February Snapshots of Belfast

Without any topic to string these photos together, here are just some sights of Belfast from over the last few weeks such as the ethereal Titanic Memorial in the grounds of city hall.

Some cold but nice dandering on the sunny days...

And with plenty of bright red lanterns for the Chinese new year.

Some would say cracking.

As always, plenty of traffic.

The Belfast Giants honoured Graeme Walton's long service with a testimonial game in which the popular Pizza eating on ice featured.

The weather wasn't always dry and sunny, but Belfast still has it's charm.

Sadly we still have this on the streets - illegal flag protests. Here some are blocking the street at the front of Belfast city hall... yet again! (plenty of space on the pavement yer eejits!)

Don't even get me started on what those claiming to stand up for the UK did at Seaview. Pure hateful and despicable bigotry. Thankfully football fans and football stood strong that day. I'd go so far as to say that the clubs did NI, the UK and Ireland proud. I do feel sorry for the police though who had to deal with the small group and their warped perception on life here in Northern Ireland. Speaking as a non-religious, comprehensive school educated Yorkshireman/adopted Northern Irishman: I honestly think that the people illegally protesting the democratic decision to fly the flag on special days DON'T understand what the United Kingdom is. Either that or they at least don't understand how the rest of it functions OR maybe they're being coerced? I say this because going by their actions to date they certainly don't understand what the UK tries to represent in this day and age. Sure, when BNP/UKIP related individuals also show up to these things, you can gauge the sort of thinking behind it for yourself.

I know everyone has a different slant and perspective on life but maybe we could start to show all arrested the 5 episodes of the BBC show 'Wonders of Life'. Surely worth a shot in the hope they'll gain a new found respect for reality and their own existence though I'm sure some minds could even warp that. D'oh, I got started. I'll not even begin to start to type about the politics.

Due to things like the above, this flying machine has been gathering more air miles.

Where all that will end up - who knows. The summer is probably going to be interesting given the stance and political maneuvering going on. No doubt some more stains on humanities intelligence knowing the mentality of a small amount of people in this part of the world.

That's something that will run for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, you'll find us being big kids jumping on this on the way home after a Giants game.

And this I have no explanation for other than it's a way to get to the other side of the road without waiting at the traffic lights.

Maybe the underpass will lead to March?

A Walk Along the Lagan

Last Thursday I took a walk through town to visit the Odyssey, to buy some tickets for Graeme Walton's testimonial game and to get some more flexi tickets. The day was overcast and wet, I'd go so far as to say it was miserable. Despite the weather it turned out to be the same day that, completely separately, Neil over at Belfast is my Mojo also took a walk along the urban banks of the River Lagan. Here was Neil's walk in his blog post 'Down by the Lagan-side'.

Most of my own walk was on the opposite side of the river. After buying the tickets and setting off back towards the city center I was stopped in my tracks (in the rain) by this Black Guillemot who, all alone on this part of the river, was seemingly on a hunt. With what must have been a chance of some dinner, it was DIVE DIVE DIVE! The legs kicked up into the air as its head went under.

Then there was just a glimmer of those bright red webbed feet disappearing in an instant into the abyss.

In less than a second all that's left to give away the bird was ever there are the small ripples that fade into stillness.

I watched this a few times before heading on along the towpath, mostly because I was slowly getting soaked.

Further along before the footbridge that is part of the Lagan weir is a nice view of the Lagan Boat Company's MV Joyce Too' and MV Mona.

After another small stretch of water between the weir and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge are some benches where on a nicer day than this you can watch the traffic and water flow by.

Back on the city side of the Lagan, down by Lanyon Place and the Waterfront is the MV Confiance aka 'The Belfast Barge' which is home to a maritime exhibition and cafe.

I wasn't alone in arriving back at the office drenched that day but it was still worth it for the lunch time walk and the tickets.

Merry Christmas to Belfast and Beyond.

Wow it's been a while, hi everyone, sorry for the absence, I almost feel like I should reintroduce myself but to be honest, people I already know probably make up 3/4 of the people who will read this. So instead I'm going to start by wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and a really brilliant new year.

