It is where I trained, when I ran 1500 metres and cross country when I was a teen (I ran for the school, borough and county). Thanks to training at New River Sports Centre I met Daley Thompson and Seb Coe several times. In fact I was in the group of teens that participated in the 1st ever mini Marathon, and Seb Coe was with us for that.
Yesterday I happened to take my 2 nieces, + nephew + Aaron to Alexandra Palace for the day (affectionately known locally as Ally Pally), only to find that the building was on lock down.
Apparently the Olympic Torch will be there tomorrow, 25th July 2012.
Luckily we still got to play on the formidable grounds, and had so much fun and sun! We even got to go to the lake (see the ducks) and go on the slides and swings, but you couldn't fail to notice all the high vis jackets and truck loads of barriers that have been delivered. Apparently they are expecting 25,000 people.
We wanted to go into the bar yesterday to get tall cold drinks, and found that the whole building was cordoned off... Security staff told us it was because the building would be used for ticketed Olympic events but now I am home and Googling I can see that the building will in fact be the Olympic Dutch House...! "with the Palace acting as the Netherlands’ official Olympic Village venue".
From this website the following text is taken: http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/news/win_tickets_alexandra_palace_ticket_giveaway_for_olympic_dutch_house_1_1410290
As the home of all Dutch athletes and supporters during the Games, the Palace will be transformed into a village of Olympic attractions set to welcome up to 6,000 visitors each day. Organisers expect a number of high-profile visitors during the 18-day run, including members of the Dutch royal family.Holland Heineken House runs from July 26 until August 12. To find out more about the free tickets for Haringey residents, visit www.alexandrapalace.com.
Anyway, back to our day there yesterday:
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| Me and my 2 nieces shoes - I love walking barefoot in grass! |
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| Our toes! |
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| Thankfully Aaron fell asleep on the bus on the way there, so we were able to find a nice spot before he woke! |
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| Aaron and my youngest niece - like something out of Little House on the Prairie - love it! |
Then as below we walked back uphill to go to the slides and swings, which I am glad we did, as they all enjoyed that as much as spending time on the grass.
Alexandra Palace is a SUPER spot to go on a hot day. The sense of expanse and freedom to run and have fun on the grass is truly awesome and the atmosphere was lovely.
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| Walking uphill and getting LOTS of exercise |
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| Love the big slide they have at Ally Pally - even at 2 years old this is Aaron going down it happily! |
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| Aaron on the swings with 2 of his cousins |
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| A lovely old bus in the car park ready for the celebrations and the Olympic Torch coming through tomorrow |
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| Big deliveries of railings, ready for the 25,000 people they are expecting tomorrow |
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| The car park is out of bounds at the moment! |
Liska x
What a lovely day out. Will be a very different atmosphere tomorrow x.
ReplyDeleteI know would love to go but I think it will be too crowded x
ReplyDeleteWe won tickets to it but you had to pick them up in advance, which we didn't discover until the day we were due to go :(
ReplyDelete