Walking With Dinosaurs - Odyssey Arena

Photo Courtesy of Neil Carey

I’m using no hyperbole whatsoever when I tell you that “Walking With Dinosaurs” was the best thing that I’ve ever seen with my eyes, ever. No exaggeration. As a self confessed nerd and lover of all things dinosaur, what could be better than a live arena spectacular involving my favourite dino pals?!

Before going to see the show at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, I intentionally tried to avoid all adverts, pictures and information about it, to be honest I really didn't want to ruin the surprise. From what little I had heard though, I knew that I wanted to wait until I saw the real thing as it would be seriously impressive.

Upon entering the arena, we quickly found our seats and were greeted by the sight of a giant dinosaur's jaws, two screens and what appeared to be mountains in the middle. The lights were low and the atmosphere was high as thousands of kids and adults chattered in anticipation. To my surprise there were a lot of adults there without children - this just goes to show that people of all ages can enjoy what the show has to offer.

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Photo Courtesy of Neil Carey

From the moment the first dinosaur appeared on stage, the crowd went quiet as each and every one of us was transported back 248 millions years. Through the clever use of technology and props, it was hard not to be.

Throughout the course of the night the simple set was transformed as we progressed from baron landscapes, to the first signs of plant life, to raging fires and finally to the evolution of flowers and insects as we got closer to the present day. This was all demonstrated through the extremely clever use of what can only be described as blow up plants and trees which could be depressed at a moments notice - meaning that plants and trees could sprout and flourish as if from the ground itself.

As renowned palaeontologist Huxley lead us through the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic periods, we were introduced to a whole host of dinosaurs, each of which helped to tell the story of both the world's and the dinosaur's evolution. (Read about the progression of the show here). It really was an educational show.

Photo Courtesy of Neil Carey

We saw 20 life sized dinosaurs roaming through the Odyssey in this £10 million arena spectacular - we saw them fight, feed, protect their young and even fly.

I think what made these dinosaurs so truly spectacular was that they were ultimately controlled by people - the smaller dinosaurs were pretty much people walking around in dinosaur costumes as they used the actors' real legs to walk around, whereas the bigger dinosaurs were mounted on what looked like small vehicles which people 'drove' around (although it does take a team of three people to operate each dinosaur). It's hard to picture just what this looks like, so it's best to look at the pictures and videos to get a true feel of what this looked like! Nevertheless this made the dinosaur's movements natural and realistic, especially when coupled with their rippling skin and glinting eyes.

I would urge anyone to go and see these dinosaurs as they will probably be as close as you're ever going to get to seeing them in real life. A truly spectacular and at times scarily realistic night. 

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By Laura Caldwell

Exploris - The Northern Ireland Aquarium

Exploris in Portaferry is Northern Ireland's only aquarium. It's one of a kind and was opened as 'The Northern Ireland Aquarium' in 1987 and then later re-opened by Prince Charles in 1994 as Exploris. Personally, when I think of aquariums I think of cold, blue spaces that smell of fish and damp...so when it was suggested that I go to Exploris for my twentieth birthday I wasn't too sure. However, I'm a sucker for nature and, quite frankly, the idea of doing something that denied my new found adult status was quite appealing. 

From the moment we walked through the doors my opinion was changed and I even felt a bit guilty for doubting the aquarium's ability to entertain, inform and amuse. One of the main reasons that I wanted to go to Exploris was my nine month old nephew, who, although maybe a little young to glean any actual educational information from our visit, clapped and gurgled his way around, appreciating the colours, sounds and textures. 

We allowed 2 hours for fun at the aquarium, so arrived around 3pm, two hours before the closing time of 5pm (the website says to allow around an hour, but two hours was plenty of time to leisurely take in all the sights and even take in a visit to the gift shop). 

Opening hours and prices look like this:

At 3.30pm we saw divers feeding the fish and they interacted with the children looking through the thick glass, waving, motioning and demonstrating how the fish and other sea creatures lived and fed.

Then, we were just in time to catch another demonstration at one of the discovery pools. This was the most enjoyable aspect of the day, the demonstration was very informative and humorous and it's always fun to be able to interact with the creatures first hand.

A very knowledgable guide showed us starfish, sea urchin, scallops, Thornback ray fish, flat fish and a small shark species called a dogfish. We were shown each species and some, such as the starfish were passed around the group as we were told about their feeding habits and some interesting facts about how they live. We were also allowed to touch the species in the pool and everyone thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the discovery pools as there's something extremely satisfying about actually being able to interact with the seal life.

