OOOOOhhhhh

Loved the flame.   Absolutely stunning and moving and clever.   And those drums and the chimneys going up. Danny Boyle's edge and hint to darkness was in every moment almost revealing a sinister underbelly and cost of success and all that glints gold - has to be paid for literally and metaphorically with lives, and blood and sweat and tears. Where there's light there's also darkness and all that.    CND, NHS were celebrated, as were the suffragette movement.   Homage to TV and film I am told was lost on the international audience. Don't care. The British should pat themselves on the back and the British did know what it was about and at this moment in the place in this way, this is all that matters.   And the british inventor of the world wide web applauded although the invention has pulled people apart as well as pulling them together.  The edge was even there.    Bond, Bean, Beckham and the Queen performed (although the Queen was seen to pick her nails and please don't give Beckham a knighthood. OBE fine, Knighthood no.    (my opinion but) Victoria will be the ultimate Lady Muck.  Thank God she didn't turn up, she would have looked as miserable there as she did at Wimbledon.

McCartney was out of time with the rest of his band and really out of time with the rest of the opening ceremony.   He recovered but as someone reminded me when I watched, the Beatles is huge.    Still, I thought the opening 'warm up' guy was absolutely fabulous, the Arctic Monkeys rocked the stadium to it's roots and the choice of music was perfect.   I wasn't there but I have a feeling chosing a film director to direct the performance meant it was fit for TV, more so than theatre.

Children dominated throughout. their innocence and energy and smiles and even at the end the flames were lit by Olympians of the future.   The ceremony was about hope for the future and their future.