a brief glimpse of the torch

The Olympic Games torch went through Bury St. Edmunds on Saturday, so we wandered in to stand by the brewery.  Not because it is a building full of good local beer, but the torch was set to come down the road and then turn just in front of this big old brick building. 

Thankfully it was dry at the time, but that's probably because every single person had brought their talisman - the great British umbrella.

I expected military-like precision with a lot of pomp and it was nothing like that.  In fact it was pretty poorly conceived. First of all, the torch itself spends most of its time in a bus full of torch bearers, only coming out at photo op. stops in towns.  Somehow seeing a bus full of people dressed for action all being driven in celebration of the Olympic Games seems just a teeny bit missing the point.

Then is was late.  Apparently the bus and torch arrived at the edge of town on time and the bearers clambered on board there so I'm not quite sure why it would be late.  It's not like the bus had to tie its shoes.

The crowd gathered, grew and waited patiently as English crowds always do, and one man wryly commented that it would be a good day to be a local burglar as every police officer in the county must be standing here.

Not as if police officers were controlling traffic or crowds or anything. Despite this, it was not a great day to be a local driver. People milled along, on and around the road while cars continued to try driving through.  Nothing was done to encourage let alone enforce drivers' rights of way, and the road itself remained officially open until it wasn't, clogged with other cars and pedestrians who had decided it was time to make a stand.  I could hear the idling motors however.  Another ironic symbol of the Olympic Games' influence on England.

Excitement rose as a motorcade of officers moved into view with their blue lights flashing, then a police van, then...nothing.

More under-the-breath grumbling about tax dollars hard at not working, then - a big red bus slathered in Coke advertising and pumping music rounded the corner and the crowd started to perk up and there was even the odd cheer.

For not a lot.

Ok, finally there were more police (had the same ones rounded back to the start?), and another bus, the official torch-bearing golden bus - hurrah! 

More buses - a veritable smorgasbord of busses - I counted 7 huge buses of various hues, then a small legion of volunteers dressed in gray track suits (gray?  really?  who came up with that one?  the English weather board?) with a local celebrity carrying a long golden wand with fire at the top, who suddenly - what? - slipped down a side lane.  Where did he go?

At this point my in-laws wondered where they could get a nice cup of tea.  People wandered over the road,

and professional cameramen tried to get everyone to cheer for posterity but didn't get many takers over the age of 4, and the odd gray track-suited torch guard talked earnestly into a walkie-talkie. 

After 12 minutes, the torch appeared and slumbered acrossthe road and away, fooling almost everyone with a camera as well as most of the those with eyes.  We looked at each other, having become quite close friends over the last half hour, as if to say "Is that it?"

Here it comes!

And there it goes.

I turned around to find my in-laws had already left to go and put on the kettle at home.

 I hope the Games themselves are a bit better organized, but most of all I hope the opening ceremonies won't end up a sea of gray-clad dancers.