Ok, so two days to go and we took a trip to Great Burstead on our bikes (and the train) to see the physical Signpost in the workshop...well, what was ready at the time. The guys there have been doing a great job in such a short time frame (for which we apologise!) and they are getting there but there was still quite a way to go. But, it was really good to see the main body of the post upright and to  see its actual size and feel its presence. When I was first thinking about the construction of the post I wanted to have a similar imposition as a totem pole, for it to be oversize and really quite different to, but still recognisable and functioning as, a sign post. We wanted it to be noticeable (some of our other work has been placed a bit 'apologetically') and to draw people in and for it to be a focal point. Seeing it there, even in an unfinished state, we could feel all of these things being realised and as well as being very pleased with it, we were really relieved. They've actually designed the interior very differently to how we'd originally envisaged, and made it mainly out of MDF instead of soft wood as we'd originally intended, but applied a veneer to make it look like its been hewn out of a single piece of wood. It is all bolted to a metal frame which is connected to the base to give it extra stability. All this extra work bumped up the price, but with some amazing budgetary gymnastics by Damien, we're just about coming in on target.

The guys there explained how the base all fits together, how the access panel works, where the power cable fits through and so on. We are very grateful for all their hard work, especially as we know they'll be working late tonight on it. When its all fitted together and had a couple of coats of polish, it'll be brought down to our place in Ian Rumsby's van for us to fit all the electronics inside, put the turf on and test it.

The photos in the gallery below show the unfinished post upright in the workshop (with Barry thinking he was out of shot), with close ups of the base design, DVD and jack socket window, and the unfinished finger with 'Colchester 26'.