I’ve got a new favourite spot in the Titanic Quarter.  And it’s got some pretty heavy competition, so you know it’s got to be something really special…

It’s the area at the base of Titanic Belfast now called ‘Slipway Park’ – the very ground where Titanic and Olympic were hammered together under the Arrol Gantries 100 years ago.  Miraculously, many of the features of that time have managed to survive the century pretty-much unscathed – it’s always one of my favourite parts of a Titanic Walking Tour when the walkers gradually realise that those metal tracks on the ground, those scaffolding foundations, the bollard over there, the ramps we’re walking beside… surely not… hang on… but in that picture of Titanic under construction… can it be that we’re walking on exactly the same spot?

It sure can – and as part of the redevelopment of the area, Titanic Belfast’s builders have done a beautiful job of preserving and interpreting the traces of history in the ground.  Really, truly, words can’t express how well it’s been done – you have to see it for yourself.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the Titanic Belfast Building, and all that lies within it – but the slipways are something special.  The old coal-cart tracks still criss-cross the century-old tarmac; the ramps at the heads of the slipways still stand at exactly the angle needed to launch 882-feet of riveted metal into the lough; the foundations of the soaring gantries can be traced in the ground; even the bollard at the water’s edge, visible in one of the most famous photographs of Titanic’s launch, has been perfectly preserved.  (Come on a Dock Walk and I’ll show you where!)

And the work that’s been done to illuminate and interpret the space – lightposts in the places where the gantry legs once stood; an outline of Titanic and Olympic (lit vivid blue at night); a satellite-view of Titanic’s short journey mapped out in lights on the ground; stonework mapping out the schematics of lifeboats, deckhouses and funnels along the length of the ship; areas of grass and decking sized in direct proportion to those lost and saved on Titanic; names etched into glass at the head of the slipways… It is stunning.  At some stage I’ll load more photos of it all to the blog, but it’s no substitute for seeing it all yourself.

And here’s the best thing of all – the slipways are a spiritual place.  By the very nature of what happened there (and what happened next), they provoke a pause for thought.  Even in the week-and-a-bit they’ve been open to the public, it’s not unusual to see people using the area for quiet reflection, space, prayer.  At the conclusion of the Yardmen walk last Sunday, the Belfast Community Gospel Choir filled the slipways with worship music in glorious harmony, and I’ve never seen a space that suited that sound so well.  (And I’ve seen BCGC perform in a church!)  They have the atmosphere of somewhere that could be a place of pilgrimage – even if that pilgrimage is just to walk the length of the ships, lost in thought.

Now I don’t want to over-egg things – after all, we already know that the slipways are also a public park – I’ve seen them used for vintage car rallies, motorbike displays, a balloon release and much more – and an awesome venue for spectacular open-air events like the light-show last Saturday or the MTV concert this Friday  (Although I’ve got to admit – and I’ll be very happy to be proved wrong – that using the space for an MTV bash just 24 hours before the commemoration of the disaster just strikes slightly the wrong note with me…)  Certainly I can’t think of a more awe-inspiring backdrop for the incredible display on Saturday night (and incidentally, was anyone else struck by the thought that as we all streamed home after the event, the Queens Road was filled with thousands of people walking towards home for the first time in decades?)
 But I love the sense that the slipways are something more.  A bit like Dock Cafe, could they be an expression of a new kind of church, a new kind of spiritual space, in the Titanic Quarter.  There aren’t any church buildings yet.  There isn’t even a boat.  But in conversations around the sofas and tables of Dock Cafe, in moments of prayer and meditation on the slipways, on Dock Walks, in choirs on the slipway, in the profoundly moving hopeful-yet-sorrowful-yet-joyful-yet-beautiful mixture of emotions and experiences in this incredible place, God is working.  And it utterly, completely, fills me with joy.

A much-appreciated rest for all the Dock gang today, before another HHUUUGGEEEE week of all things Titanic.  So, to get into gear, a bit of advance notice of some things coming up over the next few days:

First up, of course Dock Cafe is open for business – Tue-Fri 11-7, Sat 11-5 – and Tegan the Dock Barista will be full of rage (which is quite a scary sight to see) if I don’t mention the great line-up of acoustic lunchtimes we’ve got coming up this week (12-2 Tues, Thur & Fri).  Local musicians playing some chilled-out tunes while you sip local tea and coffee, munch on locally-baked delicacies and admire the (ever-increasing) range of local art and craft we have displayed around the cafe… honestly, where else would you want to be?!

This week many of the events and programmes in the Titanic Quarter have a very different tone.  You’ll already have noticed in the news that passengers have boarded the memorial cruise which will retrace Titanic’s footsteps, and the TV schedules are starting to fill with a massive range of programmes looking at the echoes of that terrible night on the Atlantic.  Next weekend sees the centenary of Titanic’s fateful collision with the iceberg – the crash at 11:40pm on 14th, and the sinking just over two-and-a-half hours later at 2:20am on the 15th.

