September - St Ives Free Church

12
Free Church Worship
Contacts
Mon-Sat
10:00 Chapel Prayers
Sun 2nd
Sep
11:00 Revd Dr Catherine Ball Holy Communion
Tue 4th
Sep
15:00 Service at Rheola
Sun 9th
Sep
11:00 Revd Roy Muttram - Battle
of Britain Sunday
Communications & Media Convenor
Alan Curtis 350787
Sun 9th
Sep
18:00 Joint Service at
Fenstanton - Freda Barnard
Finance Convenor
Peter German 352401
Sun 16th 11:00 Revd Dr Catherine Ball
Sep
Freewill Offering Treasurer
Andy Fleming 468055
Sun 16th 18:00 Joint Service at Houghton Sep
Keith Cakebread
September 2012
352058
Church Secretary
Barbara Duffett 395308
Associate Church Secretary
Helen Ackroyd 494005
Property Convenor
John Pike 301178
Tookey’s
Convenor Val Bush 469189
Manager Pat Clarke 468886
Organist
Brian Lodde 354647
Flower Convenor
Margaret Cakebread 462726
Eco Group Convenor
Mary Cox 300103
Chapel Prayer Coordinator
Gerry Swain 468053
Just Sharing Manager
Sue Billings 496570
Asst Managers
Rosemarie Smith
Kevin Gouldthorp
Tracey Hipson
Church Office 468535
[email protected]
Open 9am. - 1pm. Monday to Friday
Room Bookings should be made
through the Church Office
Sun 23rd 11:00 Revd Dr Catherine Ball
Sep
Sun 30th 11:00 Revd Dr Catherine Ball Sep
Harvest
Tue 2nd
Oct
15:00 Service at Rheola
Sun 7th
Oct
11:00 Revd Dr Catherine Ball Holy Communion
Fenstanton Worship
Sun Sep
2nd
9:30
Sun Sep
9th
9:30
6:00
I ns p i r e
Minister
Revd Dr. Catherine Ball
Mobile: 07714 081930
Revd Derek Newton
Revd Dr Catherine Ball –
Holy Communion
Joint service with St
Ives—Freda Barnard
Tue Sep
11th
2:30
Meditation led by John
Williams
Sun Sep
16th
9:30
Mrs Maureen Kendall
Sun Sep
23rd
9:30
3:00
Revd Dr Catherine Ball Harvest
Harvest Praise
Sun Sep
30th
9:30
Revd Roy Muttram
Sun Oct
7th
9:30
Revd Derek Newton
Printed & published by The Free Church (United Reformed) St Ives, Market Hill, St Ives, Cambs. PE27 5AL
E-mail [email protected] Tel 01480 468535
THE NEWSLETTER OF
THE FREE CHURCH
(UNITED REFORMED)
SAINT IVES
Inside September
spire
Inspire
View
from the
Manse
Schools are back from the summer!
Church activities that run in term time
are too! Some keep going during the
summer months: our Just Sharing Fair
Trade shop and Tookey’s café. Sunday
worship and morning prayers. Thank you
to all who carried on and covered for
others during the summer holidays. Yet
some projects start up again and regular
m eetings
re-comm ence m ak ing
September feel like a new year.
This month we are starting up Tots and
Carers again and are pleased to have
two new volunteers on board: Cathie
Briggs & Enid Smith. Welcome, and we
hope you will enjoy the children and their
carers as much as we do!
We are also setting up Thursday evening
discussions again. These evenings are
an opportunity to discuss how our faith
affects our lives, as we consider different
current, ethical, scientific, or ecological
issues that we are facing in today’s world
– from a Christian perspective. If you
have a topic or theme that you would like
to explore, please give your idea to Gill
or fill out the clip board on the table at
the top of the stairs in the church. These
evenings are informal gatherings where
we watch a video clip to get us thinking,
discuss different aspects of an issue and
share refreshments together. It is a good
opportunity to invite a friend along. Our
first session will be on Thurs 20th
September in Tookey’s café at 7.30 pm.
Cont’d
1
View from the Manse
2
History of Harvest
Harvest Prayer
3
A White Sea Odyssey
4
From the Church Secretary
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Work Aid
5
Kitchen Fundraising
Hobbies, Crafts & Collections
Little Gidding Quiet Day
6 /7
Olympic Experiences
8
It’s “Blue Suit Time” again!
