This is my 2nd blog about my placement year at London 2012 Olympic legacy charity Join In UK.
Oh Dear England…
Being at a London 2012 Olympic legacy charity, major sports events play a big part in the organisation. Join In helped promote the Rugby World Cup volunteering opportunities and got behind the excitement of the event, especially as it is hosted by England.
Unfortunately, England didn’t do as well as planned so some of the excitement has reduced. However, it looks like the volunteers have enjoyed the spectacle of the event all the same!
Join In and BBC Get Inspired launch #BigHelpOut campaign
SPOTY 2015...
Join In and BBC Get Inspired have launched the #BigHelpOut campaign, which involves getting 10,000 more people involved in volunteering in sport, by BBC Sports Personality of the year in December. Not only does the event celebrate sporting performance, but unsung hero’s, such as volunteers, are recognised too.
Whilst working on the campaign, there has been some discussion in the office as to which sports stars and teams will be recognised at the event. Although it is highly unlikely the England Rugby teams performance will be celebrated, it has still been a successful year of sport. I am obviously biased, but hopefully there will be focus on some of the success women have had this year. For example, Jessica Ennis, the England women's football team, England women's hockey team, and England women's netball team, who have all won medals!
Train Trouble…
The daily commute continues to be a large part of my day! It has become a common occurrence for some of my friends to receive a whatsapp message from me moaning about a train issue. Whether this is not getting a seat on the train (and having to sit on the floor or stand squished between a bunch of business men) or the most popular issue- signal failure!
However, one Wednesday evening I had the biggest train nightmare yet, and it wasn’t National Rail’s fault- it was mine. I thought I was being clever and catching an earlier train home. I even managed to get a seat! I, as usual, plugged myself in to my ipod. It was all going so well, until I started to wonder when we were going to get to my stop. It was dark outside and I couldn’t work out where we were at all. I then looked up at screen on the train that shows the stations the train stops at and panic hit me. I was on the wrong train!
Being in a silent carriage didn’t help as I wanted to scream with anger at myself. I either got on the wrong platform at Waterloo or I misread the stations the train was calling at. Fuming at my stupidity I dashed off the train at the next stop and legged it over to the opposite platform in a hope to go back the other direction. Luckily I managed to get a train to my normal stop within half an hour. For 20 minutes, I sat there trying to make myself cry because I felt sorry for myself, but I think anger took over!
Hopefully the saying “ learn from your mistakes” has come into action here and I won’t spend my evening again doing a tour of the South East on a train.
Louise Rose
Sports and Social Science