I had a sweet moment on the London underground last Thursday, when I had the briefest of brief encounters with this man.  Walking slowly in one direction amongst crowds of commuters seeded with Olympic visitors, I suddenly recognised him coming the other way.  Before I even realised I was smiling, he beamed back.  And then he was gone as we both moved slowly forward and in opposite directions in the crowds.

And in case you don’t recognise this man, he’s Burt le Clos, father of South African swimmer Chad le Clos.  As if his son’s victory wasn’t enough (against le Clos’s swimming hero, America’s Michael Phelps) audiences were moved, both by le Clos’s barely contained emotion as he received his first gold medal and by his father’s impromptu interview with BBC’s Clare Balding which, memeburn reports, has quickly become an internet sensation.

London is gripped with Olympic fever.  And despite everyone’s worst fears (wrapped up as cynicism and criticism) it’s all going well.  The fact that I have had to negotiate a bit of a round London tour to get from the underground to London Bridge’s Platform 4 is amply compensated by tiny moments like the one above.  I knew they would be.

In the next couple of weeks I shall be taking time off to enjoy these and other experiences.  As I write – ahead of my holiday, though scheduled to be published as my holiday begins – I am thinking, I can’t wait!  So this is my ‘sign off’ for the next couple of weeks.

Just in case you want some reading, I’ve programmed some postings for you to enjoy whilst I’m away from my desk.  Have a great time.