Today (Wednesday 25th July 2012) has been a rest day before I travel to London tomorrow. I was on a night shift last night so finished this morning, I had a few hours sleep and then got up went for a last minute haircut, nipped into the police station for a short meeting and to call a couple of members of the public before I leave Cheshire. I then began to pack for my 3 week tour of duty at the London 2012 Olympics.

The day has been one of washing, ironing, packing, shopping and generally preparing to be away from home for 3 weeks. I have managed to get all my clothing and equipment into 2 suitcases. It's a good job there aren't any weight restrictions on the cases as the excess baggage charges would be huge (police body armour and boots weren't made to be lightweight). My cases between them weigh almost 45 kgs - most of that weight is police uniform that I'll be needing whilst in London.

It's an early night tonight for two reasons, firstly I'm adjusting back into 'day mode' after working nights and secondly because I have to be up at 5 am to get to police headquarters for a final briefing before I leave for London.

- PC Tony Hayhurst

Day 1: Up at 5am (as I couldn't sleep) and after a mad rush packing, picking up other unit members, all the British Transport Police contingency (21 from the different areas) met at Cheshire Police Headquarters for 8.30am - with a quick good luck talk from Assistant Chief Constable McCormick. It's important that we savour the atmosphere, do Cheshire Constabulary proud and above all to enjoy this unique opportunity. I'm just awaiting a second briefing which is relevant to my role down in London with British Transport Police.

All of us with British Transport Police are travelling down by train from Crewe at 11.35am and will be met at Watford and transported to our accommodation… and it's apparent that the men in our numbers have packed significantly more than women !!

- Sergeant Rachel Gallagher

Just letting you know that the Olympic journey has begun. Kit and equipment packed, introductions to the team made, group photo taken and now on our way to "home" for 2 and a half weeks.

Our 1st day on site starts tomorrow, eagerly awaiting our duties!

- PC Ian Cuthbertson

Today has been a long day! Up at 5am then to Cheshire Police HQ for an address by the Assistant Chief Constable, Janette McCormick, it was nice that she took the time to speak to the officers leaving for London and was very reassuring that while we were away we were very much still part of Cheshire police. Next was a briefing from officers from Cheshire police where again I was given some information about the policing of London before a final check of equipment/uniform before I left in a minibus for Crewe station. Once at Crewe I travelled by train to Watford, during the journey several members of the public were chatting with the officers on the train and seemed very interested in the policing of the Olympics.

Upon arrival at Watford junction I met with officers from various other forces and we were all transported by bus to a university halls of residence. The accommodation is 'basic' (but if I'm honest better than I expected). The Cheshire officers share the campus with about 400 officers from other forces from around the UK. The food is excellent and I've paid to join the campus gym.

I had a briefing with a senior officer from British Transport Police where I found out some information about the duties that lay ahead. Following that briefing that ran well into the evening I met with some friends for a well deserved drink. The weather down here had been really warm today (in the early 30's) which has made the day quite a pleasant one!

- PC Tony Hayhurst

Day 1. Got up 5.40am to get my last few bits together before travelling the 50 minutes to HQ Winsford. Clearly going to be a hot day! Arrived bright and early and after the initial briefing including a message of thanks and support from our ACC Janette McCormick we were off on the coach down to our accommodation for the next few weeks, Hertfordshire University. I was right about the heat and mix this with uniform and a bag that I can’t believe the weight of (should have realised when I packed it) and you’ve got a pretty tired Inspector at the other end. Once settled in then off to our initial out of force briefing and now looking forward to our duties tomorrow in the Olympic Village!

- Inspector Stewart Sheer

Day 2: 27th I have to say it’s going to be big day for the staff with the prospect of policing the Olympic Opening. About to set off to get our transport to the first staging point for briefing and getting some equipment. I am keen to get going now not really sure what to expect, but will see how the day progresses. All I know is its going to be big and without doubt the biggest event I have policed in 25 years. Hope to be able to see the ceremony itself so fingers crossed for me and the staff should be amazing!!

