2nd April is Belfast’s Titanic Day.   Construction complete, paint shining, propellers turning, boilers boiling, pistons pumping, she was taken on a few test laps of Belfast Lough – her sea trials – throughout the day on 2nd April, at the end of which she had her Board of Trade classification (her ship’s MOT certificate, good for one year from date of issue!)

Then at 8pm she sailed down Belfast Lough, steaming towards Southampton.  One last photograph was taken by a Belfast photographer – the iconic image above – before her story moved on to Southampton, Cherbourg, Cobh, and then, within only 12 days of that photograph being taken, the sickening crash, the frantic, tragic hours of her loss in the icy Atlantic.

But today is our day.  Many, many times over the past few weeks we’ve heard the Belfast motto – ‘She was all right when she left here!’.  Today is the ‘when’, and Titanic Quarter is the ‘here’, in that motto – so we’re going to mark the occasion with a special Dock Walk tonight.  Meeting at Dock Cafe at 7pm, walking past the Drawing Offices, Slipways and Thompson Dock – where she was designed, built, fitted-out and finished – to look down Belfast Lough in the same direction as that photographer 100 years ago, and mark the moment at 8pm when Titanic disappeared into the horizon.

See you there!

Lots to keep you on your feet today:

11am Yardmen Walk and service
– meeting at 11am at Westbourne Presbyterian for a combined Dock/Westbourne service
– departing from Pitt Park  at 12:45 for the Yardmen Walk along the old dockers’ route into the Titanic Quarter

3:33pm Dock Walk
– meeting at Dock Cafe at 3:33 as always for the Dock Walk today – but nothing else will be as usual! – today we will walk around Titanic Belfast, walk on the slipways where Titanic was built, trace its outline on the ground, stand at the spot where it hit the water… everything we’ve been looking forward to for the past 2 years!

7pm on Monday 2nd April – ‘She Was All Right When She Left Here’ Dock Walk
– we’re meeting at 7pm at Dock Cafe tomorrow night for a special Dock Walk to mark a very special moment.  Titanic left Belfast, after a day of sea trials in Belfast lough, at 8pm on 2nd April – and so our walk will take us to the Thompson Dock where we can look down the Lough and mark the moment the ship disappeared into the sunset 100 years ago.

Right – off to Westbourne – I have thousands of photos to show you of this spectacular, emotional, joyful dream of a weekend – but that’ll have to wait for later!

Get your walking shoes on!

The sun is rising over the Titanic Quarter, I’m sipping coffee in the Premier Inn at 6:30am (I know!) and already the Titanic Quarter is springing to life, thousands of busy bees zooming towards millions of final last-minute preparations.  I’ve just been chatting to Mark Simpson off of the BBC, live on BBC breakfast, as dawn breaks on the last day of the run-up to the opening of Titanic Belfast.  Tomorrow, it’s showtime – and the TQ (and Belfast) will never be quite the same again.  A new day.

And a new start for Belfast.  We are now Titanic people.  After decades of telling the stories that divide us, we’re now telling the story that unites us: that as we walk the streets of Belfast city we’re walking in the footprints of the men who hammered together this monumental, doomed, wonderful, terrible, endlessly-fascinating ship.

And man-oh-man, are we telling the story in style.  Celebrating the triumphs, commemorating the terrible losses, finding a thousand new angles and perspectives on this absorbing story.  You’ve maybe noticed that there are one-or-two wee events coming up… last night I started piecing together all the different timetables, programmes and flyers that we’ve been collecting in Dock Cafe over the last few weeks, and I think I’ve come up with the (possibly definitive…?!) guide to EVERYTHING Titanic that’s happening over this next month.

(Of course having said that I’m sure I’ve missed something, so if you spot any omissions let me know and I’ll update the list.  I’ll also post the complete timetable in the ‘Events/Special Events’ tab on the Dock homepage, so you can access it all month as you plan your own Titanic diary.)

