The Dock celebrates a big moment in their history
There was lots to celebrate in Dock Cafe when they gathered for Sunday Sundaes on, 7 July. But, before the big announcement, Chris Bennett takes on a little tour of the cafe…
Our first stop is at a beautiful new display by local photographer Beverley Davidson. We always love supporting local businesses and artists in the cafe, and they in turn have filled the place with colour and creativity. Beverley’s photos are all of local beauty spots – and her eye for a great shot makes our gorgeous wee country look fabulous.
Then we pause to unveil Dock Cafe’s brand–new area – the Shipyard Wall. We’ve filled our new extension to bursting with some unique, quirky pieces of the Belfast shipyard story – past, present and future.
You can find Edward Harland’s signature, Thomas Andrews’ door, and Eric Kuhne’s grand masterplan for the future of Titanic Quarter. There’s a key board, cable schedules, an indenture and some pictures from SWOPS – and if you haven’t a notion what those things are, come and have a potter along the wall…
Loads of the pieces are on loan from the evocative H&W drawing office, and – faded and rough–around–the–edges though some of them are – they give an unmatched window into an amazing history. Where else will you find this stuff?!
On to the next stop – where we pause to celebrate a big moment in Dock history. After a long wait,
The Dock has been granted charitable status
– yes, we are a Charideee! One great benefit of this news is that those of you who would like to donate to the Dock can now add Gift Aid to your donations – there’s a form on the Dock website
here
if you’d like to avail of that opportunity. Every penny will be used to further The Dock’s aim of building Life in the Titanic Quarter…
And back to the tour! We finish in the Prayer Garden with – no, no tears! We’re too manly for that – it’s just a speck of dust in my eye. Yes, it’s time to say fare–thee–well to Tim, who has got himself a job out there in the real world.
In his year as Dock intern, Tim has been just fantastic. He’s helped dream–up and decorate the prayer garden, painted the floor, collected furniture, led worship, fetched the sandwiches, encouraged the volunteers, christened the new dishwasher, manned the coffee bar, and – of course – opened & closed the cafe more often and poured more cups of coffee than either he or I can count. He has done all these things with a wonderfully, uniquely Tim–esque mixture of laid–backness and enthusiasm. We’ll miss him a lot.
So – arrivals, departures, the old and the new, the joyful and the tearful – the full gamut of Life in the Titanic Quarter, shared by the fantastic community of locals, residents, students and regulars in our beloved Dock Cafe.
Do call down for a cuppa over the Summer (although not during our little Summer break – the cafe is closed from today until 15 July).
Have a restful, blessing–ful, coffee–ful and sunshine–ful Summer!
Chris