Tube Strike, MotorExpo 2009 and Crossrail...

...lots been going on, just having a rather unusual week, hopefully everything will be back to normal soon! Managed to make it up into town yesterday (on crutches), despite the tube strike -

- they were giving away these guides to help people make their way around London without use of the underground, the unhelpful advice for people wanting to get to Canary Wharf was just to go to Bank and get the DLR (like *everyone* wouldn't already have thought of that)...as it was, somehow, despite every single other tube line being down, the Jubilee line was actually running (albeit with minor delays), so it wasn't actually that much of a trial to get in and out of the office...

Anyway, when I got here (although I'm not really going to have much of a chance to look around it, in my current state), I found that the 2009 MotorExpo was in full swing, the reception of One Canada square having been turned over to all manner of Aston Martin automobiles (and even the odd wicked looking Tesla) -

- and outside has been similarly transformed -

- although I must say, the number of hungry executives drooling over the exhibits seems to be considerably down on last year...

In other news, work is proceeding apace for the London crossrail station, they have turned the corner now if you look closely, and from the looks of things, they are going to complete a box using these metal tubes -

- and then drain out the water and actually dig down to build the station, so I have the perfect vantage point here in order to spy on them... ;)

Canary Wharf Motorexpo 2008

It was a bit of a suprise getting into the office yesterday morning and finding my way from the stairs largely blocked by lots of Aston Martins -

- but peering out the window when I got upstairs to the 20th floor, I discovered this was just the tip of the iceberg -

- "Motorexpo 2008" has come to town, it runs until Sunday (before being shipped off (nut, bolt and flyer) to New York)...it's sort of like a mini-"Motor show", but instead of lurking in the Excel centre, it invades every piece of empty land available around "The Wharf" - people are coming back from lunch with stories of almost getting to the front of the queue to drive a 4x4 before they ran out of time, or asking if they could sit in (insert posh car name here) and being told that there was a reservation system in place and they might just be fitted in for five minutes at half-three on Thursday...desks are groaning under (never in a million years affordable) car brochures (etc. etc.)...so it's pretty lively out there (as I imagine a completely free car show is a bit of a pull to the rest of London (and further afield) also, not just to us who are fortunate enough to work here)...

Oh and combine that with a new Sushi place (Wasabi) opening in Cabot Place (and offering two for the price of one on all their food, this has almost caused more fuss - people have been chatting excitedly about it since a quarter to nine this morning!) and you have the recipe for a rather busy environment...come back half-term, all is forgiven!