Bristol has got off to a flying start as the first city in the UK to establish a formal agreement with an overseas national Olympic Committee for pre-Games training facilities ahead of London 2012. The historic tie-up will be sealed on Monday when former Olympic double gold medallist Dr Kipchoge Keino visits Ashton Park School and later begins discussions in Bristol with a range of organisations, including Bristol City Council, in his capacity as chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee. Also present will be former triple jump gold medallist and world record holder Jonathan Edwards, now athlete member on the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and newly appointed Olympic ‘ambassador for the regions’. The agreement is being formalised under the banner of Bristol Kenya 2012, a charitable body which will also co-ordinate a range of sporting, cultural and commercial links under the direction of Bob Reeves, Director of Sport, Exercise & Health at The University of Bristol. Ashton Park School has been chosen as a focal point of the launch ceremonies because it has well-established links with the Inspirations School in the Mombasa, following a visit in 2004 by a 17-strong team of teachers and pupils who built a playground, painted classrooms and taught children. Two years later they returned to build two classrooms, a staffroom and other admin rooms; this year a team of 34 from Ashton Park have been helping to establish a sports hall and a running track. In ‘odd’ years they have been fundraising at home in Bristol. On 1 September the school became one of only 141 designated Specialist Sports Colleges in the UK, with extra funding for PE teachers and improved equipment and facilities. Kip Keino will be talking to pupils and staff during his visit on Monday morning and will also be available for filming, photography and interviews with pupils and staff along with Bob Reeves, Jonathan Edwards and individuals closely connected with Bristol Kenya 2012. Bob Reeves said: “We are delighted that Bristol is able to lead the Olympic Legacy by offering our facilities and hospitality to our friends in Kenya. But the value in this partnership goes beyond helping to establish a pre-Games camp for their Olympic athletes. “The successful 2012 bid was on the back of an appeal to and on behalf of young people, with a promise to put a smile on their faces. The real legacy therefore will be in our ability to engage with people across the world and to share ideas – before and after the Games.” Dr Keino said: “I am so pleased to be coming back to Bristol. I know our athletes will find it a welcoming place, with all the facilities they need to prepare for London 2012. We greatly value this partnership with Bristol which will have many other benefits – not only sporting and cultural, but educational and commercial.”

I originally went out looking for a quiet, serene water-themed photo for the TWiP pool. Then, a few hundred yards from my flat, I found two teams of firefighters doing some equipment testing on the harbourside. So, not what I expected, but I got my "water" photo, anyway :)