Here in The Dock one of the undisputed highlights of 2011 was getting to connect with loads of our neighbours at the Arc at our various Meet The Neighbours events – whether barbeques or birthday bashes, coffee mornings or Christmas parties, it was fantastic to be part of the birth of a vibrant new community here in the Titanic Quarter

Our regular get-togethers disappeared for a bit in 2012 while we were working hard behind the scenes to get Dock cafe ready to open.  So now it’s time for the next generation of Meet The Neighbours – as before, the coffee will be plentiful, the welcome will be warm, the craic will be great – but we’ll now be open day-by-day instead of once a month.  We’re not just occasional visitors any more – we are The Local! – the place where you can pop in for a chat, meet up with friends, connect to all the great events happening around the Titanic centenary, or just chill out surrounded by some of the best artwork, music, coffee and fresh-baked goodies that Belfast has to offer.

But it’s still great to have a focal point in the middle of a busy week – a time when the TQ community makes a special effort to connect at Dock Cafe so that neighbours can meet, friendships can start, a community can be born.  So see you at 11-1 on Saturday morning – our time-honoured Meet The Neighbours slot!

How’s this for a Dock Walk and a half… nearly 300 people turned up at Saul on St Patrick’s Day to take part in the pilgrimage walk to Downpatrick.  Organised chaos ensued as your trusty Chaplain, armed with the Dock Walk sound system (a rather trendy little Bose speaker  – which is rather more used to groups of 3, or maybe 30 at a pinch, than 300!) guided them along on a heart-stoppingly beautiful Spring morning, following in Patrick’s footsteps from the site of Ireland’s first religious community, to the historic old stone of Downpatrick Cathedral.

Along the way we stopped to share some prayers and moments of quiet, using some words from St Patrick’s Breastplate.  We used those words again on Sunday’s Dock Walk, our hearts filling with courage as we listened to this ancient prayer amidst the shining steel and glass of Titanic Belfast as the sun set behind the hills.  Maybe you’ll get a chance to use it again this week – whether out in the glories of creation, or stuck at your desk on a grey morning…

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendour of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

…Where is it?

So I hear that some of you have been wandering, lonely as clouds, looking for Dock Cafe over the past few days – and many of you have ended up at the Pump House Cafe at the Thompson Dock instead!  Which is fine – we love the gang at the Pump House Cafe – but for those of you who really, really want to find Dock Cafe, Jeremy’s excellent map might help:

And one other suggestion – ditch the cars, people!  I suppose it is easy to whiz past Dock Cafe on the road – but you really can’t miss it if you’re exploring the TQ by foot – as nature intended.   So leave the car at the Odyssey car park, walk the streets, breathe the air, take your time… there will be a superb cuppa and a bun waiting for you at the end of your journey!

Just a quick update this morning before I head off for another great day at Dock Cafe…. yeah!!  I cannot tell you how much I’m enjoying this… the buzz and laughter and conversation, new faces, regular customers (yep we’ve got a few of those already!), great tea, coffee, bakes, art, photography, comfy corners and wide-open spaces for a new community to form.  “Where once we built ships, today we build community” – indeedy.

So anyway, the quick update!  A few pics of Dock Cafe life yesterday… Tegan being trained in the art of making the perfect cup of Suki tea… our “eat your piece in peace” lunchtime policy… chillin out at The Dock…

And two bits of walk-related news:  One, from now on the Dock Walks will leave from Dock Cafe at 3:33 every Sunday, rather than the Odyssey… kinda makes sense doesn’t it!

And two: tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day, so as always The Dock will be part of the St Patrick’s Day pilgrimage from Saul to Downpatrick – more details here.  A Dock Walk with a difference, at the spot where it all began… hopefully see you there!

The very first Dock Movie I ever made, when still getting to grips with iMovie, was based on a prayer of St Patrick – I blush at the editing “prowess” now, but the prayer is unimprovable! –

14th March… that means it’s exactly one month till 14th April (yes, really), the Big Date of Big Dates at the centre of all Titanic-related activity: 14th is Iceberg Day.

Which means that the Titanic Quarter has gone from being busy, to being frantic, to entering a whole new previously-undiscovered realm of activity.  Everything is now on a countdown of weeks or even days: the Yardmen walk, the opening of Titanic Belfast, the lightshow, the MTV concert, the commemorative events…  Even little details are all coming together.  I was stuck in traffic today beside the guys putting up the sign (pic on right) to Titanic Belfast on the M3 sliproad – one more little piece in the puzzle of making the Titanic Quarter ready for its glory days…

So can i ask something of you tonight, people of The Dock… could you take the time, at this one-month-to-go distance, to click on this link and luxuriate in the fabulous creativity, variety and richness of events planned for the next few weeks.  Mark the dates in your diary; book the babysitter; reserve the tickets; save your place.  We will never, EVER have seen a month like this in the history of our little province… let’s enjoy every minute of it!