9
Christian Aid Ceilidh
10
Children's Page
11
Church Activities
Community Activities
Just Sharing Christmas Shop
Fundraising Cake Stall
12
Contacts
Worship at St Ives & Fenstanton
Deadline for October
Inspire is Sunday 16th
September
spire Editorial Team
Inspire
September Editor
Mary Anthony 469530
(October Editor)
Christine Curtis (350787
Val Bush 469189
Copy preferably by email please to
[email protected]
www.stivesfreechurch.org
11
2
Cont’d from Page 1
Harvest Prayer
th
On 30 September we celebrate our Harvest
festival. This year we had a wet spring so crops are
later than usual and farmers are now harvesting
wheat and corn. We will be supporting Christian
Aid’s harvest appeal to help lift people in tribal India
out of poverty by enabling them to collect berries
and honey from their local forests. We hope you
will all give generously so that we may support
them. Again this year we will also collect dry goods
for Jimmy’s Night shelter in Cambridge. I hope you
will all generously support these charities.
I’m excited about these ministries and hope you are
too as we seek to be a vibrant witness to God’s
love in the heart of St Ives.
Love in Christ,
Catherine
Church Activities
Community Activities
We pray, O Father, for those who work to provide
our food: for the farmer and gardener, the lorrydriver and shopkeeper, for the skills you have
given them, and the expertise we can use to
grow our food.
Every
19:00
Mon
(from Sep
17th)
We pray, O Father, for those who have no food:
for the hungry of the world, and for those who, for
lack of water or good soil, cannot grow enough to
live on.
Every
10:00 - Tots and Carers
Wed
11:30
(from
12th Seo)
(termtime)
We pray for those who use their power to help
others in need, for the aid agencies, and each
individual who gives to help another person.
All power and glory are yours.
For ever and ever. Amen
History of Harvest Festival
Harvest Festival used to be celebrated at the beginning of the
Harvest season on 1 August and was called Lammas, meaning
'loaf Mass'. Farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat
crop and gave them to their local church. They were then used as
the Communion bread during a special mass thanking God for
the harvest. The custom ended when Henry VIII broke away from
the Catholic Church, and nowadays we have harvest festivals at
the end of the season.
At the start of the harvest, communities would appoint a strong
and respected man of the village as their 'Lord of the Harvest'. He
would be responsible for negotiating the harvest wages and
organising the fieldworkers.
The end of the
h a r ve s t
was
celebrated with a big meal called a Harvest
Supper, eaten on Michaelmas Day. The 'Lord
of the Harvest' sat at the head of the table. A
goose stuffed with apples was eaten along with
a variety of vegetables. Goose Fairs were and
still are held in English towns at this time of
year.
The tradition of celebrating Harvest Festival in
churches as we know it today began around
1843, when the Reverend Robert Hawker
invited parishioners to a special thanksgiving
service for the harvest at his church at Morwenstow in Cornwall. Victorian hymns such as "We
plough the fields and scatter", "Come ye thankful people, come" and "All things bright and
beautiful" helped popularise his idea of harvest festival and spread the annual custom of
decorating churches with home-grown produce for the Harvest Festival service.
Bowls Club
Wed 5th
Sep
19:45
Tue 11th
Sep
14:30
Sun 16th
Sep
12:15
Church Meeting
Thu 20th
19.30
Discussion Group
Sat 22nd
Sep
10:45
Fellowship Walk
Thu 27th
Sep
19:00
Sat 29th
Sep
10:00 - Quiet Day at Little
17:00 Gidding
Wed 3rd
Oct
19:45
Elders Meeting
Fri 5th
Oct
19:00
Ceilidh for Christian
Aid
Every
Mon
(from
10th Sep)
17:00 Yoga
Every Tue 19:30 Photo Club
Sat 1st
Sep
09:30 Saints Crafters Fair
Thu 6th
Sep
19:30 WI
Sat 8th
Sep
19:30 Quiz Night - Mayor's
Charity
Thu 13th
Sep
19:30 Amnesty International
Sat 15th
Sep
10:00 Homestart Craft Fair
Sat 15th
Sep
19:30 RAFA Concert
Elders Meeting
Meditation led by John
Williams at Fenstanton
URC
Just Sharing
Volunteers Evening
Christmas Shop
and Annual Sale
at
Just Sharing
The Fair Trade Shop
St. Ives Free Church
Market Hill, St. Ives
01480 496570
on
Friday 26th October
&
Saturday 27th October
9:30am-4:30pm
Make a purchase
that makes a difference!
