This Covid Odyssey

I got my first vaccine on Sunday, marking another step towards getting back to life as we know it. I booked online and could have had one the same day but instead chose the weekend at the SSE Arena formerly known as the Odyssey - it opened in the new millennium, a symbol of the new, modern, peaceful Belfast. I first went there in 2001 to watch the recently formed Belfast Giants ice hockey team play in front of thousands of Northern Irish fans hoping this group of north Americans would represent the beginning of a better future. Since then they've been regular season champions 5 times and play off champions twice. I've probably been to the arena at least once a year to see live comedy such as The Fast Show, Micky Flanagan and Kevin Bridges or bands like Pearl Jam and took my son to see live action Marvel Avengers. Today, it has been transformed to vaccinate the population as quickly as possible. As I drove into the car park, I remembered the nightmare of getting out of there after a gig. They have been testing in the Odyssey car park since testing began and as I drove in, I had to let the stewards know if I was there for a giant cotton bud up my nose (turn left) or vaccine (go right). I was told I could start queuing 15 minutes before my allotted time so at 11.35, I got out of the car and made my way across. There were more stewards directing me towards lines of people according to what time their appointment was at. It was warm in the sun then cold when it went behind the clouds and I regretted not bringing a coat but I thought I'd be in and out in no time. My wife got hers in a local church hall and it only took 5 minutes. As the queue snaked its' way along the front of the building, it would take 10 times longer here. I saw Noel Gallagher play in the arena one night, the atmosphere was like a football match and afterwards as we sat for an hour trying to drive out of the car park fights broke out all over the place. Watching them beat lumps out of each other passed the time and thinking about it did the same job here until eventually I was inside and sanitising my hands. I've worn a cycling scarf/mask to the shops since coronavirus began but it wasn't deemed as PPE and I was given a surgical mask to wear. Seems a long time ago that we couldn't get people to wear masks at all. Jesus He Knows Me by Genesis played over the PA in the lobby followed by Two Hearts and I wondered if I was going to be listening to the Best Of Phil Collins for the duration. I was directed towards another queue down the corridor to the left hand side doors that led into the area where I'd been to so many concerts. Five and a half years ago I was seated just to the right of this entrance watching U2 perform their Innocence and Experience Tour. The biggest band in the world could only put this show on in arenas and I remember listening to The Edge say in a radio interview that he didn't know if they'd be able to take it to Dublin because they didn't have a suitable venue but Belfast did. It's not often Belfast is seen to get one over on Dublin although I was talking to someone from Australia at a wedding a few years ago who lived and worked in Dublin in the 90s but came up to Belfast every weekend to go out because it was so much better. In the end, the old Point Depot now 3 Arena was converted into something more like Madison Square Garden as the americanisation of the world continues and they played in their home city. Maybe the south should be converting it into a mass vaccination centre now.

