Paris brings back golden memories from London 2012

'There is an irresistible alchemy about the Olympics'

- Patrick O'Flynn

WHAT do you best remember about the 2012 London Olympics? For me, that's easy. I got very lucky in the ballot for tickets and was privileged to be at the athletics on "Super Saturday" when three British Olympians struck gold.

But whatever your top moment was our British gold rush in the cycling, the inspiring opening ceremony, or even the incredible 800m world record set on the running track by the Kenyan David Rudisha I'll venture that it has lingered in the memory far longer than what came before.

Because what came before was a litany of gripes and grumbles about the cost of the event, about things going wrong - such as the contract for security about how our capital city's transport infrastructure would not be able to cope, about how the logo was insufferably ugly.

The fuss faded away as the sun shone and the magic took hold. Britain was soon bursting with pride and was deemed to have put on the greatest festival of sport the world had ever seen. It certainly seemed to me that the sum of human happiness generated over those wonderful days had never been equalled in my lifetime.