This picture shows what happens when an athlete at the top of his game wins a major event, as David Weir did a couple of nights ago at the Olympic Stadium in London.
I'm sure I can speak for a lot of people when I say I've found the Paralympics to be just about the most inspiring thing I've seen for ages. The coverage has been a little patchy by Channel 4 in terms of showing actual live action but the excitement and interest it's stirred up has been phenomenal, especially when so much of it has been about the sport itself and not just the disability. Perhaps people will start looking at disability differently. And though it seems unfair to pick any of the athletes out the performances of David Weir, Hannah Cockcroft, Ellie Simmonds, Jonnie Peacock and Sarah Storey have brought tears to the eyes. I'm just wondering if we can find an event to start training our son IT in. He'll be seventeen when Rio comes around.
Channel 4's coverage has been soundtracked by a catchy little horn sample and a fragment of voice. This began to nag at me so I googled it. It turns out it's a Public Enemy song from 2007, which made me realise I haven't bought (or possibly even heard) a new Public Enemy record since, ooh, the last century. It was just as surprising to find that Harder Than You Think is riding high in the UK charts. It doesn't surprise me that it's selling, I just didn't know we still had a chart. Here's Chuck and Flavor doing the right thing...
Which reminds me; why did 80, 000 people boo George Osbourne at the Olympic Stadium?
Because the Olympic Stadium only holds 80, 000 people.