Wed 19th 19:30 St Ives Gardening
Sep
Club
Thu 20th
Sep
19:30 Amnesty International
Fri 21st
Sep
19:30 Civic Society
Sat 22nd
Sep
19:30 St Ives Community
Choir concert
Sat 29th
Sep
19:30 Fashion Show
Thu 4th
Oct
19:30 WI
Sat 6th
Oct
09:30 Saints Crafters Fair
Fundraising for
Kitchen Refurbishment
The cake stall for September is
cancelled, and there will be no cake
stall in October or November. We
plan to have the next one in
December - details at a later date.
For more details contact Margaret Cakebread
or Val Bush
3
10
A White Sea Odyssey
“Where did you get that tan?” I was asked several
times in mid-June.”North of the Arctic Circle” was
the answer that surprised the many who asked
me! In June we had the privilege of enjoying a
cruise up the incredibly beautiful Norwegian Coast
and round the North Cape - then into northern
Russia, an area closed to tourists until just a few
years ago.
As we sailed towards Murmansk we passed the
Russian nuclear submarine and ice-breaker fleet,
much left to rot away on the banks. The clearance
process for landing was on a scale reminiscent of
the Soviet era and the city was drab and poor – a
timely reminder of the harshness of life in the far
northern reaches of the tundra.
Leaving Murmansk we sailed for well over 24 hr
(with 24hr sunlight!) around the Kola Peninsula – a
huge land mass with the area of Italy which is
utterly featureless but full of rich mineral deposits.
Our guide on this part of the journey was the editor
of the on-line Barents News which aims to build
bridges and work for nuclear safety and
environmental co-operation across the Arctic parts
of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Karelia (Russia).
His commentary and lectures were eye-openers
indeed.
Harvest Prayer
Dear God,
each season brings something new
for us to see and enjoy.
With sunny days and rainy days, our crops
grow larger, fruits and vegetables ripen
ready for us to harvest.
Thank you for all the food we have to
eat and let us remember people
who may not have enough.
Help us to be kind to others in our
thoughts, words and deeds.
Amen
visited was humbling indeed. The main island is
dominated by an absolutely enormous monastery
complex dating from the 1430s. It was the monks
from there that set out the botanical gardens and
also built lesser churches or “hermitages” around
the islands. The monastery contains no less than
9 churches plus mills, workshops and so on. It
thrived until the time of Stalin, was then turned into
the first of the infamous GULAGs, fell into disrepair
during the Cold War, and now is being lovingly
restored.
Perhaps the most moving part of our two day visit
was that to one of the lesser churches at the top of
a wooded hill which had, during the time of the
GULAG, been used for unspeakably wicked
punishments of so called dissidents. The church
had been stripped of all its icons and prisoners
literally piled one on another to survive bitter cold
and near starvation. Those who misbehaved were
tied to a tree for 24hrs for the mosquitoes to attack
them or ultimately tied to a board and thrown down
the 300+ steps that lead down from the top. Our
guide explained all this pragmatically and sadly,
sharing the history of her people. She wore her
cross with dignity, free now to do so in a country
so long repressed, and showed us with pride the
beautifully restored icons and decorations which
are beginning to adorn the slowly restored places
of worship both there and in our final destination of
Archangel.
Entering the White Sea our journey continued
overnight, with many of us sitting up to watch the
mid-night sun dip to touch the horizon and rise
again. The next morning we reached the most
enigmatic part of our expedition – the Solovetsky
Islands. Ice-bound for about 7 months of the year,
this community is tiny and isolated and totally unused to tourists. As our bus bumped over the
unsurfaced roads to the Botanical Gardens we got
to know our guide for the next two days. This
serene woman had been sent to the islands to
teach in the Soviet era and had stayed and
married and now worked for the museum. She
was so nervous - yet she had no need to be. Her
calm explanation of the history of each part we
To see Christianity
emerging
from
such horror and
repression was a
thought-provoking
and
enr ic hi ng
experience.
The
Solovetsky Islands
are an ethereal
and
enigmatic
place and we are
blessed to have
experienced them.
Christine Curtis
9
4
From The Church Secretary
St Ives Free Church
I hope you have all had a pleasant few weeks now summer has
finally decided to visit us.
(United Reformed)
The recent Jubilympics quiz was a great success and raised
about £500 for the kitchen refurbishment. Many thanks go to
Margaret and Pat for the food and to Jim and Katherine Riddell
for masterminding the quiz, and all who came from our Church
and elsewhere.
