Love it or hate it, the Olympics are coming to London.  However, for a little town in Shropshire the spirit of the Olympics are held every year.  Wenlock Olympian Society is a volunteer group that started back in 1850 by the local Dr William Penny Brookes.  I could go into a huge dissertation about the society as I’m a very proud member  but please check out the link for more information.

Today, the Olympic torch came through Much Wenlock. While this was very special on its own, it was made even more special when it was announced that LOCOG has allowed the Society to choose someone to take the torch to the school (William Penny Brooke School – so a very significant stop). Wenlock Olympian Society rightfully chose the very humble John Simpson, currently Vice President of the Society and past President.  John has dedicated a lot of time and effort (along with Norman Wood and others) to reinvent the Wenlock Olympian Society since 1977.

We arrived early as we were wanted to capture as much as possible on video. Paul for Virtual Shropshire kindly allowed Charlotte and I to conduct the interviews. Having the chance to provide a platform for local people to talk about the spirit of Much Wenlock was incredible. Everyone was very proud, to say the least.

While there were so many highlights, such as meeting and interviewing past Olympic winners and members of the Wenlock Olympic Society, the highlight of the day for me was when Charlotte interviewed John Simpson.

If the Olympic Torch comes to your town, Get Involved.  It truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

For photos of the day, click here. (Facebook).  I’ll update when the videos are ready.