On the Button

Boy awaits arrival of Jenson Button, holding Jenson Button book.

Waiting for his hero.

A slight departure from my normal blog, but it’s been a bit of a special occasion in Frome today.

On a beautiful sunny Spring day, in the Frome Market car park (dolled up for the occasion) Jenson Button, Formula One World Drivers’ Champion, was granted the Freedom of Frome Town.

By my guesstimate there must have been around 3,000 people there to greet him as he took to the stage to be presented the award by the town Mayor, Councillor Damon Hooton. Children craned to get a glimpse, women shouted their love, and men cheered his every word.

The whole shebang was over in just under an hour, during which Jenson was introduced, the Mayor did a recap of Jenson’s life in Frome and presented the award, after which Jenson answered questions previously submitted by members of the public.

He was very PC, denying ever having raced the roads around Frome as a youngster, but charming, humble and down-to-earth.

Once the main duties were completed, Jenson set about meeting his fans, posing for photos, signing autographs on everything from post cards to books to bits of car. All the while smiling, and clearly enjoying the whole event.

Enough of my blather, here are some photos from today.

jenson button and cllr hooton

Jenson receives the Freedom of Frome Town from the Mayor, Cllr Hooton.

crowd scene

Fans of Jenson pack the car park.

jenson button in frome, somerset, england

Jenson waves to fans. Lots of them women, for some reason…

jenson button in frome, somerset

Jenson signs cards, books and bits of cars.

If you’ve tuned in for a bit of a photography perspective, I shot these photos on a Canon 5D with 1.4x converter on a 70-200 f2.8 lens (pre-IS model), apart from the crowd and signing photo which was shot on my new Canon G11, which I’m testing out prior to using it for a bona-fide shoot.

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6 comments

  • Jelly Rat May 5, 2010  

    Great photos Tim – Mr Button is rather delicious, I must say!

    • Glass Eye May 5, 2010  

      Thanks for the kind words 🙂 – Thought you’d like him.

      • Jelly Rat May 5, 2010  

        He looks like a slightly younger version of you 😛

        • Glass Eye May 5, 2010  

          HAHAHAHAHA! Except my motor racing career ended when we realised my ears were causing too much drag. The team thought I had an elephant in the car with me…

  • Tony Coll May 9, 2010  

    Mr Button’s visit is very appropriate, because it’s well known that racing cars go “Frome! Frome!”

    • Glass Eye May 10, 2010  

      Tony, you’re killing me!