Rainham.

Over the last couple of weeks, a number of readers have all asked me the same question - what are the structures currently being built over the river from Erith, in Rainham, Essex? Well, after some research I have discovered that the mysterious new buildings currently under construction are to form a new industrial estate which will be called Avocet Park. This park will be completed by early September 2023, and according to the developers, once completed it will offer:- "2 units totalling 85,000 sq ft by Q4 2023. An additional D&B opportunity available on phase 3 of the site, please contact the agents for further details. High quality distribution/production units. Dock and level loading access. Between 12 and 18m eaves height. High quality office space (Cat A). 56m yard depth. Self-contained and secure yards. 50kN/m2 floor loading. Unit 1 - 34,450 sq.ft. Warehouse with 2,000 sq.ft office. Unit 2 - 46,670 sq. Ft. Warehouse with 1,880 sq.ft office. Available Q3 2023". I hope that this answers the question. Rainham has a rich history that dates back to ancient times. The area was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086, which recorded it as "Reynham." Over the centuries, Rainham evolved from a small rural settlement to a thriving industrial town. Rainham's proximity to London and good transport links have contributed to its development and popularity. The town is well-connected by road and rail, with Rainham Railway Station providing direct train services to London Fenchurch Street, making it a convenient location for commuters. Rainham is surrounded by picturesque countryside and green spaces, providing residents with opportunities for leisure and outdoor activities. The nearby Rainham Marshes is a nature reserve managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), offering a haven for wildlife and a peaceful escape for visitors. Historically, Rainham played a significant role in industrial activities, particularly in the areas of brick-making and cement production. While some industrial sites have been redeveloped or repurposed, traces of this industrial heritage can still be seen throughout the town. Comments and feedback to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

The photo above was taken during one of the concerts as part of Beyonce's current World Renaissance tour. What is little known is that the huge concert set was designed and built by a company located in Lower Belvedere. The company, called Illusion Design and Construct makes custom sets for theatre productions, music tours and all sorts of special events. They even created the staging for the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee concert, for which Illusion Design and Construct won a BAFTA award. The company describes itself thus:- "Based in Belvedere South-East London our workshops support designers and creative teams across the world in creating some truly unique experiences and constructions. We pride ourselves on our experience, dedication, and most of all our quality of finish. We strive to be dynamic and adaptable to produce the best possible results. We approach every project with excitement and enthusiasm, and are always seeking for new ways to educate ourselves about new products, innovative materials, exciting tools, and the latest building technologies". You can see photos of many of the sets and structures built by Illusion Design and Construct by clicking here. 

Following my recent articles on the failings of the Morrison's supermarket chain, and the Erith branch in particular, I received the following message from a Maggot Sandwich reader who wishes to remain anonymous. They write:- "I guess you have heard from many customers of Morrisons in Erith who are dissatisfied with what's happening down there.  I'm sure you've noticed all the fuss and fanfare the store are making about their points system.  They have bunting and notices all over the place which are misleading, as only very few items qualify for the extra points. I have done my big weekly shop in Morrisons Erith ever since it opened and must be one of their most loyal customers. My weekly bills are between £150 and £200.  I went to the Customer Services desk about a month ago as I was puzzled that despite a large weekly spend, my bills sometimes show a balance of zero points, and sometimes a balance of 1000 points. They suggested I phoned Head Office - I gave up on that and emailed instead. I only received an automated acknowledgement.  I have just written to them again (below) as I made a point of purchasing a couple of items this week which purported to offer extra points on My Morrisons card.  Again, the balance on my bill remained the same at 1000 points.  I think their campaign is very misleading - in fact a big con.  And of course the disastrous decision to take away the manned tills - don't get me started on that.   Anyway, you have asked in the past for "what do you think?" - so you now know what my view is of the way Morrisons in Erith is sadly going down the pan". Comments to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The historic photo above - click on it to see a larger view - was taken some time in the late Victorian era - probably around 1898 - 1899; Businessman William Cory had been seeking a way to avoid high wharf charges when bringing coal from colliers which sailed down the North Sea from Tyneside and into the Thames to be unloaded at Erith. Cory came up with the idea of unloading the colliers in the middle of the Thames, and trans - shipping the coal onto barges and lighters, thus avoiding the wharf fees that taking the coal directly ashore would bring. In order to do this, he bought and converted an old salvage vessel called the Atlas One, which you can see above. I was a hodge-podge of part ship, part steam powered, floating industrial estate as can clearly be seen. It was part of the original inspiration for the modern "Steam Punk" movement. Atlas One was very successful, and let to the creation of Atlas Two and Three, all of which operated on the Thames around Erith for several decades, until shortly before the outbreak of World War One, where they were broken up and sold for scrap. I would imagine that the river front at Erith must have been quite an experience in the late Victorian era; smoke from innumerable coal fires and ships' boilers, along with the smell of raw sewage being pumped downstream from Crossness Sewage Works, and the general pollution that filled the Thames at the time must have created an absolutely terrible stink. I do know that on one occasion some years prior to this period, a young Queen Victoria was being taken on a guided tour of Cambridge, as she walked on a bridge over the then heavily sewage polluted River Cam, she saw pieces of paper on the surface of the water, when she asked her guide what the papers were, her quick witted guide tactfully replied- "They are notices saying that it is forbidden to bathe, your Majesty!" Quite.

