A Fabulous Day at the Dalriada Festival

It was with suspicious eyes that I opened the curtains on Fri 13^th July; it looked like the sun was shining, but with this being Northern Ireland, one can never be too sure.  Sure enough though, there it was!  But would it stay? That was the main concern. We were headed to the Dalriada festival in Glenarm later that day, and with the festival being 90% outdoors, the weather was pretty crucial to its success.  We had my mother in law and my niece over staying with us from Scotland and were trying to show them the best of what NI had to offer, so after a morning at Titanic Belfast we headed out towards Larne, the North Coast and eventually Glenarm. We arrived at the grounds to Glenarm Castle with the sun still shining and as we quickly discovered a lot of other people had the same idea.

We navigated to the carpark easily as the grounds were well signposted and a short walk later we were paying in. With under 12s free and discount for seniors it was priced very competitively. My wife and I paid £10 each. The next few hours were spent having an amazing time, but first we scurried over to the Fine Food zone for some hog roast and coffee while the Broken Strings bluegrass band played in the background, which later made way to a display of Irish dancing.

We then moved round to see the cooking display from Channel 4s Fabulous Baker Brothers.  The guys were on great form as they took us through cooking a salmon en croute using all local produce, which we managed to grab a piece of to taste once they had finished. It was delicious (even though I don’t really like salmon)!  The guys were super nice and stayed behind for a good 20mins taking pictures and chatting with everyone.  They were handing out stickers for their website and as they stuck one on me I thought it only fair to stick some of the new pastiebap.com stickers on them. 

After the cookery we saw Willie Drennan’s Ulster Scots Band playing in the beautiful walled gardens. We had some ice cream while we attempted to watch the world’s first sheep fashion show. This was absolutely mobbed but we managed to glimpse Lady Baba and Super Lamb walking the catwalk with ease.

We caught the tail end of the massive muscle men taking part in the 'Clash of the Celtic Giants', tossing the massive caber in the air. We had a quick go on the Segways on the way round and to finish the day off, there was the amazing dancing acrobatic display that is the AFRIKAN WARRIORS.

The Dalriada festival has some solid sponsors in the shape of P&O ferries, UTV, Calor and Audi and it’s great to see these companies getting behind what is a different kind of festival that is truly for the whole family.  In an over saturated market of music festivals, Dalriada truly is something different and long may it continue!

Land of Giants Awakens Belfast at Titanic Slipways

A couple of months ago I heard rumours of an epic new show coming to Belfast, 

Land of Giants'. 

Yet when I asked around, no one seemed to know what it was about. "Uhhh, there's cranes and acrobatics and fireworks and music and stuff I think" was the usual reply. This was obviously going to be a show shrouded in mystery and I would just have to go and find out all about it for myself.

After booking and paying for tickets for this long awaited event, I recently received news that "in a GIANT act of generosity, Legacy Trust UK has announced that they are making the huge Land of Giants event...free to everyone", with refunds for everyone who had paid for tickets. Happy days.

So on 30th June we didn't really know what to expect and as we headed towards the Titanic Slipways we were still none the wiser. We were greeted with the sight of scaffolding that ran the length of the slipways with a massive crane at each end. The scaffolding was lined with red ribbons and as it neared the starting time of 10.30pm the tension built as night set in and the distant sound of snoring giants could be heard overhead.

Shortly after 10.30pm the wind picked up, the rain came down in sheets and with an explosion of fireworks, the show began once and for all. At first we looked in awe as a girl in a red dress ran the length of the scaffolding, breaking through the red ribbons and being chased by red fireworks until she reached the end where she was hoisted into the air by a crane and somersaulted into the air. From this moment it was clear that Land of Giants was going to be something special.

As our main character hurtled through the air, musicians assembled along the "stage" and as the heavens truly opened on us, the sound of the drums exploded in our ears like thunder. The drummers were perfectly in time with each other and they played belligerently as flames whipped around them from torches nearby and red flags were whipped through the air. The atmosphere was haunting and personally, I think that the relentless rain added to the drama of the whole event.