       

As soon as this demonstration was over, it was time for the seals to be fed outside in the seal sanctuary. As the feeder was feeding the seals in the pool, she told us a little about the sanctuary itself and answered all of our questions about seals and life in the sanctuary. 

There are also six hospital pools for injured or orphaned seals to inhabit until they get better. Here's a list of this season's rescues. There's also a 'seal cam' where you can view the seals (if you go on about 4pm, you can see the seals being fed!).

At the time we went there was the topical:

 Ocean Olympians Exhibition

30th June - 3rd September 2012

Meet the medal hopefuls of the marine world, from the sprint to the high jump and synchronized swimming to heavyweight boxing. Let the Games commence! 

Although we went after the 3rd September, the exhibition was still there, with lots of fun facts and comparisons between sealife and real-life Olympians.

Overall, Exploris is a well-run, extremely interesting experience that I thoroughly enjoyed and I'd recommend it to anyone who has a few hours to spend, especially parents of young children. There's even the Tides Cafe for when you're peckish which is open from 10.30am - 5.30pm in the Summer and 11.00am - 4pm in the Winter.

 By Laura Caldwell

The week we had no reviews!

Well, it finally happened. This week we didn't go and see anything and as such we're having a wee break from reviews! So we leave you with 2 things.
Firstly, we noticed that PastieBap favourites Wyldling have debuted a new video. So since they're the current holders of our most viewed post ever we thought we'd stick it up for you to have a butchers at. It's a rocking good tune with some great screming from Jilly. We're liking this harder edge!

Secondly we've been working on transferring the site over from Blogger to Weebly and thought we'd give you guys a wee look so you can give us some feed back.  The main problem with Blogger is that its terrible with handling pictures, which are a very important part of Pastiebap.com. Also we're liking the fact that this is more like a website and less like just a blog. Anyway have a wee look and let us know what you think.  We've still to update graphics, etc so please consider it a work in progress;)

La Boca - A Little Bit of Argentinian Flavour in the Heart of Belfast

 Restaurant Review

- La Boca

Where?

Situated just a few minutes walk from Belfast's City Hall, this little Argentinian restaurant/bar/café is perfect for lunch, dinner, and everything in between. There's also Voodoo bar straight across from it for those oh so important after dinner drinks...

Food

La Boca offers a lunch and a dinner menu, both of which are available to view on their website. I recently went for lunch as I found a great deal on Living Social for 2 main courses and two wine/beer/soft drinks for £13 and the food was delicious. I definitely recommend the La Boca Burger which is served on an amazing ciabatta-style bun with hand-cut chips and choice of home-made salsa. The lunch menu also offers such Argentine style delicacies as: El Guacho Steak Sandwich, Choripan (a sort of chorizo sausage burger) and Pescado y Papas Fritas (or fish and chips to you and me).

For dinner, the choices include a range of Argentine steak, tapas and a series of daily specials. A true taste of Argentina. 

3rd September also sees the launch of both new lunch and dinner menus, so their's even more to come!

Drink

Most wines on the menu are either Argentinian or Chilean, with a few from Brazil and Italy as well. There's a fairly good selection with a glass of house wine costing £4 and a bottle £14.

Beers and ciders look like this: Krombacher (a German beer), Traditional Ales, County Apple Cider and Quilmes (Argentina's favourite beer). Personally, I would recommend a cool bottle of Quilmes, it's light and crisp and is unique in Ireland to La Boca.

Spirits available are a selection of vodkas, rums and a clear Chilean spirit made from grapes called 'Pisco'.


Décor

La Boca is named after a vibrant, colourful barrio in Buenos Aires which is known for it's houses with primary coloured exteriors.

It's clear to see that this was the inspiration behind the décor as the inside of the restaurant itself reflects this perfectly; simple, sturdy wooden tables, shutter-style doors which open out into the street and a brightly coloured Argentine style wall.

The layout is simple, the room is bright and there's even a few tables outside for when the sun decides to shine.


Verdict

La Boca is a lovely restaurant, which really delivers on its promise: real Argentine style food in a relaxed, Argentine atmosphere. It's great for parties, large groups of people or just a romantic dinner.

La Boca offers something a bit different, for when you're tired of eating Italian or American and you should definitely try it out soon.


