On arrival, a few isotonic energy Stellas were consumed, and we headed into town via a pub or two to assess the competition in the Olympic Village, or Hooters as it was also known.  We quizzed the locals to get the lowdown on the other competitors, leaving no conversation unturned as demonstrated in these pictures:

We left the village, and headed to an 80s bar called Reflex to limber up and carry out some pre-event training. Dan laid down the Area 34 gauntlet with a sterling display and dominated the rotating dancefloor.  But realising we had to be on top of our game, we paced ourselves and went to bed early at 3:30AM.  The following day we rose, and after a light full english breakfast the Area 34 athletes set off to show our stuff in our relevant specialities.  The morning's activities saw Ogilvie enjoy a 3 mile cross country run, an event he is naturally built for, and John impressed the crowds (if not the competition) with his squash playing.  Over in the swimming arena, Dave and Dan were ready to sweep the board, when unfortunately Mr Hatton developed a severe reaction to what we think was a bad sausage, and had to retire to his room to avoid bright light and noise.

Our other Area 34 colleagues enjoyed similar levels of success in their respective sports, with the 5-a-side football team comfortably getting to the semi's. 

The afternoon saw the main event, the Tug of War, an event that I understand Area 34 had previously never even managed to win a heat.  With a new look team including the big hitters: Ogilvie, Mousley, Spensley and Hatton, we felt confident of improved standings.  Mr Howarth had decided at this stage to concentrate on the 10 gallon water drinking event from the sidelines.  Some spectacular tugging led to us into the semi's and after winning a leg apiece, the tug came down to a toss.  Tragically we end up on the uphill slope, and the dream was gone for another year.

A shower and a few more isotonic lagers later, we headed into the evening dinner to enjoy some grub, a burlesque show featuring a lobster removing her claws, and a Kylie cover (together with hotpant clad dancers).  After all our exertions it was time for another early night and we retired at 3AM.  The standard has been set - onto Colchester next year.