Little effort was needed this year to round up everyone to attend our Christmas event. The boys were raring to go and the girls were up early, getting ready and deciding what way to wear their hair.

Staff Robyn and Sorcha gave the obligatory safety speech (which again was obviously ignored!), and deciding who was going with who in the cars, we left housing and made our way to Doagh.

Once formalities were over at the racetrack (signing forms, choosing dinner, watching safety vids and taking a few selfie’s), onto the track we went! Straight out of the blocks Jamie looked like the man to beat. Cherelle forgot to use her breaks zipping about like she had no fear at all. For a while we thought Jack thought it was bumper cars with his antics but soon learnt which corners to break at. Jonny had no fear of putting the foot down; he also had no fear of the occasional crash!

Daniel and Noel provided much of the banter and competitive spirit in the pit and on the track and looked like competitors for the final. Jordan and Chloe despite the struggles with helmet hair, did the girls proud over taking some of the boys as the races went on.

Thirteen heats and three semi-finals followed, everyone got to race each other. The top five racers would go into the grand final. Sore backs, sore necks, and dented egos ensued! Sorcha and Jodie were cheering the competitors on from the pit lane!

Andon was quick and determined to get into the final, Jordan impressed with his controlled driving all day but narrowly missed out on a place in the final, and Daniel relentlessly tried to take over his key worker (Me) which resulted in a bump and rescue situation.

The last race of the night was made up of Jamie, Steven, Andon, Robyn and Jack. Jamie claimed an impressive victory, and deservedly so. Robyn streaked through to finish second overall whoop whoop, with Steven coming in a fantastic third. Jack and Andon just missed out on a place on the podium (a few too many crashes maybe boys?!) Jack coming in 4th and Andon finishing in 5th place!!

After the racing we had our food was delivered. Fish suppers, sausage suppers, kebabs and burgers and chips. Once we’d finished munching we climbed back into our cars and made our way back to Uni Street. Everyone had a fantastic time, got on the best and were great sports.

Need 4 Speed Karting in Doagh staff were fantastic throughout and great DJ’s. This is our second event here and we couldn’t recommend the place highly enough, as I’m sure all the young people would agree.

Merry Christmas from everyone at Belfast Housing!

~ Robyn, Housing Worker