World record

Day 7 - July 25

A world record under the belt for Australia before the Olympics even get underway.

Except this one didn't involve Kieran Perkins swimming 30 laps of the swimming pool, the Oarsome Foursome rowing two kilometres or even former PM Bob Hawke sculling beer from a yard glass at a ridiculously fast pace.

This one was all to do with timing and being Australian in the south west of London at around 6pm on Wednesday afternoon.

And for the first 1000 people through the gate at the Windmill On The Common it was party time but at least double that if not more were turned away because of space restrictions and limited numbers of trendy kits.

Upon arrival the sounds of Powderfinger were blaring from the speakers, the smell of snags on the barbecue were drifting on the breeze and the two Richard's, Wilkins and Reid, from the Today Show even dropped by for a live cross.

In the end, after a few of the local ales, 935 people set a Guinness world record for the most people in the same team kit, smashing the 500 odd achieved by some other European nation previously.

Not a bad effort that and a good excuse for a party really.

And you wouldn't read about it, but a random bloke I was standing next to in line told me without prompting that he found out about this event after reading this London Eye story online at the Maitland Mercury website. Pulling power on the other side of the world...

This is me and fellow Hunter Valley kids Clare, Kate, Steve and Tilly in our team kits.

And just for the record we are standing at the top of the exclamation mark in the large group photo with an Australian flag flying above us.

Links:

*Twitter - @joshuacallinan

*Read the London Eye each day in the Maitland Mercury during the 2012 Olympic Games

*Tune into 1233 ABC Newcastle each morning from 7.30am during the Games period for a live cross from the London Olympics with breakfast presenter Aaron Kearney

*The Hunter's Road To London - 1233 ABC Newcastle