Olympics

I live in Hackney, which makes me lucky for lots of reasons. London Fields Lido, Clissold Park, Dalston Rio, The Dove on Broadway Market...Hackney has it all (providing you don't mind controlled parking zones, gang warfare, fly-tipping and foxes doing horrible things to each other in your garden at night).

But most of all I'm lucky because Hackney is one of the five host boroughs of the London Olympics. And if you're one of the million or so people who live in one of those boroughs, there is a simple answer to the question "will hosting the Olympics have a positive impact on your life?" It's "yes".

OK, I get the local paper stuffed through my letter box so I know there are a few groups with their own particular gripes about a large swathe of east London being turned into a building site, but for the vast majority of us having the Olympics on our patch is an undeniably good thing.

Could, however, I say the same if I lived in Aberdeen, Bristol or Coleraine?

With less than a month to go to the Beijing opening ceremony, the cards are appearing on the table.

UK Sport have played their hand: 35 medals, eighth place, 12 or so golds. It is neither bullish nor pessimistic but they might be wishing a few more of the best Brits were going for the top of the podium in the first week of competition.

Checking out the sports programme, it looks a bit lean, on days one to six, and let's face it, our media isn't renowned for its patience.