How do the sailors manage it? How did they manage to avoid the health and safety Gestapo? How did these competitors survive teachers who believed in no competition, where school sports are either abandoned or every child gets a prize?

Again, we have the Union flag, all of which the competitors seem to accept as their national emblem in spite of the politicians. They have raised everyone's spirits and when the flag does go up I am sure there are many of us with a lump in our throat.

How can we emulate the Chinese success? I'm not entirely sure it is a success, not with the sort of restrictive society that China has, but it has been suggested, again by the critics, that we cannot emulate the Chinese or surpass them.

How about using the Union flag. This is the flag that drew people from the four corners of the earth. Granted, many of them conscripts, but many of them volunteers. This is the flag they were willing to serve under because this is the flag of the country that saved Europe and possibly the world. We shouldn't be ashamed of that, we should be proud of it.

Brian Fleming, Adel, Leeds


The BBC, particularly Radio Five Live, has taken what once was our common English language into strange new pastures with their Olympics coverage.

Summarisers and experts seemed especially prone to informing us all about the "goad meggals" and "Team Geebee". Whilst others continually referred to the next "Limpix" in "Wundun."

And every question was met by the exclamatory "abso-lutely!"

We've been swamped by estuary English and the Shadow of the Trotters has already fallen over 2012.

LOUIS KASATKIN,
Wakefield.


The IOC president last night said on television that the UK must match China in regards to the facilities laid on for the athletes in terms of the stadium; transport links to/from the stadium and the Olymic village etc.

Does that mean then that our stadium will be named and shaped like the 'Giant Yorkshire' or perhaps, since it will be in London, the 'Jellied Eel'?

M Phillips, Garforth