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Congratulations to London for a spectacular opening ceremony to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The event was terrific and truly enjoyable. In particular the James Bond/Queen Elizabeth gag along with the Mr. Bean routine were inspired. Let the games begin. Hip, Hip Hooray for the UK!!!

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The Opening Ceremony was just fabulous. I loved the British wit, the inclusion of Mr Bean & James Bond were inspired choices. IMO.

I now know who the reigning UK band of the day is, the Arctic Monkeys. Not the first name that came to mind but fortunately I have nothing to do with the music selection. I guess they are OK, they did a terrific job of Come Together. That was the musical highlight for me, that & Mr Bean on keyboard.

It was better than Sir Paul's rendition of Hey Jude. Why oh why does he have to scream & add lyrics that aren't even in the song? I know it very well & all he had to do was sing it. But he couldn't help himself. Not a major complaint though, just a pedantic observation.

All Poms should feel very proud of their Games. So far, so good.

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Thought it was great. Could have been a huge embarrassement but Danny Boyle pulled a masterstroke in concentrating on some clever references to British music, films and popular culture. The Pistols being played at an Olympic opening ceremony?! Who would of thought....? Some great heads up along the way as well; including Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the NHS (Cameron and the Tory head honchos must have been squirming in their seats) and a few others. The torch ceremony was incredible and a great design. Macca deserves our forgiveness in this instance because all of his previous contributions.

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FANTASTIC opening ceremony. Best parts for me were:

1. The Battersea Power Station with the Pink Floyd pig flying above it (the iconic cover of Pink Floyd's Animals album) in the opening scene from Thames to London, which segued into Big Ben with the ticking and drum beat from Pink Floyd's Time (from Dark Side Of The Moon).

2. Mike Oldfield - one of my 5 favorite musical artists ever - playing 10+ minutes with bits of Tubular Bells, Far Above The Clouds, and In Dulci Jubilo as a tribute to the NHS. The final bit with the Mary Poppins's descending onto the scene, umbrellas open, was brilliant.

3. The huge fireworks display at the end of the show set to Pink Floyd's Eclipse (big finale of Dark Side Of The Moon) played at top volume to an audience of 1 billion.

4. Paul McCartney launching into The End (big finale of Abby Road) to end the show.

To have pieces from my #1 and #2 favorite albums of all time (Dark Side Of The Moon and Abbey Road respectively) and a live performance from another of my 5 favorite artists of all time (Mike Oldfield) receive such prominent billing in a show of this magnitude was mind-blowing for me.

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Thanks Deepthroat for refreshing my memory. I saw the Pig, that was in the opening scenes & I knew then that this was going to be an Opening Ceremony with a quirky edge. And the Big Ben shot with the music, that made me smile.

I don't know how I forgot Mike Oldfield, I played Tubular Bells to death back in the day, he looked so laidback playing bass guitar, it was a fabulous moment. I am so happy Boyle opted to use his music.

Dark Side Of The Moon is about my favourite album & I share your enthusiasm for the finale. It's as if that music was written for such a moment.

And McCartney did play The End, just another whimsical moment in a show full of many. Plus the Sex Pistols popped up twice at least, for a moment we had their version of God Save The Queen, I nearly choked on my breakfast... :biggrin:

It seems we all agree that this was a top production. Hats off to Danny.

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Meanwhile, Gary Connery 43, who dived into the arena as the Queen, said his only regret after the show was not being allowed to keep the dress.

The dad of two said "I really wanted to keep the dress. It would have looked great on a night out."

Gary, of Henly-on-Thames, Oxon added, "It will hang in my memory until I become senile

-what an occasion,"

It does make you wonder if Gary is secretly really "one of us" :biggrin:

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I was hoping for an afternoon "nap" yesterday before I started work last night but i took a look first at Roger Federer v his Argie opponent in the semi-final of the Men's Singles.

Alas I didnt get my "nap" as the match went on forever and was the longest in 3-Set match History (4 hours 29mins) with Roger finally winning the 3rd Set 19-17 on games (thank Christ :happy0065: )

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