Monday 9 July 2012

Torch song

An Ode to the Torch of Olympus by Old Kitty

Last Saturday, the Olympic Torch did come
Through my home town with some aplomb!
Was I ready to cheer in the rain with the crowds?
NO I was not, as by heck I had my head stuck in the clouds!

J

Yes bloggie friends! By the time I raced through the streets to get a glimpse of the torch being carried through on its way to London, it was all over! LOL!

But here is a nice gallery of the torch passing through my little corner of Hertfordshire.

Charlie says: I have nice view of plant from here.


And so to make up for my lack of Olympian spirit, here is the view of the Olympic Stadium taken from the train window yesterday. It was raining Olympiad rain!


Have a fabulous week everyone!! I turn 44 on the 11 July!! Hooorah!

98 comments:

Mark said...

Bloody hell that stadium looks surprisingly unfinished. Happy early birthday :) I saw the Olympic flame but I felt really out of place. Everyone there was cheering and making noise and I just wanted it to quieten down. No chance of that happening.

Betsy Brock said...

Well, it's all exciting just the same! :)

and happy birthday early!!! 44? You're just a baby! ha.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Sorry you missed it! But with the Olympics right there, you'll still get to see some awesome stuff.

wildcatwoods said...

Too bad you missed the torch. I would have stayed away thinking there would be a crowd of people! Hope you get some sun this week!!!

Brian's Home Blog said...

Too bad you just missed the torch, that would have been fun to see. Howdy Charlie, I hope you are feeling okay pal. Happy early Birthday To your Mum!

Roxy said...

Very excited for the upcoming Olympics, Kitty. I've missed you and Charley. Celebrate big time on the 11th!

Rene said...

That's a cool photo, despite the rain. And yes, Charlie, you have a great view of that plant.

Katie Isabella said...

44? Ah, youth. XOXOXOX

Saku said...

They say the memory is the first thing to go, ;>) I figure it's because we have so much to remembr we haven't room for new things!

Happy almost birthday!!!

Eileen

Shawn said...

I enjoy watching the Olympics but would not fight a crowd to see the torch!! I'm with you, view the slides on the news!!!!
Have a great week.

Anonymous said...

The torch ran through my town of Mission Viejo CA back in 1986. That guy must be tired by now!

And have a very Happy Birthday. Do something crazy. Just don't get caught!

Theresa Milstein said...

Happy birthday, Old Kitty! Hurrah to you! xo

How cool you get to see the Olympic Stadium. Sorry you missed the torch. I once missed the elephants being walked through Cambridge (MA, in the US) on the way to Boston.) We screwed up the time.

They did the torch already????? When does this event begin???

Pasha's Mommy said...

Happy 44th birthday!
It's silly, but that rain looks so nice. It's just too hot here!

Helena said...

Happy birthday! I wish I were as young as you!

Years ago I had a chance to see the Olympic torch taken by runners through downtown Denver -- it was fun and inspiring. But my chance to see it lasted only a few minutes, so no wonder you missed it I hope you and Charlie have a grand time during the games.

Teresa Ashby said...

Love your ode!
I'd rather look at pictures of lovely Charlie than a torch :-)
Happy Birthday for the 11th xx

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Ah yes, I'm usually late to the party as well. Loved your ode.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

oh, oh!! And happy birthday!!!!!My birthday is a day before yours!! How awesome!! I hope you celebrate!!!

Anonymous said...

Have a lovely birthday!

Talli Roland said...

Happy almost birthday! Forty-four sounds very lucky.

Let's hope the Olympic rain lets up in time for the Games!

Fuzzy Tales said...

Too bad you missed the torch! I clicked the link and went to the page, then had some bizarre "red alert" type messages, so ended up leaving the page.

Happy birthday two days early. I hope you'll take the day off work. Seriously. I regret not doing that this year, even though I took the following Friday. Not the same. Take the day off and make it a special celebration! :-)

Hannah and Lucy said...

Mum wondered if you are going to go to any events at the Olympics Jenn?
If you do probably a wet suit might be the best thing to wear if this weather carries on. Charlie we think the best place to be is inside having several snoozes.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Happy birthday in advance, Jenn! Enjoy your special day!

The Olympic Stadium looks so big and beautiful, even in the rain.
I'm hoping to visit London in autumn ...hope the weather will be nice then!

Unknown said...

I can't wait for the olympics to start!

Jemi Fraser said...

