How’s this for a perfect view from the car window on my first day back to work?  Rainy, dark, cold, miserable… As if to say: you’re in Northern Ireland now and boy, your holidays are over!

But a spot of precipitation can’t spoil the excitement of what’s happening in Belfast these days – and I can’t think of a better symbol of that excitement than the daily transformation that’s taking place in the TQ.  If you’ve been looking out for Titanic-related stuff, you’ve maybe noticed that there’s a great series on Monday nights at the moment (on Channel 4 at 9pm) called Titanic: The Mission, in which a team of 4 experts try to recreate key components of the Titanic using the original techniques employed by the Belfast builders.  There’s a tangible sense of pride and wonder as the modern-day specialists realise just how much craftsmanship went into this amazing feat of engineering.

And the most important episode to catch is the one from last Monday – in which they recreate a section of Titanic’s steel bow here in Belfast (and you can still see the bow section outside the Pump House cafe).  If you’re a long-term blog reader you might remember that we stumbled upon the unveiling ceremony for the finished structure during a Dock Walk back in June – and sure enough, if you look closely, you can see some Dock Walkers in the crowd scenes in the finished programme!

(If you missed it, you can catch up on 4oD here – it’s Series 1, Episode 1.)

Speaking of the Dock Walk (what a link, eh?!) it’s back in action from this Sunday (3rd Oct) and every Sunday for the foreseeable future – with the promise that if it’s pouring and freezing we’ll make it more of a Dock Quick Walk Followed By Long Hot Coffee – but still a great chance to meet up, chat about the Bible together and be part of the TQ as it emerges week by week!

Since getting back to work yesterday I’ve been at a leadership conference called the Willow Creek Leadership Summit (maybe a little more about that on a future blog – it was brill!)   So the upshot is that the Dock Walk tomorrow is my first chance to see the TQ in the flesh since returning – I can’t wait to get back down the Queen’s Road and see what’s changed!  What a fantastic place to work!