Big meetings come around so quickly

Edinburgh Commonwealth Games 1986 - I thought I was going to get a scoop when I photographed Daley Thompson failing twice at his opening height in the pole vault decathlon. He cleared at the third attempt and went on to win at the gold medal.

I was talking to the Commonwealth Youth Games 2011 director, Geoff Karran, at one of the Tynwald weekend events.

As I always say, it is only by asking questions and learning about other people's jobs, lives and commitments that you ever have a chance of understanding, or even thinking about, the effort that goes into events and activities that "just happen" as far as the general public are concerned.

I think the difficulty that most people have with these extra big events is that they are already so involved with the other sporting events that happen every year. But thank goodness there are always people who raise their heads above the local level.

I was on the IOMAA committee when the idea of the Island Games first surfaced via Noel Cringle and Geoff Corlett. I think it is fair to say that nobody on that committee ever expected the concept to grow to the levels that have occurred.

And I am sure that the Commonwealth Youth Games will bring enormous pleasure to those that do sign up to help - they need lots more helpers. Have a look at http://cyg2011.com/ if there is any chance of you assisting.

When I visited the site I suddenly realised how close the event is to us - only 425 days.

Its the same with the London Olympics. Did you know that 5 years have elapsed since the games were awarded to London?

I remember the date, 6/7/05, very well because I was in London on the day of the announcement. I planned a rare business trip for my previous employers when we were negotiating with a software supplier. I chose to go the day after Tynwald Day and I was so glad that I didn't go the following day as there were a series of bombings including one very close to where I had been near Liverpool Street Station. The first thing I did on the day of the bombing, on hearing the news, was to try and contact the people who I had visited to ensure that they were ok. They were.

Only 24 hours earlier there had been much rejoicing, and I would say some surprise, that the Olympics had been awarded to London. That was five years ago and now there are just two years to go.

And only four years until the Commonwealth Games are due to be held in Glasgow. They can only be better than the last time they were held in Scotland, indeed Britain, in 1986. With awful weather, African boycotts, a cash crisis and a general lack of enthusiasm for the games that were returning just 16 years after Edinburgh had previously staged them, they left a lot to be desired.

Here we go then, 1, 2 & 4 for the Commonwealth Youth Games, the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games all accessible in an hour of where I am typing this in Ballasalla. And they are all probably too close for the organisers who will all be wishing they had more time to prepare.

That's nothing on the Commonwealth Games team for 2010. I understand that the team was selected last night and will be announced tomorrow evening.