What did you do when the Olympic Torch passed by?

[MatthewC]

The Olympic Torch Relay recently came to the town where I live. Given the unpredictable (i.e. mostly very bad) weather that we have been having, I was pleased that the day was fine enough for me to work outside constructing a wall. Come the hour, I had to make a decision as to whether I should down tools, change and go to see the torch pass by about 300yds away. I know it's a once in a lifetime event but I made the decision that the wall took precedence as this job has been waiting for ages. I would have gone outside if the route had gone past my house but they deliberately seemed to avoid the older part of town.

Did any other PPUKers have to make a similar decision? Does anyone else have a less important job (than mine) on their house which they decided took priority? Were any of you swept up in the sheer excitement of the occasion?

 

[AMc]

I got in my car, joined a spectacular and uncharacteristic traffic disaster in the next village and watched the torch go past. It was welming - neither under nor over.
The telly manufacturer, cola drink and bank buses made a lot of noise and garnered a lot of criticism from the crowd which I enjoyed. The bloke in the tracksuit with the torch was quite understated in the end but got a big cheer.

I didn't realise until afterwards that they aren't actually running the torch all over the country - they get in a bus at the end of each stint and drive to the next one which seems to be a bit weak to me. I can't imagine there would be a shortage of volunteers to carry the torch everywhere and a minor bit of traffic disruption wouldn't have bothered me.

Still it was at 8am so there was no disruption to normal life and the 8 year old was at school on time.

We have tickets for the Group D winner vs. Group C runner up in the Football at Old Trafford having failed to secure any tickets for the "main event" in That London. I'm guessing I'm going to see Spain wallop someone who've already been walloped by Brazil in the groups.

We're going to pay for it for years so we may as well try and enjoy it!

 

[MdB]

My mate has been involved in this: http://endurancelife.com/RealRelay/ which is following the torch on foot the entire 8000 miles which each runner doing approx 10 miles each. It shows that it would have been possible to run the torch around the country...

 

[Pford75]

My son's recently ex-girlfriend was a torch carrier (she's been deaf since birth and runs her own events every year to raise money for charity). I'm a big cynic about these things, but I was genuinely pleased for the (largely deserving) people who were given the chance to carry the torch...just a shame there were so many pointless celebrities as well. I'd much rather it was truly deserving people from their communities.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I had a very stressful afternoon dealing with a pesky tornado. I'd have liked to have seen the torch but I'd left the house to go to the doctor's after the storm, and rather than going from doctors to torch as planned I drove back through a flooded Grantham to mop out the hall and sweep up the shattered glass of two windows caused by hailstones the size of golf balls! Our roof is showing some damage now in the attic bedroom and letting moisture in. But the noise of the blasting wind, thunder and hail was so severe I'm actually surprised the damage wasn't worse. The heavy garden furniture was thrown across the lawn, and trees and branches crashed down.

Down in the town a lot of the spectators described the storm as really adding to the excitement of waiting for the torch to pass through ( and I'm just so impressed it went ahead) but without anyone around I have to say that two minutes of being on the edge of a tornado was one of the most frightening moments of my life.

 

[skier-hughes]

I was in the neighbouring village at 6am helping with preparations for the torch coming through at 11.12am, then stewarding the crowds of around 18,000 we had, some of whom came to see The Wanted who carried the torch for one strech in our area, before going into B'ham to play at the Cannon Hill Park concert.
We followed this with the annual carnival.
Got home at 6.15pm with a bag of fish, chips and muchy peas

Got soaked to the skin and dried twice before the torch arrived, but wouldn't swap it for anything, thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[philpjuk100]

Watched it pass the end of the road,There were loads of police on motorcycles (I thought there were cut backs!) It looked like Bob Diamond carrying the torch but it was somebody from miles away I had never heard of.I should have got on with the garden but it was raining anyway,phil.

 

[Carol]

We watched it in glorious May sunshine, surrounded by excited and mostly face painted children. Our torch bearer was in a wheelchair and we all, even us cynics were strangely moved.

But I am dreading the actual Olympics, I will use them as an incentive to get on with the decorating!

