It’s less than an hour until Mission Titanic is transmitted on UTV… I’m irrationally excited, given that I’ve seen it a couple of times now!

My parents and in-laws and aunties have gathered to watch it together; fire is lit, kettle is on…

And earlier today we had a preview showing in Dock Cafe long with everyone who appears in the programme…

And before that I discovered in the Sunday Times that I’m like a more sensible Harrison Ford (which is possibly the bizarrest and best compliment I have ever received…)

It’s a very exciting day!

The Dock popped up briefly on UTV Live tonight – but under strict instructions from Patricia not to give away the end of the story (does he get his boat?), it was kinda tricky to answer Paul Clarke’s mostly boat-related questions…

Did I manage it?!

Well the day is fast approaching… time to set the Sky+ for UTV at 10:20pm on Sunday night for:

It’s been an exciting week leading up to the transmission of the programme.  I was photographed by the Sunday World this morning (but I managed to keep my top on, phew!) and we’ve heard word that the programme might feature in the Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Times this weekend as well.   It was a bit surreal to open up the Radio Times and see my story in the TV listings… (right)

The trailer for the Dockumentary has been running on UTV already.  And the time-slot it has been given – following Downton Abbey (or Downtown Abbey, as I reckon all Belfast people should call it) is about as good as it gets – loads of people will be in front of their TVs, cups of cocoa in hand, hopefully ready to watch just one more programme before it’s time for bed.

There is one bit of the programme that I feel I should give a heads-up about – and an apology.  I try to be as open and honest as possible on this blog, but there never seemed to be a good time or way to share one particular piece of news from the past year.  During the boat-hunting, Titanic-centenary-commemorating, Dock-Cafe-opening adrenaline rush of events, Susan and I received some bad news in the middle of it all – we were both given a diagnosis of MS (Multiple Sclerosis).  (We managed to be something of a medical marvel by both being given the same diagnosis in the same week.)

I’m one of the extremely fortunate people who lives with the diagnosis but none of the symptoms, so my daily life isn’t affected.  (And there’s every chance that will continue to be the case).  But the news in the middle of such a whirlwind year was a bit of a gut-punch.  And, good interviewer that she is, Patricia, the director of the documentary, managed to get me to open up on camera about how it felt!

So you’ll see that it’s part of the story of the Dock as told in Mission Titanic on Sunday night… one aspect of a year I’ll never forget.  A year in which bad news and unimaginable, unexpected blessing came out of nowhere – and in which God was equally present in both.

…turns out it only takes 4 people and a bit of muscle-power!

A few weeks ago Dock Cafe had the incredible privilege of being asked to display a new piece by local sculptor Kevin Killen.  The ‘Waste Titanic’ is made entirely from recycled objects – many happy hours can be spent spotting all the discarded household bric-a-brac used in the construction, from draining boards to paint tins, hedge trimmers to drill bits, grill pans to saw blades…

Until yesterday it was a bit hidden in a dark corner behind the coffee bar – until the gang got to work.  Our snappily-titled ‘Make Dock Cafe Pretty Day’ saw the Titanic raised to a new spot by the window, the HMS Caroline display moved to an excellent new location, the coffee-bar paint touched up, and 101 other jobs ticked off the To Do list – thanks team!

In case anyone recognises the title of this post – there was indeed a film of that name released in the early 80’s, with the double indignity of being a complete flop on release (the studio lost so much money that Lew Grade quipped that it would have been cheaper to sink the ocean), and then a laughing-stock within a few years when Ballard’s discovery of the wreck in two distinct sections made the film’s happy ending look hopelessly naive.

But… if you completely suspend disbelief, even knowing that it’s the dramatisation of an utterly impossible dream, there’s something stirring about the sequence at the end of the movie when Titanic resurfaces and completes her journey to New York.

Bring the cheese!