:00:00. > :00:00.Now on BBC News, time for our weekly look at the progress of the queens
:00:00. > :00:12.bat on relay ahead of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games this summer.
:00:13. > :00:20.In July, the Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow. For the last,
:00:21. > :00:23.the battle has been an amazing journey. It has troubled almost
:00:24. > :00:29.118,000 miles through 64, modern nations and territories. For the
:00:30. > :00:37.next 74 days, it will journey throughout the whole of the British
:00:38. > :00:41.Isles. As the clock ticks down to Glasgow, we are following the baton
:00:42. > :00:47.bearers who will carry the queens bat on in the final stages of its
:00:48. > :00:51.momentous journey. It has got to be one of the best moments in my life.
:00:52. > :00:56.It is amazing, I have but goose pimples. This is just the greatest
:00:57. > :01:15.honour I can think of, really. As the baton heads off on the last
:01:16. > :01:19.leg of its journey, we will meet some of the bearers on the way. Some
:01:20. > :01:22.have overcome great personal hardship to make life better for
:01:23. > :01:27.themselves and others. I don't remember being frightened. Others
:01:28. > :01:32.are heroes in their communities, making a difference to the lives of
:01:33. > :01:37.those around them. What I would like to do is try and inspire you to
:01:38. > :01:38.change your life. And some are simply being honoured for their grit
:01:39. > :01:58.and determination. The baton's journey around the
:01:59. > :02:03.British Isles starts here on the Sunni island of Jersey. Who better
:02:04. > :02:08.to bring the baton ashore than Tom Daley? A true champion and
:02:09. > :02:13.Ambassador of tradition bought. Tom's success in the pool has
:02:14. > :02:16.inspired thousands of young people. I'm really excited about the
:02:17. > :02:20.Commonwealth Games. It's getting closer and this makes it feel real,
:02:21. > :02:26.like it is about to happen, so it's really exciting. From Jersey, baton
:02:27. > :02:34.desert tour of the other Channel Islands, including Sark, population
:02:35. > :02:39.600, number of cars, zero. Many of the thousands who will carry the
:02:40. > :02:43.baton will be young people. Here on Sark, it is the turn of the
:02:44. > :02:50.island's schoolchildren to savour a moment they will never forget. And,
:02:51. > :02:54.on Sark's larger neighbour, Guernsey, the baton is making its
:02:55. > :03:02.way around all of the schools on the island. For seven`year`old Katie, it
:03:03. > :03:05.is a very special moment. I was picked it because I have cerebral
:03:06. > :03:14.palsy, but it doesn't stop me from doing anything. I just get on with
:03:15. > :03:18.my work. As the baton leaves the island of Guernsey, it pays a visit
:03:19. > :03:29.to the Isle of Man, before arriving in Belfast. Lucy is 15 years old and
:03:30. > :03:35.has battled serious health problems all her life. Despite this, she
:03:36. > :03:41.campaigned tirelessly for an organ donation charity. For all the good
:03:42. > :03:54.work, she was to carry the battle from her home to a nearby island. ``
:03:55. > :03:59.to carry the baton. Unfortunately, her health has robbed her of that
:04:00. > :04:03.chance. She is back in Belfast children's hospital, a place she
:04:04. > :04:08.knows well. She has been coming here since she was eight years old. I
:04:09. > :04:15.think I had noticed her eyes were a little bit yellow, and I thought,
:04:16. > :04:18.that is a bit strange. You see had contracted a rare and
:04:19. > :04:23.life`threatening disease that meant her blood cells are attacking and
:04:24. > :04:26.destroying her liver. Doctors gathered the family together to
:04:27. > :04:31.deliver the news that would turn their world upside down. She would
:04:32. > :04:39.die unless she had an immediate liver transplant. In the simplest
:04:40. > :04:43.terms, he explained this to her, she was eight at that stage. She
:04:44. > :04:57.understood and he said, do you have any questions? After a while, she
:04:58. > :05:01.said, will it hurt? I don't remember being frightened. The whole thing
:05:02. > :05:05.was so fast, you don't have time to be frightened. You take in what they
:05:06. > :05:11.say, but you don't realise how big it is. The wait for a liver could
:05:12. > :05:15.take months, but she did not have months. Miraculously, it never
:05:16. > :05:19.became available and surgery was scheduled to go ahead the very next
:05:20. > :05:25.morning. That night was a night of... Of so many mixed emotions, and
:05:26. > :05:31.thinking, this could work, but this could be the last night we will
:05:32. > :05:35.spend with her. I remember going down to the theatre. They were
:05:36. > :05:38.wheeling me on my bed, and everybody was around me, my mum, and dad, and
:05:39. > :05:42.Alice, and I think they were all quite worried at that point. But I
:05:43. > :05:50.remember going down, sengi to them, you know, don't worry. `` sailings
:05:51. > :05:56.to them. Although, at first, it looked like the transplant had been
:05:57. > :06:00.a success, the months that followed the new leather began to fail. She
:06:01. > :06:05.would have to go through a second transplant operation. We tried a few
:06:06. > :06:09.things, but nothing seems to be taking in all stop they then said,
:06:10. > :06:17.look, we are afraid that this is going to mean a second transplant.
