Golden post box makeover in honour of Dani (From Daily Echo)
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Golden post box makeover in honour of Hampshire cyclist Dani King
10:40am Monday 6th August 2012 in Sport
By Melanie Adams, Health Reporter
A HAMPSHIRE post box has been painted gold this morning in honour of Olympic cycling heroine Dani King.
Over 50 people turned out at the post box in High Street, Hamble , to see it getting a golden makeover at 10.30am, to mark the achievement of the former Hamble Primary School pupil’s Olympic success.
The 21-year-old and her team-mates, Joanne Rowsell and Laura Trott, demolished their American rivals to win gold in the women’s cycling team pursuit on Saturday, smashing the world record for the sixth consecutive time.
The first letter to be posted into the golden post box was to Dani from her fans in Hamble.
Lynn King, Dani's mum, said: "It's overwhelming to see so many people here this morning. Its great that Hamble has had a chance to get involved in the celebrations."
Within 24 hours of being crowned Olympic champion, stamps bearing the face of the Southampton -born Olympian were on sale in Hedge End , after the Royal Mail worked through the night to print them.
The young cyclist only got into the saddle after skipping a maths lesson to try out for a British Cycling talent event being held at her school, Hamble Community Sports College.
Jonathan Prest, principal of Barton Peveril College where Dani studied A-levels before going into cycling full-time, said: “What an amazing performance from Dani and her fellow team pursuit cyclists over the past few days.
“It’s fantastic to think that a former Barton Peveril student has broken so many world records and won Olympic gold on home soil.” Mayor of Eastleigh Councillor Rupert Kyrle added: “Eastleigh has some really talented sportsmen and women and Dani has proved this with not only a gold medal but with yet another world record.”
Dani’s was only been invited to trial for the team pursuit by coach Paul Manning in November 2010 – four months later she was world champion.
Southampton-based builders’ merchant Elliott Brothers have been sponsoring her since she was 16, when she told them she aimed to be world and Olympic champion. Managing director Stuart Elliott said: “We always knew she had that something special to achieve her dreams. We are all so proud of her.”
Comments(13)
Dan Kerins
says...
11:39am Mon 6 Aug 12
legod7 wrote:It's been on the story since 10.40am, as part of the gallery at the top.
Come on DE. Where is the photo of the golden post box. Very slapdash
lowe esteem
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12:24pm Mon 6 Aug 12
The we can get back to proper stripes, won't those boxes look special then?
hays1179
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2:03pm Mon 6 Aug 12
Sovietobserver
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2:24pm Mon 6 Aug 12
hays1179 wrote:No, hays1179. It was caused by temporary traffic lights at the gas mains works.
is that what all the traffic was leading to hamble this morning ?
hands249
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2:55pm Mon 6 Aug 12
Seriously though - well done Dani, great news for local sport
Ginger_cyclist
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5:09pm Mon 6 Aug 12
Ginger_cyclist
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5:10pm Mon 6 Aug 12
Ginger_cyclist wrote:Also a well done Dani, good to see some gold coming to Hampshire and just down the road from Southampton.
Wow, a postbox painted gold, just wait for the usual "what a waste of tax payers money blah blah blah, dribble dribble dribble".
Dragonqueen
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7:59pm Mon 6 Aug 12
Poppy22
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9:17pm Mon 6 Aug 12
Think the gold post boxes are a great idea, also the stamps.
IronLady2010
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10:54pm Mon 6 Aug 12
Dragonqueen
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11:24pm Mon 6 Aug 12
lowe esteem
says...
1:29pm Wed 8 Aug 12
IronLady2010 wrote:Think you'll find they're no longer used for mail.
How long does the paint take to dry before people can post mail?
What do you think the people in the picture are doing, retrieving it?
But, if you've time on your hands, why not go along and find out, the one in Sheffield to mark Jessica Ennis's achievement has been graffitteed already. You could pop up there whilst they repaint it.
legod7 says...
11:29am Mon 6 Aug 12