Place: Ludgate Hill, London.
Date: September 10, 2012.
Camera: Sony DSC-HX20V.
I couldn't have picked a better time to invest in a new point-and-shoot camera. Today, as I stood a good 30 to 40 people back in a laneway off Ludgate Hill, I managed to snap these photographs — in the gap between buildings — as float after float sailed down the street as part of today's Team GB parade.
I don't know where all these people came from. Most were clearly office workers, but there were obviously people who had turned up especially, all dressed up in red, white and blue, and waving Union Flags and cheering and chanting and blowing whistles. As if there weren't enough people on the ground, there were people standing on balconies and rooftops...
... and hanging out of office windows. Many of the floats went by and I didn't have a clue who anyone on board
was, although I clocked that each float was dedicated to a particular
discipline — for example, cycling, rowing, track and field — with both
Olympic and Paralympic athletes mingling on board.
Nicola Adams — the first female boxer to win a gold medal — was the first familiar face I recognised.
Closely followed by Greg Rutherford, long jump gold medallist, who turned and waved when a loud roar of recognition erupted on the other side of the street.
I was delighted to see Paralympic dressage star Lee Pearson on the equestrian float. Sadly, too many hands and heads were in the way for me to photograph any of the other horsey people, but I spied Mary King and Carl Hester.
I also spotted Sarah Storey, who won four gold medals in the Paralympic cycling, on a separate float. (She was standing next to Laura Trott.)
The highlight, however, was seeing Sir Chris Hoy (pictured right at the top of this post).
I only had an hour lunch-break, so I had to call it quits early. But later, in the office, we spied the Red Arrows zipping overhead as they left a trail of red, white and blue smoke over the Mall and Buckingham Palace, a fitting end to what has been quite a remarkable summer of sport.
