I haven’t ever seen anything like it.

I know that’s what you’d expect me to say. I know that’s what everyone says, but it genuinely is true.

Just after 9.55pm on Sunday evening, the world held its breath and waited for the gun to sound to start the Olympic 100m final.

The noise in the stadium was recorded at over 100 decibels. That is pretty much the same as a trans-Atlantic flight taking off at Heathrow.... and I was sat 20 yards from the runway.

I’d love to tell you it was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard, but I honestly can’t. I didn’t hear a thing. It was like a film, when the soundtrack just drops out. I was just in my own head, acutely aware of how I was in the very moment that my career would peak, determined to take in every detail, every smell, every sound, every sight. Time stood still as I drank it all in.

Not for very long though. The race began and then it was over. Just like that.

It was only when I watched it back on my phone – I took a video of the moment for posterity you understand,  because nobody is ever going to believe half the things I tell them about these Games – that it actually started to sink in.

I was cursing the work iPhone for messing up the video. It wasn’t playing properly, the runners were all in fast forward. They looked jerky and fake. Oh. It was.... real.

The third watch was the one that did it. Oh my God. I have actually never seen anything like it. I have nothing in my life to compare it too. I can safely say it was the most incredible men’s 100m Olympic Final I have ever witnessed, or am likely to. It was an absolute privilege to be present at the absolute pinnacle of sport, and it was fitting that Usain Bolt was able to produce a performance which fit the magnificence of these Games so far.

0o0

All this drama followed on about an hour and a half after the drama of Adam Gemili’s semi-final.

I will put this plainly. Adam was 0.04secs away from earning one of the eight places in the greatest 100m final field ever assembled in the history of athletics.

If I’d said that to you on June 1^st, you’d have said: “Adam who?” To be honest if I’d said that to him he’d have probably cracked that wonderful grin and been humble and said: “Psssh, nah, that would be a dream.”

Well dreams do come true. In truth, I think he was good enough for that final. Already. He would have been in the bottom half of the field, let’s be honest, but you just don’t know what that occasion could have brought out of him. I have absolute ZERO doubt that he would have run his fastest ever time. You just get that feeling from him. He rises to the occasion. And that was a pretty big occasion.

He might be a nice boy and polite and charming and just great to talk to, but I could SEE afterwards just how annoyed he was that he didn’t slip through the semis. Make no mistake, he is driven, ambitious and determined.

 I can’t wait for Rio, even if I’ll have to go as a punter and pay my own way this time! :(

0o0

Monday morning in the stadium there was a definite stillness. Like the hush after the echo of the previous night finally disappears. To be fair it was only nine hours later.

However the cobwebs were well and truly blown away when Lisa Dobriskey was introduced to the crowd before her 1,500m heat.

What a reception she received. And how deserved it was. Lisa is undeniably one of the most popular athletes in Britain and the crowd were genuinely thrilled for her as she powered through the field in the final lap like the Dobriskey of old to claim first place.

It tells you all you need to know about Lisa that SHE asked ME how I was, during the interview after her race, and her motivation for running was not for fame, or endorsements or sponsorship or money or anything other than.... making her nine-year-old nephew Joshua proud of her.

Her injury and illness problems are well documented, but it would just be such a fairytale ending to a nightmare year if she could win an Olympic medal and banish the memory of fourth-place in Beijing four years ago. Nobody deserves it more.

0o0

After the athletics session finished I had a decision to make. It’s not one I’ll really ever get to make again. Which amazing session of Olympic sport should I attend during a Kent-free afternoon? Handball, basketball, waterpolo, or cycling?

I chose the track cycling at the Velodrome. And I think I chose well. I experienced the best atmosphere I had at any of the Games venues – perhaps bar Saturday night in the OS – and saw Jason Kenny tie-up the gold medal in the men’s sprint and Laura Trott battle through the opening rounds of the Omnium which she would go on to win.

I then hot-footed it back to the Stadium to see if Dai Greene could add Olympic gold to his World Championship one. He couldn’t. It was a pretty disappointing night for GB unfortunately. But I managed to catch the last train home, which was significant progress based on previous nights and meant I didn't have to sleep in a chair.

