Today it was the turn of our home town to welcome the Olympic Torch Relay and we were looking forward to the excitement. By lunchtime we were hit by the biggest strom I think I have ever seen! The thunder was continuous for nearly an hour and the lightening looked like something you see on the tv in a tropical country!
DH took these photos and the white dots are massive hailstones. The rain was so heavy it just bounced out of the gutters. Sadly he wasn't able to capture the phenomenal lightening.
Unbelievably the skies eventually cleared and the sun came out in time for the torch relay. We live on the edge of town and had only to walk to the top of our road to watch everything.
DH was impatient for me to keep up with him as he searched for a prime position.
It seemed very strange for the usually busy road to be empty of cars and full of people.
This young boy was beside himself with excitement! He was screaming out 'The torch is coming!' and jumping backwards!
The accompanying sponsor vehicles soon arrived,
And before long, the torch itself.
This torchbearer is Hugh Carville from Nottingham who was nominated for his voluntary work bringing health care to people in Uganda. He has a blog here.
A local cycling club came along in support.
And a good time was had by all! (You may notice that the guy with the Union Jack above is a little damp in the shorts department! He had obviously been out in the rain before the torch arrived!)
DH and I decided to walk into town to see what else was happening and happened upon another Olympic Torch being displayed in the museum.
I think this young lady is Victoria Freer who is only 19 but who has devoted a lot of her time to helping young swimmers.
I had a great time today despite the horrendous weather and felt quite emotional at seeing this once in a lifetime event.
13 comments:
we drove home from Skegness through that storm, I haven't seen anything like that since I was a child. We had to be brave and not scare the hooligans :)
I am glad it cleared up in time for you to get out to see the torch
So much excitement in one day and what dramatic weather. So glad it cleared up for the torch relay.
There must have been a similar storm in Herefordshire today which thankfully we missed, though we did have to make a detour owing to the road being flooded.
Glad the weather cleared and you got to seed it!
So glad that you were able to see the torch bearer. Great photos.
Regarding that storm: it looks like it was a frog strangler! With hail like that, there is usually a tornado nearby. Glad that you all are safe.
Hugs,
Jackie
Pleased you survived the storm! took our eldest son 4 hours in car to travel 10 miles!
Real great post my dearest.
Glad that you had such a good time and that the storm was over before the torch arrived. We had the most amazing storm here too - haven't had that much prolonged thunder and lightning for a long time. The torch arrives in Derby later on today I believe.
Gosh that was some storm! Glad it cleared up for you to see the torch though.
Yep we shared the storm. Plus the torch comes by here late afternoon today
Gosh that was a mega storm - looks like everyone enjoyed the event though.
Gosh those hailstones are amazing. We haven't had any storms here just plenty of rain.
The olympic torch is coming through Peterborough next week. It looks exciting from your pictures.
Wow what a contrast in weather but fabulous timing. Great pics & great excitement.
Great images of the day. We shared the storm - we were flying home from Turkey and have never experienced such incredible turbulance as we did as we approached home, scary stuff.
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