The story of these years in the Titanic Quarter has been a story of dreams given form.  When I arrived here there was a big gulf between a developer’s dream and the concrete building-site reality; now there are many places throughout the Titanic Quarter where the reality looks strikingly similar to the CGI artist’s impression from just a few years ago.

For example, the Arc apartments…

 

or Belfast Met…

or Citibank

And yesterday, the ultimate dream given form: INSIDE TITANIC BELFAST!!  Tegan and I were honoured and delighted (well -Tegan was honoured and delighted; I was like an excitable child on Christmas morning crossed with a lottery winner) to be part of a group of Titanic Ambassadors given a preview visit to Titanic Belfast, to help the team get up to speed and iron out any wrinkles in time for the big launch on 31st March.

And now I’m sitting typing this blog in another dream given form: Dock Cafe.  We’re meeting neighbours, starting conversations, welcoming strangers, drinking a lot of coffee – it’s everything I could’ve hoped for – and loads more I didn’t expect – when the Dock began with a blank page 2-and-a-bit years ago.  So, in honour of all this progress, I’ve updated (did you notice?) the strapline at the top of the Dock website homepage for the first time since the Dock began.  (Bonus brownie points for anyone who can remember the old one…)

We’re no longer just a vision, just an idea – so the strapline can now tell the story of The Dock.

It began with a vision…
Then it became a walk…
Now it’s a pop-up cafe…
Some day it could be a boat…
But it’s always been about Life in the Titanic Quarter.

Awesome.

And what of Titanic Belfast, you may ask? – did I take any sneaky photos inside, will I give you a sneak preview, what did I think of it all…?  To which I will only answer: Buy a ticket.  NOW.  Don’t be an armchair observer of the Titanic Quarter – come and see, taste, feel, experience dreams becoming reality in Belfast City.

(PS extra bonus bonus brownie points – the phrase ‘a dream given form’ is an obscure reference to a wonderful old sci-fi show called…?)