At this point in the show large lit-up letters were passed down the scaffolding from person to person, while projections were displayed on the Titanic Belfast building itself. (These projections were top-notch and even better than the ones seen at the opening of Titanic Belfast at the Titanic Light Show).

A home-grown voice-over could be heard of a poem or collection of words which seemed to  hypnotise the crowd as 'Land of Giants' acknowledged Belfast's industrial past and we saw linen workers pass a large sheet of linen down the line.

Next up, four massive frames were hoisted onto the 'stage' and with the flashbulb clink of a family photograph we were introduced to several ordinary people from Belfast and their personal stories as they came, went and lived in Belfast.  As the stories progressed we were eventually introduced to the ancestors of our protagonist Grace who worked at the shipyard.

The frames drop and the 'stage' fills with performers dressed in workers clothes as they begin to beat out rhythms on the metal bars of the construct. Once again, it's hypnotic and terribly fitting as we are standing on the slipways, a few yards from where the works of Harland and Wolff would have carried out their daily grind.

Then, Grace is back and everything comes together as hydraulics cause lit-up funnels to rise majestically into the air. As performers hold light-up discs which represent port-holes, the crowd suddenly sees the Titanic, Belfast's most famous export recreated before their very eyes, on the exact spot that she stood 100 years ago. The choir sings and the voice-over waxes lyrical about the great ship as only three of the four funnels puff smoke (on the real ship one funnel was for aesthetic reasons only and didn't function as a real funnel). It is this precision and attention to detail that makes Land of Giants a truly spectacular show.

The voice-over repeats its poetic mantra of "longer than life - higher than space" over and over and over again as the drummers assemble once more. We are back at the beginning, we have gone full circle to where we once started. The cranes lift six performers into the air as spectacular fireworks mark the end of the show.

The 45-minute spectacular was held as a part of the London 2012 Festival and was under the artistic direction of Mark Murphy, featuring a cast and crew of over 500 local performers and musicians. This project was the culmination of over two years work and a hell of a lot of talent from our local performers, all performed to a crowd of 20,000.
Land of Giants was truly a show worth waiting for, it told the story of the people, of industry, of life and how words and letters bind us to each other. We live in a land forged by giants, a land dependant on history and storytelling and Land of Giants truly showcases both.

The show finishes, the crowd are rapturous with applause and as if right on cue, the rain stops. As the crowds filter out, someone knocks over a barrier and as everyone trips over themselves getting out, it is clear that the magic is lost and we are back to reality.

By Laura Caldwell

Five Things To Do In Northern Ireland this Summer

Whether it's one of those rare sunny summer days, or a typical rainy day off, there's something for everyone in our list of five things to do in our fair province this summer!


1. Belfast Film Festival

Running from 31st May to the 10th June Belfast Film Festival, "showcases both local talent, and the best in new International cinema" and will feature films shown in unusual places such as on a boat on the River Lagan or in St Anne's Cathedral. Opening and closing night films include Good Vibrations directed by Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, and Whole Lotta Sole  directed by Terry George. The Festival not only features films but also workshops and talks by the creative teams behind Good Vibrations, Whole Lotta Sole and Shadow Dancer. A highlight of the festival is sure to be Stephen Rea in Conversation, where Marie-Louie Muir will conduct a public interview with Belfast born actor Stephen Rea who has appeared in ‘Nothing Personal’, ‘V for Vendetta’, ‘Michael Collins’, ‘Interview with the Vampire’, ‘The Butcher Boy,’ ‘I Could Read the Sky’, and ‘Breakfast on Pluto.' As the festival spans all across Belfast and will show such a wide variety of films, documentaries, interviews and workshops there's sure to be something for everyone.

2. Titanic Belfast

If you haven't already, visiting the world's largest Titanic visitor's experience is a must this summer. This £90 million building is in the heart of Belfast's Titanic Quarter and celebrates all that the Titanic had to offer, whilst simultaneously mourning the loss of lives on that tragic voyage. The building features 4 90ft 'hulls' which emulate the Titanic herself and the inside of the building contains ten galleries: Boomtown Belfast, The Shipyard, The Launch, The Fit-Out, The Maiden Voyage, The Sinking, The Aftermath, Myths & Legends, Exploring the Wreck and the Ocean Exploration Centre - each of which contain a series of interactive exhibitions. There's also a gift shop where you can pick up some souveniers of your day out, a cafe and a restaurant.

