The Winter Olympics

[Grandad]

@Grandad - to answer your question it seems there is mega money used by Politicians for all manner of other stuff so I'm ok if they do actually contribute to athletics - otherwise - they (the Politicians) might go crazy taking holidays to countries such as INDIA and then spend a forture dressing up every day is extravagent India clothes and fly world famous chefs on the tax payer dime to said country to cook a meal!! sooooooo why not spend taxpayer money on the Olympics - the spending could be LOTS worse!

LLL. we only spend about £30 million on winter sports athletes and more tha ten times that on summer athletes. The success rate is roughly proportional so maybe we should spend MORE on the winter events.

As for your suggestion that if we didn't spend on athletes the money may well be spent on expensive trips by politicians, I don't subscribe to that. There is corruption in the UK as everywhere but that would be crossing a line. There are far too many worthy causes that such money could be spent on to improve the lot of the less fortunate people around, and there are many of them.

[Grandad]

I watched the impressive closing ceremony, amazing what can be done with lights and lazers.

Beijing will apparently use some of the facilities from their 2008 Olympics when the winter Olympics are held there in 2022. The 'Birdsnest' stadium for opening and closing events; the pool will be converted to a Curling venue but they have problems with the alpine events location. This will be 150 miles from Beijing and the snow will be man made. They will also construct a high speed rail link between the city and the mountains.

And no doubt if they don't have a high enough mountain, they will build one..............I am joking of course.

[LovelyLadyLux]

@Grandad - I've been searching my TV channels and so far they're not broadcasting the closing ceremonies. Alexa said they started at 6am eastern USA time. Maybe she LIED to me! AGH!!!

I guess they're holding the ceremonies to a later time when we're all awake and apt to watch them. I missed the opening cause they didn't broadcast them in Mexico (course I don't think Mexico is really big in the winter Olympics at all so understandable I didn't get them there)

As for me referencing expensive trips by Politicians I was referring to our present Prime Minister who is on an 8 day or so trip to India and doing nothing other than wearing daily all manner of Indian garb he commissioned being made on our tax dollar. He also then flew a Chef (who is a multi millionaire as he is on Dragons Den Canada) on the tax payer dime to India so he could cook a meal. He (our PM) is being highly criticized world wide for looking like a dress up clown given the multi Indian daily wardrobe changes AND that the Indian PM Modi has not met with him (actually a very low Minister of Agriculture has been the only Indian official tasked to meet our PM). Once the critics started our PM said he was on a Trade Mission ('cept he left his Minister of International Trade home here in Canada).

[Grandad]

Whenever Justin Trudeau appears on TV here the focus seems to be on his socks. I must say that some of them are both striking and amusing; I would wear them, but as usual the media make more of them than what he has to say.

[Grandad]

@LovelyLadyLux Th closing ceremony started here at 11am, 3 am your time so that Alexa really got her knickers in a twist

[LovelyLadyLux]

I've been manually with the remote checking the TV channels here to see if I can see when the closing ceremonies might be on but so far no cigar. The two primary channels that have been broadcasting the Olympics are showing Figure Skating Highlights as an independent Olympic show but that is all.

Hmmm - hopefully tonight I'll get to see them.