Clapton Pond Blog

Fucking Olympics

That small girl didn't do it, by the way.

UPDATE, 12.25: Mr Locker directs us here.

Our Olympian

From the Guardian:

"With his dyed red hair, and an array of metal studs glinting from his wagging tongue and beaming face, Phillips Idowu lopes across a hotel lobby in Annecy. His trademark laugh booms loudly and he looks like he is stepping out for a night of clubbing in east London rather than honing his Olympic preparations in this picturesque French town. 'I told you I've got my Hackney vibe back,' grins the new world No1 triple-jumper and the best hope British athletics has for gold in Beijing. 'I'm feeling strong and cool - but I've got a long way to go before August 20.'"

Now read on.

On The Olympic Park

Iain Sinclair:

"In the mornings, there is a clinging, overripe smell that some people say drifts in from the countryside, a folk memory of what these clipped green acres used, so recently, to be. Mulch of market gardens. Animal droppings in hot mounds. The distant rumble of construction convoys. The heron dance of elegant cloud-scraping cranes. Flocks of cyclists clustering together for safety, dipping and swerving like swallows. Hard hats and yellow tabards monkeying over the scaffolding of shrouded towers, the steel ribs of emerging stadia. Early risers, in the privilege of first-use recreation, a smudge of sun burning off the fug of pollution that hangs over a pre-Olympic city, fall into quiet conversation."

He's not a fan. Now read on.

The Stadium Site From Above

They've cleared the space. Now all they have to do is build it. More here and here.

Good News On 2012 Media Centre?

The Gazette reports.

Jules & 2012 Legacy

The Mayor is concerned that we won't benefit long-term from the media centres to be built for the Olympics unless media companies are involved in drawing up the plans for them. He's been telling the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee about it. More here.

Olympic Park Delivery Man

Dave Higgins is chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority. That's not the same thing that Seb Coe is in charge of - that's the Organising Committee - but the body responsible for making sure all the building work is done on time - including, of course, the Olympic Park. Today's Guardian has an interview with him.

Olympics Skills Centre

From Builder And Engineer:

"A new construction centre will help residents get jobs created by the regeneration of Woodberry Down and the 2012 Olympic Games. Woodberry Works trains local people so they can gain the professional qualifications and experience needed to compete for the thousands of construction jobs generated by these massive projects over the next few years. The centre, run by Hackney Council, is specifically targeting residents in the Woodberry Down and Stamford Hill areas and will offer an introduction to construction course and a construction course for members of the Orthodox Jewish faith. A third course for women will begin in January."

More here and an unimpressed response here.

2012: A Legacy Of Inequality?

Julian King of National Homebuyers told ITN:

“Economic conditions affecting homeowners are leading to repossessions, mortgage rescue and quick sales in a difficult property market."

But never fear. London home-owners will do better than most this year. And by 2012...

"...house prices in Hackney, East London are expected to rise by 30.5 percent by the time the city hosts the Olympics in 2012."

...it says here. But what if you don't own? The Gazette this week editorialises:

"The Olympics and the regeneration associated with it...have helped cushion the borough from the expected downturn forecast in the property market. That will provide some new year cheer to Hackney folk who own their homes and those upwardly mobile professionals from outside the borough wealthy enough to be able to afford to buy there."

But...

"An additional premium has effectively been placed on house or flats in Hackney by the staging of the Olympics, putting a home of their own even further out of the reach of those born and brought up in the borough desperately trying to get a foot on the property ladder. The Games were meant to be a catalyst for jobs, affordable housing and economic prosperity. It appears that an unintended legacy could be a greater social divide between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' and an enforced exodus of young people who will never be able to afford a place of their own in the borough where they grew up."

If there's one legacy we don't need...

Livingstone & Legacy

Ken Livingstone has published five legacy commitments by which he will judge the success of 2012. They are:

1. Increasing opportunities for Londoners to become involved in sport. 2. Ensuring Londoners benefit from new jobs, business and volunteering opportunities. 3. Transforming the heart of East London. 4. Delivering a sustainable Games and developing sustainable communities. 5. Showcasing London as a diverse, creative and welcoming city.

Now read on. I know I will be.