A few years ago, comedian Marcus Brigstocke beautifully summed up the national response to the news that we’d be hosting the Olympic Games:
‘“Would you like the oldest, most historically significant athletic competition the world has ever known, attracting athletes from every known nation on the face of the planet to come here and perform at the peak of their abilities in the very country where you live?” Most British people go “Where will we park?”’
Mitt Romney made a similar observation last night, albeit without the humour. When asked by NBC’s Brian Williams whether London’s ready for the Games, he said:
‘You know, it’s hard to know just how well it will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting, the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging.
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He’s having a tough time of it at the moment, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Andrew Gwynne. You see, I went to sixth form in his then patch when I was already an active, and surely irritating, young Conservative. When my more left-wing classmates were doing work experience with him (and I
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