Restoration Complete!

WOW, the gold leaf crowns make all the difference. Walking down from the station today, it was good to see other commuters double take as they walked past.

Last night Alan and I fitted the leather door restraining straps and cleaned up more of the glass. The leather straps look excellent and justify the hard work put in to clean them up. It's unfortunate that they along with the brass hinges won't be easily viewable as the door will be locked, but they can be seen very well through the windows.

I also took a call from a chap called David in East Devon who had read the blog and was looking for information about adopting and restoring the kiosk in their village. This is exactly why I started blogging the restoration and will be happy to speak with anyone wanting help.

Today, as well as Roy from Allsigns gilding the crowns, we have swept the area, and more importantly, started to dress the area surrounding the kiosk. One of our major concerns was the exposed cables at the back of the kiosk. We found these when we removed the dirt that had built up over the years. One was the telephone line (now disconnected), but the other was the electricity cable which is very important. We were worried that some goon might choose to cut it, so we wanted to devise a solution to cover it up. We decided to drop some boards down in front of the rails, and then fill the remaining space with gravel. This works really well, and the boards should stop the build up of dirt.

Although the pictures here are good, they don't really do it justice, so please pop along and have a look at the kiosk in the flesh. Alan and I are extremely proud of our achievement, but the real test will be on Sunday when Tony from Unicorn Kiosks gives us his view of our efforts.

On Sunday at two o'clock in the afternoon, the kiosk is officially unveiled, and so begins 'The Brookwood Expo', the kiosk's new lease of life. The opening exhibition will be about the kiosk restoration. Everyone is welcome to attend.

So, the kiosk restoration is now complete and we move on to preservation mode. We still have to finish off the railings which will happen over the summer period. This blog will continue as we keep the kiosk in tip top condition.

Thank you to everyone who has been involved in this community based project. We have raised virtually all the funds from within the village, and have managed to spend almost two thirds of the budget back in the village. This is an achievement in itself. Over the weekend, I'll put the final poster in the kiosk which will name all those people, organisations and businesses which have helped us along the way. Thank you.