The Olympics have been amazing, they have captured my 7 year olds attention and suddenly I have toned athletes on my TV rather than the less aesthetically pleasing cartoons that usually grace the flat screen. (I am obviously not complaining here). All the hype surrounding London 2012 prior to the games was mainly about cost and security, with a reported £27 million being spent on the Opening Ceremony and this sparked a debate on my facebook page about value for money. With clarity, I was informed that  the NHS overspends by more than £27m a week which makes the Olympic ceremony excellent value for money especially when it has regenerated a really poor area of London and generated so many jobs in a period of recession.

The Opening Ceremony was truly amazing and it demonstrated what was truly great about Britian. So what did the closing ceremony bring? It was a testament to the truly eclectic mix of modern British music, the Ceremony featured more than 4,100 performers, including 3,500 adult volunteers and 380 schoolchildren from the six east London Host Boroughs, once again demonstrating that when it comes to the crunch (the none credit variety) , the people of our country are prepared to pull together.

If you have read my most recent blog post, you will see that loss has featured within my closest circle lately and seeing Gary Barlow find the strength to get up and perform, despite his recent personal loss, shows that he too is an inspiration.

So the games were marketed to "Inspire a generation" and I genuinely think they have done this on so many levels. So lets get on our bikes and get outside. Lets inspire our children to run, play and ride a bike, like these here at Leisure Lakes Bikes.

So once again, the Lilypad are proud to be British!

Could we afford to host the Olympics? Probably not! Was it worth it? Absolutely!

I think hate is a really strong word and not one that features often in my vocabulary, well aside from "I hate my hair today" or I hate how my bum looks in this" but you get the picture? When I was younger, I decided that if I held onto disdain, dislike or indeed hate, it would eat me up and do me no good, so one day a good friend and I decided on the "hate basket". It was a place to throw things that annoyed us, upset us or indeed those things that we hated.

It is obviously metaphorical as I dont have a basket big enough to put a whole human being in but it always made us feel better to "throw" someone or something in the basket. For a while I had people "sitting" on the edge of the basket, knowing I could push them in there if they pushed me too far but for a long time the basket has been empty.

So during this past week, there have been a catalogue of things that have happened to people very close to me and it would be insensitive of me to share their pain, as they are not my stories to tell, but we have had to say goodbye to people we have loved. So the hate basket that has been empty for so long, now has the "long black hooded cloak" and I am putting the lid on it tightly.

There are no more words.

I know there are lots of mums who cant, wont or simply choose a different option to breastfeeding their baby and I always maintain that it is a personal choice but its fantastic that we can celebrate breastfeeding, not just nationally but across the world.

World Breastfeeding Week runs from the 1st -7th August 2012 and there are events running across the world with the Big Latch On. They are hoping to break the record for the most women breastfeeding simultaneously on Friday 3rd August & Saturday 4th August.

For those that dont know, "The Big Latch On supports communities with identifying and growing opportunities to provide ongoing breastfeeding support and promotion. The key to the Big Latch On's success is allowing communities to hold their Big Latch On events, empowering them to create an event that relates to the people of their community, while still taking part in a worldwide event.

For those that read my very personal post during National Breastfeeding Week, you will know that my little one is now fiercely independant and I sometimes wonder if the comfort was as much for me as it was for her. So unfortunately we wont be able to "physically" take part in the Big Latch On this year but support every mum and their baby in raising awareness and celebrating nature at work. I hope you do too!

The Lilypad Team are very proud to be British, we do our utmost to stock UK products made by hard working British craftsmen and women. So I was really surprised last night to see some disdain on both Facebook and Twitter about taking pride in the Olympics and Team GB.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Olympics opening ceremony (although I have to admit to watching alot of it on demand this morning as I couldnt keep my eyes open) and I thought its depiction of Britain through the ages was a unique adaptation, made into an amazing spectacle.

London was on centre stage and it didnt dissapoint us but what was dissapointing was those that chose to represent Team GB, but not to sing the National Anthem. There seems to be a shame in being proud of your heritage and whether you are English, Welsh, Scottish or even from Hogwarts, shouldnt you take pride in being part of your country's legacy?

There has been significant talk about the cost to this country and according to the Metro, David Cameron commented yesterday that "This is a time of some economic difficulty for the UK but look at what we are capable of achieving as a nation, even at a difficult economic time"  Its true that the Olympics has been more than a little expensive (cough) but the revenue and platform it has given to companies and the country will surely outweigh this. The fact that Stratford, Worcestershire and Warwickshire were the highest attended Torch relay events (some 74% of the population) demonstrates our pride and commitment to these games and what it symbolises to the UK.

Its very easy to get caught up in our day to day lives and become consumed with the little things that surround our lives but the Opening Ceremony last night showed what Britain has come through over the years and this little Island is still here, standing proud. We have survived World Wars, gone through severe recessions but in the end, 15,000 people volunteered to be part of last night and that just shows that it is the people of this country that make Britain great!