please empty your brain below
Monday 9th February (Day 1)
Four blue portakabins have appeared on the pavement outside the station.
Tuesday 10th February
A blue metal wall has appeared in front of the four portakabins.
Wednesday 11th February
There are now flashing orange lights on top of the blue metal wall.
Thursday 12th February
The orange lights continue to flash.
Friday 13th February
The sound of sawing can be heard from behind the blue wall during daylight hours.
Sunday 15th February
The flashing orange lights have disappeared.
Monday 16th February
A group of blue-uniformed staff have been observed entering a mysterious lock-up on the eastbound platform, clutching a wad of plans.
Tuesday 17th February
The orange lights on top of the blue wall have been replaced by more permanent-looking light fittings on the side of the blue wall.
Wednesday 18th February
There are now bulbs in the light fittings, but they're not yet lit.
Thursday 19th February
Still not lit.
Friday 20th February
The blue wall remains graffiti-free.
Saturday 21st February
On closer inspection, there is a padlocked door at the end of the blue wall furthest away from the station entrance. The door is surrounded by safety notices.
Sunday 22nd February
A laminated licence is attached to the blue wall, giving permission to Elliot Thomas Ltd to "erect a hoarding on a public highway" until 25th February 2005.
Monday 23rd February
The licence was approved and signed by Mr P Williams of WSP UK plc.
Tuesday 24th February
Mr Williams' middle name begins with an S.
Wednesday 25th February
The blue wall is starting to get a little dirty.
Thursday 26th February
Most of the blue wall is still very clean.
Friday 27th February
There are a number of discarded cigarette butts at the foot of the blue wall nearest to the station entrance.
Sunday 29th February
The overnight closure of Bow Road station was supposed to be starting tomorrow. Nothing. Not a sign.
Two-storey scaffolding has been erected across the front of the station, surrounded by grey metal barriers. Signs on the scaffolding read 'Scaffolding Incomplete'.
Friday 2nd April
At last the station looks like a proper building site. Still no building going on though.
Monday 5th April
Only two stickers remain uncovered on the new blue wall, both awaiting 'No Smoking' signs.
Tuesday 6th April
A poster in the ticket hall reveals that Bow Road is used by, on average, 5515 passengers daily. And all 5515 of us can expect the renovation work to continue until July 2005.
Wednesday 7th April
The horse chestnut outside the station is in full leaf. Wonder if they'll have done any real work on the station by the time I get back from America.
<goes to America>
Friday 16th April
On my return from America, I spy...
a) the blue wall on the westbound platform has been extended to become as long as the blue wall on the eastbound platform.
b) a new (small) blue wall has been built at the eastern end of the westbound platform.
c) the scaffolding outside the station no longer contains signs saying 'Scaffolding incomplete'.
d) and still no obvious work has been done.
Monday 19th April
It's possible to see behind the blue wall as you walk down the steps onto the westbound platform. There is nothing to see.
Tuesday 20th April
A sign on the scaffolding outside the station reads "Danger, Men Working Overhead". The sign is wrong.
Wednesday 21st April
An old sign still visible under the scaffolding reads "Bicycles may be left here free of charge at owners risk". There'd now be considerable risk getting your bike over the surrounding metal barriers.
Thursday 22nd April
The poster outside the station giving details of the overnight station closure and alternative travel arrangements has been replaced, by a much simpler poster on the same subject with a reading age of about 6.
Friday 23rd April
I actually saw a workman working in the station this morning. Unfortunately he was only fixing the photo booth in the ticket hall.
Saturday 24th April
I peeped behind the big blue wall on the westbound platform today.
No work equipment of any kind was visible, just a big empty space (although there were 8 spare blue panels for building blue walls, propped up against the brickwork).
Monday 26th April
A new blue wall has been built, just to the east of the steps on the westbound platform. The whole length of the westbound platform is now blue-walled, apart from two gaps for access to the steps and to the station master's office.
Tuesday 27th April
Only one section of the two platforms remains unwalled - the short section to the east of the steps on the eastbound platform.
Wednesday 28th April
The new section of blue wall is not yet covered by adverts and notices, but then nobody normally stands at that end of the platform anyway.
Thursday 29th April
Last night I rode the quarter-to-midnight train through Bow Road station, which is supposedly closed after 10pm so that renovation work can take place. No renovation work of any kind was taking place. Empty platforms.
Friday 30th April
Another ride through deserted Bow Road station at 11:30pm tonight, just to see if yesterday was an exception. But no visible work going on tonight either.
The blue portakabins behind the blue wall are now fully illuminated.
Tuesday 2nd March
A new blue wall has appeared halfway down the westbound platform, floor to ceiling, dividing off a short portion of platform space.
Wednesday 3rd March
The new blue wall is about seven metres long. It makes the platform half as wide.
Thursday 4th March
As suddenly as it arrived, the blue wall on the platform has completely vanished.
Friday 5th March
Behind where the blue wall used to be, the paint is still peeling off the platform wall just as badly as before.
Saturday 6th March
Meanwhile, back outside the station, the lamps on the original blue wall are now illuminated.
Sunday 7th March
A new sign on the blue wall apologises to the public for any inconvenience caused. To be honest, not enough inconvenience has been caused yet.
Monday 8th March
A sign on the blue wall warns passers-by that they are being recorded on CCTV. No cameras are visible.
Tuesday 9th March
The first graffiti has appeared on the blue wall. It's big, it's silver, and it displays all the artistic merit of a two-year-old.
Wednesday 10th March
The public information plan finally kicks in as homebound commuters get to 'Meet The Managers'. Or more likely not meet them.
It is announced that Bow Road station will be closing between 10pm and 6am every night from Monday 15th March until early 2005.
Thursday 11th March
A poster has gone up on a board in the ticket hall with full details of the early closure of the station from next week. The board is currently facing towards the excess fare window, not towards the ticket barriers which might have made it easier to read.
Friday 12th March
Another new blue wall has appeared, this time along the west end of the eastbound platform. The new blue wall is approximately 48 panels long.
Saturday 13th March
All visitors are asked to report to the site office. I'm tempted, but I have yet to comply.
Sunday 14th March
Another sign demands that safety helmets and safety footwear must be worn. Again, I have yet to comply.
Monday 15th March (Day 1, proper)
Bow Road station closes early tonight for the very first time. It begins. Maybe something will actually happen now.
Tuesday 16th March
Net result of the first night of work: lots of safety signs and a fire alarm have been stuck to the blue wall on the eastbound platform. One of the signs reads 'Site Entrance Caution'.
Wednesday 17th March
The blue wall on the eastbound platform has been extended. It now covers almost the entire length of the platform, right up to the steps.
Thursday 18th March
Along the new section of the blue wall are stuck a number of small white stickers. On each, in blue felt pen, are written phrases such as 'Bow Road roundel', 'No smoking sign', 'Way Out' and 'Advert Frame'.
Friday 19th March
The graffiti on the blue wall outside the station has been painted over. A hastily printed sign taped to the blue wall reads 'Wet Paint'.
Saturday 20th March
Adverts have been now posted on the lower blue wall, stuck over the white stickers that read 'Advert Frame'. One of these new adverts is for the St Patrick's Day Parade that took place last weekend.
Sunday 21st March
There are 37 signs in total on the blue wall, and still three stickers remaining over which signs have yet to be stuck.
Monday 22nd March
The two "Hoarding licenses" at the right-hand end of the blue wall have been moved one panel to the left to allow 13 more stickers to be stuck to the wall.
The new stickers include 'Inconvenience Notice' and 'Advert Frame When Delivered'.
Tuesday 23rd March
Sixteen green cylindrical loudspeakers have ben relocated from the platform wall onto the blue wall, at approximately four metre intervals, joined by a long white cable.
Wednesday 24th March
There are still eight more loudspeakers to be set up on the blue wall. The silver boxes are installed ready, but the last one isn't yet connected to the white cable.
Thursday 25th March
A new third blue wall has appeared at the western end of the westbound platform. This new blue wall is only 10 panels long, with a grey door. There are, as yet, no signs or stickers on the new blue wall.
Friday 26th March
There are now six stickers on the new blue wall, and a 'hoarding licence' giving permission for the wall to be there.
Saturday 27th March
The grey door on the new blue wall is now blue.
Sunday 28th March
The new blue wall is now fully signed. Just two more stickers to be covered on the long blue wall, both for an 'Advert Frame'.
Monday 29th March
For the first time at this station there are now signs on each platform directing passengers towards Bow Church DLR station. Very nice signs they are too, all crisp and white. Wonder how long that will last.
