Alistair Brownlee - Olympic men's triathlon gold medallist London 2012 and his younger brother Jonathan - brave bronze medallist in the same gruelling event. And where do these tough, talented and generally admirable young men come from? Can you guess? Why - Yorkshire of course! Our Yorkshire nation is currently ahead of both Australia and New Zealand in the medals table and without all the magnificent Yorkshire medallists, Great Britain would probably be down near the bottom of the medals list with Uzbekistan and the Solomon Islands!
I watched nearly all of this morning's triathlon from the idle comfort of our sofa. Don't you also detect a certain irony in the contrast between couch potatoes munching snacks and Olympians busting their guts on the television screen? It's like obese kids playing computer games in which they control physically active cartoon heroes smashing through walls and leaping between buildings as mum sticks another pizza in the microwave and yells "Do you want Coke or Tizer?"
The strapline of the London Olympics is "Inspire a generation" - but although I enjoyed the Brownlee lads' performance this morning, there's no way I'm going to be taking up triathlons. I'd still be swimming around the Serpentine in Hyde Park long after the Brownlees had travelled back to their Yorkshire homeland and I don't think the wetsuit and green swimming cap would suit me either.
On behalf of Yorkshiremen everywhere - huge congratulations to Alistair and Jonathan! You have done our White Rose nation proud as these magnificent Olympic Games continue. My instinctive fears about a terrorist outrage appear to have been ill-founded and I just hope that this week continues in an untroubled fashion -allowing yet more Yorkshiremen and Yorkshirewomen to add to Great Britain's amazing medal haul.
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| The Brownlee brothers in Yorkshire |
this "former" Yorkshireman chimes in "well done those men"
ReplyDeleteI have always taken your fierce pride in your county with a grain of salt, but everything you've said today was corroborated by a National Public Radio broadcast I heard last night. Their praise of Yorkshire people was even sappier than yours. If NPR said it, it must be true. They gave me the impression that you all are so pugnacious and scrappy that any of you could be tossed into a contest and you'd persevere. I hope you all find a way to profit from this well-deserved moment of fame. Will we soon see McDonald's serving yorkshire pudding with their burgers?
ReplyDeleteCouldn't say it any better than Jan.
ReplyDeleteSo I won't try. Before I met YP, all I knew of Yorkshire folk was from James Herriot's writings.
Big up to Yorkshire as the hip, cool cats might say these days. A staggering performance by the Brownlees, especially Alistair's 10k which was only 20 seconds slower than Mo Farah!
ReplyDeleteBut I have to take issue with your comment about where GB would be in the medal table without Yorkshire - by my reckoning we'd still have 17 golds this morning!
I heard some report saying that if Yorkshire were a country, then we'd be holding our own olympic games in 2020 - including whippet breeding; pigeon racing; flat cap chucking and the "odd pint" pulling contest!
ReplyDeleteEARL GRAY I guess you are currently reminding the Trelawnyd folk that you once lived and worked in Yorkshire. They must be in awe of you.
ReplyDeleteJAN BLAWAT WE are tough but we also have our "soft" side. PLans are currently afoot to compete with McDonald's for world dominance. Soon California will be dotted with Yorkshire Pudding drive-ins as McDonalds grovels to the bankers.
KATHERINE Herriot was allowed to live in Yorkshire but was in fact born in County Durham.
SHOOTING PARROTS You have to take issue with me? Okay, I'll meet you on Snake Pass Summit tomorrow morning at 10am for a Greco-Roman Wrestling bout. Be sure to wear swimming trunks. I'll be in my lilac Speedos and I'll win yet another gold medal for Yorkshire.
ARCTIC FOX How about donkey racing on Scarborough beach? And perhaps we could introduce a new throwing event with round Yorkshire puddings hurled like frisbees? Rather than pint pulling how about bird pulling? The torch - on top of Emley Moor mast would be lit by Harvey Smith.