Today was the day when the Olympic flame passed through Woodbridge at long last.

Out of the six bearers who were carrying the torch through our town, it was particularly nice that it should be a Woodbridge resident – Clive Coles – who was selected to bear the Olympic flame from the town centre and up the Ipswich Road right past my house this afternoon.  Clive was nominated to be a bearer  because of his work with the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH). In the past he has also volunteered in Sri Lanka to help with the rebuilding of communities after the Tsunami, helping to refurbish a boys home and to boost moral in the Displacement camp and local schools.

A huge and enthusiastic crowd  turned out to greet him at the top of the hill. It was a wonderful sunny afternooon ,  and everyone was waving their flags and cheering his ‘moment to shine.’

“I was reallocated to this final section as there was a built in contingency slot that did not need to be filled. So Jo Linklake, who was far fitter ran my original leg as well as his own and I was moved to the final leg“, Clive tells me.  “My torch is now off to Witnisham on saturday for the alternative Torch relay. It will be raising money for EACH. A donation in a bucket for a photo. The communities have really come together ~ it’s great.”  Congratulations, Clive!

The other Woodbridge torchbearers were Claire Marritt, Eily Buffone, Emily Gentry, Joe Kinglake and Mustafa Javadi

Its a deep old road with no pavements – but there was a cheering crowd waiting for him at the top