Not Very Canadian, Eh?

The Olympic Cauldron will become a permanent landmark on Vancouver's waterfront after the Winter Games are over at the end of February.

A magnificent structure in a spectacular setting – no doubt about that.

The Olympic flame which Wayne Gretzky used to ignite the outside cauldron (a ceremonial cauldron was also lit within BC Place Stadium) began its journey to Canada from Olympia, Greece some months ago after much pomp and ceremony.

After its arrival in Canada, the flame journeyed across the country and back through the longest domestic torch relay in the history of the Olympic Games. The relay inspired many – embodying the purpose of the Olympic flame – which is supposedly an ancient representation of peace, friendship and brotherhood.

Watching much of this activity on television, we were keen to see the Cauldron aflame for ourselves and savour the moment but were disappointed to find it secured by ugly chain link fencing.

Everyone around us hoping for that experience too also expressed their disappointment. All resorted to using what means they could to get a picture through the fencing.

“Its those protesters, they spoil it for everyone” was the explanation of the sole RCMP officer on the other side of the fence - a delightful lady from Halifax whose temporary home along with the other security forces is one of the cruise ships docked at Ballantyne Pier.

In one of life's ironies that day I mention “The Mechanics of Man” Leonardo Da Vinci’s priceless pen and ink drawings of the human body. These 500 year old drawings are part of Queen Elizabeth’s permanent collection at Windsor Castle and on loan to the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Apparently Da Vinci’s drawings are still used as reference in sports medicine today – such is their intricacy. And we were able to get up close and personal, touching - admittedly through glass - but nevertheless feeling as though a connection could be made with the creations of a genius.

No such connection could be made at the site of the Olympic Cauldron though.

The chain link fence isn’t the Berlin Wall - but really - it has to come down. What are we afraid of with all that security in town. This IS Canada after all!

Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport

When I was a kid, the whole family loved Rolf Harris, an Australian who entertained through his clever cartoons, creative murals, songs and storytelling. One of his songs, Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport was a big hit in the 1960s.

Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport tells a sardonic story about an Australian stockman on his deathbed and has become an Australian anthem right up there with Waltzing Matilda.

So, imagine the furor when Team Australia hoisted another of its country's icons on the balcony of their home for the Winter Games in the Olympic Village - the Boxing Kangaroo.

The International Olympic Committee was not impressed and verbally ordered the team to remove the offending banner citing it as "an inappropriate commercial trademark".

The official response from Team Australia was that the kangaroo would stay, at least until a formal letter was received from the IOC.

With the gauntlet dropped, the incident has become a rallying cry with all sorts of people stepping into the fray. Many have offered their opinions, all in favour of the Australian point of view, and some not too polite. As I sipped my morning coffee I found myself bursting into laughter when I heard my favourite retort from an unhappy Australian - "The Kangaroo stays Jacques, put that in your Belgian pipe and smoke it".

Whatever the outcome of the boxing kangaroo debacle, I hope it softens the hearts of those who are indifferent about the Winter Olympics and spurs them on to enjoy the Games, just seven days away.

So tie the kangaroo down, the fight isn't over yet. At half time it was Australia 1, IOC nil.

When the final whistle blew, the Aussies were victorious. The result - a TKO.

Let It Snow .... Please

While alpine skiing, bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, biathlon, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined events and ski jumping will take place at venues in Whistler, Blackcomb and Callaghan Valley, Cypress Provincial Park in West Vancouver - just half an hour from downtown - will host freestyle skiing (aerials, moguls, ski cross) and snowboard (half pipe, parallel giant slalom and snowboard cross).

Snow has been plentiful in the Whistler region several hours away from downtown Vancouver, but there is some nail biting going on at Cypress right now.

It had been a promising start to the winter on the local mountains with a good snow base forming until January brought milder temperatures and rain, lots of it.

Cypress Bowl is an attractive location for freestyle and snowboard events, but with an elevation of 915 Meters the snow level slowly dissipated as the rain persisted.

Extreme measures were warranted to ensure the events would go ahead as planned.

At the end of January we had an opportunity to see first hand the herculean efforts underway – helicopters had been airlifting in straw to form a strong base for the runs while large vehicles trucked in snow from higher elevations, and from further afield.

Cats groomed the slopes and gravel was brought in to smooth the way for spectator walkways which should have been hard packed snow.

The two temporary stadiums draped in Olympic colours stood empty in anticipation. The athletes say they are used to competing in poor snow conditions and seemed unfazed. So long as the runs are properly prepared they will go for it, even though the terrain around them could well be bare.

A little snow from natural sources, would however be appreciated in the next week or so. Is there such a thing as a snow dance?

Fourteen Days To Go!

The draping was underway in earnest and I found myself fascinated as I walked along Georgia Street to Burrard during that last week of January. The Olympic drapings were bold and colourful, somehow giving the city another dimension.

The Olympic clock that had been silently counting down the days since Vancouver-Whistler was awarded the 21st Winter Olympics in 2003 reminded me that it was just fourteen days to go until the show begins – the circus was indeed coming to town.

I felt a sense of anticipation, excitement and pride.

It didn’t feel like winter and those iconic red mittens weren’t needed today. January had been unseasonably warm and the North Shore Mountains which peeked though the breaks in the office towers of downtown were short of the white stuff.

While Whistler and Blackcomb had plenty of snow, a powdering of the local mountains over the next ten days would be nice – just enough to dress everything up for all those visitors to the region and the millions and millions of television viewers.

We are looking forward to the Games and hope to have stories to tell about the people we meet and their impressions of our city.

And of course not forgetting the purpose of it all - our athletes - Go Canada Go!