National team? Then sing the National Anthem!

Although you'd think someone would have given the teams a refresher course when they knew they were going to compete in the Olympics! And possibly a pep-talk on the importance of at least appearing to be patriotic...

I had just commented at home on the British male cyclists failure to sing the National Anthem when I saw the comments on here. I understand the Republicanism feelings, though do not agree with them, but .... I still believe you shouldn't compete on behalf of your country and its leader if you feel no allegiance to them.

However, my OH has just said he thinks the Olympics should go back to its roots and have no team games at all. Every country should send their best solo competitors who compete for themselves alone. He also believes in having only sports that have absolute results that can be measured - not subjective things like diving, which is judged on style.

Worth thinking about perhaps.

Forget the singing - just listen to their remarks and then say that they are not patriotic - wonderful wonderful people

Junior was mouthing, senior was too overcome with emotion!

I rather like the idea of our enemies' knavish tricks being confounded-it sounds so positive and dynamic instead of appeals to the European court

ellenaitch can we have them male only, and in the nude?
But only the vestal virgins were allowed to watch.
Don't know about you, but I'm no vestal virgin?

I'm all for confounding knavish tricks and frustrating their politics!

Especially their politics!

jeni Vestal virgins were Roman, not Greek.

I know, but tradition says they were in charge of the olympic flame and watched the games. The games became very romanised. Didn't Nero compete?

Yes jen they certainly looked like vestal virgins when lighting the flame

Roman depictions of Vestal Virgins showed women who were much more covered up than those soppy Hollywood-looking creatures in the flame-lighting Olympic ceremony. Any Vestal Virgin who let the flame go out in the first place (and there was no flame at the ceremony to begin with) would have been executed by being buried alive. Jeni You're right that Vestal Virgins were allowed to watch games and other perfomances – they were, in fact, revered guests at such occasions. They didn't have anything to do with Olympia and the temple there.

I doubt that I was ever a Vestal Virgin...fell off a chair [hanging Christmas decorations] in primary school. Did myself a serious mischief!

There is an article in the times literary supplement by Mary Beard in which she does admit that the games were roman almost as long as they were Greek!
Sorry, but I can't do links! If you google Olympics vestal virgins it's under a dons life!

I can remember as a child we used to compete to see who could dash out of the cinema at the end of the programme so that we did not have to stand up for the "queen." It was half the fun of the outing!

Did you know that the saying "Life begins at forty" comes from the lives of Vestal Virgins? Girl children between the ages of 5 and 10 were taken to train as priestesses at Vesta's temple. They were committed to this (and to chastity) for 30 years. Then, they could choose to stay or choose to go. Some went and got married – with the blessing of the pontifex (the person who had been in charge) who gave the bride away.

Useless piece of information No. 459. Don't ever play Trivial Pursuit with me.

But in my case , it begins at 60 , there I"ve used S word,oh dear

They were also the only women allowed to make wills!

Really , hope u don"t mind me asking Jeni , but are u off on a cruise in the not too distant future ?

I don't think the GB team excludes N irish does it?
Cavendish is from the Isle of Man and there are team members from NI, and the channel islands. I think the point is the terminology.
Sometimes the british athletics team is referred to as great britain and northern ireland. But not this time - a branding decision by the Olympics association.

www.teamgb.com/our-greatest-team
This shows where the team are from.

It seems to me that the medal winners are mostly too overcome with emotion to sing and many are struggling to hold back the tears.
Well done all of them.
I am just watching the GB girls cycle pursuit gold medal ceremony. The girls are beaming with pride, but they are not singing the anthem. They have proved how patriotic they are

No, jeni - for example, the rower, Alan Campbell is from NI and so. of course, is the great Mary Peters. What was bugging me was that the title 'Team GB' ignores the contribution of NI athletes. The country is, after all, the United Kingdom of GB and NI. So why not Team UK?

What have I said?

The NI Orange Order is just about the most patriotic of all the Queen's subjects. I don't agree with all the marching and some still refuse to integrate but surely NI deserves to be mentioned? Maybe most people assume NI is included in Great Britain as is Scotland and Wales.

I agree, Annobel. It's as though they felt they had to get the word Britain in at whatever cost....