So, are you ready?  Really, are you ready? – ready for a new day in Belfast, for a new story, for a month of colour and laughter and tears and love and history and future like we’ve never seen or even dared to dream?  Take a very, very deep breath – and we’ll begin…

Saturday 31st March
12 noon Opening of Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
12 noon Titanic Lockdown daytime programme – www.titanic-lockdown.com
7pm Titanic Lockdown evening programme – www.titanic-lockdown.com
8pm Titanic Centenary Celebrations at Westbourne Presbyterian – www.titanic-people.co.uk
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk

Sunday 1st April
11am Yardmen service at Westbourne Presbyterian – www.titanic-people.co.uk
12:45pm Yardmen Walk and cycle – www.communitygreenway.co.uk
3:33pm Dock Walk – starting at Dock cafe
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
9pm ‘Titanic’ (Julian Fellowes version) on ITV

Monday 2nd April
7pm at Dock Cafe – ‘She was all right when she left here’ Dock Walk
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
8pm ‘The Boat Factory’ at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
8:30pm ‘A Night To Remember’ open-air cinema at the Thompson Dock – www.belfastfilmfestival.org
‘Game of Thrones’ series 2 (filmed in the TQ!) premieres on Sky Atlantic

Tuesday 3rd April
7:30pm ‘Blackness After Midnight’ at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
8pm ‘The Boat Factory’ at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
8:30pm ‘Saving the Titanic’ open-air cinema at the Thompson Dock – www.belfastfilmfestival.org

Wednesday 4th April
1pm ‘Lost Voices from Titanic’ at Public Records Office – www.proni.gov.uk
7:30pm ‘Blackness After Midnight’ at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
8pm ‘The Boat Factory’ at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com

Thursday 5th April
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
8pm ‘The Boat Factory’ at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com

Friday 6th April
5pm Circuit of Ireland Super Special Stage at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide

Saturday 7th April
11:00-5:00 Family Fun Day at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
1pm ‘Titanic in the Movies’ at the Belfast Barge – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
1pm ‘Titanic Birthplace’ at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
9pm Titanic Light Show at Titanic Slipways www.titanicbelfast.com
‘Titanic 3D’ at cinemas nationwide

Sunday 8th April
11:00-5:00 Family Fun Day at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
1:00pm ‘Honeymoon Couples on Titanic’ – City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
3:33pm Dock Walk – starting at Dock cafe
7:15pm ‘Titans’ at the Drawing Office – www.titanicbelfast.com
8pm ‘White Star of the North’ at Lyric Theatre – www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
9pm ‘Titanic’ (Julian Fellowes version) on ITV
‘Titanic 3D’ at cinemas nationwide

Monday 9th April
11:00-5:00 Family Fun Day at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
1:00pm Edwardian Fashion Event at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
7:15pm ‘Titans’ at the Drawing Office – 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
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide

Tuesday 10th April
11:00-5:00 Family Fun Day at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
1pm ‘Titanic Miscellany’ at the City Hall – www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/
7:15pm ‘Titans’ at the Drawing Office – www.titanicbelfast.com
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
‘Titanic 3D’ in cinemas nationwide

Wednesday 11th April
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

Thursday 12th April
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

Friday 13th April
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

Saturday 14th April
5:30pm and 11:40pm ‘Titanic the Musical’ at the Grand Opera House – www.goh.co.uk
6pm Titanic Centenary Lecture with Robert Ballard at Titanic Belfast – www.titanicbelfast.com
7:30pm Titanic Centenary Commemoration at Waterfront 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/
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

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/
12 noon ‘Sunrise from Carpathia’ brunch service 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

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

Another amazing day in the TQ, another blog with LOADS to tell you about all that’s going on – but just for once, all that can wait for tomorrow.  Because tonight there’s something even more important than Titanic: I’ve just become an Uncle.  Congrats to my wonderful little sis, proud mum to a lovely teeny tiny boy.