Yesterday morning, Carolyn and I rode the tube to Piccadilly Circus, got off, and walked through the snow to Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church. It was freezing. We passed by tons of cops; there were nearly two at every corner and scattered all along the streets. We had no idea what was going on, but all of the cops were smiling, so we figured it wasn't anything too scary.
The sermon in church was about the Olympic flame and the "flame" of Pentecost. We learned that yesterday the torch was to pass through London on its way to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. This was interesting, and I'll just go ahead and add that the torch doesn't take a loop through Lexington, Alabama. I was hoping I would get the chance to see it.
As soon as church was over, they said the runner was scheduled to pass the church in three minutes. I went outside with my video camera and walked to the end of the street where I found out they would be changing runners. Turns out, the cops were there to control the many protesters that were out, unsupportive of the Games being held in China. When the runner came through, he was surrounded with athletes who were surrounded by "bobbies" who were surrounded by protesters. In the middle of the mob, I could see the flame of the torch. After they rounded the corner, the street was opened back up and protesters continued to follow.
I went back into the church where Carolyn and I stayed for lunch. I ended up sitting next to the pastor. It was a great lunch and a good time to make new friends. One friend, Imke, even came with me to church at HTB last night!
Now, time to go downstairs for the WWII lecture. It's nice to be so close to the classroom.
