elim estate is in bermondsey, south london. to be more precise, se1. it was in a triangle shape and was bordered by long lane, weston street and wilds rents. we lived on the wilds rents side, overlooking the metal box factory, or ‘mb’ as the locals called it.
the estate was built just after the second world war and contained 121 flats. we lived at 119 and so there were only two more flats beyond ours. somehow it made us feel a little more exclusive than if we’d been at number 53 for example.
the flats were four storeys high – three normal floors with balconies and an extra ‘upstairs’ for the flats on the top floor. we lived in one of these in what i believe is properly described as a maisonette.
119 had a green door. it stayed green until the day my granddad died.
