Loads of new opportunities to get involved in the TQ, dinner with the Mayor, a visit to a whole new part of the TQ, and my very own sweat-shop… it’s been quite a week!

Maybe I should explain the sweat-shop first… the time had finally come to gather together all the letters of encouragement and endorsement which have been flooding in from all sorts of v. important people since the launch of the Business Plan back in June; we’ve got letters from all the main political parties, all the main church denominations… a really exciting symbol of the amount of support and enthusiasm for The Dock.

Those of you lucky enough to have got your hands on a Business Plan will know that there’s a little flap at the back just waiting to be filled with such letters… so some willing (?!) volunteers from Sydenham Methodist selflessly gave up their Friday night to do just that.  Lift a letter from each of the 15 piles… shuffle them together… guillotine off the edges… slot them into the Business Plan… over and over again… there’s no denying it was a Friday night to remember!  HUGE thanks to all the volunteers!

(And if you’re keen to see some of those letters, they’ll be available at the Dock Birthday Party on Tuesday night – they make for an incredibly encouraging read!)

In other news this week, I had two separate meetings which left me filled with optimism about all the opportunities that lie ahead in 2012.  To your right you can see Elisabeth and Paola from Focolare (along with Dock Director Michele), who are behind an initiative called Run 4 Unity, passing a baton across countries and cultures between different groups of teenagers running all over the world.  It’s taking place on 12th May next year – more details as I get them!

And to your left you’ll see my chum Helen, who is the Director of a huge project called Land of Giants – a kind of multimedia/circus/storytelling/interactive/acrobatic/mind-blowing extravaganza on the Titanic slipways on 30th June, telling the stories of the giants of Northern Ireland – not just the Titanic, Olympic and Britannic, but the Cave Hill (inspiration for Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s travels), Finn MacCool and the Giant’s Causeway… There’ll be loads of chances for people to get involved both up-front and behind the scenes – a real community event.  Again, more details as I get them!

And finally for now, while, y’know, having dinner with the Mayor (oops, did I mention that again? Dearie me…) I met Liam, the main man behind the T13 skate park opposite the Drawing Office in the TQ.  We’d met some of the guys who regularly use the park at some of the recent Meet The Neighbourses, but this was my long-overdue first visit to see what they’ve actually got going in that massive shed – it’s fabulous!  Massive half-pipes and ramps and errr… BMX/skateboardy things (I started off that sentence trying to sound like I know the lingo, but was a bit doomed to failure there…), with a great community vibe and some brilliant, laid-back people who can do eye-popping things with bikes and skateboards.  Another brilliant part of the TQ mix – check them out in action here.

And really really finally, a stunning, golden Autumn day for Walking Tours today – so a few beauty shots of old boats (Caroline and Nomadic) glistening in the sun.  Boats, eh?  They’re great! – so see you on Tuesday night….