Courier September 2012 - myroyalmail

10 London 2012: in your words
Share your favourite stamps story from
London 2012 – courier@abcomm.co.uk
Share your favourite stamps story from
London 2012 – courier@abcomm.co.uk
London 2012: in your words
11
Just
the
ticket
Some lucky staff got to
experience the Olympics
opening ceremony or live events
first-hand as a thank you for
their exceptional work on our
modernisation programme.
Steve Gorman (right, with
brother Tony) from Brighton
delivery office says: ‘The experience
was absolutely out of this
world. It exceeded all my expectations.
The sense of occasion
and the impact of the music
was sensational.’
We
helped
make it
happen!
Volunteers have been integral to the
Olympic and Paralympic Games since
they were first used at London 1948.
At London 2012, some of our staff
were officials, some welcomed visitors
and athletes, and others found more
innovative ways to get involved!
Matthew Witt, Newmarket, delivery manager,
track athletics official – ‘I rang the
lap bell for Mo Farah’s 5,000m race and
was the main judge on the finish line
when Jessica Ennis won her gold medal.’
Bob Hale, Bath, postman, BMX referee – ‘I
met several famous people while refereeing
and watched Shanaze Reade as she
was doing well in the heats. The whole
thing was so exciting.’
A secret weapon in the medal tally for Team
GB came from Cath Barrett, postwoman
at Preston mail centre. She owns the horse
Glen Gold, ridden by Sam Murray to silver
medal success in the modern pentathlon.
Cath (pictured riding Glen Gold) says:
‘Glen trialled in April this year and was
awarded a place. The horses are matched to
competitors at random, so it was a fantastic
feeling that he was ridden by a British rider,
Goncalo Menezes, Brentford especially when she came second.’
postman, table tennis – ‘It
was an amazing experience, dealing with all the athletes and being a
table assistant in some matches. I was on TV! I’m proud of being part of
this extraordinary event.’
Jill Campbell, machine operator
and workplace coach at Tyneside
mail centre, says: ‘Being at the opening
ceremony was absolutely fantastic.
We were five rows from the
front, right next to a group of former
medal winners. My favourite bit was
when they hoisted the Olympic flag.
It was really emotional.’
Alan Willis, engineering team
coach at Preston mail centre, says:
‘It was absolutely amazing – a oncein-a-lifetime
experience. The atmosphere
was electric and you really
couldn’t take your eyes off the
arena. My favourite bit was when
the green pastures gave way to the
industrial landscape. I also liked how
the Olympic flame was lit. Totally unexpected
and a really nice touch to
let the upcoming athletes do it.’
Maria Sereno, deputy manager and
Autonomous Maintenance World
Class Mail pillar lead at South Midlands
mail centre, says: ‘It was the
most amazing experience and will
stay with me for the rest of my life.
The view I had was exceptional and
the choreography was breathtaking.’
Lloyd Cochran, postman at Paisley
delivery office, says: ‘My girlfriend
Linda and I were lucky enough to be
sitting next to the past Olympic
medal winners and the main stage.
My highlight was the high standard
of the singers, who hugely exceeded
my expectations. The biggest cheer
of the night was given to
Muhammad Ali, who I was really
pleased to have seen.’
Vinod Bhundia, Romford
mail centre – ‘I was one of
10,000 volunteer performers
who got the chance in a lifetime
to perform in front of the
royal family and all the VIPs
from around the world. I still
can’t believe I took part in the
world’s biggest sporting event.’
Bill Holden, postman from
Norwich mail centre, says: ‘The
ceremony was fantastic, and
what you saw on TV was only a
fraction of the experience.
World Class Mail is a team effort
and I couldn’t have been this
lucky without the support,
knowledge and advice of many
colleagues.’
Lynne Semper-Scotney from
our Peterborough hub won a ticket
to the athletics. She says: ‘It was an
experience I will have for the rest of
my life. We were so lucky to see Mo
Farah and Usain Bolt. The whole
stadium was shouting for Mo.’
Ceremony stars
Sajith and Vinod took part in Danny Boyle’s spectacular opening ceremony
Sajith Ismail, Stratford delivery
office, pictured with opening
ceremony director Danny
Boyle – ‘There were members
of the royal family and Michelle
Obama so close to me. It was
great to be part of the drama.