 

[Flyfisher]

It didn't come very close to us in Norfolk, Bury St Edmunds/Kings Lynn/Norwich were the nearest places, but my lad was invited to demonstrate freestyle kayaking at the Lea Valley Whitewater Centre to entertain the crowds while waiting for the torch to arrive and be taken down the course (where it went out according to the news reports I saw). Unfortunately, he was on holiday in Cornwall at the time.

 

[Zebra]

Oh gosh joceandchris that sounds awful! Hope the leaks aren't too bad and you manage to fix them OK.

I drove down the Hatfield Road many hours before the torch was due, observed the gathering crowds, thought "shall I hang about and watch? Naaaa, I've got drip beads to fit and a damp proof course to install."

 

[Lime]

What did you do when the Olympic Torch passed by?

Nothing.
the whole pantomime is a waste of money.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

I agree with Lime, but despite that:

(had it been threatening rain, or more than 100 yards from my front door, at a time that suited me, I wouldn't have bothered)

 

[LadyArowana]

Even if I had been around I wouldn't have bothered unless it was going to go right past the front door and I happened to be home. It's a person running about with a stick that's on fire, not a herd of flying gilded unicorns arriving from the planet Zog.

(and before Mr P comments, I believe that the proper term would be a blessing of unicorns rather than a herd, but that just sounds silly)

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Luddites, stay-at-homes and neighsayers the lot of you! Well most of you.

I'm not as committed as young Graham, but it came through Wrexham about 5 miles away from me in the first week.

We got up at 6 am, decked the car and ourselves with flags, drove into town past hordes of other people streaming in with flags. Streets were lined by 7am. We went to the park In the centre of town where the torch was stopping for half an hour (for a party at half seven in the middle of the week!)

The atmosphere was incredible. I spoke to a lady who remembered the lat London Olympics as a child. We cheered the school kids doing stuff, we cheered the mayor despite his incomprehensible Welsh speech. We cheered each other.

Most of all we cheered the torch arrive with a local community-minded good soul, and cheered it leave with a young Welsh Olympian.

It was moving; it was inspirational; it was full of community and Olympic spirit.

The kids will remember it for the rest of their lives. I am so glad we made the little bit of effort necessary to be part of the Olympics.

Come on folks, it's been and will be a fantastic summer of sport and culture right across the UK. It is a fantastic showcase for Britain in tough times. whether you like sport or not, let's get with it; let's get behind TeamGB in all it's guises for a change!

Btw did I say it was good? :wink:

 

[philpjuk100]

Was that it? who was he? whats for lunch?

 

[skier-hughes]

It looked like Bob Diamond carrying the torch but it was somebody from miles away I had never heard of.phil.

For security reasons nobody ran in their own area, generaly community torch bearers ran in an adjacent area.

 

[Flyfisher]

Security seems a bit heavy-handed to me . . .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18128245

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOADzgjO8GI

I'm not suggesting they don't need security but these examples don't seem proportionate. Why the 'take down' when the 'threat' has already been blocked?

 

[Lime]

Security seems a bit heavy-handed to me . . .

Why the 'take down' when the 'threat' has already been blocked?

Who is to say what the "threats" were going to do?
Children are as able to carry weapons and bombs just as easily as anyone else.
However I consider that the security envelope is far too small to prevent serious attempts to devastate the torch.

 

[Flyfisher]

Perhaps. But in both those cases the people concerned had already been stopped and held so what was the purpose of then throwing them to the ground?

If nothing else it's a PR disaster.

 

[skier-hughes]

Having spent a lot of time working on security proposals for our visit, the guys in grey are Met Ninja's, their role is to remove any attempt to get close to the torch first, that includes removing it from the path of the following vehicles and ensuring public safety.
Therefore action has to be quick and definate.
If you search the web you'll find other instances of this, including a guy being thrown into a hedge.

On our stretch all stewards well well briefed on handing the crowds, their role being to inform them of what would happen if they tried to make contact with the torch. As we worked with our crowds for a couple of hours prior to the torch arriving most would know they aren't allowed to encroach on the torch and what would happen if they do.

Although this child may not have been carrying a bomb, although he could have done. What if he'd just been given a tenner to ride and cause a distraction while something else happened?

As the torch is still in convoy I can't say more, but don't be fooled by the apparent light policing envelope of the torch Lime :wink: