Page 44 - QARANC Vol 14 No 6 2013

42 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Six weeks in the summer of 2012
Contrary to all advice, in the summer of 2010, I was persuaded to volunteer to be a London Ambassador during the Olympics of 2012. Later that year I was interviewed for the job and during the conversation I was further encouraged to apply to become a Location Manager.
The Ambassador programme was part of the London Mayor’s idea to provide a group of individuals to welcome the world to the City for the duration of the Olympics and Paralympics. The manager interview took place at City Hall in mid-2011 and I was invited to participate. The training programme consisted to three modules which had to be completed by all volunteers and an additional two days training for managers. Module three training was not provided by trainers but by the London Ambassador Managers themselves at the venue we were allocated to. This was to ensure the volunteers knew who we were and could orientate themselves to the surrounding area and their working environment. As part of the training I was tasked with finding out about our locality and interesting places close to it. We also had to have a good understanding of the transport network and in particular the best way to get to each of the sporting venues.
I was allocated to Kings Cross mainline station opened in 1856 and learnt during my researches that it is rumoured the Queen Boudicca is buried under platform 9 following her final battle with the Romans at Battle Bridge a short distance north of the station. I also found out many and varied bits of information about the locality and surrounding areas, including the fact the Kings Cross is named after Queen Victoria’s father. He was not very popular king who had a large Cross erected in
Kings Cross station original and new concourse
the area which was poorly built and pulled down within a few years leaving just the name for the surrounding area. Having done all the research and passed it on to the volunteers the most common question we were asked was where is Harry Potter and/or Platform 93⁄4, as the Hogwarts train left from the station and the filming had taken place in the station.
I was fortunate not to be on duty on the 27th July so I could watch the opening ceremony at home having also been to a rehearsal in the stadium
the previous week. My volunteering started on 31st July and as managers we did 8 hour shifts 4 days on then 4 days break completing 20 shifts on the final day of the Paralympics on the 9th September. All the Ambassadors were also given exclusive access to the Mall on the 10th September for the Athletes parade. By the time I arrived the Mall was lined at least 6 deep so I knew I had little chance of seeing anything so moved down close the Admiralty Arch and managed to get an excellent view of a big screen showing the BBC TV coverage with commentary which was excellent.
The whole experience was the opportunity of a life time and I would not have missed a moment of it and am very glad that I had been persuaded to apply. In particular, the mood of every one passing through the station was of excitement, and the fun everyone was having, both volunteers and visitors help us all to have a great time. The majority of our time we spent directing