My volunteer sports life started back at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. At the time I worked for the Revenue and they were looking for people to help run the games. The role was quite technical, and we’d been touted for working at the 2004 Olympics in Athens at the time, but it didn’t materialise for me because my mother-in-law was very poorly, so I never got the chance to do that.

But come 2005 we won the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, so my ears pricked up and I applied to be a Games Maker volunteer. There were over 200,000 applications I think, and I was one of 65,000 to 70,000 people across all the venues within the Olympics. Obviously I had to go for an interview, and I had previous experience working on the Commonwealth Games, so I’d worked in a pressurised environment in international sport. I was selected in table tennis once again – that’s where I’d made a name for myself - behind the scenes more than anything, ‘cause we looked after the practice facilities behind the scenes that the public didn't see.

Our volunteers were quite a mix - they weren't just British people, we had international people because it was table tennis and that’s Chinese-run more, because they're so dominant in the sport. So we had quite a lot of foreign volunteers who could speak Mandarin and other foreign languages. We did have somebody who spoke eight different languages. It was very interesting.

The Paralympics probably blew me away more, just by these athletes who have disabilities. And I probably take it for granted because I'm able-bodied, but it’s awe-inspiring - what they were capable of doing was something else!

There were quite a few well-known international people – people like Bill Gates, who you wouldn’t assume anything apart from computers. But apparently Bill Gates has a big interest in table tennis, and he sponsored one of the American young female athletes because she lives quite some distance away from their training facilities on the West Coast of the United States.

We had to put up with a few minor diplomatic issues. The North Korean team got into a disagreement ‘cause there was a TV crew from South Korea photographing them, and all hell broke loose at one point. Obviously I didn’t understand what was being said, but I was fortunate that I was with a colleague who did, and we had to go and get the people who run the actual event. Although it was under the Olympic banner, each sport is run by its own international federation, because obviously they've got experience of holding international tournaments year-on-year.

The weather was nice, the atmosphere round the country was all really good, and when the Paralympic Games started the stadiums were full - everybody showed up and it just showed that when we do something right, I think we can do it pretty well.

Our roles varied from cleaning up, making sure the practice areas were clean and tidy, the changing facilities were clean and there were fresh supplies of toiletries – things like that, as well as the refreshment and snack area.

I had to take eight weeks off work. It was a hard push going back! It was work, but it didn't feel like work. I remember walking to the station on a lot of the mornings, the sun’s shining and you had this feelgood factor. And I was thinking “I could do this forever and ever – why does the Olympics and the Paralympics have to stop!”

I felt lucky – it perhaps won’t happen again, certainly in my lifetime. I think we put on a cracking good event. I remember my first day when the Olympics started – the opening ceremony was 27 July, the day before my birthday. And the opening ceremony, unusually, was in the evening – a lot of the previous Olympic opening ceremonies happened during the afternoon. I remember thinking: “I can only stay up for a few hours ‘cause I’ve got to be at the Tube station for quarter to six, to start my shift at half past six.” And in the end I watched the whole ceremony – it didn’t finish until I think twelve o’clock at night!

I remember watching it thinking: “If the rest of it’s like the opening ceremony, we’re gonna be in for a good run!”

I was selected to go on the victory parade, when both sets of Olympic and Paralympic athletes paraded all their medals up The Mall, up to Buckingham Palace. I think it was on the Monday I was supposed to go back to work, and I got chosen as one of the people from table tennis to go. I remember I had to ring my work up and say: “Sorry guys, I’m not going to be back on the Monday, I’ve been chosen to take part in this victory parade up to Buckingham Palace.” I think they thought one more day’s not going to hurt!

It was an event obviously I’ll never forget. We got given uniforms – I kept the uniform and I’ve told my son: “Put it in a vacuum pack, put that away and in about 50-60 years’ time you might need some money – try your luck, see if it’s worth anything!”