Titanic - The Memory

 When you think of The Titanic....you think of Southampton, Icebergs, Disaster....DiCaprio....right? It seems that none of us really thought about The Titanic being built in Belfast and this was a nice surprise on our trip.

This post has photos but a little history as well...simply because it was stuff that I did not know.

We saw these huge cranes when we first came into Belfast. Terry told us that they were the cranes used for Titanic....really? Our ears perked up. THE Titanic?

This view, from the interstate highway, does not look so impressive and nothing tells us that we are looking at a shipyard.
The H & M stands for Harland & Wolff Shipyard - This shipyard built almost every ship owned by the White Star Line (Owner of Titanic) and was the biggest shipyard in the world at the turn of the 20th Century...1900 and onward.
They employed all kinds of craftsmen because they built some of the most luxurious ships in the world.
The shipyard is still in business today, but they repair ships at this time. 

We returned to Belfast Harbour and learned a bit more about The Titanic and its history. The shipyard is actually on Queen's Island (which is reclaimed land from a river straightening scheme back in the 1840's.)  The Island is in the River Lagen. 

If you want lots and lots of information then check out this link www.titanic-titanic.com

This mural was on the end of the building 

Drydock. Titanic was here, it was flooded and then the ship was floated out into the harbour and out to sea.

Ships being repaired today. 

Navy ship

Kids becoming statues - Ready?

Leap! 

Massive jump rope

Could this be Jack and Rose?

This is the new Titanic Exhibit and the link has a lot of great information including a time lapse video of the building process. This opens March 31, 2012 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the launching of TItanic.

Here is another Explore the Building Video that you might enjoy.

They have definitely taken something that was a huge tragedy and brought it back to life as a memorial, in a very contemporary setting. Needless to say, many lessons were learned about the abilities of man to creat great things....but no matter what man does it is not safe from the forces of nature.

I would say that asking for God's traveling mercies and for His grace during travel times is pretty important. He gave us this amazing planet to enjoy, but we should be doing it for the purposes of His honor and Glory and not for our own selfish desires.

Thanks, Terry, for this nice surprise.

Belfast Cathedral

If  you have followed any of my travels, you know that I love cathedrals and graveyards. And if they are side by side, all the better.  Both make me think of the eternal.

The most interesting comment that I heard from locals on this trip was about the cathedrals, churches, etc. "We keep our churches in good repair because of the history of the place, but we don't use them so much anymore."

That is a sad commentary on the times, for in Scotland we were in the place where the Scottish Reformation began. And here in Ireland...much the same. What happened that people lost their need for the 'church'....and have they also lost their hope in Christ?

Belfast Cathedral is also known as the Cathedral Churck of St. Anne. Today the church is Anglican/Irish but maintains a partnership with St. Peter's Roman Catholic church.

Belfast Cathedral is not one of the oldest churches we have ever seen, but it is pretty interesting. It was dedicated in 1904. A memorial service was held here after the sinking of the Titanic and many members of Thomas Andrew's family attended. 

This is the Central Nave, or what we would call the center aisle. The pillars represent different areas of life in Northern Ireland. Between the two tall archways is the Quire (Choir) and then you reach the High Altar.

This is the ceiling detail above the Quire (Choir) Unlike in most of our churches, the choir faces the center....but the accoustics in this type of building is so different than in most of our churches. They don't need fancy sound systems. 

Reflected in this cross is the stained glass. This is a great photo and the only one I ran across from this perspective!

The floor in this Cathedral is one of the most unusual that I have ever seen.

Central Aisle..notice the marble tiles in pink, white and black.

If you follow the black tiles throughout the sanctuary, they will lead you around but to no where in particular...in other words, you wander.
If you follow the white tiles, they will lead you to the altar, where you will find God.
I thought it was an interesting representation of walking in darkness or in light. 

Baptistry Font, see ceiling detail below.

The Baptistry Font is made from marble found from throughout Ireland. The base is black marble, representing sin. The columns are red marble, representing Christ's blood, shed at Calvary. The bowl is from white alabaster, representing new life. The stained glass windows all represent baptism. The ceiling dome is what captivated everyone's attention and this photo does not do it justice. This is 150,000 pieces of glass mosaic that represent Creation representing earth, fire, and water. The hand of the Creator is raised in blessing as well. 

Pulpit. Spencer enjoyed reading Scripture from the large Bible. A mic was not needed because the accoustics are wonderful in the building.

Seraphim at the top of the chapel.

