18 November (Part 1) - Crossrail activity ramps up
I promised the Twitterati that I would get down to Abbey Wood station by nine this
morning but the dawn sunshine was replaced by nearly two hours of heavy rain. I
do wish that Radio 4’s weather forecasters would look out of the window before
spewing out their bilge. On the other hand, Bromley correspondents said it was
dry and sunny there.
When the rain eased up I ran the gauntlet of Abbey Road which is now Belvedere’s
premier Splash Park thanks to the abysmal standards accepted by Bexley council
when they last messed around with it in 2009.
As I approached the station the sound of a pneumatic drill filled the air and I
wondered if I had missed the demolition of the pedestrian ramps. However the sound came
from nothing more exciting than the smashing of lumps of old concrete and the ramps were intact.
There
has however been an important development within the past 24 hours. The pedestrian controlled crossing is working.
Zig zags are present but largely obscured by street clutter and dirt. When a bus disgorged
its passengers all but one of them used the stairs.
The northern walkway is still blocked but the southern one is open which affords some new views of the station.
The puddle hop home took me past one of Lesnes Abbey’s new landmarks. A
dismounted rubbish bin which has been wandering around the area for the past two
months. Bexley council will notice it one day.
Note: The waste bin, which after its initial escape from its shackles,
first took up residence at the nearest bus shelter but later took a liking to a position under
the Lesnes Abbey footbridge, was evicted from its home within a few hours of making its photo
debut here. Its 15 minutes of fame was its undoing.