Random Bits of April...

I enjoyed how these cherry blossoms in Wapping added to the view of Canary Wharf in the distance...

…and how these reflective sculptures in  Canary Wharf also enhanced the view. 

We finally finished unpacking enough to sort between which empty boxes were good enough to give away and which needed to be recycled. Even offering something for free on FB Marketplace was complicated with many people only wanting a few boxes, but I held out until I found a young woman who wanted all of them. 

Imagine my surprise when she arrived in a Mini! She was relocating to start her medical residency and was clearly determined as she managed to squeeze in all but one extra long box.

We’re always thrilled when Veronica has a reason to pop into London. Here she is speaking at the Royal Geographic Society’s Postgraduate Forum on Advances in Food Geographies.

Considering the topic, it was fitting that we had dinner the following night at Yum Bug, Europe’s first insect-based restaurant. They specialized in serving crickets in everything, including cocktails and desserts. While that might not sound too appetizing, the food was delicious. And we enjoyed having a chat with Leo, a co-founder. Sadly, the restaurant has since closed.
 

Filming at Tower Bridge...

It was exciting to happen upon a filmset one Sunday afternoon late in April. Jimmy and I were originally told to wait as we prepared to walk down the stairs from Tower Bridge, but then were quickly cleared to go ahead. We saw that something was being filmed, so we stuck around to see what it was.

We saw a clapperboard nearby that said Qatar Airlines, but were confused why there would be so much production equipment for a commercial. We stayed around long enough to watch an actress run down the stairs multiple times.

Jimmy had a chat with a cameraman between shots who said that they expected to work through most of the night. On our way home, we were surprised to see a large assortment of trailers and security nearby, again hinting that this was a big production. 

After dinner, we decided to walk back to see what was happening. They were now filming the same actress getting into a taxi over and over again after a man exited the taxi. Between shoots, someone would rush over with a coat and fix her hair. 

The tourists had all cleared out and no one paid any attention to us, so we could get very close to the director. After a friend posted that she saw Mission Impossible being filmed in Trafalgar Square, I assumed that we had witnessed some scenes as well and the clapperboard was a distraction. Many months later, I finally did a search and learned that I was way off. We had indeed witnessed an ad being filmed for Qatar Airlines, which tells a sweet story.  

 

Hosting Our First Party in London...

After the hash, we had a few hashers around for a cocktail party.

…and a short hash in our new neighborhood. 

Jimmy was pretty ambitious with his concoctions...

…which led to a lot of dirty glasses. A good time was had by all!
 

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. 

 

Welcome to Balham...

Since Jimmy only had a temporary contract, we knew that we couldn’t sign a traditional rental agreement which would require at least a one-year commitment. A quick Internet search assured us that we could rent short-term accommodation with a premium price tag. Luckily we could put off having to use that option... 

When Jimmy had hashed in London in June, he asked around if anyone could use some housesitters over the summer. Luckily Jessie and Sam were willing to take a leap of faith and let two strangers stay in their one-bedroom flat in Balham (the “h” is silent, so pronounced Balam) while they were at a festival for five nights. I was surprised that they dared to hide their keys outside, but they lived on a nice residential street and the keys were there waiting for us.

We had truly become Suitcase Kids!

That evening we set off to explore the neighborhood...

…and to go to Tooting Market, an indoor market dating back to 1930 that was recommended to us by the receptionist in Jimmy’s building.

We giggled when we saw the name, which is not just the name of the market, but the entire neighborhood. 
 

Hello England...

I was nervous that we’d be questioned about why we had so much luggage with us without having UK visas, but luckily the letter that NATO provided about Jimmy’s temporary position at DIANA, their new innovation agency, was sufficient to enter the country. 

We were also lucky that the train wasn’t too busy as our luggage took up a lot of seats.

We had to carefully plan our journey across London itself to make sure we wouldn’t encounter any stairs.

Our first stop was Jimmy’s office, which ironically is in White City on the Imperial College’s innovation campus.

The building was quite impressive.

We needed to lighten the load since we’d be living out of suitcases for awhile, so we dropped off a bunch of clothes we wouldn’t need right away since his office had plenty of storage space.