Cosmetic Surgery

There was a bit of excitement at work on Tuesday lunchtime. The plaster on the first floor ceiling of the main staircase started to come off. (Yes, I know, it doesn't take a lot to get us exicted. Just humour me, please. We need to get our jollies where we can!) A large section decided to part company with the boards it was stuck to and drop on the heads of any unsuspecting ICT workers who just happened to pass underneath it. Fortunately, I don't think anyone was actually hit, but we received a warning not to use the staircase under further notice.

All well and good, of course, but it's "shake your head in wry amusement" funny just how many times you, and how many people as well, forgot to avoid the danger area. What made it worse for the men was that the forbidden zone was right outside the Gents, so we had to traipse around the building to use another loo.

On arriving at work this morning, we were presented with this:


To coin a phrase, we have the decorators in! At least before, we (i.e. the men on the first floor) could carefully go for a wee as the door behind the scaffold is the entrance to the washroom facilities; the way to our room is immediately to the right of it. There was no way we can sneak through now.

So why 'Cosmetic Surgery'? Well, that's just what they are doing. Patching up something old to make it look like something new. The building we're in was an hotel built in 1904 to celebrate the town being granted 'City Status' by Queen Victoria. The pub at the corner of the building is called "City Hotel" as that's what is was, The City Hotel. There are still the original gas lamp fittings on some of the walls, and a few of the doors are the originals as well. They can't be replaced, just as the windows can't be double-glazed, as they are 'listed'. (The whole stairwell itself is built around the lift shaft that was used by the patrons at the time. Immediately behind and to the left of the wall in the previous picture is the place where the lift doors would open for the first floor. As far as I know, the shaft is still there. I don't think it was filled in, just sealed up.)

Anyway, by the end of today the ceiling looked a lot better. Hopefully, tomorrow the work will be completed and 'normal service' will be resumed. I hope so. It's a long hike to the other available one. You've got to plan ahead a bit more and give yourself additional travelling time!

Peace out! (Or should that be 'off'?)