Torch Song

Robin Govier from nearby Flint carries the torch
Flanked by his buff Olympic police guard, the Olympic torchbearer ambled into the nearby village of Rhuddlan under blue skies.
The place was packed with people....... thousands turned up.......the great and the good.....all waving their flags, blow up plastic torches and an occasional pint of cold lager.
It was nice to be a part of it all somehow.
It was nice to see a good humoured crowd
and it was good to experience a little bit of positivism in a time of fucking depression
.
A young woman summed the entire afternoon up for me, when I heard her friend chuckling at the fact that she was crying when she spied 23 year old torchbearer Paul Gavin from Widnes being "mobbed" by the happy crowd before he started his part of the relay.
The woman was weeping and laughing all at the same time,
"I KNOW I am crying" she called out to her friend "It's just so bloody lovely to be a part of some good news for a change"
A man nearby chirped up "here here!"
and for a moment everything was alright with the world....

The Crowd supports Paul Gavin in an inpromptu burst of photography and back slapping

26 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:00 pm

    good stuff...always nice to have some happy moments!

    that is a rather buff looking "guard" there in the front...he definitely deserves a hearty "hey ho"!

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  2. That's a fabulous read...yes it is 'so bloody lovely to be part of some good news for a change'

    Love the title...will there be parts 2 and 3 to follow?

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  3. remember John "It will all be alright in the end...and if it isn't alright, it isn't the end."

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  4. It sounds like Britain is having a whole year of happy moments. Good for you!

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  5. Gorgeous, and the story was lovely too.
    Jane x

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  6. Is Engelbert Humperdinck going to get a turn then?

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  7. Very nice post, John

    Good spirits is where it's at.

    Need more of that don't we?

    I don't know who Robin is, sorry - but that guy in the gray outfit in the first picture is verrry interesting! :-)

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  8. Ah, so much for the legendary British reserve. Some nice healthy tears and laughter seem appropriate.

    I also spotted that buff guard...funny how he just happened to end up in your photo, eh?

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  9. I always find the carrying of the Olympic torch to be uplifting. I saw it pass when we lived in San Diego, but have never since had the opportunity. Nicely told.

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  10. Love this stuff. I probably would be crying and laughing also. Good news is always around, we just have to look a little harder for it.

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  11. Yes John I think the enthusiasm of it all and the crowds has taken us all by surprise.
    Our little town is all decked out in red, white and blue for the Jubilee and while I am not a royalist particularly, it is lovely and also heartening to see.

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  12. I'm feeling the same way about the Jubilee celebrations xxxxx

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  13. Amazing how something that unites people in common purpose and cause can energize the community and transform both the collective mood and the personal spirit, even if only for a brief moment in time and place. Just the tonic that everyone seems to have needed. I shall be thinking of you and my other friends during these summer games.

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  14. great stuff..... shall we have a whip round and buy the torch and tracksuit now? You're right though it's nice to have some good news for a change.

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  15. “May joy and good fellowship reign, and in this manner, may the Olympic Torch pursue its way through ages, increasing friendly understanding among nations, for the good of a humanity always more enthusiastic, more courageous and more pure.”

    - Pierre de Coubertin

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  16. I scanned your photo for my Aussie cousin who lives there to no avail. Did you hear the Aussie twang anywhere around you?
    I remember the torch excitement when we had the games in Sydney. Glad everyone is joining in the excitement.
    cheers

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  17. Isn't it grand !
    Let the street parties begin ;)
    Paul Gavin... I could throw a rock and hit his house from my parents' home, good on him !
    Lovely uplifting post :)
    ~Jo
    x

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  18. Isn't it a great thing -- these moments of pure joy when everything is right with the world. There have been lots of jaded and indifferent comments around and it's just wonderful to have some positive karma! Thanks, you darling man!

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  19. It's easy to feel cynical about these kind of events but they really do seem to lift people's spirits. How neat to have the Torch passing so close by - especially after that last post of yours about rural living :-)

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  20. Isn't that what the Olympics are all about. The whole world can come together in harmony and play nice for a couple of weeks. And your country gets to host that. What's a little craziness compared to that.
    Makes you feel good, for sure.

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  21. I cried today when I heard the new song "Why I pray" from Big and Rich/ Just that kind of mood I guess. And oh that police guard...goodness.

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  22. Hip-hip-hooray! A nice moment, for sure.

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  23. Hump should have chosen Torch-Bearer over Euro-Warbler; he might have become a national hero.

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  24. It's lovely to have something to celebrate like this.
    When the torch goes through Doncaster it passes my choir venue so we're going to sing an appropriate song. I hope the turnout is as good as your's!

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  25. My son saw it arrive for overnight at Aberystwyth then followed it around the town on the start of the next days leg... he felt it generated a lot of good feeling

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  26. That feller in the front is a bit of all right!

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