As you’ll know if you’ve watched the video here, I did eventually manage to mark the 101st anniversary of Titanic’s launch by matching its 62-second journey down the slipway.  But not on the first go – that attempt, made in the company of my excellent colleague Robert, was a little bit more of a blooper:

Staring out the window at grey skies and pouring rain?  Need some cheerful photos of another great week in Dock-world to bring some colour back into your day?  Alrighty then!

Knittin’ at the Dock was a great success – both on Worldwide Knit In Public Day, and the start of our new regular ravelry group (4:30-6:30 every Tuesday evening)

Also a big hit – the new Dock boardroom table has already hosted its first meeting, is nicely booked-up this week and is available for plenty more:

Last Sunday marked the 2nd birthday of the Dock Walk – two fantastic years of walking, chatting, exploring, praying, living out a “church without walls” on Sunday afternoons.  We celebrated with coffees in the sunshine at Titanic Belfast and a quick glimpse on board HMS Caroline (not planned in advance – just one of those fantastic opportunities that spring up on Dock Walks from time to time!)

We also had one of the biggest-yet gatherings of the whole Dock Team – chaplains, directors, management team – for the purpose of some media training.  Even in its infancy the Dock seems to be hitting headlines and getting airtime – so thanks to Aodhan we now feel a bit more prepared the next time someone points a camera in our direction!

And one final picture : back behind the wheel of the big white van we borrowed for ‘Eamonn week‘, collecting more goodies for Dock Cafe.  What goodies, you may ask? – Stay tuned….!

Got it edited at last!!  A short-and-sweet new Dock Movie: a breathless update from Dock-World, delivered while re-creating Titanic’s 62-second journey down the slipways 101 years ago…

Yep that was me, invading your airwaves again yesterday as part of Talkback on BBC Radio Ulster.

And a very historic instalment of Talkback it was: the first time a live radio show had ever been broadcast from HMS Caroline, the beautiful (if slightly rusty) old World War One warship moored deep in the Titanic Quarter alongside the Science Park.  The purpose of the programme was to draw together opinions and ideas for the ship’s future: as one of the most historically significant vessels still afloat anywhere in the world, it seems slightly insane that it’s lying unused and unloved behind some intimidating barbed-wire fencing.

I thought it was a great broadcast – the overwhelming majority of callers, textures and contributors could see a tremendous future for Caroline – myself included.  Whether or not the Dock plays any part in her future (and that’s a possibility which would be very exciting to explore), there are limitless exciting possibilities for the future use of such an atmospheric and evocative old ship.  The first hurdle, however, is to make sure that she stays in Belfast (where she has been moored since the 1920s) – as the Portsmouth Naval Heritage Museum would also be interested in providing a home for her.  If you’d like to add your voice to that campaign, click here.

In the meantime, if you’re interested to find out more about HMS Caroline, guess where you need to go….?!  The ship itself is completely off-limits to visitors, so currently the best Caroline information anywhere in the world, I believe, is in Dock Cafe.

One of the local photographers whose work is on display in the Dock, Roger Eager, managed to get exclusive access to the ship to take some photographs just before she was decommissioned – a fascinating and unique visual record of the ship.  The images are on display along with some information about Caroline and even a few artefacts from the ship.  You won’t find anything like it anywhere in the world!

Dock Cafe, eh?  You just can’t beat it!

So at last the riddle of the Dock Cafe blackboard can be revealed…

It’s not, alas, “weeker kool interesting people day” (nice try Sally) – as correctly guessed (after, oh, only an hour or so of trying) by Barbara the Hot Chocolate lady, WKIPD stands for:

Knitting is cool these days!  On Saturday Dock Cafe will be hosting people from all over Belfast (and beyond) who will be joining together to share patterns, projects and passion on Worldwide Knit In Public Day.  And from next tuesday onwards, Dock Cafe will have its very own ravelry group – where everyone from beginners to experts can get together over the click of knitting needles.

Dock Cafe – for everyone who likes a good yarn…