So here’s the third part of this little trilogy of ‘films-featuring-The-Dock not-actually-made-by-The Dock’ (and it’s better than Return Of The Jedi)

It’s a video promoting the whole Titanic Quarter development – and it hopefully gives you a little flavour of why I am just so endlessly thrilled to be part of the story of this part of Belfast city:

I do remember the first day I saw that model; every time I’ve seen it since then, it makes me just as emotional!  And how amazing that one of those little wooden blocks would one day house Dock Cafe and all the unexpected, quirky, beautiful expressions of community life that have sprung up over this past year…

It was v heartbreaking to have to miss the Titanic Belfast first-birthday-celebrations while we were away in the campervan – but I got a message to say that The Dock’s presence was still felt – hurrah! – we pop up in this brilliant little movie which was shown on the day:

You have to watch almost to the end – me and P Robinson get to round-off the whole thing!  And although the interview was done a while ago, I still stand by what I said – going by conversations with overseas visitors in Dock Cafe over recent days (loads of people from Spain today – hola!), this is the positive message that’s going back all across the world from Belfast.

(You’re going to have watch it now to find out what I said!)

Well it’s great to be back!

Loads to tell y’all about the Bennett adventures during our few days’ break – but first, it was great to see that our absence was filled with all sorts of unofficial ‘Dock movies’ popping up online – did you catch them?

The first was the music video for Robb Murphy’s ‘Love In Abundance’, which as you will remember was shot at Dock Cafe a few weeks ago.  A gorgeous song, a great video, brilliant lyrics and a lovely, lovely tune – we were humming it all holiday!

And yes – that’s my torso and butt you can see in the coveted role of ‘Man Serving Coffee’ – talk about Fame At Last!  Did my performance hit a bum note?  Did my bum look big in this?  Have I cracked my way into show business?  I’ll stop now.

Well it’s been a whirl of a few weeks in the Titanic Quarter.  New neighbours… music videos… Titanic anniversaries… snow days… fun runs…

Enough to make a chap (or a Chaplain) ready for a few days’ break in the campervan – but before I go, a few images of some of the highlights of another fantastic month in Dock World.

There was the day when Dock Cafe was used as the location of a music video shoot for local singer-songwriter Robb Murphy’s lovely Love In Abundance – a story of girl (off of Game Of Thrones) meets boy (off of Ripper St) in a trendy cafe.  I blagge the role of ‘Man With Coffee Pot’ (I am, after all, off of Mission Titanic) but I had to leave half-way through the shoot so I’m not sure I’ll make it to the final cut!  Still, it was a great day and the finished vid should be fantastic.

There was the on-going challenge of the World’s Most Impossible Jigsaw (in which the finished jigsaw wasn’t the picture on the box, but the view of one of the characters in the picture on the box – very complicated…)  Craig and Sarah started it one rainy Saturday, various people added bits and pieces during the week, Gordon and Olivia made major progress on Friday night, and then all of them coincided by chance at the cafe on Saturday to finish it – there was no way the cafe was allowed to close until VICTORY WAS THEIRS!!

There were Dock Walks through rain and sunshine and snow and wild and wonderful weather… including the week we were joined by a group from Los Angeles University, the week we re-traced Titanic’s last moments on the anniversary of her fateful crash, and the week we ventured into new territory in the wastelands of the undeveloped part of the TQ – only to find them full of bright yellow flowers as a symbol of the beauty and power of creation (and the Creator) in the midst of what looked like dead space…

And there was the week we walked past the feet of Samson (or Goliath) just as the sirens sounded and the mighty crane moved – a group of grown adults stood open-mouthed like enraptured children for the entirety of the operation!

There was the day I got to visit Titanic Belfast like a normal person (rather than as a tour guide or part of a special event) – going through the galleries with my good friend Gill and realising afresh what a treasure, what a superb, evocative, fascinating visitor experience we now have right on our doorstep in Belfast…

We also got to see the new additions which have appeared in the tour over the past year – such as the massive wall-map of Titanic which was used during the post-disaster enquiries – making it well worth a return visit even if you’ve done the TB tour before

And if you haven’t – for shame!  What are you waiting for?

More and more groups are making Dock Cafe their base of operations or a good spot for a rendezvous – like the Dock Book Group on Saturday afternoons, or Sip/Sit/Knit on Friday mornings, or even Giants commentator Wayne’s birthday party…

Yesterday we had one of our biggest groups yet – the second meeting of a new monthly evening gathering called Faith Foundations:

And today the cafe was open in the midst of a busy, bunged day at the ARC apartments – as thousands gathered for the TQ 10K run.

In the cafe Susie and the Belfast Titanic Society had a great display of some Titanic artefacts and info about the society.  (Yep I joined up – still as much of a Titanorak as ever…)

Meanwhile Elaine and Joe had booked the comfy sofas for a Christening Party for little Colm, another brand-new member of the Titanic Quarter community.

It’s been a month of firsts and new things – first coffee in the new Mace, first time of getting out the deckchairs in 2013, first Mace sandwich (very yummy), new ‘Prayer Tree’ appearing in the prayer garden…

But it’s also been another gorgeous month of those fabulous, unplanned moments and encounters in Dock Cafe.  Meeting the descendants of another Titanic crew member… watching as the students engage with a group of toddlers, community springing up out of nothing… sunlight streaming into the cafe… banter with the regulars… a family settling down to a good game of Scrabble… More inspiring conversations, more good belly-laughs, more OK-don’t-make-me-cry-now moments of beautiful, brilliant community than I can count.

Life in the Titanic Quarter…

It’s been longed for, promised, derailed, rescued, long-awaited and talked about in hushed whispers since the day and hour I arrived in the Titanic Quarter: would there ever be a wee local shop where you could just, y’know, pop in and buy stuff?

Well…. today is the day.  History in the making:

Congratulations to our new next-door neighbours Graham and Andy, who pulled out all the stops (and some midnight oil) to get the new Titanic Quarter Mace ready to open in time for this weekend (and it’s a big weekend – the TQ 10K half-marathon is on Sunday).

And so it was a great privilege for Dock Cafe to host the first meeting of ARC apartment traders and businesses.  From L-R: Wesley (I’ll tell you about him later), James (TQ Ltd), Graeme (Premier Inn), Bronagh (Premier Inn), Denise (TQ Ltd), some awful eejit, Andy (TQ Mace) and Graham (TQ Mace).

And Wesley?  He’s setting up a new business in a little unit just around the corner from Dock Cafe.  You’ll get full details and pics soon, but for now just let me say the three best words in the English language: Titanic.  Segway.  Tours.

Life in the Titanic Quarter is taking off… fasten your seatbelts!