From the moment they awoke on the morning of January 18th the first years were all but uncontainable with excitement at the prospect of the annual trip to Belfast. Cub reporter Charlie Reilly takes up the story…
The excitement was high on Monday 18th January when Peter (our brilliant ‘bus driver) set off with his merry band of boys, with Nurse Marena Malloy and Fr Michael Sheil to Belfast. We stopped off in Monasterboice en route and then found ourselves in Belfast. A tour of the city was next on the agenda followed by a trip to Crumlin Road Gaol. We checked into the lovely La Mon hotel, then bowling and ice-skating filled our evening. It was a long but exciting day.
After breakfast on Tuesday we followed in the steps of our ancestors with a most interesting visit to the Titanic Museum. Pizza Hut next where we made the most of the All You Can Eat offer…. Mr Egan loved it! Campbell College beckoned and Mr Daryl Maxwell and Mr Tony Egan coached us for our match. The As didn’t perform as well as they might have but the Bs had a great win. A relaxing evening at the cinema helped us to wind down and we really enjoyed ‘Creed’.
Wednesday was another action packed day with breakfast, the W5 Interactive Discovery Centre, rugby at RBAI and the Trigger Happy Close Quarters Battle site. I’m glad to say we performed better on the rugby field that day but the score didn’t reflect the game. Mr Frank Kelly, Mr Maxwell and Mr Egan were good sports in Trigger Happy. Mr Maxwell took part and proved to be an easy target but Mr Egan decided to fight another day. Next time sir…
Tired and weary we departed the hotel for the ‘We Are Vertigo’ indoor adventure centre, a challenging but fun experience. We arrived back home to greet our parents who were at our parent teacher meeting. Back to reality.
Although Mr Bowen organised a fantastic trip he was unfortunately unable to attend – the birth of his son Joseph was a good enough reason.
Our trip to Belfast will never be forgotten and – more importantly – the bond between us in Elements 2016 was strengthened.
Charlie Reilly