please empty your brain below

Monday 13th December
After the weekend closure, it appears that:
a) there are loops of thin white cable in various locations around the ceiling of the ticket hall and up the stairwell.
b) cheap wooden boards have been placed over most of the rotten wood on the bridge.
c) there are irregular areas of brown cement daubed on the walls of the ticket hall

Tuesday 14th December
All of the pillars on both platforms have now been painted grey (except for the very top of the easternmost pillar on the westbound platform which remains green and yellow).

Wednesday 15th December
A giant reel of one-inch thick rubber cabling has appeared in the fenced-off area on the pavement in front of the station entrance.

Thursday 16th December
The brown cement on the eastern wall of the ticket hall has been plastered over. The brown cement on the western wall of the ticket hall has been covered by orange plastic sheeting.

Friday 17th December
Some of the windows on the bridge appear to have been reglazed. There is the smell of fresh (white) paint.

Saturday 18th December
The station is again closed this weekend. Through the entrance I could see the ticket machines covered by black plastic protective sheeting.

Sunday 19th December
A small crane is fenced off to the right of the portakabins outside the station, supposedly being used to lower materials down to the platforms.

Monday 20th December
After the weekend closure, there are loops of fresh cable hanging all across the station.

Tuesday 21st December
There are more than ten loops of coloured cable hanging in the eastbound stairwell, and more than ten loops of coloured cable hanging in the westbound stairwell.

Wednesday 22nd December
Finally, after 9 months, I have seen workmen actually working. Two men were visible through the freshly-glazed window panes on the passenger bridge standing on the scaffolding with paintbrushes in their hands. And I heard the noise of drilling behind the blue wall at the western end of the eastbound platform.

Thursday 23rd December
And again. I saw one man standing on the scaffolding, painting the external window frames white, and heard the sound of sawing behind the east end of the western blue wall on the eastbound platform.

Friday 24th December
The Christmas decorations at Bow Road this year are loops of multi-coloured wire and cable hanging from the ceiling all around the station.

Tuesday 28th December
There have been no obvious changes at the station over Christmas.

Wednesday 29th December
Some of the plywood boards covering the wood on the bridge are coming unstuck.

Thursday 30th December
All the health & safety licences on the blue walls across the station (at least one of which was due to expire tomorrow) have been covered by a fresh sheet of paper showing that the licence is now extended to 31 May 2005.

Friday 31st December
Conker tree update:
The lower branches of the tree still have leaves on them (approximately 300 leaves, I estimate). Most of the leaves are yellow, but a handful are still predominantly green.

Saturday 1st January 2005
As part of London's New Year celebrations, today Bow Road station is open throughout the night. I alighted here at 3:45am. It was deserted. This is the first time I have been able to use the station after 10pm since 15th March.

Sunday 2nd January
The station is open on a Sunday for the first time since November.

Monday 3rd January
New year, but no new work yet.

Tuesday 4th January
I saw a man standing on the scaffolding outside the bridge holding a wide flat tool, scraping or painting the window frame.

Wednesday 5th January
The wall and floor around the doors in the centre of the longest blue wall on the westbound platform looks as if they've been splattered with splotchy sand.

Thursday 6th January
I saw just one workman, standing at the foot of the eastbound stairwell having a chat on his mobile phone.

Friday 7th January
The orange plastic covers over the eastern wall of the ticket office have been removed to reveal a smooth brown plastered wall with approximately ten bolts sticking out. There are three strips of red and white striped tape stretched across the plaster to protect the surface from passing passengers.

Saturday 8th January
Conker tree update:
After last night's gales there are only about 100 leaves left on the tree, all yellow bar a couple which are still approximately half green.

Sunday 9th January
A laminated noticed attached to the metal railings in front of the station announces that planning permission is being sought to install a Chip and PIN reader by the ticket window. Comments should be made by 25th January.

Monday 10th January
The window frames at the southern end of the bridge have been painted white. Posters on each window warn passengers 'Do Not Touch - Wet Paint'.

Tuesday 11th January
All the grey sheeting has finally been removed from the new light fittings along the westbound platform.

Wednesday 12th January
The metal railings outside the station have been replaced by thick metal barriers, protecting the public from sections of scaffolding piled up inside. A red sign on the barriers directs pedestrians towards the station entrance.

Thursday 13th January
Looking through a new gap in the sheeting above the door in the blue wall on the westbound platform, another row of new fluorescent lights can be seen to the rear of the platform parallel to the new lights already visible above the platform edge.

Friday 14th January
Wet Paint signs are now stuck to the the remainder of the windows on the bridge.