:06:18. > :06:21.Her parents were worsted in `` once again faced with breaking the
:06:22. > :06:26.devastating news. It was a shock. We never thought it wouldn't work. She
:06:27. > :06:33.said, look, I can't do this any more. I'm only eight, and I either
:06:34. > :06:44.want to get better, or I want to die. But I can't do this any more. I
:06:45. > :06:49.think always I had a sense that it's just what has to happen.
:06:50. > :06:53.There's not much of a choice. You can either go for it or you don't.
:06:54. > :07:03.You just kind of have to get on with it. Six years on, and the second
:07:04. > :07:12.operation has been a success. She is now out of danger. Full recovery,
:07:13. > :07:17.however, is slow, and she's never too far from the children's ward.
:07:18. > :07:22.Her most recent visit has dashed her hopes of carrying the baton. I
:07:23. > :07:30.definitely feel disappointed, because I think it would have been a
:07:31. > :07:35.fun day, as well. Up until this morning, she did not think she would
:07:36. > :07:40.carry the baton. But the games' organisers have sprung a surprise
:07:41. > :07:46.for her. I don't thing she knows what's going to happen, but it will
:07:47. > :07:52.be very exciting. The crowd had gathered to see Northern Ireland's
:07:53. > :07:57.sporting legend Mary Peters carried the baton, but she is not the only
:07:58. > :08:02.baton bearer here today. Lucy will get a chance to carry it after all.
:08:03. > :08:06.Through all the adventures we have been in the last three years, I
:08:07. > :08:12.would say it is her strength and her own quiet grace that has held us
:08:13. > :08:16.through all of this. What makes special, as well, has to be that we
:08:17. > :08:23.recognise that we could have lost her. At age eight but she is still
:08:24. > :08:27.here. Life is short. You never know when the next thing might come up,
:08:28. > :08:31.but I think that's the point, we have to just take every day and live
:08:32. > :08:42.it, and then see what you do tomorrow.
:08:43. > :08:56.From Belfast, the baton heads back over the Irish Sea to Wales. It
:08:57. > :08:59.might be waning year, but there is no dumping the spirits of the
:09:00. > :09:10.thousands who turned out to cheer on the baton bearers. The macro ``
:09:11. > :09:16.baton will spend the next few days travelling to the top of Mount
:09:17. > :09:26.Snowdon. The Bay is home to non`Evans, who has broken records by
:09:27. > :09:30.competing in three separate sports, and has also played rugby for the
:09:31. > :09:37.country. What does it take to become a super athlete? I was always into
:09:38. > :09:43.sport, always a tomboy, and I haven't stopped since. If I was `` I
:09:44. > :09:47.have always been very competitive, and people as, where does it come
:09:48. > :09:52.from, trying to prove yourself all the time? I always had to have an
:09:53. > :09:56.aim, or a goal, and every single day I would get up in the morning, do my
:09:57. > :10:02.training, and train every night, every weekend, and I always wanted
:10:03. > :10:07.to be the best at everything. Being the best took her to three
:10:08. > :10:11.Commonwealth Games. In the 2002 games in Manchester, she didn't just
:10:12. > :10:16.take part in the judo, she also represented Wales in the
:10:17. > :10:19.weightlifting. I was in the gym one day and someone came up to me and
:10:20. > :10:24.said, you are lifting a lot of weight for your body weight, why
:10:25. > :10:32.don't you compete? I said, OK! I competed in a local championship,
:10:33. > :10:36.the Welsh championship, and then in the Commonwealth Games. I became the
:10:37. > :10:40.first person to competing two separate sports at one Commonwealth
:10:41. > :10:43.Games. In an outstanding career, she has picked up silver medals for judo
:10:44. > :10:51.and when 87 caps in international rugby. In 2011, she was made an
:10:52. > :10:56.MBE. But, in that same year, a serious sports injury brought her
:10:57. > :11:02.career to an abrupt end. It is strange, when you retire from sport,
:11:03. > :11:05.the accolade start coming. I went into this port Hall Of Fame, I was
:11:06. > :11:09.the first female rugby player to get an MBE for services to sport. I have
:11:10. > :11:14.had every honour I think you could get, but it came at a point which
:11:15. > :11:19.marked the end of my career. So, instead of being happy about it,
:11:20. > :11:22.using, it is brilliant, but it is because I had finished. Maybe as I
:11:23. > :11:35.get older and look back, I will appreciate it more.