This is a military operation, literally, as the kids say all the time these days. As I followed the colour coded dots, still 2 metres apart, into the main floor, we were told by a man in scrubs with an English accent that it would be another 30 minutes from this point. Next stop was a check in desk where I had to produce my ID. While I waited my turn I looked around the Odyssey and remembered the nights I'd had here. The giant screens up high at either end showing 27,933 vaccinations had been delivered in the last 2 weeks. One of the companies I worked for have a box and I availed of free tickets for the ice hockey. Belfast Giants now have a number of local players who grew up watching the likes of Paxton Schulte plus Stanley Cup winner and NHL legend Theo Fleury play at the Odyssey, highlighting the influence the game has had here since they were founded 20 years ago. They have an average attendance of 4500 and flags or clothing that may display a political or religious affiliation are banned while Belfast are the only team in Elite League who don't play God Save The Queen before their games. Their motto "In the land of giants everyone is equal" could describe the post-Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland although at the moment, Unionism doesn't like the sound of equality, it's too close to unity. Not even the fact that the British Army have returned to Northern Ireland, albeit in a humanitarian role in the war against covid, can quell the fears that this part of the United Kingdom could become Ireland once again. There has been a quiet acceptance on the nationalist side that the return of UK armed forces needs to be done to get us out the other side of this. It's not like the late 1960's when the arrival of the army was celebrated by beleaguered catholics as they got respite from the tyranny of the protestant ruling class. The women brought them tea and buns only for that friendliness to turn into warfare also. I heard a story about someone nicknamed "Feed The Brits" because, long before he was born, his mother had continued providing refreshments to the soldiers after the amnesty ended. The nickname has stuck to this day. At the start of lockdown in March 2020 it felt like humanity had united to fight a virus, nothing was more important than our survival as one race. Restrictions were put in place to protect us, testing and vaccine research programs were rolled out at no expense though too many people died but it could have been far more. In the Northern Ireland Assembly, the leader of Nationalism was so overcome with emotion she couldn't answer a question from a MLA, who left the DUP and set up his own party because they weren't unionist enough, about what impact shutting down all non essential services would have on cancer patient treatment as we waited for the first wave of covid. At that moment, it felt like something had changed, there was an accepted equality. Fast forward a year and we're back to political arguments over national identity spilling out into street riots. We are discovering that the government have been lining their own pockets when they were throwing billions at measures and tech to beat covid. This time last year the Grand National was a virtual affair as was much of our lives. We couldn't go to the pub or restaurants or call round to peoples houses but we could meet up on zoom. That went on regularly for a while but eventually fizzled out. My friends and I had our first one since Christmas last week to mark a year from our very first one. Life is returning to what it was before as more and more vaccines are delivered. This years National was behind closed doors and won by Minella Times ridden by Rachael Blackmore, becoming the first woman to win the race. Last years virtual winner Potters Corner was never in the reckoning and after a trophy laden couple of years Liverpool are back to the team we know and love, trying to scrape into next seasons Champions League.

It wasn't long until I found myself at the front of my queue facing one of four corridors with 12 cubicles housing vaccinators. I was directed to the next free one, sat down, told it was the Astra Zeneca and given reading material about the risks and side effects then got the injection and was handed a slip of paper with 12.55 on it and told I couldn't leave the arena until that time which allowed 15 minutes to make sure I had no immediate reaction. I was also given a card confirming I'd had my first vaccine and when my 15 minute wait was up I had to queue again to check out and the date for the second vaccine was written on the card on the way out. It took about 90 minutes from start to finish but clearly Sunday was a very busy day. How this government has dealt with the pandemic is still to be fully evaluated but they deserve credit for the furlough scheme which stopped a run on the banks and this vaccine program seems to be as well organised as anywhere else in the world. A bit like contracting the virus itself, the extent of the side effects varied from person to person. I had a headache and sore arm about 12 hours after getting mine and it lasted for another 12 hours. That was it but other family members were in bed sick for a couple of days after theirs. I think we probably all know someone who has had covid 19 in the last year or so. I spoke to a man in work who got it very bad and was close to being hospitalised. My sister in law is a social worker and has had to work right the way through this. 18 of her colleagues were hit with it presenting symptoms ranging from nothing to someone who was on a ventilator in hospital and everything else in between. Mental Health cases have exploded with people who were lonely but coping through their daily routine of getting a bus down to the shops or having friends and family visit suddenly found themselves with absolutely nothing and couldn't deal with it. The price of covid 19 will be paid for many years to come. My second jab is in June and I'm in the middle age range so hopefully that will be at least half of us all fully covered. I discovered the other day that it doesn't stop you getting coronavirus it just stops you getting it as bad. I'm looking forward to getting away around Ireland in the caravan we bought last summer and there are a few gigs rescheduled from last year including Tim Burgess at the Ulster Sports Club in September and my wife, our son and her nieces have tickets for Dua Lipa in the 3 Arena in Dublin the week before. All being well I'll be be back at the Odyssey at Christmas for Elton John celebrating the end of this covid couple of years by bringing a bit of Las Vegas to Belfast.

tickets for Tim Burgess, Dua Lipa and