The Olympics come to town

It all started in Calcot, where the torch was greeted by loud cheers along the Bath Road.
Then the flame made its way through a packed High Street in Theale, before passing through Thatcham.
As the torch approached Newbury via London Road, office workers rushed to the roadside to catch a glimpse of the iconic sporting symbol.
From there, the flame moved through the centre of Newbury, on to Pinchington Lane for a supermarket lunch stop and then on to north Hampshire.
Here is how the day unfolded......

Pictured are the torch bearers who will be running through Thatcham.
The torch has now arrived in West Berkshire. The flame is currently in Calcot before making its way to Theale where villagers (pictured bottom right) have dressed up for the occasion.

Thousands of people are descending on Newbury, where the Olympic torch is expected to arrive at about 11am.
Pictured below are the Hawkins family, who are camped out on Northbrook Street.
If you want to park in Newbury this morning you better get there quick as there are only 50 spaces left in the Kennet Centre, while Northbrook Street multi-storey is filling up.
Meanwhile the Kingsland Centre car park in Thatcham is full. The flame is expected to arrive in Thatcham at 10.30am.

The torch is now approaching Theale high street, where the crowds are starting to gather, as pictured below.

In under an hour Newbury will welcome the Olympic torch. Here is the current scene in Northbrook Street, which is awash with Union Jacks.

The torch has now arrived in Theale.

A bit of history about the Olympic torch; it originally commemorates the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus.
The flame’s origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics.
Children from Fledglings Day Nursery in Theale (pictured below) cheering the torch coming through the village now.

It has just gone 10.30am and the flame has now left Theale and is heading to Thatcham.
Our Hungerford and Lambourn reporter John Garvey is currently in Northbrook Street, Newbury, (pictured below) where the flame is expected to arrive in about 40 minutes.
Julian Coles and Susan Smith, who are among the crowd, have taken the day off to see the flame come through their hometown.
Eric Rawles said: “I’ve never seen the town like this.”

According to West Berkshire Council all car parks in Newbury are now full.
Our Thatcham reporter Tanya Haji is waiting in Bath Road, Thatcham, where the torch is expected to arrive at about 10.50am.
Some reaction from Theale where the torch has just passed through.
For one lady in the village this is not the first time she has seen the torch. Evelyn Fuller, aged 76, remembers standing in the streets of Reading when the Olympic torch passed through in 1948.
"I think you could count the people then," she laughed, adding that the atmosphere was ‘fantastic’.
Pictured below are pupils from Theale Springfield School.

The roads have now been reopened in Theale after the torch passed through the village just moments ago (pictured below)
The flame is now passing through Bath Road, Thatcham, heading towards London Road.

Excitement is building in Northbrook Street, Newbury, (pictured) with the flame fast approaching.

The Olympic flame has arrived in Newbury along the London Road (pictured below).

Check out footage of the flame passing by the clock tower in Newbury, sent in by Simon Scholes, who works at Immedia Broadcast Ltd in the town.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__MYRB8qAr4

The torch procession (pictured below) has gone through Northbrook Street, Newbury, where thousands of people were gathered.

Scenes pictured below are of the crowds gathered in Bridge Street, Newbury.

You can watch live footage of the flame via the official Olympic website at www.london2012.com/torch-relay/video/live.html
The torch is now being carried along the A339 towards Newbury Retail Park. Pictured below are residents waiting for the torch in Pinchington Lane, Newbury.

The flame has now arrived at Pinchington Lane (pictured below at Tesco), as the torch makes its way towards the West Berkshire/North Hampshire border.

Youngsters Jeremy, aged eight, and Edward, aged six, with their own flame in Newbury earlier.

And look out tomorrow for the Newbury Weekly News with six pages of Olympic Torch coverage.