For a more comprehensive overview of what Titanic Belfast has to offer have a quick look at our previous article on our personal experience: http://www.pastiebap.com/2012/05/titanic-day-out.html

3. Ulster Museum

Situated at Botanic, the Ulster Museum is fun for all the family. Recently refurbished, the museum is worth another visit even if you've been before. It's free admission so you might as well give it a try on a rainy summer day (which sounds like most of our summer to be honest) even if you don't think museums are your thing. The Ulster Museum features exhibitions on everything from the Spanish Armada to Egyptian Mummies and with the new Age of the Dinosaur exhibition it's sure to excite and intrigue. The Age of the Dinosaur exhibition is running from 18th May to 16th September and features seven life-like animatronic dinosaurs which move and roar through a Jurassic forest. A video can be seen here.

4. Go to a Homegrown Music Festival

Times are hard, you guys and money's tight, so why not forgo your usual summer holiday or festival in England or Scotland for something a bit more local. This year's main festivals are Glasgowbury and Pigstock and PastieBap is heading to both! Set in the heart of the Sperrins, Glasgowbury just gets better and better and this year Northern Irish legends Therapy? will be headlining on Saturday 21st July. Other acts include Fighting With Wire, Axis Of, Kowalski and Pocket Billiards.

Pigstock this year will run from 1st July to 3rd July and acts such as Fighting With Wire, Not Squares, Pocket Billiards, Gascan Ruckus and Mojo Fury will be rocking Killinchy all night long. According to the Pigstock website, "there will be 28 bands playing across three stages over two days, a food village and the Pigstock bar. Local artist group Firsty! will be helping to make it visually the most colourful and interesting Pigstock to date!" And let's not forget the hog, the delicious suckling pig which gives Pigstock it's name!

For more info, check out our previous post of Northern Ireland festivalling: http://www.pastiebap.com/2012/05/pigstock-glasgowbury-local-festivalling.html

5. Land of Giants

On the Titanic Slipways on 30th June, Land of Giants will have arrived. Land of Giants is the largest outdoor arts event ever held in Northern Ireland. Featuring a cast and crew of over 500 people, Land of Giants is staged by Giant Events Company and features state-of-the-art digital animation, dramatic special effects and fireworks.

According to the Land of Giants website, "the theme for the event draws inspiration from the many Giants identified in the shared and diverse history and society of Northern Ireland – Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver, the legendary Finn McCool, Harland and Wolff’s iconic Samson and Goliath, the ships the Olympic and Titanic and of course the Giant’s Causeway – as well as the vision of Northern Ireland and its population as being giant in terms of ideas, talent and heritage."

Land of Giants is an event shrouded in mystery and we're very excited to see the epic spectacle on 30th June!

Other exciting events this Summer include Belsonic, the opening of the Giants Causeway visitor's centre, Gay Pride, the Irish Open and the Olympic Torch Relay, so get out and enjoy all that Northern Ireland has to offer.

By Laura Caldwell

Vive le Cabaret! - Cabaret Supper Club joins Belfasts Dinner Theatre Fraternity

People like going out for something to eat, and people like being entertained, so it comes as no surprise that in the last year - the year in which Belfast has most flourished - we see a growing trend towards dinner theatre type venues. We've seen Burt’s Jazz at the Merchant and Cabaret Teatro at Botanic, both of which serve delicious food and sumptuous entertainment.  The latest addition to this is AM:PM’s offering  “Cabaret Supper Club”.

Living Social

PastieBap recently went to Cabaret on a Living Social Voucher. In case you’re not familiar with the concept, Living Social is a deal based website (like the ever popular Groupon) where they team up with local businesses to offer you a great deal every day.  In this case it was £24 for 2 people to attend the Sunday brunch at Cabaret and have a main meal each.  You just buy the deal online, print out the voucher, book your place and then show up. This is a great way to drum up business especially during opening weeks and to spread the word of mouth from (hopefully) satisfied customers. 

