Olympic Torch - Accrington

Local man Colin Cooper at the beginning of his stretch to run with the torch. Whoever was in charge of deciding the route chose to have it going right past where I live so I was able to watch from my window which was handy :-)

I got a good closer up shot of the handover too - but I really liked being able to see the crowd cheering him on, and see it in a bit of context. There were so many cameras and it was really lovely to see the crowd get behind the torch bearers and support them. The rain held off too which was really good.

Lots of other shots from the day are here...

Colin is 77, and here is info he wrote about himself in case you want to know more about him...

In 1996 I was one of the founder members of a local environmental group called the Rishton Prospects Panel. I have been Treasurer, Secretary and now Project Coordinator. The Group has created a Community Garden; planted thousands of bulbs and numerous flower beds/planters; officially adopted and enhanced the look of the local railway station; created a picnic site and done other work along the canal towpath; carried out numerous litter picks and promoted Fairtrade and energy conservation.

We also work closely with other community groups on various quality of life projects in the village including a successful entry into Britain in Bloom. We recently assisted the Parks Dept in achieving Green Flag status for our local park. Last year we calculated our group achieved over 800 volunteer hours (equates to £6000). As I am 77 and retired, I was able to contribute 250 of these.