- Inspector Stewart Sheer

Day 2: 7.30am start to our British Transport Police training day. We have had a heavy session on track safety - basically stay off the lines - and we've learned a whole new vocabulary; 'The Cess' 'The 4 foot' 'The 6 foot' 'The 10 foot'. We’ve also been told not to try and stop a Dockland Light Railway by signalling the driver, this is because they don’t have one

Then we had a session on their Airwave sets, and Staff Assaults to be followed this afternoon by Fatality Management, Counter Terrorism, Legislation and Intelligence, hopefully we will finish around 6pm tonight.

This afternoon we should find out our specific duties and confirmed tour of duties for tomorrow!

- Sergeant Rachel Gallagher

Day 1 Deployment

Well the day has finally arrived. After a hectic day the day before which included revision, household chores, packing and not least sampling the Olympic Men's Soccer at Old Trafford. Atmosphere was electric and certainly wetted my appetite for the next few days.

Meet at HQ early morning briefing completed and now en route to our accommodation in Hertfordshire. Looking forward to meeting up with fellow colleagues already deployed. Everything was going well until we hit the traffic so maybe a little while longer till we reach home for the next few days.

- PC Paul Wright

The best part of earlies on a weekday is the chance to get some of those admin jobs done like finally collecting uniform. After 18 years I've finally conceded to needing a bigger belt!

Just had a good result after we received information from a member of the public about a drink driver, spotted it parked up and sat off for a few minutes till it drove off. The driver didn’t drive very well and not surprisingly considering he was nearly twice the drink drive limit. The driver can think things over for a few hours in the cells.

Weekend off then nights Monday.

- Sergeant Andy Jones

We’re all waiting for our briefing now. Excited to be working with colleagues from Gwent Police and the Metropolitan Police. The girls are excited and are getting ready for their briefing at the briefing centre.

Everybody is anxious about their duties. I hope I get to see some of the Opening Ceremony this evening.

- PC Ian Cuthbertson

Well the training day has finished, and we're all geared up in relation to our new role. It's certainly very different from my day today role in Cheshire. My tour of duty has now been confirmed for tomorrow and I can't wait to start.

It's also my birthday today, i've never had a birthday on my own as such, and it feels strange not having my family around me. It's not all bad, because a present from my children put a smile back on my face, and I've heard that they're putting on one heck of a celebration for me in North London.

- Sergeant Rachel Gallagher

Day 1: On your marks!

Well, after a much longer journey than we'd hoped for (due to what looked like a very nasty accident on the M1), we have settled in to our base for the next five days. The Metropolitan Police team managing this site have made us very welcome and our briefing this evening brought home just how close we are to working at the Olympics.

The number and variety of police officers and staff staying and working here really brings home the scale of the operation we are involved in. In the few hours we have been here I have seen dog handlers, public order officers, search team staff and mounted officers from more than fifteen other forces, and this is just one of a number of similar sites around London!

Our unit seems to have been very lucky. Our deployment starts at 10am tomorrow, unlike some other units who will be getting up at 2am! We are due to be working in the Olympic Park, which will be fantastic, but we won't know for certain until we get to the briefing centre. Until then, everyone is trying to find a spot in front of the TV to watch the Opening Ceremony.

- Inspector Dave Price

Fairly peaceful evening, I worked until midnight. The nice weather has everyone smiling, which is always good. There were reports of men on the old garage roof in Sutton Weaver, when we arrived at the location we found 8 men present. It was strange finding four of the grown men stood around a 30cm grid in the pavement pointing into it - Has someone fell down it? Turns out there is a new "hand car wash" on the way and they were checking drainage. All checked out and all ok. Hope it stays calm for my team that are on night shifts.

- Specials Inspector Neil Gitton

As Team GB prepare to make their way to the stadium, the noise is deafening. They are last to enter as the Host nation so the excitement has been building. USA, South Africa, and the Aussies were loud but Gee Bee, Gee Bee could be heard all over the Village.

Good Luck!

- PC Ian Cuthbertson

I was deployed to the athletes village, it was amazing. It was hard to believe that this was waste ground a few years ago and now it feels like a cosmopolitan city. The place had a great vibe from the moment you walked through from the briefing building. There was a real buzz.

