Far too often I find myself waiting around on platform 3 at Ealing Broadway station in the mornings. And far too often I gaze up at the office block that’s built on top of the station complex. And every time - I wonder what it must be like to work in an office block bang on top of a busy railway station.
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On bright, sunny, cloudless mornings like this - the office block adopts an almost surreal quality. I noticed this effect all summer. I only got round to taking a picture of it this morning. A few people around me wondered why I was taking a picture of it - and gave me strange looks. I have to say that I felt like a bit of a nerd.
Posted by jag at October 26, 2004 10:43 PMI used to work in an office that overlooked the station where I had to catch the train home. It was very useful for knowing when the trains were running late. You could then perfectly time your arrival on the platform.
Posted by: David on October 27, 2004 09:06 AMJag, I wonder how it wd be to always carry a camera all around.. I have tried that in the past, but the strange looks of the passers by have made me nervous.. you are doing a splendid job.
Posted by: Chakra on October 27, 2004 09:45 AMThere is a prison in a town near me that is a dead ringer for that building. I would go nuts if I did not have a “window office”.
Posted by: Fritz on October 27, 2004 03:46 PMyour picture gives more credit to the building than i think it deserves. Been past it a few times, in the car. Looked up. Don’t think i’d be able to work in a place so near to a railway station.
Posted by: Jaina on October 27, 2004 07:12 PMDavid: yes - I would have thought it would be easier getting the train home if one worked above the station.
Chakra: thanks - I just ignore passers by - or I just pretend that I am an “official” - e.g. a journalist or an artist/photographer etc. Chances are very high that you will never see people who give you strange looks again - in London this would be the case anyway!
Fristz: I knew there was something odd about that building - and you’ve pointed it out: it has no windows on the side! No wonder it looks prison-like.
Jaina; I agree - the picture makes that building look a lot slicker than it actually is - but that’s the effect of the bright sunlight and the blue sky. It really does look quite surreal when you view it from the platform on a bright sunny morning.
Posted by: Jag on October 27, 2004 10:42 PM