Yesterday the Olympic Torch Relay arrived in Gloucestershire and came through Cirencester on its way from Bristol to Cheltenham.
Those who know me know that I couldn’t care less about the Olympic games. I’m not in to sport; I don’t follow sport. With the exception of Formula 1. But that doesn’t count as sport, because everyone sits down and drives round in circles.
BUT… I did go and see the torch come through Cirencester yesterday. With the sun out and temperatures between 22 and 25 celcius, I couldn’t sit at the computer all day.
Mum and I walked down to the town center just after 2, we walked through the Abbey Grounds where there were some musicians playing in the bandstand. I was listening to BBC Radio Gloucestershire’s coverage and apparently there were 500 people in the Abbey Grounds just after 2, and roughly 10000 people lining the route in Cirencester when it came through a couple of hours later – that’s half the population of the town!
The torch came through the town about 20 minutes late – due to the fact that it had got lost earlier in the day. Some idiot took a wrong turn. Silly driver! There were all the sponsors’ vehicles, loads of police, millions of buses, and somewhere at the back, the torch, bearers and the security team.
We were stood in the Market Place – opposite the C &G – and the torchbearer through this particular part of the route was Mark Chard, a former paralympian, he now works in the library at uni.
It was a case of look in the wrong direction at the wrong time and you’ll miss it completely. But I was looking in the right direction and I saw it coming past.
I enjoyed my afternoon in the town center, in the Gloucestershire sunshine. I doubt we’ll ever get a torch relay like that again!
FH.
Have you got American spellcheck?