The Titanic Quarter seems to inspire boundless creativity… light shows, drama, photography, art, spectacular events like Land Of Giants… and now NEST, a new installation/exhibition at the T13 skate park which opened today and is on display all this week (until Sunday 29th).

What is it?  It’s hard to describe… it’s art made from everyday objects, inanimate objects made fascinating because they have a story attached.  People from all across the province have donated simple belongings – tickets, books, hats, bracelets, shoes, gadgets… stuff that could lie hidden in a box in the roofspace, or would look like junk in a second-hand shop – but when they have a label attached, explaining their personal significance to their owner, they suddenly become art…

All human life is on display – interesting to see there was one collection of objects to do with faith and spirituality (whether seen as positive or negative – see the pic on the right, complete with the modern spelling of ‘deceit’…)

Like so much of the TQ, it is a hugely-evocative way of speaking of the past, connecting with history – without getting stuck in the history that can divide us.  Personal stories and memories remind us of how much we share.

Speaking of bringing history to life (what a smooth link, eh!) the petition to save HMS Caroline is gathering steam – and if you’d like to add your name, click here.

This beautiful old warship has been part of the story of Belfast since 1924, and I would love to see her story continue here, as part of the rich mix of Titanic Quarter life, rather than (as is proposed) see her carried off on a container ship to Portsmouth.  I even could dare to dream that Caroline’s story might intersect with The Dock’s story some day…

Check out this excellent video for more…

And finally, speaking of preserving our heritage (what another smooth link, eh? I’m on fire!) I had the great privilege today of getting an up-close and personal look at the dock gate in the Thompson Dock.  There’s no excuse for missing this one – tours of the Dock and Pump-House now include a journey down a brand-new staircase to the bottom of the dock, where you can actually touch that beautiful old gate (made by the same men with the same metal at the same time as Titanic) and stand on the exact spot as the yardmen in this photo:

No excuses for sitting in front of the telly this weekend…

First up there’s NEST, a massive art/choral/orchestral/archive/creative-type thing in the T13 skate park in Titanic Quarter.  Just in case I haven’t described it clearly (as if!), here’s the website description:

NEST is an opportunity for the people of Northern Ireland to create art on a massive scale through the simple act of donating an object. The objects will be assembled into a gigantic installation in Belfast and become the focal point for a large-scale music and choral event inspired and performed by people of Northern Ireland.
More info and (free) tickets here.

Then on Sunday, fancy being part of an experiment?  The Dock and Titanic Belfast are joining forces to run a trial of a ‘Titanic Pilgrimage Walk’ – using the beautifully-restored Titanic slipways as the backdrop for a short guided walk with stops for reflection.

If the experiment works, this is something I’d love to be able to offer on a regular basis in the long-term – for now, we’ll give it a whirl and see how it goes!

And of course don’t forget Dock Cafe is open 11-5 on Saturdays, bulging with locally-sourced coffee, tea, scones, sandwiches, soup, art, photography, info and (always) lots of good chat.   And the Dock Walk departs from the cafe at 3:33 every Sunday, a unique way to do church on foot in the fabulous surroundings of the TQ, with its wonderful mixture of old and new.

It started off this morning with the visit of our special guest to Dock Cafe…

It continued with a team of volunteers getting kitted out in hard hats, luminous vests and steel-toecapped boots…
…So that we could (at long last! – after being rained off on all previous occasions) go on board SS Nomadic to apply teak oil to the wooden deck rails, bannisters and doors…
(I think we made a pretty good job of it…)

Then a fantastic time in Dock Cafe tonight – one of those times that makes me think “This is what it’s all about!”  Locals, visitors, new friends, old friends, conversations about the big questions of life, lots of banter and craic…

One visitor – one of our next-door-neighbours in the Arc apartments – was part of the Game Of Thrones production crew, and after a chat about who was who, who killed who, who loved who, who hated who, and who was sleeping with who (and if you’ve watched Game Of Thrones you’ll know that all those categories sometimes combine within a single scene), he dropped down this handy guide to keep track of it all.  Fellow Game Of Thrones fans, magnify, study and memorise!

…What a great day!

Dock Cafe is opening early tomorrow at 10am (crack of dawn! I know!) to put the kettle on for another special guest… a new arrival in a particular job which involves wearing some serious jewellery… any guesses who it is?

Join us in the morning to give him a warm Dock welcome!

(PS – to see another great set of photos of Dock Cafe, check out the bigwoodenbox set on Flickr here)

As I walked through the door of Dock Cafe this morning, the soup was simmering, the coffee was hot, the sandwiches were going like hot cakes (and the hot cakes were going like sandwiches) – it was great to be back!