It is a wonderful sign of how much Belfast has settled down after the years of sectarian violence that word of a flight from Canada being three hours late Thursday made the radio news.
We found that out while chatting with a local on the train platform at Jordanstown, near the university residences where we are staying here in Belfast.
The band got here about 11 am Thursday after a flight that left on time but ended up more than three hours overdue because of an unplanned stop in Quebec City. The Air Transat flight was going along nicely when the pilot abruply slowed the big Airbus and told passengers some sort of navigation thing needed to fly over the ocean was not working.
The stop was supposed to take 20 minutes (yeah, right) but took more than two hours.
But, they beat something with a hammer or found some duct tape and we eventually made it back up in the air.
We arrived to broken cloud and, miraculously, some warm sun — rare this summer.
The band rehearsed for 45 minutes or so and then most of the mob headed to the famed Crown Saloon in Belfast for dinner. It was a bit of an ironic visit because after all the hype, the building was cloaked in hoarding. The heritage property is undergoing a £500,000 reno job.
Some of the boys had their first true Guinness pints and, overall, it was a great time. Thanks to band parent Jenny Henry for setting that up.
Some of the kids scattered after that, and a few parents had the energy for a bit of a crawl.
Lodgings here are, ummm, minimalist, to be kind. But the staff are uniformly warm and helpful, and excited to have us as guests. There is no Internet in the rooms, and wireless is hard to come by, so this is being typed at the campus library.
That stated, there will be no pix and few posts until we settle in Glasgow.
Today, the band plays a civic reception in Lisburn and a concert this evening.
Tomorrow, first on at the Ulster championships.