Happy early birthday! :)

We almost decided not to go see the flame when it came through our city for the last winter Olympics in Vancouver. It was freezing and blizzardy - but we trudged to see it anyway. too bad you missed it! :)

Lydia Kang said...

Happy early birthday! And hooray for the torch!

William Kendall said...

An early happy birthday to you!

When the torch went through Canada before the last winter games, it passed through my parents' home town. We went to go see it.

The Furries of Whisppy said...

Ooooohh...the Olympic is getting really near! How exciting!!
Hey Charlie, is that a pot of rosemary? :)

cleemckenzie said...

Sorry you missed the torch. The Olympics are always so exciting to look forward to.

Glad Charlie had important things to enjoy, like his plants. I admire the way he prioritizes.

Here's to London rainy days.

Stina said...

The Winter Olympics came to my city when I was in university. Even though I was majoring in physical education, I wasn't excited about it--until I saw the hot athletes wondering around the local mall. Man, did I get excited after that. :D

KarenMcG said...

Sorry you missed the torch passing, Old Kitty. Great photo, though, of the stadium.

And that Charlie; he always manages to get a good vantage point of everything.

KarenMcG said...

Sorry you missed the torch passing, Old Kitty. Great photo, though, of the stadium.

And that Charlie; he always manages to get a good vantage point of everything.

Marg said...

Oh too bad you missed the torch. That is so exciting that your train goes right by one of the Olympic places.
Charlie you are looking good. How is the chewing going??
Have a great day.

Anonymous said...

It's your b-day week. Happy birthday!

Eek, all that rain.

Carol Kilgore said...

My cousin's birthday is July 11, too. Happy Birthday!

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

Wishing you a very happy (early) birthday!!! Hope the day is very special for you.

Hello handsome Charlie.

purrs
>^,,^<
♥Abby♥Boo♥Ping♥Jinx♥Grace♥

LynNerdKelley said...

Aw, happy birthday in two days, you whippersnapper, you! How exciting to have the Olympics so close to you! I remember years ago when the torch ran through streets in So. Calif. and one was through Fullerton where we lived at the time. It was soooooo cool, and people were riding bikes behind and walking, decked out in red, white & blue clothes. I took a few pictures. Not sure where I put them, but one was of a kid maybe ten years old holding a toilet plunger up high with a red cloth sticking out of the top for the flame. That was pretty funny! Hope you have a wonderful birthday, OC!

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

My nephew carried the torch in his town. His parents were pretty proud. :)

Have a wonderful birthday. I hope you are doing something smashing like you did last year.

Cezar and Léia said...

ConCATulations for the 11 July, it's a special day!
Lovely pictures!
Luna - WE LOVE LUNA

Al said...

Happy Birthday (in advance)

Al said...

happy birthday (in advance)

Anonymous said...

Oh paw you! Glad Charlie is enjoying the flora.
Our next door neighbour carried the torch when it arrived from Saltash to Plymouth.
We got to hold it when he brought it round to our house! Before then I'd been less interested until I heard that he was involved :O)

Anonymous said...

Oh wow Happy Birthday you young kitty ;O)

PK HREZO said...

How exciting watching the torch!! Sure looks rainy there tho. :(

HAPPY (early) BDAY!!! All the best! Go out and celebrate! :D

Golden Eagle said...

Happy early Birthday, Old Kitty! :)

It was interesting to see the picture of the stadium--looks impressive, even despite the rain!

Soggibottom said...

Have a great birthday tomorrow :-) All those candles that Charlie has to help you blow out.
Have a great day kid :-) :-) :-)
lots of love
x x x

Mariodacat said...

Happy Birthday. It's nice to meet you Charlie. Brian suggested I stop by to visit because I've also had extensive dental work and have no teeth. My toothie story is in my blog at http://mariodacat.blogspot.com Just look for the tab at the top of the page. I was diagnosed with stomatitis, a little different than your diagnosis. But, the end result is the same - we had to have all out teeth pulled. If I can be of any help to you, please let me know. Leave a message on my blog and I'll get an email message. If you do leave a message, leave it under the last post rather than the one about the toothie story so I get it right away.

Pip said...

Happy almost birthday, Old Kitty!

Me finks Charlie deserves a treat acause it's almost your birthday. Just sayin'
Love, TK

klahanie said...

Oh yeah, evidently the 'summer' Olympics are here very soon.
Shame you missed the torch. With all the cold, miserable weather, might have been good to warm yourself from the glow of the flame!
I was slightly cryptic when I sort of mentioned my birthday. However, go for it and have a lovely birthday on the 11th of July. Which is, cause I'm still awake, is right NOW!
See ya later, eh
x

Ellen Whyte said...

