Chariots of Fire

*Another late post, still working on catching up!

    So, today was the day the Olympic Torch made it's way through Chester while on its journey to London for the big 2012 event. For the past couple weeks, that was all people were talking about, aside from the Jubilee. They had banners strung out through the city center, along with posters giving some of the details about the Torch Day. Along with the many businesses preparing for the wave of tourists, Kristine, one of my bosses at the Giants, was getting ready to send us out with several of the giants to the city center, just to do more promotional work. While getting ready to hit the streets, my friend Zoë mentioned that her and several of her housemates were going to go to the Torch Relay Festival that they were having at the Chester Racecourse, where there would be a live band, and where, ultimately, the torch would be lit. Jokingly, I recommended that if they have any spare tickets, they could through them my way, and surprisingly enough, they did!

     That afternoon, I met up with Zoe and the others, and we made our way down to the festival. Zoe, along the way, mentioned that the live band was going to be the band Kids in Glass Houses, a Welsh band that sound a tad bit like Fall Out Boy. I had never heard of them, but a live band at any festival is usually a good combination. We made our way into the racecourse, and was instantly able to see the large flock of people walking around. The racecourse is at the bottom of a hill, so there were a many  people sitting on the sides of the hill looking down on the festival. There is also a hotel that overlooks the grounds as well, so there were even people waiting by their windows to watch the whole thing start. In the Racecourse, there was a huge stage that was surrounded by mini booths (Coke-a-cola, Nature Valley, Samsung) that were giving away free stuff during the whole event. This is where we were able to get our dinner (several Nature Valley bars)  and bottles of free Coke. Everything at the festival was limited edition, "Olympic approved"stuff, so I, being an obnoxious tourist, made sure to grab ALL of the things (including a Coke Music Beater/Frisbee, fancy Olympic Coke bottle, and olympic bank lanyard). Along with these great souvenirs, I was also able to get my picture taken with one of the official olympic torches that has been used during the Running of the Torch event. While people were stuffing their faces with free granola, there was also an option of watching the number of acrobatic acts, community choirs, and the main band Kids in Glass Houses (and looking back on it, they were actually pretty good). After the concert, the Lord Mayor of Chester gave an inspirational speech about how the Olympics are important to all of England. The last time the Olympics were held in London was back in 1948, which happened to be the first Olympics held after WWII.

    After her speech, horns could be heard thundering through the stadium. While that was going on, I could feel the atmosphere change around me. Everyone became fully alert, trying to find where the torch was coming from. People quickly began to raise their phones, cameras, and small children just so they could get a view of this memorable event. Then, there it was. One of the jockeys from the Chester Races came in on his horse with the torch. He then walked up to the large torch statue that was in front of the stage, and then proceeded to light it. As the flames shot up, the crowd erupted. It was so crazy to see. It was almost hard for me to believe that I saw the event happen.

    After the torch was lit, there had a ceremonial capturing of the flame. To catch the flame, a few of the Olympic officials brought a special jar that was able to capture the flame. If the fire somehow manages to go out during the night, they have the special jar that still contains the Greek flame. After they captured the flame, the event was practically done. There was still a large audience that hung around the course, but for the most part, everything was done. However, later that night, they had a firework show that could be heard through all of Chester.

   Sadly, I'll be leaving before the olympics start up, but I'm glad that I was able to still get a glimpse of it. The stadium is apparently still being built, so hopefully by the time I get down to London in a few weeks, I'll be able to see it fully completed. I still can't get over how busy of a summer England is going to have this year between the Olympics and the Jubilee. This is by far, the best example of being in the right place at the right time.

The Queen & I

*These next couple of blogs are a little late since these past couple of weeks have been crazy, but enjoy!  


  Last week, Queen Elizabeth II came to visit the Chester Zoo to open the the new Jubilee Gates that were built for her Diamond Jubilee. The entire Giants team and I met around 7:30 that hazy morning to put up 4 different variations of the Queen that were built by some of the local schools and community groups. To no surprise, by the time we got there there was already a pretty large crowd gathering together in hopes that they would see her highness open the gates.

        After we put the Giants together, we moved them to the massive roundabout that is in front of the zoo where we awaited Lizzy's arrival. Sadly, we found out that we wouldn't be able to see the Queen open the gates, but we would see her when she drove in, and out of the zoo, which is better than nothing I suppose. For the following 2 hours, there were several packed cars and school buses that were entering in waves into the zoo. Then, around 10 or so, we saw what was the beginning of a massive motorcade turn into the zoo's entrance. Several motorcycles later, we saw her, Queen Elizabeth II, alongside her husband Prince Phillip, drive by us with a smile and a wave. While at the zoo, she opened the gates, gave a speech, and then about an hour later, left to go to Warrington to open the Jubilee Park that they built for her.

       A few days later, one of my bosses, Kristine, was invited to Buckingham palace to meet her face to face, and when Kristine got back she mentioned that when she was talking to the Queen, Elizabeth asked her about the history of the giants, how they moved, and a bunch of in depth questions about the company which is kind of cool to think about.

      It was overall an incredible experience. I would have never guessed that during a normal study abroad trip, I would be able to do something like that. That would be like someone coming over to the states and seeing the president. Anyway, this was one Queen event down...now all I have to do is get done with the Jubilee event in a few weeks. Despite there being such a big divide between those who like and dislike the Queen, it has been crazy to see how many stores and people have been decorating for the event. Even the streets of Chester have been decorated in red, white, and blue flags and posters. I'm sure that the whole jubilee event will be bringing in a huge crowd.