Inspiring A Generation

One of the Ladies Toilets at The Linford Christie Stadium, which believe me, in person looks about five thousand times more filth-encrusted and rotting than it does in this picture.

The showers are grime-ridden grey concrete boxes, with moulding rubber shower curtains, and I sincerely hope no one uses them. They have no benches and no hooks, though keeping your towel dry would be the least of your worries in these lock-free, door less, freezing germ-tanks which anyone from the street, the park, the nearby hospital or indeed anywhere can walk into quite freely.

Though it looks like a disused prison bunker from some post-apocalyptic nightmare movie set in a fifth-world country, it is in fact a regularly used sports ground which is home to several football, rugby, hurling and athletics teams. And if course Softball and Baseball.

Proof I suppose, that people who are passionate about sport (and their parents!) will put up with all sorts. London 2012 was truly brilliant for inspiring children to play sport, but when you look at the facilities at The Linford Christie Stadium, though it's only about 10 miles from Stratford, it feels as far away as Rio!

I don't mind though, because 1) Betsy loves Softball more than anything on Earth, 2) they are better than nothing and 3) Chris says the Men's are far, far worse!