It started off this morning with the visit of our special guest to Dock Cafe…

It continued with a team of volunteers getting kitted out in hard hats, luminous vests and steel-toecapped boots…
…So that we could (at long last! – after being rained off on all previous occasions) go on board SS Nomadic to apply teak oil to the wooden deck rails, bannisters and doors…
(I think we made a pretty good job of it…)

Then a fantastic time in Dock Cafe tonight – one of those times that makes me think “This is what it’s all about!”  Locals, visitors, new friends, old friends, conversations about the big questions of life, lots of banter and craic…

One visitor – one of our next-door-neighbours in the Arc apartments – was part of the Game Of Thrones production crew, and after a chat about who was who, who killed who, who loved who, who hated who, and who was sleeping with who (and if you’ve watched Game Of Thrones you’ll know that all those categories sometimes combine within a single scene), he dropped down this handy guide to keep track of it all.  Fellow Game Of Thrones fans, magnify, study and memorise!

…What a great day!

Dock Cafe is opening early tomorrow at 10am (crack of dawn! I know!) to put the kettle on for another special guest… a new arrival in a particular job which involves wearing some serious jewellery… any guesses who it is?

Join us in the morning to give him a warm Dock welcome!

(PS – to see another great set of photos of Dock Cafe, check out the bigwoodenbox set on Flickr here)

As I walked through the door of Dock Cafe this morning, the soup was simmering, the coffee was hot, the sandwiches were going like hot cakes (and the hot cakes were going like sandwiches) – it was great to be back!

Scones are ordered… soup is ready… coffee and tea are re-stocked… traybakes are in the oven…
Dock Cafe is ready to open again!

I’ve been taking a few days to get back in touch with my inner hunter-gatherer.  Me make wood shed.  Me chop logs.  Me put logs in wood shed.  Result!

But the 21st Century is re-asserting itself, and I’m really looking forward to being back to the rhythm of Dock Cafe life this week.  So I thought I’d catch you up with a few pretty pictures of Dock Life over the past few weeks.  The big event was of course the Land of Giants spectacular spectacular on the slipways – beautiful, awe-inspiring stuff (even if I’m not entirely sure what was going on most of the time…)

And as well as the treat of the show itself, there’s the thrill after it’s all over of walking down the Queens Road in a throng of thousands of people, echoing the old Titanic yardmen photos…

That same weekend I made my now-annual visit to ‘Mass Rock’ in the company of the friendly parishioners of St Oliver Plunkett’s parish in West Belfast.  Hidden deep in the woods above the Glen Rd, Mass Rock is a place where Catholics would have gathered during penal times for secret services, in the dead of night, constantly on the lookout for redcoats.  In the 2012 equivalent, when we emerged from the woods after the service, we found the PSNI directing traffic so that we could get back to our cars safely… changed times!
I always find these services incredibly moving – a reminder of how once we were deeply divided, yet full of the faith we share.  How can believers who recite the same creed have become so bitterly separated?

Back in the Titanic Quarter, there has (as always) been plenty going on.  Still recovering from royal visits and handshakes, there was more and more good news over the past few weeks – look out for updates soon about Prayer Rooms in the TQ, pilgrimage walks on the old Titanic slipways, and big, big plans for the future of Dock Cafe.

In the meantime, Dock Cafe life was as full of variety, colour and laughter as ever – whether enjoying more impromptu acoustic sessions, hosting a visit of a local cycling club (go Jackie!), or watching a family while away a rainy afternoon plaining the Titanic Board Game (I knew if we left it out someone would play it some day!)…

And no need to go to see the new Spiderman movie – we got our own live show, watching the TQ window-cleaning crew in action:

And finally, on the subject of pictures, a while back I published a very daft picture of me at Diocesan Synod (where I do not have a good track record of always behaving with due dignity) and invited your best caption-writing efforts.  Huge thanks to all those who replied – but I think the prize has to go to Chris Matchett’s suggestion: