Well flower folk as Chinese mountain climbers are ready to carry the Olympic torch (which has just been lit in Greece) all the way to the summit of Mount Everest despite the unrest in Tibet. A beacon of hope or a flame waiting to GO! out? Buddhist monks demonstrated in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on March 10, the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule. Five days later anti-Chinese rioting shook the city with Beijing claiming 22 people died in the rioting, but Tibet’s government-in-exile says the figure was closer to 100.

Olympic Games organisers said that the torch relay will go ahead as planned despite concerns over security in Tibet. The sacred flame begins its 137,000-kilometre journey with a 30-minute ritual in Ancient Olympia and is scheduled to arrive in China on March 31 when a grand ceremony will be held at the Beijing Tiananmen Square.

On Sunday, one of Thailand’s torchbearers pulled out from the Bangkok leg of the relay, scheduled for April 19 to protest the Chinese crackdown in Tibet.

Narisa Chakrabongse, one of six environmental activists selected to bear the torch, wrote in an open letter published in the Bangkok Post: “The slaying of the Tibetans … is an outright violation of human rights. This reflects the Chinese government’s negligence of world sentiment.”

She urged Beijing to urgently review its policy towards Tibet. In addition to the six environmentalists, 80 other Thais have been chosen to carry the torch 250 metres each through Bangkok.

Numerous protests by pro-Tibet campaigners are expected to follow the torch around the world….

The question is flower smellers - will it make it or will the wheels come off? Do tell as we hand you the torch…..