We agree with TK and Squashies! Happy Early Birthday to you today, and also Happy Unbirthday to you!

Jacqueline said...

Happy Birthday, beautiful Jenn!...Wishing you a Personal New Year filled with great health and tremendous joy, lovely friend...So sorry your precious Charlie is having health difficulties; hoping for a quick recovery from the dental surgery, keeping him in my daily prayers in hopes he is 100% ASAP...Thank you for the love and kindness you share with your wonderful comments; you are a special lady and adorable Charlie is lucky to have you for his Mum...Best of luck to you both, sending love and big hugs...J, Calle, Halle, Sukki

Pip said...

Happy real birthday, Old Kitty. We hopes you has a great day!
Love, TK,Squashies, and TKMom

Pip said...

Happy birthday, Old Kitty. We hope you have a wo derful day today!
Love, TK, Squashies, and TKMom

Maggie May said...

Charlie, we are purring and purraying very hard for you and your dental surgeries. Lots of hugs and love to you!!
XOXO
Maggie May and The Creek Cats

Lovable Lily said...

I see Charlie that it's your birthday ~ We wish you all the best with many kitty treats.

We're sorry tho to hear about your dental issues. We will keep our paws crossed for you.

Hugs,
Lily Belle & Muffin

Random Felines said...

We hear the v-e-t is gonna steal the rest of your teeths....don't worry Charlie - we know you will feel so much better and it won't slow you down at all. :) We will be sending purrs.....

Angel MoMo and Charlotte said...

Happy birthday! Heard about Charlie's dental work. Hope all goes well. I can't send purrs anymore since MoMo went to the Bridge last month.

Brian's Home Blog said...

Happy Birthday Old Kitty!!!! I hope you have a special day and we all think you are special. Mega-purrs to dear Charlie too.

Jans Funny Farm said...

We stopped by to leave some purrs and pawhugs for you and Charlie over his dental surgeries.

Hart Johnson said...

Oh, MAN! That's exactly how it would have happened to me. I totally can't pay enough attention to get someplace at a certain time...

SuziQCat said...

Very exciting! I remember when the torch came through my neighborhood heading for the Atlanta games...so great to be a part of history.

We are sending purs to Charlie, and hope that the teeth removal will be the answer to his health problems.

Fuzzy Tales said...

A very happy birthday, Jennifer! We hope you're having a GREAT day!

LTM said...

raining olympiad rain--hahahaha! What a funny thing to say. I wish it would rain here. Just a little bit. :p

Glad you're feeling better. Sorry you missed the torch! <3

Tamago said...

Happy birthday!!
I hope your dental will go well on Jul 20 and get better quickly.

meowmeowmans said...

Sorry you missed the torch! I remember seeing it in 1986 in Los Angeles (I grew up there).

Happy birthday, (not so) Old Kitty!

Sorry to hear about Charlie's calicivirus. We are purring and praying that the dental work helps him feel better.

Hugs to you both.

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

Happy birthday to you!!!! I hope you are having a fantastic day. Wishing you everything wonderful!

And so exciting that the Olympic fun is in your backyard! Thanks for the photos.

LynNerdKelley said...

Happy Birthday, OC! Here's to a good time! Hope you and Charlie have a great time celebrating.
Here's a BD song for you:
http://youtu.be/MjF1bG5LUcs

the writing pad said...

Happy Birthday Old Kitty!! So sorry you missed the torch - great pic from the train window - I wonder if they'll try to adjust any rainy weather for the Olympics? I believe they can use aircraft to drive the clouds away - with my luck, they'll all fetch up on Wales :-)

Angel Ginger Jasper said...

Hello my friend. I just heard that you were sick and having your teeth out. I came to say I am sorry because I didnt know. I had mine done last year and so send my sympathy my friend. I will be purring so hard for you and hope to hear you are home and tip top real soon. I just saw its your mum's birthday today and say Happy Birthday to your mum. Our Jamie bean has a birthday today too and is 12 today.. Hugs GJ xx

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

Happy, happy birthday!!!! Today is the 11th!!!!!!!

I just heard that Charlie is not doing well? OMG....I am hoping he will be ok!!!!!!!!

Please install the "follow by email" option on your blog so that I don't miss anything!
xoxoxo

Words A Day said...

happy birthday to you:)
Have a good one x
Buy some lovely shoes!

Pip said...