This week marks the twenty fifth anniversary of the launch of Windows 98. Back in the day, Windows was not an operating system as we know it today; it was a graphical user interface which sat on top of the actual operating system - DOS - which stood for Disk Operating System. From Windows version 1 through various incarnations up to and including the appallingly unreliable Windows ME, all Windows did was act as an easy to use interface on the top of the then already ancient and outdated DOS, which actually did all of the work. DOS was actually an almost like for like copy of an even older command line interface operating system called CP/M. This was deemed acceptable for home use, but not for office and professional use, Microsoft created a second operating system called Windows NT - which stood for New Technology - which was a completely different beast. It was written from the ground up, and was much superior to the DOS based home versions, but had far higher hardware requirements, which were often out of reach for home users - at that time Windows NT in its various guises also had little support for peripherals outside of a tightly controlled list, and it also did not support much in the way of games, the first few versions also ran older 16 bit applications much more slowly than the home versions of Windows. Microsoft had plans to integrate the two operating system versions into a single product, but it proved exceedingly difficult to do, and for many years the two operating systems were sold side by side. Windows 98 was an update to the hugely successful Windows 95. While Windows NT 4.0 pointed to a future free from DOS, the majority of the Windows user base simply did not have the computer hardware to run much more than a souped-up version of Windows 95. Thus Windows 98 appeared to bridge the gap. Code named Memphis, the first beta of Windows 98 arrived in 1996 with the final Release To Manufacturing version appearing two years later. USB support came as standard, along with a range of functions intended as a nod to the then new World Wide Web. Applications such as Outlook Express, FrontPage Express and a personal web server appeared as part of the installation. Windows 98 customers were also treated to the joy that was Internet Explorer 4, along with the Active Desktop, which allowed HTML content (such as streaming news headlines) to be shown on the user's desktop at the cost of prodigious amounts of processor power and memory - it was also very insecure, as remote code would be run by default, making worms and viruses easy to target the operating system. Windows 98 is regarded as the pinnacle of the Windows 9x era, with an update shipping the following year in the form of Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) including a number of minor enhancements such as the inclusion of Internet Explorer 5. The final iteration, the much derided, incredibly flaky and unstable Windows ME, arrived in 2000. With Windows 98, Microsoft cemented its position as the dominant player in the personal computing industry. However, in the midst of its self-congratulatory antics and self-inflicted legal troubles, it entirely failed to notice something else happen in 1998. A company, initially operating out of a garage in California, was incorporated. Its name was Google.

Regarding submitting stories for inclusion on the Maggot Sandwich, I have had a couple of questions from a reader who is considering becoming a guest contributor to the Blog. Some guidelines; any story needs to be with me by the Thursday night prior to publication on Sunday; this is to allow me to check the factual accuracy of the story, and to edit and reformat the text where necessary. Please send text in plain Email format - not in Microsoft Word, as contrary to popular opinion, Word is not a standard format (a word document contains a lot of hidden metadata that has to be stripped out prior to being uploaded into the Blogger interface). I do occasionally get stories sent to me on a Sunday morning, with a request that it be included in the latest update - which is published early on each Sunday afternoon. Unless there is a really compelling reason, such stories will be carried over to the next edition. Every Maggot Sandwich update takes around ten hours to research, write, edit and error check, all of which is carried out in my spare time. I do not accept advertising or any kind of goods in kind for any promotion - the blog is entirely run as a free local news and information portal with no political or economic bias.