Market Hill, St Ives PE27 5AL
www.stivesfreechurch.org
Now we are getting ready for the autumn activities in church.
Members will be receiving voting papers for the Elder’s election,
so please consider this carefully. The Elders work hard to keep
everything running smoothly; overseeing pastoral care, finances,
ensuring worship takes place and a host of other things. We
need your help and support to do this. One way of doing this is by being willing to stand and
serve as an Elder. Have a think about how you can serve and support our church. Don’t be
afraid to come and ask questions, or put forward bright ideas.
Fundraising
Birthday Ceilidh
for
The Carers and Tots group will recommence as soon as the school term starts, and soon we will
have some new people helping with this.
Our Thursday discussion meeting will get going again soon, come and enjoy some lively and
thought provoking debates.
Suitably refreshed after our summer break let’s all work together to witness and serve our local
community through our church.
Barbara
FENSTANTON UNITED REFORMED CHURCH
CHEQUER STREET
INVITES YOU TO
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST COFFEE MORNING
IN AID OF MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT
FRIDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2012
10-00AM –12NOON
BRING AND BUY TABLE AND RAFFLE
DONATIONS FOR THE ABOVE TO
28 BELL LANE FENSTANTON
WORK AID
If you are sorting out
your shed or workshop
and have any tools
surplus to your
requirements please
donate them to
WORK AID
Please bring them along to
Fenstanton United Reformed
Church, Chequer Street
on Saturday 22nd September
from 10-00am –2-00pm
Thank you
on
Friday 5th October
At
7.00pm
Adults £5 Children free
Bring a plate of food to share (sweet or savoury)
Celebrating the 40th birthday of the
United Reformed Church
Tickets available from Just Sharing and the Church Office
All proceeds/profits will go to Christian Aid UK charity number 1105851 Company number 5171525
Scotland charity number SC039150 Northern Ireland charity number XR94639 Company number
NI059154 Republic of Ireland charity number CHY 6998 Company number 426928’
5
8
It’s “Blue Suit Time” again!
As most of you know, a major part of my
ministry in Retirement, has been as a
chaplain to the Air Training Corps. This was
not something I sought out but, twenty one
years ago, I was confronted with something I
could not refuse (this is often the way the
Holy Spirit works).
arrangements for him should he prefer not to
attend. His reply was that he was quite happy
to attend with the rest of the camp. We used
an order of service from a booklet prepared
for the Armed Forces “in the field.” I checked
with him later and he said that there was
nothing he found to be offensive (So much for
perceptions of other
Faiths!)
This is my
invariable experience
with cadets or staff of
“other faiths.”.
For seven years I served
with No 231 (Norwich)
Squadron and, since
retiring from full time
ministry in 1998 with 2331
(St Ives) Squadron and
Only one of the cadets
successively
as
had seen me before, But
Bedfordshire
and
within 24 hours they
Cambridgeshire Wing
were relaxed enough to
Chaplain and Central and
come and chat in the
East Region Chaplain – in
few free moments.
the latter post with
Perhaps
the
best
oversight
of
more
example
of
this
cha pl a ins
t hat
t he
comfortable relationship
Chaplain in Chief of the
was in the training
Royal Air Force – I am
hangar with limited time.
now once more back as a squadron chaplain. Not everyone could be winched into the cabin
of a helicopter. The cry went up “Sir must be
When asked what I do. My usual answer is “I taken up!” and I was carried back forty years
don’t know, but I must be doing something to a time when this was part of my job.
right because they want me to come back!” In
July I spent a week at RAF Valley in Anglesey More of “What I do” will be public on 9th
– if there is such a thing as a typical camp September when cadets from “my” squadron
this probably qualifies and offers some will join us for morning worship, as we
observe a significant event in the history of
answers to the question.
the RAF, and indeed our nation
- our
I arrived on Friday – to see the station deliverance from invasion in 1940. This has
Chaplain and to be there when cadets arrived now become a regular entry in the Squadron
on Saturday. I was greeted by the Camp diary and its wider relevance is shown by the
Commandant with “Roy, I need your number of RAF ties and “wings” brooches
professional advice.” One of the cadets was (I that appear in church.