It’s a tired old complaint frequently lobbed at us in Belfast that we shouldn’t be celebrating a tragedy.  Well, of course we’re not.  Even as the preparations unfold for the events next weekend, it’s clear just how deep the wound still cuts here in Titanic’s birthplace, and the tone of the events will reflect that.

We are unique in the world in that we can celebrate aspects of Titanic – the craftsmanship, vision, risk, daring and sheer hard work that went into her creation – these are Belfast stories, and I genuinely don’t think there was any way they could have been better told than through the fabulous rush of events around the opening of Titanic Belfast and the centenary of Titanic’s departure from Belfast Lough.  But equally, we’re one of the best placed to tell the story of her loss – and from what I’ve already seen of the plans for this coming weekend, we’re going to do that story full justice too.  We led the world in celebrating her launch – and I think we’re going to lead again in remembering her loss.

So again, I’m going to encourage you to fill your diaries – don’t be an armchair spectator of this phenomenal week.  Give something new a try – a play, a concert, a film, a lecture – find new angles and beats in this story we’re coming to know so well.  Over this last week, if it’s been on, I’ve given it a go – films (an open-air Night to Remember), plays (the superb The Boat Factory), spectacles (the fantastic lightshow on Saturday night)… A few nights ago, a gang from the Dock were privileged to be part of a preview evening for ‘Titans’, a new play showing at Titanic Belfast this week – an absolutely unique production, in which the audience, rather than observing passively, were part of the action, following the characters through the staircases, galleries and hidden corners of the Drawing Office and Titanic Belfast as the plot unfolded.  Something absolutely unique.

This week I’ll be highlighting different things each day that will allow you to take part – including some really special opportunities for those of us in The Dock – but for now, I’ll reprint the (now thoroughly updated!) grand masterplan of all the upcoming events.  Have a good scan through, get your diary out, check out the website links – and if you can’t find anything in here to whet your interest, then there really is no hope for you…!

Tuesday 10th April
11am and 2pm – ‘Titanic Diaries – Cherbourg’ at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
12noon – 2pm – Acoustic lunchtimes at Dock Cafe – www.the-dock.org
12:30 & 3:30pm – Titanic Discovery Series at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
1pm ‘Titanic Miscellany’ at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
7:30pm ‘Titanic the Musical’ at the Grand Opera House – www.goh.co.uk
8pm ‘Songs to the Siren’ at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
8pm ‘A Better Boy – Thomas Andrews, Shipwright’ at the Belfast Barge – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
8:30pm Titanic Light Show installation at Titanic Slipways – www.titanicbelfast.com
9pm ‘Titanic: the Band Played On’ on TV
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide
SS Nomadic open for hard-hat tours – www.nomadicbelfast.com

Wednesday 11th April
11am and 2pm – ‘Titanic Diaries – Cobh’ at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
 12noon – 2pm – Acoustic lunchtimes at Dock Cafe – www.the-dock.org
7:15pm ‘Titans’ at the Drawing Office – www.titanicbelfast.com
7:30pm ‘The Wireless Room’ at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
7:30pm ‘Titanic the Musical’ at the Grand Opera House – www.goh.co.uk
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
8pm ‘A Better Boy – Thomas Andrews, Shipwright’ at the Belfast Barge – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
8:30pm Titanic Light Show installation at Titanic Slipways – www.titanicbelfast.com
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide
SS Nomadic open for hard-hat tours – www.nomadicbelfast.com

Thursday 12th April
12noon – 2pm – Acoustic lunchtimes at Dock Cafe – www.the-dock.org
6pm  Creative Arts Festival at Public Records Office – www.proni.gov.uk
7:30pm ‘The Wireless Room’ at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
7:30pm ‘Titanic the Musical’ at the Grand Opera House – www.goh.co.uk
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
8pm ‘A Better Boy – Thomas Andrews, Shipwright’ at the Belfast Barge – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
‘Titanic 3D in cinemas nationwide
SS Nomadic open for hard-hat tours – www.nomadicbelfast.com

Friday 13th April
12noon – 2:00 – Acoustic lunchtimes at Dock Cafe – www.the-dock.org
7:30pm ‘Titanic the Musical’ at the Grand Opera House – www.goh.co.uk
7:30pm ‘The Wireless Room’ at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
8pm ‘A Better Boy – Thomas Andrews, Shipwright’ at the Belfast Barge – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
8:30pm MTV Titanic Sounds at Titanic Slipways – www.titanicbelfast.com
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide
SS Nomadic open for hard-hat tours – www.nomadicbelfast.com

