Over the last two weeks we have heard some heart-warming stories about the sacrifices made by athletes to compete at the London Olympics.

Women's participation in these games is at an all time high and it's definitely reason to celebrate. The UK's female Olympians have done exceptionally well, outnumbering the total number of male athletes and winning the nation's first gold, silver and bronze medals.

If anything could cause a breakdown in the ‘special relationship’ between the United Kingdom and America over the past couple of decades, it would...

The golds will come. In the meantime, let's savour the successes of those British athletes whose medals maybe be less shiny but whose stars are higher and brighter than ever.

'Inspire a Generation'. Never has a slogan for a sporting event been as apparent as following Friday night's opening ceremony.

Months of early-morning dance rehearsals all come down to this. Immune to 80,000 noisy ticket holders outside, all we hear are instructions from Gina, our Manc director and segment chartist, on our in-ear radios. It's 9.57pm on Friday 27th July 2012, and we're about to be watched by an expected more than a billion people for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

A few weeks ago I was one of those Scroogey, miserable types who got all hunched and huffy whenever anyone mentioned the Olympics. I'd scowl and look at the floor and mutter about the cost, or the traffic, even though I don't live anywhere near the capital.