Pooshun pushing up the daisies?

The photos above were taken by me on Friday afternoon. They show the outside of Erith bar Potion; as previously mentioned, the placing of the umlaut over the "o" means that the correct pronunciation is "Pooshun", not that I think the owners actually realise this. The notices say that the place is closed for refurbishment. It must have led a tough life, as the bar only opened in September last year - not exactly long ago, and certainly not long enough to justify a drastic amount of remedial building action. All I can think is that the owners have decided on a different look and feel to the place. In its' original incarnation the bar never really seemed to attract a large number of visitors, excepting maybe when narcisstic perma tanned chav nobody Peter Andre bowled up to promote his atrocious single at the place not that long ago. I will be keeping tabs on the development of the place - more news as it happens.

The excellent Kenneth Williams' based play "Stop Messing About" that Ian and I saw back in May is now on tour. It will be making an appearance at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford in March next year; I have my seat booked already.

What exactly in the evolutionary scheme of things is the point of wasps? They don't pollinate flowers and crops like bees, they don't appear to act as food for other creatures, and they don't perform any function to assist in the normal running of the natural world. They seem to be completely without reason or function, like a type of blinged up fly with an aggressive attitude and a great big sting. Personally I kill any wasp I encounter - they are horrid, nasty creatures that we would collectively be better off without. I came across one on a train between Watford and London in the week, which I considered unusual, as I thought they would have now all died out for the year due to the relatively low temperatures. Pity they ever come back.

You can view my photos online by clicking the link to my Flickr account here.

Ian snapped the photo below for me to include in this weeks' Maggot Sandwich - he took it a couple of roads from the family seat; it really makes one wonder about the levels of spelling and grammar taught today. I don't think that they make Tippex for garage doors.

I see from the News Shopper that former deput London Mayor and ex pupil of Picardy School Ian Clement has been photographed undergoing his community service.  You can see more of him by clicking here. Nice to see that he gets a proper punishment for what was a relatively minor offence, in comparison with a number of his colleagues sitting in Parliament.

Recently I have had a couple of Maggot Sandwich readers expressing surprise at the fact that I do not own a mobile telephone. I figure that they probably have not been readers of my weekly missives for that long. For their benefit, I recycle some ancient electrons by linking back to a very old post indeed.

I have been surfing round YouTube, looking at all sorts of old video clips. I found the following excerpt from a late 1970's documentary about the U.S nuclear deterrent, that was produced with the complete approval and assistance of the American military. It is rather on the depressing side, and does somewhat ignore the second strike capability of the "Boomer" fleet of ballistic nuclear submarines. A period piece, well worthy of a quick watch. Please feel free to post a comment below.

I see from notices in the local newspapers and publicity material at various local railway stations that the vile Oyster card system is to be extended to the Dartford to Charing Cross / Cannon Street via Greenwich line. I for one am resolutely against this; Oyster is a major intrusion into privacy (all journeys are recorded and tracked as you swipe in a and swipe out; this information is stored on a gigantic database for over two years - something that is illegal under the data protection act, as they do not inform you of this juicy bit of prying). I have heard people counter this by saying "but Oyster is cheaper than paying cash" which sounds like a persuasive argument, until one realises that Red Ken merely upped the cash price to make the Oyster price look more attractive - it is all spin. I will resist Oyster for as long as practically possible. I don't want to be tracked - just like every owner of a mobile phone is, though most do not have any idea of it. As soon as your mobile telephone is switched on, you can be tracked and triangulated to within a couple of metres, anywhere on the planet that has mobile phone reception. This is on top of the handset pickling your cranium with microwaves. No thank you.



Take a good look at this photo I took of Erith Riverside Gardens - it is entirely possible they won't be around for too much longer -  here is a transcript of a recent article from the News Shopper:

THE community forum which represents the townspeople of Erith is demanding a radical rethink of plans to regenerate the riverside area of the town. The Erith Western Gateway project which would have seen a multi-million pound makeover of 13 riverfront areas of the town, collapsed in February when the chosen developer, housebuilders Crest Nicholson, pulled out because of the credit crunch.

Now Erith’s town forum, always unhappy with the proposals, has suggested the council looks again at the project. It is questioning whether some of the Erith Western Gateway sites should be included in the regeneration project, saying the top of Pier Road should be included, but Riverside Gardens and Carrack House and Bosworth House tower blocks, should be removed. Townspeople have always opposed plans for more high rise blocks of flats. Now the forum says the proposed 700 new homes are too many. In a letter to the council the forum says families need houses with gardens, not flats. It added: “Other parts of the borough must take their share. “Erith already has too many blocks of flats. It would be disastrous to build more.” The forum wants plans for a hotel on the site of the former Walnut Treet Road depot dropped, especially as no hotel chain has shown any interest, and replaced with offices or light industry. It claims more shops in the project area will only be needed if empty shops in the shopping centre are filled. And it says more should be done to attract facilities the town needs, such as another bank, launderette and a high quality restaurant open at night. The forum suggests more community facilities such as a soft play centre, an outside adventure park and somewhere to relocate the highly successful Europa Gym Club which desperately needs a new home. It wants the Carnegie building, formerly Erith library, open to the public, possibly as the town museum, and two-way traffic restored to Bexley Road. Bexley says it still plans to press ahead with the project and is looking at earlier master plans including Crest Nicholson’s proposals. It wants a project which will be financially attractive to developers and bring the benefits it is looking for. It says revised proposals will go to public consultation next year. 

I sincerely hope that the feedback from Erith Town Forum falls on receptive ears; the building of more flats would be a terrible idea without development of better infrastructure - and a proper restaurant, rather than another horrible greasy fast food outlet would be extremely welcome. I realise Erith would not support anything too elaborate, such as a fine dining establishment, but even something like Wagamama or Nandos would be great.


It is not often that a television advert really impresses me; there is one I have seen recently that does fit this description. I cannot comment, and in no way endorse the company being promoted, or the products they sell, but the one minute mini movie really stuck in my mind. See what you think below: