Olympic Torch

Preston Guild happens every 20 years. So this year is my third, with probably one more left. 1972 I managed to cycle the parade route down Fishergate when it was shut off to traffic and lined with expectant crowds. 1992 passed me by, but this year we are definitely going over at some stage.

The cycling experience crossed my mind today as I cycled down the road in Wetherby, then Harrogate and finally Knaresborough. All these places were awaiting the Olympic Torch. The same expectant crowds, the same cyclist, just a little older. The people of Knaresborough were treated to the surreal sight of a dead, upside down sheep floating down the Nidd; the Torch had a lot to live up to there.

Later we all four walked over the moor to Tadcaster Road to see the torch arrive in York. It was a magical evening; the moor was covered with a steady stream of local people walking to see the torch – it seemed like just about everyone in York was going to watch. Hard to explain why, but it was really moving. Rowan and I then went to the event at the end of the relay where Katie B played a few songs and Harvey Smith [I know, I thought he was dead too] rode up through a vast crowd on a horse and lit the big torch for the end of the day. A great couple of hours.