Quite a sight it made: the luxury liner Costa Concordia on its side like some giant mechanical whale, beached with no hope of escape. Who's to blame? The owners for not seeing to it that everything was shipshape? The captain for sailing recklessly close to shore to give a bravura salute to those watching from the land? The people who constructed the ship so that there was a fatal weakness that has now resulted in, what, nearly thirty people dead?
One thing we can be pretty sure of: in a hundred years' time, no city or port will bust a gut trying to remind the world that the Costa Concordia was built by them. No city or port, in their desperate bid to win world attention, will construct a ship-shaped building to remind people that this was where the Costa Concordia was put together. No city or port will shell out on that building £20 million which, if what we hear is right, may never be recovered. No city or port will spend millions refurbishing the boat that ferried passengers to this ghastly vessel.
How different, then, from the way our own dear city of Belfast has responded to the Titanic gravy-train: "Let us on, we've as much right to a seat as Cork or anywhere else. I mean, look at us - we're terrific, we built this ship! No one else can say that!"
If you want proof positive that Belfast is an Irish rather than a British city, try following the logic of that one. Listen, guys: it sailed, it sank, get over it. And stop shovelling millions into the memory of this sea-going coffin for the super-rich.
Motto of the Titanic quarter:
ReplyDelete"There was nahin wrong with it when it left here..."
Built by Italians, Sailed by Italians and sunk in Italy... perhaps they don't need to milk the sinking of a ship to generate some tourism.
ReplyDeleteWe have what? Killing each other for stupid reasons, a ship that sank... uhm?? i'm struggling.
Italy in contrast... well they have nice weather, decent wine, great food, more history than you can shake a stick at... for god sake they have lemons growing above bars that they can cut down and put in your beer!
I guess you make your tourism where you can, the fact that Belfast was the cheapest place where life meant nothing that let ships be built cheap is our history.
Rather that than fighting over what flag to fly.
Jude
ReplyDeleteThe Titanic, like it or not has generated huge interest around the world.It has historic interest the Costa Concordia will never have. How many different exhibitions are going on currently?
How many more will there be this year?
If Belfast ignored it, everyone would be lamenting a missed opportunity.
It often seems to me that those in republican circles cannot bring themselves to wish well of anything to do with Titanic, simply because it is associated with East Belfast and protestant dominated shipyards.
But that would be small minded sectarianism, so I must be mistaken.
Why did the sonar did not detect immediate land under belly. I doubt the Captain was getting BJ from someone in his cabin or doing someone, very normal for captains on such ships to flirt with women on board take them to cabin.
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