Jumpin' Januaries, Batman

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Here's where I think we'll agree... London has the Olympics in 2012. I'm thrilled about it, and most people are too. Yet there is a sizeable minority who have done nothing but moan about it and claim that it's going to be an appalling failure: way over budget, over-hyped, cause transport chaos, blah-di-blah.

Yep, that always happens. But you will have a fantastic Olympics - they always are, and as much as I detest crowds, Sydney 2000 was something I will never forget, and I strongly suggest you get along to any events you can. It cost us a bloody fortune to see a handful of events in Sydney (and none of them finals), but it was one of the best things we ever did. I probably wouldn't have bothered (it really was horrendously expensive), except that my Dad (who was no sports fan) raved about the '52 Helsinki Olympics he attended, more by happenstance than planning, and told us to go. So we did, and were thrilled by the whole thing. You'll love 2012. Perhaps I'll even get over there for it. I was pretty disappointed not to get to Athens, and Beijing is certainly not going to happen for us, so London '12 is definitely on my hit list.