Down Street

I have led a privileged life.  I look at some of the places I have been given the privilege of going, some of the experiences I have been privileged to have had and some of the people I have been privileged to have spent time with.

In the 44 years I've lived, there's a lot I have to be grateful for, and going forward, I hope I have the same time left as has passed.

Some experiences you don't realise at the time are special.  And of course special is a definition you can define for yourself.  Sitting here nursing a somewhat tender jaw after an unexpected dentistry occurrence this morning, for no apparent reason a memory of my time working for the Piccadilly Line came back to me.  A fond memory which made me smile. 


I had the privilege of visiting here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Street_tube_station

Down Street Station.  Closed in 1932, used briefly during World War II as a shelter for notables such as Winston Churchill.  It's not been sanitised, yet neither has it been artificially preserved.  It's pretty much been left standing, somewhat as it once was.  There are old posters still on the walls, the original tiling, if I remember rightly the colouring which was used to identify different lines and stations back in the early years of the Underground when you could tell where you were through the colours if not the station names.  You'd hardly notice the external entrance to the station unless you know it's there, much the same as during the day you can't identify where the nightclubs doors to a downstairs world are, unless you're in the know.  Yet once you know what it is, you can't miss it. I got to go in the doorway.

The place feels sacred.  Like you are genuinely stepping into a piece of history which should in some way be a museum but instead is shared by the few who are allowed to enter it.  We're part of something, part of the history, because our lives instead of simply observing it, are walking through it, not through an exhibit. 

Since the station closure it has not been quiet. It has been used for pop videos, for scenes in films and TV series.  All of that is now part of the station history.  As you stand on the platform, trains still pass you, and while the lights are on in the station in honour of your visit, of course other passengers can see that there's something there.  It's known as Down Street sidings these days, and if you know where to look, while you're on the train you can see glimpses of the station, not much, just an angle of a tunnel where once was a walkway.  It's amazing.  And the train stopped at the station to pick us up.

My visit was in my role as TGWU health and safety rep learning from the RMT rep, Pat.