The Cabaret Supper Club

Situated near the Corn Market area of Belfast and next door to City Hall, The Cabaret Supper Club is directly in the centre of town, just an easy walk from Victoria Square also (as seems to be oh so important these days). It is also fairly close to the new Titanic Belfast building and Titanic Quarter too.  If anyone has seen the old film Cabaret with Liza Minnelli or the more recent Burlesque you will know the sort of look they are going for. A kind of Parisian, decadent, slightly gaudy look.  Mirrors everywhere, red velvet on the walls giving it a fairly plush look.


So the first thing you see when you go in is a giant mirror, a poster for Cabaret and red velvet everywhere.  As you walk up the stairs to the first floor you are greeted by a concierge who then takes your reservation and seats you for the performance.  When you are seated in your booth, you will notice there is a small bell which looks like a gold door bell just behind you. 

This bell is a great novelty and is used to call the staff should you need them.  We attended a Sunday Brunch where we were treated to a main course and a show.  Our party was six people strong and they were able to seat us all together in front of the decadent stage.

The Food

So we sat down and we were presented with the menu.  From the menu I selected roast beef, others in my group had the chicken and the lamb and it was all described beautifully in a delightful looking menu.  The roast beef turned out to be more like a thin cut of steak served on mash with a slightly sweet gravy like jus. This was delicious and cooked to perfection.  One wouldn’t expect to get such a nice piece of meat being described as roast beef.  We then ordered some drinks.  We did order tap water and were presented with a kind of self-bottled water which they charged us £2.50 for. This was a bit of a niggle as when you ask for tap water, you expect to get water from the tap which is free, so we were a little bit disappointed when we got the bill for that. 

We had some wine, deserts and coffees all of which were delicious.  The coffee came out warm, not piping hot which wasn't to everyone's liking, but suited me just fine. The staff were fairly attentive and well decked out, in matching black and white uniforms and when we rung the bell they came quickly enough.

The Entertainment

The entertainment afforded to us on the Sunday was a Magician, followed by a man playing the grand piano. He played all the rat pack favourites and then a few contemporary tunes done in a swing style. 

The first of the entertainment was a magician/comedian.  I would say that he was more suited to nighttime entertainment than perhaps Sunday mid-day, but he did the best with what he had and his tricks were good, and he was entertaining. He tried to get audience participation which people weren’t really having, perhaps they were hungover or perhaps they didn’t want to be taken up on the stage while eating, but he then said he couldn’t find enough volunteers and had to strip a bit off his show.  The bits he did perform were really good though and as somebody who really enjoys magic I thought his tricks were traditional, yet well done, which made for an entertaining act.  After that a tuxedoed gentleman came out and tinkled the ivories on a grand piano which sat in front of the stage.  The grand piano was an impressive sight to see and to heart being played over Sunday lunch was great.  The volume was pretty good too, loud enough to hear but low enough to talk over should you want.

The Facilities

A pet peeve of mine is that a lot of places put great effort into the decor of the main room and neglect the toilet areas.  It kind of ruins everything they’re working towards, especially with a themed restaurant.  But the toilets here were done out in the same style as the restaurant.  The mirrors were framed ornately and lacquered in black which gave them a slightly gothic look. They were clean and well kitted out.

The Round Up

Looking around the restaurant, it’s quite a large place, it looked like it could seat about 200 at at time.  Every table looked individual, some of them had high backed booths, some of them had individual seats, some stools etc.  There were chandeliers around and all in all the place looked fantastic.  The waiting staff were quick to serve and my only gripe would be about the tap water.  I think it said re-filtered water and it was presented in a glass re-usable bottle.  We asked for the bill and received it promptly and paid the remainder of what we owed, the rest had already been covered by our purchase of the Living Social voucher, and all in all everyone in the group agreed that it was a great way to spend Sunday lunchtime. 

We would all love to go back on a weekend night, when they have the full bill of entertainment, like the burlesque dancers, singers, magicians, and fire breathers, so it is definitely a place we will be re-visiting and a welcome addition to Belfast’s dinner theatre scene.

