John Biggs - on London 2012

By Rob Virtue on August 27, 2008 1:00 AM |

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At a time of economic nervousness I have to boast that I only spent three days on the beach, with the rest of my break spent decorating the house and visiting potential universities with my teenage daughter – the looming expense of the latter explaining the relative frugality of the holiday.

I have returned to an orgy of warmth, making up for the cold weather, about the UK Olympic performance.

I feel good about that too, but I am one of those strange people – busy examining the management of the event while everyone else is enjoying the performance.

This is because I cannot escape from my job – to learn from Beijing so that the London Olympics will be better still.

The secret to success, by the way, is to know what you want. For some people medals, for me lasting wealth in east London.

When the glory of Beijing fades away, making London work will be our primary focus.

On another note, I have just visited the escalator replacement works at Monument and Bank stations. The news is mixed but overall frustrating.

It is a massive but slow job at the end of which the station will look more or less like it did before, but the safety worries will have been tackled ready for the 2012 Olympics.

But in the autumn things will get worse with another escalator out of service.

I will continue to lobby for quicker progress and, as a chink of light, it looks as if the closure of Tower Gateway may now be shorter than was previously planned. Getting London up to standard is a job that never ends.