Video of the Top 5 Olympic Scandals

Another British Pathe video, this time about the Top 5 Olympic scandals. There have been so many scandals over the years, that I’m really not sure these are the top 5. More like the top 5 unknown scandals – as I hadn’t heard of most of them until watching the video. Once again the video is designed to promote their more extensive list of 17 Olympic scandals.

Some other scandals in include: secret professionals (in the days before they were allowed), boycotting (but doesn’t mention the 1980 or 1984 games), questions of gender, political statements, murder and massacres. Overall a decent overview but fails to mention some of the more famous doping scandals (such as Ben Johnson), probably because there are too many to choose from.

Video Of The Top 5 Unaccepted Olympic Sports

The video of the Top 5 Unaccepted Olympic Sports comes courtesy of British Pathe. It is part of wider series looking at some of the ridiculous Olympic sports that have been proposed or even tired over the years. My personal favourite is the Tug of War, which was a sport until the 1920 Olympics. Since Britain was the last to win the medal, they remain reigning Olympic tug of war champions.

You can see the complete list of unaccepted Olympic sports here. Some other gems include Ballooning, Pigeon Racing, Gliding, Water Skiing, Boules, Angling and American Football.

A Timelapse Video Of Fires From The Tottenham Riots – 1 Year Anniversary

One year ago tonight the Tottenham Riots kicked off. It seems like ages ago now. This is a great timelapse video I found via reddit user Lucid_Nonsense of the fires caused by the riots. It was created by Prokopi Constantinou, score by Dogtanion. I think it is a low key way of remembering the madness that every so often seems to engulf London.

Cringeworthy Team USA Learning To Speak Cockney Videos

The following 5 videos are either some of the best parodies ever or just totally miss the mark. Either way, it’s sure to be about the most cringeworthy thing you’ll watch all day.

Part 1: Teaching Team USA athletes to speak cockney rhyming slang – Chicken Oriental

Continue reading Cringeworthy Team USA Learning To Speak Cockney Videos

Olympic Vermin – Animated Alternative Torch Relay

Great original animation by Amael Isnard and Leo Bridle. Shows what the torch relay might have looked like if it had been run by London’s less popular animals (who also happen to be animated). The short film was animated by Beakus (please don’t use doorway pages) with sound by Aaron Lampert.

London Circuses in 1951 Were a Little Different From Today

This video of a circus in London from 1951, is part of the British Pathe series, specifically:

London Circus, 1951, the Bertram Mills Christmas show at London Olympia, filmed by British Pathe.

You can watch the complete video on the British Pathe website.

The thing that struck me the most when watching the video is how the animals appear to be treated. I haven’t been to the circus in well over 20 years and for that matter am not even sure they still exist. If they do, I hope they don’t treat animals like they do in this video. While they aren’t visibly mistreated, there is something I find deeply unsettling about having them perform tricks for people.

But maybe that’s just me, how do you feel about circuses?

Over London Dusk & Night – Another Amazing Jason Hawkes Video

Over London Dusk & Night is another amazing video from the aptly named Jason Hawkes. I’ve previously featured his video ariel 1 on the site before. He’s probably the best aerial photographers/videographers in London today. Some of the shots he gets are absolutely breathtaking.

In this video he looks at London at dusk and at night. Some of the locations/landmarks featured include the Shard, St. Paul’s, Canary Wharf, the London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Piccadilly and Oxford circuses and many more. I love seeing London from the air and hope you do too.

Know of any other similar videos, let me know in the comment section below.

Come to London! 1966 Style

The video above is part of British Pathe’s archival footage of London.

Come To London, by British Pathe in 1966. This short clip shows a couple using a “water motorbike” on the Thames and Britt Ekland cutting a publicity stunt cake that Peter Sellers drivers out of in a Minnie!

You can watch the full 8 minute video here.

I really love these old movies about how London looked in the past. It’s funny how some places, such as the Houses of Parliament, look exactly the same as today. Whereas other things, such a reporters working on fleet street, have virtually disapered. A nice reminder of how some things change and others remain the same in London, but that it’s always hard to predict which will be which.