Also they just got Twitter! - @LaBocaBelfast

Opening hours:

Monday & Tuesday 12:00pm - 8:00pm

Wednesday & Thursday 12:00pm - 9:00pm

Friday & Saturday 12:00pm - 10:00pm

By Laura Caldwell

PWU Proving Grounds at Malone Rugby Club

It was about this time last month (29th July to be precise) that my brother and I were sat in Malone Rugby Club getting ready to watch PWU’s “Proving Grounds” event.  It had been a few years since I last caught any of the PWU shows, back when they were held in the Wellington Hotel, and I was ready to get stuck back in. 

I’ve been a wrestling fan myself for as long as I can remember - bar a few years at secondary school when it dropped off my radar - I’ve always enjoyed it. From sitting in the Kings Hall chanting for Big Boss Man and the Undertaker, to proposing to my wife at Wrestlemania 21 in Los Angeles (yes this is a true story), the big time wrestling of WWE and not TNA is a great spectacle for all. But let’s not forget the smaller organisations, the local ones. Well this is where PWU comes in. All tickets were priced at £5, a bar and screaming and shouting welcome. 

The Massive Giant "Tron"

“Proving Grounds” is a yearly show that is used to showcase new and emerging talent alongside the existing stars of Pro Wrestling Ulster and what a great show it truly was.  We’re sat in the Rugby club and before us is a 20”x20” ring squeezed in the corner, it’s the same size as the WWE use and it’s huge! There’s a crowd of between 70-90 people, a mix of couples, kids, parents and groups of friends.  It’s a good atmosphere with the majority really getting into it.

The Battle Royal under way!

Tonight we’re getting 6 matches and a battle royal. We begin with the biggest guy on the roster, standing somewhere over 7 feet and having spent a while in WWE development, it is easy to see that the guy has come on leaps since the last time I saw him years ago. He has a look, he can talk and by god he can wrestle! He has a lovely opening match verses Bonesaw with the crowd and especially the kids really enjoying this classic good versus bad match-up (or in wrestling speak – Face vs Heel).  Then just before the 20 minute break is my favourite match of the night - Darren 'Blue Guy' Andrews vs 'All Ulster Champion' Christopher Tiberious Banks III. A really quick, crisp and (as much as the low ceiling will allow) high flying affair.  These two really put on a show and I would thoroughly look forward to seeing them again.

Throughout the night we get a triple threat with some wrestlers from south of the border, a tag team bout with Vampires and Mexicans and then we round it all off with all the competitors in the Terry Thompson invitational Battle Royal.  For those not familiar, Terry Thompson is the Vince McMahon of PWU, he’s the money, he’s nefarious and he’s the man in charge. So it was only right that at the end of the battle royal as he went to hold the “winners” hand aloft, he quickly revealed that he was in the battle royal too and threw him over the top rope to declare himself the true winner!

 

The timing of the show was spot on, 2 hours with an interval. It held my attention the whole time and it brought me into the storylines as well as the action.

PWU have an upcoming show on Sunday 26th August at the Balmoral Hotel. It will have the re-match between Darren 'Blue Guy' Andrews vs 'All Ulster Champion' Christopher Tiberious Banks III. This time for the belt and my money is on it stealing the show once again!  Unfortunately we’ll not be in attendance due to previous commitments but we’ll be doing our best to catch all the shows going forward.  It’s a great way to spend a Sunday night regardless of your age and at £5 it is a bargain for live home grown entertainment, oh and there’s a bar so there really is no excuse!

Skrillex Launches Belsonic

Wednesday 15th August saw the first night of the 10 day musical extravaganza that is Belsonic and we at PastieBap were very excited to be seeing Skrillex for the third time.

Arriving at 6.30pm, the time that Dillon Francis started, we thought that we’d miss most of the queues, and that Custom House Square would be full to bursting with dub-step fans. Yet, as we walked towards the Square, the queue was around the block – people of all ages snaked their way around the Albert Clock, swigging on vodka and goldschläger (my personal drink of choice, but since when did drinking cinnamon schnapps become cool?). Perhaps a result of the on and off torrential rain throughout the day, which undoubtedly would have delayed a few people’s plans.

After a brief frisk search we were allowed into Custom House Square and were confronted with Belsonic’s trademark domed stage, which would later make a striking silhouette as the sun set. On-site facilities included a bar, which sold Absolut cocktails alongside the usual suspects, a sweetie van, and a fancy philly cheesesteak slash chippy van. Not bad, Belsonic, not bad at all.

Around 7pm the Square was about a quarter full - with the hard-core fans pushed all the way up to the front, and the more laid-back music-lovers strewn around the middle. The resulting view from the back was merely a sea of arms as Dillon Francis got the crowd onside.