Saturday 14th April
5:30pm and 11:40pm ‘Titanic the Musical’ at the Grand Opera House – www.goh.co.uk
6pm Titanic Memorial Lecture by Dr Robert Ballard at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
8pm ‘A Better Boy – Thomas Andrews, Shipwright’ at the Belfast Barge – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
8:30pm Titanic Centenary Commemoration at Waterfront Hall (& live on BBC2) – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
9pm Titanic Requiem at St Anne’s Cathedral – www.belfastcathedral.org
11pm ‘Water Night – A Titanic Vigil’ at Titanic Belfast –www.titanicbelfast.com
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide
SS Nomadic open for hard-hat tours – www.nomadicbelfast.com

Sunday 15th April
9am Unveiling of Memorial Garden at City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
11am Titanic Requiem at St Peter’s Cathedral – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
11am ‘From Loch Ness to the North Atlantic’ – City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
11:30am ‘Into The Deep’ at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
3:30pm Titanic Commemoration Service and pilgrimage walk at St Anne’s Cathedral – www.belfastcathedral.org
7:30pm ‘The Titanic Story’ at the Ulster Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
8pm ‘Theatre Titanick’ at Titanic Belfast – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
8pm ‘A Better Boy – Thomas Andrews, Shipwright’ at the Belfast Barge – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
9pm ‘Titanic’ (Julian Fellowes version) on ITV
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide
SS Nomadic open for hard-hat tours – www.nomadicbelfast.com

Monday 16th April
7pm ‘Belfast Shipbuilders’ – City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide

Tuesday 17th April
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide

Wednesday 18th April
7pm ‘Father Browne’s Album’ – City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide

Thursday 19th April
6pm ‘Last Night of a Small Town’ at the Linen Hall Library – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
6:30pm ‘Titanic – Belfast’s Own’ at Public records Office – www.proni.gov.uk
7:30pm ‘The Iceberg’ at the Belfast Barge – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide

Friday 20th April
7pm ‘The Man Who Left The Titanic’ at the Linen Hall Library – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
7:30pm ‘The Iceberg’ at the Belfast Barge – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide

Saturday 21st April
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide

Sunday 22nd April
1pm ‘Sisters to an Icon’ at the Belfast Barge – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
1:30pm TQ 10K at Queens Road – www.athleticsni.org
3:33pm Dock Walk – starting at Dock cafe
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide
‘Titanic – Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioners’ Inquiry 1912’ at the MAC

Monday 23rd April
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide
‘Titanic – Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioners’ Inquiry 1912’ at the MAC

Tuesday 24th April
1pm ‘All At Sea – Maritime Records’ at the Public Records Office – www.proni.gov.uk
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide
‘Titanic – Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioners’ Inquiry 1912’ at the MAC

Wednesday 25th April
Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide
‘Titanic – Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioners’ Inquiry 1912’ at the MAC

Thursday 26th April
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide
‘Titanic – Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioners’ Inquiry 1912’ at the MAC

Friday 27th April
‘Go’ awards at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
‘Titanic – Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioners’ Inquiry 1912’ at the MAC

Saturday 28th April
‘Titanic – Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioners’ Inquiry 1912’ at the MAC

Sunday 29th April
3:33pm Dock Walk – starting at Dock cafe
‘Titanic – Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioners’ Inquiry 1912’ at the MAC

A quick pause for breath: a moment to give thanks for the week that’s just passed, before hurtling headlong into the week that is to come!

First of all a quick compilation of some of my highlights of this past week – grand openings, open-air cinemas, boats, walks, choirs, tears, hope…!

And a beautifully-made video (not produced by me, as should be abundantly obvious) of the fantastic Yardmen Walk last Sunday:

Paused?  Given thanks?  Right! – on to the next week, and yet more days full of colour, excitement, creativity and joy on the streets of Belfast.
The international market is open for business as of today in the Titanic Quarter (just beside the slipways); the cars are making their way from the City Hall for the Circuit of Ireland Super Special Stage in TQ; the lights and gleamy boxes of tricks are being set up on the slipways for the not-to-be-missed Light Show at Titanic Belfast tomorrow night.  (I did laugh when I noticed that at one stage the preparations involved beaming a humble Windows desktop screen onto the flanks of Titanic Belfast (pic right) – do these creative types not usually use Macs?!)

If you’re trying to keep track of it all, I’ve updated the wonderful-amazing-diary-of-all-things-Titanic with yet more events (and a few wee corrections) – I really hope you’re all getting the use of it – I certainly am!  Each day it’s great to check out what’s on offer and then give things a go – that’s how I ended up at the open-air A Night To Remember, a performance of The Boat Factory in Titanic Belfast, on a tour of SS Nomadic… each one utterly, captivatingly brilliant – and I’ve heard rave reviews from those who chose other options like the lecture series in PRONI or the Titanic Diaries in Titanic Belfast.  Go on – don’t miss out on all these amazing opportunities – don’t let the slightly feeble Sunday-night ITV Titanic effort put you off – there are loads of stories, discoveries and perspectives still to be explored… C’mon!

