It was with complete and utter awe that I watched the closing ceremony of the Great Britain Paralympics’ Games last night. As a writer, I try not to swear too much although, on occasion, my characters do. However, the spectacle of the end of the Games was indeed F*%>\ng Awesome.
It was reported that there would be fire and there was; the imagination of the director, Kim Gavin knew no bounds this time. He had apparently said not to look for the derivation of his inspiration for the set pieces; they were, as it transpired, fantastically fictional and doubtless, entirely from his own cerebral invention, much like when writers write science fiction.
Its story however conveyed the message that these games, the Paralympics’ Games, were about the greatness of people. People who, for various reasons, are disabled; from relatively minor injuries or abnormalities to unbelievably debilitating conditions that have a huge impact on their way of life.
Their recent battle against such adversity making achievements against all odds cannot, and must not, be simply for the sake of the past ten days. They have striven for Great Britain for years to qualify and subsequently win medals, but even the taking part is more than admirable.
Let’s not forget the Olympians of course, they too have, ‘done us proud’ coming third in the World, like the Paralympians, was also a fantastic achievement.
And the Gamesmakers, what a fantastic bunch of people, working long hours and managing to maintain a cheerful demeanour, it was almost like being in a US Disney park and just as clean.
Thankfully there were no antics from the warring factions of this World. It was really great to see our troops (and the Police) there in a peaceful role, enjoying their work, making the Games memorable for the right reasons.
So finally, for the disabled, it’s up to us, those who are able bodied and minded. The mood in the UK towards them has palpably changed; let’s keep it that way and afford them as much assistance as they need and deserve. Well done Team GB.
Ken Balneaves wrote, The Greatest Gift, available at http://amzn.to/QF7RLd (US), http://amzn.to/O12kgX (UK)
Ken Balneaves 