Still Standing on her Head

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

Today was the last day of the Commonwealth Games. I wasn't watching any of it on TV because I went orienteering instead. This is the one sport I do, because concentrating on the mapreading takes my mind off the fact that I'm exercising harder than I would under any other circumstances.

It was a tough course and I took a long time. It wasn't helped by some bad decisions - terrain that looked passable at first until I found myself stuck in the middle of a huge patch of gorse bushes. No way forward and the way back seemed to have closed behind me. I have what looks like a bad case of measles on my legs. Actually it is the effect of dozens of gorse and matagouri prickles coming through my trousers.

On the other hand there were bellbirds in the beech forest singing their beautiful melodic songs. And I didn't come last (not quite). And I really appreciate the spa pool which I soaked in for an hour or two when I got home.

It has been suggested by many that New Zealand athletes failed miserably at the Commonwealth Games because they didn't win the expected number of medals. Well, nothing wrong with trying to improve next time. But all I can say is that I think that anyone who does well enough at any sport to represent their country is amazing. And, congratulations to the women's netball team for their gold medal (go, Belinda).

Trivia question of the day - who knows what national anthems were played for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at their gold medal presentations? ("God Save the Queen" being the anthem of the United Kingdom, not of the separate countries that make it up).