You know you are at the Olympics when you get to eat your scrambled eggs sitting next to Stephen Hadley, the famous British show jumping commentator! While I was able to identify the papaya for him as we chatted, I really wanted him to keep talking. That voice has been part of my life for years. While I kept expecting to hear him say things like “and Nick Skelton approaches the last, the big oxer…” it was lovely to meet him and he is a charming man. He speaks very highly of New Zealand, having visited a number of times, and is great friends with Jackie and John Cottle.
This is Stephen’s tenth Olympic Games, and he says his last, but apparently Beijing was going to be his last, and then London. “In this game, you take the work when you can get it,” he said modestly, on his role here at Rio.
Of course he is going to be right at home when talking on air about the British team, as three of them have had just about as many Olympic appearances as he has! I wonder how many times he’s described what he’s seen unfolding as Nick Skelton and the Whitaker “boys” take on the coloured poles.
I’m going to have to sharpen my skills on selfies, as Stephen and his fellow commentator John Kyle escaped the mess tent before I even thought of getting a photo with them. I’ll just have to stalk him. You’ll have to make do with my selfie taken from our balcony at the Deodoro Village where media, officials and volunteers are staying.
In the meantime, it is back to stalking my bag which still hasn’t turned up. And it’s time for more souvenir t-shirts to be purchased.