Tuesday 30th March
The new blue wall has been extended and now stretches along approximately half of the westbound platform. The new section covers the large, deep recess away from the platform edge where nobody ever stands.
Wednesday 31st March
There are now 21 stickers awaiting signs stuck to the new blue wall, plus one new sign stickered 'Remove'.
Immediately above and behind the various blue walls are metal grilles and grey protective sheets. Today the grey sheets along half of the eastbound platform have been raised, completely blocking off the view of what may be happening behind the wall. Or may not.
Sunday 2nd May
A sign on the railings outside the station reads 'Approved personal protective clothing must be worn at all times'. I have yet to see one passenger comply.
Monday 3rd May
There are three ladders on the scaffolding outside the station.
Tuesday 4th May
"Travel update 16:53: Bow Road Station has been closed due to fire brigade safety checks."
Presumably they were checking that all the 'No smoking' and 'Fire alarm' signs had been erected properly. The station re-opened half an hour later, so I guess all was in order.
Wednesday 5th May
I spotted the top of a thick metal frame behind the westbound wall.
Thursday 6th May
It's not a big frame, you understand, just a horizontal metal bar and one, maybe two, vertical bars. Rather dull metal in fact.
Friday 7th May
Evidence of workmen! At 8am this morning a man from the electricity board arrived, parked his van blocking the pavement, then delivered a small canister of calor gas to two workmen waiting at the unlocked fire door to the left of the station entrance.
No evidence of work though.
Saturday 8th May
A new blue wall has appeared, covering the short section of platform to the east of the steps on the eastbound platform. That's the last bit of platform blue-walled, finally, after two months.
Sunday 9th May
They've removed the photo booth in the ticket hall. They did it about two weeks ago but it's been so busy here I didn't have time to mention it before.
Monday 10th May
The three short blue walls have suddenly been covered by an epidemic of small white stickers. Lots more safety signs are on their way.
Tuesday 11th May
Blimey that was quick. Almost all of the stickers have now been covered by the usual selection of over-the-top safety signs.
Wednesday 12th May
Another new blue wall has appeared, this time at the top of the stairs down to the westbound platform. I think there was a door there before. Now there's a corrugated sheet of ridged metal, just like the very first blue wall round the portakabins on the pavement outside the station.
Thursday 13th May
The new blue wall has only two signs on it - 'Surveillance cameras in constant operation and a licence permitting the wall to be there in the first place.
Friday 14th May
Another new blue wall has appeared, this time outside the station replacing the previous metal railings around the scaffolding.
Saturday 15th May
The new blue wall takes up half the space on the pavement that the old metal railings did.
Sunday 16th May
The new blue wall is opaque, whereas you could see through the old metal railings. Which means you can no longer see the only poster that advises travellers the station is closed after 10pm and tells them where to go instead.
Monday 17th May
The 'alternative travel arrangements' poster has been relocated in full view on the front of the blue wall, along with space for three more posters.
Tuesday 18th May
A 'No smoking' sign has appeared on the side of the new blue wall. Meanwhile two posters have finally been added to the very first blue wall (the one beside the station entrance surrounding the blue portakabins).
Wednesday 19th May
The scaffolding across the front of the station has been obscured by grey sheeting.
Thursday 20th May
The big blue station sign has been moved from behind the sheeting to in front of the scaffolding. The big blue sign still reads
Bow Road Station : District & Metropolitan lines
Bow Road has not been on the Metropolitan line since 1990.
Friday 21st May
Yet another new blue wall has been built, this one just inside the ticket hall to the left of the entrance. It's 7 panels long, right where the photo booth used to be.
Saturday 22nd May
The grey protective sheeting behind the blue walls on the westbound platform has been raised to ceiling level, obscuring whatever may be going on behind.
Sunday 23rd May
Peeking through the tiny gaps in the blue wall on the westbound platform reveals that still absolutely nothing is going on behind.
Monday 24th May
Two long yellow light fittings have been installed beneath the scaffolding over the entrance to the station.
Tuesday 25th May
A hole the size of two half bricks has been cut in the wall at the top of the stairs down to the westbound platform. The hole partly obscures the top left hand corner of a new 'No Smoking' sign, so workmen have helpfully posted another 'No Smoking' sign next to it, ten times the area of the original.
Wednesday 26th May
Six white stickers have appeared on the blue wall in the ticket hall - which means even more essential safety signs are on their way.
Thursday 27th May
One white sticker has appeared on the blue wall at the top of the westbound stairs.
Friday 28th May
Six white stickers have appeared on the longest blue wall on the westbound platform.
There are still two stickers on the second longest westbound wall...
Wednesday 2nd June
... one sticker on the shortest westbound wall...
Thursday 3rd June
... two stickers on the shorter eastbound wall...
Friday 4th June
... and one sticker on the longer eastbound wall.
Saturday 5th June
I took the last train out of Bow Road at 9:57pm. As we pulled out, the station attendant opened up a tube map on the wall to reveal a big sign saying 'station closed'. No workmen rushed onto the platform.
Sunday 6th June
I rode a nightbus past the station at 1:30am. The lights were on in the station, in the portakabin and across the scaffolding on the front of the building. Two vans were parked on the forecourt and workmen were standing around working. No really. They appeared to be affixing a new poster to the blue wall on the front of the station.
Monday 7th June
No, they were actually installing six light fittings on the blue wall.
Tuesday 8th June
There are now orange bulbs inside the light fittings.
Wednesday 9th June
The lights are not yet lit.
Thursday 10th June
The lights are now lit. They're very orange.
Friday 11th June
The giant 'No Smoking' sign at the top of the westbound stairs has been moved to cover over the small hole behind.
Saturday 12th June
I rode through the closed station after midnight. Still no work going on.
Sunday 13th June
Black and yellow tape has been stretched across the edge of the top and bottom step in each flight of stairs at the station.
Monday 14th June
There's now black and yellow tape stuck along lots of other steps and changes of floor level across the station.
Tuesday 15th June
There are seven separate small rectangles of black/yellow tape stuck to the blue wall at the top of the westbound stairs.
Wednesday 16th June
Most of the black and yellow tape on the stairs has disappeared.
Thursday 17th June
Someone's drilled six envelope-sized holes in the brickwork beside the the blue wall at the top of the westbound stairs, three holes on either side. The six holes are covered by rectangles of black tape.
Friday 18th June
The front of the two steps leading up from the pavement into the ticket hall have been painted bright yellow.
Saturday 19th June
The top of the single step into the ticket office from the ticket hall has also been painted yellow.
Sunday 20th June
Two extra strips of black/yellow tape have appeared on the blue wall at the top of the westbound stairs...
Monday 21st June
... one bottom left and one bottom right.
Tuesday 22nd June
The black/yellow tape round the giant 'No Smoking' sign at the top of the westbound stairs is peeling away.
Wednesday 23nd June
Looks like the sign might eventually fall down.
Thursday 24th June
It's being held up by the strip of tape down the right hand side, and the small length still attached in the top left hand corner.
Friday 25th June
A strip of black tape has been stuck across the bottom of the sign to keep it attached to the wall.
Saturday 26th June
Behind the long blue wall on the westbound platform they're storing some metal grilles and two rows of green seats.
Sunday 27th June
The metal grilles and two rows of green seats are secured by a long strip of black and yellow tape.
Monday 28th June
The only other things visible stored behind the long blue wall are two portable yellow plastic 'Caution wet Floor' safety signs.
Tuesday 29th June
The yellow safety signs are also secured by the black and yellow tape.
Wednesday 30th June
One would hope that the Bow Road workmen are busy today doing up the station during the enforced tube strike closure. But somehow I think not.
Rode past at 3am - no sign of any overnight activity whatsoever.
Rode through at 10:30pm - no sign of any overnight activity whatsoever.
Monday 2nd August
The small wooden block that used to be lying on the second of the five scaffolding planks has disappeared.
Tuesday 3rd August
The scaffolding on the passenger bridge has linked up with the scaffolding on the front of the station.
Wednesday 4th August
More metal 'stirrups' have appeared, approximately four hanging from each of the brick arches above the western end of the westbound platform.
Thursday 5th August
Metal 'stirrups' have also appeared above the western end of the eastbound platform, hanging from almost all of the brick arches.
Friday 6th August
Long grey metal boxes have been threaded through the stirrups on the westbound and eastbound platforms. The boxes are thin but wide, and are probably designed to carry cabling of some sort.
Saturday 7th August
I rode through the closed station just after midnight. Three staff were standing on the eastbound platform but they weren't actually doing anything.