The Caberet Supper Club webpage
Living Social Belfast

Titanic Day Out!

Last weekend PastieBap took a field trip to the new Titanic Belfast building in the heart of the Titanic Quarter. After all the hype of this year we were really looking forward to seeing this mammoth building for ourselves - up close and personal. So in order to beat the queues we booked our tickets ahead of time (it’s pretty much vital to do this as most weekends are already sold out – tickets can be booked here) and turned up first thing in the morning.

It goes without saying that the outside of the £90 million building is extremely impressive. The building which was built to look like the famous ship is 14,000 sq.m and is twice the size of Belfast's City Hall. The first thing that you notice about the 'the world's largest Titanic visitor experience' from afar are the 3,000 individual silver anodised aluminium shards which make up its external façade and seem to always catch the sunlight, and the second thing that you notice is that at least three of its four 90ft 'hulls' are in view at all times; this coupled with the  reflective pools of water which surround it give the impression that the building could sail away at any moment.

With such an impressive exterior, the Titanic Belfast really had a lot to live up to with its interior, and it didn't disappoint. As you enter the building it's hard to miss the rust effect panels which line the walls, and the compass rose on the floor - giving the modern structure an antique air which is fitting with the theme of the Titanic.

The exhibition portion of the building consists of ten galleries: Boomtown Belfast, The Shipyard, The Launch, The Fit-Out, The Maiden Voyage, The Sinking, The Aftermath, Myths & Legends, Exploring the Wreck and the Ocean Exploration Centre - each of which contain a series of interactive exhibitions.

As you enter the exhibition space, you learn a lot of interesting facts about Belfast's industrial past including the linen and rope works and the production of cigarettes. The center-piece of this section is the interactive map of Belfast which you hover over with your hand to learn more about the individual sections of Belfast's history. This is great for kids who love to get their hands on anything and for adults who want to learn a bit more about the past of this great city. You also learn how to send a distress telegram and can look at miniature models of areas of the shipyard itself.

You exit this part of the exhibition through the original gates of Harland and Wolff and you enter the drawing rooms and planning offices of the shipyard which have an interactive floor.

Visitors ascend a replica of one of the huge pillars of the Arrol Gantry and then they embark on the Shipyard Ride. When PastieBap was there, there weren't any queues for the ride and we got on straight away, but at busier periods there may be a slight wait. You climb aboard a futuristic car and are transported back in time to the Shipyard of the 1900s. The ride uses special effects, animations and full-scale reconstructions to really give you a feel of how the Shipyard would have been at the time of the Titanic's construction. The sights and sounds really do the trick and we really enjoyed the ride. There's also the option of skipping the ride and simple reading the information.

As you exit the Shipyard Ride, visitors are met with a huge window which looks down at the slipways themselves where the Titanic once resided. As you watch a short film of the Titanic being launched the state-of-the-art glass in the windows uses electrodes to switch from the real view to a superimposed image of the Titanic resting on the slipways. This is one of the most impressive parts of the entire building and is really a unique and novel way of recreating the buzz of 31st May 1911.

The fourth gallery is the fit-out of the ship and features a four minute video projected onto three walls which shows visitors a CGI recreation of the ship as you go on a journey through the engine rooms, dining areas and the famous staircase. You can also see replicas of first, second and third class cabins and examples of the types of carpet and linen used on board.

The fifth gallery introduces visitors to some of the passengers on board and we learn about the types and amounts of supplies brought for the Maiden Voyage as it stopped off at Southhampton, England; Cherbourd, France and Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland before setting sail across the Atlantic.
The sixth gallery confronts the horrors of the Titanic's final hours and atmospheric sounds and lighting is used to recreate the night of its sinking alongside transcripts of the communications and distress signals on that fateful night. You then descend the stairs to learn about the aftermath and the enquiry which took place and then you use an interactive touch screen display to find out more about the myths and legends associated with the ship.

