Mono Monday - Seasonal

I thought this wet rose reflected the autumnal weather today and would be suitable for today’s Mono Monday challenge of SEASONAL – thanks so much to Ingeborg for hosting.

I wanted to reflect of a marvellous Paralympic Games and a fantastic performance by Team GB who finished 2nd in the medal table to China, with Ukraine third.  We won 64 Golds, 39 Silver and 44 Bronze medals, beating our performance in London in the number of Golds won, the overall number of medals won and moving up one place in the medal table. Channel 4 also did an excellent job as broadcaster.

My Favourite Achievement – Dame Sarah Storey winning 3 golds, taking her total number of Paralympic golds to 14 in cycling and swimming

My Favourite Newcomer – Ellie Robinson who won a gold and bronze medal in swimming at the age of 15 and entertained the crowd with her ‘gangster style’ entrance.

The death of the Iranian para-cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad on Saturday was just awful.

If you add Olympic and Paralympic Golds together, top of the table would be China with 133 Golds, then Team GB with 91 Golds, and the US third with 86 Golds – a fantastic achievement for Team GB, our best ever.

Many years ago when my mum was in Stoke Mandeville to learn to adapt to becoming paralysed, I was visiting one day and went across to watch the Wheelchair Basketball at the Stoke Mandeville Games. It was amazing, these guys were charging around in their wheelchairs, even clashing and tipping over sometimes as they were so determined to win the match. It was the first time I’d seen their ability rather than their disability. I’d have been about thirteen at the time and it had a big impact on me. It was the first step to realising that life is about making the most of the deck of cards you’re dealt and that life is more enjoyable if you live it with passion.