Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Douglas tells of son’s jail drug misery
Bid to bring home ‘Big Piece’ of Titanic salvaged from seabed
FILM star Michael Douglas says it was hell seeing his son Cameron jailed.
Cameron, 39, got five years in 2010 for possessing heroin and other drugs offences. His term was extended for smuggling drugs into jail.
Hollywood veteran Michael, 73, told the Radio Times: “My son’s struggle was a nightmare. It was stressful for all involved, very painful and difficult.”
The Ant-man star added: “I’m happy to say he’s in wonderful shape now. He’s been out of prison a year-and-a-half.”
The Oscar winner also said surviving cancer has changed his own outlook on life: “I choose when I want to work, when I want to spend time with my family, when I want to play golf. It’s all in perspective.” A HUGE section of the Titanic’s hull salvaged from the liner’s seabed wreckage is a “star item” that must be brought back to Belfast.
Museums chief William Blair says the 15-tonne artefact is a key target in a bid to bring more than 5,500 Titanic treasures home to Northern Ireland.
The hefty hull, known as “The Big Piece”, is listed as one of “the most important artefacts” in an endangered Titanic collection.
Mr Blair, director of collections at National Museums of Northern Ireland – a key partner in the campaign – said nothing better demonstrates the scale of the 269-metre long ship, built by Harland and Wolff workers, than the hull.
Mr Blair added: “This is a remarkable collection and what draws me to the hull is its size and immediate connection with the story of Titanic, which began with the construction of the ship in Belfast. Titanic, and what happened, is possibly one of the most famous stories in the world, but the hull connects directly to the Belfast shipbuilding part of that story.
“To have the hull back in Northern Ireland where the ship was built would be incredibly symbolic and powerful.”
While the huge piece of hull symbolises Belfast’s shipbuilding heritage, Mr Blair said another “star item” is a bronze cherub from the foot of the world-famous first-class Titanic staircase, which “might have more personal appeal”.
He added: “The bronze cherub came from the bottom of the grand staircase and is significant because of the place the staircase occupies in the public imagination.
“The staircase features so prominently in James Cameron’s Titanic film, it is almost a character in the film. So much of the drama is centred around it.
“It is also very powerfully emblematic of the skill and luxury of the first class passengers experience.” Mr Blair said the fact the bronze cherub was damaged and missing a foot was part of its appeal.
He added: “People would have gathered on the staircase amid the unfolding crisis. The sea water would have come crashing through from above the grand staircase. It is quite possible the cherub became dislodged because somebody grabbed it as the water came crashing in.
“In that broken object you have so many dimensions encapsulated, both the luxury and the trauma.”
Although the huge collection is valued at around £14million, Mr Blair said it was impossible to place an individual value on the hull and cherub.
He added: “We tend not to think in value as the value is proportionate to what an artefact might represent in the Titanic story. In that sense, a single one-off item has greater power than multiple duplicates of dishes and plates.
“People engage with the story in different ways and the collection is remarkable and comprehensive in terms of what it reflects of life on board.
“There are few collections that would be more important to Belfast.”