quote) “Devout” and needed facilities for
morning and evening prayers and to know In this context I invite all who are entitled to
which way was east. This was straightforward do so, to wear “Medals, Orders and
as the room allocated to him faced east/west Decorations” as a sign of our identification
and east was towards his door. Halal food with past, present and future members of the
was the responsibility of the Catering Royal Air Force.
department and if the variety provided was
somewhat limited he ate well all week. On
arrival I took the young man aside and
explained the arrangements we had made for
him to practice his faith. I also said that there
would be a church service the following
morning, and offered to make other
Roy Muttram
Kitchen Fund Raising
To date we have raised several hundred pounds to help
pay for the new kitchen. Since mid-summer, we have had
cake stalls on the first Monday of the month, with people
from the church baking the cakes for the stall. Pat, our
Catering Manager, has also made several of her delicious
bread puddings, which always go well.
Our Jubilee-Olympic Quiz was a great success with Jim
and Katherine Riddell’s expertise and support. The food,
as usual, was enjoyed very much, and the raffle raised a
good amount of money.
Thank you everyone who contributed towards making
the evening a success.
The Lunch-time concerts have been a delight, Brian and Felicity doing us proud with great music. The
most recent concert, on Friday 3rd August, was a great success, with wonderful music selected with
great care by Bev Budd on clarinet, with the St Ives String Quartet.
After the first Kitchen Koncert (excuse the spelling, it was
deliberate, so as to be eye-catching) at which there were,
tea, coffee and cakes, we decided to make the occasion
more of a lunch. So we added savoury sandwiches to the
menu – along with a glass of Sangria to bring a bit of
summer to St Ives. Adults and children alike seemed to
enjoy their repast very much.
More Lunch-time concerts are in the planning. The COSI
AND Tapestry groups will be treating us to concerts in the
autumn and also in the New Year.
So please look out for these events and support our church’s Fund Raising efforts.
"Quiet Day- Little Gidding
Saturday Sept 29th 10am-5pm
Fenstanton United Reformed Church
Saturday 15th September
10am—4pm
VINTAGE/CLASSIC CARS &
TRACTORS
In the Church:
penny farthing cycle
antique dolls and prams
spinning wheel demonstration
Knitting, lace, quilting,
card and paper craft
hand or head massage (for a small
charge)
handmade crafts and jewellery...
investigate local history, and lots
moreT..
REFRESHMENTS ON SALE ALL DAY
Entrance Fee just £1.00
(Children free with an adult)
Dear Friends, once again there is the
opportunity to meet in this beautiful
setting where we are carefully looked
after. This usually gentle day can
encompass various interests or walks or
meditation or simply being.
The cost is £24, specific dietary
requirements met, transport arranged.
There are 24 places and a number
remain. Please do let John or Gerry know
if you are interested or sign the list on the
landing. A flexible written programme will
be given to you before the day. If you
have not been before, do please consider
it. You would be so welcome. Gerry
Swain & John Williams
7
6
“Olympic Report”
David, Claire and I enjoyed two wonderfully
exciting visits to the Olympic park in the final week
of the Games. Everything was so well organised
that we could have had an extra hour in bed on the
day we went to the morning athletics session, as
there was no sign of the predicted queues to go
through security. The young soldier did say David
was behaving suspiciously as he emptied his
pockets, but still let him in! Even the travel was
remarkably simple. Huntingdon to Kings Cross,
over the road to St. Pancras for the Javelin train to
Stratford which only took seven minutes, a total
journey time of 1 1/2 hours. The volunteers were
so friendly and helpful, even at the station as soon
as Claire was spotted in her wheelchair we were
all directed to lifts
and ramps appeared
to put us on the train.
Our Olympic Experience
As you would expect there were so many people
from so many different nations, all were smiling
and having a great time. We were seated next to
an elderly gentleman and his son who lived a few
miles down the road. They were so proud of the
redevelopment of the old contaminated wasteland,
which they had watched grow into the Olympic site
and new shopping centre. At the end of the
session the elderly gentleman leaned across and
asked “did you enjoy what you’ve seen? Such
good seats halfway along the 100 yards” and
smiled.
Our second visit was two days later to the
woman’s bronze medal hockey match. Great
Britain was playing
New Zealand. It
was
a
hot
af ter noo n
and
umbrellas
were
being used for sun
shades instead of
rain.
There was
lots of music and
razzmatazz before
the game started
and
wh en
a
penalty corner was
given or a goal was
scored, creating a
d i f f e r e n t
atmosphere to that
in the stadium.
More flag waving and cheering as GB won 3-1.
