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Thursday 14th June 2012

It’s been an amazing day up at Berwick-Upon-Tweed in Northumberland reporting live for BBC Newcastle. Here’s a taster:

First I spoke to Simon Logan as the crowds were beginning to gather:

Drivetime with John Harle and Anne Leuchars took our coverage of the Olympic Flame in the North East up a notch.

There were crowds all along the bridge over the river Tweed on Pudding Lane:

Fifty children from Bedlington got me into the spirit of things:

And then 68 year-old Margaret Shaw came out of the crowded narrow town streets and onto the bridge:

The crowds followed her as far as they could to the edge of the town:

The flame then went to Bamburgh where Tony Jones and Ingrid Hagemann reported for BBC Newcastle. If you missed it, it’s here. Then Matthew Raisbeck and the Total Sport lads told us what happened as the flame came to Alnwick, where it stops overnight.

Friday 15th June 2012

And then the Olympic Flame – lit by the Gods in Athens – came from Alnwick to Newcastle.

At Newcastle United’s Football ground it was supposed to make a lap of the pitch – but two minutes before I went to air on BBC Newcastle’s Drivetime programme with Anne Leuchars and Martin Emmerson, this happened:

Unfortunately the afternoon was blighted by technical issues but we stoically ploughed on:

Impromptu crowds at St James Park waiting for the Olympic Torch relay

Wendy Taylor from Newcastle United then told me what the club thought about missing out on the chance to have the Flame in the stadium:

The crowds soon learnt there was an extra spot they’d be able to see the Torch and I was there to talk them:

It got exciting as Martin Emmerson hung out the back of the BBC building on Barrack Road and told us the Torch was on it’s way down the road to St James Park:

So that was Torch Bearer Joanna Lacey waiting for her turn. This is what it was like amongst the crowd:

And then it was with us:

So what would Christopher Day, the torchbearer who was supposed to run the Flame round the pitch at St James Park, think about his missed opportunity:

If you want to listen to the whole show, with coverage from all over Newcastle and the Quayside, Total Sport will be available on the iPlayer for two weeks.

Saturday 16th June 2012

Just because I couldn’t get enough, I reported on my mobile after leaving work from my hometown of Hexham on the Saturday.

This is what the crowds were like coming in to Hexham:

This is as it arrived in the town, carried by 17 year-old Josie Hart:

And then I legged it up to the finish line, by-passing the middle where Russ Ward did a sterling job of capturing the buzz at Wentworth Leisure Centre. As it went on from Hexham on it’s way to Riding Mill:

More highlights on BBC Newcastle. Now I’m going to collapse in a heap and sleep for many, many hours. It’s been amazing but I’m thankful I only work for the BBC in the North East because it means we’ve passed the baton on to the team at BBC Tees!