The Olympics,i could only happen in the UK.

[Return of the Rev]

To be fair, the complaints (from what I can see) have been few and far between. But the advantages can be measure in other ways.

I've just come back from my daughter's rugby training and have been hearing stories of the positive effects. One of the RFU development officers said that one club had an open day last weekend and 32 new players turned up and one of the parents, whose involved in a swimming club, said they have to implement a waiting list such is the interest. I can only imagine what's happening with hockey - I reckon they're going to be swamped.

Btw. If anyone reading this is a teenage girl or has a teenage daughter/niece interested in playing rugby, Hove RFC would love to have you. They're launching a girls team for the first time and they still need a few players

All this will help people to lead healthier lives and become less of a burden on the nhs! Lets pick on the fatties who are dragging this country down!

 

[Hampster Gull]

Unlike Germany where it would never happen. Letters in the press local and national,radio phone-ins,people complaining about the Olympics and the cost of winning a medal. The arguement being "the money could have been spent on the Education/Nhs etc" altough from what i understand most of the funding is National Lottery and performance related ? For me if Beijeng,London and now Rio are the result of Lottery funding i will go for that. Two week of non-politics (can we make it 52?) is not a bad thing.

If you want to stop anything in England, say the money could be used by the nhs. The fact that the nhs could gobble up every penny in the uk is neither here nor there

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Part underfunded perhaps, but also part very badly managed isn't it ? Money being spent on the wrong things (failed IT system implementation, expensive contract staff, too many desk-bound managers and executives etc). We could get a lot more direct care for the same money if it was more efficiently spent perhaps.

Money is wasted hand over fist in the NHS. IT systems that are not fit for purpose, and paying off CEOs who are useless at £250K a time.

If anyone really cares about the National Lottery and it's allocation of funds, then use the Health Lottery instead.

 

[Postman Pat]

If you want to stop anything in England, say the money could be used by the nhs. The fact that the nhs could gobble up every penny in the uk is neither here nor there

Reducing the number of MP's and Lords and moving them to a custom built, modern building in Birmingham would be a good start.

 

[Gwylan]

Now the time to put more money in but in to grassroot sports more allweather pitches and more running tracks and protect school playing fields which should be made available for local junior clubs at reduced costs we talk about kids getting fat then we moan about the cost of sports. Be proud of what we have archived .GB

Exactly this. Don't just look to the next generation but the generation after that.

I posted earlier about interest in a variety of sports but it will mean nothing if those sports can't accommodate them. Swimming clubs shouldn't have waiting lists, there should be enough pools for everyone who wants to have a go. Sports clubs certainly shouldn't be turning people away

Yes, it could be the Wimbledon effect but that's not people joining clubs. What we should be doing is not only attracting people, but making it easy for them to stay. The benefits for health would be enormous

 

[Lord Bracknell]

A huge amount of effort is put into keeping taxes down. If we really cared that much about spending more money on education and health care, we'd be pressing the government to put taxes UP.

 

[clippedgull]

If people are going to complain about the Olympics, it should be about the publicly funded BBC, and their continuing moving coverage between BBC 1 and BBC 2 because no doubt there are millions of people who are unable to switch channels to watch Eastenders or the 10 o'clock news.

This has got me confused. Why wouldn't people be able to switch between BBC 1 and 2?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Do we need to now the NHS will get £350m a week more after brexit?
That is the mandate the people of the country voted for, so they can not do anything else as they don't have a mandate to do so.

If the money was spent on education, we wouldn't be believing such nonsense, of course.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

A huge amount of effort is put into keeping taxes down. If we really cared that much about spending more money on education and health care, we'd be pressing the government to put taxes UP.

I think that education and health care should be removed from politics altogether. A panel for each sector should be set up by cross party MPs, who are accountable, and sort it out from top to bottom. Both sectors are in a mess at the moment, because they chop and change all the time.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

It is not a case of believing. It was the PROMISE they made. It is what was voted for. It is what they HAVE to do. If they do anything different, where is the mandate? The government are always banging on about mandate and that is the mandate. Mandate.

As I said, there's a need for better education. If I controlled the curriculum, I'd have a course that culminated in an exam that included the following question:-

Which of the following statements is most true?
- Politicians tell the truth in order to get elected;
- Politicians lie in order to get elected.
Explain your answer.

 

[Hampster Gull]

We both know the answer to that! I think that we have to do more to force them to carry out EXACTLY what they promise. One of those was £350m per week extra to the nhs when we brexit. We have to force them to carry that promise out. If they do not the whole vote becomes invalid.

Perhaps everyone from now on in needs to have a certain level of education before they are allowed to vote. Say English and Maths as a minimum. If you snooze at school you lose

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I think that education and health care should be removed from politics altogether. A panel for each sector should be set up by cross party MPs, who are accountable, and sort it out from top to bottom. Both sectors are in a mess at the moment, because they chop and change all the time.

I've been saying this for years. Education is a total shambles, the government dont even know what the best type of state school is. I'd take it out of MPs hands completely though.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Perhaps everyone from now on in needs to have a certain level of education before they are allowed to vote. Say English and Maths as a minimum. If you snooze at school you lose

A great idea. 2:1 and above can vote?

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

I was feeling nostalgic for London 2012, and read a thread on Skyscraper City about the conversion of the Athletes' Village into East Village:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1536978 (warning: it's a long thread)

Surprise surprise, I came across an article (guess which newspaper it was in), saying that the Athletes' Village was a bit of a dump, built of Soviet-era architecture. When I went to the games, I was surprised how upmarket it looked (you had a clear view of the village from Stratford Station) - I thought Athletes' Villages normally resembled student accommodation, and tweets from athletes said how much they enjoyed being there. Since the games, the village has been converted into a moderate rent/shared ownership housing estate, providing over 2800 reasonably affordable flats, set up for sustainable living, and extremely well connected for schools, sporting facilities and transport. Those who have moved in love the place. Where else other than here would such a project meet with such a negative reaction?

 

[Hampster Gull]

A great idea. 2:1 and above can vote?

Works for me

 

[Deleted member 22389]

People need to look at the bigger picture here, the NHS treats millions of people free of charge, I don't know of anywhere else in the world where people get the same quality of treatment and care for so little?

May be we should all commit an extra tenner a month which goes directly to the NHS, which would provide the extra funds the NHS needs to keep providing the service it does or failing that it needs to go private. We can't have it both ways and keep finger pointing.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Works for me

Maybe we can apply this to NSC polls as a trial?

 

[Hampster Gull]

Maybe we can apply this to NSC polls as a trial?

Poles not allowed anymore

 

[Brovion]

I must admit I've heard very little moaning. You get the usual professional miserablists who'll moan about anything (especially Britain doing well), but they can and should be ignored. The money spent on sport would be swallowed up (and wasted) by the NHS without it even touching the sides. And it's a spurious argument, you may as well say that Tony Bloom should have built a hospital for the community instead of wasting his money on a football ground.

 

[dazzer6666]

Getting a bit choked watching the BBC1 highlights programme that's on now. Jesus we have a brilliant group of athletes across so many sports. It really is inspirational.