 Poster: A snowHead
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Johnnie Balfour is a snowboard cross builder for FIS and has been given the job of building the sochi course.
It looks as though he's today been told to keep quiet on his opinions, but his tumblr account is still open with historical posts until a day or so ago still there. It makes for interesting reading:
http://johnniebalfour.tumblr.com/?og=1
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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OMG - Everyones worst nightmare 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Wow.
You always kinda suspected it was going to be a farce, but they'd somehow pull it out of the bag... but now?... The TeamGB unselected ones might be lucky after all.
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Dont believe the hype...
Heard it all before when China hosted the summer Olympics. Or South Africa with the football world cup.... <etc>.
In the end they both did a great job of hosting major sporting events.
Much like Russia will put on a great winter Olympic games 
Some people might not like the Russians as a nation, or want them to fail for political reasons - but that is another story.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Haggis_Trap, I would have agreed, but Johnnie Balfour is on site, giving a 1st hand review.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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To be fair, I have been to Russia and to it is toilet. Glad I wasn't born there.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Haggis_Trap wrote: |
his 1st hand review tells us how excited he was to find a McDonalds in Russia  |
Well if you read it in context, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything for 20 hours, so I'm sure he was glad to see a Mcdonalds in such circumstances.
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Plus Australians love McDonalds. It occupies a slightly different cultural context than McDonalds in the UK.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Am I missing something, or have the posts been removed?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Ahh, welcome to the internet, where nothing is ever truely gone.
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You know it makes sense.
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The idea of holding it in a remote part of Russia seemed nuts to me to start with. Then you have the constructions scandals with the elite making their pals very rich etc etc.
Oh and it's also the most temperate part of what is a very cold country, with a lot of political trouble around its neighbouring areas. And it's seemingly not near finished with a couple of weeks to go either. The whole thing is a dangerous shambles
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Perhaps it will all pull together in the last couple of weeks?
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Poster: A snowHead
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| geepee wrote: |
| Haggis_Trap wrote: |
| his 1st hand review tells us how excited he was to find a McDonalds in Russia |
Well if you read it in context, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything for 20 hours, so I'm sure he was glad to see a Mcdonalds in such circumstances. |
Ha : You are telling me that the only place to find something to eat in Sochi was a McDonalds ?
Unlikely... Its a city of 300K people.
Russia has spent some £30 billion - which makes it the most expensive games ever.
Their budget is *way* more than London spent on hosting the summer olympics.
Don't kid yourself that Russia is some remote iron block backwater not capable of hosting a major sporting event.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Haggis Trap is absolutely correct. Russia is not some chaotic backwater that many would like to portray it as. It sounds as though this Balfour guy is somewhat responsible for the chaos in which he finds himself. I've travelled to Russia regularly for 8-10 years and never had problems remotely like he discusses. Did he not sort out his transport, contracts, payment etc. before travelling? It has to be said that if you turn up in Russia looking like a classic snowboarder and speaking not a word of Russian then you aren't off to the best start? Russia IS different and slagging off your hosts in an online blog is hardly the best way to endear yourself to your clients.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
| Did he not sort out his transport, contracts, payment etc. before travelling? It has to be said that if you turn up in Russia looking like a classic snowboarder and speaking not a word of Russian then you aren't off to the best start? Russia IS different and slagging off your hosts in an online blog is hardly the best way to endear yourself to your clients. |
I think thats the point he's making, these are all arrangements made by the IOC on behalf of employee's and they failed in what should be fairly simple tasks to accomplish.
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^ Johnnie Buffon has seemingly been in Russia less than 48 hours.
Rather than spending time sorting things out he found the nearest McDonalds and used the wifi to blog about how much he hates Russia.
Who gives 2 hoots ?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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People expecting to going to Sochi to work/compete/spectate?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Lets bump this thread on the 24th February 2014 ?
Then maybe we can pass judgement if Russia has put on a good winter Olympics.
I heard you cant buy the Daily Mail in Russia either
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So who are balfour's clients? The IOC or Sochi? It sounds like the IOC recommended him and Sochi are his clients, and he should have sorted stuff out with them. Either way he appears remarkably naive and ill informed. In an article splashed all over an Australian newspaper he grumbles about the cost of pizza and beers ($75AUS) and the cost of hotel rooms (200AUS). A moments research and he would have known that. It's normal for much of Russia.
Given the negative publicity he has achieved for his clients I suspect he may find himself heading home quite soon, and he may not even get the bus provided this time.
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I don't believe a word of it. My experience of Aeroflot to Moscow is that it is better even than the Snowheads' favourite airline Swiss. The stewardesses are chosen for their looks and charm (Russian style; don't expect them to smile, it's not done) and command of the English language. I presume the rest of his tale is as plausible.
(Tip: don't drink Russian tap water outside Moscow; don't use it to clean your teeth.)