Just when you think the exhibition is over, you enter through a set of doors and are confronted with a multi-level gallery with seating in the top half. If you sit for a while you can watch high-definition footage of the wreckage with commentary from the divers. This eerie imagery is coupled with water-effect lighting on the walls to give the impression that you're a part of their journey. Down a flight of stairs is a glass floor with a projection of the wreckage as a whole which is very impressive and below this is the final gallery, the Ocean Exploration Centre in which visitors can access the technologies which modern ships use.

Overall, the building is extremely impressive and a lot of fun and we'd recommend leaving yourself about 2 or 3 hours to really get a feel of the whole building. Finally, Belfast has something to attract visitors from across the globe and which we can really be proud of.

You can explore the building here.

Titanic Building Launched at Slipways

Saturday 7th April marked the official launch of the new Titanic Belfast building in the heart of Belfast's Titanic Quarter. Although the building had already been open for a week, a light show on the 7th marked the official opening. This was the first Titanic related activity of the year that PastieBap attended and to be honest, I didn't really know what to expect. I knew for sure that there would be lights and I hoped that there would be fireworks.  Belfast definitely didn't disappoint; there were lights and fireworks aplenty.

This was my first time seeing the £97 million Titanic Building up close and it really is breathtaking. Situated on Queen's Island, the building houses the world's largest Titanic exhibition and is 14, 00 sq.m. - twice the size of Belfast's City Hall. Its unique architectural design is comprised of 3,000 individual silver anodised aluminium shards across its external façade that is built to replicate four 90ft hulls. The building is surrounded by reflective pools of water to complete the illusion of a stately ship looming over Belfast's horizon. 

Noel Molloy, project manager for Titanic Belfast thinks that Queen’s Island is the perfect spot for this revolutionary new building. "That's where she was built. That's where she was designed. That's where the workers lived." The scale of this building mimics the actual size of the ship and is 100ft from where the Titanic was built, with the drawing office to the right, to the left is the river Lagan where the Titanic was launched and to the south is where the shipyard’s workers lived. 

Everything about the night of the light show seemed exceptionally well organised, with portaloos being supplied, ample security and there certainly wasn't much bother despite the assumed 30,000 person attendance. The tickets for the show were free and audience members were assigned to one of three viewing locations based around the slipways with different coloured armbands marking the different areas. 

Gates opened at 8pm, and the show was scheduled to start at 9pm, with stalls being set up selling crafts and food and a few fairground rides for the kids were also there to add to the carnival-esque atmosphere. The excitement was palpable and with the weather staying dry everybody seemed in high spirits as they anticipated the event.

The light show itself started about 20 past 9, a little off schedule as they had to wait for complete darkness before it could begin. So at 9.20pm on the 7th April the music began and so did the much anticipated Titanic Light Show. The first five minutes or so simply consisted of a few spot lights being shone on the building with silhouettes of the Harland & Wolff cranes and other Belfast landmarks. This wasn't quite the electric start that everyone was expecting and it lasted far too long - you could actually hear the crowd becoming restless as the noise of their chatter rose above the classical music being played. However, after the initial 5 minutes of disappointment the fireworks began in tandem to the lights and the show really kicked off as several flares were set alight from the top of the building. The lights themselves were projected directly onto the Titanic Belfast and used images and fireworks to tell the story of the Titanic from her construction at Harland & Wolff (showing girders and cogs rotating) to her eventual sinking to the bottom of the ocean (seaweed and scene of the wreckage).

Overall the show was extremely impressive, with the images being simultaneously projected onto all sides of the building. The show was far longer than the usual projection-mapping show (which usually last around 5 - 10 minutes) as it lasted approximately 40 minutes in total. With a show this long you would assume that keeping the audience's interest would be hard, but somehow they managed to do it, with the crowd staying silent and awestruck practically the whole time. As the show ended the crowds filed out, still no trouble or problem considering the 30,000 attendance. There was also a free shuttle bus service being run from Titanic Belfast into the centre of Belfast and the queue for this showed just how popular the show must have been. Although the queues were long, the wait was bearable what with the highly charged atmosphere and the collective feeling that this was Belfast rising from the not so proverbial ashes, showing all that it's got - announcing that once and for all, it's back.

Highlights of the show can be seen here.

The Titanic Belfast website can be found here.