Did I miss the boat at the flotilla event? (From York Press)
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Did I miss the boat at the flotilla event?
12:11pm Friday 31st August 2012 in Letters By Reader's letter
I LOVE living in York and I’m disappointed we couldn’t have made the same effort for the Paralympic torch as we did for the Olympic torch.
Also, I would like to comment on the flotilla on Sunday. We were at the Millennium Bridge along with other spectators waiting for the flotilla to begin and to see the Paralympic torch sail down the river at the head of the parade.
No one knew what was happening. Eventually, I spotted a man dressed casually, wearing a life jacket, carrying a small lantern with a flame within. Was that the flame?
There was no grandeur and no attention. He carried it like a carrier bag. He walked along the bridge to the other side with the flame, where he boarded a canoe.
A while later, the highlight was then seeing the Lord Mayor zoom under the bridge in a boat waving at everyone. Well done, that man. We then waited some more, and then walked alongside the river towards town.
We watched the boats and clapped the efforts owners had made to decorate them. They were great, but I can’t help feeling something was missing. I wanted more decorated boats and bands playing loudly on the riverside and nice stalls, etc.
Did I miss them?
L Beck, Westwood Terrace, York.
Comments(5)
sheps lad
says...
9:44am Sat 1 Sep 12
Friedrich Hayek
says...
4:12pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Then you can satisfy your fire craving.
Let me know what you think.
old_geezer
says...
5:40pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Some boaters visited York for the original date, and were never going to come back. One of the big York Boats was to have a choir aboard singing a new celebratory piece; this was transferred to the Minster.
But the biggest obstacle to making a spectacle was that unlike the Thames pageant, no decision was made to close the Ouse for a single afternoon, which would have enabled a real flotilla effect. There were even small hire boats dangerously pottering about.
Magicman!
says...
12:43am Sun 2 Sep 12
Friedrich Hayek wrote:I'd rather you use the napaam to set fire to Sillybillies' lawn!! ;-)
If you pay for the raw materials, I'll make some napalm and set your lawn on fire.
Then you can satisfy your fire craving.
Let me know what you think.
I hadn't been up all night 'planning it', it took all of about 30 seconds to come to me as I was writing a comment.
The river could have been closed to hire boats, and York Boat still could have traded for the afternoon with their tour boats, as long as they had only been travelling the same direction as the floatilla
Magicman! says...
3:44am Sat 1 Sep 12
The Paralympic Flame should have come to York on the train in the miners lantern, then outside the station it should have then been used to light up one of the silver paralympic cheesegraters in front of a crowd, with a number of specially-chosen disabled persons carrying it from the train station over ouse bridge and along coney street and museum street to the river, where it then boards a boat because the floatilla had been planned ahead to be on the same day (instead of being 4 days out).... then later in the day (or even the next day) it goes onto the open top bus, but starts off in the miners lantern but lights a specially adapted paralympic cheesegrater that is affixed to the back of the top deck of the bus with a little wind shield around it.