Hi everyone,

Well it is now official we have been here in Beijing for exactly one month. So I only have another seven weeks left in the Chinese capital till I am back in sunny Sheffield.

But before my return I have to get through the Olympics and in my case the Paralympics as well.

In the time between my last blog and this new edition I have been working monday to friday nine till four for the last two weeks unless there has been a security check at my work venue the Workers Stadium.

While at work we have been continuing Olympic News Service (ONS) training on interviewing techniques when talking with athletes. Also we have been using the computer systems in the venue to be adept at typing our reports both pre and post match as well as our flash quotes which we will get during press conferences and mixed zone interviews.

However with the Olympics only a week away, I have this weekend off so my body can prepare for the long three week endurance task it is about to undergo.

But it isn’t all work and no play here in Beijing. At the weekends I have made trips to the Forbidden City, where the former Chinese Emperors resided.

In fact the reason it was called the “Forbidden City” is because if anyone trespassed they were executed, this place was only for the royal family but it is now open to the public. My advice though is that it is so big, go early in the morning and spend a full day there if you want to see most of it.

I have also visited the Chinese Pearl Market and haggled with the shop owners, which is a lot of fun. So now I have all my gifts bought and ready to bring home for my parents wedding anniversary.

But before I celebrate their anniversary I plan on celebrating my anniversary with Beijing with my colleagues.

My next blog will be uploaded very shortly so keep a look out for it, as I will be talking about tightening security in preparation for the Games.

Talk to you soon…..