More rumours have been circulating about the medium to long term viability of the large Morrisons supermarket in Erith. Morrisons has revealed it cut more than 8,800 jobs last year – almost 8% of its total workforce – while making a loss of more than £1 billion after a debt-fuelled private equity takeover in 2021. The UK’s fifth largest supermarket chain reported total finance costs of £735 million, up from £590 million the year before, according to its latest annual accounts for the year to the 29th October. It was the second consecutive year in which Morrisons lost more than £1 billion, after reporting a loss before tax of £1.5 billion in 2022. The supermarket chain has struggled to compete against the rapidly expanding discounters Aldi and Lidl and a resurgent Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Aldi overtook Morrisons to become the fourth largest supermarket in the UK in 2022. The rumours, which at this time are unconfirmed, state that Morrisions is looking to rationalise its' property estate, and may possibly sell the Erith store to Aldi or Lidl. Commercially this would free up some cash for the debt ridden Morrisons, although it would weaken its market penetration in the area. The chain was bought by the US private equity investor Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in October 2021, in a deal that marked a move away from the ethos of Sir Ken Morrison, who built the company up from his father’s market stall in Bradford. Morrisons’ net debt obligations were £3.2 billion before the CD&R takeover. The parent company – a legacy of the takeover called Market Topco – reported that net debts at the end of 2023 increased to £8.6 billion. Borrowing was up last year after the acquisition of McColl’s convenience store chain for £201 million in late 2022. As the company’s debt pile has grown, it has also had to contend with rapidly changing conditions. Interest rates have soared since the takeover, while shoppers have been more cautious about spending during the cost of living crisis. In my and others experience, the quality and availability of produce in Morrisons has markedly declined since the CD&R takeover; in fact more than one person has said to me that they feel the supermarket chain is in "managed decline". The steep losses have prompted Morrisons’ owners to look at ways to reduce its debts. In January Morrisons sold 337 petrol station forecourts to Motor Fuel Group in a £2.5 billion deal. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.
Last week I had an extended email conversation with a reader located in the USA. He had some questions regarding the recent article I wrote on the creation and use of the world's first digital programmable computer - Colossus. The person (who for personal reasons chooses to remain anonymous) had a family connection with cryptography and code breaking. Back in 2012 I wrote an article on the connection that the historic Hall Place had with wartime code breaking and other intelligence activities. I thought it was time I revisited and updated the piece. Hall Place has to be one of the most historic and picturesque locations in the whole of Bexley Borough. The main building dates back to 1537, when it was built for a wealthy business man and former Lord Mayor of London, Sir John Champneys. In rather more recent times, during the Second World War, it was home to many American service personnel, some of whom worked for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services – the predecessor to the CIA) who used it as a base to train agents to be dropped into occupied Europe. Ian Fleming was based at Hall Place for a period when he was acting as an intelligence liaison officer; it is thought that some of the roots to the James Bond novels may have started whilst he was stationed there. In addition to the OSS, there was also a “Y” radio intercept station, code named “Santa Fe”. The grounds were filled by antenna towers and long wire aerials, feeding then state of the art H.F receivers located in the main building, staffed by members of the U.S Army 6811th Signals Intelligence unit. These powerful RCA AR-88 communication receivers were used to intercept German radio traffic, including both Enigma and Lorenz ciphers. The encrypted signals were then passed by secure telephone lines up to Bletchley Park for decryption. The interception of weak and sometimes garbled signals made for very strenuous work; operators would spend eight hour shifts listening intently via headphones; any missed digits might make the message indecipherable, and possibly leading to lost lives – operator would often end their mammoth listening session with shaking hands and bloodshot eyes. The Great Hall and Tudor Kitchen housed the set room and cryptographers work rooms, some of the men’s billets were up in the Great Chamber and the Parlour was used as a mess room. The roof was stringed with radio wires and outbuildings were erected in the gardens. The GI’s made an impression on the neighbourhood, attending dances at the Black Prince, and playing softball on the Hall Place lawns. Some observers noted said that to their knowledge none of the local’s ‘ever inquired what we were up to at Hall Place.’ It was one of the only intercept stations that was permitted a copy of the “Elephant Book” – a painstaking compiled list of German military call signs from previous, decrypted messages. This gave an indication of just how important the stately home and its’ contribution to the war effort was. Today the historic building and its’ formal gardens are open to the public, and the main building is available for hire for special occasions.
