Open house

Today I had some more Open House tours booked. PY was going into his office to manage some IT improvements so I’d planned to see a few Open House event and then meet him.

First up I walked to South Wimbledon to look at the redevelopment of the area around High Path with the housing association that is managing the demolition and building of new houses, including the rehousing of all the existing residents in brand new accommodation. It seems to have been really well thought through. The work has been planned for many years and I met one of the architects who developed the so-called Master Plan who described that it would be almost all of his career before the vision he set out a few years ago would be realised. As well as being walked around the area to see the mix of housing stock that is being replaced we got to see inside some of the new buildings and visit one of the flats with a very different view across South London from the balcony.

After that, and a quick coffee in Colliers Wood, it was a bit of a trek east to South Bermondsey. I arrived on a train with a crowd of rowdy Millwall supporters which was not what I expected. The Kaymet factory that I was visiting makes high quality aluminium trays in a small unit behind an Asda supermarket. The owner showed us around and talked of the difficulties of production in a small unit when COVID hit. The products are excellent and I hope small enterprises like this survive. It sounds like it’s hard, but rewarding, work.

I had planned to visit another building but, by this point, I decided I done a lot of walking and I couldn’t easily find the next location so I headed home and finished the first Bryant & May book. I think I might have found a new collection of detective novels to read.

In the end I did not go to PY’s office but met him, and some friends, in the bar at West Norwood Picture House before heading to Siam Niyom, a delicious Thai restaurant where we planned for our upcoming holiday. On the way home, PY had to collect somethings from his office we we went back there and then took a can home.

Another long day with a lot of time on my feet. I am certainly getting my steps in.