Nice people thread part 6 - thrice by twice as nice :)

zagubov

vivatifosi wrote: »

I'm reading this book, which is a great and timely read:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Secret-Olympian-Olympic-Experience/dp/1408154927/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343588745&sr=8-1

There's a section in it about how, when the athletes first get to the village, they are all taken aback by how differently shaped athletes from other disciplines are. For example, fencers have one developed leg that they lunge forward on and one developed arm which they fence with. Apparently athletes get a formal outfit as part of their kit. Fittings for that must be a nightmare.

Actually one of the things that was a bit weird was that if you used the country-title-carrying girls as a standard size scale, you could see that different countries might specialise in different sports. There's a lot of chicken-and-egg questions there.

I've also heard that you could tell what musical instrument someone plays by the pattern of calluses on their hands and fingers.

lostinrates

zagubov wrote: »

I've also heard that you could tell what musical instrument someone plays by the pattern of calluses on their hands and fingers.

dh just picked his bass up from being serviced yesterday. You can tell from his fingers he has not played it in a LONG time. He won't be able to play till they are healed now. I did remind him after twent mins but......

PasturesNew

lostinrates wrote: »

dh just picked his bass up from being serviced yesterday. You can tell from his fingers he has not played it in a LONG time. He won't be able to play till they are healed now. I did remind him after twent mins but......

It's all in the way you hold it http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c128/LordDemonMan/Bass_player.jpg

PasturesNew

Picked up the keys tonight for my home for the next month or so .... moving in tomorrow.

GDB2222

vivatifosi wrote: »

There's a section in it about how, when the athletes first get to the village, they are all taken aback by how differently shaped athletes from other disciplines are.

Thank goodness darts hasn't been added as an olympic discipline, then. The other athletes would have a fit.

PasturesNew

It must also be a nightmare planning the village and accommodation, to make sure every athlete that turns up has the right accommodation/needs met. I'm guessing that each country has their own area where they've rooms just for them .... rather than it being a mix n match situation. Like, say, a block/wing/tower/floor per country; but they have to also accommodate couples, trainers, team organisers etc.... and have a communal room big enough for their bunch. And what about those Independents? There are 3 of them in the games, independent of being a country.

It must have been built with lots of sections that can be shut off or opened.... or that were sealed in the last week once they knew the numbers.

silvercar

PasturesNew wrote: »

Yes, mum was moaning all the time, refusing to even sit in the same room, saying "he won't stop speaking and I'm trying to read my magazines" ..... and then "I had that.... they can operate on him". So it was awful trying to get mum to ease up on dad and stay in the same room as him too ..... and the drugs he was on meant he was swinging between diarrhea and constipation. Tablets to solve one, then tablets to solve the other, then back/forth. Also, anorexic ... drugs altered the taste of all food so it was awful to him. I recorded food one day (that I forced him to eat) as one banana, two teaspoons of beans and two tablespoons of cereal. And that was with me standing over and monitoring!

He had most of the side effects, which wikipedia describes as:



He did have a booklet given at the Hospital, but we didn't find that until he'd died... he'd brought it home and squirreled it with "his things" and never realised, or never got it out. Most likely never realised.

Doctor didn't care, I called him out when the old was rolling in agony on the bed, Doctor came out, stood there and looked at him and said "I can't do anything for you. You're dying" and left it at that.

Dad had most of those side effects, but they were dealt with successfully in the main. He kept telling us how well Mum was looking after him, and she was. He also benefited from excellent health care. Some private and some NHS and with one exception he was treated with care and dignity throughout. His GP even came to the hospital to visit him one evening.

PasturesNew wrote: »

How old is she now? What's her health like? How's she coping?

She is 71 and has some ailments that she has neglected in the last year. On the outside she is fit, active and drives a 4x4 too fast. Inside she has a leaky heart valve that she really should sort out. Mentally she is in pieces at the moment, but that it is to be expected when she has lost her husband of 49+ years.

silvercar

Programme on Ch 4 now about 50 Shades of Grey.

lostinrates

I have my first kindle book on macputer. I'll see if this doubter can be won over......

michaels

Is it in black and white?

silvercar wrote: »

Programme on Ch 4 now about 50 Shades of Grey.