Next up was Kill The Noise, who kept the crowd going until Knife Party got underway. Then, just as the dusk set in, a timer counted down and at around 9.30pm the skies darkened, the lights went up and Skrillex came at us with everything he’s got.  If you thought that Knife Party was well received, that was nothing compared to the reception that Sonny Moore and his space ship-esque stage got. You could feel the bass in your toes as Skrillex played his hour and a half long set, complete with lasers, smoke and even some fire. On more than one occasion, the heavens opened, but everyone was either to absorbed in the music, or simply too drunk to care. In the end the rain just added to the drama of the music and it certainly didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits.

For such a tiny human-being, Skrillex dominated the massive Belsonic stage with ease, however he did have a little help from two screens on either side of the stage, which displayed an array of images from videos for the songs to lyrics, and even at one point an Irish flag (suffice to say, a near riot ensued, with the crowd boo-ing heavily until the image was removed from the screen). Rookie mistake when you’re in Northern Ireland Skrilly.

There was something for everyone, and highlights were Bangarang, Ruffneck and even a few old favourites: Rock 'n' Roll and my Name Is Skrillex. It was also nice to hear a few nods to Dub's Jamaican roots with a few reggae tunes mixed in.

As a 19-year old, I felt either extremely old or extremely young to be at this concert, with the typical clientele seeming to be either 15 – 17 or 25 – 30, but saying this everyone who attended got into the festival atmosphere and seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Skrillex gave it stacks and with a cigarette in hand, he certainly opened this years Belsonic with a bang. We look forward to seeing what the rest of Belsonic will bring. 

The line-up looks a little like this:

By Laura Caldwell

Big Gay Day Out - Gay Pride 2012

As a massive gay myself, I was seriously excited to attend this years Pride Festival in Belfast. Spanning from Friday 27th July all the way to Saturday 4th August, Belfast Pride Festival 2012 is the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender festival in Ireland and this years was one of the biggest ever (it also ranks in the top ten largest pride parades in the UK). 

According to the Pride Guide, Belfast Pride costs around £60,000 to run (raised by sponsors, advertising and donations), with around 6,000 hours of volunteer service. 

Belfast Pride isn't all about being gay, it's about being proud of who you are, and there were tons of events and activities throughout the week to help keep you occupied. From the Out 'n' About Pride Walk, to the Lark in the Park, there was something for everyone. There was also a number of lectures and workshops, including the Amnesty Pride Lecture 2012 on The Dangerous World of Gay 'Cures' at the Europa Hotel and the LASI Confidence Building Workshop at the LASI Community Space. 

On Saturday 4th August, the Pride Parade took place. The parade itself is the highlight of the Pride Festival and thousands took to the streets of Belfast to join in the fun. The Parade left Custom House Square at 12 noon and made its way through the streets, up past City Hall and then back to the Square. This year's theme was 'Pride at Sea', and everyone really camped it up by getting into the nautical spirit of things! We saw floats decorated like boats, with fish and octopi galore, we saw sailors and Navy men and to add to the stereotype: a hell of a lot of men with little puppies wearing real-people clothes. To be perfectly honest, no gay man or lesbian woman or transgender stereotype was left unfulfilled. 


This year's Parade was top notch, lasting at least 40 minutes and as the sun shone on us, everyone could really feel the party atmosphere as the crowds, colour and noise passed us by. People from all walks of life participated, with political parties, charity groups and even the girls from Belfast Roller Derby dropping by!

Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves and there was no trouble from what I could see (apart from the traditional religious groups who stand at city hall with their loudspeakers shouting damnation). But, let's face it, that's to be expected.

Then, as the afternoon wore on, the crowds headed back to Custom House Square, where they filled the streets and even for five or ten minutes, stopped traffic as they crossed the road to the Albert Clock. After a few drinks outside McHughs, we headed inside Custom House Square for the 'Party in the Square' which ran from 11am to 7pm and had a variety of entertainment. The bill consisted of Kitty Brucknell, Tina Cousins, Ryan Jagger, Kezi Silverstone, Ryan John, Diva Dolls, Tommy Shots, Ajenda Mister Underground and much much more! 

The Pride Festival was a really fun way to pass a week for young and old alike. It was a chance to meet new people, experience new things and when it comes down to it celebrate who we are and have a massive party in the sunshine. All in all, this seemed like a fantastic Pride Festival and we hope that next years will be even bigger, better and camper!

By Laura Caldwell