As of June 10, 2024, all cat owners in England must ensure their feline companions are micro chipped. This new legislation aims to significantly increase the chances of lost or stolen cats being reunited with their owners. Previously, micro chipping was not mandatory for cats in England, though it was highly recommended. With estimates suggesting millions of cats were un-chipped, the government implemented this new rule after a public consultation received overwhelming support (99% in favour). The microchip itself is a tiny rice-grain sized device implanted under the cat's skin between the shoulder blades. It holds a unique identification number that can be read by a scanner at veterinary clinics and shelters. When a lost cat is found, a scan can quickly reveal the owner's contact information, allowing for a much swifter homecoming. So, what are the benefits of micro chipping? Increased chance of reunion:- If a cat escapes or gets lost, a microchip significantly increases the likelihood of it being returned home. Scanning a stray cat can immediately identify its owner, allowing for a swift and happy reunion. Reduced burden on shelters:- Many cats end up in shelters each year, and without microchips, reuniting them with their owners proves difficult. Micro chipping reduces the number of unclaimed cats in shelters, freeing up resources to help other animals in need. Peace of mind for owners:- Knowing your cat is micro chipped provides immense peace of mind. Even the most indoor cats can find themselves outdoors unexpectedly, and a microchip ensures they can be identified and returned safely. Owners who fail to microchip their cat by the deadline risk a fine of up to £500. However, the focus is on encouraging responsible pet ownership rather than punishment.
Popular local Facebook group The Belvedere Splash recently posted a short piece on a former local company that have had a massive influence on modern, folk and classical music. I had actually written an article on the company some years ago. The company was, and is called RotoSound, a company almost unheard of if you are not a musician. RotoSound are the largest manufacturer and distributor of musical instrument strings in the world. The company has been existence since 1952; it was established by an engineer and amateur inventor called James Howe. Howe had seen the spy thriller "The Third Man"and had been impressed by the evocative music in the film, which was played on a Zither by a master musician by the name of Anton Karas. So impressed was James Howe by this that he determined to learn how to play the zither, and ended up studying for two years to perfect his playing technique. Zithers are not exactly common in the UK nowadays, and back in the early 1950's they were almost unheard of. James, over the two years he spent learning the instrument, had amassed a collection of something like three hundred zithers of varying designs. His greatest challenge was getting strings for the instruments, which were totally unavailable in austerity Britain. James tried violin and cut down piano strings on his collection of zithers, but they just did not sound authentic. James Howe at last ran out of Zither strings and using his ingenuity as an engineer and musician quickly designed a winding machine and invaded the South East area of Singer Sewing Machine Shops for vast quantities of nylon yarn, and electrical stores for vast quantities of fuse wires. James Howe developed the technique and took over three years before he completed a 10 foot long machine of extraordinary proportions. This machine was made lovingly from stainless steel, black ebony, with ivory fittings, and would produce any string from violin, viola, cello, double bass, clavichord, harpsichord, piano strings, cymbalum, hurdy-gurdy, zither strings from Prim zithers, concert zithers, Elege zithers, Lyon zithers, Mandolin zithers and the many many ranges of zithers. This machine would make strings quickly and furthering his interest was to become the instrument by which over a period of the next 10 years, the various original and authentic designs was to be formulated based upon James Howe’s knowledge of the workings of a music string which took into consideration the pitch strain, breaking strain, amplitude, nodal sequence, harmonic frequency, and the harmonic sequence. These are some of the features that are included in making good strings. James soon diversified into making strings for pianos and clavichords, and not too long after, they started making electric guitar strings. In 1959 he started up in business employing some six people, including his brother Ronald and sister Joan. Among the first