We're still in Belfast at the moment though heading over to Yorkshire for Christmas itself. We were just there a week ago for a wedding so it seems to have become more of a very well planned commute at the moment. Flying around like the pucks during the chuck-a-puck at the Belfast Giants!

Talking of long commutes, it's been an odd few weeks in Belfast largely 'thanks' to the law-breaking, offence-seeking, democracy-bypassing, unable to understand how they're being used as political pawns, 'peaceful' flag protesters. They're a strange bunch, able to happily live within a culture of ignorance and cognitive dissonance relating to what they claim to stand for and the wider reality surrounding them. Don't even get me started on the politics of it all. Suffice to say, far-right groups have got the sniff of the fact that there is a spoon fed target market for them here in N.I. The delicate balance of a slightly dysfunctional but peace brokering political system is really being toyed with by the threat of violence. These games are nothing new to N.I politics but still a disgrace to a democratic society. If there is any glimmer of light to all the inexcusable saber rattling and violence, it's that it has highlighted the latent problems that still exist and plenty of the more unusual dimensions to them. I'll undoubtedly end up posting a bit more about it next year.

It's not all doom and gloom though, don't let those who shout loudest convince you otherwise. There are plenty of great things happening in Belfast and the place is looking pretty good:

I'll not drone on too long, I just wanted to get back in the habit of blogging again with a quick update. I have a review of my 2012 List scheduled to be posted on the 26th and I'm working on my 2013 list so I'll be back with those as well as some travel posts and the likes as soon as possible.

Merry Christmas

Our Trip to Titanic Belfast

I would hazard a guess that there are very few people in the western world that haven’t heard the story of the Titanic. Not to spoil the plot if you haven’t but the basics are: Ship was built, people get on ship, ship sets off, ship hits iceberg, ship sinks, lots of people killed due to lack of life saving equipment, maritime lessons learnt, disaster captures public's imagination and spawns romanticised movies.

Titanic Belfast is a visitor attraction that opened in April 2012, it is located on the site of what used to be the main part of the Harland and Wolff shipyard in what is now known as Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. The shipyards in Belfast produced many ships but undoubtedly the most famous (sadly for tragic reasons), as you might have guessed, was the RMS Titanic.

On the day we visited, approximately 5 months after the grand opening, there were plenty of typical Belfast sun-showers and the Titanic Belfast building glistened in the sun and rain as we got out of the taxi and walked the short distance to the main entrance. This was the first time we'd been inside and we were intrigued yet outside there were plenty of rainbows.

To tell the truth I was a little apprehensive in case it was just going to be another morbid cashing in of the disaster. Thankfully it wasn't. I found it to be something a little bit different to anything I’d expected prior to our visit. I had heard mixed reviews from people who had already been but it soon became apparent that the attraction was less about the drama and more about the history. I feel many who were giving negative reviews were really hoping for a theme park version of the movies or were so into their nautical or local history that they had their fussy blinkers on.

The main areas inside the attraction provide an insight into what it was like in Belfast at the time the ship was built, a guide to it’s construction, what it was like on board the ship and what happened after the disaster, from reaction at the time to examination of the wreck. It was very informative, revealing realities, dispelling myths and channelling the sensationalism that made the disaster so ‘popular’ in modern culture, turning public intrigue into a positive learning experience.

The best part of the experience for me were the visuals and the clarity of the information. These are the parts of the exhibits that I think stood out in an intriguing and good way:

- The scaled up - photos of Belfast in the 'Boomtown Belfast' section

- The life-sized scene displayed on a screen in the Shipyard ride of some actors showing what riveting was like.

- My favourite part of the entire attraction was in the The Fit-Out section – where there is a very clever 3 walled screen projection that took you on a journey of a part of some of the decks of the ship allowing you to gauge the scale with your own eyes. I hope the powers that be don't mind but just to try and illustrate what this is, here is a blurry photo:

- Stories of the realities in 'The Aftermath', the sort of things you don't hear about in the movies, the logistics of the rescues and the impact on land as well as at sea.

- At the end in the 'Titanic Beneath' section, it was very good from a marine archaeology perspective as you can watch a short movie about the wreck of the Titanic and walk over a projection of the ship resting on the seabed and explore the debris field on interactive maps.

