Watching contractors fitting-out a baguette food outlet failed to stir our columnist last night but at least he missed the football
Anyone hoping to see the awe-inspiring manifestation of state-of-the- art construction operation that is the fitting out of an Upper Crust sandwich unit in last night鈥檚 programme on the begetting (or should that be baguetting?) of St Pancras International will have been sorely disappointed.
Graham Greene said that it is interesting to watch ordinary people doing extraordinary things, or to watch extraordinary people doing ordinary things, but watching ordinary people doing ordinary things is not interesting. Last nights chapter in the 拢800 Railway Station on BBC 2 was very much ordinary people doing ordinary things. Actually it was worse. It was ordinary people in the PR industry doing ordinary things.
To all intents and purposes the building work is finished. What remains is the icing on the cake. This programme featured the commissioning of a vast statue and the choosing of the photographs in the 鈥淗ow we did it 鈥 book, Public sculptors can never win. Anthony Gormley replicates his sculptures in their thousands so even at 60% disapproval his strike rate is quite high. Whether Paul Day鈥檚 Meeting place will capture the public鈥檚 imagination in the way that The Angel of the North has done remains to be seen. Various railway commissioners were filmed going off to Mr Day鈥檚 studio in an agreeable pantiled barn somewhere in rural France to look at Mr day鈥檚 maquettes.
The sculpture is to be a 3m high bronze and shows a couple 鈥渕eeting鈥 It may be a homage to the magic of the illicit love affair that was built around railway buffet bars in 鈥淏rief Encounter鈥, although it looks more like two Stalinist athletes on the Atkins diet who have crashed into each other on the ice and are holding on for mutual support.
Once the committee had persuaded Mr Day to remove an ankle strap from the woman鈥檚 shoe (makes her look like a tart) it was passed as fit for consumption. Passengers won鈥檛 be able to miss it, so perhaps it will capture the public鈥檚 imagination, but I am always suspicious when artists tell you what they 鈥渁re trying to do鈥.
The PR worthies in charge of photographs opted for a selection of grainy black and whites of men wearing singlets and hard hats with enough sweat pouring over their belts, laps and traps to satisfy the most ardent Village People fan. Sadly no 鈥淯pper Crust鈥 but, as the commentator pointed out in a breathless whisper 鈥 Now the team has only TWO MONTHS to fit out all the shops which are such a crucial part of the development鈥.
MacDonalds can take a two thousand square foot stand-alone site from ground-break to serving the first customer in eleven days, so I can鈥檛 wait to see how the parties at the 拢800 million railway station rise to this challenge. The commentary is by Bernard Hill aka Yosser of 鈥済issajob鈥 fame. There was a fabulous shot of the restaurant in the tip of the Gherkin, which showed the commissioners fulfilling the onerous task of choosing a champagne bar operator. If one of them can鈥檛 make it I鈥檒l give then my number.
- The 800 Million Pound Railway Station is on BBC 2 at 10pm
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