Well here it is, the month that fills up faster than any other. The Bennetts are actually considering a proper, real Christmas tree this year, and making more of an effort with the twinkly lights – although at the same time we respect the out-of-the-box thinking of this guy:

Two dates for your diary over the coming months.  First up, Thursday 15th December is The Dock’s annual Christmas bash – from 5pm onwards we’ll be filling the Arc shop unit (venue for many a happy barbecue, birthday party and pop-up coffeehouse) with the smell of mulled wine, fruit punch, mince pies, a blazing brazier at the door, chestnuts roasting on an open fire (TBC) and all sorts of Christmassy goodness.  Last year we were able to provide the first proper snowfall of the winter just to add to the atmos; no promises this time but, y’know, we’ll do our best…

Put it in your diaries NOW!

The other diary date is the Dock Book Group Christmas gathering – Saturday 17th Dec, 9:30am at the Premier Inn.  Ironically we’re moving on from C.S.Lewis just as the wintry Narnia becomes the perfect backdrop – but as a complete contrast and change of pace, we’re looking at leadership guru Seth Godin’s new book Tribes for our next gathering.  You might remember that i was hugely impressed and challenged by Seths’ sesh at the Willow Creek leadership summit a few weeks back and I’ve been itching to give his books a try ever since.  Tribes looks fun, short, snappy and (much like our friend with the Christmas lights) a bit out-of-the-box.  As always, anyone who has read it, heard of it, or just fancies being part of a good discussion about it, is very welcome to join us over coffee on the 17th.

If you want a taster you can catch Seth giving this great Ted Talk:

My absolute favourite part of being a TQ chaplain at the minute, even amongst all the excitement of boat-hunting, is being part of the emerging community of the Quarter, as neighbours meet, connections are made and friendships forged. The Titanic Quarter’s vision – ‘Where once we built ships, now we build community” – is becoming reality on a daily basis. Which is a long-winded way (unusual for me, I know) of saying I’m really looking forward to the next Meet The Neighbours gathering on Saturday morning – pop-up cafe, luxury hot chocolate, fresh-brewed coffee, locally-baked goodies – you know the drill!

See you there!

This week I got a tantalising glimpse of a huge sheet of paper, crammed with tiny type, that contained all the Titanic-related special events planned for next year (that we know of… so far!). Concerts, services, displays, plays, lightshows, openings, commemorations, dramas, songs, orchestras, exhibitions… you name it! It is going to be a year like we’ve never known or seen in Northern Ireland – we’re at the centre of a story that just seems to get more famous, more captivating, more fascinating as time goes on.

Just one way in which the centenary is being marked is with a host of new or spruced-up film and TV versions of the story – with loads to look forward to.  One of them – a digitally-restored and remastered version of the seminal 1957 A Night To Remember – was premiered in Belfast a few weeks ago and will no-doubt be making its way onto crystal-clear Blu-Ray in time for the anniversary.

I’m especially intrigued by a TV series called Titanic – Blood and Steel, which will tell Belfast’s story – a 12-part mini-series concentrating not on the maiden voyage and the iceberg, but on the Belfast men who hammered together the largest man-made moving object in the world, right on the ground I walk every day.  A high profile-ish cast (Derek Jacobi, Neve Campbell), a massive budget, and a fascinating story with plenty of time to tell it.  Could be amazing, could be a hatchet job… (click on the link and see if it sounds like the old “the rivets were rubbish!”/”the Titanic-era shipyards were a hive of sectarianism!” stories are going to get another airing…)

And of course there has to be yet another version of the story of the sinking: this time scripted by Mr Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, starring Linus Roache and Toby Jones, and unfolding over 4 episodes on ITV.  No expense spared on the production of this one, and hopes are high that Julian Fellowes will recapture some of the upstairs/downstairs magic that made Downton such a huge hit, while a 2011 special-effects crew tackling the recreation of the sinking might even surpass the tremendous visuals of Cameron’s 1997 film.

Speaking of which, Leo and Kate won’t be left out of the party either: the movie’s being re-released next April with every scene painstakingly re-mastered in 3D by Cameron himself, who insists that this is a proper job and not a cheap gimmick.  A cash-in, or a glorious opportunity to wallow in Dion-themed multimillion-dollar emotion all over again (with stuff poking out of the screen)?  Decide for yourself with a glimpse of the trailer with an intro from the man himself (warning: contains traces of Celine):

One more big revelation from the Dock Birthday Party, which I’ve been longing to tell you about for months, and can finally go public as it’s now official: a fly-on-the-wall documentary is being made about The Dock project.  I’m the fly!

To explain I’ll introduce you to Patricia, who joined us for the first of many days of filming, rather appropriately, on the day that we went to see the Arctic Penguin in Inveraray.  She got to follow me with a camera all day – so I turned the tables when we were waiting for our bags at the airport:

For those of you who missed the Dock Birthday Party (fools!), a few pics of what ya missed:

Great buzz at the deckchair cafe in the Arc Apartments:

New friends and neighbours…

Preachin’! (or rather, presenting the three world-premiere Dock Movies with their accompanying Big News from Dock-World – which you can catch up with here and here – one more still to come!)

And of course – cutting the cake and singing Happy Birthday… (Cheesy? Moi?)