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| http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-120803-olympic-moon-js-01.photoblog500.jpg This photo blows my mind. |
I am writing this post, congested up to the eyeballs. The runny eyeballs. Sneezes, incessant coughing and profound deafness. I cannot take any decongestants, as even the non drowsy ones render me completely senseless and zombified. ( Summer Cold )
Anyhoooo...OTD.
Weeks before, in the Staffroom, I had gasped in horror at the time I was being told by the person in charge ,who lives 40 miles away and doesn't REALLY know the area, at how we would be setting off hours before the torch was due to arrive at 12.24pm. A journey, which in real life takes ten minutes. Fifteen with a school. But the staff member would not be told. Said staff member wouldn't actually be standing around with the children for hours as they'd been invited into the venue for the day - with some of the children - Sport's Council Members I think. So OTD arrived. Grey, dismal, hammering it down. Most of the children were soaked through by the time they arrived at school.
They were excited. My colleague had brought festival strength tarpaulins for us to wear on top of our wellies and waterproofs. In mine, I looked JUST like an amoeba.
With brollies in hand we set off, HOURS too early for the journey straight down the road and arrived ten - fifteen minutes later. The organisers asked us why we were there so early? They hadn't even begun to set up yet! We nearly had mass death by reversing portaloo van. Did we turn round, make the ten minute journey back and had DVDs for an hour and a half or so? Did we heck. So once our DESIGNATED ( ie we could have arrived at 12.14pm and still had the same view ) areas were ready we settled down to watch - er - the traffic for two hours. Some of the children were blue with cold. A lot of parents had come along and actually, despite the awful weather, the kids were happy playing 'can we get a wave off the drivers?' game. Mostly they did, or a beep of the horns. I think it's because the driver's felt sorry for them!
I cannot impress on you enough at how hard it was raining. Finally, we craned our necks to see something in the distance. It was a bus. It was an Olympic bus. It told us we had so many minutes to wait!
Then some official looking cars, radio buses and a CocaCola bus came. CocaCola gave out frisbees to the children and bottles of freezing cold coke to the adults. With the lids removed for health and safety reasons. The bottles were special limited edition. They were FREEZING cold. So, we had no option but to try and drink it fast, to stop our hands getting frostbite, it was raining hard, we were getting cold from being in the wet for so long and now had the agony of a full bottle of FREEZING cold coke hitting the bladder. It dawned on me - that during all the nightly TV News bulletins I'd been avidly watching - the daily reports from various towns , the vision of excited crowds of people jigging up and down wasn't in actual fact due to the excitememnt of the Torch!
So finally the Torch was here, and after all the waiting, it was a blink and you'll miss it momement. but it was also magical. The crowds cheered. The lovely drowned rat carrier smiled and waved and it truly felt magical. I am glad we went. I managed to get a really clear photo. It doesn't show just how torrential the arin was though!
So the Olympics are finally upon us and for Team GB it had been a magnificent weekend. I have never been more at one with my sofa than this weekend. The Gold Medals that were won by Mo Farrah, Jessica Ennis, The ginger one who won the long jump and Andy Murray were so well deserved and so well cheered on from my living room. Not to mention the hours I have put in watching the rowing, the cycling, the gymnastics and the swimming. The weightlifting has been watched by my Hunter Gatherer when I'm making tea! I'm not that fussed about the weight lifting if I'm honest! Being on Twitter too is fantastic as we all live tweet the events. My Timeline was amazing during the 10,000m.
But I too won something this weekend! I am an avid follower of an amazing Blog/Website of Englishmum
She has giveaways and I have entered a couple with one of my hastily written poems so I didn't hestitate to enter one for her Paul Hollywood review and post. No, not him, but his book. You are too late to enter now as I FLIPPING WON, but here is the post - http://englishmum.com/review-how-to-bake-by-paul-hollywood-and-a-spare-to-give-away.html
Anyway as soon as I had finished reading the post I had bread related words flying round my head. Here are the entries. But was makes this so fantastic is the interaction, especially off Sue ( who should have won I think! ) , it really made me laugh. So enjoy. I have full permission off Englishmum to recreate the tense competition for the prize! The Spelling Mistake was entirely intentional!
- A Compotition Entry Poem about Bread.
- There once was a time I did needst,
To concoct a poem about yeast,
It had to be funny
To be on the money.
This competition is policed! - Englishmum wants a poem about bread.
These are the words in my head!
It started off as one style
And it’s taken a while
But now it needs putting to bed.
I do love a good book and him of the telly,
My kitchen could be Miss Radio’s deli,
How fantastically good
To get my mitts on Paul Hollywood.
He’s one foxy beast
Who is wicked with yeast!
I could cook up a feast
Some bread at the least
I Live in the West not the East.
I have now run out of rhyming words.
Alice Clarke says:
Rachel wins – I’m half-baked anyway!
You have to “sing” this to the tune of “Maria” from “The Sound of Music”!
How do you beat a poem by Ms Radiostar?
How do you make it better than Rachel?
She’s already won the book
But I’d really like to look
At the lovely photos of the bread inside!
How do you make a treacle tart for supper?
How do you bake a grape and stilton loaf?
I’d like to see the way
I’d like to see him play
With yeast and cheese and honey and lavender too!
How do you win a book by Mr Hollywood?
How do you show that book is really yours?
It’s needed where I live
You really ought to give
This lovely book to me to try it too!
Sue
Oh Sue! Bravo! I did say I could be runner up … But if I had won ( to the tune in My fair Lady
I could have baked all night
I would have baked all night
And still have baked some more
I could have oiled my tins
And baked a dozen things
And still I’d bake some more.
I never knew
Poemwars could be exciting
I always knew I’d never win for sure
I’ll only know when she
Begins to email me
If I will bake, bake baaaaaaaake
All night!
I thank you Rachel all poemed out Radiostar!! ( 4 mins 45 )
Superbakingpastrymakingthisismostdelicious,
Even though the sound of it is making me mendacious ,
Who will win this lovely book is up to hostess Becky,
I am giving up this poem now, I’ll check back after brekky!
Sue
Fabulous poems and songs ladies you have made me laugh, the Olympic spirit is strong in you both! Shame there can’t be two winners
Angela
So, that's it for today folks - another whopper post! Now I'm off for a mooch round and a comment or two on my favourite blogs. I can't peg out or get in the garden today - so it'll nicely fill in the time till the Olympics start again! What about you?
The lady who won this great book
ReplyDeleteA poet with clearly great luck
She bakes bread and cake
Tarts and pies she does make
She is a fabulous cook!
Olympics? What's that then?
ReplyDeleteJane x