- The sculpture outside the main door was rather impressive too, apparently it's called Titanica and was sculpted by a man called Rowan Gillespie.

The most disappointing bit for me was 'The Launch' section which for all the interactivity and moving visuals elsewhere, this was rather static and missing the moment of awe that it has the potential to. I think I'm probably singling this part out for criticism because of what I imagined it to be like, a projection onto the glass of the footage from the launch lined up so you feel like you're there and immersed into it. What is actually there are some replica wooden docking chains on the floor with a small screen hanging from the ceiling showing the launch of the ships hull, there is a filter on the windows which is a representation of the shipyard that fades in an out as the lights are lifted to reveal the slipways today. I'm probably just being picky and being a bit harsh but I just thought it could have been done better given the high standards set by the visuals elsewhere and the unique key significance of over looking the exact site the ship was launched.

Here is the promotional concept video showing how it must have hoped that section would look, it's very close and one of the only things I didn't see was a lifeboat simulation – seemingly similar to that in the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum in New York. I guess if it was left out it was probably seen as potentially in bad taste though kids in general (and us too) would no doubt have loved it as much as we enjoyed tipping back and forth on the one on the Intrepid – which was lots.

The other mildly disappointing aspect of our visit was that we got left hanging on the shipyard ride for a few minutes just feet from the end due to some idiot people standing up in another pod and some other logistical problems with some folks with a buggy but we amused ourselves pondering if it was worth jumping given there was a fake bar to head to just feet away (though a long drop separating us)!

The other strange thing was the lack of physical material from the time or the ship being inside the building. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing as by all accounts the folks who made it didn't want to recreate the ship but rather interpret it.

So if you’re looking for a solid material connection to the time and place that isn't a model or a replica, the SS Nomadic and the old Harland and Wolff Drawing Offices, both of which are practically outside Titanic Belfast, are your best next stops.

Our visit to Titanic Belfast was on a Friday afternoon and it was quite busy. I think we'll go again at some point but I'd like to go when it's very quiet so I could take more time to read and absorb it all. Also, a quiet time might limit the chances of going around the museum at the same time as an idiot, in our case a 50+ old man - aka someone old enough to know better, who in blatant disregard to the signs and the staff who told him not to, wandered around the exhibitions using flash photography, annoying everyone as he did so. After being blinded in dark rooms on more than one occasion, I gave him a glare I'm not entirely proud of.

Some other good things about Titanic Belfast are very helpful and friendly staff. The building also has some great views of Belfast and the River Lagan and surrounding area. There are toilets throughout which is handy and they were very nice and clean too. I also loved that they had somewhat incorporated into the attraction the route Norngirl and I take in all museums, that of heading to the top and working our way down.

The restaurant downstairs on the far left from the main entrance looked to have nice food and the prices are about on par with the likes of an inner city café. The gift shop prices were a little Titanic but not unusual for a visitor attraction gift shop. We didn't buy anything and to be totally honest, I thought it was all a bit much in the shop, to say the exhibitions interpret the Titanic story with consideration and understanding, the shop was more like a Titanic themed Disney Store. I mean where would you wear a Titanic sailor hat? In fairness though I did try it on... I know!

The exhibits were very educational about their subject matter and I'd recommend it to anyone visiting Belfast. I think you'll get a lot more out of it if it's quiet as people got in our way a lot of the time (blocking views, stopping suddenly in front of you when walking in the dark, that sort of thing), but if you are patient it's worth playing with all the interactive exhibits and reading everything through, I thought it was very well done. Given the subject matter, I also thought the exhibits kept good balance between holding my attention and teaching - I learnt a lot! Not so much about the headline event that booked the ship’s place in history, but about the time it was built, the place it was built, the people who built it and the ship itself.

Watching the Titanic Belfast Light Show

On a cold Saturday evening back in April, we headed into Belfast with some bright yellow wristbands. After some food and drink we joined the huge queue for the shuttle buses that were to take us down to Titanic Belfast to watch the Titanic Belfast Light Show.

