Staying in Bermondsey...

Before our five-night stay in Balham came to an end, Jessie and Sam offered to sublet their flat to us until the beginning of September starting after their return for four nights. It was great that we could leave our bigger bags behind in their basement when we moved into another hasher’s place. 

We’d seen Thomas at many hash weekends over the years, but barely knew him until we spent four nights with him in his 3rd story studio apartment in the historic Alaska Factory in Bermondsey in southeast London. The complex was built in the 1930s to replace the original seal fur factory from 1869. While it survived the Blitz of World War II, it couldn’t survive a downturn in fur sales and closed in the 1960s. 

It was impressive to see how it had been converted into apartments. 

I must admit I was a bit skeptical how three people could share a studio, however, there was a large living room...

…a bedroom behind a wall, which Thomas generously offered to us...

…a nice kitchen and bathroom plus a study where Thomas slept on an incredibly fancy inflatable bed. All the rooms were huge compared to where we had been staying. That first night we took Thomas out to thank him for hosting us. Our evenings always ended with long chats over some incredible rums and whiskeys from his global collection.

After the guys left for work, I set off to explore the area. Most of my walks included walking through the wharf district near Tower Bridge. Apparently this area housed the largest warehouse complex in London when it was built in 1873 to hold tea, coffee and spices.