The work was great talking to the Atheletes and having my photo taken a thousand times - the British bobby was very popular. As for the fireworks at the end of the night wow! My wife said "did you see them?" I said: "see them I felt them that was some display above our heads!"

Now looking forward to day 3.

- Inspector Stewart Sheer

Less than an hour to go before my first deployment starts. Had an early start as none of us seem to be sleeping well, and managed a trip to the gym on the other campus. I met up with some of my team from Blacon looking very tired after a 3am finish following the opening ceremony. Also met another who was going out at 10am for his first deployment.

It's like stepping into the unknown. We'll get transport to our local station and then we're on our own, mainline into London, then across the city to our parading on Station. I am close to an olympic venue this afternoon, where I understand there will be medals awarded this evening.

Boots polished, Personal Protective Equipment checked, hat  iIroned (they dont travel well in a bag) and hi-vis jackets ready. It's going to be a hot day so my water bottle's already in the freezer cooling down!!!

Looking forward to getting out there and having the Cheshire insignia on display, if you' re down here please take the time to say "Hello" if you see us

- Sergeant Rachel Gallagher

Even at an event the size of this, we still seem to bump into people from home. We have been policing outside the Aquatic Centre today and spotted one of our ex-Superintendents who is umpiring in the swimming events. He also went to Beijing so I asked him how the two events compared. He said that the atmosphere here was far friendlier and that it was great to see how well officers were interacting with visitors.

It has been a pleasure to be here today. We have been able to speak to people from all over the world - and had our photographs taken with many of them! I was approached by a lady called Maria who, although she now lives in Canada, was originally from Birkenhead. She was here to watch her daughter play for the GB Women's Basketball team this evening. She needed some help in getting tickets to her daughter's coach, who had flown in from Boston USA and was outside the park. We managed to get the tickets to her and so they will hopefully all be able to watch the GB number 7, Rachel Vanderwal, help the team to victory over Australia later tonight!

- Inspector Dave Price

It's 2am and I've just climbed into bed after a long 12 1/2 hour shift!! I don't want to look at another staircase again as the Docklands Light Railway is full of them!!

Members of the public seem surprised that we talked to and laughed with them. Even the local officer working with us decided to try having a little banter as well, the response he got back was so much more positive!!

We chatted, we directed, we walked... and walked, we searched for drugs, we confiscated alcohol and arrested, we saw some iconic sights and some not so, but most of all I had fun. I heard many comments about my Cheshire Police uniform, and was approached by many people with Cheshire connections. You certainly get around!!

My next Tour of Duty is tomorrow 1pm – 11pm, but I expect to finish late again. It's a long old trek back to where we're staying.

- Sergeant Rachel Gallagher

After our 16 hour shift and very little sleep we were back to the Olympic Village with our friends from Gwent...Tidy!

Despite the lack of sleep the smiles were there again for all to see. 16 of Cheshires finest were amongst the fastest, fittest, quickest, tallest, widest, toughest athletes on the Planet.

The mood was still relaxed but as more and more Athletes approach "their time" their focus changes!

During my duty today I was lucky enough to speak to Luiz Suarez, which as a Liverpool fan was my highlight today. Two of the Team GB divers took some time out to talk to us and were very relaxed and excited about their Competion (Sun) Good Luck to them.

I saw Sir Chris Hoy, Tom Daley, Usain Bolt, and a Polish girl sipping Champagne holding her Silver medal for everyone to see.

There was a worrying sight earlier in the day when I saw two athletes approach each other. Everything seemed very friendly until one, very discreetly passed a small clear plastic bag to the other. This sadly is all to common a sight for Police everywhere but here in the Olympic Village.... Surely not?

They walked away from each other smiling with their deal done!

PC Smith and I had seen enough, no one was "dealing" on our watch. As we approached this large Moldovian we saw him produce his small plastic clear bag..... the contents were of course, not what we expected but a small pin badge with the Belgium flag on it.

We quickly learnt that each country has a lapel pin badge and everyone likes to exchange and show them off.

The Emergency Services do have one with 999 on but as a currency they are almost worthless against a Team GB or Jamaican badge. It hasn't stopped us trying though with over 200 to collect I've only got 191 to go!

- PC Ian Cuthbertson