Bubblegum

The Bubblegum Club Helicruise 2010!

Young Ryan was nearly in tears. There was a mix up and it looked as if he wasn’t going to go up in a helicopter after all. His dad explained that Ryan had told all his mates in school. Disappointment was writ large in his tearful blue eyes. His father’s face was anxious, too. But all was not lost, two places were found and Ryan and his dad went up, up and away. I found them both, hours later, grins fit to bursting all over their faces, ready to go home and tell his mates he’d done it, flown in a 'copter above the lakes at Blessington.

When Peter Harris casually asked if I’d like to come and help at the Bubblegum Club’s annual Helicruise and Garden Party at the Avon Rí resort in Blessington, Co. Wicklow, I thought, why not, sure I’m not doing anything special so I might as well go and lend a hand. I stuffed my book, The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker, in the car just in case I found myself with time on my hands. I’d tried to read the book on two separate occasions but now that it’s on the IMPAC shortlist with a good chance of winning, I’d decided that I just have to knuckle down.

I drove through Wicklow, the aptly named Garden of Ireland, and found myself at a hotel resort by a lake that stretched for miles. I had no idea what this event was about but I knew Peter well enough to know that something good was about to happen. I was ushered into house number 60 where helpers of every description were rushing around falling over each other, walkie-talkies on the go. A Bubblegum t-shirt was lifted over my head making me part of the gang. I was handed a vague list of instructions and then everyone vanished. That was when I met Ryan. And after that I met Sophie who told me she’d been to Disneyland with her brother Sean, and then the gorgeous Jack and his sister. I met parents and children and carers and helpers, I met nurses and doctors, I met the bus drivers, stars of stage and screen, clowns, jugglers, puppeteers, face painters, hamburger flippers, two fine young men and their travelling zoo with a python that wrapped itself around the neck of around willing to take a chance. I wasn’t!

House number 60 was where I was stationed and all day long people streamed in and out, stopping for a chat or just using the facilities, having a well-earned cup of tea, telling me how much they were enjoying themselves. Sheila was with the crew who were filming the entire day so that every single child and parent would have something visual to remind them of this day. She would dash into the house and spend ages downloading onto her computer and then off out again, to the bouncy castle where groups of laughing children were having a ball.

I didn’t get to read a single page of my book. I was far more interested in what was going on in house number 60. I did have a break at some stage and wandered through the many activities that were happening all around me. Gangs of kids were kicking up a storm on the drums in one section and others were bouncing and jumping on huge inflatables on the grass. I found myself down at the lake with a large crowd amid all kinds of boats and dinghies. A yellow craft that opened out at one end enabled helpers to lift a wheelchair-bound boy on board. I watched them about to take off and yelled, "Is there room for one more on there?" Well, it was simply beautiful. Eoin was put in position so that he became the captain of the ship for our trip across the water. His carer watched over him as he concentrated on the feeling of being out away from the land. Jim leaned over and turned the wheel but Eoin was in charge, his eyes taking it all in, his gnarled hand waving with excitement. And I just sat there soaking up the scenery.

And all the while there were the helicopters, twenty-eight of them I think, landing and taking off, twirling in the sky full of excited passengers taking in the scenery below.

With the help of the Irish Helicopter Owners & Pilots Association, almost 200 kids and carers from hospitals in the surrounding area were given a day that none of them will forget. It’s a day I won’t forget either.

I’m tired today, after all that excitement. I sat in bed for a sinful hour or two and finished my book, at last. I don’t know what I was thinking when I tried it twice before and didn’t get past the first couple of pages; maybe it just needed a more concentrated mind. The Twin is an excellent book. It’s thoughtful, and thought provoking, a gem, in fact, the perfect antidote to a day full of excitement and fun and jolly hard work.

I’m sure that Peter Harris has had at least 200 Thank You’s and ever single one of them is well deserved. It was, indeed, a grand day out.