Sunday 8th August
I rode past the closed station at dawn. Nothing doing. I rode through the closed station around 11pm. The door in the longest blue wall on the eastbound platform was open and some scaffolding was visible behind.
Monday 9th August
The grey cabling boxes run parallel to the old wooden blocks that currently support the fluorescent tubes that light the platforms.
Tuesday 10th August
The grey cabling boxes are joined by small metal strips held fixed by small nuts.
Wednesday 11th August
The metal stirrups and grey cabling boxes now reach all the way along the arched roof on the eastbound platform.
Thursday 12th August
The bottom layer of scaffolding across the passenger bridge has now been covered by flame retardant white sheeting. This safety measure has the very annoying side-effect of completely blocking travellers' views of the trains and platforms below.
Friday 13th August
A new sign has been erected on the blue wall on the pavement to the right of the station entrance. The "Green for GO" sign announces that Metronet is ready to transform the station.
Saturday 14th August
Two of the bulbs in the lamps on the blue wall on the pavement to the right of the station entrance have stopped working.
Sunday 15th August
I rode past the closed station at 3am. Nothing doing.
Monday 16th August
Another four-panel poster has been erected by Metronet on the longest blue wall on the eastbound platform, trumpeting future developments.
Tuesday 17th August
An identical four panel poster has appeared on the blue wall outside the station entrance. It's not been put up straight. The top right corner is about 10cm higher than the top left corner.
Wednesday 18th August
The first panel on the blue poster states 'Transforming the tube', with a big red, white and blue swoosh underneath.
Thursday 19th August
The second panel on the blue poster is titled 'A transformation for Bow Road Station' and outlines all the improvements that Metronet plan to bring to the station. All 7 of them.
Friday 20th August
The third panel on the blue poster is titled 'The largest metro regeneration scheme' and celebrates the £17 billion that Metronet plan to pump into their bit of the tube network over the next 30 years.
Saturday 21st August
The fourth panel on the blue poster is titled 'Your new trains', except that apparently the first new trains aren't due until 2009 and thy won't be running on any line that serves this station.
Sunday 22nd August
According to the picture on the poster, the upgraded Bow Road station will include a new blue wall at the eastern end of the eastbound platform - which is the only part of the platforms not to have a blue wall at the moment.
Monday 23rd August
A CCTV camera has been installed above the exit from the ticket hall to the pavement outside.
Tuesday 24th August
The camera is mounted on a long horizontal metal bracket along the wall a few feet above the door.
Wednesday 25th August
A metal bucket at the eastern end of the westbound platform suggests that the canopy roof still leaks.
Thursday 26th August
The two bulbs in the lamps on the blue wall on the pavement to the right of the station entrance have been replaced.
Friday 27th August
A second 'Green For Go' poster has been riveted to the front blue wall parallel to the pavement.
Saturday 28th August
A third 'Transforming the tube' poster has been riveted to the side of the blue portakabin above the front blue wall parallel to the pavement.
Sunday 29th August
Looking through a gap in the blue wall on the westbound platform, all I can see is a large empty space and a few bits of scaffolding.
Monday 30th August
There is no evidence that any renovation work whatsoever has taken place behind the longest blue wall on the westbound platform.
Tuesday 31st August
There is no evidence that any renovation work whatsoever has taken place anywhere in the station for the last few weeks.
As I suspected, nothing (obvious) has happened.
Friday 2nd July
The wooden panels halfway up the eastbound stairs are still rotten.
Saturday 3rd July
The brick arches over the western end of the platforms are still grimy and unscrubbed.
Sunday 4th July
The off-cream paint in the ticket hall continues to crack and peel.
Monday 5th July
Some short lengths of scaffolding pole are sticking out horizontally underneath the passenger bridge across the railway tracks.
Tuesday 6th July
There are now vertical scaffolding poles and a small wooden platform right across the outside of the passenger bridge.
Wednesday 7th July
The scaffolding now rises as high as the top of the bridge windows.
Thursday 8th July
The scaffolding now rises even higher and there are two new wooden platforms, one level with the top of the bridge windows and another above that.
Friday 9th July
One tiny block of wood is lying all alone on the northern end of the lower platform of the scaffolding tower.
Saturday 10th July
Of the five planks that make up the lower platform, the tiny block of wood is lying on the second plank from the front.
Sunday 11th July
The block is about the same size as a brick, maybe smaller.
Monday 12th July
The blue wall at the top of the westbound stairs has disappeared. In its place lies a freshly painted pair of green doors.
Tuesday 13th July
Two 'Wet Paint' signs have been handwritten in black marker pen on A4 paper and taped to the green doors and the concrete floor beneath.
Wednesday 14th July
The two Wet Paint signs have been removed and replaced by one similar-looking sign reading 'Fire Exit Do Not Use'.
Thursday 15th July
Two proper new signs have appeared on the green doors, in yellow and black, reading 'Door Not In Use'.
Two security cameras have been installed beside the green doors at the top of the westbound staircase.
Friday 16th July
To the right of the green doors the giant 'No Smoking' sign has been taken down, revealing that a number of the bricks behind have been removed.
Saturday 17th July
The green doors are padlocked using a thick chain in a black plastic sleeve.
Sunday 18th July
I'd not previously noticed, but another row of scaffolding has been erected on the opposite side of the passenger bridge, the side with no windows, right up at the easternmost extremity of the station above the end of the platform where no train ever stops.
Monday 19th July
The new scaffolding is draped with flame retardant fabric (satisfying "LPS 1215 standard").
Tuesday 20th July
The grey sheeting above the blue walls on the westbound platform has been raised to the ceiling so you can't see the top of the platform wall behind.
Wednesday 21st July
The grey sheeting above the blue wall in the ticket hall has been raised to the ceiling so you can't see the top of the wall behind.
Thursday 22nd July
The sheeting on the scaffolding in front of the station has flapped down a few inches over the station entrance.
Friday 23rd July
Some grey metal 'stirrups' have appeared hanging from the roof over the western end of each platform.
Saturday 24th July
Each 'stirrup' is hanging from a thin metal rod screwed into the ceiling.
Sunday 25th July
There are seven 'stirrups' hanging above the western end of the westbound platform, although there are eight metal rods hanging from the ceiling.
Monday 26th July
There are eighteen 'stirrups' hanging above the western end of the eastbound platform, although there are nineteen metal rods hanging from the ceiling.
Tuesday 27th July
The top two layers of scaffolding across the passenger bridge are now covered by white sheeting. The new white sheeting is made from flame retardant fabric (satisfying "LPS 1215 standard").
Wednesday 28th July
Huge new signs have appeared on three of the blue walls on the platforms. Each sign is made up of 6 or 7 panels, each about two metres high and half a metre wide.
Thursday 29th July
Most of the panels in the three new signs depict big bold representations of hammers, padlocks, screwdrivers and other construction material, all made out of tube line graphics. Two of the panels namecheck 'Transport For London'. And one board outlines all the good new things that are coming to pass at the station, like the installation of new seats, the renovation of the passenger bridge and the introduction of CCTV cameras.
Friday 30th July
The five planks comprising the lower platform on the scaffolding beside the passenger bridge have been covered over by larger sheets of wood.
Saturday 31st July
The larger sheets of wood have been removed, leaving the five planks visible again.
In the absence of any apparent renovation work going at the station, I thought I'd report on the progress of the conkers on the horse chestnut tree outside the station instead.
Thursday 2nd September
There is a horse chestnut tree outside the station.
Friday 3rd September
The horse chestnut tree is on the pavement to the left of the station entrance.
Saturday 4th September
The horse chestnut tree is very tall, probably just over ten metres high.
Sunday 5th September
There are conkers growing on the tree.
Monday 6th September
There are lots of conkers growing on the tree.
Tuesday 7th September
A few of the conkers have started falling off the tree.
Wednesday 8th September
There are only a handful of conkers lying on the pavement.
Thursday 9th September
I kicked a conker along the pavement. It rolled in a long curve out into the road.
Friday 10th September
There has been a fresh fall of conkers.
Saturday 11th September
Following recent heavy winds, a large branch has fallen from the horse chestnut tree.
Sunday 12th September
The branch has broken in two.
Monday 13th September
There are fresh conkers on the ground early in the morning.
Tuesday 14th September
By the early evening almost all of the conkers have disappeared.
Wednesday 15th September
There are still a lot of conkers lying on the ground behind the gates to the flats next to the station.
Thursday 16th September
There are a number of squashed conker cases on the pavement.
