I have always been fascinated by Titanic.
Coming from Belfast, where Titanic was built I suppose it's not unusal to feel drawn to it. The 1958 film " A Night to Remember" with Kenneth Moore made a deep impression on my young mind as I watched it on TV as a child too.
While jogging in Las Vegas recently, I spotted an ad on the side of a cab that said, "Titanic at the Luxor" "Imagine the ride they had"? Good old Vegas, as tasteful as ever.
Anyway, I had to go, if even only to see how tacky it was. But I have to say, they did it really well. They had recreations of first class staterooms, third class bunks, the grand staircase and even the deck with real iceberg you can touch!
I know, it sounds funny, but it actually makes a serious point about just how cold the water was that night. As we know, water freezes at 0ºC, but when it's salt water it freezes at -4ºC or lower, so the iceberg is actually warmer than the water! They ask you to see how long you can keep you hand on the iceberg, (about 10 seconds before it feels like it's on fire!).
At the end of the tour, you turn a corner and there before you is a huge piece of Titanic, which I never knew they had brought up. They didn't rip it off the wreak, it had been lying in the debris field. It is massive and they have it lit very atmospherically, it's quite amazing to see it there in front of you.
There is a rope around it, with warning not to touch, but I just had to, regardless of consequences, I didn't care if they threw me out, I just had to touch Titanic.
What shocked me was how rough the plates were riveted together, overlapping in places, not smooth or even at all. I stayed just looking at it for a long time.
At a family lunch a few weeks ago, my great uncle Harry, who is 92 and still going strong, told me something that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. His father, my great grandfather, worked on Titanic, as a riveter!
