London 2012 volunteers reunite to give Islington canal boat a makeover

Sunday, March 3, 2013
12:48 PM

A team of London 2012 opening ceremony participants have reunited to spruce up an Islington charity’s canal boat.

The Olympic volunteers get to work on the Angel Boat - in their opening ceremony outfits. Picture: Andy Forey

The volunteers, who took part in the Industrial Revolution segment of Danny Boyle’s £27million extravaganza, wanted to create their very own Olympic legacy by getting together in the name of a good cause.

Over the past two weekends they have overhauled the Angel Boat, a charitable vessel that takes youngsters and disabled people on canal tours.

The volunteers even donned their opening ceremony outfits as they scraped, sanded, treated and painted the boat in a dry dock in Uxbridge.

Thanks to their hard work, it will look almost good as new when it returns to the water at City Road Basin this weekend.

Brian Voakes, 57, of Culford Road, De Beauvoir, one of the volunteers and also a trustee of the Angel Boat charity of 13 years, said: “It was hard work but it was brilliant – the volunteers were a force to be reckoned with.

“The Angel Boat people were overwhelmed and everyone was really excited to be back together. I hope it will be the first of many similar projects.”