Friday 17th September
There are a number of open conker cases still hanging on the tree, out of which conkers have fallen.
Saturday 18th September
I saw an old man collecting conkers from the pavement outside the station and putting them in a plastic bag.
Sunday 19th September
There are now plenty of conkers on the ground. I guess the old man hasn't come collecting today.
Monday 20th September
After dusk I saw two small boys in school uniform selecting conkers from the pavement.
Tuesday 21st September
All of the empty conker cases have been swept into the corner to the left of the station entrance.
Wednesday 22nd September
The leaves on the horse chestnut tree have a distinct yellowy-brown edge.
Thursday 23rd September
There are still some particularly large conkers hanging on the tree.
Friday 24th September
The pavement is spotless.
Saturday 25th September
A particularly zealous cleaning operative is clearly being employed to keep the pavement beneath the horse chestnut tree free from conker-related detritus.
Sunday 26th September
If you want conkers you need to look on the other side of the wall outside the flats, where there are still loads.
Monday 27th September
There are only a couple of conkers on the pavement today.
Tuesday 28th September
There are almost no conkers on the pavement because there are now almost no conkers left on the tree.
Wednesday 29th September
The few conker cases there are left on the tree are brown and mushy.
Thursday 30th September
I think that's the conker season finished.
Back to the renovation of Bow Road Station. Here's everything you missed in September:
Friday 17th September: The new grey cabling boxes suspended above the western end of both platforms have been wrapped in grey sheeting. The grey sheeting is secured by sticky tape. Some of the tape is red, some is black and some is brown.
And that's all.
Saturday 2nd October
Posters have been erected in the ticket hall with details of forthcoming station closures at Bow Road.
Sunday 3rd October
Bow Road station will be closed for the whole of next weekend, presumably so that that work can actually go on for a change.
Monday 4th October
Bow Road station will also be closed for the whole of the weekend after that, and the whole of the weekend a fortnight after that, and on other whole weekends during November, December and January.
Tuesday 5th October
Bow Road Station will not be reopening after 10pm from 26th October onwards, as originally planned. Instead it will remain closed after 10pm until the end of February next year.
Wednesday 6th October
Bow Road Station will, however, be reopening before 6am from 26th October onwards.
Thursday 7th October
All the adverts on the two staircases down to the platforms have been removed in readiness for all the renovation work due to take place this weekend.
Friday 8th October
At 10pm tonight Bow Road station closes for 56 hours until 6am on Monday morning.
Saturday 9th October
Work is underway! Workmen are busy in both stairwells. They have scaffolding and big hoses.
Sunday 10th October
Work continues. I've never been able to write that before.
Monday 11th October
Bow Road reopens. Both stairwells have new lights hanging from the ceiling. Plastic cable ducting has been installed high on the wall above each staircase, but as yet containing no cables.
Tuesday 12th October
On the wall above the eastbound stairs there is a rough area of plaster covered by strips of black and yellow tape.
Wednesday 13th October
The cable ducting in each stairwell is not yet fully joined up.
Thursday 14th October
Ugly black cables snake across the ceiling of each stairwell, disappearing into newly-drilled holes in the wall above the northern end of the ticket hall.
Friday 15th October
50cm to the right of the existing cable-filled hole in the wall above the northern end of the ticket hall, someone has written CAM 6 in blue marker pen.
Saturday 16th October - 9.10pm
Tube trains not stopping. Man wearing hard hat and bright orange jacket leans against blue wall looking at mobile phone.
(report from Dave)
Sunday 17th October
Station closed for second weekend. No obvious activity in the stairwells, but a few workmen hanging around.
Monday 18th October
After the weekend, the lights in the ticket hall have been replaced. There are scars in the ceiling where the old lights used to be, now with some rather ugly grey metal runners bolted alongside. New characterless fluorescent tubes now hang from the ceiling. The ticket hall is noticeably brighter than it used to be. The cable ducting along the staircases is now complete, but still unfilled.
Tuesday 19th October
A pile of what looks like a lot of boxes has been dumped on the pavement outside the station. The pile is covered by a large orange tarpaulin and surrounded by grey metal railings. The tarpaulin is stuck down with giant silver tape.
Wednesday 20th October
A sign on the railings reads
Do Not Enter!!!
No Entry
Keep Out
Thursday 21st October
The pile is not piled quite so high this morning.
Friday 22nd October
The tarpaulin has come loose at the back so it's now apparent that the pile isn't boxes but something else, surrounded by a low plywood wall.
Saturday 23rd October
A new blue wall has been built, blocking off the disused stairwell at the far eastern end of the eastbound platform.
Sunday 24th October
At 11pm, as I rode through the closed station, the door in the new blue wall was open and the stairwell beyond was lit.
Monday 25th October
The tarpaulin has come loose again, so it looks like the large plywood box on the pavement outside the station is now empty.
Tuesday 26th October
The tarpaulin has been pulled back over the box, and a heavy grey folded sheet placed on top.
Wednesday 27th October
The leftmost end of the second stair from the top of the eastbound staircase has been covered in black and yellow sticky tape.
Thursday 28th October
Two strips of black and yellow tape have been stuck vertically up the white wooden panelling above the third stair.
Friday 29th October
The four new fluorescent tubes hanging in the ticket hall still have thin white ties secured around their plastic casing.
Saturday 30th October
The station is closed for the third complete weekend.
Sunday 31st October
Conker tree update: the leaves have turned yellow and brown round the edge and have started to fall off.
After the third weekend station closure the smell of paint is in the air. The ceiling of the ticket hall looks like it's been painted with white undercoat, badly. The paint extends all the way towards the westbound stairwell and halfway towards the eastbound stairwell.
Tuesday 2nd November
Yellow safety material has been screwed onto the horizontal surface of every stair on the westbound and eastbound staircases.
Wednesday 3rd November
All of the decorative wooden boards along the edge of the canopy over each platform have been repainted white.
Thursday 4th November
Plastic cable ducting now goes almost all the way round the top of the ticket hall.
Friday 5th November
A number of strips of silver tape have been stuck to the walls of the stairwells and the ticket hall. Someone has scribbled on each in biro. For example, three of the strips up the eastbound stairwell read New light fitting and give measurements for where the new light fitting is to be positioned.
Saturday 6th November
There are several silver strips stuck to the wall at the top of the eastbound stairwell, including Break Glass Unit and Help Point.
Sunday 7th November
A silver strip stuck to the wall halfway along the ticket hall reads Unswitched fuse for V.E.I.D.
Monday 8th November
Two strips near the top of the eastbound stairwell read 16A 110V S/O surface mounted.
Tuesday 9th November
A strip at the top of the westbound stairwell reads Photo cell for stair lighting.
Wednesday 10th November
During the day someone has started to remove the peeling white paint from the old wooden panels along the side of the eastbound stairwell. About time too.
Thursday 11th November
The paint has now been stripped right across the edge of the bridge, but not yet right along the stairwell.
Friday 12th November
11:30pm, and a crowd of at least ten workmen are standing around outside the closed station doing nothing.
Saturday 13th November
Workmen are present in the station during the day. Maybe this is finally getting serious.
Sunday 14th November
I peered behind the blue wall on the westbound platform. A lot of metal ducting appears to have been bolted to the wall (which remains unpainted).
Monday 15th November
The stripped paint on the bridge now stretches part way up the window casing.
Tuesday 16th November
I peered inside the station supervisor's office at the top of the eastbound stairwell. She has a nice vase of flowers in there.
Wednesday 17th November
Workmen were seen standing outside the station, on a weekday. Still not quite sure what they're actually doing.
Thursday 18th November
Peering through the gap in the door in the blue wall on the westbound platform I saw a lot of bolts on a trestle stand, plus a box of screws.
Friday 19th November
I also saw yet more (ugly) metal brackets bolted to the old unpainted Victorian platform walls.
Saturday 20th November
At 1pm, workmen were seen walking up the westbound stairwell discussing the PDP.
Sunday 21st November
Announcements about engineering works can only just be heard over the intercom because there's a noise like a pneumatic drill in the background.
Monday 22nd November
The stripped paint on the bridge now stretches all the way up the window casing.
Tuesday 23rd November
One corner of the tarpaulin covering the big box of building materials at the front of the station has been fastened to the railings, obscuring the poster that tells passengers how to make alternative travel arrangements when the station is closed.
Wednesday 24th November
New strips of silver sticky tape show that five new cameras will be installed up the eastbound stairwell.
