Monday 23 July 2012

Torch in Town

The Olympic torch is coming to toown


Well, to my corner of London to be exact, and by now it's long gone, probably off jogging it's way through Penge or Crystal Palace or some other fringe borough. Yes, today, the well-traveled torch hit my home borough in SE London! The torch bearer, flanked by an army of brands, was greeted by a surprising amount of flag waving people considering it dashed through at 8.20AM. Probably would have had a bigger reception if it'd visited a little later in the day, but the streets were still lined with people waving Mecca bingo and Samsung flags. Cheering in unison as all the Olympic sponsors drove past in their party vans.


 I saw Coca-cola and Samsung and Lloyds TSB (the bankers were not as good as motivating the crowd as the fizzy-drink and the phones) all with music blaring and pompoms shaking. My sister even got to have her photo taken with the 'Cash&Cheque Express' mascot! Look at those patriotic smiles.


He had the London 2012 Olympic logo stapled to his back, informing us they'll be offering the highest prices for gold during the games... they also seemed to imply that this would in some way make GB athletes more likely to win, but didn't make the connection very clear. The volunteer Marshalls were looking equally as shiny as the stuffed gold bar in their fluorescent yellow plastic vests. They also got some pretty snazzy t-shirts, announcing their brand new status:

Our encounter with the torch itself was brief, but as it passed I heard a little girl tell her grandma "That fire's been all round the world!" and y'know what, at that moment I was really proud to be there to witness it. 


The atmosphere was lovely though. I think the last time there were this many people gathered in the streets cheering here, was during the riots last summer; it's wonderful to see people united to celebrate the positive things about our community. And KFC probably had the best 8.30am sales it's had all year...


God help me, I'm actually kinda looking forward to these here Olympics now, travel disruption and all. 



1 comment:

  1. What an excellent narrative...feels like I was actually there...esp seeing your photos. Enjoy the rest of the Olympic Invasion!

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