We can't afford it??????????
We? You mean the UK ? ; the country with the strongest economy in Europe and amongst the strongest in the world? :dunno:
So I suppose Barcelona, Sydney and Athens all could
'cos their economies are/were so strong
On the other hand, we are notoriously poor at coming in on budget/time for any of our large building projects, the weather's shite which will affect visitor numbers & those of us living darn here know how difficult coping with the existing everyday population is, let alone thousands of visitors.
Not that I give a stuff 'cos I won't be here 2012, but my biggest concern is about this "low-cost housing" that'll apparently be available in the East End after its use as an Olympic village. Call me a cynic, but I reckon the only way Tony and his mates will succeed in recovering the money spent developing the area, is to get a PFI going, use a private property developer to do the work (probably at a low cost, to keep the National Audit happy), but grant them ownership of some or all of the properties built and guess what they'll do.................sell 'em at a premium to the folk who'll be the only ones who will be able to afford to use the nearby sports facilities (that will also be sold off to David Lloyd :} ).
There are numerous other places in the UK that could have been put forward that would not have required as much work or as much money to be spent on infrastructure, preparing the site & facilities. And they would have been much more central and available to everyone, without putting such a strain on the already strained infrastructure of London. The cost of compulsorily purchasing the land in East London alone will be extortionate (
how I wish I'd of bought a terrace house in Startford now )
Above all else, I find this Government's attempts to portray itself to the world as "dedicated to sport" comical, especially when we know that most sport in the UK is practiced on a PS2
. As Watchman said, to continue to close existing and necessary sporting facilities, to cancel school swimming lessons, to allow councils to charge extortionate prices for the use of council sporting facilities, to sell-off school land that was previously being used for sports, with the fastest growing population of obese children in Europe), whilst spending millions on convincing the IOC that the Olympics should be given to London, is despicable.
Steps of soapbox and hands it to the next twat.
How can you tell when a brit plane lands.. the engines are switched off but the whinning noise keeps on....
That's spooky Jaws, my OZ g/f told me that joke last night :}
