James Rose Entry 1

My name is James and I’m an ex-London 2012 Ceremonies volunteer performer.

This year, I am volunteering at the newly-named Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.  I’m the Park Champion Blogger (try saying that quickly five times), and I’ll be writing up posts as and when I volunteer (generally, fortnightly).  Welcome to my first blog post!

Saturday 6^th July 2013

It was my first-ever day as a Park Champion at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.  It was hot, dry, and one of those days where you just want to chill-out.  My journey from Winchester to Stratford was really smooth and also quite entertaining; It  looked like  it was going to be a great day!

I didn’t know what exactly my Park Champion role would entail nor what I should expect from the day.   I met the volunteer management team who issued me with a lovely pink t-shirt, cap (same colour), and a bag containing other goodies!  I instantly felt at home when I met my fellow-volunteers – all fresh, new, shiny faces, keen and eager to help anyone out.  My job that day, as I found out, was to observe and write this blog which you’re reading now!

Yup he's Glowing! The aptly named Mr. Rose!

So, I wandered round the park with my assistant, meeting and observing my fellow-volunteers as they helped visitors around the park.  I even found myself assisting three girls to decide on what acts they’d like to see and where to go to see them.  Although, there was only one stage so it was a pretty easy call to make!  I see our roles as being there to facilitate other people’s fun, whether it’s through stewarding, assisting with event management, or anything else really – our job is to maintain the flow of positivity within this enclave of entertainment, a.k.a. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.  There were approximately 60,000 visitors that day, all of whom were full of the jollities of life!

I met Sonny-Chan who is an ex-London 2012 Gamesmaker, and is volunteering at the park all summer.  He remarked “The park is like a second home, as I only live two stops away. The place has changed from a derelict site to something of value. I plan to come back next year, once you start this, you can't stop! I have made a lot of friends since the Olympics.” 

Lesley – another very excited volunteer said that she’s been volunteering at the park four times so far.  She said “I’m finding it fab!  I enjoyed going right to the front to watch Ben Howard perform. I watched Bruce Springsteen last week which was amazing!”  You go girl - rock it out (no, I’m not looking for a job on the X Factor)!  It’s worth mentioning as well that Lesley – like all other volunteers – work, as well as play extremely hard!

So, after talking with soo many fantastic volunteers and visitors with my assistant taking notes for me, I managed to get into the VIP area to watch Mumford & Sons whilst eating my volunteers’ packed lunch.  I was relieved to find no Nature Valley bars or mini tubs of Pringles.  There’s nothing wrong with them, but I ate many of these last year during rehearsals, and you can have too much of a good thing!

 
Signing off now, but I’ll aim to write in two weeks time!