Now it‘s the Russians' turn to ask ‘when is a monopoly not a monopoly?’ When it’s a Visa for the Olympics, stupid!

When is a bailout not a bailout? At the recent Heygate CPO hearing Lend Lease, who had to be bailed out by the government over the Athletes’ Village, apparently weren’t happy with this description, ie being bailed out, when they were challenged by objectors. @MichaellondonSF tweeted from the #heygate CPO hearing: ‘Dispute with LendLease about whether govt funding for Athletes' Village had been a bailout’. Others were quite clear that this was indeed a bailout!

‘I think the Vitality programme is absolutely brilliant – everything I stand for is echoed in the values of Vitality.’ These are the inane words of Olympic heroine Jessica Ennis, now earning a fast buck as a ‘Vitality Ambassadress’ through which she will ‘participate in a number of marketing activities…which add value to the Vitality proposition’. Diplomatically, she continues ‘we all love to be rewarded for our hard work to get healthy…’

Obesity in the UK continues to rise. Figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre for 2011 show there has been a marked rise in obesity rates over the past eight years, coinciding with the bid and lead up to London 2012. The HSCIC also raises the alarm about children’s body image, particularly among girls, with hospital admissions up 16% in the last year of the survey.

As has already been announced the elite annual London Grand Prix Diamond League meeting will be moved from Crystal Palace to the Olympic Stadium. To this was added an elite Paralympic event.

Hackney Marshes – Public Consultation

I am writing to let you know that the Council is planning to launch a public consultation on a proposal to apply for PINS consent to hold major public events on Hackney Marshes between 1st May and 31st August each year.

The Olympics amnesia effect kicks in again. The Press reports another Olympic ’success’ story, this time it’s Heathrow, which saw profits rise in the ‘Olympic year’ along with the number of passengers. CEO Brian Matthews declared ‘We gave a warm welcome and a smooth journey to thousands of Olympic and Paralympic athletes’.

London Tube boss Howard Collins has got a job running railways Down Under. The Standard describes him as the 'Tube boss credited with making the trains run on time during the Olympics'. If they expect Mr Collins to repeat the miracle of making the trains run on time in Sydney then they can look forward to apocalyptic warnings about how the system is about to crack up and they'd all be better off walking, getting on their bikes, staying at home, anything but travelling by train!