Thursday 25th November
Cam 14 is going at the foot of the stairwell, Cam 13 halfway up, Cam 12 round the corner at the top of the stairs and Cam 11 and Cam 10 together a few steps further along at the entrance to the ticket hall.
Friday 26th November
According to another strip of tape, Cam 43 will be installed at the foot of the westbound stairwell.
Saturday 27th November
No sign of any of these new cameras yet, just the old ones.
Sunday 28th November
A new poster is on display in the ticket hall apologising that the station will have to be closed more often at weekends over the next three months in order to complete all renovation work to schedule.
Monday 29th November
Instead of the two remaining planned weekend closures, there will now be seven weekend closures during the next three months, including all three weekends in the run-up to Christmas.
Tuesday 30th November
Conker tree update: half of the leaves have now fallen off, mostly from the top half of the tree. Of the leaves that remain most are yellow, but some (particularly the lower leaves nearest to the station building) are still mainly green with yellow edging.
A silver sticker labelled Z2-5E has fallen off the wall and is stuck face-up to a stair in the eastbound stairwell.
Thursday 2nd December
The writing on the silver sticker is now completely illegible.
Friday 3rd December
The previous silver sticker has disappeared, and the sticker reading Cam 12 is now stuck to one of the steps on the eastbound stairwell instead.
Saturday 4th December
A new leaflet being given away at the station apologises that "modernisation work will involve more closures than originally anticipated." This weekend sees the first of the additional closures.
Sunday 5th December
I saw a few workmen standing on the platform of the closed station. If they were doing any work, it wasn't on the platforms.
Monday 6th December
After the weekend closure, it appears that:
a) lots more cables have been coiled across the ceiling of the ticket hall.
b) strips of red and white tape have been stuck up the walls of the two stairwells, perhaps to protect the tiles (or where the tiles used to be).
c) strips of black and yellow tape have also been stuck up the walls of the eastbound stairwell, and also stuck to the wooden panels above the two ticket office windows in the ticket hall.
Tuesday 7th December
A cross made out of yellow and black tape has appeared on four of the windowpanes above the eastbound stairwell.
Wednesday 8th December
New fluorescent light fittings have been attached to the grey cabling boxes suspended from the ceiling along the western half of the eastbound platform. The lights are not yet functional.
Thursday 9th December
Four of the pillars in the middle of the westbound platform have been painted grey, then covered by transparent plastic sheeting.
Friday 10th December
Some of the new cabling is a light shade of mauve-y purple.
Saturday 11th December
The station is closed for yet another whole weekend.
Sunday 12th December
Still closed. The station is closed every weekend this month, actually.
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.
<Christmas>
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.
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.
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).
All five globes above the westbound stairwell and all three globes above the eastbound stairwell are now illuminated.
Wednesday 2nd March (report from Mr Kim)
The "curfew" has been lifted!!! Without a single word of publicity, as far as I can see, Bow Road station is open til 'close of traffic' (to use the official parlance). I was told this earlier in the week by a Bow Bells' 'regular', and last night at Mile End, decided to stay on board the train and 'chance it'. Sure enough, again without any announcement, the train slowed to a halt on the EB at Bow Road and the doors magically opened, allowing a number of surprised people to jump up at the last minute and get off! (Thanks Mr Kim)
Thursday 3rd March
A sixteen-panel section of new white wall has been revealed on the westbound platform, just to the west of the foot of the stairwell.
Friday 4th March
A further four panels have been revealed, along with another twenty at the western end of the westbound platform.
Saturday 5th March
The remainder of the longest blue wall on the eastbound platform has been removed, so that a white wall now runs all the way from the stairwell to the far end of the platform.
Sunday 6th March
One new panel on the white wall close to the foot of the eastbound stairwell shows a diagrammatic map of the stations on the District line to the east of the station.
Monday 7th March
The new striplights above the west end of the eastbound platform are now illuminated. About two thirds of them are working.
Tuesday 8th March
Workmen are busy fitting out the new room behind the large pane of glass in the ticket hall. On the far white wall there's a heater, a loudspeaker, a lot of cables and a (not yet functional) digital clock.
Wednesday 9th March
A new layer of flooring has been laid across the passage joining the top of the two stairwells, stuck down by strips of yellow and black tape.
Thursday 10th March
A photo booth has been installed in the alcove beside the ticket machine in the ticket hall.
Friday 11th March
All of the posters and signs have been removed from the remaining section of blue wall in the middle of the westbound platform.
Saturday 12th March
The remaining section of blue wall in the middle of the westbound platform has been removed, revealing a new stretch of white panels along the indented triangular platform wall.
Sunday 13th March
Each new white panel had a small green numbered sticker to ensure that workmen assembled everything in the right order. For example, the westernmost roundel on the westbound platform is still labelled EC PCPTO-DVI 62.1 50432.
Monday 14th March
The remaining scaffolding across the front and side of the station building has been dismantled, leaving just a few supporting poles across the overbridge.
Tuesday 15th March
A new electronic Emergency: Do not enter sign has been affixed to the wall outside the station to the right of the station entrance. It is not illuminated. In fact, it is hard to imagine credible circumstances under which it might one day be illuminated.
Wednesday 16th March
A security camera has been installed on the outside of the station above the left-hand entrance.
Thursday 17th March
• All of the remaining scaffolding has been taken down.
• The ironwork bolted to the ceiling above the railway tracks has been painted blue to match that above the platforms.
• A black plastic rumble strip has been installed close to the edge of the eastbound platform to aid visually impaired passengers.
• A red alarm box has been installed in the new control room.
• The digital clock in the new control room is now functional.
Friday 18th March
• The two short blue walls on the platforms closest to the foot of the stairwells have been removed. Absolutely no renovation work of any kind appears to have taken place behind these walls for the last 12 months, just a lot of cabling.
• The sheeting has been removed from two tall blocks along the eastbound platform, revealing two fully functional Help points.
• Another black plastic rumble strip has been installed one third of the way along the westbound platform.
Saturday 19th March
• The last blue wall, at the east end of the westbound platform, has been removed. Again, absolutely no renovation appears to have taken place.
• A small TV monitor has been installed high on the wall in the ticket hall.
• A large (still-wrapped) sign has been fixed above the ticket machine in the ticket hall.
• The black plastic rumble strip now stretches two thirds of the way along the westbound platform.
Sunday 20th March
Along the westbound platform I counted 24 security cameras and 28 microphones.
Monday 21st March
The Help Point in the ticket hall and another at the top of the eastbound stairwell have been unwrapped and now appear to be functional.
Conker tree update: New leaves have appeared in golfball-sized buds at the end of every branch.
Tuesday 22nd March
Two miracles have occured.
• "Next train" indicators have been installed on each platform. They don't yet work, but their presence suggests that this redevelopment may have been worthwhile after all.
• The blue sign on the front of the station reading "BOW ROAD STATION DISTRICT & METROPOLITAN LINES" has been replaced by a new blue sign which simply states "BOW ROAD STATION". Which, for the first time in 15 years, is a true statement.
Wednesday 23rd March
Two new metal roundels have appeared on the unrenovated wall at the east end of the westbound platform, and another at the east end of the eastbound platform.
Conker tree update: The leaf buds have opened.
Thursday 24th March
• All four doors at the entrance to the station have been repainted green.
• All the new Help Points throughout the station have a sticker taped to them reading Not in service
• Half of the rumble strip along the westbound platform has been peeled away, leaving several short strips behind.
Friday 25th March
Seven computer monitors and a large microphone have been installed in the new control room off the ticket hall.
Saturday 26th March
The four doors halfway along the westbound platform have been repainted black (gloss).
Sunday 27th March
A digital clock has been installed on the brickwork above the western end of the westbound platform. It is not yet functional.
Monday 28th March
The digital clock in the new control room has not been advanced an hour for Summer Time.
Tuesday 29th March
Conker tree update: The tree now looks green again. Stalks that will soon drip with blossom are rising up from the end of each branch.
Wednesday 30th March
A new poster has just been put on display in the ticket hall. It reads:
Station returns to normal opening hours
Update February 2005
We are pleased to announce that Bow Road will return to normal operating hours from February 28th...
The bureaucratic incompetence demonstrated by the appearance of this poster more than one month late is absolutely staggering.
Thursday 31st March
The digital clock in the new control room has finally been advanced an hour to British Summer Time.
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 metallic plastic covering. On the new wall are full size 'Bow Road' roundels and a top strip (headlined 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.
Wednesday 9th February
One year on, the wooden panelling on the overbridge is finally restored and fully painted (in white).
Thursday 10th February
The window frames and woodwork on the front of the station building have been repainted (again in white).
