White events, and white elephants

I am, I have to admit, missing the Winter Olympics. The Summer Games are always a sweat-fest, full of combat and competition, and you have to fit them in around other duties, and they can get in the way a bit if you're trying to enjoy nice weather. But the Winter edition just seems more relaxed, more watchable. It's a welcome distraction from the horrors of the British cold, at a time of year when we're all in mock-hibernation and trying not to go outside, and it takes place in beautiful surroundings, with beautiful scenery. Every event looks like it's taking place on a Christmas card. So the Summer Olympics pales in comparison, aesthetically. Watching the triathletes swim through the Parisian sewage while their face blisters from the sun really isn't the same as watching cross-country skiers elegantly gliding through the Italian snowscape.

I did bring up an idea in a manager's meeting this morning, that may or may not have been taken seriously. I want us to get a curling rink set up somewhere on site. I want us to take advantage of the recent publicity and the huge public interest in the sport and make us one of the few locations within England that people could come along and have a go at proper curling themselves. A nice way to up our income over the leaner months, I suggested.
When I got told it would be a ridiculous expense for an extravagant facility that would rarely be used, I said, "Well, my original idea was for us to bid to be the hosts of the Olympics in 2042, so I've scaled my ambitions back a bit to save you a few quid!".
I'm still not expecting an approval, but I've started looking at costings of the build, just to see what we'd need.

RC 24-2-26