couldnt give a toss sooner its over the better

If they took £5 a month from my paypacket for the next year as a charge for the Olympics, I'd consider it a bargain given the entertainment and feel-good factor of the last fortnight.

A mate of mine txt me on Thursday saying that he was in the Stadium when the 800 metres record was broken and he was just waiting for the 200 metre final. It was all corporate (the company I retired from four yeas ago) of course as they had taken clients. Lucky barsteward.

Last night he txt to say he was outside the stadium listening to The Who and Take That doing their sound checks.

The answer is : none. The money would NEVER have been channeled into general good causes, and you're deluded if you think it would have been. These Olympics have been a sensational advert for GB, which will pay off in billions extra in tourism revenue over the next ten years. Even without that, the national solidarity which has emerged amongst this country's citizens is worth the cost on its own.

Be miserable if you insist, but keep it to yourself as the rest of us are a tad more positive. Jeez, you do a good impression of a Pie board moderator.

It really is too early to say what the legacy of these games will be. We may all feel warm and fuzzy now but we are in the middle of a double dip recession with unemployment and under employment in key areas stagnating... we'll see if that warmth can last another 3 months.

The cost isn't too huge, considering our debts, and I'm sure if many people who should pay tax and don't would (Vodaphone, Google, Philip Green etc) we'd be in a better position.

We certainly can't deny that the games have been a success, and so it can't be designated a 'waste of money'. Plus, there may be a sudden, temporary uptake in kids participating in sport. However, let's just give it time. Rome wasn't built in a day, a Grand final isn't won in May and a Britain's morale isn't saved in a fortnight.