Day 516 - 22nd August 2008

So, in a bored, some would say 'low point', I decided to play the trumpet in a sombrero. Please, do not judge me for this.

In other news, Team GB has won yet another gold medal, this time in K1 1000m. That involves a boat and a paddle of some sort, I assume the 'K' stands for 'Kayak'. It has to be said that just at the point I thought I had grasped the difference between a canoe and a kayak, the French television service have got me all confused again about it. As it happens, they keep getting it wrong too, saying that 'when someone says kayak, they often mean canoe so don't worry'. Thanks for that then, I know France has won sod all this time round, but there's no need to keep us in the shade about what other countries are up to!

On that note, I should mention again that the French are doing rather miserably, so I try to hold back from talking about the Olympics too much in front of the locals. They were being rather upbeat about it all on the TV, talking about medals to come, and dwelling on failures for only a brief few minutes.

Actually, there haven't been that many failures on the French team, just not many victories. Out of 34 medals, they have 5 gold ones, including one in Greco-roman wrestling and one in the BMX race - both of which they are reluctant to count as sports. It's a shame for them, but I don't care about them - I can sympathise though, Britain has had her fair share of failures in the past. It's just that in Britain, we cynically expect failure, and are pleasantly surprised when we win anything. In France, it's the opposite, they are so sure of victory that when failure occurs, the disappointment is far greater.