My family were very proud. I
was dressed to look like one of
the workers from the past. It
took nearly 20 rehearsals.’
Maura Campbell,
distribution manager,
Croydon,
tennis first responder
– ‘I ended
up with sore feet,
got wet, and
hot, but I managed
to get Tsonga’s
match ball
and the ones used
in the Men’s
Bronze match!
Not too many injuries
to deal with,
mainly blisters.’
Alastair Smith, Aireborough
collections driver, road cycling
marshal – ‘I had a memorable
experience. Alexander Vinokourov,
gold medal winner in
the road race, shook my hand
after the time trial.’
Tony Woodward, Jubilee mail centre postman, was
featured on TV when he cycled down part of the time
trial route after the race: ‘It made sense to use one of the
bikes we’ve got to get through to postboxes when roads
are closed. The crowds were cheering me on and even
police and stewards were clapping!’
Bob Silver, Quality
and Service Integrity
team, volunteer with St
John Ambulance –
‘We dealt with several
calls, including a sixyear-old
who cut his leg
open. I also did a duty
with the police to cover
for regular officers on
loan to London.’
Binu Sebastian, Blackburn,
Manchester driver – ‘I was driving
around Manchester in an Olympic
Games vehicle picking up linesmen,
referees and other VIPs from
the airport, training centres and
matches. It was amazing.’
Barry Holland, Gatwick postman,
bus shuttle driver – ‘It was a
fantastic experience. I helped
move VIPs and athletes to and
from the Copperbox for the handball
events. Everyone was very
friendly and down to earth.’
Jimmy Hann (centre), Antrim
postman, pre-training camp host –
‘It was good to work with athletes
from different countries, and I met
Taoufik Makhloufi, who went on to
win the gold medal in the 1,500m.’
Kishor Kanji, HWDC postman,
Heathrow ambassador – ‘I had a
very good experience meeting,
greeting and welcoming Chinese,
Australian, Russian and Swedish
athletes and lots of tourists. It was a
very happy once-in-a-lifetime experience,
but also lots of hard work!’
Chris Maddocks, Tiverton
postman, former Olympics race
walk competitor and now commentator
– ‘It was an honour to
commentate on three Olympic
walks for NBC. It was nice going
back to a world I knew as an
Olympic competitor, this time
as a journalist.’ Chris has a new
autobiography out at www.race
walkuk.com/book
Steve Harris, Southampton
late shift manager, safety
officer at Greenwich Park for
Olympics and Paralympics –
‘LOCOG asked me because of
my work as chief steward at
Southampton FC, as I already
had the required qualification.’
Martin Grogan (third left), Billericay
postman, responsible for football
equipment in Manchester – ‘I’ve
worked with the England team and
on events like the World Cup and
European championships. I’ve met
lots of the players and it was really
enjoyable.’
Paul Taylor, people transition
manager, Greenford, ExCeL driver
– ‘As part of the driving team I was
based at ExCeL and was privileged
to play my part in delivering a wonderful
Olympic Games.’
Abimbola Oshikoya,
delivery revisions planner
in London, Paralympics
Games Maker
– ‘The Paralympics
were great – if those
athletes can do it with
their disabilities, why
can’t everybody? It was
a real eye-opener.’
Sunil Patel (far right), London delivery planner,
was at the media centre – ‘I saw many famous faces.
I was buzzing the whole time I was at the Olympic
Park, and we had our photo taken with Lord Coe.’
Peter Muwonge-Matovu, HWDC
postman, Heathrow ambassador – ‘It
was inspirational to be part of this exercise
and to meet such interesting people.’
Kevin Matthews, Dartmouth
postman, sailing physiotherapist –
‘Nothing prepared me for how I
felt when I was actually there treating
sailors, and meeting
celebrities including Lord Coe, Ben
Ainslie and Nick Dempsey. I have
fantastic memories.’
David Johnson, Porthmadog postman,
poolside at Aquatics Centre –
‘We monitored warm-ups and
swim-downs. I was poolside when
Rebecca Adlington won bronze in
her 800m Freestyle.’