Dear Diary,

Tuesday, Aug. 3
- located Plovdiv in Atlas. Crammed Bulgarian history a.m. Visited bank for currency. No Lev allowed outside country. Mr. B arrives p.m. with tickets to pre-championship training session of Boris Godunov at London Coliseum during heat wave. Lost 2 kg during first act and 1 kg in each of second and third acts. Comforted by fact that cast are wearing Russian winter clothing. Feel confident I can sit in 40o C Bulgarian heat for 6 hours of son and country per day. (Memo: relisten to Boris Godunov at Christmas in Newfoundland)

Wednesday, Aug. 4
- Rehydrated a.m. Depart Heathrow late evening with wife, son #2 and Mr. B. Other GB parents on flight. Awed by their interest in ”miniatures•. (They must have been in training for more than my 24 hours!) Arrive Sofia midnight. Rent car - Audi sports car! Things looking up. Speed into the night.

Thursday, Aug. 5
- Continue speeding into the morning. Mr. B map reading. Wife and son #2 sleeping. Self and Mr. B doing crash course in Cyrillic alphabet. Pre-dawn arrival at Plovdiv hotel. Architecture is Haute-Comecon. Room with brilliant orange walls, floors and beds. Comforted we were quoted daily hotel rates and not hourly. Don sun-glasses and sleep 3 hours. Arrive Plovdiv sports complex 8:30 a.m. - architecture Bas Comecon Passé. Looking for Mel Gibson in a remake of Mad Max. Realize I have forgotten travel Geiger counter. Park 40 metres from rowing course. No tickets required. Course an oasis in the urban wasteland. Son #1 rowing in coxless four at 9:55 a.m., finishing 10:01a.m. Very respectable heat, with mature pacing. Just behind Aussies on times and slightly ahead of Germans rowing in different heats. Great first day for GB with all six boats doing very well. Union Jacks in abundance and a very sporting GB crowd to cheer crews on. The crews are all talking about the ”fast water• and world records being broken. Feel humbled by the rowing intelligentsia around me. Rescued by fleeting acknowledgment of son #1 as he collects his food shipment. Henceforth, universally recognized as ”Alex‘s Dad•!

Friday, Aug. 6
- Brief return to course a.m. to see two GB boats get successfully through repechage. GB couple from flight out from London put in first appearance. Have evidently been collecting more ”miniatures•. Not carrying Union Jacks, but sporting George Cross on eyeballs. Leisurely lunch for 20 at monastery in mountains, hosted by a GB mum and friend. Lovely idea for bonding the GB crowd. Putting Audi through its paces. Mr. B‘s Cyrillic improved after local champagne. Took in local colour. Staple crop appears to be goat droppings.

Saturday, Aug. 7
- All Union Jacks out early and sportingly in place for semi-finals. British reserve is flagging and we are actually starting to cheer in unison! Shame on us! 40 simultaneous ”Go-GB‘s• sounding better than the ad hoc ”cum-awn-gret-britens• of last year. ”Alex‘s Dad• is now getting consulted on rowing matters, mostly the time of the next GB event because I have a programme and they don‘t. Starting to feel accepted. Mention I had been to Boris Godunov earlier in week and welcomed like a long lost friend. All six GB boats again do us proud and make it through to the Sunday finals. Son #1 and the coxless four rowing responsibly and faster than in their heat. Aussies also post a gnawingly improved time, along with Germans. Union Jacks starting to get frayed at edges. Must be made in Hong Kong - purposely and recently. Dinner in the medieval part of Plovdiv, courtesy of Mr. B.

Sunday, Aug. 8
- The big day arrives. Tension in the air. Queue to the loo. Union Jacks at full mast. Upper lips stiff and pensive. The men‘s coxed four is the first GB boat to go Œand that they did, all the way to gold! Someone else hauling the Union Jack to full mast. Upper lips trembling for the anthem. What a start to the day! The women‘s coxless four immediately turn in a very confident bronze medal performance and then son #1 and the coxless four are the next GB boat to go. Second place and a length down at 1750m, finishing a valiant half-canvas down to the Aussies. Bitter-sweet silver for a crew determined for gold. So, so proud to be universally recognized as ”Alex‘s Dad•! Three more spirited performances by GB crews to round out an excellent showing by the GB team. Fly home to England while closing this indelible vignette in my life of being ”Alex‘s Dad•.

Ian Partridge