(no subject)

Tore myself away from the European Grand Prix to wander over to St Vincent field, where Gosport was to have its own celebration of the dawning of the London 2012 Olympiad to coincide with the handing-over of the Olympic flag in Beijing. The ceremony was brief, held in the middle of a kids' circus workshop day. First the Council's head of leisure said a few words and introduced some local child sports players; a young local gymnast, Natalie, told us a little about her competitions this year - she's currently ranked fourth in the world; the coaches of the Goshawks Gymnastics Club and the Gosport Borough Hockey Club spoke briefly, though the latter's quiet voice was drowned out by the chatter of the kids in the audience. Finally the Mayor made a speech about the success of the British team in Beijing and appealed to kids to think about being volunteers for London 2012, then led everyone into 'three cheers for the British Olympic team' followed by 'three cheers for the London Games'. Right on cue, as the third cheer died down the London 2012 flag appeared rising up the pole above the circus tent. And that was that, as all the families trooped into the tent to watch the circus performance and I ambled home for the last few laps of the Grand Prix.