Friday 11th February
A large wooden frame has been constructed inside the recess just inside the ticket hall on the left behind the green door.
Saturday 12th February
A tall thin rectangular block has been erected to the left of the ticket machine in the ticket hall. It too has been wrapped in sheeting and sealed with tape.
Sunday 13th February
A gap in the sheeting reveals that the rear of the block is yellow, but the rest appears to be grey.
Monday 14th February
Beside the new tall block, to the left of the ticket machine, a new wardrobe-sized recess has been opened up.
Tuesday 15th February
New cameras and loudspeakers have started to be installed above the two stairwells, exactly where the grey stickers placed three months ago said they would be.
Wednesday 16th February
The top part of the white sheeting covering the scaffolding on the passenger bridge has been lowered, giving a daylight view for the first time in six months.
Thursday 17th February
The tall block in the ticket hall that was to the right of the new recess has now been moved to the left of the new recess. There are four small plastered circles where the block was previously attached to the wrong bit of wall.
Friday 18th February
The four plaster circles have been painted over, so you'd (almost) never know they were there.
Saturday 19th February
The smell of wet paint is in the air, again, although it's not immediately obvious precisely where.
Sunday 20th February
A lot of discarded scaffolding is piled high inside the grey metal fencing outside the front of the station.
Monday 21st February
White metallic covering has appeared on the walls behind the eastern end of the longest blue wall on the westbound platform.
Tuesday 22nd February
A sign has been affixed to the wall above the tall block in the ticket hall, but covered by sheeting and taped up so that you can't possibly read it.
Wednesday 23rd February
Two white-framed glass globes have appeared above the westbound stairwell, and three above the eastbound stairwell. An egg-shaped bulb lies at the centre of each. These new light fittings look very odd and extremely out of place. Meanwhile, at the foot of the westbound stairwell, a short section of blue wall has been removed to reveal an old door repainted grey.
Thursday 24th February
The large wooden panel just inside the ticket hall has been removed, to reveal a huge sheet of glass behind which is a never-before seen (empty) room.
Friday 25th February
The green doors at the front of the station have been repainted, green.
Saturday 26th February
While the station is closed for the weekend, workmen are fitting another globe light at the foot of the westbound stairwell.
Sunday 27th February
Two more mysterious tall blocks are being installed, this time spaced out along the new white wall along the eastbound platform.
Monday 28th February
Following the latest weekend closure, I spy the following:
• The floors in the ticket hall and across the top of the stairwells have been sort-of concreted.
• A new sign on the wall at the south end of the ticket hall reads District and Hammersmith & City lines
• Six new wiry-metal benches have been installed along the eastbound platform. Each has four seats and two yellow armrests.
The entire (new) black plastic rumble strip along the edge of the westbound platform has been removed.
Saturday 2nd April
Yet again there are Wet Paint signs stuck to the green doors at the entrance to the ticket hall.
Sunday 3rd April
Two replastered patches on the ceiling of the ticket hall each have a couple of short stumpy electrical cables sticking out of them.
Monday 4th April
The viewscreen high on the wall at the end of the ticket hall is now functional, displaying live pictures from the security camera positioned next to it.
Tuesday 5th April
A new poster board and a small metal bracket have been installed on the wall opposite the top of the westbound stairwell.
Wednesday 6th April
The red electrical box on the wall of the new control room (beneath the digital clock) has been removed.
Thursday 7th April
The red electrical box has been repositioned on the wall, precisely one box height below its original location.
Friday 8th April
A new sign on the wall opposite the top of the westbound stairwell directs departing passengers towards the Way Out and Bow Church Station (DLR).
Saturday 9th April
There are wet paint signs on the metal grille between the ticket hall and the footbridge.
Sunday 10th April
A new blue wall has appeared halfway down the westbound platform, creating a triangular space behind for the storage of scaffolding.
Monday 11th April
New signs have been hung from the ceiling halfway along both platforms. From the west they read Way Out and from the east they read either
Westbound platform 1
Hammersmith & City and District lines
or
Eastbound platform 2
Hammersmith & City and District lines
The sign on the westbound platform has been placed so close to a pillar that only the left half of the eastern side is visible.
Tuesday 12th April
An electronic dot matrix screen has been uncovered above the ticket machine. This evening the top line of the sign reads Welcome to Bow Road station.
Wednesday 13th April
All of the remaining metalwork across the platform ceilings and over the tracks has been painted blue.
Thursday 14th April
Some wires have appeared beneath the word Road on the sign that reads Bow Road Station on the front of the station.
Friday 15th April
A white lamp has appeared on the front of the station, to the left of the station entrance.
Saturday 16th April
The licence stuck on the new blue wall expires on 10th May. The licence permits the storage of "Quarry tiles, cable, access towers, step ladders".
Sunday 17th April
A row of 6 white lamps has been installed across the top of the front of the station. They look more 'cheap' than 'heritage'.
Monday 18th April
There are now two rows of fluorescent lights all along the westbound platform, and a third row in the recess halfway along.
Tuesday 19th April
Another white lamp has appeared on the front of the station, above the main entrance, attached to the wires beneath the word Road via a new cable.
Wednesday 20th April
The new electronic 'next train' indicators are running in test mode. They read:
":Westbound trains: H & C and District Lines
Passenger information display under test"
Thursday 21st April
A new map-sized frame has appeared on the eastbound platform wall beneath the electronic display board.
Friday 22nd April
Another white lamp has been added to the front of the station, this time to the right of the main entrance.
Saturday 23rd April
All the new lamps on the front of the station are now lit.
Sunday 24th April
The new blue wall on the westbound platform has been completely removed.
Monday 25th April
All the new fluorescent lamps above both platforms are now illuminated.
Tuesday 26th April
Conker tree update: the tree outside the station is now in full leaf, with large white blossoms at the end of every branch.
Wednesday 27th April
One week on, the 'next train' indicators are still in test mode.
Thursday 28th April
The protective covering has been removed from the new non-slip surface on the landing halfway down the westbound stairwell.
Friday 29th April
The grey metal enclosure in front of the station has been removed, leaving the centre of the forecourt clear for the first time in over a year.
Saturday 30th April
Four poster-sized frames have appeared on the wall of the westbound platform, just beneath the old 'next train' indicator.
Things still to be done: The new 'next train' indicators need to give details of the next train.
Thursday 2nd June
Things still to be done: Several more poster frames need to be affixed to the platform walls.
Friday 3rd June
Things still to be done: The numerous Help Points around the station need to be made operational.
Saturday 4th June
Things still to be done: The protective sheeting covering the floors in the stairwells and overbridge needs to be removed.
Sunday 5th June
Things still to be done: The raised strips a short distance from the edge of each platform (for the benefit of visually impaired passengers) both need to be replaced..
Monday 6th June
An intercom activated by a security keypad has been installed in the ticket hall to the right of the new control room window.
Tuesday 7th June
Both the drinks machine and the chocolate machine on the westbound platform have new signs saying Out of service.
Wednesday 8th June
A smart new sign reading District and Hammersmith & City lines has been installed at the top of the electronic display board above the ticket machine in the ticket hall.
Thursday 9th June
Some of the holes in some of the panels on both platforms have been filled by shiny metal squares, each with a lockable door.
Friday 10th June
Conker tree update: the conkers now look like real mini conkers with tiny spiky green shells.
Saturday 11th June
Someone has drawn a crossed-sword shape in the filthy dust on the top of the lighting globe at the bottom of the westbound stairwell.
Sunday 12th June
The southernmost window in the ticket hall has a new sign above it reading:
Assistance (temporary sign)
Monday 13th June
A new (yellow) raised strip for visually impaired passengers appears to have been successfully installed along the eastern half of the eastbound platform.
Tuesday 14th June
Another (new) yellow strip has been installed along the eastern half of the westbound platform.
Wednesday 15th June
Both electronic clocks on the two 'next train' indicators are suddenly running 3½ hours slow.
Thursday 16th June
The raised yellow strip now stretches the full length of the westbound platform.
Friday 17th June
Both of the new 'next train' indicators on the platforms have been switched off.
Saturday 18th June
The chocolate and drinks machines are both functional again.
Sunday 19th June
Some new chairs have been delivered to the control room. They are still covered by polythene wrapping.
Monday 20th June
Most of the holes in some of the panels on both platforms have been filled by shiny metal squares, each with a lockable door.
Tuesday 21st June
A notice on the door to the new control room reads:
Caution
Wet paint on all walls.