Last Saturday I was waiting for a 99 bus to take me home; whilst standing at the bus stop opposite All Saints Church in Upper Belvedere, I noticed a boy of no more than eight or nine years old, who was also waiting. I was astonished to see that the child was vaping from a bright red e-cigarette. I was shocked, but did not feel there was anything I could do about it in the circumstances. Once I had got home, I decided to do some research into the whole field of vaping, with particular emphasis on the effects on children. The results I found were disturbing. In recent years, there has been a concerning rise in the popularity of vaping among young people, including children. Vaping, the act of inhaling and exhaling aerosol produced by electronic cigarettes or similar devices, was initially marketed as a safer alternative to traditional smoking. However, it is essential to understand the potential dangers and risks associated with children engaging in this activity. One of the most significant dangers of children vaping is the increased risk of addiction and nicotine dependency. E-cigarettes often contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance that can have severe consequences on the developing brains of children and adolescents. Nicotine addiction can lead to long-term health issues, including decreased impulse control, impaired attention and learning, and an increased likelihood of engaging in other addictive behaviours later in life. While the long-term effects of vaping are still being studied, emerging evidence suggests that it can cause severe health issues, particularly when it comes to the respiratory system. The inhalation of harmful chemicals found in vaping devices can lead to respiratory problems such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. There have also been cases of lung injuries associated with vaping, with some individuals experiencing severe lung damage, a condition referred to as EVALI (e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury). Adolescence is a critical period of brain development, and exposing young minds to substances like nicotine can have detrimental effects. Research indicates that nicotine can interfere with brain development, leading to lasting cognitive impairments, decreased memory and attention span, and an increased risk of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. The adolescent brain is particularly vulnerable to the addictive properties of nicotine, making it crucial to protect children from exposure.Vaping among children has raised concerns about its potential as a gateway to traditional cigarette smoking. Studies have shown that youth who vape are more likely to experiment with combustible cigarettes later on. The fruity flavours and enticing marketing tactics used in e-cigarettes can make them appealing to young individuals, thereby normalising the act of smoking and potentially leading to a lifelong addiction. Preventing children from vaping is a crucial step in reducing the overall prevalence of smoking and its associated health risks. Due to the relative novelty of vaping, there is limited research on the long-term health consequences associated with this practice. However, initial findings and growing evidence suggest that there may be severe, yet undiscovered, risks that could manifest later in life. Children who start vaping at an early age may unknowingly expose themselves to these potential dangers, emphasising the need for caution and preventive measures. Coincidentally, after I wrote this article earlier last week, I received a press release on Friday from Havering Council, just across the River Thames. The press release contains information relating to what Havering Council and the Metropolitan Police have been doing to stop illegal vapes and tobacco on what is essentially the doorstep of the London Borough of Bexley. The press release reads as follows:- "Havering Council’s trading standards team have once again helped to take dangerous counterfeit tobacco, cigarettes and vapes off the borough’s streets. They gathered evidence over weeks of investigation as part of Operation CeCe. The team along with officers from Havering police raided a Romford business in a joint operation. They seized around 400 vapes, over 20,000 cigarettes and a significant amount of hand rolling tobacco. All of these items were either non-compliant with UK regulations or illegal to sell within the UK. The estimated street value of these items is thought to be around £18,000. Council officers were accompanied by the police officers, plus Council-funded sniffer dogs who are specially trained to detect the tobacco. Upon arriving at the premises, officers found the products concealed in magnetically sealed boxes and quickly removed them. Our trading standards team continues to investigate and further enquiries are ongoing in relation to the counterfeit products that were seized. The business cannot be named due to those ongoing investigations. This is the second time in three months, where the team has helped to take dangerous products like this off the streets. In March this year, they recovered around £35,000 of illegal vapes and tobacco from another business in Havering. Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of Havering Council, said: “This is once again excellent work from our trading standards team working in partnership with police. Illegal and harmful products have been taken off the streets in our borough as a result of this operation. I know there has been a lot of work to get this result, so I thank everyone involved. It’s our aim to help keep our residents as safe as possible. That is why we will continue to take the strongest action when necessary against those trying to sell these harmful products.”  Inspector Matt Feather from the East Area BCU Partnership Team, said “People may think that it’s safe to buy counterfeit items and take that risk. What they don’t see is that the money is often used to fund organised crime and further illicit activity. We will continue to work with our Council partners to target this kind of activity. If you have any information regarding counterfeit goods, please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

The end video this week features some recent drone footage showing the area of Rainham, Essex adjacent to the River Thames, in the area where the new Avocet Industrial Park featured earlier in this update is now being constructed - who says I don't plan these things? Comments and feedback as usual to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.