Oyster Catcher

I was a bit surprised to see this guy sitting on a fence but only too happy to take his picture.

Only a day now until the opening ceremony of the Paralympics.

At a recent pub quiz we were asked the origin/meaning of the word Paralympics. The answer was 'Parallel Olympic Games' . That caught out quite a few teams.

The explanation is that it uses the Greek prefix "para-" (in this context, 'beside' or 'alongside')

However, that may be the meaning now but originally it seems Para did mean paraplegic. The origins of the Paralympics lie in a sporting event held in 1948 at the UK's Stoke Mandeville hospital, a centre which specialises in the treatment of spinal injuries. Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a neurologist at the hospital and the instigator of the sporting event, was quoted in 1949 as saying that the Stoke Mandeville Games would one day be acknowledged as the paraplegics' equivalent of the Olympic Games.

The first Paralympic Games as we know them took place in Rome in 1960, although officially they didn't have this title until the 1988 Games in Seoul.

Anyway this is just Pub Quiz material, the important thing is that they start this week and they will be fantastic!!