There were plenty of buses ferrying passengers to the show and the large queue moved at almost walking pace which was good. Once the bus was full we were all delivered to the Titanic Quarter. When we arrived we made a quick detour to the portable toilets for the pre-show wee so that we wouldn't need to fight our way through the crowds later on which was a wise move as there were lots of people there.

Once relieved, we had a wander around the market (which to be honest was pretty much identical to every other continental market hosted in Belfast in the last 5 years - many of the goods on offer you'll also find at St Georges market on a Saturday morning). The beer tent had closed at 8pm which was a shame but we were expecting no alcohol there anyway so it was no surprise.

This was the first time we'd been down to the slipways since it's regeneration really took hold, the last time we were there, the place was a derelict bit of old tarmac with weeds around the edges.

And it was now looking rather good. The lighting of the slipways was pretty cool.

With more and more people arriving we decided to head towards where ever we were going to stand for the light show. On the way we passed people doing card tricks, costumed performers on stilts, people twirling and juggling things that were on fire and a unicyclist.

We found ourselves a spot front and central, had a look around at our surroundings...

And chatted whilst we waited for the show to begin.

Around 15 minutes later than scheduled, things got going. Well, I say they got going - the lights of the slipway and the market went out, some music that was different to the music we had just been listening to was played and 2 spotlights appeared on the sides of the Titanic Belfast building.

They moved around the building, sometimes disappearing off the sides and top. Then, lower down when the lights passed over, silhouettes appeared; the Harland and Wolff Cranes were the easy ones to identify, I think some others were ship funnels, maybe the roof of a mill was in there at some point too? Eventually the silhouettes turned into wind-farms. This went on for a good 5 minutes. There was then a pause in the music before the same thing happened again.

Underwhelmed would have been an overwhelming understatement at this point.

Things did then pick up; the random spotlights went away and Titanic Belfast lit up. The lighting began to show steel girders and rivets. The fireworks were launched from the top of the building and the first of them appeared in time to some pistons thrusting up and down.

The scenes went from the industry and boat building - at one point turning into something like a furnace of an engine room which was pretty spectacular, this wasn't that bit but the red lighting and smoke was similar.

And then it progressed into the construction of the White Star Line ships. From the construction on the site to the unavailing of the boats and their launch.

The launch being to massive display of bright lights, fanfare music and fireworks. It was really good.

Then once it launched and the sailing, it all got a bit random. There appeared to be a bit that would signify an ice berg where the building went silvery and jagged.

After that, it turned into some sort of pre-loaded Windows screensaver.

Swirly things all over the place. All seemingly nautically themed. Randomly there was also the sound of a sonar... something which wasn't patented until a month after the Titanic disaster - though maybe they were trying to hint at lessons being learnt or the finding of the titanic years later? That was the problem, it got very random I couldn't follow what was being represented. It was hard to tell what was going on. The scenes of seaweed didn't help, other than being related to the sea, quite where seaweed fitted into it all I don't know, the thing being this was seemingly the underwater world the Titanic now found itself but Seaweed doesn't grows at such depths. Anyway, I might be mistaken but if I recall correctly, it was followed by a sea creature or two who clung onto the sides of Titanic Belfast swaying in the current.

All this built up to a rather positive but random ending. I think they'd given up on the visuals on the building by this point but the huge display of fireworks made up for it and it all looked pretty impressive.

Once the show had finished there was a mass exodus over the uneven rocky stuff and onto the road.

The queue for the free shuttle buses back into the city centre were even longer than earlier and it took us an hour to be on a titanic shuttle and passing the Odyssey. Apparently all the people leaving the show as well as exiting the JLS concert that was going on in the Odyssey Arena had caused traffic chaos for the buses. D'oh!

Overall, I thought the whole event was ok and I can't complain at being able to take advantage of a free event. I usually complain about there being a lack of non-corporate big events in Belfast and this was a nice idea. Saying that, I don't know how much it cost and I'm no expert on outdoor light shows, lasers or pyrotechnics, but just going on the content and experience I had, I do think it could have been executed a little better.

The delayed and underwhelming start combined with some of the visuals being a little random towards the end, slightly tainted what in places was really excellent. The fireworks were the best part and very impressive!