I received much verbal abuse from my press colleagues last night for referring to the past 24 hours as an emotional rollercoaster. It seems they think the phrase is tired, lazy and overused. But I’m not entirely sure how else to describe it. A trampoline of feelings? A W-shape of vibes? No, I’ll stick with rollercoaster of emotion, thanks.

The day started on a high, with the memory of Jack Green’s qualification for the 400m hurdles semi-final on Friday morning and Ashley Jackson’s match-winning performance for GB’s hockey men the previous night still fresh in the memory.

It then reached a new peak with Adam Gemili’s awesome 100m first round run, pushing the legend that is Asafa Powell of Jamaica all the way to the line to qualify in second place for the semis.

The absolute joy on Adam’s face, the biggest and most genuine grin you’ve ever seen, splashed all over the big screen, is one of the images of the Games so far.

Most teenagers thrust into the national limelight like Adam has been would have changed. Adam’s still the same, grounded, polite, engaging. Just so pleased to be here. He’s a breath of fresh air, in stark contrast to some of the superstars who slink off after their event, dodging the microphones and returning to the oasis of calm inside their headphones .

Unfortunately for me, Adam’s competition overlapped with that of another of our hopefuls, Kat Driscoll, who was competing in the heats of the trampoline competition at the North Greenwich Arena.

So I did what many of you did and tuned in online via the website of a certain national broadcaster. I sat here, in my seat in the Olympic Stadium, as the crowd thinned and drifted away and the noise died down, and I tell you what, I was absolutely enthralled.

The grace, poise, power, strength, all of it, combine to create a breathtaking spectacle. Unfortunately for Kat, her goal of a top-eight finish and a history-making appearance in an Olympic final was cruelly dashed when the last jump of the competition bumped her out of eighth and into ninth.

Now Kat is faaaar too polite to ever say anything, but I’m not. She got absolutely robbed. That last American girl opted for a difficult routine, granted, but she was wobbling and moving all over the place and I couldn’t believe she was awarded a score which took her above Kat. I guess that’s the problem with sports judged on performance, no legislating for what another person might see or think.

So the reaction was sadness and frustration, but in time Kat will come to look back on the experience fondly I’m sure. She did us proud.

0o0

Kat’s wasn’t the only disappointment however. Jack Green’s hopes of making the Olympic Final were dashed when he clattered into the third hurdle and fell to the track in his semi.

To say he was devastated is an understatement. He’s a 20-year-old lad who had been thinking about this day, of this Games, for years. Every training run, every extra lift in the gym, it was all about this night. And down he went.

Baring in mind that the bloke who won his heat, Javier Culson of Puerto Rico, swerved the media afterwards, it is to Jack’s supreme credit that he wanted to talk, to explain. He didn’t have to explain himself to anyone, but he did. For 35 seconds. Then the tears took over.

I’m not going to roll out all the ‘what doesn’t kill you....’ lines. You’ll have heard them all anyway, and so will he. All I’ll say is that he’s 20-years-old and it wouldn’t have been a surprise for him to have made that final. He’s the real deal. He’ll have other Olympic finals, I’m sure.

0o0

So after all that emotion, what did I need? A bit more. After finishing writing up Jack’s tale for the website, I settled in to witness the Golden Hour, the most incredible 46 minutes in the history of British sport. I was priviliged to be there.

Ennis, Rutherford, Farah. You know what happened. You’ll have your own memories of where you were and what you did. Me? I was sat here, this very seat. 22 rows back, 25 metres from the finish line. My face hurt from smiling until Sunday lunchtime. My ears were ringing well into the night.

It was very special.

Good evening, or morning. I’m not quite sure which. It’s about 2.30am.

I’m sat in the Main Press Centre in the Olympic Park, chilling out with my feet on the desk, a hot chocolate and watching highlights of the women’s beach volleyball. Life is good!

The reason I am writing my blog now is two-fold. First, I have two-and-a-bit hours to kill until my bus out to Eton Dorney, and second is that I have just got so much to tell you, and I don’t want to forget it.

When last I left you I was speeding towards Stratford on the high-speed. Well, I got there, and it was raining.

When I’d left Folkestone it was sunny, warm and I’d opted for the white-polo shirt, khaki shorts and sunglasses look. Great on the beach on the English riviera, not so good in the rain-lashed east end.

So I was a little dismayed when I emerged from Stratford International to find it was raining hard. Very hard. By the time I joined the security queue at the media entrance I looked like the wooden-spoon winner in a Magaluf wet T-shirt competition.

The only thing which cheered me up was geting on the bus. Because it was dry? No. Because I sat next to Yao Ming.

You might not know Yao Ming’s name, but I’d wager if you saw him, you’d probably go ‘Ohhh, yeahhh, him.’

Yao Ming was one of the most famous basketball players in the NBA (and hence the world) until he retired last year. He is Chinese. And he is 7’6” tall. Tom Daley could dive off him. If he lay on the floor it would take Adam Gemili a second to run the length of him from a standing start. He is massive.

So when I say I sat next to him, I didn’t. He took up a seat on his own. I sat on the opposite side of the aisle to him and after hearing him turn down a request for a photo from a Spanish journalist, I took one myself while I pretended to fix my hair in my phone. Sneaky huh! You can check out my Olympic pictures on twitter by the way – @kentonline2012

So it just so happened that Yao and I were on the way to the same place. With all our local competitors in action later in the day, I decided to treat myself to a little indulgence. I wanted to see an iconic sporting event, so I went to see the US men’s basketball team play France.

Now you may have picked up from previous blogs that there are a few, very high profile events where press box space is limited so we have to apply for tickets in addition to our accreditation. Opening Ceremonies, swimming finals, that sort of thing. Well, the US basketball game was not ticketed. But the rest surely will be.

I got there an hour before tip-off and every single tabled position (with a socket and a TV) was taken, and there was only one single seat in the extra press bit, with cabled internet. I took it. I couldn’t connect to the web for some strange reason, so instead I did a twitter commentary on proceedings on my phone.

Over the next 55 minutes I must have seen at least 75 journalists come up the stairs looking for somewhere to sit. I felt a little guilty, I’ll admit. But it’s a once in a lifetime thing for me.

I had a jolly old time. The US were just too good, as they should be, but it was a good spectatcle, the crowd were really into it and I didn’t want to leave.

However at half-time I had to. I had vowed to go and watch Jen Wilson and South Africa face Argentina in the hockey. So I made my way out of the venue to find a scene from the third world.

There were dozens, scores of journos of all nationalities being held outside the entrance by staff. They were baying to get in like it was Noah’s Arc and the world was about to flood (which looked distinctly possible at the time, to be fair). I walked out and dutifully said I wasn’t coming back, and the throng pressed forward, all shouting to claim my vacant seat.

As I say, it’ll be ticketed next time, so it was a one-off for me!

0o0

I’ll not say too much about the South Africa game, they got a bit of a tonking by Argentina unfortunately. I will however share that I really like the Riverside Arena. It’s a great place to watch sport. I will warn anyone with tickets though, it is very open to the elements. VERY open. No shelter anywhere, so make sure you check the forecast first and bring appropriate clothing (swimming hats and goggles would have been appropriate today!).

Despite the rain I was thrilled to hear such fantastic support from the South African fans, even at 7-1 down. There were some haunting songs, I assume traditional South African ones, which were among the more unusual but memorable things I’ve heard at a full-blooded sporting contest.

After the game the South Africans trouped off disconsolately, but bless Jen Wilson. She still agreed to come over and talk to me, sharing her devastation. What a thoroughly class act she is. We’ve already seen that not all Olympians have time for the press, but for her to talk, despite how she must have been feeling... Well, I would happily say I’m an honorary South African women’s hockey supporter now (ex-Maidstone striker Lauren Penny is a SA reserve and she’s very nice too, as it happens!)

0o0

After the hockey I made the dash through the rain to the bus stop to catch a shuttle to the Aquatics Centre. Sadly the see-through plastic poncho which a volunteer kindly handed me failed to get over my head properly so I walked along the road looking like the victim of an explosion in a cling film factory.

I discarded the poncho and within minutes I was poolside. Wow. What an unusual building that really is. Imagine a capital letter W. Or, don’t imagine it, look at the one I just typed. The pool is in the middle between the two ‘dips’ while the two high points on the outside are the top of the stands. The roof curves in so much that if you’re in the top row, you can see the pool, but cannot see beyond a quarter of the way up the other side. It’s mental. But my word it’s loud.

I was there for Elly Gandy and her reception was electric. Unfortunately she was in a class field, and there was an extra special buzz in the crowd when Dana Vollmer broke the World Record. It was the first swimming race I’d watched since a Cub Scout gala at Hythe when I was about 11, and I saw a World Record broken. Awesome.

I updated the website with the result and then legged it down about a dozen flights of stairs to the mixed zone to try and grab a few words with Elly. Sadly it was SUCH a long way that the only thing I saw of her was her back being ushered through a door by a press officer and I had to chase quotes up from the host broadcaster (nick them off the telly!).

I stayed to write up my stories in the stands at the swimming and enjoyed watching Rebecca Adlington’s bronze medal swim. The noise from the crowd when she hit the final turn in the 400m freestyle and everyone realised she was in with a chance was unbelievable.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve written the word goosebumps or spine-tingling in the last few days. I need some new vocabulary. But the feeling was very special. Like you could physically feel the collective will of 17,000 people pouring down the stands like rushing lava down a volcano to try and push her on and push the French woman back.

I think that, along with the welcome for Team GB in Friday’s Opening Ceremony, were two stand-out moments for me. I’ll never forget them.

0o0

And so, back here. I got the bus back to the Main Press Centre around 11pm. I need to be on a 4.50am bus out to the rowing, and there’s just no way of getting to Kent and back in time tonight.

For the record, I will point out that I’ve done this off my own bat. I was given the option by my superiors to forget about the rowing, watch it on TV, get some sleep. But this is the Olympics. Plenty of time to sleep in October.

Hope I’ll see you in the morning on www.kentonline.co.uk/olympics or @kentonline2012 and I might even pop up on kmfm, who knows!

Good afternoon from the 12.47pm Southeastern Service to Stratford International.

I hope you don’t mind, but I had a bit of a lie-in this morning. It was my first sleep since Thursday night so I wanted to make the most of it and I don’t want to burn myself out two days into the Games. Plenty more to come.

Yesterday was a crazy day – though I’m sure the sleep deprivation made it seem crazier. I last left you sat in the sunshine at Eton Dorney. Well, I managed to not nod off, and enjoyed seeing a couple of superb British performances as a starter – including an Olympic record in the women’s pairs - before the main course that was Tom Ransley and the GB men’s eight, who were just edged into second by Germany.

Unfortunately the dessert left a slightly bad taste, as my hour-plus wait in the sunshine ended with Ransley being too busy to talk to me. Oh well, I guess these Olympians are pretty busy people.

One thing which struck me though was the number of people talking positively about the Opening Ceremony the night before. Everyone had a smile on their face discussing their favourite bits. While the press who had been there sat back, quietly, listening to other people’s opinions.

You could tell those who had been there, they were unshaven, a little smelly and hidden beghind huge sunglasses to protect their delicate eyes. And that was just the female reporters.

0o0

I got the bus back to the Olympic Park, and the 50+ seats were twice as busy as they had been on my way there. There were two of us passengers. Still, plenty of leg-room eh?

After getting back to Stratford my first call was to collect my ticket for tonight’s swimming finals. I had faith that Bromley’s Elly Gandy would make it, y’see. I actually applied for the pass on Wednesday last week.

Sadly my luck ran out when it came to getting into last night’s semi-final – I guess there was huge international demand for seats to see Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte go head to head. As it happens it was pretty much head-to-toe, as the last time Phelps’ head was anywhere near Lochte’s was as they dived in to begin the 400m IM.

0o0

All the while I’m sat at events and travelling round the Games venues I’m doing my best to keep up to date on how our athletes are doing around the Games. Sometimes that is easier said than done though, with mobile reception and wi-fi and computer problems all doing their best to scupper us dedicated scribes at what seems like every turn.

I managed to keep on top of the equestrian events at Greenwich Park, and at the time of writing Britain are in with a decent chance of a medal in the team event. Fingers crosed.

I also kept in touch with the women’s football, as GB managed to cruise to the quarter-finals with a 3-0 win over Cameroon in Cardiff. Unfortunately it was another game which saw Orpington’s Claire Rafferty miss out, but what a top pro she is. Moments after the match finished sh e was on twitter, praising the team and looking forward to the match against Brazil on Tuesday at Wembley. I really hope she gets a start.

0o0

So I spent Saturday night, like many of you, back at home, watching the Olympics on the box. The coverage really is amazing this year. If I wasn’t up here I could totally see myself taking two weeks off work and sitting infront of the TV all day.

It was fantastic to see Ellen Gandy’s huge reception before her semi-final of the 100m butterfly, and even better that her swim for fifth was fast enough to secure a place in the final.

It was an unusual set of races, because the pace in the first was so slow that the third placed finisher actually missed out on a spot in the final to the woman who was sixth in the second semi.

If you can find a way of explaining that succinctly I’d love to hear it!

0o0

So tonight I’ll be trying to keep track of the GB football – complete with Gillingham’s Ryan Bertrand – from my seat in the Aquatics Centre.

And earlier I’ll be trying to follow the equestrian eventing with Canterbury’s William Fox-Pitt, the GB water polo clash with Romania, featuring West Wickham’s Sean King, while having the other eye on hockey matches involving South Africa’s Jen Wilson, who plays for Canterbury, and her club teammates Nat Seymour and Abi Walker, who are reserves for GB.

Hope you enjoy the day’s action. Thanks so much for reading all my stuff. I can honestly say I’m so thrilled to have seen the number of website hits and attracted new followers on twitter.

I have a mental image of my lovely mum sat over her laptop clicking refresh on the KentOnline website to get the hits up, but I’m sure there are some more of you enjoying it too!

Don’t forget, @kentonline2012 and www.kentonline.co.uk/olympics for all your live updates.

I thought I’d been there, done it, and bought the t-shirt.

My Olympic Torch Relay party at my flat on Friday went without a hitch as the flame which began burning on Mount Olympus passed through Gravesend on its way to the London 2012 Games.

A dozen or so cups of tea were made for family and friends, who piled in to my flat at the normally highly unsociable hour of 9am, ready to claim our spot on Saddington Street in plenty of time, to see the procession pass in and out of the Gurdwara.

We got two bites of the cherry and barely had to walk any distance at all to see such a momentous occasion in British sporting history.

Job done I thought. I’d taken a couple of pictures, waved and cheered like I was at a football match (everyone was doing it so I felt ok) and even seen the torch bearer trip on a sleeping policeman – although thankfully he had kept his balance.

Yet none of that compared to the excitement when Julia Chilcott from Maidstone came into the office for an interview with my colleagues at kmfm about her torch bearing experience.

Julia carried the flame into Leeds Castle and lit the cauldron at the end of Thursday’s run from Deal to the county town.

She walked in almost hugging the golden beacon and its appearance quickly gained more attention than when a newborn baby is brought into the office.

I’d tried to play it cool and watch from afar as colleagues gathered around the torch but before I knew it, I was up there like a wide-eyed schoolboy asking for my picture to be taken with the little piece of history.

As with every torchbearer I’ve met or read about, Julia was delighted to tell everyone her story and more than willing for everyone to get their moment with her treasured possession.

More than seeing the flame, more than cheering and even more than my faultless Olympic Torch Relay party (honest!), this was the moment when the cupid of the Olympic Games drew his arrow and fired it straight through my heart.

There’s a magic to how the torch relay brought everyone in the county together and how it has demonstrated so simply the power of sport.

Boy I cannot wait for the Games now.

• For daily updates on what is going on at the Olympic Park, follow our man Alex Hoad’s blog. He will be following Kent athletes’ performances throughout the Games. You can follow him on Twitter @KentOnline2012.

****

The Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 27 will be too big to watch in your normal, comfy armchair in your uninspiring living room (oh, that’s just me then.)

A large open-air screen will be at Rochester Castle Gardens showing the event live from the Olympic Stadium for free.

A similar big screen will show the ceremony at Gravesend Community Square. Then after watching the spectacular coordinated by film director Danny Boyle – the man behind Slumdog Millionaire – party into the night at a silent disco on the upper Community Square. Tickets are £8 from the Woodville on 01474 337774.

The ceremony will also be shown on the big screen in Dover’s Market Square from 9pm for free, with a Zumbathon getting the atmosphere going from 7pm to 8pm.

Morning once again from the Olympic Park in Stratford.

Pretty quiet here this morning, not sure where everyone is, there's probably some major international incident going on round the corner to which I'm oblivious, but never mind.

No, actually there was another top-secret dress rehearsal of tomorrow night's Opening Ceremony last night and, as such, a lot of the Park staff were up late, dealing with 60k people roaming around into the wee-hours!

o0o

Yesterday was hot. Very hot. Not the kind of nice, beachy, dry hot which you adore on holidays and summer weekends. More the kind of soupy, oppressive, smelly, miles away from the sea, melted tarmac and heat shimmer hot which sticks your shirt to your back and makes you wish you'd worn shorts.

I've worn shorts today. I did a straw poll among the international press corps and the only people actually wearing trousers would appear to be an albino-looking chap with a Scandinavian accent and a nice old man in a Kenyan tracksuit (I don't think he's competing, though he'd probably beat me anway). Therefore I don't think my lack of trousers in any way effects my professional credibility.

o0o

So the first official action of the London Olympic Games 2012 was last night. Team GB's women got the Games off to a good start from the home perspective with a 1-0 win over New Zealand in Cardiff.

Unfortunately Orpington's Claire Rafferty was an unused sub, and perhaps more frustrating still from a Kent perspective was that the woman keeping her out of the starting line-up, left-back Steph Houghton, scored the winner from a fine free-kick after 64 minutes.

Now, I appreciate this is a sensitive issue, and I'm going to be careful how I say this, because I don't want to be accused of being patronising/disrespectful/etc... but I was impressed with the standard of the competition. I'm a 30-year-old man and I have watched literally hundreds, maybe 1,000+ of games of football over the past 25 years, but I am a little ashamed to say I think that Wednesday night was the first time I've watched an entire 90 minutes of a women's game.

However I clearly enjoyed myself because after the GB game I watched Brazil thrash Cameroon, Sweden beat South Africa, USA come from behind to overcome France and North Korea (eventually) overcome Columbia too. (I like a good binge, me!)

Some of the goals in those games, and skill, power and trickery involved in creating them, would have graced Match of the Day. So without meaning anything negative in the slightest by it, I'll describe Wednesday as a good day and good advert for women's football.

o0o

You can tell you're at a major sporting event just by the amount of people selling stuff outside the transport hubs. Lot of tourists outside Stratford International and Westfield last night as I left, looking at boards full of badges, complete with every sporting logo, flag and mascot you can imagine.

Everyone's looking round to try and spot athletes. Anyone wearing any sportswear gets extra-long glances as they walk around the station and the concourse. Even our accreditations, hung on colourful London 2012 lanyards, draw some interesting double-takesand lingering squints from people on the train and around the Park entrances, trying to work-out if we're famous! It's fun!

o0o

It's the last day before the Games are officially opened, and as you might imagine, there's plenty to do. I was due to be heading out to the rowing venue at Eton Dorney to try and get hold of Ashford's Tom Ransley for a chat, but that's no longer happening.

Instead I'll be chasing up the British Olympic Association to see if I am one of the extremely lucky few journalists to 'win' a ticket to the Opening Ceremony tommorrow night and this afternoon I hope to get a few words with Team GB hockey star Ashley Jackson from West Malling and then follow Gillingham's Ryan Bertrand as TeamGB take on Senegal at Old Trafford this evening. (I'm not going, just watching on TV!)

I'll be up here at the Park every day, writing for the KM Group papers, www.kentonline.co.uk/olympics and tweeting non-stop from @kentonline2012 while I'll also be previewing the day's events from the Games every morning and lunchtime on kmfm.

If you have any comments, questions or requests about the Games or the Park, please do leave them below and I'll do my best to answer them for you!

Good morning and welcome to the Olympic Park in London.

Today is my first full day based at the Olympics. I've spent the past 6-8 months trying to balance my day-to-day commitments on the KM Group Sportsdesk with building-up to the Greatest Show on Earth TM.

Let me tell you, it's not as easy as you might think. The Olympic Games has become all-consuming over the past few months and I'm pretty sure we could have filled a paper with solely Olympic stuff these past few weeks, but it's important to continue to spread the word of cricket, bowls, football, rugby, bar billiards et al, because they're still going to be there in October... the Games of the 30th Olympiad will not.

So how come the KM has got a guy covering the Olympic Games? Good question. Just consider us (and me in particular) very lucky! I am one of only a dozen local  journalists across the UK who have been given accreditation to these Games. It basically allows me to concentrate on covering all our Kent athletes (I've been banned from using the word Kentlympians, sadly!) and should get me in to every session of every sport at which I'm needed. What happens when two local athletes are competing in different sports at the same time? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

Like many of you will be, I'm travelling up from Kent each day on public transport. I'll walk to the station then catch a train to Ashford, then hop on a high-speed service and, bingo, half an hour later I'll be emerging from Stratford International and into the centre of the world.

For that is what it feels like already. Before I left home this morning I flicked through the TV channels. Every breakfast TV show had an Olympic Studio, or an Olympic Park backdrop or some kind of Olympic feature. This is some kind of a very big deal. It was only just over an hour between me switching off the box and seeing the view for myself.

The Olympic Village is filling up nicely. I was here a few weeks back for a preview, and it already looks warmer and lived in, with colourful flags from all corners of the globe hung from balconies and windows flung open while all-around there's the hushed silence of supremely fit human beings treating their God-like bodies to a lie-in.

Now you may have heard about security issues at the Games, and the need for several thousand members of the British Army to be on site to help with security. Well, I saw them for myself this morning, and what a fine job they were doing, processing people through the airport-style security cordon.

I bantered a bit with them, asking if they were pleased to be here.... "I'd rather be on holiday," joked one, but they agreed that they were involved in something pretty special. It's important to remember that.

Just so you know, I'm up here every day, I'll be providing live text updates to www.kentonline.co.uk/olympics once the Games begin and am already tweeting non-stop using @kentonline2012 - I am also due to be providing Games previews and updates on kmfm every morning and during the lunchtime news bulletin. Phew.

As Gillingham schoolboy Ryan Bertrand walked off the pitch at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League Final last month, a chant began to rise from the massed ranks of Chelsea fans to his right.

“One Ryan Bertrand, there’s only one Ryan Betrand.”

The Gills youth team product and Robert Napier pupil could probably hardly believe what he was hearing. From my vantage point high in the upper tier I did a slight double take as well.

Just a year ago he was kicking his heels in the Blues’ Reserve team having been out on loan to a number of Football League clubs to build up experience.

How things change.

What was remarkable about his performance against Bayern Munich is that he didn’t look out of place. It was his debut in the competition, and the pressure on him would’ve been immense.

He was an assured presence on the left flank, diligently helping left-back Ashley Cole shackle Bayern’s attacking triumvirate.

Many watching back here in Medway would have been intensely proud.

There are the teachers at Robert Napier, in Third Avenue, who first came across his talent as a fresh-faced schoolboy. 

Then there are those at Gillingham, where Bertrand spent four years before being spotted by Chelsea during an under-16s game at Chatham Town Football Club in 2005.

Seeing one of their own play so well in the biggest game in European club football is a great advertisement for the club.  "If you work hard, this is what you can achieve" will be the message being passed on to the current crop of Academy players.

There is also a financial interest for the club. The more games Bertrand plays for Chelsea, the more money they get. The final total could be more than half a million.

The initial compensation when he moved in 2005 was £125,000, and the club received £50,000 when Bertrand made his first team debut in April 2011.

Installments of £100,000 are due for every 10 appearances up to and including his 40th. The final in Munich was Bertrand’s 16th game for Chelsea.

Now we wait to see how far he can go. From what I've seen he has all the attributes to carve out a successful career.

Next season will be key. Interim manager Roberto Di Matteo had faith in Bertrand and gave him chances to shine, will the new manager do the same?

Bertrand is learning from one of the best in the business in the shape of Ashley Cole, and if things work out he could very well replace him as first choice for club and country.

Many in Medway will certainly be hoping he does.

Well I return with a great interviewee this week, one who was mistaken for a popstar if you can believe it.

But we will get to that later.

This is Matthew Webster, 27 from our very own County Town of Kent, Maidstone!

So Matt is his name and Account Management is his game (Occupation for all those who are not up to date with their rhyming slangs).

As always, I like to find out what my interviewees like about Kent and this is what Matt had to say.

"I like the people, the places and the general atmosphere of Kent."

To expand on what Matt has said, he likes having a game of football with his mates, shortly followed by a cold pint or 10 down the Albion and the elegant banter with other fans about who is the greatest footballing side in England.  We both know it is Manchester United but he lets them stress their point on why the other teams are worthy of competing against United before casually turning to them and singing "He scores goals galore, he scores goals, he scores goals galore, he scores goals, he scores goals galore, he scores goals, Paul Scholes, he scores goals."

A fitting tribute to one of the greatest English Midfielders of modern day football and also a great way of sticking it to the other football fans.

Since the beginning of 2011, I have introduced a new question which is designed to find out what the people of Kent really know about their County and to see if they can inform others in Kent of interesting facts or pieces of information that are not well known.

"Kent is the most populous County in the UK." Matt said "Over 1.6 million people reside in Kent."

I found this to be a very interesting fact as I thought Greater London and the Northern Counties such as Lancashire had bigger populations so thanks Matt.

Matt's favourite eating spot is Buenos Aires in Maidstone which he describes as "The best steak in the county."

In his free time, Matt likes to compete in various sports such as Football, Squash and Tennis.  Equally, he does enjoy going to the Cinema, eating out at a range of eating spots and socialising with his friends.

So the part you have been waiting for, the mistaken identity of a popstar.  I let Matt fill in the rest.

"I was once spotted by a young woman who worked in the Bowling Alley in Maidstone who thought I was Danny from Mcfly.  I played along temporarily before confessing.  It was a long time ago."

Looking at the picture above, I think this woman was either crazy or blind because I see no resemblance.  Sorry Matt!

As always, it is important for me to find out my interviewees thoughts on how to improve the county.

"I think the county could have some bigger gigs / festivals.  We have the space for it and I think it could be a big money spinner for the county.  We have a picturesque county so we should utilise it.  I'd certainly go..."

Again this suggestion has come up and I think it is about time that we did start using the facilities available in Kent to cater to the entire population.  Often there are events held that are in the interest of a small majority of people which is a waste of public money and inconsiderate to the rest of the residents in Kent.

And now for my random question of the week: If you could travel to any planet in the Solar System, which one would it be and why?

"I think it would be Jupiter.  I liked the song by Train and it looks cool.  Mysterious."

A good choice!

So another Kentish resident has given me their views and opinions on our county and as always I would like to extend my thanks to Matt, my interviewee, for his time.

I will post again soon so who knows, it could be you next!

If you live in Kent, let's talk!

If you would like to appear on my blog, all I ask is that you live in Kent and that you are willing to talk to me for 10 - 15 minutes about yourself.

If you think you'd like to give it a try, drop me an email on millendauthor@gmail.com and we will see what we can do!

Read more: http://blogs.kentonline.co.uk/author/Dan+Millen.aspx#ixzz1SJYJTrvX

Such sad news about the death of Sir Henry Cooper, who was born in Kent and spent much of his latter years in the county. I met him less than 18 months ago and was struck by what good shape he appeared to be in. Like many people comfortably into his seventies, he had suffered the odd health problem but was in fine fettle, in marked contrast to his legendary foe, Muhammad Ali. His posture was superb for someone who had a slightly crouching style from which he unleashed 'Enry's 'ammer'. Even more remarkable since he had put his body through 80-odd amateur bouts before embarking on a professional career of 55. I was sat next to the great fighter at a dinner at the Ramada Hotel in Maidstone and was transfixed, not necessarily by the man himself, but by the fact that the left hand which now held a fork had felled the one and only Ali. In the reception beforehand I bumped into a former colleague of mine and knowing I would be introduced to the great man in a few minutes asked if he was 'Sir' Henry (wanting to avoid dropping a faux pas - not that the most modest of men would have been the slightest bit bothered). "Nah", came the reply "..think he's just an OBE". Then just as I marched up to the plain 'Henry' I saw that former colleague looking slightly panic-stricken, gesturing to me behind the former boxer's back (I think by tapping himself on both shoulders) that he was indeed a 'Sir'. And rightly so.