UPDATE ON MONDAY: The voting phone lines are open from 9am today and close at midnight. From landlines simply call 09015 228214 or from mobiles call 6228214. It only costs 15p from mobile & landlines and you can vote up to 10 TIMES (every one counts)
If you have no idea what these phone lines are for, read on…
Paris has the Paris Plage… Sydney has Bondi Beach… Portrush has the Strand…Isn’t it about time Belfast had a beach of its own?
On Monday you’ll have the chance to vote for a cool new addition to 
the Titanic Quarter landscape. Titanic Foundation, along with lots of support and enthusiasm from the whole Titanic Quarter community, have put in an application to the People’s Millions to build a beach right beside Titanic Belfast as a chilled-out community space and a fun place to relax and feel the sand between your toes:
The fund will help us ‘Build a Beach’ within reach located in the heart of Titanic Quarter creating a friendly, healthy place easy to get to on foot, bike, bus and car for our local residents, workers & students as well as visiting tourists. A safe place for neighbouring communities to bring their children to play, to socialize and of course enjoy ice-cream.
The Beach will be a venue for sporting, cultural and educational events and activities from beach volleyball to building giant sand castles to playing life size board games. There will be beach huts – a must for the Belfast climate. Plus the perfect location to welcome the arrival of the Tall Ships.
We will involve local people in summer beach activities, we will work with local schools in the design process and recruit, train and work with a team of volunteers who will help with regular beach maintenance and assist with the organisation of beach events and activities. A place that will engage with and attract local communities, providing a space that belongs to everyone.
If you think it’s a good idea, you have to lift the phone and vote on Monday 24th November – the People’s Millions are awarded according to a public vote and your call might make all the difference…
The phone number isn’t released until Monday morning – so check back here on Monday morning for the number and get dialling. Each person is allowed to phone and vote 10 times (each call costs 15p). So vote early, vote often!
And tune into UTV Live at 6pm on Monday night, where you’ll see some familiar faces (and some familiar deckchairs) from Dock-world involved in the filming of a promo for the beach – a chance for Dock volunteers, TQ residents, BMC students, local businesses and more to get behind a project we’re all really excited about.
And d’you know, even though it was a freezing November morning, as soon as we walked onto our little mock-up beach, started building sandcastles (Siobhan’s were especially meticulous), slurping ice-creams and playing catch, everyone started to smile.
Beaches are good, and Belfast needs one!
There’s nothing to evoke happy thoughts than sunny summer days at the beach,roll your trousers up kick of your flip flops and hunt out your bucket and spade.
I love this idea, sand castles and ice cream vans reliving our childhoods and memory making for those who are children at heart.
this has been done successfully in other UK cities. I remember earlier this year in France, sitting outside a lovely family restaurant watching the kids play safely on the beach while their parents enjoyed an after lunch drink. I thought then what a shame it was that we couldn’t really do that in Northern Ireland and now here’s the opportunity on our door step. A wonderful opportunity which we can’t afford to miss.
Next Sermon called “Lifes a beach, then you fry!”
Jonah 2 v10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Or do God’s will or be fish vomit!