BBCL
Wednesday 22nd June (report from Andrew)
"have just got back from looking around various stations, including Bow Road, where work is supposed to be going on... 23 workmen at Bow Road at 1.15am doing very little that I could see"
Thursday 23rd June
The new 'next train' indicators have been switched back on, but they only tell the time and not the destination of the next train.
Friday 24th June
The new 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform now displays a destination which is not necessarily the destination of the next train.
Saturday 25th June
The new 'next train' indicator on the westbound platform now displays the destination of the next train, but not how many minutes away it is.
Sunday 26th June
The new 'next train' indicator on the westbound platform is five seconds slower in indicating the next train than was the old 'next train' indicator.
Monday 27th June
Some red boxes containing fire safety equipment have been installed on the southern wall of the ticket hall. They have been covered with black and yellow sticky tape, presumably to indicate that they don't yet work.
Tuesday 28th June
The various Help Points around the station are now functional.
Wednesday 29th June
At 10pm I saw two workmen in orange jackets park their car on the cobbled pavement outside the courthouse nextdoor and walk to the portakabins in front of the station to report for work.
Thursday 30th June
A temporary Tickets sign has been placed on the ticket machine in the main ticket hall. It's long and very white with big blue lettering.
The knobbly black plastic strips along the edge of each platform have been completely removed, again, leaving behind a long narrow blotchy white adhesive stain.
Monday 2nd May
The new platform sign above the westbound platform has been moved slightly so that it is no longer half-obscured by a pillar.
Tuesday 3rd May
Two poster-sized frames have appeared on the wall of the westbound platform, just beneath the new 'next train' indicator.
Wednesday 4th May
Three poster-sized frames have appeared on the wall of the eastbound platform, just beneath the old 'next train' indicator.
Thursday 5th May
Three poster-sized frames have appeared on the walls of the ticket hall.
Friday 6th May
Two more poster-sized frames have appeared on the walls of the ticket hall.
Saturday 7th May
Four of the lightbulbs in the lamps at the front of the station appear to have blown.
Sunday 8th May
The globe lamps in the main ticket hall are now illuminated.
Monday 9th May
The globe lamps down the westbound stairwell are already filthy.
Tuesday 10th May
The new 'next train' indicators on both platforms are now showing the destination of the next train, but not the number of minutes until it arrives.
Wednesday 11th May
The new 'next train' indicators on both platforms are no longer showing the destination of the next train.
Thursday 12th May
On my way home, the display on the electronic screen above the ticket machine read:
Richmond 1
Plaistow 2
This could be:
a) The destination of the next train at each platform
b) The number of minutes before the next two trains arrive
c) The latest football result
Friday 13th May
Today, both on my way to work and on the way home, the display on the electronic screen above the ticket machine read:
Ealing Broadway 1
Upminster 2
Saturday 14th May
The new 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform is no longer showing anything at all.
Sunday 15th May
A disembodied voice now announces Mind the gap please whenever a train pulls into either platform.
Monday 16th May
The disembodied voice continues to announce Mind the gap please after the train doors have closed, and usually says it at least once more (for no good reason) after the train has started pulling out of the station.
Tuesday 17th May
A BT van is parked outside the station. Several short lengths of discarded white cable lie piled up just inside the station entrance.
Wednesday 18th May
Conker tree update: the blossom has fallen. Tiny conkers have started to grow in their place.
Thursday 19th May
A drinks vending machine has been installed on the westbound platform. It dispenses Coca Cola and Malvern Water.
Friday 20th May
The new 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform again shows
Eastbound trains: H & C and District Lines
but not the destination of the next train.
Saturday 21st May
Three large poster-sized frames have appeared on the wall of the westbound platform, interspersed amongst the existing smaller frames.
Sunday 22nd May
A large poster-sized frame has appeared on the wall of the ticket hall, just behind the exit gates.
Monday 23rd May
A chocolate machine has been installed on the westbound platform immediately to the right of the new drinks machine.
Tuesday 24th May
The green doors to the left of the station entrance are now both labelled:
Fire exit Keep clear
Wednesday 25th May
Most of the new frames on the platforms and in the ticket hall now contain posters.
The new tube map in the ticket hall has been positioned behind the exit gates so that you can only read it on the way out, not the way in. Which is bloody stupid.
Thursday 26th May
Most of the new posters are advertising either the tube or Oystercards.
Friday 27th May
A small black plastic chair covered with plaster stains has been left outside the front of the station.
Saturday 28th May
The small black plastic chair has been removed.
Sunday 29th May
The old British Rail sign on the eastbound stairwell reading Change at Barking for trains to Southend has been moved (sensibly) so that's it's visible when entering the platform, not when leaving it.
Monday 30th May
A big digital clock has been installed at the western end of the westbound platform, presumably for the benefit of passing train drivers.
Tuesday 31st May
A small group of workmen are standing around outside the station, not doing much.
The ticket hall has been repainted over the weekend, including the previously unpainted high-up bits of plastering around the edge of the ceiling.
Tuesday 2nd August
7:30am - three policemen are standing in the glass-fronted control room in the ticket hall, presumably watching some of Bow Road's 75 new CCTV cameras.
Wednesday 3rd August
The white wooden panels on the overbridge have been painted, again, and are roped off with red and white sticky tape.
Thursday 4th August
It's another two-coppers-outside-the-front-of-the-station Thursday.
Friday 5th August
The white wooden panels on the overbridge have been painted, yet again, and are roped off with red and white sticky tape.
Saturday 6th August
Lots of TfL leaflets are piled up (in nice neat piles) on the ledge in front of the unused ticket window, over where nobody ever goes.
Sunday 7th August
One month after the tube bombing there are still a very large number of copies of the original Major incident - travel update leaflet piled up on the ticket window ledge, despite the fact that they're now several weeks out of date.
Monday 8th August
An irregular-edged hole has been opened up in the plaster on the ceiling at the northern end of the ticket hall.
Tuesday 9th August
The new hole in the ceiling of the ticket hall has been replastered.
Wednesday 10th August
The newly replastered hole in the ceiling of the ticket hall has been repainted.
Thursday 11th August
If you look very carefully, with the light shining in the right direction, you can still see where the replastered hole in the ceiling of the ticket hall used to be.
Friday 12th August
Other than that, the ceiling (and walls) of the ticket hall look all sparkly white again.
Saturday 13th August
A couple of very premature conkers have dared to fall from the horse chestnut tree outside the station, probably from the one tiny clump of slightly browning leaves on the eastern side.
Sunday 14th August
The temporary protective covering across the floor of the ticket hall, overbridge and stairwells has been removed, revealing the new grey (slightly speckled) plastic surface underneath.
Monday 15th August
A small cross of yellow and black tape remains stuck to the floor of the ticket hall, just inside the main station entrance.
Tuesday 16th August
Another short strip of yellow and black tape remains, on the small landing halfway down the westbound stairwell.
Wednesday 17th August
Two 'Caution wet paint' signs remain stuck to the sparkly white walls at the top of the eastbound stairwell - almost a fortnight after the paint dried.
Thursday 18th August
The easternmost green and yellow striped pillar on the westbound platform has a notice stuck to it which reads "Do not touch - wet paint"
Friday 19th August
The other nine green and yellow striped pillars on the westbound platform all have notices stuck to them which read "Caution wet paint", or something similar
Saturday 20th August
The 'wet paint' notices look like they've been recycled from several previous 'wet paint' events around the station.
Sunday 21st August
The 'wet paint' notices on the pillars along the westbound platform have been removed.
Monday 22nd August
In today's absolute downpour it is noticeable that the canopy over the eastern end of the westbound platform no longer leaks.
Tuesday 23rd August
I watched two tourists reading the big sign on the blue wall outside the station, the one that still reads "The work is due for completion in spring 2005"
Wednesday 24th August
Five 'wet paint' signs have appeared on the grey door opposite the top of the westbound stairwell.
Thursday 25th August
Those two 'wet paint' signs at the top of the eastbound stairwell are still there, three weeks after they were last true.
Friday 26th August
Four 'wet paint' notices have appeared on the green fire door at the top of the westbound stairwell, and even more on four green doors at the eastern end of the westbound platform.
Saturday 27th August
All those 'wet paint' notices remain, although no paint still appears to be wet.
Sunday 28th August
At last, the two 'wet paint' notices stuck on the wall at the top of the eastbound stairwell have been removed.
Monday 29th August
10:45pm: I saw a white van and four cars parked up on the pavement outside the newsagent's kiosk, with five workmen standing around beside them waiting to go in and do some work in the station.
Tuesday 30th August
It is not at all obvious what those five workmen might have been up to overnight.
