please empty your brain below
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'.
Thursday 1st April
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.
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.
They're slowly plastering the bare concrete walls on the northbound platform. 1/4 of it is even smooth! The only other sign of life is the installation of some ticket barriers upstairs. Tufnell Park was one of the last tube stations without ticket barriers (except for the extra rush hour exit).
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.
I actually saw a workman working in the station this morning. Unfortunately he was only fixing the photo booth in the ticket hall.
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).
My spell's going well then.
The one that has blue walls as a performance indicator.
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.
Only one section of the two platforms remains unwalled - the short section to the east of the steps on the eastbound platform.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There are three ladders on the scaffolding outside the station.
"Travel update 17:01: 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.
I spotted the top of a thick metal frame behind the westbound wall. I spotted nothing else.
It's not a big frame, you understand, just a horizontal metal bar and one, maybe two, vertical bars. Rather dull metal in fact.
Evidence of workmen! At 8am this morning a man from the electricity board arrived, parked 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.
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