The last events are staged on Sunday, as is the closing ceremony.
However, for Plymouth the final five days are action packed..
Today, swimmer Cassie Patten and diver Tonia Couch are competing. Tonia could also be in action tomorrow if she qualifies for the semi-final stage in the women’s 10m platform.
Friday, sees modern pentathlete Heather Fell make her Olympic debut, while teenage diving sensation Tom Daley will also begin his individual campaign the same day.
Daley will also compete on Saturday, if he reaches the semi-finals, while hockey player Jon Bleby will be in action on the penultimate day in a fifth and sixth play-off game.
Speaking to the families of the local athletes who are out here they are all enjoying their experience of Beijing .
Most have been taking in the sights as well as the Olympics.
Prior to yesterday, the only place I had been was the Forbidden City, but I had a few hours spare in between interviews yesterday so I decided to visit the Summer Palace that Karen Graddon had been telling me about.
I didn’t quite know what to expect, but it totally surpassed my expectations. It is basically a host of picturesque Chinese palaces set around a giant lake.
There are boats that tour the lake or you can even take a pedalo out or a little motor cruiser.
It is actually somewhere where you really need to spend a full day rather than just a few hours, but I would definitely recommend it if visiting Beijing.
I was going to follow the directions in tourist book I had, which said to take the subway and then a cab, but a helpful guide near my hotel told me the best way was to take a bus.
She told me which bus number it was and I went and waited for it to come.
However, all the other buses I had been on were around the Olympic complex and they were free, but this was going to be a district one.
As soon as I got on the bus I realised I didn’t how much the fare was, what the procedure was for buying a ticket and whether I was going to know when to get off.
There was a ticket women sat half way up the bus, although most people where using some sort of electronic card to pay.
Anyway, I went up to the ticket women and showed her where I wanted to go on the map and held out some money, hoping she would understand – wrong.
Next thing I know she is making an announcement and suddenly an Olympic volunteer comes from the back of the bus to interpret. It appears the ticket women must have asked whole bus over the PA system if any spoke English – no wonder everyone started looking at me. It reminded me of aeroplane films where they ask if there is a doctor on board.
Anyway this young volunteer was really nice and she told me the ticket women would tell me when to get off. She then decided to practice her English on me.
The girl, who was a student of Chinese medicine and was working at the beach volleyball venue, wanted to know why I was going to the Summer Palace on a hot afternoon. She was telling me you should visit later when it is not so hot. I tried to explain the phrase ‘mad dogs and Englishmen’ to her. She claimed she understood, but I’m not sure she did!
Interestingly, she did tell me that trendy Chinese people try to avoid the sun – hence all the umbrellas – as they don’t want their skin to go dark. She said that people want to look more like westerners.
I just cannot get over how helpful everyone is over here – and the staff and volunteers are showing no signs of flagging, unlike all the journalists!
After my coffee stirring incident the previous day, yesterday I had two of the workers in the main media canteen almost fighting to put my bread through the toaster.
I wanted to do it myself, but you don’t get the chance. I only had to make a move towards the toaster and they were on me.
There was the two of them just starring into this toaster watching the bread go around. Three times the bread went in – it is not a very good toaster - and on all three occasions they are bent over watching it, ready to pounce when it dropped down.
The only way I could get them to stop watching it was to ask to take their picture, but within a few seconds they were back getting ready for the bread to drop so that they could put in on a plate. I hate to think what my happen at breakfast today.
Anyway, I have managed to track down another Plymouth link – this time to one of the Olympic venues.
The wrestling events are being staged at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium and it turns out that university has an exchange programme with Plymouth City College and the University of Plymouth .
Chinese students do a year at home before spending a year at City College and then a final year at the University of Plymouth .
City College are expecting 134 students from the China Agricultural University to join this year.
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