1st Antrim Youth


Some choice events from 2003/04:- Dublin - Submitted by Aimee "Has A Rainbow Hat" Colhoun

It was 7:30am when half of Antrim were awakened by the screeches of minibuses, full to the brim with 30 not-quite-awake clubbers who were so enthusiastic to embark on our fun-fuelled journey that they immediately sprawled out, snoring before we even left the avenue! Can you blame them? Lylo, that time of the morning isn't an ideal time to wake up, is it?! Two buses, 30 clubbers in true 1st Antrim form, jetting off into the horizon and all we needed were two tanks of diesel and of course not forgetting the fog lights and window wipers!

Three and a half hours later, (including a short stop resulting in a few lassies nearly getting locked in probably the most stinking ever loo in Ireland) the minibuses were parked "safe and sound," according to Lyle, "just around the corner from Stephen's Green." Well a few swift, shifty manoevres later, Jake had his bus slotted in nicely. Clubbers awakened for the second time, fresh and ready for a day of shopping! The laughter turned a few passer bys heads when the fatigue overcame Lyle as he fell out of the minibus whilst giving us the meeting times, directions and all that jazz, it really was a classic moment! The girls rushed straight for the shops while the guys headed for a bite to eat to fill those empty stomachs with good Irish grub.

The hours rolled on while the purses and wallets got emptier and emptier! I must say it took us a while to get used to the Euro as a few were reluctant to buy a bottle of coke as it roasted away a good 2 euro, but eventually the party was rolling! As we hit the streets, the time pushed on and poor Rhondadoll and Steff were spending the day as donkeys, laden down with bags - of course belonging to Miss Livingstone. Rhonda informed us that "every shop (and that is every shop) had a good few euro off Laura!"

Getting across the roads was a death wish! Strangely, the cars do not stop if you look at them. But we all managed to meet back in one piece... with the aches of muscle pain and Lyle's bunions playing up as he hobbled back to the bus. We returned to base at 4:30pm. Boy did Jake and Lyle fit the Dublin scene. I think they came back a euro or two richer as I'm sure a few shoppers threw them a couple of cents, assuming they were street beggars. Well with Jake's hat, they were maybe thought to be unemployed fishermen! (Only joking of course.) So that was our Christmas shopping complete for one more year as clubbers again collapsed with tiredness into the minibus. But, oh no! The crazyness was far from over - traffic was bumper to bumper and the two minibuses were miles apart. Of course, with Jake on the motorway and Lyle lost. ("Man there are no signs for the motorway!") Pretty soon we caught up with Jake and our journey back home began. The minibuses were rocking with the not so tuneful songs of the clubbers, celebrating the fun-filled day we had experienced.

After a short stop at McDonalds in Newry (clubbers spent their last few pennies) we carried on and were greeted by the pouring rain bouncing off the tinny roof of the minibus. A few songs later, we pulled into the church avenue, eager to show off our pressies and put our feet up. All in all a great day out with the usual craic and good form from all the clubbers. If you missed it, you missed out!