What Happened When The Torch Relay Went Into Windsor Castle To Meet The Queen
It rained of course. And heavily too. this was taken from the BBC’s text commentary.
Gina is then taken to meet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. After curtseying she says: “It’s English weather isn’t it. You can’t do anything about it.”
To which the Queen, dressed wisely in a camel overcoat, responds: “No nothing.” She then breaks into a wide smile and later enquires of the torch: “What keeps it going?”
The Duke of Edinburgh then seemed to test the weight of the torch before asking Gina, “Are you going to take it home?”
So it seems the Queen may be fed up with the weather too!
Aren’t we all?
Sir Roger Returns
This morning Sir Roger Bannister carried the Olympic flame round the same track in Oxford, where he ran the first mile in under four minutes. There’s a report here from the Oxford Mail. He was also interviewed on BBC Breakfast. They then talked about how Bradley Wiggins demolised the field in the time trial yesterday to take a good lead in the Tour de France. Susanna Reid, one of the presenters, used a classic quote of Sir Roger’s as a link between the two stories.
The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.
Sir Roger is 83 now and seems to be driving himself into the future as he can.
Japanese Swimmers Train In Basildon
On the London BBC News, they showed the Japanese Swimming Team greeting the Olympic Torch Relay in Basildon, where they are training before the Olympics. The story about how they chose Basildon is here on the BBC.
I wonder what the Japanese are making of Basilson and have they worked out the humour behind the Essex Girl jokes. I wonder if Japan has a similar set of jokes about girls from an area of the country!
Was The Torch A Day Late?
Yesterday was July the Fourth or Darrell’s Day in Suffolk, when the Dutch tried to invade in 1667.
So surely the torch should have visited Felixstowe yesterday, rather than today.
Has Greater Anglia Improved Their Mk. 3 Coaches?
I went to Ipswich today, with the aim of seeing the Olympic Torch Relay in either Woodbridge or Felixstowe, so I travelled out of Liverpool Street in a rake of forty-year-old Mk 3 coaches, pushed by a thirty-year old Class 90.
I haven’t been on one of these trains for a couple of months and the ride quality seemed to have improved. At one point, I walked a couple of coaches to get a coffee and it was easier than last time. I also talked to a mother sitting on the floor with her young child and she said it was very comfortable. Why she was sitting on the floor, I do not know, the train wasn’t very full.
They have been improving the track through to Norwich, so it was probably that or something to do with new balls in the wheel-bearings of the coaches.
On the other hand my balance could have been better?
On the other hand, Greater Anglia certainly haven’t improved their Ipswich to Felixstowe services, as the train I wanted to catch had gone AWOL. So I missed the Olympic Torch Relay.
So I came home in another excellent Mk. 3 coach. Is there rail vehicle in service as good as the Mk. 3?
Will Harvey Smith Salute the Torch into York Racecourse?
It may seem a controversial choice, but Harvey Smith is carrying the torch on the final leg into York racecourse tonight.
So will he give the torch one of his special signature salutes?
Let’s hope he keeps both hands on the reins!
I once saw him give an equestrian demonstration with anecdotes of his life. If ever there was a larger-thsan-life Yorkshireman it’s Harvey.
The Olympic Torch is Now On The Red Button
This is so much better. And doesn’t use all that bandwidth on the Internet.
I wonder why it’s now available.
Every Party Needs At Least A Few Irish
The torch is now in St. Stephen’s Green in the middle of Dublin. I think, for the rest of the Torch Relay, the places that follow will have a lot to live up to.
I had thought about going and I’m afraid that this will rank as one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made. There’s some pictures here.
On the log with the relay, there’s a picture of the torch being taken into Government buildings. They’d only do that in Ireland without malice!
The Republic Does the Torch Proud
This morning, I’ve watched the torch go through Dublin. Crowds are as big as ever.
You only know it’s Dublin, as you see green Irish rugby shirts, the odd tricolour and the Georgian houses still have their original railings.
The only problem was that they lost the 3G signal, when Jedward carried the torch, as everybody was there.
Everyone and Everything Is Leaving Me!
Not really, but it sometimes seems so. I now have no mobile phone and won’t probably until I get my Nokia 6310i in a few days. My wife and son have both left me and all I get is a visit from an occasional friend. The radio is just going on and on about the Diamond Jubilee and today’s episode, is not what I’m interested in. The torch relay has stopped for lunch and there is nothing to do this afternoon. My health seems to be going downhill rapidly and it seems that I get tired walking just a hundred yards or so.
At least Suicide is Painless!
But that is not an option, as it’s not painless for those left behind. My other son, who’s working today, by the way, has suffered enough grief in the last five years, and I would never inflict anymore on him, by my own hands.
They’re having a party in the Square, but do they really want me there, as I’m just rather a miserable killjoy at the moment.
The Anonymous Widower 