Here are the highlights on Youtube from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board:



The Light Show's lit up building part was nowhere as sleek as the launch of Virgin Money - but it was a lot better than that show at the times the visuals did work well - such as the scenes with the inferno (my picture really doesn't do it justice), the part where the Titanic was launched and the general use of fireworks throughout. The main issue was that those were a few minutes scattered between a couple of hours standing out in the cold.

Maybe I'm a being a bit too critical but that's just what I thought of the show. On the BBC site they seemed to have got 3 people who adamantly thought it was the best thing since sliced bread if you'd like to hear their opinions.

I very much doubt it's an event that people will be talking about in 10 years time... which perhaps it had the potential to be but it was still worth heading along to on the night.

Hello East Belfast

Moved house - check
Re-connected to the interwebs - check
Settled in - ongoing but almost there.

I usually say it's been a mad couple of weeks when we've been busy but the best part of the last 3 weeks have been immensely hectic. Just saying we've moved house hides the fact we've actually moved into a different house to the one we were intending to move to. It also hides the fact that we started moving into the house we now rent the same day the lease, a house just hours before hand we didn't know existed.

The first week was a case of hanging on for things outside of our control to take shape and then jumping into action as soon as answers could be found. The last week has been a case of trying to get things sorted and organised, things that we'd usually do in advance or in a structured way - like getting the phone/TV/Internet installed so as not to leave a gap. To be honest, although stressful, it's been a pleasant enough change, usually we're quite sedentary beside the gym, but the last 2 weeks has had us very hands on and really valuing any downtime we've had. If it wasn't for family, vodka, wine and beer (to all of whom we're very thankful) I think we'd have been nervous wrecks by now - and we're well versed in moving house - 7 times in 10 years for me now - hopefully that figure will space out a bit from here on in. This move was just something else - almost as worrying as the time we moved to Northern Ireland when the van company decided last minute that we couldn't take the van over water even though they'd taken the booking with the destination listed.

Oddly though, as unexpected as events were, I think it's worked out pretty good. We quite like the new place, we've a bit more room and we moved to the area we were hoping for so that we're both close enough to work to not have to have any long commutes.

There is still plenty of hard work to do yet before we can fully relax and enjoy our new surroundings but so far so good. Belfast isn't the biggest city in the world and we know East Belfast a little already but it'll be fun finding out what makes it tick and getting to know our new neighbourhood... not that we'll be far from North Belfast as we'll be running back and fourth a lot, especially down to Seaview for the football.

The MTV Europe Music Awards

The MTV EMAs are to be held in Belfast tonight. I'm a little torn about how much to care about it:

On the positive side:

- A major PR/marketing Boost for the city and its image.
- An estimated £10 million boost to the local economy.
- Some happy fans of highly manufactured pop music.

On the negative side:

- Some disruption for Belfast City centre.
- The principle that Belfast is endorsing what is essentially a glorified marketing/PR exercise for a major industry.

I mean, hosting the EMAs is a postive for Belfast but on the other hand, I'm not a fan of MTV and looking at a lot of the acts chosen by those MTV fans just indicates to me that they need their heads tested. So I couldn't care less of which act wins what but I will be watching anyway. Watching to see what the world is being shown of Belfast and in a guilt free schadenfreudesque way, watching to see which act makes the biggest mess up or proves that they have no idea where they are.

Sure, it's all rather egotistical and very financially motivated but it is about to happen and it should be quite the spectacle. So all considered, I'm sitting on the fence on this one.

I do hope it goes well for everyone heading along and that everyone has a good time and Belfast gets as much out of it as it can. Belfast will hopefully be the winner.

Visiting the Lyric Theatre to Watch 'The Painkiller'

The Painkiller at the Lyric Theatre in Stranmillis, Belfast, was the setting for our date night last Tuesday night. It would be very fair to say that we're not regular members of the audience at plays. This was not only my first time at the Lyric Theatre but also the first play I'd seen live since I was in high school. When we usually visit a theatre it has always been either to look around, watch a musical or a laugh along at a pantomime, so on this occasion we were venturing a little out of our all singing, all dancing bubble and into a new world of stage plays.

In all honesty, it is also true that the cast list of Kenneth Branagh and Rob Brydon was the sole thing that sold it to us, and Norngirl in-particular was insistent we give it a go. I'm not overly enamoured about the 'OMG' celebrity culture of our society but when those celebrities are well known for being excellent at their craft then it's well earned and I was happy to go along. So after work we met up in town and got the 8A to Stranmillis.

Before heading to the venue we had an early bird meal at a restraunt on the Stranmillis Road. The food was lovely but sadly the place lacked a lot in the hospitality department and we won't be going back there again for a while.

After a rain soaked walk we reached the bright lights of the Lyric Theatre and headed to the bar for a drink, a small glass of wine was £3.80 which although expensive in real terms wasn't the most expensive as far as theatres go. The view from the bar was pretty cool, overlooking the River Lagan at the Stranmillis Embankment.

Before long the buzzer sounded and this prompted the hurry to the toilets. Finding them took a few looks around, one guy almost gave up after finding the ladies and the disabled but not the mens,  maybe a bigger sign needed there. When you do find them, they're pretty cool and very modern, one of those bathrooms where everything is sensor activated.

Comfort stop completed, we climbed the stairs to locate our seats. Entering the theatre was a little confusing at first as usually (in bigger theatres we've been to at least) you have a door number to enter by, here we didn't, so we just aimed for the top and asked the lady who pointed us to our seats. The room was impressive, it was like a mini Waterfront hall but finished in dark wood and carpet. It was all very modern, the stage in front of us was big, bright and open. I honestly don't think there could have been a bad seat in the house. The set was pristinely laid out to look like adjoining hotel rooms.

After a short wait and with everyone settled, the play started. Although The Painkiller's run at the Lyric is at an end, I'll not go into too much detail in case it's brought back. Saying that - POTENTIAL SPOLIER ALERT! - click away now if you want to know not of what we saw that night...

The main two characters were, as you'd expect, played by Rob Brydon and Kenneth Branagh. Rob Byrdon's character was a man on the edge, his name is Brian, a photographer whose wife has left him for another man and who wants to end it all. Kenneth Branagh played a hitman who goes by the alias 'John Smith', a man who checked in to the hotel to do his day job from the hotel window. As dark as it might sound, it wasn't, it was light hearted for the most part and very funny a lot of the time, the situations became increasingly comical and the laughs grew bigger and bigger as the play moved along. Incidentally the amount of clothing the famous pair were wearing went the opposite direction of less and less. Anyone who went to see this can now say they have officially been in a room where both Kenneth Branagh and Rob Brydon were running around with their trousers around their ankles amongst other things.

The weird thing is that if I hadn't read that it was Rob Brydon's first live stage play and I had to choose who the most experienced stage actor was, I would have picked the wrong man. When he was in a scene it became spookily like watching a movie but obviously this was all in one big take. Not that Kenneth Branagh was bad, quite the opposite, even a close encounter with a door frame and a slip on some water didn't break his focus for long. Saying that, I have to admit that I have no idea if it's harder to play a stone cold assassin who is unexpectedly chemically intoxicated or a suicidal photographer, but of the two, the suicidal  photographer was the star of the show for me. However the winner for most laughs per minute of stage time was the Hotel Porter who was played by Mark Hadfield, the best scenes of the whole show had to be when all three were on stage together when the Porter found the two in ever increasing compromising positions.

If I had one little bit of criticism of the play I think it would have to that a couple of the action scenes seemed a little too fake and a bit forced. In retrospect that could have just been the normal way these things are enacted in a play and a credit to how the rest of the play sucked me into feeling like I was watching TV to the point I was expecting realism in a fight scene.

Eventually the play came to an end and it ended well however I reckon my own alternate ending would have been awesome. All it would have taken would have been a voice over and sound effects from a helicopter a few of the characters, it would be an ending that would have either been a happy ever after with a big laugh or have just lead to a sequel. Maybe I'll have to be a real nerd and write fan fiction to a play, or not.

We left the Lyric happier then when we'd entered and made our way to the bus stop to head home.
The Painkiller really kept my attention well from beginning to end and was very entertaining. I'm still a little dubious as to what else on the list of performances coming up that I would actually like but I think I'll keep an eye out for other comedies at least. All in all I was very happy we went along and it was good to try something a little bit different to our normal entertainment. One thing is for certain, I'll be really looking out for any other live shows Rob Brydon decides to do and not just in case we get to see his undies again.

