By Sasha Harrinanan Saturday, July 28 2012

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Proud Trini: John Telfer poses in the uniform of a World War I soldier before taking part in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, London yesterd...

They say there’s a Trini in everything and the opening ceremony for the London Olympics yesterday was no exception.

John Telfer, originally from Belmont, portrayed an English soldier from World War I during the segment of the ceremony which focussed on British history.

The 35-year-old has been living in London, England for the past nine years, where he is employed as a social worker.

One of 10,000 performers who took part in the 27 million ceremony, Telfer’s sister in Trinidad, Michelle Martin, told Newsday she never expected to see him on screen but was excited when she did.

“I screamed and started jumping up and down in the office when I saw John’s face on television. I was so excited and happy to get to see my brother, and he ended up being on screen twice, both for a long enough period that I was able to take a picture,” Martin said.

While the British history segment of the opening ceremony was considered boring by some, Martin said it was with a sense of anticipation that she sat through the segments on Britain’s agricultural roots, the Industrialisation period and so on, waiting on the segment which honoured fallen soldiers.

“I was looking out for him, hoping and praying they would show him. I couldn’t believe it when I got to see John in his uniform costume twice, it was so exciting,” Martin recalled.

How did her brother get involved in the London Olympics opening ceremony?

Martin explained that several months ago, Telfer saw an advertisement about auditions for the event, so he tried out for the part of a soldier. Telfer was selected and eventually fitted for his costume, pictures of which he emailed to his proud sister back home.

Now that the opening ceremony is over, Telfer has fantastic stories to tell about his experience and Martin is looking forward to hearing them all.