THE CHAPLAIN
Kelvin Woolmer
What was your job? Lurking with a purpose. I was at the Olympic Park to provide pastoral support for people who might be away from home for a long time.
So did people really want to talk? Yes, lots. Everyone from management to guys digging holes. They would tell me things they couldn't tell their friends — from family problems to missing a newborn baby. I spent a lot of time in the canteen — lots of builders' breakfasts were my downfall.
What was the best thing about it? Being involved in so many people's lives. Some Irish contractors had a well-honed idea of where their padre should be — down the pub after work!
Any keepsakes? I have a drawer full of chaplaincy passes, loads of memories, and a big yellow safety jacket with 'chaplain' written on it.
Best memory? Running the Christmas carol events with so many nationalities singing Silent Night. At the end, there was a moment of silence; I think we all realised we were part of something special.
What's next? I'm going to be chaplain for those who volunteer at London 2012, and for the media centre where there will be reporters from all over the world — and I'm still running my church. Post Olympic and Paralympic Games, the athletes' village will be part of my parish; it will increase from 9,500 to 27,000 people in about a year and a half.
THE FALCONER
Jason Keddie
What was your job? I was employed to fly hawks around the Aquatics Centre while it was being built to deter pigeons from roosting and nesting. I'd fly them every morning and evening for two hours at a time, using six birds in rotation.
Why was it important? It's essential to keep the pigeons away for health and safety reasons. They've been in this area for years so it wasn't an easy job.
How did you get into falconry? I've always been passionate about it and persuaded my parents to let me have a bird as a teenager. But it was only seven years ago that I managed to make my hobby into a job.
Any highlights? It was superb seeing the work progress — when I first saw how they were going to put the roof on the Aquatic Centre I thought, it's never going to work. Obviously it did.
Any souvenirs from the job? I took lots of photos. When I see London 2012 on TV I'll be proud to think I was there.
THE BUS DRIVER
Semra Yusuf
What was your job? I drove buses within the Olympic Park while it was being built, taking the workforce to different venues — it's a big place so they needed us to get around. It was interesting to see the site changing day by day.
How did you get the job? Previously, I was a swimming teacher, and received funding from the Olympic Delivery Authority's Apprentice Scheme to train as a bus driver, so it was a career change. It's given me new job opportunities.
What has been the highlight? I was the first person to swim
a measured distance in the Aquatics Centre pool, as part of an artwork being created by artist-in-residence Neville Gabie. The idea was for me to swim the length of one
of my bus routes and be filmed.
It was a 1,270m swim. I was
quite nervous, but tried to forget about the camera. It took some organising, but I was so thrilled
that we did — it really was like a dream come true.
THE ECOLOGIST
Kim Olliver
What was your job? I managed the ecological work in the Olympic Park. First there was the demolition of 200 buildings, and land to be cleared and cleaned. Then there was a designing phase creating 45 hectares of new habitat.
What was the trickiest part? There was a lot of wildlife to translocate to new homes. We
had to work around a pair of peregrine falcons which were nesting on a pylon. We couldn't take it down until they'd finished.
The most unusual bit? Maybe arranging for 1,000sq m of ballast from old railway track sidings to be translocated to another park. It looks like rubble, but it's a nice environment for rare invertebrates. It opened people's eyes to the fact that it's not just pretty landscapes that are important for wildlife.
What's your background? My Masters was in wildlife management and conservation.
Where will you be during the Olympic and Paralympic Games? I'll be working so I'll be close to the action. And I have tickets for the Handball and Basketball.
Any souvenirs? I have lots of
aerial photos, and an environment and sustainability pin badge!
THE ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
Neville Gabie
What was your job? Historically, there's never been an artist-in-residence during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, so it was a unique and exciting role. I had to record the construction process for a wider audience in various ways, including film and photography.
Why is it important? Nothing else recorded the Park being built and all the amazing people involved.
What's your background?
I studied sculpture at the Royal College of Art, but I'm used to working in places in a state of flux. I'm sports-obsessed, too, and was determined to get the job.
Any highlights? The people I met, such as Keith, an apprentice gardener, who gave up teaching to work on the Olympic Park.
Most unusual thing you did? I tried to sit on every seat of the main Olympic Stadium to make sense of the scale of it. There were 69,000 seats at the time — I thought I'd give myself 69 hours. I did it over three weeks and managed 40,000.
What souvenirs do you have? Just little bits of history: a beaten-up saw bench from the Olympic Stadium, which was there at the start. I also have some masking tape from the Velodrome.
