I think it was the Titanic Marmalade that did it… I’ve been saving up pics for a few weeks of all the Titanic-related merchandise that I’ve spotted, and now I think I’ve reached critical mass.

The Titanic marmalade, stacked neatly on the shelves of my local coffee shop, didn’t appear to actually have anything to do with the Titanic – I don’t think it was Captain Smith’s marmalade recipe or anything – but it now joins the ever-swelling ranks of products designed to tempt helpless Titanoraks (ie me) to part with their hard-earned cash.   I mean, what would you rather spread on your toast – Tescos marmalade or Titanic marmalade?  I rest my case.
If you’re of a literary persuasion, for example, you can really get stuck in… to your left is the selection of books available at the Pump House cafe (including some titles and DVDs you won’t find anywhere else); on your right are the bulging bookshelves of the ‘Titanic section’ in Easons on Royal Avenue.  (Is it wrong that I want all of them – ALL OF THEM!)

If you’d like to stop readin’ and start eatin’, you can now do so with a Titanic theme – these are some new (or renamed) restaurants recently spotted around Belfast – prize for the best name has to go to pic3, a noodle bar near the Lisburn Rd…

And of course once you’ve eaten you might need to wash your food down with a Titanic beer.  Or if you don’t feel up to a full meal, don’t despair – you can munch on Titanic crisps between meals without ruining your appetite…

And of course it’s not just on shop-shelves that the T-word is inescapable – as the ripples of the Costa Concordia sinking continue to spread, no article, interview or news report can resist mentioning a certain other maritime tragedy.  The recent Channel 4 documentary on the Concordia even began, in the very first sentence of the voiceover: “Nearly one hundred years afterthe sinking of the Titanic…”

It’s EVERYWHERE!

So get snapping, people of The Dock – if you spot some new Titanic-related merchandise, take a pic and send it in, and we’ll see if we can publish “It’s EVERYWHERE – Part II” before the anniversary arrives in April.  Shouldn’t be too difficult…