Proud to be British

I didn't realise just how patriotic I was until I watched the London Olympics Opening Ceremony last night.

Well done to Danny Boyle for getting it just right. He produced a show which was self effacing, humorous, full of pathos and with a good dose of pride in our achievements. There was no doubting the message - as a country we don't always get it right but we have brought the world the industrial revolution, sporting achievements and invention, pop music, Shakespeare, Peter Pan, Harry Potter, David Beckham, James Bond, the NHS, Chariots of Fire, the World Wide Web and - oh - Mr Bean?! I loved his performance of the Chariots of Fire theme song. Great drama throughout, so much going on - I'm sure at one point I saw Lord Voldermort being zapped by Mary Poppins!

The lighting of the flame was particularly powerful. From Beckham to Redgrave to seven young people lighting 205 copper petals, each petal having been carried in by a participating country. And then for each of the petals to rise into the air and create one flame was not only clever but visually stunning.

What a wonderfully chaotic and powerful evening. The whole thing was thrilling to watch and with the world's eyes on us, it was a proud moment.