Well the day is fast approaching… time to set the Sky+ for UTV at 10:20pm on Sunday night for:

It’s been an exciting week leading up to the transmission of the programme.  I was photographed by the Sunday World this morning (but I managed to keep my top on, phew!) and we’ve heard word that the programme might feature in the Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Times this weekend as well.   It was a bit surreal to open up the Radio Times and see my story in the TV listings… (right)

The trailer for the Dockumentary has been running on UTV already.  And the time-slot it has been given – following Downton Abbey (or Downtown Abbey, as I reckon all Belfast people should call it) is about as good as it gets – loads of people will be in front of their TVs, cups of cocoa in hand, hopefully ready to watch just one more programme before it’s time for bed.

There is one bit of the programme that I feel I should give a heads-up about – and an apology.  I try to be as open and honest as possible on this blog, but there never seemed to be a good time or way to share one particular piece of news from the past year.  During the boat-hunting, Titanic-centenary-commemorating, Dock-Cafe-opening adrenaline rush of events, Susan and I received some bad news in the middle of it all – we were both given a diagnosis of MS (Multiple Sclerosis).  (We managed to be something of a medical marvel by both being given the same diagnosis in the same week.)

I’m one of the extremely fortunate people who lives with the diagnosis but none of the symptoms, so my daily life isn’t affected.  (And there’s every chance that will continue to be the case).  But the news in the middle of such a whirlwind year was a bit of a gut-punch.  And, good interviewer that she is, Patricia, the director of the documentary, managed to get me to open up on camera about how it felt!

So you’ll see that it’s part of the story of the Dock as told in Mission Titanic on Sunday night… one aspect of a year I’ll never forget.  A year in which bad news and unimaginable, unexpected blessing came out of nowhere – and in which God was equally present in both.

…turns out it only takes 4 people and a bit of muscle-power!

A few weeks ago Dock Cafe had the incredible privilege of being asked to display a new piece by local sculptor Kevin Killen.  The ‘Waste Titanic’ is made entirely from recycled objects – many happy hours can be spent spotting all the discarded household bric-a-brac used in the construction, from draining boards to paint tins, hedge trimmers to drill bits, grill pans to saw blades…

Until yesterday it was a bit hidden in a dark corner behind the coffee bar – until the gang got to work.  Our snappily-titled ‘Make Dock Cafe Pretty Day’ saw the Titanic raised to a new spot by the window, the HMS Caroline display moved to an excellent new location, the coffee-bar paint touched up, and 101 other jobs ticked off the To Do list – thanks team!

In case anyone recognises the title of this post – there was indeed a film of that name released in the early 80’s, with the double indignity of being a complete flop on release (the studio lost so much money that Lew Grade quipped that it would have been cheaper to sink the ocean), and then a laughing-stock within a few years when Ballard’s discovery of the wreck in two distinct sections made the film’s happy ending look hopelessly naive.

But… if you completely suspend disbelief, even knowing that it’s the dramatisation of an utterly impossible dream, there’s something stirring about the sequence at the end of the movie when Titanic resurfaces and completes her journey to New York.

Bring the cheese!

Another fantastic week of Life in the Titanic Quarter…

A bit of bling to start off with – the arrival of the Cannonball Run at the Titanic Slipways raised a few eyebrows, with a heady mixture of supercars, 70s costumes, tyre smoke, and ladies in teeny tiny bikinis (obviously, I didn’t notice at all…)

Another visitor last weekend was the massive Emerald Princess cruise liner – one of 40-something cruise ships stopping in Belfast as part of their itinerary this year.  While mere mortals got to see it (rather beautifully placed at the end of the rainbow) from the slipways during Sunday’s Dock Walk, Sally and some of the Titanic Walking Tours gang got a personal tour and a visit to the Bridge… not jealous at all.

And what a stunning Dock Walk – not sure if I’ve ever seen the TQ looking more beautiful…

Plenty of use of Dock Cafe this week – as well as the UTV launch of a certain little show about some awful eejit, we hosted meetings of the Community Faith Forum, the Templemore Ave School project, the Clonard-Fitzroy Fellowship and loads more… great to see the Boardroom Table getting plenty of use!

And even when there were no pre-booked groups in the house, Dock Cafe was bunged -our busiest week yet.  It was great to welcome back loads of  familiar faces from the Belfast Met college (and to see that they had clearly been spending the Summer spreading the word about Dock Cafe!).  It was great fun to be part of the Freshers Day as well – I’m really excited about all the possibilities for links with the Met in this coming term.

Great days…

Well it’s time to share some BIG news from Dock World with you all…

Yesterday Dock Cafe hosted a Press Launch for ‘Mission Titanic’, a new half-hour documentary which will be broadcast on UTV later this month.  It’s the culmination of months of filming, following, interviewing and editing by Patricia and her team from Tyrone Productions.

You might remember that they started being the Fly on the Dock Wall nearly a year ago, as we set off to view the Arctic Penguin as a possible boat for The Dock.  And now the changes, unexpected blessings, curveballs, disappointments and triumphs of the subsequent year have been beautifully shaped into half-an-hour of top-quality TV.

You’ll be hearing plenty more about it over the next week as the transmission date approaches.  But for now we have a confirmed date to put in your dairies and set on your Sky+ box NOW! – the Dockumentary will be broadcast on Sunday 30th September at 10:20pm (in the prime spot after Downton Abbey!)

I never cease to be amazed and humbled by the adventure that is Dock-World – and what a privilege to be able to share the adventure with Sunday-night TV watchers, as they tuck into their cups of cocoa and recover from the latest twists in the world of Downton… Exciting times!

(all photos courtesy of thebigwoodenbox.com)