AS Team GB celebrates its first gold medal in the Olympics, a Pearly Queen has spoken about being part of the opening ceremony.
Teresa Watts, 44, of Roundmead Avenue, Loughton, and her 13-year-old son Alfie, a Pearly Prince, were part of the parade of Pearlies during the ceremony in Stratford on Friday.
“I can’t even get near to describing how lovely it was,” said Mrs Watts, who is the Pearly Queen of Clapton.
“The roar of the crowd was so loud. We all had ear pieces in to take directions from Danny Boyle and the team, but we couldn’t hear them.”
She can trace her family back to the apple sellers who formed the original Pearly Kings and Queens in 1875 and her father, Micky Murphy, was a well-known Pearly King.
Her family, who represent areas all over east London, raised £125,000 for charity last year and she helped raise enough for a hydrotherapy pool at Oak View School in Loughton, where she is a teaching assistant.
“Everything my family and the other Pearlies have done in the past built up to Friday,” she added. “It’s the recognition the Pearlies deserve.”
- Heather Stanning and Helen Glover won gold in the women's pair rowing event earlier today.
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