"We eventually find a coffee shop restaurant type place and pick up a menu that is completely in Russian. They guy tells us in broken English..."
O. M. G. You might think he's in a foreign country! (Imagine what it's like for a Russian on business in London. "We eventually find a coffee shop restaurant type place and pick up a menu that is completely in English. The guy can't even speak broken Russian...")
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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James the Last, +1 Aeroflot is by far the best airline for UK/Russia route. For an ex-soldier Balfour does come across as a bit of a wuss.
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What kind of idiot takes on a commercial contract to do quite a tricky job in a remote part of a foreign country and doesn't even bother to learn enough of the language to order a coffee?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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pam w, or sign a contract before turning up?
Sochi may, or may not, turn out to be a disaster but regardless of that this Balfour guy comes across as a complete muppet.
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ringingmaster, well put!
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You know it makes sense.
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Sacked, resigned, or job completed?
Just noticed this tweet by JB on 24/1. It looks he only ended up staying in Sochi for about three days.
| Quote: |
Johnnie Balfour @JBalfour317 Jan 24
@SusanLazaruk I have no phone until I get back to canada. I'll be there in a couple of days and will call you. Thank you |
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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So who's going to be overseeing the building of the competition snowboard courses now??
It does look bad that somewhere in the massive £35bn budget they couldn't sort the logistics out to keep a foreign expert they need happy to do his job. If they're treating everyone so shoddily, it makes you wonder if it will all be in place...we will see!
The budget is 5 times Vancouver and about 20 times Salt Lake City, it seems a lot of people have got rich from Olympic contracts:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/maxseddon/eye-popping-excerpts-from-a-report-alleging-corruption-at
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Poster: A snowHead
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luigi, I don't think he was necessarily 'overseeing' it. His posts implied he was just one amongst a team of several.
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It does look bad that somewhere in the massive £35bn budget they couldn't sort the logistics out to keep a foreign expert they need happy to do his job. If they're treating everyone so shoddily, it makes you wonder if it will all be in place...we will see!
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I agree it doesn't look very good, but do remember that JB was just one of >16,000 foreign workers involved in the Sochi project so they may not have regarded him as an honoured foreigner. Will Sochi be ready? I suspect not, but I think it will probably look ready.
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The budget is 5 times Vancouver and about 20 times Salt Lake City, it seems a lot of people have got rich from Olympic contracts:
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I'm sure a lot of people have got very rich from Olympic contracts and, by Western standards, there has almost certainly been widespread corruption. However, I'm not sure how fair it is to compare the budget to that of Vancouver or Salt Lake City. A very large proportion of the budget is going on major infrastructure projects. For instance, I seem to remember that they were completely rebuilding the Krasnodar to Sochi road, all 300km of it. My view is that the budget and corruption are issues for Russia, and Russia alone. I cant see why we, in a completely different country should get exercised about it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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The success of the Sochi Olympics can only be assed after the Central London Superprime Property Market reports in the summer!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I think he was treated very poorly actually - they wanted his skills and totally  him over re accommodation and general chaos and crapness when he arrived.
I am sure it will be a good winter Olympics, and I am sure it will be ready. But the doesn't mean things aren't bad at the moment for people there.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Johnnie Balfour seems to have resigned....
| Quote: |
Squashing some rumours.
Hi everyone,
I am completely overwhelmed by the response from my post about my first few days in Sochi. What was meant to be a simple update to family and friends went crazy.
I do however have to squash a few rumours but before I do I really want to get this out there.
EVERYTHING I WRITE IS MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, IT DOES NOT REFLECT OPINIONS OF THE PEOPLE I HAVE WORKED WITH IN THE PAST, PRESENT OR THE FUTURE. THIS IS JUST ME, THAT’S ALL, NOBODY ELSE.
1. I am safe and fine. Yes, I am heading home, no, I was not forced to leave. I left by my own accord.
2. Me leaving Sochi will have zero effect on the Olympic Games. I am simply just one of a group of guys who do what I do. The head builder is still there as well as the other shapers. There is plenty of snow on the mountain and the course will be ready and will be amazing. There is a group of very talented people working there and it will be fine.
3. I removed the post myself.
4. I do stand by what I wrote and it is a 100% true account of what went down and what I observed in my first few days.
5. There is most definitely more to come. I have been keeping notes and there is plenty more to this story. |
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stewart woodward, So good to have the confirmation from Emma C-A that contrary to every Daily Mail article, and every miserable scrote praying the games will fail, there IS snow for the games. 235cm on the upper slopes, 65cm on the lower slopes and daytime temps of -5c.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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There has just been a report on Radio 4 about 900 journalists rooms not being finished. Not the best people to wee wee off.
Under all the hype and affronted Journos, I really hope that the actual games will go off well.
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yeah, I hope so too. There seems to be nothing but negative critisim coming out at the moment be it about hotel and street construction or course building. Its certainly not had much go for it so far...
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