Dear Charlie, I sure hopes you does ok wifout your teefies. (Me has a secret, me not has too many teefies either, and I does ok... cept for crunchies, which me not gets too much anymore.)

Kari said...

We've come over from Ginger Jasper's bloggie to wish you well in your surgery. You are in our prayers, dear, and will be until you are well again. All of our love.

Alastriona, The Cats and Dogs said...

Happy Birthday Charlie!!!

We heard that you were losing some teeths and wants to offer purrs of comfort and healing.

Oui Oui said...

Hi Charlie! We saw you needed some purrs, so we stopped by to add ours. We hope everything goes well and you're doing better soon, we're purring for you!

Unknown said...

Hi Charley!
Mes is visiting because me heard about your teeths! Having them all taken is awful!
Me is 1 Lucky cat! Me has seen the torch when the Winter Olympics was in Vancouver, they ran through our town and me gots to see it!
And
♥❄♥¸.•*´♡♥❇★♡♥☆`*•.¸♥❄♥❄♥¸.•*♡
♥❇★♡♥ HAPPY BIRTHDAY ☆*•.¸♥❄♥
Kisses
Nellie

Karen Jo said...

I love your poem, Old Kitty. Charlie, we hope you are feeling better. Happy Birthday!

The Monkeys said...

We are all purring that Charlie's extractions go well and he adjusts perfectly!

HH and The Boys said...

Happy Birthday. I too and new to your blog. Hope you have a great birthday.

hugs, Max, Bugsy and Knuckles

the teacher's pets said...

I am here because your good friend at Cat Chat mentioned that Charlie was going to have all of his teeth pulled soon and I am heartbroken for him. I hope he manages to get through the pain with flying colors and that he will recover quickly.

Kjelle Bus aka Charlie Rascal said...

Hi there !
We where sent over to you from Cat chat :)
Wish you a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!

Lakeland adventures with Lola and Milo said...

Hi I've just come over from cat chat with Caren & Cody I'm sorry to hear about Charlie having to have his all his teeth removed.

Happy birthday & take care.

Sheba.

Terri said...

We are visiting from Fuzzy Tails. I volunteer at a rescue and clean the FIV kitties' home. We have one kitty who has no teeth. He does fine on canned food and just needs his mouth wiped off occasionally :) We are sending lots of purrs your way, Charlie.

wildcatwoods said...

Brian got a call from Marg that her power was out but she is OK! Her phone may be back on today and hopefully internet soon.

Marg said...

Hi there Charlie and Jenn. We are back online. Thank COD. Now we are worried about Charlie. We are sending tons of purrs that he will do all right with the teeth coming out. He will be able to eat just fine probably pretty soon after the surgery. The donkeys are not only crossing their hooves but sending lots of hee haws.

Noir the Texas Tabby said...

Well---all the way down the street from Dallas--we all wish your the bestest of birthdays! Get lots of ice cream so sweet dude Charlie can lick it! And for mancat Charlie--all our purrs and whiskers go out to him (and you for takin' such good care of him!)....as for the Olympics..you're gonna have a TON of stories!!!

Take care!

Noir

dArtagnan Rumblepurr/Diego Hamlet Moonfur said...

I hope you're doing ok, Mister Charlie. We're very worried for you and sending lots of purrs.

Esme said...

Ikes I cannot believe I missed your birthday. Happy Birthday-we are just days apart. Charlie, I hope that your teeth heel well.

Claudia Zurc said...

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, JENNIFER!!!
I hope you had a lovely Bday. Thank you for sharing that pic of the stadium. Even though you missed seeing the torch, at least you can say it passed by your city ;)

Jennifer Shirk said...

Happy belated Birthday, girl! Hope it was fantastic!

Jennifer Shirk said...

Happy belated Birthday, girl! Hope it was fantastic!

Jans Funny Farm said...

Oops. We forgot to wish you a Happy Birthday when we were by the other day. Hope it was a great one!

RaShelle Workman said...

Happy birthday!!! We're close to the same age.

Carolyn Abiad said...

Happy belated birthday!

mshatch said...

Happy Birthday, Old Kitty, and many more :)

Karen Jones Gowen said...

What an exciting time for you all. It's so very cool to have the Olympics going on in your area.

Angel Prancer Pie said...

We think you probably had the best view, Charlie. Have a good weekend. xoxo

Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty said...

Oh, exciting! Sorry you missed the Olympic torch.

Anonymous said...

I flew over London for the first time about 2 weeks ago on my way back to Canada and saw the stadium from above.
London must buzzing like mad right about now.