:11:36. > :11:43.She has been a winner for over two decades. Her vocals, determination,
:11:44. > :11:50.and ultimately her achievements made her an obvious baton bearer. And her
:11:51. > :11:55.big day is in Llanelli, a place close to her heart. Seeing such a
:11:56. > :11:59.huge crowd here in my hometown, where I was brought up, is
:12:00. > :12:03.brilliant. I am honoured to be part of such big occasion. For her, it is
:12:04. > :12:09.like that winning feeling all over again. It is amazing, I have got
:12:10. > :12:15.goose pimples all over me, as you can see. It is this big honour to be
:12:16. > :12:23.the first person to carry it, as well. It is a huge occasion, I am so
:12:24. > :12:29.honoured to be carrying the baton. All around the British Isles, the
:12:30. > :12:34.baton is receiving a warm reception. On the first stop of its 14 day tour
:12:35. > :12:41.of England, the baton has come to Manchester. Manchester's velodrome
:12:42. > :12:46.is the home of British Cycling. Ralph Albert has been chosen to
:12:47. > :12:49.carry the baton in recognition for his tireless work with the
:12:50. > :12:55.Lancashire County Blind cricket team. I was absolutely knocked out
:12:56. > :13:06.when I found out I had been asked to be a baton bearer. It is a
:13:07. > :13:11.tremendous honour and a privilege. For as long as he can remember,
:13:12. > :13:19.Ralph has been in love with cricket. But in 2012, his light took an id
:13:20. > :13:24.and desperate turn. An ordinary night out at the cinema turned into
:13:25. > :13:28.a frightening experience. He felt dizzy and found out he could not see
:13:29. > :13:38.and became apparent something was seriously wrong. Suddenly, he
:13:39. > :13:43.realised he could not sleep. It was not because it was dark. We were
:13:44. > :13:51.really frightened. He had suffered a small stroke and it had damaged his
:13:52. > :13:55.eyes. He lost 80% of his vision. I can describe it as looking through a
:13:56. > :14:02.piece of polythene. I could see shapes and colours but not fine
:14:03. > :14:09.detail. The thought of not being able to play cricket again was a
:14:10. > :14:15.huge disappointment. The realisation that this is what I have got and
:14:16. > :14:21.this is my eyesight and it will not get any better and I must get used
:14:22. > :14:27.to it, that was probably one of the lowest points I have experienced, to
:14:28. > :14:31.be honest. But for him, hope was just around the corner. It was his
:14:32. > :14:35.beloved sport of cricket that would help him come to terms with this
:14:36. > :14:41.tragedy and help him rebuild his life. A colleague of mine told me
:14:42. > :14:47.about the visually impaired cricket team and I did not know there was
:14:48. > :14:50.one. I went along to one of their training sessions and it was
:14:51. > :15:02.absolutely brilliant. It was brilliant. I loved it. He plays with
:15:03. > :15:08.this local cricket team and the team came top of the line and cricket
:15:09. > :15:15.league in 2012. He and some of the other players have partial sight but
:15:16. > :15:22.others have no sight at all. `` top of the league. I must make sure I am
:15:23. > :15:27.ready and as I let go of the ball I must shout play so he knows that the
:15:28. > :15:33.ball is on its way. He listens for the noise that all is making. Plain
:15:34. > :15:38.and visually impaired cricket has made a huge difference to my
:15:39. > :15:44.personal well`being, mentally and physically. That was the turning
:15:45. > :15:53.point. He started to get joy back in his life. It was hope for the future
:15:54. > :16:03.and when his mood started to lift. I no longer go to bed and think I will
:16:04. > :16:07.go to bed in the morning and my eyesight will be as good as it was
:16:08. > :16:12.when I wake up. I do not think like that any more. As well as
:16:13. > :16:17.rediscovering his own up with a game he has taken things a step further.