Rumour has it that there are some things happening in the world this week that are not Titanic-related…  And in fact one of them is vastly more important:  It’s Holy Week.

For those of us for whom the cross of Jesus is the foundation of our faith, this is not to be missed, not to be rushed.  Just as I’m enjoying trying some of the lectures, plays, films and events in the stupendous-timetable-of-all-things-Titanic, looking for new perspectives, insights and understandings on a well-known story, it’s important to find new angles and viewpoints on the familiar but shocking, terrible but wonderful story of the betrayal, arrest, mock-trial, humiliation and crucifixion of Jesus – and to fully enter into the story, not rushing over the difficult bits just because we know the big reversal is coming on Easter Day.

So can I recommend two new perspectives I’ve been finding helpful this year? – the first is on the Wordlive site (which you can always find linked at Connect/Wordlive on the Dock homepage).  Wordlive is always, wholeheartedly, passionately recommended by Dock-world as a daily habit, whether as podcast, app or website – an endlessly-creative way to engage with the Bible.  This week (towards the bottom of the page on the website each day) they have included a beautifully-dramatised perspective on the story as seen through Mary’s eyes – a beautiful way to open up a new dimension on the story.

Or you could try the 10-minute ‘From the Darkness to the Dawn‘ slots on Radio Ulster each night from 11:50pm-midnight.  By a rather neat coincidence (if you believe in such a thing), the reflections for the 4th, 6th and 7th April  are all led by people with a connection to Dock-World, and help to walk through the events of Holy Week day-by-day, pausing to reflect at each step.

And still on the theme of radio, you might remember that a few weeks ago Hardeep Singh Kohli and the team from BBC Radio 2 joined us on the Dock Walk as part of the series ‘Great British Faith’.  The episode featuring Belfast was transmitted last night and is now on iPlayer – here – so give it a listen.  I’m taking a bit of a risk posting the link – I haven’t heard it myself yet – so hopefully the Dock comes out of it all OK!  (if you’re searching through the show, Hardeep said that it was likely that we would feature towards the end of the programme).   Enjoy!

I don’t really know where to start this post… how do you put into words a weekend like the one I’ve just had?  How much fun is it possible for one bloke to have?!

I suppose I could show you some pictures of the highlights (I’ve heard they paint a thousand words after all) –  but where to begin?  With the gala dinner at Titanic Belfast on Friday night, where I had the HUGE privilege of saying grace before the meal, and got to see the slipways lit up at night for the first time?
 But what if it paled in comparison to the grand opening on Saturday morning, where I got a front-row view alongside Rodney, one of the people involved in the whole TQ project since its very inception (no big celebs, some complained – I say that if this was a celebration of all that NI has achieved in recent years, then NI people should cut the ribbon – we don’t need to import a Hollywood star for our big moment!)

 But what if an even greater highlight was taking one of the first public tours with my family and friends –

Followed by exploring the BREATHTAKING job that’s been done on the Titanic and Olympic slipways for the first time (much, much more to come on that later…!)

And what if the dinner on Friday night was immediately trumped by the dinner on Saturday night, spent in the unbeatable company of the Titanic Walking Tours gang?

And what if the highlight then became the Yardmen walk on Sunday morning, footstepping the dockers on their way from East Belfast to the slipways?
But what if the Dock Walk that afternoon was even more special, as we finally stood, walked, prayed and worshipped in Titanic Belfast and on the slipways after peering at them through the fence on every previous Dock Walk since Day One?!

And what if that Dock Walk was then topped by the one on Monday 2nd April – the day Titanic left Belfast – which began with a breakfast in Titanic Belfast featuring a showstopping new choral piece sung by a shared medley of school choirs on the Grand Staircase, a display of vintage cars and a balloon-release:
– and then included the Dock Walk to mark Titanic’s departure, tracing her story from beginning to the day she sailed down Belfast Lough into the sunset and marking the centenary of that moment by standing on the spot where Robert Welsh stood to take his iconic photograph
– before watching A Night To Remember for the first time in the open air cinema at the Thompson Dock (complete with rain shower at the exact moment the Titanic sank on screen – talk about interactive cinema!)
 Or was the highlight a preview tour of SS Nomadic this morning – which looks awesome even in its work-in-progress state?

You see my problem?! – when every day is better, more joyful, more hopeful, more moving – how can I keep describing it?  How can I keep finding new superlatives?  How can my words ever express or give thanks for the immense, blessed days we are living through?