Whatever...

Back off Branson - London Underground WiFi: It’s not for me

By Mike Marquiss

When I first heard Virgin Media were to roll out WiFi on the London Underground it was a revelation, the idea of visiting youtube on the tube, naming and shaming people online who refused to give up their seats to pregnant, elderly or disabled people – I was practically giddy.

Having calmed down and revised the situation, I now think we should hold off on the idea for a couple of months. Quite frankly sport has gotten in the way.

I came to this decision a week or so ago when I was returning home from work to watch the England vs France match on Sky+, praying that no one should ruin the result before myself and several of my commuting friends had the chance to watch the game. Sitting on the Northern line with my headphones on and music blasting (unlike the unfortunate but committed England fan opposite who spent the entire journey with his hands over his ears) I felt optimistic of achieving my goal. With full internet connectivity available on the underground this would have been an impossible endeavour, head-in-hands twitter users would have given the game away completely.

Indeed, real England fans want to get their disappointment fix in the manner they’ve become accustomed, huddled on the floor by the sofa, crying into an empty packet of Doritos. We don’t want the terrible news spoiled by some chump at Euston Station who lets the entire carriage know that #Gutted is trending.

I love the digital media age in which we live, but it’s just not the right time for this development. Let’s wait for the Euros to finish, perhaps Wimbledon too, and of course let’s not forget the Olympics this year. I implore you Virgin Media, install it another time, go ahead and ruin darts, I’m not bothered about darts.

 

Bendtner’s pants

By Mike King

Bookmaker Paddy Power’s PR team must deserve a bonus after achieving one of the biggest PR coups of the year so far.

In what started as a minor publicity stunt, Denmark’s striker Nicklas Bendtner flashed his lucky Paddy Power underpants in the Euro 2012 match against Portugal last week.  He has now been fined €100,000 and suspended for one game by Europe’s football governing body, UEFA.   His offence, according to UEFA, is ‘improper conduct’ because Paddy Power is not an official sponsor of Euro 2012.   The irony, of course, is that the act of Bendtner displaying his branded pants would have gone largely unnoticed (much like most of his career) in the media had UEFA not decided to draw attention to it and charge him. 

If that wasn’t self defeating enough for the incompetents at UEFA, in an act of incredible idiocy they have now deemed that flashing branded pants is a much worse offence than racism and has fined the Croatian Football Federation only €80,000 for the racist behaviour of its fans.  This follows charges against the German and Russian Football Federations for fan behaviour that have seen even lower fines. 

Of course, there is a very serious point here but, from a PR perspective, Paddy Power couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.  Bendtner’s pants have exploded.  Paddy Power has achieved far more exposure than any other brand at the Euros, including all the official sponsors. 

 

Velo – to – Velo

By Jonathan Mathias

Recently, as part of the Johnson King 2012 Gold Challenge, I took to the streets of London to visit two Olympic cycling venues.  Decked out in my Johnson King special 20^th anniversary t-shirt, and new clipless pedals and shoes, it was a journey headed South and East.

First up, was the 1948 Olympic velodrome, in Herne Hill, South East London.  The venue was, until very recently, gradually falling into disrepair.  However, thanks to recent investment, the old concrete track – which I remember whizzing around one summer in my early teens – has been scraped up and replaced with a nice slick new layer of tarmac.

I wasn’t there too long and couldn’t take my bike onto the track itself as, even though it has a lot in common with track bikes, there are lots of rules about what’s allowed on the track.  For example you mustn’t have brakes on your bike and you must have the drop-type handle bars.

On then to East London and the 2012 Olympic velodrome.  Up through South East London, the City and Shoreditch towards Homerton and Hackney Wick.  The Olympic park itself is, of course, not yet opened, so the nearest I was able to get to the venue itself was from behind the barriers on the A12.

Although I – by some incredible stroke of luck given recent forecasts – managed to avoid any rain, it was very blustery, which can make for some hairy moments, especially with white van drivers waving out-of-sight traffic into your path!

Overall the distance covered on the day was 52.5km – nice practice ahead of the 250km cycle planned for next month, but more on that then…

Please visit and share our sponsorship page where we’re working towards raising a total of £5000 for the NSPCC.

 

How to get a gold medal in kayaking

By Rishika Sharma

Unfortunately, Campbell Walsh is currently busy training, so I was asked to fill in for him by Hannah (@HanT86) and Ginnia (@ginniacheng) as we attempted to kayak for 10km along the River Thames to raise money for the NSPCC as part of Johnson King’s Gold Challenge.

After paddling every way possible, and spending way too much time in the reeds, it finally hit me that this was clearly NOT the way to kayak. I’m not sure if it was the embarrassment of struggling past the stationary junior rowing team for a good ten minutes, or being in close proximity to a dozen terrifying swans, that finally gave me the good sense to paddle straight. Whatever it was has allowed me to impart the following wisdom to team GB (avid followers of this blog) in advance of the summer games:

1. Understand the vagaries of the London transport systems so that you do not, under ANY circumstance, turn up an hour late. Granted, we weren’t racing one another (or at least I don’t think we were), but it’ll be fairly difficult to win a medal if you’re not at the event. This would be my no.1 tip. 
2. If you would like to lift your arms above your head in jubilation after the event without experiencing excruciating pain, my second big tip would be to perhaps stretch a little, or even practise, before the event. Not everyone is as hard-core as us, so be warned, building endurance will help. 
3. Learn to kayak. If you want a medal, it is important to know which direction you want to go, and actually end up going in that direction. 
4. Pick your lunch well. Warm mango will not give you the energy to win a race. 
5. Lastly, karma has a huge role! If you do something as noble as donating to the NSPCC, I’m sure you will be re-paid in gold, silver or bronze! (No promises)