Saturday 15th January
The station is closed again all weekend. There are workmen all over the station (at 3pm, but not at 11pm).

Sunday 16th January
Local graffiti: someone has spray-painted E3 on the new metal barriers outside the station.

Monday 17th January
Over the weekend the floor surface of parts of the ticket hall, bridge and stairwells has been stripped away. At 8am a workman stands by the top of the westbound stairwell urging passengers not to tread on the not-yet-dry bit of cement on the top step. A sign by the ticket office reads "Cution Uneven Floor"
6pm update: the spelling mistake on the main sign has been amended.

Tuesday 18th January
The blue wall in the ticket hall has been removed. Behind the wall are two areas covered by large sheets of plywood, a door and some newly-painted white panelling. It's very hard to work out why this particular corner of the ticket hall has been walled off for the last eight months.

Wednesday 19th January
Conker tree update:
only one yellow shrivelled leaf remains on the tree. It falls during the day.

Thursday 20th January
Most of the pillars on the eastbound platform have been repainted in the original green and yellow colours, although some of the strips on some of the pillars are still covered by grey undercoat.

Friday 21st January
All the scaffolding has been removed from the left hand side of the front of the station. The brickwork looks a bit cleaner than it did nine months ago.

Saturday 22nd January
Two thirds of the big blue sign on the front of the station that used to read BOW ROAD STATION District & Metropolitan Lines has been taken down, leaving only the panel that reads BOW ROAD.

It's all getting very confusing but I suspect this may be deliberate. Comments, in-blog updates, external blog updates. This is a new layer of parody right? Keep it running for ever, then make more goalpoasts which you gradually shift when the punters are away at work. And I just know this comment will disappear from this box faster than a seat on the central line...

Excuse me but those are BW Blue Walls, not mucky blue walls. unless my spells ahve gone wrong again

Sunday 23rd January
The complete BOW ROAD STATION District & Metropolitan Lines sign has been returned to the front of the station - despite the fact that Bow Road hasn't been on the Metropolitan line for the last 15 years. Sigh.

Monday 24th January
After another weekend closure the floor at the entrance to the frshly-stripped ticket hall is covered by a temporary yellow surface, and a wooden recess has been revealed to the left of the station entrance.

Tuesday 25th January
Wooden strips have been laid along the edge of the wall beneath the windows of the passenger bridge, stuck down by lengths of black and yellow tape.

Wednesday 26th January
Some work has taken place on one small plank of rotten wood on the wall of the passenger bridge. Today's smell: sawdust

Thursday 27th January
Overnight the walls of the ticket hall have been freshly painted, in white. Today's smell: paint

Friday 28th January
The wooden strips on the floor below the windows on the passenger bridge have been removed, revealing freshly dried concrete. Today's smell: glue

Saturday 29th January
The station is closed for another weekend. Workmen are using both front entrances, as well as a rear entrance up a gated alley in Wellington Way, entering the station through the usually-locked doors at the top of the westbound stairwell.

Sunday 30th January
Travelling through the closed station I could see that most of the protective sheeting above the blue walls on both platforms has been removed, revealing cabling, lights and what looks like white plastic panelling along the top of the walls behind.

Monday 31st January
All the ironwork bolted to the ceiling along the rear half of both platforms has been repainted blue (the same blue as the blue walls).

Tuesday 1st February
Two rows of wooden panels in the ticket hall have been repainted, most of them blue but some of them still in grey undercoat.

Wednesday 2nd February
Another piece of plywood has been placed over part of the wall at the top of the eastbound stairwell.

Thursday 3rd February
Hallelujah! The western half of the longest blue wall on the eastbound platform has been completely removed, revealing completed renovation work behind.

The wall is now encased in a clean, white plastic covering. On the new wall are full size 'Bow Road' roundels and a top strip (underlined in green and pink) that reads alternately 'BOW ROAD' and 'Bow Church DLR station →'.

Friday 4th February
Another long section of blue wall has been removed on the eastbound platform, revealing the newly renovated wall behind. Only a short strip of this blue wall now remains.

Saturday 5th February
All the rectangular wooden panels just above floor level in the ticket hall have been repainted blue. 'Wet paint' signs are everywhere.

Sunday 6th February
The newly-revealed white wall on the eastbound platform is 79 panels long. There are 8 roundels altogether, positioned midway between every alternate pillar.

Monday 7th February
Spaced out along the new white wall are several plastic squares, taped down and covering something as yet unrevealed behind them.

Tuesday 8th February
Approximately six loudspeakers have appeared high up on the walls of the ticket hall, along with a couple of new cameras. Each is still wrapped in sheeting and sealed with tape.











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