The fact that the Olympic Flame left Birmingham and entered Solihull at 7.30 on a Sunday morning did not deter Balsall Common Lions from joining together with all the other Solihull Clubs to volunteer en masse as route stewards.
Following a last minute briefing in the Council House at 6.30 am the 54 Lions from Balsall Common, Birmingham Exhibition, Castle Bromwich, Knowle & Dorridge, Shirley and Solihull decamped to their allotted points along the route to hold back the crowds estimated to have been around 10,000 despite the early Sunday morning time for the Torch Relay.
From the border with Birmingham, through the Town Centre and out to the border with Redditch there was a continuous line of Lions all decked out in their individual Club tabards.
Luckily the weather held up and with no serious incidents to deal with the Lions were able to enjoy the Torch Relay as well as provide a much needed community service.
The whole event was of course a great PR opportunity for the Lions, the success of which could be gauged when a member of the public thanked the Lions (not LOCOG or the Council) for organising the whole event!