The Belfast Maritime Festival and Titanic Bus Tour

With just minutes to spare we made it to the Belfast Welcome Centre to pick up our free tickets for the Titanic Bus Tour. Running down the escalator, tickets in hand, we just made it in time and boarded the translink bus that was to take us around Queen's Island for the Titanic Bus Tour and drop us off at the 2011 Belfast Titanic Maritime Festival.

This was a rare spare Saturday for us where we hadn't anything planned. On the spur of the moment, Norngirl had booked us onto the trip the day before when our idea for trying to roller-blade was put off due to a lack of much required safety equipment. So there we were, on a trip to see if we could learn or see anything new. And learn and see new things we did. Even opening the leaflets we'd been handed when getting on the bus was full of information about the Titanic Belfast that is due to open next year.

Our bus set off from next to the Britannic signature lighting mast and slowly rolled past the lighting sculptures bearing the names of those other famous Olympic class White Star Line ships, The Olympic and Titanic.

After the bus got under way, we were taken past the monuments at the city hall where the detail and symbolism of the Titanic Memorial statue were explained.

Our tour had the same structure as the Titanic Bus Tour experienced by Alan Meban in 2009 and was also given by the very same guide - local historian, author and Belfast Titanic Society secretary - Stephen Cameron. As we headed through the one way system past Clarenden dock and down to Queen's Island we were told some more nautical history of the local area we were passing.

The Maritime Festival was in full swing and the traffic was a little heavy. Luckily though, everything seemed to be happening outside the windows of the bus for us to see. It wasn't long before we were all rubbernecking from the top deck of the bus at the people zip lining over the River Lagan before passing by the Odyssey where we were checking out the scene to see if anything different was happening compared to the years before. It was then past the Odyssey where hundreds of far too dedicated teenage girls were queuing (several hours early) for the JLS concert later that evening.

Before we got to the old Harland and Wolff Drawing office, the bus stopped and we learned of the working conditions of the staff employed on the ship yard and what life was like back then. It sounds like it was a very tough life for the workers of the late 1800s ship yards. 60+ hour weeks and tough regulations and terrible working conditions - makes me very thankful for technology! Put it this way; if I was a riveter back then, pretty much deaf after a few years of poorly paid hard labour and even having to pay to replace any imperfect work from my own pocket - I'd have been well p*ssed off to hear that the ship had been allowed to run into an ice berg let alone for the loss of life. We were shown photos as well as being told the history and stories and being there and seeing the same scene in 2011 really helped bring it to life.

Our first stop off the bus was at the Drawing Office. We'd been by a few times before in the past but then it had been closed. For the tour, and in this case the festival too, the doors were open and we went inside.

This is where the plans for the Titanic and it's sister ships were created.

After gathering in the main hall we were told more about the place and given a grasp of the scale of the operational logistics at the time using a scale model of the area. It was quite eye opening and gave us much more of an understanding of the site and the docks then I ever had before.

Because of the festival there were stalls and information stands all set up and we even got to try on some frilly hats. Sadly, the building looks to be in a poor state on the inside at least. Our guide told us that there had been plans at one point for it to be part of the redevelopment of the area and turned into a niche luxury hotel. It's easy to see how fine a building it must have been back in its day. The crumbling décor aside, like the images of the wrecked Titanic on the sea bed, you could just imagine looking at the likes of the main room and the stairway that it must have once been rather grand.

The next stop wasn't far and was quite a surprise. We were heading down to the actual slipways of the Olympic class ships. Before we even got to the site of the Titanic and Olympic slip way, we happened to see the back of the Paint Hall studios where these days the painting is only of movie sets. Out back was a bunch of Wild West themed props.

We'd seen the Titanic/Olympic slip way up close before on the boat tour but it was great to be on the site having just seen all the photos and models, it really gave a sense of scale. Contrary to the hoped development plans Alan mentioned, the economic downturn seems to have slowed things somewhat as the slip way still hasn't been excavated. The current site of the slipway was covered over to provide flat storage space a long time ago so one day the hope is that the surface shown here will eventually be dug up and once again slope down to the water.

