That Olympic torch relay isn't really a relay afterall.

[Bry Nylon]

In July the Olympic torch will pass through the village where I live, on a Saturday lunchtime, about 50 yards from my house. Which is all mildly exciting and I'll take the kids to the end of the road, clutching mini Union Jacks, to have a look.

But I found out earlier tonight that once it has passed through the village, they all stop, pile into minibuses and drive to the next place, get out and start running again. And then stop and back into the buses. And so on and so on around the UK.

Now maybe I am naive and an old, impractical romantic, but I genuinely believed that the torch was going to be carried the length and breadth of the UK in some sort of fantastic non-stop, hand to hand relay of unbroken humanity. The whole entourage busking around Britain in a fleet of Mercedes Sprinters hired from Hertz, with the torch tossed on the dashboard next to a copy of the Daily Mirror and 20 Bensons just isn't quite what I had imagined somehow.

Oh well. It could have been good.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

In July the Olympic torch will pass through the village where I live, on a Saturday lunchtime, about 50 yards from my house. Which is all mildly exciting and I'll take the kids to the end of the road, clutching mini Union Jacks, to have a look.

But I found out earlier tonight that once it has passed through the village, they all stop, pile into minibuses and drive to the next place, get out and start running again. And then stop and back into the buses. And so on and so on around the UK.

Now maybe I am naive and an old, impractical romantic, but I genuinely believed that the torch was going to be carried the length and breadth of the UK in some sort of fantastic non-stop, hand to hand relay of unbroken humanity. The whole entourage busking around Britain in a fleet of Mercedes Sprinters hired from Hertz, with the torch tossed on the dashboard next to a copy of the Daily Mirror and 20 Bensons just isn't quite what I had imagined somehow.

Oh well. It could have been good.

This is the only way they could get round the entire country in time for the games. Would have taken about 6 months otherwise.

 

[sully]

Like the OP, I'd imagined something different, but discovered on Wednesday evening that three people carry it 900m at a time at each location before it buzzes off in the minibus.

It just doesn't seem right and thus makes it less than not at all exciting now.

If it didn't take such a daft route (taking Cornwall as a likely template for the rest of the country), it could cover quite a lot in the time available. They're missing out the main centres of population anyway (including Seb Coe's former constituency), so most people won't see it anyway.

 

[skipper734]

They couldn't let British runners do a proper relay, as they usually drop the baton.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

Like the OP, I'd imagined something different, but discovered on Wednesday evening that three people carry it 900m at a time at each location before it buzzes off in the minibus.

It just doesn't seem right and thus makes it less than not at all exciting now.

If it didn't take such a daft route (taking Cornwall as a likely template for the rest of the country), it could cover quite a lot in the time available. They're missing out the main centres of population anyway (including Seb Coe's former constituency), so most people won't see it anyway.

Err, it'll go within ten miles of 95% of the population!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Err, it'll go within ten miles of 95% of the population!

... most of the time, hidden inside a vehicle.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

In July the Olympic torch will pass through the village where I live, on a Saturday lunchtime, about 50 yards from my house. Which is all mildly exciting and I'll take the kids to the end of the road, clutching mini Union Jacks, to have a look.

But I found out earlier tonight that once it has passed through the village, they all stop, pile into minibuses and drive to the next place, get out and start running again. And then stop and back into the buses. And so on and so on around the UK.

Now maybe I am naive and an old, impractical romantic, but I genuinely believed that the torch was going to be carried the length and breadth of the UK in some sort of fantastic non-stop, hand to hand relay of unbroken humanity. The whole entourage busking around Britain in a fleet of Mercedes Sprinters hired from Hertz, with the torch tossed on the dashboard next to a copy of the Daily Mirror and 20 Bensons just isn't quite what I had imagined somehow.

Oh well. It could have been good.

I just heard that due to budget cuts, the fleet of minibuses has been scrapped. Here's a sneak preview of the new Olympic flame carrier:

 

[16bha]

It's going to be flown to the Channel Islands for the day. What a pain, running up and down the aisles of the plane passing the torch. Doesn't that contravene CAA law?

 

[severnside gull]

the romance just died















just seen that it is coming through Bewdley at precisely 3.33pm on 24th May.................................. presumably they have taken traffic etc into account

 

[skipper734]

Plenty of time to catch it in Lewes, Eddie Kidd ( maybe it's not) is one of the Torch Bearers. From Peacehaven. I didn't know that.