How to enjoy things that are not the Olympics

Someone I follow on Twitter posted the other day: 'Were just asked how we get enjoyment if not from London2012 - well, we build our own achievements rather than bask in those of others.'

‏'How do you get enjoyment if not from the Olympics' seems a pretty odd question to be asking. It assumes that it's only possible to get enjoyment every four years, which seems a bit sad.


I don't begrudge anyone their enjoyment from the event. Some of my best friends are sports fans. Just leave me out of it. I never liked sports days when I was at school and I'm not going to start now.

There's also a bit of my punk rock soul that whenever someone says that 'the nation' is doing something wants to do the opposite. (Royal wedding, jubilee, Red Nose Day, whatever.) It makes me think of that scene in Life of Brian. Crowd: 'We're all individuals.' Lone voice: 'I'm not.'

I'm not someone for whom happiness comes easily, but in the week or so since the Olympics started I've got enjoyment from many different things.

• Smelling the roses in the gardens outside my office.
• Spending time with my husband.
• The (non-sporting) achievements of friends and family.
• The colour of flowers in a pot outside my back door.
• Learning something new.
• Doing something creative.
• Catching up with friends.
• Good beer, good food, good books.
• Music.
• Buying a tiny box of Milk Tray from the 99p shop, because it reminded me of saving up for a Milk Tray bar as a kid.

And, I have to confess, I've got a bit of enjoyment from the Olympics too:

• Danny Boyle's mashup of Shakespeare, Sex Pistols, 'Jerusalem', NHS, flying bicyclists and Tim Berners-Lee.
• The freedom of there being nothing to watch on the telly.
• The spectacle of another Tory MP making an idiot of himself.
• And an excuse to be rude about Spandau Ballet.