clients were The Shadows, Beatles, Rolling Stones, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, all strings for the famous JMI / Vox Company, and all of the strings for the famous Burns Guitar Company. John Entwistle of The Who (considered by many rock music critics as the greatest bass player of all time) became both a technical consultant and a product promoter for RotoSound in 1966. In an interview some years later, John Entwistle said:-"It was in 1966 and I was looking for that Danelectro sound again. I tried everybody’s strings but the E and the A’s just didn’t work. It was the same with Rotosound but there was something about them that was almost there but not quite. To solve the problem I got in touch with James How and told him his D and G strings were great but the E and A didn’t vibrate properly. He told me to take my bass along to Rotosound and have some strings made until they got it right. After a couple of hours, we realised that the problem wasn’t in the wire winding, but in the core of the string. You could see that the strings vibrated in a big circle and that was wrong; the core needed to be thicker. We also made the overall gauges a bit heavier and they sent me away with 12 sets to use. A couple of days later they called and asked if I objected to them putting my name to the strings and selling them commercially. I told them I didn’t mind as long as they kept me supplied with free strings! But then we had to do the same with medium and short scale strings because I had loads of different basses by then. Those strings, the RS66 sets, were the first that vibrated properly.”As more and more professional people sought the use of these strings the James Howe Company which had then grown to some 40 people with a production area of some 3,000 sq. ft., started to expand the company still further but on more professional lines. They created the brand name of RotoSound, which is still in use today. The company also diversified into the manufacture of sterile, stainless steel wire for use in medical procedures such as certain types of catheterisation. These wires were very similar to the banjo strings, and the samples that James How supplied were to be the first of over 20,000 wires in different types to be produced for this medical operation. These wires were distributed by Portex of Smith Industries. The company was formed and a brand image selected for the new medical company and it was called the Selflex Company Limited. It was to provide guide wires for many famous surgeons and doctors throughout the world for heart surgery, cardiac installation and lung procedures. By the late 1970's RotoSound strings were being used by The Damned, The Sex Pistols, The Stranglers, Sham 69, Siouxsie and the the Banshees, The Buzzcocks and The Jam. The American market had by this time opened up, and The UK factory based in Bexleyheath at this time was working night shifts to keep up with demand. Some time later in 1994, James Howe died, and the company was taken over by James’s two sons Martyn and Jason How. In 2010 a connection between Vox and RotoSound that had been dormant since the late 1960's was revived. An email from a gentleman in Arizona, USA sparked off interest in a dormant product that James How had only sold as prototypes back in the late 1960’s. The RotoSound fuzz pedal was originally manufactured to James How’s specifications back in 1967. As James was good friends with Dick Denney (who he was in the RAF with during the war) and Tom Jennings, who was the Managing Director of JMI / Vox at that time. James had Vox build the original prototypes, today only a few still exist, probably no more than a dozen. Some of these early pedals got into some famous hands – Jimmy Page for one was captured on film in France with Led Zeppelin using one in the early 1970’s. This heritage caused quite a stir within the company, and also amongst musicians. so it was decided that upon close inspection RotoSound would ‘copy’ the original pedal with only a few small mods to bring it up to date along with a more usable specification. The first unit came off the production line in September 2012. The production run was limited to 2000 units which were all sold. RotoSound outgrew their Bexleyheath factory, and have now relocated to a bigger factory in Sevenoaks, and the company is still the premier supplier of musical instrument strings for the world, nearly seven decades after they first set up shop. It would be nearly impossible to name all of the musicians who have used, and continue to use RotoSound strings, but you can see a list by clicking here. Please feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment