36 C O N T E X T 1 1 9 : M A Y 2 0 1 1 Notes from the chair Persuade, cajole, shame, educate, enthuse and flatter Olympic fever has reached the Evans household. Mr Evans, being both an organised sort of person and a huge sports fan, is awaiting the outcome of his ticket bids. Several months ago he commenced his ticket project with his customary focus and thoroughness. He canvassed the rest of the family for particular requests for events; indeed it was rather a formal process. We had to write down those events we would like to see. I expressed an interest in the rowing, show jumping and dressage. The latter was rejected on the basis that ‘horses dancing’ is not a proper Olympic sport, although the rowing and show jumping were allowed. The younger daughter requested diving (Tom Daley was an influence) and weight lifting (an odd choice for a 12-year-old girl). The elder daughter refused to become involved at all as neither hair-straightening nor competitive texting are Olympic events. The next step was a large chart drawn up on an A2 sheet of paper. This was divided into 14 days to cover every day of the Olympics. Each day was divided into morning, afternoon and evening. Then came the real planning. The events list was placed into the calendar chart and some re-jigging required to ensure no overlap, and sufficient travel time from each venue to the next. I was worried that the show jumping would be dropped at this point but it stayed in. Eventually our ticket bid was ready and Mr E sent it off. By now his excitement had reached a point at which almost half of each day of the Olympics was accounted for. ‘That’s a lot of tickets,’ I blithely commented. ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘just don’t ask how much it will cost if we get all the tickets I have requested.We won’t be going on holiday for a few years.’ I must have been so caught up in the excitement that I did not even pause for breath at this point. ‘I have to phone R and L to tell them about it,’ I said, and rushed off to the phone. R and L are my cousins in Kentucky who are planning to stay with us for the crucial two weeks. R has been hooked ever since he saw his first Olympics in Canada in 1976. Since then he has ticked off the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid in 1980, LA in 1984, Calgary in 1988, Atlanta in 1996 and Canada again last winter. He has been obsessed. I gave them the news and listed the events Mr E had bid for. General excitement ensued. However, a note of doubt did creep into L’s voice at the number of events planned. A few would be OK, she said, just to get the flavour, to say she had been there. Apparently it is hard to get excited about the show jumping when you are from Kentucky. She had an alternative programme of events for just her and me. Bruges, Paris, London, Portsmouth (I think she meant to visit the Mary Rose, not Fratton Park), the Roman villa at Chichester, Brighton Pavilion, and so on. She is a history professor and so an excellent travelling companion. R then came on the line. ‘Are you two planning to drop out of the sports?’ I explained that although L and I would go along to some of them, there were other attractions available in the south of England and the near continent. His reply was swift. ‘Jo, I don’t believe that there is an old building left in that place that you have not scrutinised, prodded and poked your way through at some time. Leave them be.’ R is a lawyer and naturally combative. I let him have his say and it was the usual stuff. Government control over a person’s property is iniquitous.Who is to say my opinion about a building or an area is more valid that the next? If he wants to buy a building on the National Register and paint it pink should anyone stop him? I have had over 25 years of this and it is part of our routine now. I would be disappointed if he did not rail against my profession and I would think he had been subject to a personality transplant if he did not try to catch me out. It is now an accepted family routine. When the call ended I went back to find Mr E still poring over his Chart of Glory. ‘All OK with the American end of the operation?’ he asked. I explained that joy was unconstrained in Fayette County regarding the Olympics and the ticket bid, but that R still had to get a dig in about conservation and L’s and my planned excursions. ‘He asked me what difference would it make if the outside of a building still looked OK but the interior was gutted.’
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