Sunday 29th July was the first of three rather long and busy days. With the alarm going off at 5.45am I was rather groggy as we made our way to the station for our 6.15am train but my Mum was awake enough to get us there on time. I’m not sure I was much company for her as we made our way towards London!
We’d started so early for our first session at Lords, as we weren’t sure how busy/difficult the travelling would be within London especially as we were coming into London Bridge and there had been so many warnings about it being busy and avoid it if possible. The train was busy by the time we got there, but having got on in Brighton we’d had a seat all the way. Getting to London Bridge we found that one of the changes is that you aren’t allowed to go down to the tube from the national rail platform so you have to walk around the outside – not too much of a problem especially as most was on the level. Once down at the tube, it wasn’t as crowded as we thought it would be and we were soon on a train and even had a seat.
Arriving at St Johns Wood there were plenty of volunteers to show us the way and help us cross roads and after a 10 min walk we were at the venue and being so early there was barely any queue for security and we were through it quite quickly. Having left so early in the morning we hadn’t had breakfast so brought bacon baguette and tea each which was reasonable for a sports event we thought. We were going to fill up our water bottles from the free water fountains but the queues were so long we decided to buy water instead which was a bit expensive (£1.60 for 1/2 litre). Then we made our way to our seats in the temporary stands, and despite it being a bit hard for my mum to make it up the steps all seats had a pretty good view of the action.
We were there for the womens team event, and the atmosphere was good for all teams but when TeamGB came out it was fantastic! They acknowledged the support, and tried their best but it just wasn’t to be and like the men they went out in the first round which was disappointing as it meant we wouldn’t see them again that day. Still we cheered them all off loudly – got to support the team no matter what the result!
We saw four matches in the morning which determined who would make it through to the quarter finals in the afternoon as they hadn’t made it through automatically. It was very tight, and even with the best archers anything could happen with any arrow which made it interesting and exciting. They actually got through the matches quicker than I think they thought they would and despite our session being until 12.30 officially it finished by 10.45am so we had plenty of time to kill so despite having tickets for the afternoon session too, we decided to leave the venue for a bit.
Having taken a few pictures of Lords (I’d never been there before despite loving cricket), we made our way to St Johns Wood high street and went to Starbucks for a cuppa and a cake which turned out to be a good plan as it started to rain so we were glad to be inside! We stayed there for awhile, and then went to Cafe Rouge for lunch before making our way back to the Venue for the rest of the Team competition.
It took a bit longer to get through security this time as we arrived with everyone else, but was still efficient and friendly. There were (like the morning) plenty of volunteers both inside and outside the venue and all smiley, friendly and helpful and they were able to direct us to our afternoon seats which were in the opposite stand to the one we’d been in in the morning.
Again the competition was enthralling, and the atmosphere good with support for every team. We had quite a few empty seats in the rows immediately below us but it turned out that they were corporate hospitality for some Korean company as people kept coming and going during the afternoon especially when the Koreans were shooting! The weather had started fine, but the clouds were getting blacker and then just as the Danish were shooting the heavens opened! I felt really sorry for the archers as they had to keep shooting despite everyone in the crowd rushing around trying to get coats/ponchos/umbrellas and the changing conditions and unfortunately their archer shot a 3 which really affected their chances and they eventually went out.
Despite their being no British interest and the inclement weather, most people stayed right until the end of the thrilling final which the Koreans won (so they did better than their male compatriots!). We didn’t stay for the medal ceremony as we needed to get back but did really enjoy our day, and the organisation was very good. There were big screens to keep us informed all the time, and explanations before each session about archery as well as a commentary so we all knew what was going on and it was fantastic to see. Shame the brits didn’t do so well, but thats sport!
Getting back to St Johns Wood (via the High Street again to pick up sandwiches for dinner) we again managed to get a seat on the tube, and then at London Bridge did the long walk round to Platform 5. It did seem like they took us further round than they needed to for the number of people that there were but I guess they have it in place for busier days. We didn’t have too long to wait for the train home either so all the travelling worked fine.
We finally got home at 8.45 so a very long day having started at 6.15am so I was VERY tired, but this was only the start of my three mad days!! Was a fantastic day though, and thoroughly enjoyed going to Lords and seeing the Archery. Roll on the rest of the Olympics!
Note : You can see the pictures and videos that I took by clicking here.