Page 57 - br-june-2021

June 2021
No matter, I felt greatly honoured and privileged in being given a place in the
London Olympic Torch relay. Suddenly the great day was looming. The months
had rolled into weeks and the weeks now into days and the air of expectancy
rose.
My family was turning out in force with my sister Sylvia and her family coming from
North Devon and our daughter Samantha and son in law Noel bringing our
grandchildren Danny and Evie down from Much Wenlock in Shopshire. I am
reminded that Much Wenlock was the very place where it all began and the
home of Doctor William Penny Brooks who in 1850 founded the first Wenlock
Games, the precursor to the modern Olympic Games first held in 1896. The
Wenlock Games were originally designed "to promote the moral, physical and
intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighborhood of
Wenlock".
Also our younger daughter Miranda would be there with Robert just 4 and the
proud owner of his 25 metre swimming badge!
A week before the great event, my uniform arrived with instructions for the day.
The gear looked superb but slightly transparent so the advice to wear white
clothing underneath was very sensible. I was to be at the designated collection
point, Bridport County Primary School at 2.45 pm on the day. My run was from
Rodden Row to Glebe Close on the eastern side of Abbotsbury.
The Olympic flame had arrived in the UK on 18th. May after being lit by the suns
rays at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, in a traditional ceremony amongst the ruins
of the home of the ancient games. Over its 70 day journey, the flame will have
travelled around the UK through more than 1,000 cities, towns and villages
coming within an hour’s travel of 95% of the population. The journey will end when
the last torchbearer lights the cauldron at the Olympic Games opening ceremony
at the Olympic Stadium on 27th. July marking the official start of the games.
I was pleased to accept the offer to buy my torch and will not be selling it! How
could anyone other than those giving the proceeds to charity, think of selling
theirs on E-bay! The torch was designed by east London design company Barber
Osgerby. The 8,000 cut-out circles represent each of the torchbearers. The circles
run the length of the torch enabling you to see the burner system that keeps the
Olympic flame alive and also ensuring the torch itself doesn’t get too hot to hold.
The triangular shape of the torch was inspired by a series of ‘threes’, found in the
history of the Olympic Games and the vision of the Olympic Movement. The three
Olympic values are respect, excellence and friendship and the three words which
make up the Olympic motto are Faster, Higher, Stronger. The torch is coloured
gold to embrace the qualities of the Olympic flame and the brightness and
warmth of the light it shines. It is 800mm long and weighs around 1kg with the
burner system fitted.

Thursday 12th. July: the great day arrives!

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