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Social activities for people with sight loss, in the Brighton and Hove AreaArgus Charity of the year 2008 |
City Synergy's Mission to Mars
Saturday, 22nd March
The evening was inspired (or plagiarised) from sources including Return to the Forbidden Planet. We were oversubscribed for the trip, so the departure gate was crowded as more than 20 people milled around while their intergalactic passports were checked and intrusive body searches were carried out by the lovely OlaTina (fresh from her triumph at the City Synergy Strictly Come Dancing event).
Finally priority boarding began and people took their seats in the EasySpace SpaceBus. After the usual safety announcements ("we know that many of you are experienced intergalactic travellers, but please pay attention...") the big screen flickered to life to take us direct to Mission Control for the countdown to take-off.
The voyage out to Mars was enlivened by the serving of food and drinks and also space walks (plus space walkies for guide-dogs). Remarkably quickly, we were coming in to land on Mars assisted by Gustav Holst's Mars from the Planet Suite.
On Mars itself we disembarked to be handed garlands by the lovely OlaTina and welcome Mars Cocktails. Our guests then gasped in wonder at the amazing planetarium show in the Crystal Dome on Mars (OK, so it was a torch stuck inside a mixing bowl with holes punched in it - but it worked).
News of an impending meteor shower compelled us to cut short our time on the red planet. We boarded, and linked with Mission Control for the take-off procedure (where a safe take-off is only assured by correctly following the dance moves) and we were back in space. Then it was, goodness gracious, great balls of fire as the meteor shower engulfed our brave little craft and a couple of meteors actually penetrated the hull. But, phew, our safety precautions proved adequate and we were soon tucking into more food and drink. Our landing was in Hove Lagoon and then we transferred back to the space port.
We believe that City Synergy is the first sight loss group to successfully complete a Mars Mission.
Pictured above - Inter-gallactic travellers await take-off
Contributed by
Jonathan Dutton
EDITORS
NOTE - Thanks to the captain and crew for a brilliant and fun eveningand for
all the hard work and imagination to pull off this, inter-gallactic odyssee