This is the ceiling over the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. It is an outstanding mosaic. Dating to 1932, it represents the 1500th anniversary of St. Patrick coming to Ireland. The center of the dome, shown above is silver and gold mosaic tiles and shows four seraphim holding items of relevance in the Christian faith. (Cross~ Lamp~ Chalice~scroll/Book of Life) The stained glass windows in the chapel illustrate actions of the Holy Spirit. It took seven years to complete the mosaic work in the chapel. 

No pews. They use chairs.

On the back of the chairs you can see the kneeling mats. 

The Quire (Choir) and the high altar.

Mosaic over one of the entrance doors. It represents St. Patrick coming to Ireland to spread the Gospel.

This is the beautiful pipe organ that was rebuilt around 1974. It is a Harrison and Harrison of Durham 1917 Pipe Organ and the second largest pipe organ in Northern Ireland. Terry blessed us with a mini concert since we were the only guests in the Cathedral at the time. It was wonderful!

Stained Glass

The stained glass in the cathedral was outstanding!

Look up...this is a huge skylight directly above the choir area. This spire points people to the church and upward to God. It is quite the contrast....very modern in this Romanesque style building. When you see the outside view of the Cathedral, you will see the other end of the spire.

The other end of the Spire. 

Church is not a huge part of daily/weekly activity here. In fact, two church groups share the church, which is rather unusual. They do have an outstanding choir and music is important to them here.

It makes one wonder what happened to make something that used to be central to life in an area, now sit on the sidelines of life. When did church become 'irrelevant" to daily life? Do we just get so busy in our day to day activities that church (representing time spent with God) is just squeezed out?

I hope this day was a day for reflection, and I personally loved that marble floor and what it represented.

Parliament - and Perspective

After that last 'heavy on history' post about the murals, let's take a lighthearted look at Parliament. We actually did not get to go inside, so this should be easy reading!

We continually called this the Northern Ireland Parliament, but it is really known as STORMONT

We cruised up to the entry gate. Security check...not unlike what we have in America. This is the home of the Northern Ireland Assembly and we really had no idea what to expect once we passed through the gates. Everything was green and pretty...and neatly manicured.

Woah! We were thinking...White House maybe, but old. Talk about a long driveway! I don't know if anyone else got it, but just thinking about the 'laws of perspective', I could tell how small that guard shack was and it was close to us...made me wonder how big that building in the distance actually was. MASSIVE was my guess!

It was deceiving, right? From the photo above, you thought we were going UP a hill to reach the building. This was a major DIP. Look for the statue in front of the building. That is a roundabout and we parked to the left of it. There was no entry beyond that point. Also make note of the ornamental shrubs in front of the building. (Hint...they are not shrubs)

No entry beyond this point and the drive is still almost a half mile long. This is really wonderful one point perspective. Now check out that little think at the top of the building. It looks like a triangle to you, I bet.
Does this building look familiar? Stick a dome in the center and think again. This was built in the early 1920's and was designed after our Capitol Building in DC. With the 1929 stock market crash, there was no money for a dome, so this is what they ended up with. Classical Architecture though...it still stands the test of time!

Kristin - average height young lady. This is no shrub she is hugging. (Now go back to the earlier photo and think about scale)

Lord Edward Carson, political figure and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (1910-1921). A rare example of a statue of a person being erected before his death. He also is the rare non-monarch who received a state funeral in 1935.

This is the sculpture at the top of the building. I was pretty impressed that the zoom on my camera picked it up. There is a frieze just below it. Look at the scale of the building again and imagine how tall this sculpture must be. 

JTerm 2012 - in front of the STORMONT - Northern Ireland Assembly building in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Turning around....wait until you see the view! 

There was a park and gardens to explore. And yes, it was COLD!

And statues. How did they get across the pond?

And enough green grass for running and hiking. GREEN GREEN Grass.
Look in the upper left hand corner...little red structure. Make a note.

This is a zoomed in view from Parliament. Notice the red tower. This is a tower belonging to the school where C.S.Lewis was a student. C.S.Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1898 and authored more than 30 books during his life and was one of the most influential Christian writers of his day. (He died in 1963). You will recognize "The Chronicles of Narnia ~ The Screwtape Letters ~ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe ~ and Mere Christianity" as some of his most recognized works.
 In the distance is the modern city of Belfast. 

JTerm 2012 with Belfast in the distance.

Thought for the day...this is a short one, but think about it.

"You don't HAVE a soul. You ARE a soul. You HAVE a body."
C.S.Lewis

And because you are a soul, you will endure into eternity. No so much with a mere body. That is really some food for thought....so, where do you plan to spend eternity?

The perspective in these photos was pretty amazing. We can't generally see so far into the distance (or future) in our daily existence. Thank goodness God can....and He knows the plans He has for us......Rest well in that thought!