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Summary Olympic torch took a festive lap around London on second-to-last day of its trek across Britain.
The Olympic torch took a festive, valedictory lap around London on Thursday, taking in some of the sun-drenched capitals most famous landmarks on the second-to-last day of its trek across Britain.The torch carried by athletes, charity workers and celebrities thrilled thousands of Londoners as it swept across Regents Canal in Camden, through the citys newly renovated neo-gothic train station at St. Pancras and down the winding streets of the ancient City of London.For many Londoners, it was their first glimpse of a golden beacon that has spent the past 68 days traveling up and down the country, from Loch Ness to Lands End, as well as going across the water to Ireland and Northern Ireland.In the north London neighborhood of Camden, many families with young children got up early to cheer as the torch kicked off its relay at the Victorian-era Roundhouse music hall around 6:50 a.m. Others simply hadnt been to bed.It was pretty cool to see it actually, said 19-year-old Anastasia Gribaldi, a Goth who had been out all night clubbing. It was like: Wow, its the torch We werent expecting it.The torch completes its 70-day, 8,000-mile (12,900-kilometer) journey on Friday, lighting the Olympic Stadiums cauldron in a ceremony marking the official start of the 2012 London Games. The identity of the final torchbearer is still a closely guarded secret.On Thursday, the torch was carried past some of the citys most impressive landmarks, including the Houses of Parliament, 10 Downing St. and Buckingham Palace, where it was greeted by Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.Earlier in the day it sped across Londons River Thames along with Paralympic champion Ade Adipitan, whose dreadlocks flapped in the wind as he propelled his wheelchair across the slender Millennium Bridge.Londoners who have spent much of the past few weeks worrying about rain, Olympic security, and strikes appeared to lighten up.In the south London borough of Lambeth, flag-waving crowds chanted We want the torch In nearby Wandsworth, 24-year-old John Lake a cancer survivor who has raised thousands for the Brain Research Trust pumped his fist and waved the torch back and forth as he ran down the road with a mile-wide grin.Make some noise someone shouted as the crowd erupted into cheers.The crowds thickened further as the torch made its way back across the Thames, with Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders who played Patsy and Edina in the British comedy Absolutely Fabulous taking the flame for a jaunty walk in Londons wealthy Chelsea neighborhood.On Oxford Street, Londons famous shopping thoroughfare, the torch rode on an open-topped, double-decker bus.Still, not everyone was caught up in the Olympic excitement.It was pretty convenient that it came through as I was getting my morning coffee, said Jack Tate, a 28-year-old retail worker in Camden. Now I can say Ive seen it. Theres no need to watch any more of this Olympics rubbish for the next few weeks.
