The Olympics makes you thin

This is to be my mantra for the next 12 months.

About 6 months ago I applied, along with thousands of others, to be a London Games Maker. This is the enormous group of volunteers who will help ensure that the Olympic Games in London 2012 will run smoothly, efficiently, calmly and maybe creatively! And, goes without saying, be the best ever Olympics.

I was very surprised to be called to interview when my "Head of PE in a good school" daughter who had also registered had heard nothing. I mean, I'm old, I'm fat, I work full-time and I have dodgy knees. She is young, vibrant, enthusiastic and qualified in all things Olympic. Hey ho. (But they did say they are nowhere near getting through the short-listing period).

The interview day was the sort of mini-adventure that I'm just about capable of. It involved a train journey into unknown parts, darkest Docklands in fact. I am ashamed to say that I have never ventured out onto the DLR. Shameful for someone who has lived and worked in London for all their life. And OK I only had to travel two stops from Canning Town to Custom House but it was an adventure nonetheless. Driverless trains, whatever next? An additonal excitement was that the planes for London City Airport were coming in to land across the dock outside Custom House station. Very scary if you don't do flying (like me).

It was a short walk from the station to London Excel and us hopeful Gamesmakers plodded into the building, registered, asked what we hoped were intelligent questions and then watched the short, funny and inspiring Seb Coe/Tanni Grey-Thompson/Eddie Izzard welcome film. We then had individual interviews, mine at least being mercifully unscary. I hope I sold myself.

It will be end of October before I know whether or not I have been successful but . . . .

Adidas is providing the free uniforms and the rumour is that they could be pink. 18 stone of me in a pink tracksuit cannot possibly do the Olympic or indeed any other cause much good. So. The Olympics is going to make me thin. The diet starts today. Well it would if I wasn't off on my holidays this morning. So the mini-target for this week is not to put any more weight on.