The occasional internet problems is another complaint, as well as the general lack of signposting, but it is important to note that there are large numbers of people present to point you in the right direction whenever you are lost, so in my case rather a lot.

Not for nothing are the Commonwealth Games known as the "Friendly Games" and this does seem a big difference to the Olympics. For us journalists that means more access and people having more time to talk to us, and for everyone else it means a more relaxed atmosphere and a more harmonious feel than at a global gathering.

And then there is the sport.

Writing in the New York Times last week, Christopher Clarey described the Commonwealth Games as a "quadrennial irrelevance" and "a curious colonial vestige with some of the pomp and circumstance of the Olympics minus most of the heavy hitters". There may be an element of truth in the latter part of this description, but certainly not in the first part.

For every weightlifter from Nauru, rugby player from Uganda and hockey star from Trinidad and Tobago, the Games provide an opportunity to compete at a level they would never have been able to otherwise.

And at the other end of the spectrum, from cyclists Anna Meares, Jack Bobridge and Laura Trott, to triathlete Alistair Brownlee, sprinter Kirani James, and swimmer Chad Le Clos, some of the greatest athletes on the planet are here. And someone tells me a certain Jamaican sprinter is also in town to compete in a few days' time.

Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee have been two of the great athletes competing in Glasgow ©Getty Images



Alongside the major Olympic sports, such as athletics, swimming and cycling, we also have some less well-known disciplines. Lawn bowls, a sport which in its rules resembles curling but in its vibe resembles Test cricket, seems to encapsulate the idea of the "Friendly Games" like no other. Netball is providing vast opportunities for international development as well as for women in sport, and Paralympic events are being incorporated into an able-bodied programme on a scale I have never seen before.

And then there was a weekend of rugby sevens which saw a world record crowd of 171,000 pile into Ibrox for a spell-binding advert for a sport set to only grow and grow following its Olympic debut in Rio. The fact that New Zealand's domination of Commonwealth rugby sevens came to an end in such thrilling fashion against South Africa only added to this spectacle, while the wider medals table battle between Australia and England is adding further gloss.

As is the fact that host nation Scotland has already secured a record haul of 12 gold medals after less than five full days of action.

And, it does not really need to be said, but to a more successful degree than seen at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the political context, this time of Scottish Independence, has been fully forced off the agenda by camaraderie and sport. This is despite the vast number of unsuccessful attempts by Scottish journalists to persuade, well, just about anyone to break this trend.

Despite partisan home support. sport has firmly trumped politics in Glasgow
©Getty Images



In fact, if there was one group of people who have not performed at their best in Glasgow, then it is probably us journalists who are the guilty party. The Usain Bolt press conference on Saturday was, quite simply, the most bizarre and stupid event I have ever attended, and not at all because of anything Bolt himself said or did.

In a pantheon which includes David Frost when he grilled Richard Nixon, Jeremy Paxman when he scrutinised Michael Howard, and Oprah Winfrey when she probed Lance Armstrong, we can now add Channel Ten reporter Roz Kelly.

She asked: "Usain, we're not here as journalists, we're here as fans. Can we have a selfie with you?" 

The Australian, who is engaged to South African cricketer Morne Morkel, has been roundly criticised back home, and her response has been that she was doing some background research for a colour story on the celebrity circus surrounding Bolt. "A feature that doesn't include much research", was the reply of insidethegames editor Duncan Mackay when I asked him what a colour story was.  

But everyone else was not much better. We had an offer to present Bolt with a kilt - to which "I don't like the colour red", was the reply of the Virgin-sponsored Manchester United supporter - as well as questions on his views on the conflict of Gaza and, of course, on Scottish Independence.

We must hope that, at a time when there are still so many important issues to probe within the sports industry, journalists don't continue to lose the plot completely.

And we at insidethegames, it is worth saying, have focused only on the big topics of the Games, such as sport, politics, doping controversies and, ahem, the Clyde the Mascot Trail.

Usain Bolt seemed as bemused as anyone by the press conference questions
©Getty Images



But the most important thing to remember is that it has all been so fun, laid back and friendly and, in a way, the obsession with mascots, social media and "selfies" has contributed to this feeling.

As the Games continue into their second week and the countdown for Usain Bolt's long-awaited relay appearance draws nearer, we must hope the Games continue to epitomise all that is good about sport, rather than proving any sort of "quadrennial irrelevance".

And I hope and expect my experiences of Glasgow to remain overwhelmingly positive, as memories of my arrival at Edinburgh airport retreat ever deeper into a bank of long-forgotten happenings.

Nick Butler is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here