Leader: The Olympic flame set to light Shropshire
For a while, the unthinkable seemed on the cards – that the Olympic torch would pass through Shropshire next summer without paying a visit to Much Wenlock, the spiritual home of the rebirth of the modern Olympics.
For a while, the unthinkable seemed on the cards – that the Olympic torch would pass through Shropshire next summer without paying a visit to Much Wenlock, the spiritual home of the rebirth of the modern Olympics.
Perhaps we should not have worried. The official, detailed, Olympic torch route which has been published shows that not only will the torch pass through Wenlock, but it will come too to a host of other towns in the county, setting aflame an infectious spirit of enthusiasm for the biggest sporting event in Britain for generations.
The itinerary shows that the torch will make two incursions. The first on May 24 will brush along the south of Shropshire, taking in Ludlow, Clee Hill, Cleobury Mortimer, and Far Forest.
But from Shropshire's point of view the main event is on May 30, when the torch traverses the county, starting in Oswestry, and then travelling through Pant, Llanymynech, across the border into Welshpool, and back through Shrewsbury, Cressage, Much Wenlock, Benthall, Broseley, Ironbridge, Telford, and Newport.
Along its whole national route there can be few places in which the torch will see so much history and heritage in such a short distance. Historic Shrewsbury, "Olympian town" Wenlock, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, and the modernity of a new town . . . it is an excellent mix.
Thank you to the organisers for listening to the voices which called for more locations to be included on the route.
This is a great opportunity for Shropshire, and particularly Wenlock, to showcase itself.
But most of all, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Salopians to celebrate and become involved in what everybody hopes will be the greatest show on earth.
Bring it on!
Border-ing on ridiculous:
It seems that the UK Border Agency responded to pressure to cut queues at airports and ports by throwing the rulebook out of the window.
Bothering to check passports fully was taking so long that staff were told to cut corners.
It is an astonishing state of affairs which will be yet more serious if it turns out that terrorists and criminals have been waved through into this country at passport control.
Who is carrying the can? There is a lot of ducking for cover going on. But if those in positions of public office were made legally culpable for decisions which put the public in danger then maybe it would make them think twice.
It may be that experience has shown that the full checks are too time consuming to be practical. But then the responsibility on those in public office charged with protecting us is to develop systems that are both efficient and workable.
In this case the buck stops with Theresa May, the Home Secretary, who is expected to claim that national security was not put at risk.
But she would say that, would she not?
