HENRY HEATH Oxford Street HAT FACTORY

https://londonist.com/london/history/oxford-street-beavers is worth reading!

Mr B must be relieved to be back home after 4 days in London. I have walked my feet off (he does 1000's of steps every day). We must have been up and down every street in Fitzrovia, Mayfair, around Piccadilly & Soho.

Nothing I enjoy more than discovering interesting old and new buildings, shops etc. This blip is an example, had never noticed the facade (which is at the back, in Hellon Street). And Interesting to learn about the company - see link above.

First had our flat whites at Arabica, one of the Japanese cafes that seem to be popping up around London. It was a toss up between this and Omotesando. We both agreed H R Higgins, day one, was way the best (the coffee, not the decor).

Headed next to Soho. We had too much to eat yesterday, and after last night's room service mezze, couldn't face more food. So after out stroll & looking in at Camisa and Lina's stores, long standing Italian delis (the former completely unchanged since I was a child) - we returned to the hotel to collect our cases.

It had started to snow on and off, with a forecast of ice and snow on the coast, so seemed sensible to get back before dark. For a few minutes there was even a flurry of heavy snow. Got the 2:35 train and 1h45mn later we were happy to be back.

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Quite a few articles on Google, just read this "To separate fur from the pelts, factory workers soaked the skins in a compound of mercury. Unfortunately, fumes from the chemical had the unpleasant side-effect of poisoning their nervous systems. This made them drool, tremble, talk gibberish and have bouts of severe paranoia, giving rise to the expression "mad as a hatter". Heath ensured these unfortunate souls were kept well away from customers".

Courtesy of: https://pelteret.co.za/content/000373/Henry-Heath-Hats.pdf