How appropriate that Pindar's Olympic Ode is quoted at the opening of the Greater London Authority's Olympic Legacy Supplementary Planning Guidance.

Well! these are tales of mystery!
And many a darkly-woven lie
With men will easy credence gain;
While truth, calm truth, may speak in vain,
For eloquence, whose honey’d sway
Our frailer mortal wits obey,
Can honour give to actions ill,
And faith to deeds incredible;
And bitter blame, and praises high,
Fall truest from posterity.

(Translations Of Pindar: The First Olympic Ode)

Eighteen months on and the UK Press is still churning out Olympic miracle stories. Particularly prone to this are the nation's supposedly hard-headed business correspondents. One such is the Telegraph's Leisure & Transport Correspondent, Nathalie Thomas, who is convinced that tourists, particularly Americans, were so inspired by the London Olympics that they can't wait to pop into a London pub to sup a pint of Fuller's beer. As usual no actual evidence is produced to support this 'halo' effect and in fact the piece concentrates almost entirely on home consumers and that other well known consumer miracle, the Christmas effect.

About 400metres to the south of Eton Manor, this Old Etonian got his well-deserved reception a year ago this week.

Its inspiring to read the news before its news isn't it. For example London Legacy Development Corporation announces opening plans for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, 11 May 2012

In an earlier post today I took poor Emily Dugan to task for her churnalistic efforts, pointing to the datasets on the London 2012 budget published by the Guardian. In fairness it can't be that easy to dig out the truth from the smorgasbord of possible truths laid before us. Controversial enough is the widespread popular belief - not just amongst journalists - that the budget remains around £9billion. OK, factor in the externalities and news sources such as Sky could have us believe that including the hidden costs the real budget can easily have been as much as £24billion. Who knows?

Tis the season to be jolly and publish utter bullshit about legacies it seems, it being one year on.

Emily Dugan provides an excellent example for The Independent, notably this one-liner

Eight months after the so-called first digital Olympics Weymouth, the home of sailing during London 2012, has just got the high-speed broadband BT promised would be available for the Olympics. Bizarrely, BT blamed the Olympics for delaying the Olympic broadband!

It was something of a joy last night to attend the launch at the Institute of Education of Phil Cohen's East London and the Post Olympics. Part of that joy for me was meeting up with commonKnowledge tovarich John Wallett who spoke briefly and featured in the film shown, Lights on for the Territory.