Our Literary London Blog page

The London Olympics have been special, we think here at Maverick's Pub Crawl Towers. The writer of the tour, Nick Hennegan, is actually from Birmingham and shared much of the rest of the countrys cynicism about the value for money of the games and its London focus. Most Olympic cities are, as we know, left with a big cash deficit after the games move on. But on reflection, this sporting summer has been about more than just money. The sight and sounds of hundreds of athletes from around the world taking part in their chosen sport and the emotion of some of the winners on the medal podium has been very moving.

And after all, like most of the writers we feature on our tour, these athletes strive for excellence for no other reason than excellence itself. The challenge, commitment and sheer hard bloody work required to be a great sportsperson, or indeed a great writer, has very little to do with hard cash.  It's about passion and belief and dreams. And I think the hardest and most cynical of us have been moved by that. Our human spirits have been nourished a little in 2012.  And we will all be slightly better for it. Cash well spent then.