It’s all about the Titanic today… the boys from The Dock have just been to an inspiring and fascinating lecture by Dr Robert Ballard – the man who discovered Titanic’s resting place back in 1985.

It sets the scene perfectly for the next couple of weeks: early April is Titanic Time.   2nd April is the day she left Belfast – the day when we can temporarily suspend our knowledge of the tragic end to the story, and take time instead to celebrate the skill, vision and sheer hard work of those who hammered together the largest man-made moving object in the world on the Belfast slipways over 100 years ago.

I think it’s really important that Belfast marks that big date as well as the more sombre date of the anniversary of the disaster; so here in The Dock we’ll be holding an event on Wednesday 2nd April:

We’ll gather at the cafe at 7pm and walk through the TQ past the places where Titanic was designed, built, launched and fitted out – which will bring us to the exact spot where Robert Welch, the shipyard photographer, would have stood to take that iconic picture of Titanic sailing down Belfast Lough at 8:15pm on 2nd April 1912.

And then of course, to get the balance right, it is vitally important that we remember the end of the story.  14th April is the date on which Titanic struck a glancing blow off a stray iceberg and the world changed forever.  Over the past few years it has been an honour for some of us from Dock-World to be part of the events marking that anniversary – and so consider this your invitation to a beautiful, moving evening which is becoming a cornerstone of the calendar at Titanic Belfast: A Night To Remember.

You can book a place by following this link – do it quickly before all the slots disappear!  And then prepare for a journey through the galleries of Titanic Belfast as actors in period costume bring you through the events of 14th and 15th April 1912 using the words of those who were on board.   Then at 11:40pm we’ll gather by candlelight on the slipways, on the spot where Titanic began, and remember her end.

We’ve done lots of things with the Titanic story over the decades in Belfast – we’ve mourned it, tried to forget it, ignored it.  Now we’re trying to remember and re-tell it with all the respect, fascination and dignity it deserves.  Don’t miss it.