:16:18. > :16:24.He works with a local cricket charity which helps other people
:16:25. > :16:29.live their lives to the full stop my outlook is very different now. I
:16:30. > :16:35.have always been optimistic. I am looking forward to many more years
:16:36. > :16:42.of playing cricket and helping other people. I want to help bring young
:16:43. > :16:50.people through into the game. Yes, I do feel that I have got my husband
:16:51. > :17:01.back. Back at the velodrome, Ralph is getting ready to carry the bat
:17:02. > :17:05.on. It is brilliant. He has turned his life around and today is about
:17:06. > :17:09.celebration. His journey here would not have been possible if that was
:17:10. > :17:14.not for the power of sport which changed his life. That is something
:17:15. > :17:20.that will live with me or ever. It is an honour, definitely one of the
:17:21. > :17:29.best moments of my life. What a relief, though. I am glad I did not
:17:30. > :17:33.drop it! From the North of England, we travel down the motorway to
:17:34. > :17:47.Birmingham. The crowds are out in great numbers. For 30 years, this
:17:48. > :17:55.man has been at the heart of his community. This community is quite
:17:56. > :18:01.deprived. It is in the top 5% most deprived neighbourhoods in the
:18:02. > :18:07.country. Is this a good area or bad area? It was once a good area but
:18:08. > :18:12.now the younger people make a completely different. It does not
:18:13. > :18:20.matter what qualification they have, they will not get a job. That is
:18:21. > :18:27.correct. There have been serious disturbances... In 2011 as serious
:18:28. > :18:32.rioting took place across Britain, he witnessed his community terror
:18:33. > :18:35.itself apart. One night during the riots, he and his assistant were
:18:36. > :18:42.working at the petrol station he owns. We saw a number of masked
:18:43. > :18:47.people coming towards the shop and they broke all of the windows. They
:18:48. > :18:53.were using sledgehammers and I grabbed my assistant and we hid in
:18:54. > :18:56.the back. All hell broke loose. They ransacked the property and took all
:18:57. > :19:02.of the cigarettes and the alcohol. We were trapped in the back. After
:19:03. > :19:06.three days of rioting and looting, everything he had worked for had
:19:07. > :19:14.been destroyed. For many people, their first reaction with the anger,
:19:15. > :19:18.but for him, it was different. It was an unanswered question. Why did
:19:19. > :19:22.all of this happen? I wanted to explore this, possibly more out of
:19:23. > :19:30.curiosity than anger. I did not have any anger towards the people. As
:19:31. > :19:37.part of a justice scheme, he was given the chance to meet one of his
:19:38. > :19:40.attackers and he was happy to do so. Recounting the story of what
:19:41. > :19:44.happened to me and the impact it had on my family, we talked along those
:19:45. > :19:50.lines and I learned a bit more about him. I said to my friend, you can
:19:51. > :19:54.have a hard time in your life and you can come back and I would like
:19:55. > :20:00.to try and inspire you to change your life. In the months that
:20:01. > :20:06.follows, he met with a young man to try and turn his life around. For 30
:20:07. > :20:10.years he has been inspiring young people in his area and he believes
:20:11. > :20:19.in the power of sport to change lives. Here we are in Mansfield and
:20:20. > :20:22.it is our youth club. This youth club is a converted 40 foot shipping
:20:23. > :20:28.container right in the middle of Aston. It may be about as basic as
:20:29. > :20:35.you can find, but for the local young people who come here, it makes
:20:36. > :20:38.a difference. On an average day we have about 40 children coming here
:20:39. > :20:49.every day. We play cricket and football. I played badminton and
:20:50. > :20:53.cricket. He is an amazing person. If there was a knighthood available, he
:20:54. > :20:59.would get that. For now, the knighthood can wait. For now, he is
:21:00. > :21:07.quite happy to join in the Queens Baton Relay. Sport can really change
:21:08. > :21:12.peoples lives. The young people, there is a lot of life skills that
:21:13. > :21:16.they can get from sport, communication, teamwork, and also it
:21:17. > :21:29.gives them confidence to really go out there and make something of
:21:30. > :21:33.their lives. That is me done for today. It has been an absolutely
:21:34. > :21:39.amazing event and an amazing moment in my life, I must say. Sport means
:21:40. > :21:44.an awful lot to me and to be part of this is the greatest honour that I
:21:45. > :21:49.can engulf. The Queens Baton Relay makes its way south to London and it
:21:50. > :21:59.is the turn of the capital to celebrate its arrival. The city has
:22:00. > :22:04.made a fuss. A stone's throw in the 70 `` centre of the city is the
:22:05. > :22:10.borough of Lambeth. It is home to Rebecca Donnelly. She is a proud
:22:11. > :22:18.Londoner and has offered hope and ambition to inner`city children
:22:19. > :22:22.through boxing. My passion was martial arts and I went into boxing.
