It was all about the return of flatpacks, farm challenges with a twist, vegetable arranging, bygone beauty, the dreaded party piece and Josephine’s favourite saying “sucking diesel,” on last night’s ICA Bootcamp finale.
With bigger challenges, bigger twists and a great big tent in the garden of ICA HQ, the girls had to step up their game in order to impress at the Garden Fête. However, it wasn’t just the three best candidates Rachel Wallace, Alisun Fox and Anita O’Brien who were battling it out to become the 'ultimate recruit' - as their mentors Imelda Byrne (millinery), Josephine Helly (crafts instructor), and Marie McGuirk (cookery) also went head-to-head.
The three mentors were each paired with a recruit, in an attempt to help them become the ideal ICA woman. With hundreds of the most highly regarded ICA members visiting An Grianán to access and score the girls on their hosting abilities and skills brought to the various tasks, the candidates couldn't afford to slip up at the ICA Garden Fête.
I felt ill just watching the girls skinning the rabbits for the game pie, and was surprised when none of them looked remotely squeamish. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Rachel was more concerned with making an iphone cover or handbag out of the fur, while Ally was concentrating on chopping the rabbit's head off in one quick sweep. The dripping blood momentarily got Anita in a tizzy, but she was quickly distracted when her lifeless rabbit began to spontaneously urinate on the table (I kid you not!).
First challenge: When it came to putting the flatpack hostess trolley together, poor Anita just didn’t have a clue what she was doing. At first she tried to put a screw in place where there was no hole, and then it was pointed out to her that her trays were upside down (it was slightly worrying that her own mentor Josephine didn’t even notice!). I thought that is was a lovely gesture when the other two ICA hopefuls tried to help a rather flustered Anita. Rachel was the shining star in the task, and had no problems building the IKEA trolley. I sympathised with Ally as she found it difficult to make any quick progress, as her mentor Imelda insisted on double checking everything (Oh dear!).
Ally Fox and her mentor Imelda
Second challenge: The recruits looked like they were having a great big of banter channelling their inner stylist, and giving a girly-girl makeover to the sheep. Rachel’s sheep looked like it had just come back from a sun holiday in Tenerife, and was preparing for its debut on Jersey Shore with its tangoed hue. However, I thought the pink bows and hooves looked adorable. Ally gave her sheep some green trousers and a green top to “show a bit of mid-riff.” I thought it was cute how Ally tried to make her sheep match with her own outfit (which looked like an Aer Lingus uniform). Anita’s luck didn’t seem any better in this challenge, as her sheep tried to run out of the tent. I’m not too sure if the ICA ladies appreciated (or even understood) was a vajazzle was.
Anita and Josephine, the crafts instructor
The letter writing session was a tremendous idea, and it really gave viewers the opportunity to see a different side to the ICA candidates. My heart sank for Anita when she got upset over her deceased grandmother, but it proved to be a worthwhile and beneficial exercise for the beauty queen.
The vegetable arranging class gave the three ICA hopefuls another chance to showcase their artistic side. Following their visit to a champion veg grower they were given the challenge of picking, cleaning and arranging their own award-winning vegetable collection. However, some of the mentors (ahem Imelda and Josephine) seemed far more interested in making rude remarks and making questionable shapes with the vegetables, than helping their recruits.
Rachel Wallace (The Winner) and her mentor, Marie the kitchen supreme
When it came down to the dreaded party pieces, I thought that Ally won hands down. She put her heart and soul into her stand-up comedy piece, and I was very impressed by her acting skills. It was a huge transformation for her funeral-like piece that she recited at the last party. I was a bit disappointed that Rachel chose to do the back-flip routine again, but seeing Marie dressed as a clown, made the whole routine worthwhile. Anita has a beautiful voice, and I thought her song choice of Van Morrison’s Moondance was perfect for the occasion.
When it came down to announcing the winner, it really was anyone’s game. It was heart-warming to see that these three beautiful girls really did go through a journey of discovery. Each of them seemed to really cherish the experience, and reflect on what they had learnt by the end of the series. Hopefully, they will keep the good work up! However, when it came to personality and perseverance, Rachel seemed to have the edge over the other contestants, and was a very deserving winner!
Now who’s ready for ICA Celebrity Bootcamp?
Laura Delaney
