August 2008 will stand out as a time of rain and cold except for this last week when perhaps the world changed a little, for the better.

Watching the wonderful closing ceremony of the Olympics and knowing that the next games will be in Britain was fascinating. Then, sitting in the sunshine in St James’ park in London and walking down the Mall listening to the music and the athletes talking during the celebration show on giant screens it was time to reflect on what this meant for Britain. The day was warm, the sun shone, the park and the Mall were full of people of all ages, creeds and ethnic groups. The atmosphere was relaxed; people were eating picnics, ice creams and cakes. Then the red arrows were announced. All around me people stood looking towards Whitehall as the roar of the approaching planes grew. As the planes flew overhead people cheered and cried with pride and delight as the jets of red, white and blue flew out across the sky.

This was a time for coming together and celebrating our athletes’ success in Beijing and our success at being the next host for the games. If you could bottle the joy, pride and pleasure radiating around me, it would be an instant best seller.

Over the summer recess I have been reading some of the writing of John Stewart Mills who wrote the Wealth of Nations. A quote from Mills stood out for me throughout that week;

All of the members of human society stand in need of each other’s assistance---- Where the necessary assistance is reciprocal afforded from love, from gratitude, from friendship, and esteem, the society flourishes and is happy. All of the different members of it are bound together by the agreeable bonds of love and affection, and are, as it were, drawn to one common centre of mutual good offices.

A great example of mutual assistance, esteem and gratitude is afforded by our relationship with our armed forces. The granting of the freedom of the County Borough to the Welsh Regiment again took place in brilliant sunshine outside of the council offices.

In the midst of this pride and joy was also the sobering presence of the family of Craig Barber who died in Afghanistan. The family were able to share their pride in Craig and the regiment, and to share the day with their community in reciprocal bonds of esteem and gratitude.

The band played in scarlet uniforms, the soldiers marched proud and upright and the goat behaved itself. The Mayor granted permission for the regiment to march with full colours and bayonets fixed around the town of Bridgend and we all cheered.

A band played for the golden girl Nicole Cooke as she toured the villages of Wick and St Bride’s on the top of an open-top bus to celebrate the first gold medal won in the Beijing Olympics.

The Bus drove away from Wick village green with a front escort of cyclists - some from south Wales cycling clubs, but many were also local families and children cycling alongside their parents. As I stood alongside Nicole I was impressed by her open honest enjoyment of the day and her natural desire to share her success with her family, friends and her community.

Her mother Denise wanted to sit quietly further back in the bus but Nicole wanted her by her side sharing that winning smile. As we drove along the road (it’s further and more up and down than you realise in a car) it was wonderful to listen to Nicole shouting out hello to people she knew and giving personal waves to people in their gardens and cars as we passed by.

Champagne was being drunk and glasses raised as we passed farms. Constant cried of ‘well done’ and cheers of shared pride in Nicole’s achievement were everywhere. One lady waved her flag so hard the flag flew off but she kept on waving the stick.

The people in their cars waiting for the bus to pass waved and cheered, climbing out of sun roofs to take photographs on mobile phones.

The biggest problems were the trees, telegraph and electric cables. Cries of ‘duck’ and everyone on the bus crouched down as branches and wires passed overhead.

One little girl in pink had cycled so far and, as the end of the route appeared, fell off her bike into the only patch of stinging nettles in the verge. Nicole called down to bring her and her bike on to the bus, and so she travelled back to the arms of her mum crying in pain from the stings, but alongside her heroine.

Back in the village, no request for a photograph or autograph was refused by Nicole. It is no wonder her community are proud of her and wanted to show it. That wonderful smile, that generosity of spirit bound together by mutual bonds of love and affection with friends and neighbours was a heady mix.

On the day Nicole and the Welsh regiment were welcomed by their communities, the Paralympic village opened in Beijing. With Bridgend well represented at these games, I am sure there will be yet more agreeable bonds of love and affection to celebrate.