2012 Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville unveiled

The one-eyed figures, called Wenlock and Mandeville, were unveiled at an east London school on Wednesday with organisers hoping they will inspire a generation of children and persuade their parents to contribute the £15 million the mascots are slated to raise in merchandising revenue.

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Much Wenlock in Shropshire is considered by many the birthplace of the modern Olympics. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the IOC, visited the town in 1890 and took inspiration from the annual Games organised by Dr William Penny Brookes, a local doctor, to “promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants”.

Stoke Mandeville’s famous spinal injuries unit meanwhile was where the Paralympic movement began, and the naming of one mascot after the hospital is an explicit attempt to raise the profile of the Paralympic Games.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/london2012/7741352/London-2012-Olympic-mascots-Wenlock-and-Mandeville-unveiled.html

than Lisa Simpson blowing Bart.

Of course the question is will children like them?

The Skin

Really, how many toddlers who are still at the cuddly toy stage are interested in any kind of competitive sport? On the other hand, young kids who are at the stage of enjoying a bit of Doctor Who (as noted more than once in the GD discussion of this) and computer games may just think a camera-eyed mascot is OK, and would be interested in 'who won the race'.

Anyway, I'm feeling proud that, faced with just the name 'Wenlock' on the soundless TV in the pub, I remembered the Much Wenlock games and why they chose the name. And, dammit, 'Wenlock' and 'Mandeville' are quintessentially British names, compared with the usually 'Biti'-style mascot monikers. 'Wenlock & Mandeville' could be a gentleman's tailors, or the trusty revolver that Watson has on hand to assist Holmes.

Which is the best pub in London.

http://www.wenlock-arms.co.uk/

who are critical, as usual.

Even down to the party colours.

The mascots look like rejects from the Island of Doctor Moreau or Quatermass and the Pit

I just feel sorry for the people who have to dress up in those cheap polyster outfits on a hot day.

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