Wednesday 31st August
12:45pm: I saw a workman clutching a stepladder disappearing behind a door at the eastern end of the eastbound platform.
The new 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform now seems to be displaying the correct destination of the next train, but still not how many minutes away it is.
Saturday 2nd July
New fire alarms appear to have installed at certain points around the station, but they are covered over by blue and white tape.
Sunday 3rd July
New fire alarm notices have also been installed, and they too are covered over by blue and white tape.
Monday 4th July
The globe light fittings above the westbound stairwell have at last been cleaned (and they look much cleaner).
Tuesday 5th July
The new control room beside the ticket hall looks to be in full operation, maybe.
Wednesday 6th July
A poster in the ticket hall congratulates London on winning the 2012 Olympics.
Thursday 7th July
Following terrorist bombings at three other stations at the height of the morning rush hour, Bow Road (along with the rest of the network) is closed for the rest of the day.
Friday 8th July
As the network reopens, Bow Road station is quiet but intact.
Saturday 9th July
The end date on the 'storage licence' posted on one of the black doors halfway along the westbound platform has been extended until 30th August.
Sunday 10th July
Those conker cases on the tree outside the station are looking proper big and conker-sized already.
Monday 11th July
One lonely-looking policeman is standing outside the station.
Tuesday 12th July
Two not-quite-so lonely-looking policemen are standing outside the station.
Wednesday 13th July
The two old 'next train' indicators, one on each platform, have finally been turned off after many decades of good and faithful service.
Thursday 14th July
The bus stop outside the station has been resurfaced using red tarmac. It is more than twice as long as before - at least the length of two bendy buses.
Friday 15th July
The 'red route' red line outside the station (and all along Bow Road) has been repainted.
Saturday 16th July
The red boxes on the southern wall of the ticket hall, which I thought might have been new fire control equipment, have been removed.
Sunday 17th July
There's a nice cube-shaped floral box of tissues on a shelf above the computers in the new control room.
Monday 18th July
7:45am - according to the new 'next train' indicator board, the next westbound train is heading for 'Check destination on front of train' (which wasn't an option on the old 'next train' indicator board)
Tuesday 19th July
It's gone all quiet again.
Wednesday 20th July
No obnvious changes at Bow Road.
Thursday 21st July
Bow Road is not targetted in today's bungled terrorist atrocity.
Friday 22nd July
"Please keep your belongings with you at all times"
Saturday 23rd July
"Please report any unattended packages to a member of staff"
Sunday 24th July
"Please do not leave your luggage unattended"
Monday 25th July
The temporary TICKETS sign above the ticket machine and ASSISTANCE sign above the assistance window have both been replaced by very swish brushed metal signs with white-ish writing on a black background.
Tuesday 26th July
A very large irregular area of plaster has been removed from the wall in the ticket hall, just to the right of the new control room.
Wednesday 27th July
The irregular area on the ticket hall wall has been replastered, but not yet finished off.
Thursday 28th July
The irregular area of plaster on the ticket hall wall has been smoothed over, and its lower half covered by a large sheet of orange card. Some of the walls of the ticket hall have been repainted, for the umpteenth time.
Friday 29th July
The sheet of orange card has been removed.
Saturday 30th July
The two old lightbulb-driven big black rectangular 'next train' indicators have been removed from both platforms. Only the new 'next train' indicators remain. Sigh.
Sunday 31st July
The new 'next train' indicators each have a yellow warning sticker that reads Warning - Laser Hazard
The main doors leading into the station have been repainted green (for at least the third time this year).
Friday 2nd September
The green door facing the top of the westbound stairwell has been repainted, again, and labelled with amateur-looking 'wet paint' notices.
Saturday 3rd September
One premature conker has fallen from the horse chestnut tree outside the station, half-cracking out of its protective shell and coming to a rest close to the station entrance.
Sunday 4th September
Many of the leaves on the tree have a slightly brown edge, but only a handful are wholly brown.
Monday 5th September
The pavement is virtually conker-free.
Tuesday 6th September
Irregular grey rectangular painted splotches have appeared on the easternmost green door on the front of the station.
Wednesday 7th September
A big tube-map-sized poster frame has appeared on the wall just to the east of the foot of the stairwell on the eastbound platform.
Thursday 8th September
The new poster frame is currently filled by a bright yellow rectangle.
Friday 9th September
The new poster frame is clearly lockable, and probably hides a sign reading Station Closed, 5mph
Saturday 10th September
The conkers have started to fall. Must be the wind.
Sunday 11th September
A roadsweeper is being employed to sweep up the conkers outside the station.
Monday 12th September
Yellow streaks have appeared on the irregular grey rectangular painted splotches on the easternmost green door on the front of the station.
Tuesday 13th September
A new tube-map-sized poster frame has appeared just inside the main entrance to the ticket hall, just above the Metro newspaper rack.
Wednesday 14th September
The tube map behind the exit ticket gates has been replaced by a London Connections map.
Thursday 15th September
The wall just west of the bottom of the stairwell on the eastbound platform has been repainted a sort of creamy magnolia colour, and a single piece of black and yellow tape has been stuck the full width of the wall as a wet paint warning to commuters.
Friday 16th September
A small poster frame has appeared on the wall beneath the white lamp to the right of the main doors into the ticket hall.
Saturday 17th September
Dark grey paint now covers the yellow streaks on the irregular grey rectangular painted splotches on the easternmost green doors on the front of the station.
Sunday 18th September
There really are a lot of conkers on the pavement outside the station today.
Monday 19th September
The easternmost green doors on the front of the station have been repainted green, covering over the dark and light grey splotchy mess that was there previously.
Tuesday 20th September
Neither of the new 'next train' indicators on the platforms are working. Pity they've taken the old ones down.
Wednesday 21st September
It's still not possible to tell where the next train is going, until it arrives.
Thursday 22nd September
Normal 'next train' indicator service is restored.
Friday 23rd September
Several randomly-scattered paving slabs along each platform have been replaced by noticeably lighter new slabs.
Saturday 24th September
There are slightly more replaced slabs on the eastbound platform than on the westbound platform.
Sunday 25th September
They're painting in the ticket hall again. Again. Again.
Monday 26th September
Where's the wet paint notice? Aha - on the blue panels on the western wall of the ticket hall.
Tuesday 27th September
Even with the new hi-tech floor covering in the ticket hall and on the stairwells, station staff still scribble their usual 'beware, floor surfaces may be slippery' message on a whiteboard when it rains.
Wednesday 28th September
Wet paint signs have been sellotaped to the walls on either side of the station entrance.
A man on the westbound platform is checking his hair whilst staring at his reflection in a poster called If London Looked In The Mirror.
Friday 30th September
The conker season looks to be drawing to a close.
Although latest reports suggest that Bow Road renovation should be signed off and complete by the end of September, the portakabins are stiill here.
Sunday 2nd October
The newsagents kiosk outside the station no longer sells papers on Sundays.
Monday 3rd October
The big sign on the blue wall beside the portakabin outside the station entrance, the one describing Metronet's Bow Road renovation project in great depth, has disappeared.
Tuesday 4th October
The 'next train' indicator announces the arrival of a Hammersmith and City train, but a Wimbledon train arrives instead.
Wednesday 5th October
The Not Working Yet sign has been removed from the new Chip and PIN reader attached to the front of the ticket window.
Thursday 6th October
An Ealing Broadway train hurtles into the westbound platform, despite no train being predicted by the new 'next train' indicator.
Friday 7th October
The white box labelled LFB (London Fire Brigade) which had previously been affixed to the wall to the right-hand side of the station entrance has been moved to the wall on the left-hand side.
Saturday 8th October
The blue panels on the wall in the ticket hall have been repainted (yet again), and the 'wet paint' notices are up.
Sunday 9th October
Just below the screen in the ticket hall screening images from CCTV cameras around the station is a new sign reading Images are being monitored and recorded.
A small trapdoor is ajar inside the northern wall of the tiny recess in the centre of the ceiling in the ticket hall.
Tuesday 11th October
The trapdoor is still open.
Wednesday 12th October
Still open. Nothing else happening.
Thursday 13th October
The plastic covering on the floor across the front of the ticket hall has been removed, revealing a large black stripy doormat thing beneath.
Friday 14th October
The three blue portakabins on the pavement outside the station have been removed overnight.
This is a bit off-topic, but I can't think of anyone who might have a clue about the olympics: Surely London hosting them will require a change in law for the shooting events, given that handguns are illegal here? Or will thjat event be hosted in Calais?
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