Gold!

"Weymouth and Portland are basking in Mediterranean conditions" I overheard an Olympic Sailing commentator say. That was a slight exaggeration, being somewhat cooler than you might expect in the Mediterranean in August, but last Sunday was a beautifully sunny day and certainly much better off than nearby Somerset and other parts of the country that were suffering from yet more flash floods.

At the top of the hill just behind our house is a large flat green area from where you can see over Newton's Cove and towards the Nothe Fort where the official Olympic ticketed area is. As you can see from the picture above, there was plenty of space nearby to watch for free! The bright blue strip near the fort is the boundary of the official site. I'm afraid I don't know the first thing about sailing, never mind competitive sailing, but it was lovely gazing out over the water watching the boats sailing back and forth. And I was there when Ben Ainslie won his gold medal and became the greatest Olympian sailor in history. Wow! Then, of course, I rushed back home to watch Andy Murray win his gold at Wimbledon. What a day.

In the morning I was down by the harbour again and was surprised to see two small brass bands seated on either side of the town bridge. Apparently every time the bridge was lifted over the weekend (about ten times in all, I think) the boats coming through were being serenaded by the town band. They alternated playing and sometimes played together in a weird kind of stereo. The atmosphere was lovely; the onlookers were snapping away and the people on the boats were, too.

A view of boat masts, Weymouth buildings and the
giant Olympic screen from the Nothe Tavern

On Saturday (why am I writing this backwards?) we went for a preprandial drink at our nearest hostelry, The Nothe Tavern and, as it was a lovely evening, sat out on their terrace. The Tavern is in a prime position in many ways, being situated just outside the one entrance to the official Olympic Sailing viewing area and overlooking the harbour and on between the houses to the beach in Weymouth, which we couldn't actually see because of the giant Olympic screen in the way. Looking to the right you can see more of Weymouth Bay. I think Pimms must have bought advertising space at the Tavern and have been running a promotion as all the outside gazebos were advertising Pimms and we kept seeing people walk outside carrying large jugs of the stuff. We look forward to going back there for a meal.