Yakking for Argyll

Fancy a bet on Trooping the Olympic flag, a trot-by from the Blues and Royals, men running around assembling and diss-assembling field guns, Changing the Guard, a few Beefeaters, the odd Pearly King and Queen, a naval tableau of the heroic exploits of an island nation (somehow without offending the Spanish and the Germans) and a carousel of showpieces from our colonies. We won’t mention slavery, exploitation - and certainly not Zimbabwe - but how else are we going to get colour, rhythm and dance into our opener? No imagination required, No preparation necessary - the Queen and the military’ve done it all before and the amateurs are even more charming when they get it wrong. Job done.

Photo above is a scene from the opening ceremony at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, taken by Agencia Brasil and issued under Creative Commons Licence Attribution 2.5 Brazil.