Olympics needs fewer flares and less farce

I MAY BE alone in my comments regarding the forthcoming Olympic Games which to me have become somewhat farcical.

Just how many Olympic torches and flames are there? They are springing up like mushrooms. Surely there is only one genuine one of each, not dozens and dozens.

Then surely we can do so much better with the opening ceremony instead of the creation of Danny Boyle which would be more appropriate set up in a primary school as an educational lesson for pupils.

But for the Olympic Games, it’s a no-brainer! The opening ceremonies appear to have become more competitive than the Games themselves.

The opening in Beijing in my opinion will never be surpassed by any country. It was stunning.

Then, the availability and distribution of tickets can only be described as disgraceful. Nevertheless I will be watching my chosen events from the comfort of my armchair when the Games commence.

From: John Gordon, Whitcliffe Lane, Ripon.

LOOKING back at the halcyon days of life in England is a job for an octogenarian. I remember a much slower pace of life and this is difficult to display in a feature like the Olympics attempt to portray “Englishness”.

In the country the carthorse plodded over the fields drawing the plough and in the town the tram went slow enough to enable you jump on and off while it was still going.

Of course the climate was different; the sun shone in the summer and was not ruined by the “jet stream”.

Cricket was always played in white flannels and no batsman wore a helmet.

On Saturday, there was always a white wedding with tons of confetti and there was always room on the roads for a horse and trap.

Can Danny Boyle put all this in his Olympic display?