It’s VERY busy in the Titanic Quarter today – VERY.  (we ran out of Stan’s yummy scones by 1:30!)  It’s almost as if something big is about to happen…. hmmmm… maybe I’ll be able to tell you more tomorrow!

In the meantime, just to prove (in case it’s relevant) that I can indeed show proper decorum at swanky high-class events (this was taken at the Diocesan Synod), this photo appeared on the Down and Dromore website this week and seemed to demand a Caption Competition…

(Why was I holding a flowerpot??  Why??)

What a great Friday night at Dock Cafe… good music, good food, good buzz, good shwapping… and all for a good cause.

The shwapping (swapping instead of shopping) was done by scores of people who have signed up to the ‘Wear It Out’ campaign – a ‘Fashion Fast’ where people commit to buying no new clothes, shoes or gadgets for three months – giving the money saved to causes such as the Fields of Life project to bring clean water to villages in the developing world.

As part of the ‘fast’, people are encouraged to find creative ways to meet, chat, engage and encourage each other through the long retail-therapy-free months.  So Jessica had organised a Wardrobe Swap at Dock Cafe on Friday night – so that people who weren’t buying any new clothes could share, swap and go home with something which maybe wasn’t brand new – but was new to them!

What a perfect picture of exactly what Dock Cafe is here for.  The buzz and mix of people, sheltering from the unrelentingly stormy night over steaming cups of coffee with home-made cupcakes, great acoustic sets by local musicians, and the lure of some new togs hanging on the rails at the back of the cafe.

Chat, welcome, laughter, music, faith-in-action, imagination, community.  Life in the Titanic Quarter – it’s what we’re here for.

Continuing on the theme of bloopers…

Today was the second anniversary of the most embarrassing moment of my life… and if you’re new to the Dock blog and haven’t yet heard the story of the parsnip, the synod and the lady with the black eye, click here to allow me to confess all – or here to meet the lady in question…

As well as providing many, many, many opportunities (many) for people to come up to me and say “I hope you haven’t brought any vegetables today, ho ho!”, the Synod is a good chance to reflect on the changes and chapters of Dock life.

Two years ago, the only reason I was using parsnips in the first place was that the Dock was completely conceptual – an idea – illustrated with visual aids (-slash-weapons).  It began with a vision – the vision of a shared community space where Life in the Titanic Quarter could flourish.

One year ago, I stood before the assembled noteworthies again – this time equipped with bundles of Business Plans.  The vision had become a team – the team had formed a company – the company had written a Business Plan and was serious about searching for a space – at that stage we thought it would be a boat – where the vision could be lived out.

This year I needed no visual aids.  The vision is tangible to anyone and everyone who walks through the door of Dock Cafe.  We thought it would be a boat – for now, as it turns out, it’s a pop-up cafe – but the dream of those early days is being given form in daily conversations, cups of coffee, chill-out sessions on comfy sofas.

It’s an impromptu acoustic session on one of the Dock Cafe guitars, where a crowd gathers around someone who unexpectedly decides to serenade us.  It’s the chat of the knitting group on Tuesday nights as they put the world to rights over the clack of knitting needles.  It’s local community representatives gathering to talk about the future of Titanic Quarter.  It’s a group of students finding a place to relax and de-stress between exams.  It’s neighbours meeting, community connecting, life happening.

So how appropriate that this day, of all days, was topped and tailed by two incredibly exciting meetings about the future of Dock Cafe.  The always-unpredictable story of The Dock is going from strength to strength – a Good News story, an adventure, like no other…

As you’ll know if you’ve watched the video here, I did eventually manage to mark the 101st anniversary of Titanic’s launch by matching its 62-second journey down the slipway.  But not on the first go – that attempt, made in the company of my excellent colleague Robert, was a little bit more of a blooper:

Staring out the window at grey skies and pouring rain?  Need some cheerful photos of another great week in Dock-world to bring some colour back into your day?  Alrighty then!

Knittin’ at the Dock was a great success – both on Worldwide Knit In Public Day, and the start of our new regular ravelry group (4:30-6:30 every Tuesday evening)

Also a big hit – the new Dock boardroom table has already hosted its first meeting, is nicely booked-up this week and is available for plenty more:

Last Sunday marked the 2nd birthday of the Dock Walk – two fantastic years of walking, chatting, exploring, praying, living out a “church without walls” on Sunday afternoons.  We celebrated with coffees in the sunshine at Titanic Belfast and a quick glimpse on board HMS Caroline (not planned in advance – just one of those fantastic opportunities that spring up on Dock Walks from time to time!)

We also had one of the biggest-yet gatherings of the whole Dock Team – chaplains, directors, management team – for the purpose of some media training.  Even in its infancy the Dock seems to be hitting headlines and getting airtime – so thanks to Aodhan we now feel a bit more prepared the next time someone points a camera in our direction!

And one final picture : back behind the wheel of the big white van we borrowed for ‘Eamonn week‘, collecting more goodies for Dock Cafe.  What goodies, you may ask? – Stay tuned….!