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Christmas is known to be the season to give and that is exactly what Belfast Eagle did on Saturday 14^th December 2013. The cadets completed a seven hour shift to help run a Santa Christmas Grotto in Hillside Garden Centre. On the day, 13 cadets and 4 members of staff took part. The roles which the cadets had on the day included being Santa Claus, Elves, Photographers, Greeters and taking the names of the children.

All the cadets that attended the day highly enjoyed themselves and would do it again. This was for such a good cause, local chairty Clic Sargent. CLIC Sargent is the UK's leading cancer charities for children and young people. The money raised will help go towards the construction work on Northern Ireland's first specialist 'Home from Home'for families of children undergoing cancer treatments, at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.

The organisers of the grotto said "We are shocked by the amount of cadets willing to spend their weekedend colunterring. Today is the most successful grotto we have ran yet." The cadets and staff should be proud of themselves indeed! 

Photographs of the day can be found in the picture gallery under the folder "Volunteering".   

Belfast Eagle is once again on a roll... and there seems to be no stopping us!

After all of the fund raising events the unit has organised and numerous grants applied for in 2013, we now have now purchased brand new canoes, kayaks and a trailer! This is an amazing opportunity for the unit. Eagle can now offer a wide range of paddlesport training and qualifications, once the boating seeion begins in April 2014. This is an award for the cadets due to their hard. This is another milestone met by the unit, one of many to come in the future years.  

On Monday 2^nd December, Belfast Eagle was given a tour around HMS Monmouth docked in Pollock Dock, Belfast. HMS Monmouth is the seventh ship to bear this name and has more battle honours than any other serving warship. It is known as “The Black Duke”” as it took part in anti-piracy and maritime security operations to help protect what are considered being some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

The ship owes her nickname to the first Duke of Monmouth who was executed for treason in 1685 after unsuccessfully attempting to depose his uncle James II. His title was dissolved and coat of arms blacked out and so HMS Monmouth flies a plain black flag from her mainmast. Unlike any other ship in the Royal Navy, Monmouth's name is painted black on her stern instead of red.

Once on board, LC John took the cadets around the ship showed them around the quarterdeck, upperdeck, the communications room, bridge and the missiles. The staff at Belfast Eagle would like to thank LC John and HMS Monmouth for allowing us onboard and giving us a tour of the ship.

On Sunday 10^th November 2013, BelfastCity Hall held its annual Remembrance ceremony to remember those that fought during the World Wars and other conflicts. On the day, Belfast Eagle took part in this event alongside cadets from the Army and RAF. The five cadets that attended include AC Patrick Bingham, CDT1 Connie Dalton, CDT1 James Smith, CDT1 Jack Gray and CDT Kelsie Gray. The role of the cadets was to led the route to the cenotaph. Also, POC Nikita McCoubrey attend the event, carry out her Lord Lieutenant Cadet duties.

The remembrance event was led by the band of the Royal Irish Rifles. The 2^nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment performed a guard of honour. Among those that laid wreaths was First Minister Peter Robinson, her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Belfast Dame Mary Peters and the High Sheriff of Belfast Councillor Brian Kingston, with tributes led by Deputy Lord Mayor Alderman Christopher Stalford.  

Belfast Eagle would like to thank BelfastCity Hall for inviting us to participant in this event. Everyone who attended enjoyed the day.

Belfast Eagle made an appearance at the Spectrum Centre for their annual Remembrance Night on Thursday 7^th November 2013. On the night, Belfast eagle was joined by cadets from the RAF and the Army.

The night began with all cadets marching into the hall while a brass band played. Once in hall, there was an inspection which involved an officer going around all cadets inspecting their uniforms and talking to them. Once this was completed, cadets then took up their positions behind the audience for the main show. The brass band played for half an hour playing several songs. After they finished their performance, the cadets re-marched into the hall to allow for a traditional remembrance ceremony to occur with poppys falling from the ceiling and a cadet playing the bugle.

This was a highly enjoyable night and Belfast Eagle would like to thank the organiser of the event and the Spectrum Centre for inviting us. We look forward to this event every year.