We shared the stand with the Duchess of Cornwall
that afternoon who stood and cheered as well,
before meeting the GB team after the match.
The park was a
super mix of iconic
venues and open
spaces, a riverside
walk, multiple areas
for refreshments and
a balconied media
area.
We spotted
Chris
Evans
interviewing Alistair
and
Jonathan
Brownlee, who won
gold and bronze in
the triathlon, for his
radio 2 breakfast show. In the stadium Patrick
Stewart was on the track being interviewed by Ben
Shepherd (TV sports presenter) as well as the gold
and silver medallists from the canoe slalom, who
posed for photos with the spectators. Wenlock,
the Olympic mascot tried the 100 metres but didn’t By the time you read this the Paralympic Games
will be underway. Let’s hope they are met with the
make the finishing line! Every seat was taken.
same support and enthusiasm. Often the attitude
When the competition started we waved our flags, is slightly different to the Paralympic athletes, still
we cheered and clapped, and the noise was tinged with “oh don’t they do well”. The reason
astounding. We saw the first Saudi Arabian woman they do so well is that they train just as hard, and
(Sarah Attar) allowed to compete at the Olympics, make the same sacrifices as the able bodied
in the 800 meters. Sarah was the only athlete to athletes to reach elite level and don’t just turn up
run all limbs covered and wearing a hijab, she was on the day! Channel 4 is covering the Paralympic
last but the whole stadium cheered her to the Games rather than the BBC. Tune in and enjoy, or
finish. The wonderful Mo Farah qualified for the why not apply for some tickets?
5000 metres final with relative ease and such a
fluent running style. At the same time the field Give thanks that we have been able to share all of
events, men’s Decathlon, pole vault and women’s this with the rest of the world, and it has all been a
hammer were also underway, so you had to pay great success. Now back to normal life!
attention to keep up. The GB hammer thrower
gave up ballet for athletics!
Barbara
Seven years ago GB were awarded the 2012 Olympics. Little did we know at
that time what a sense of pride and excitement we would feel once the games
got under way?
As the Olympic Torch made its way around the country visiting towns, villages &
rural communities it arrived in St Ives at 7.50am on Sunday 8th July. We left
home at 7am in the pouring rain to watch it arrive in St Ives. Lots of coaches
and outriders preceded the torch bearers and when the runners arrived it all
seemed to be over in a flash. But the atmosphere in the town was brilliant, as
thousands of people thronged the streets to see this momentous occasion.
The Opening Ceremony took us through the industrial revolution up
the present day and various aspects of British life were displayed
including NHS, comedy & music. The spectacular way the Olympic
Flame came together was a real triumph with a young person from
each of the 204 countries carrying a petal which became part of the
flame. An inspirational idea and every country will be able to take their
petal home with them after the closing ceremony. To see all the happy
athletes entering the stadium with their national flags waving at the
crowd was magnificent and all of them eager to get started in their own
sport.
Jim, Richard, Louise and I were lucky enough to obtain tickets for the
evening athletics on 3rd August. We arrived at the Olympic Park on the
dedicated Javelin service from St Pancras which took just six minutes to
arrive at Stratford. The Police, servicemen and women, volunteers and
helpers were all brilliant guiding us all the way into the park. They were
so friendly and helpful and were obviously very happy in their work and
enjoying their time at the park. This all helped to make the overall
experience really good. The meadow flower gardens were lovely and
bright and had been organised to flower over the period of the games.
We were awe struck as we entered the Athletics Stadium – after all
the build-up to the games we were there at last! We settled down into
our seats as the athletes began to enter the stadium for their warmups. The Olympic Flame was shining brightly and the compere for the
evening had us all competing to see who could clap and shout the
loudest – all very good fun. Then it was finally time for the events to
begin. We watched heptathlon events with Jess Ennis, shot put,
discus, long jump, 100m heats, men’s 1500m heats & ladies 10,000
metre final. So many medals for Team GB: 29 gold, 16 silver & 19
bronze, but we should celebrate the efforts, the training, the emotion
for all athletes taking part.
There was a rousing celebration of British music for the
Closing Ceremony and a real party atmosphere for the all the
athletes and spectators to enjoy. Then it was time for the
Olympic flag to be handed over to representatives of the Rio
games of 2016 and the Olympic Flame was slowly doused.
A wonderful two weeks that Britain should be proud of. By
the time you read this article the Paralympics will have
started and we wish all the athletes well.
Mary