The Dock now owns a brand-new barbeque! Bought from B&Q yesterday and expertly assembled by me (only one bolt, one washer and a small metal clip left over – result!) it’s ready to be fired-up for its maiden voyage at the ARC BBQ on Thursday night.
Sizzling hot dogs and juicy burgers for carnivores (and something wholesome for you veggie herbivores as well), I can’t wait!
Plenty of images from Belfast were beamed all over the world during the last few weeks. The ones that make the headlines are always the negative ones – pictures of a future for Belfast city that looks crushingly similar to our past. But there were other pictures being taken in Belfast – in the TQ – over the same few days. Pictures of a vibrant, busy, fun, family-friendly, safe, colourful, hopeful city. This is the future we’re living and praying for:
I was just about to post a blog entry with some photos and pictures from the last week – then I noticed this beauty on the BBC website and thought it deserved space all to itself, so I’ll leave mine for tomorrow…
For all fellow Titanoraks: this is a shot of Captain Smith’s bathtub, complete with the lovely old Victorian pipework allowing either fresh or salt water, hot or cold, half-submerged in Titanic’s resting place at the bottom of the Atlantic… what a picture…
Tomorrow is the first Saturday of the month… the sun is shining… the coffee is hot… the deckchairs are ready… the chaplains’ legs are sore after pushing 500 flyers under 500 doors…
Why that can only mean it’s time for:
This month we’re stepping up a gear: not only Saturday brunch, but a BBQ on Thursday night as well. Come along to the ARC apartments for free food and good craic – see ya there!
Today was the anniversary of The Dock’s darkest day. It was this time last year, at the Diocesan Synod, that I gave a defenceless woman a black eye by throwing a parsnip at her (if you’re new to the blog and you’re thinking Whaatttt???, the full gory story is here.)
Today was Synod Day again, and a chance to give a quick update to m’learned friends about all the exciting progress in recent months. In case Edith was there, I had brought a crash helmet to provide her with appropriate protection if anything went awry this year – and sure enough, as I walked up to the podium, there she was in the front row! She gratefully accepted the crash helmet – just in case – but thankfully this year my talk at Synod was injury free – hurrah!
So Edith really is a Dock Hero. It was fantastic to see her again today – sans black eye – and catch up with one of the warmest, funniest (and – phew! – most forgiving) people I have met in the course of Dock World. She even told me that she took the parsnip home to make soup – what a great way to deal with the unexpected slings and arrows (and parsnips ) of life. Edith, when the day comes to smash a bottle of champagne against the Dock boat, we won’t need royalty – your name will be at the top of the list.