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Atlanta briefly : London calling

Saturday 20 July 1996 23:02 BST
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British team

A red telephone box and two post boxes have been flown in from Britain to ease the homesickness any members of the may be suffering. Installed right in front of the British section of the village, the telephone box itself weighs in at one-and-a-half tons, while the Royal Mail is allowing athletes to write home free of charge. "We are trying to make the athletes feel as much at home as possible," said Simon Clegg, the deputy Chef de Mission.

"Conditions are fairly stark," he added. "The flats were designed for four students but our athletes are double bunked, so there are eight per flat. But we want to make an impression, and little things like the telephone box and post boxes make a difference.

"It's our primary responsibility to ensure the athletes arrive on the field of play in the best possible condition. We don't want them saying 'we would have won the gold medal if the British Olympic Association had done this or that'."

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