.

I hope the Glasgow volunteers get something similar.

Today's photo is my lasting memento..........one of my shirts (the other two are still hanging in the wardrobe)........my accreditation and name badge...........the flag from the last car I drove.........and just off the bottom of the image........the proxy card from the SVG Chef de Mission.

Up early for fishing today.......cool and cloudy all day.............plenty of fish caught but just not big enough...........tomorrow I have a day to myself........so the coffee offer in the afternoon still stands.

Das vidanya moy padruga.