Olympics sculpture

Near the cathedral there is an Olympics sculpture, a little bit camouflaged in this photo maybe

More Olympic Torch!

More photos from the Olympic cavalcade that passed by Hyde Street in Winchester yesterday.

Olympic Torch in Winchester!

I was amazingly excited today when the torch came past the end of my road, even teenage son got out of bed for it!

There was a large cavalcade of police motorcycles, bikes, cars, publicity trucks etc and finally the flame, and it passed so quickly! I'm not sure that the person carrying the torch was anyone famous (despite my son saying 'It's Orlando Bloom' !)

If you're feeling terribly bored here's a video of the route from Reading to Winchester, with the last few minutes of it coming through Hyde in Winchester.


torch relay video

Olympics are coming!

 

On Wednesday the Olympic torch passes through Winchester, infact right past the bottom of my road! Here at the Cathedral they are obviously setting up for the arrival of the flame with a number of Olympic Flags. I have been working on the Olympics since 2010, and to say I have Olympic fatigue is not an understatement! However I really am quite excited about the torch coming here and the games themselves, I have even taken the day off work om Wednesday to try to see the torch!

Keeping fit

I think this is part of the Forces Fit who run outdoor military fitness classes delivered by serving/ex serving members of the armed forces. I needed a nice sit down with a cup of tea after the exertion of watching them!

Skaters

The ice rink in action this afternoon, pretty quiet which is good as skating with a whole bunch of people is not fun! The Independent newspaper has recently voted Winchester Ice Rink as the 2nd best in Britain!

More Ice Rink

Another photo from the Ice Rink, pre-ice by the looks of things. Winchester last year was selling itself as the England's Christmas capital, and with the Christmas market, services and carols at the cathedral, pantomime etc it has a lot going on!

Ice Rink is coming

 

The Ice Rink is now being set up in the Cathedral grounds. It always seems very popular and opens on 24 November until 2 Janaury. I have been before and would like to go again if I could find a quiet session. Tickets cost up to £9.95 for an adult

Rugby

Over at the North Walls Recreation Park we have a rugby pitch for the Winchester Rugby Club. The club has many teams, senior, kids, teens, girls. The club was founded in 1929, initially based in Kings Worthy (a village just to the north of Winchester) until 1971 when they purchased their current 10 acre ground.

Football Ground

 

This is Winchester City Football Club's ground taken yesterday evening.The club was formed in 1884. The club's nickname is The Capitals and comes from Winchester being the ancient capital of Wessex and then England, before some place called London took over!

Cycle 4 Life & 1st anniversary

1 year ago today I started this blog! I must admit in September and October 2010 the 'daily' aspect was a bit lacking, but after this false start I have published a photo every day, bar one when my modem broke! I still feel there are many more things to photograph here especially as so far the blog has been very central Winchester orientated! So here's to the next 365 days and thank you to everyone who has ever dropped by the blog and to anyone who has taken the time to comment, it's really appreciated!

Back to today's photo.. yesterday I got totally drenched at the Cycle 4 Life sportive in aid of Cancer Research. It was a 25km, 50km or 100km cycle ride - I chose the 25km! The weather was horrible, pouring with rain and cold, not great cycling weather! The event even had its own celebrity taking part - Les Ferdinand, ex England, Tottenham & QPR footballer.

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River Park Leisure Centre

River Park Leisure Centre here in Winchester has a gym, workout classes, courts and pitches, a swimming pool and cafe.

Under 1 year to go..

It is now under 1 year to go until the London 2012 Olympics, despite best efforts, and despite actually working on the Olympics project I have only managed to get tickets to see a football match and that's not even at the Olympics park! Anyway...in honour of the countdown here is a photo from Winchester Sports Stadium. Owned by the University of Winchester the Winchester Sports Stadium opened in 2008. The Stadium’s Athletics track comprises an eight-lane track and field sports facilities, an all-weather pitch which is suitable for hockey and football. The stadium put itself forward as a pre-Olympics training ground and had interest from the Tunisian Para-Olympic team.

Nets

During the open day of the Dean's Garden a couple of weekends ago I wandered past some cricket nets which I believe belong to Pilgrims School. These are used to practice bowling and batting for cricket.

Mini Golf

The Hat Fair seems to have something for everyone, if you're not into the street entertainment how about some mini golf by the Cathedral!

Francis

In the Cathedral there are numerous memorials in the walls and floors to various people connected to Winchester. I am not into fishing myself but here is a memorial to angler Francis Francis who died in 1886. He was angling editor to The Field, and his most famous work was "A Book on Angling" published 1867. He also played an important part in introducing English trout to the rivers of Tasmania and New Zealand. He apparently used to regularly frequent the Royal Winchester Hotel with other fly fishers of the River Itchen.

A Sum of £67 2s 6d was raised in 1887 by his close angling friends and a memorial plaque was erected in the Cathedral where it remains in place to remind the fishing fraternity of his contribution to their sport.

Canoe Event

Yesterday canoeists from all over the country descended on North Walls Park to take part in the Winchester and and District Canoe Club, Novice and Open Short course Slalom Competition. There appeared to be all ages taking part, and the photo above shows children's canoes that were for sale. I think it could be quite fun - apart from the falling in bit!

Winchester 10K

The Winchester 10K road race took place this morning from the North Walls Recreation Ground. Here's a photo of some of the entrants, I particularly like the guy in the Mr Lazy t-shirt!