As you can see below in the photo, it's easy to imagine it'll be quite a sight looking up the slipway with the new Titanic Centre that is still being constructed sitting at the top of it all.

Plans on the Belfast City Council website say the development of the centre (at least of the visitor centre) should be completed for April 2012 to mark the 100th anniversary of the loss of the Titanic. The building has been called 'Titanic Belfast ' but I'm sure that like the rest of Belfast's landmarks, it won't be long until it has an apt nickname.

We were told about the construction of the ships and the feelings about the liners at the time and the accounts of how the rivets of the ship were put in really brought the setting to life and I really was riveted.

Eventually though we had to move on from the spot where all 3 Olympic class White Star Line vessels touched the ocean for the first time to allow a walking tour their turn. We were then taken to the Thompson dry dock where the ships had then been taken out of the water for the first time.

It was intriguing to hear about how the ships were towed in, the water pumped out slowly by the red bricked pumping station and the workmen jumped into the shallow water to spear any trapped fish for their dinner and then to hear how the ships hung over the ends as only their keel was required to fit into the dock.

It really was a very good tour. A game you might want to try is to count the amount of times 'Presbyterian' is said but other than that, it was very informative and set at just the right pace. Best of all it is free, as Norngirl put it - 'A Titanic Bargain' the tours operate during the months of April and May and also during the Maritime festival like this time. For up to date information and more details I'd recommend contacting the Belfast Welcome Centre site or checking out the Belfast city council website for this and other Titanic themed tours.

The bus driver kindly dropped people off at the Maritime Festival by the Odyssey on the way back. We got off and had a walk around, the now regular stalls from the continental market were there as well as other stalls and family entertainment such as a merry-go-round and lots of ice cream vans.

Along Queen's Quay were 3 of the tall ships and one royal navy ship then around the corner at the Abercorn Basin were another 3 tall ships and a lot of smaller vessels.

I hadn't actually walked down to the ARC before - this is the part of the dock behind the Odyssey arena in front of the new apartments and hotel of the Titanic Quarter. I quite liked it, it was bright and open and 'The Kit' another piece of art to add to Belfast's list was good fun to have a look at. As a kid my dad and I used to make lots of Airfix models and I can tell you for nothing we're a bit of kit missing from a fully complete Titanic there. If someone can find the box this came in, maybe it got stuck in there. Joking aside, it's pretty cool like!

Looking over to Titanic Belfast and the Harland and Wolff Drawing office you can also see the site where the SS Nomadic is being restored. The Nomadic Preservation Society site has a lot more information about the Nomadic, it's relationship with the Titanic and it's reunification with the site of it's own construction.

After taking a walk around the activities on offer, looking at the stalls and listening to the band who were on stage, we heard the bad news that the Yakovlevs Aerial Display had been grounded due to the murky weather. We had a nosey at the Exploris touch tank but decided then to make our way back into town.

We weren't the only ones there and it was pretty busy. Each year, the Maritime festival runs over a few days so it's pot luck with the changeable Belfast weather. Katie and her hubby over at Mere Frivolity headed down on the Sunday and got much better weather and by the looks more active pirates too!

Instead, we took off and slowly strolled back along the boats, taking in the atmosphere as we headed back towards the other Boat in town and on past it, back to get the bus home.

It was a fun afternoon out and about and I have to say that the area is looking very well indeed and I can't wait or everything to be finished and open. The Maritime festival was good and people were having fun. After quite a few years of the same ships and the same continental market stalls there is only so much excitement I could muster about the quayside festivities (the Belfast Maritime Festival in 2009 with the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge was probably the height of these Maritime Festivals so far for me) but the Titanic tour and seeing the developments in the Titanic quarter up close was just the spicy twist needed for a great afternoon out.

As far as tourism and heritage go, it looks like our awesome wee city is finally onto a winner. I can't wait for next year now to hopefully see more and to visit Titanic Belfast for the first time. The leaflet we got on the bus tour states that there is going to be an interactive element to the glass frontage looking out over the slip way from Titanic Belfast that will show the Titanic being launched.