:22:23. > :22:28.Lots of people help me out and change my life. I was involved in
:22:29. > :22:33.mentoring and I was top that nothing was possible and I think that every
:22:34. > :22:40.young person needs that. It was something that was needed in the
:22:41. > :22:45.area. In all, she now runs six clubs and they all help to keep young
:22:46. > :22:52.lives on the straight and narrow. It changes lives because the sport has
:22:53. > :22:55.the power to change, it is an intervention programme. Someone who
:22:56. > :23:01.takes part in sports, it means they are not doing something else on the
:23:02. > :23:05.streets, causing harm or trouble. If this club was not here, I think I
:23:06. > :23:12.will be doing things I should not be doing. I think I will be more lazy,
:23:13. > :23:21.probably out on the streets with the wrong people, doing the wrong
:23:22. > :23:25.things, instead of doing my time and doing something constructive. She
:23:26. > :23:32.was also passionate about inspiring young women. The girls when they
:23:33. > :23:35.come in, sometimes they are shy but this builds their self`esteem. It
:23:36. > :23:43.enables them to keep fit and keep act. As a young teenager, I was
:23:44. > :23:48.bullied but I thought about getting more into it and I thought it might
:23:49. > :23:53.help me to focus my mind. I think it is a great sport and I love all of
:23:54. > :23:59.my training, every minute of it. Lets go, Matthew, come on! I had a
:24:00. > :24:04.strong family background and I was always supported, as was my sister.
:24:05. > :24:12.But some of the young people we work with do not have that and it is
:24:13. > :24:17.important to give them structure. She has always wanted to help people
:24:18. > :24:21.and she is one of the best coaches. She is really good. She pushes me to
:24:22. > :24:28.my absolute limit and makes me their best I can be. Or her part in
:24:29. > :24:35.helping to do great things, she is carrying the Queens bat on in the
:24:36. > :24:49.Royal barge. I did not mind the weather, the rain, just to hold this
:24:50. > :24:52.was absolutely wonderful. But 34 days the Queens Baton Relay has
:24:53. > :24:59.travelled through the British Isles. For that `` from the Channel Islands
:25:00. > :25:06.to the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, England and Wales, but now
:25:07. > :25:20.the journey goes northwards. It crosses the border into Scotland.
:25:21. > :25:25.The high road to Glasgow is just a pew short steps across this bridge
:25:26. > :25:34.that separate Scotland from England. `` is just a few short steps. What
:25:35. > :25:38.better way to seal the handover than with a Fond Kiss? England's Daley
:25:39. > :25:49.Thompson passes the Batten to any child. You either first holder in
:25:50. > :25:53.Scotland. How do you feel? It is an absolute honour. It is great to have
:25:54. > :26:00.this back in Scotland. The journey continues through Scotland, to its
:26:01. > :26:02.final destination and the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.
:26:03. > :26:07.All around the Commonwealth have been thousands of people who have
:26:08. > :26:22.taken part, each with their own story but all of them connect with
:26:23. > :26:23.the Queens Baton Relay. Good morning. It is a