So, today was the day for me to pick up my uniform, and it all went like clockwork. As you'd expect when they have to process 55,000 people, it was very well organised from start to finish. (I say, 'as you'd expect', but it's actually a pleasant surprise when you're used to dealing with bureaucracy where you're treated as in inconvenient distraction between fags and frappe.) It put me in mind of a kind of 'Alice's Restaurant' conscription line for the draft, although nobody put their hands in my pants and asked me to cough, at least not in their official capacity, anyway.

I also got a call from ATHOC (the body responsible for organising volunteers) telling me that my training will take place on 7th August. So, looks like it's officially happening. Since I'm in Spectator Services, I guess there's an outside chance of being part of the opening ceremony on the 13th, which would be fantastic, but I won't hold my breath. I know the people organising it and I know they're still looking for people to take part as Woman On Stilts, Man Holding Card That Is Red On One Side And Blue On The Other, etc, but I don't want to commit myself to anything else. Would be great to be there as a volunteer, though. (I don't necessarily have any inside knowledge about the contents of the opening ceremony, but there is always a Woman On Stilts and a Man Holding Card That Is Red On One Side And Blue On The Other.)

Chris (left, hi) asks about the aftermath of the Greek miracle. Well, you have to remember that every one of the last three games was the biggest game in Greek history when it was played. Every time a goal was scored in all three games, fireworks and firecrackers went off around the city. After each victory, people piled into their cars and onto their scooters, flags fluttering, horns blaring, to gather in Omonia Square and Syntagma Square, the celebration getting bigger and noisier with every victory. Right now, the team has just returned to a massive ceremony in the old Panathinaiko Stadium.

Can Greece win the Olympic football? Well, I guess any team that can win the European championship can win anything. Of course, there are age restrictions in the Olympic competition (you are only allowed 3 players over 23), but I'm not sure how that would affect the Greek team. Jo tells me that Greece had the highest average age of all the teams in Portugal, so I guess that could be a problem. Greece is in a group with Mali, Korea and Mexico, so must be favourites to get out of the group stage. Italy, Argentina and Portugal are in the other groups (not to mention Iraq). Wouldn't that be great? A Portugal-Greece Olympic final.

Jo finally received her 'volunteer gift' today. As regular readers will recall, she didn't get it in her hand because her double-barrelled nature had sent the organisers lists into a tail-spin. Anyway, you'll be pleased to hear that she received a) a certificate, for some reason printed on plastic (maybe because she worked in the swimming pool and they didn't want her to get it wet), b) a rather fetching badge (pin, for our American readers) and c) a book of short stories written especially for the Olympics. The book is entitled 'Wild olive wreaths and crowns' (or that's my translation of it, anyway) and it looks quite good. I've started reading the first story, which is about a Russian dancer who moves to Paris in 1924 and somehow gets involved in the Paris Olympics. (Not quite sure exactly how yet, but I'll keep you informed. :>) )

On another note, Richard Galpin, BBC correspondent for Athens, has filed a story about how strikes might affect the Olympics. (I was supposed to meet Richard a couple of weeks ago at a BBQ, but it coincided with the Euroelections, so he had reporting to do. I did, however, meet his wife, Jackie, and son, and we had a lovely time. I hope to meet Richard soon.) This is a threat that I have been quietly mentioning for some time now. (Did someone say Cassandra?) The problem is that some people (security staff, for example) are getting paid an Olympic bonus and now everyone wants one, from hotel staff up - or down, however you see it. And if workers in Greece sense that they might have power over the government, they are generally not reluctant to use it. We'll see, but don't be too surprised if you hear more about this in the coming month.

It's now 2 o'clock on Monday, and I'm writing this in longhand. You probably know this already - I expect it's hitting the international media even as I write - but the whole of the south of Greece, from Larissa down, is in the middle of a massive blackout. Houses are blacked out, the traffic lights are out, the Metro has ground to a halt and people are walking along the tracks. Hundreds of others are trapped in lifts - and it's 38 degrees. I'm listening to a battery-powered radio and they're taking reports from all around the country. The people at DEH (the Greek power company) seem to have no idea what the problem is and the power's been out for about an hour and a half.

And it's a month before the biggest circus in the world comes to town. I believe that for the Olympic venues they've imported German generators because DEH couldn't guarantee an uninterrupted supply. Fine. At least we'll be spared a blackout during the last ten metres of the 100m final. But pictures beamed across the world of thousands of spectators walking along underground tracks and getting freed from lifts isn't going to play well. I know they say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but in this case you can see how it might be a tad embarrassing. Still, a minister has just said on the radio that this won't happen during the Olympics. So that's all right then...

I'd like to say that 'heads will roll'. But they won't.

3.30: Well, we've got power back. We were beginning to wilt and, like the rest of Greece, we're now going to turn our air-conditioning back on....so far so good.

Hi, all. As some of you will know already, I have to go back to the UK for a short while. I have a fifteen-year-old son (Daniel) from a previous relationship and, sadly, his mother, Hilary, died on Thursday in a scuba-diving accident.

So, I won't be making any updates for a week or two. Jo will still be here, and I'm sure she'll do her best to entertain you, so do keep checking back.

As Steve says, he’s gone back to the UK for 10 days to spend time with his son, Daniel. I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but events like this really do put into perspective how precious we all are and how important love, family and friends really are.

On an Olympic note, the article featuring lil’ ole me was published a couple of weeks ago. A colleague of mine said she’d seen it in a Sunday edition of Kathimerini. The journalist who interviewed me promised me that they would let me know when it appeared, but he didn’t so I completely missed it. I’ve e-mailed them at the paper, but they’ve been on strike for 3 days so I’ve heard nothing. If anyone has a copy of the article (which I think was called ‘Heroes of the Olympics’) please can you get in touch?

Saw a friend last night who is working on the opening and closing ceremonies. She said they were desperate for more people to take part, (I think they have 4,000 already but would ideally have wanted about 6,000). She was especially looking for marshals to walk with the athletes as they come out into the stadium, so if anyone is interested in seeing the opening and closing ceremonies from the shop floor, as it were, and who doesn’t mind giving up a bit of time at weekends for rehearsals, let us know and we’ll put you in touch with her. Incidentally, I saw tickets for the opening ceremony being advertised in the Athens News for €2000 each, but there’s still the chance to see it for free. I’d love to be involved (and I’m sure Steve would, too), but Dano will be with us until 5th August so we probably won’t have enough time to attend the rehearsals.