Gone.

Work to refurbish the front reception desk and public area of Bexleyheath Police Station were completed last Monday - photos above - click on either to see a larger view. Bexleyheath has had a number of police stations over the years, with the one in the photos above merely being the most recent. Prior to the establishment of a dedicated police station, Bexleyheath relied on a different system. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the area was sparsely populated. Law enforcement likely fell to magistrates or constables. As Bexleyheath developed, the need for a more formal police presence arose. The formation of the Metropolitan Police in 1829 brought some improvement. However, Bexleyheath initially fell outside its jurisdiction. It wasn't until later that the area came under the purview of the "R" (Greenwich) division of the Metropolitan Police. The year 1840 marked a turning point. A police station opened in a rented house opposite the XII milestone, near today's Civic Offices. This was followed by a dedicated police station built in 1855 at 28 the Broadway. However, as Bexleyheath's population grew, this station became inadequate. In 1907, a new police station was built at the corner of Broadway and Highland Road, replacing the outdated one at 28 Broadway. This building served the community for nearly a century but was eventually demolished in 1994. The location is now occupied by the Sainsbury's car park. The present Bexleyheath Police Station, located on Arnsberg Way, opened its doors in 1994. This modern facility caters to the policing needs of the contemporary Bexleyheath community. Interestingly, in 2023, plans were announced to de-carbonise the station's heating system, reflecting a commitment to environmental sustainability.

On June 12 at 8.53 am, an emergency call from London Coastguard sent Gravesend RNLI to rescue a boat involved in a crash in the Erith area. The crashed vessel was struck between barges near Anchor Bay Wharf. On reaching Anchor Bay Wharf, the RNLI crew spotted the damaged sailing yacht wedged against the barges. In an interview with the This is Local London website, RNLI Thames Commander Liam Sidders said: “We quickly identified the vessel wedged up against the barges off Anchor Bay Wharf, there was clear damage to the sailing yacht with parts of the mast scattered across the deck, at this point we could see two casualties who at the time appeared trapped with signs of head and leg injuries. We then managed to get the two casualties safely on board our Atlantic 85 lifeboat whilst the Harbour Vessel’s crew made the casualty vessel safe, we continued to provide casualty care on board the lifeboat whilst we made way to Erith Causeway for evacuation and passed over care".

I wrote in some detail two weeks ago about local concerns that the Brewers Fayre bar and restaurant in Albion Road in Bexleyheath was rumoured to be closing on the 4th of July. Since then, the workers in a number of Whitbread owned hospitality businesses have expressed concern with the way that they are being treated. The Unite union has written to Whitbread, which also owns Premier Inn hotels, saying it is considering launching employment tribunal claims for unfair dismissal. It says some of the 3,000 workers potentially affected by the company’s moves to exit more than 200 restaurants have yet to be told which sites will close despite evidence that plans have been in place since December last year. Several workers who live in accommodation linked to their job have been told they will be served with eviction notices in July and August, which is when the bulk of redundancies are expected to be implemented. Whitbread, which runs 850 hotels in the UK, announced the plans for job cuts at the end of April as part of a £150 million three-year cost-cutting drive. It said at the time it would seek to find alternative jobs for those affected. The company is looking to sell 126 unprofitable restaurants and close 112 more which will be converted into space for new hotel rooms. It will keep 196 mainly larger restaurants adjacent to hotels. The precise fate of the Bexleyheath Brewer's Fayre is still unclear, but in my opinion, there are few grounds for optimism. Feedback to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

There is a very poorly researched and even worse written article in the News Shopper about a proposal for a Micro Pub in Bexleyheath - which you can read by clicking here. Just for once some of the reader comments on the story are actually relevant and provide some constructive feedback. The article contains statements including:- "Bexley Council has received an application for a new craft beer bar on Broadway high street". Obviously there is no such place - the journalist who wrote the article would appear not to be familiar with the area on which he is writing. The News Shopper is not a local paper nowadays; their office is in central London, and their phone number is from Basildon. Many of the photos used by the News Shopper on both their print edition and online are taken from Google Street View, as they no longer employ a photographer.  Anyway, the application for a Micro Pub has been submitted for a ground floor space in the Eastside Quarter development In Bexleyheath Broadway. For those readers not familiar with the Micro Pub concept, I will explain. In recent years, a new kind of pub has emerged – the Micro Pub. These small, independent establishments are shaking things up with their focus on real ale, community, and a back-to-basics atmosphere. Micro Pubs are typically much smaller than traditional pubs, often occupying converted shops or garages. They prioritise good conversation over loud music and games, with a focus on quality over quantity when it comes to beer selection. Micro Pubs typically offer a rotating selection of real ales and craft beers, sourced from local breweries or smaller producers. Generally they do not sell gassy, tasteless mass market lagers. With their intimate size and focus on conversation, Micro Pubs foster a strong sense of community. The Micro Pub movement is a response to the homogenisation of pubs in recent decades. Large pub chains have come to dominate the industry, often offering generic beer selections and a sterile atmosphere. Micro Pubs bring back the sense of community and local character that many pub-goers crave. They are often family-run businesses, with a focus on conversation and good beer over loud music and flashing lights. The first Micro Pub, the Butcher's Arms in Herne Bay, opened in 2006. Since then, the movement has grown rapidly, with hundreds of Micro Pubs now scattered across the UK. This growth reflects a changing pub culture, with a growing appreciation for real ale and a desire for more intimate and authentic pub experiences. You can see a directory of all UK Micro Pubs by clicking here. 

Erith Riverside Shopping Centre made the national news on Saturday - for all of the wrong reasons, as the title of the BBC News website article makes clear. You can read the full article by clicking here. 

11 people were killed in fires caused by E-bike batteries in the UK last year, believed to be the highest number in a single year. Coroners, fire officers and campaigners have expressed growing alarm about rising sales of unregulated and potentially lethal batteries. The number of fires from E-bikes and E-scooters in London more than doubled in two years, from 78 in 2021 to 179 last year, according to figures from the London Fire Brigade. In the first five months of this year there have already been 66 such fires in the capital. a campaign has been started by the charity Electrical Safety First (ESF) for a law change to ensure there is independent third-party certification in the sale of such batteries, as there is with other dangerous products such as fireworks. The Department of Business and Trade said a Whitehall task force had been set up to tackle the problem and research had been commissioned to understand the cause of fires in lithium batteries.

Whilst travelling around the local area, I have encountered a couple of examples of technical archaeology, in the form of BSB "Squarials" - antennas once used to receive the long defunct British Satellite Broadcasting Service, that was beaten in business by the technologically simpler, but cheaper and more reliable service from Sky. The satellite age did not really kick-off in the UK until 1989 when a Rupert Murdoch run Sky Television went head-to-head against BSB. The stark difference between the two services was perhaps best symbolised by their radically different satellite dish designs: Sky’s was an ugly, wire-mesh, affair, cheaply made by Amstrad, whereas the BSB squarial was of an elegant white, adhering to that aesthetic so beloved of home make-over programmes – clean, sleek lines. At the time, the Sky service was a very technologically pedestrian analogue FM system, whereas the BSB service was digital from the outset. The BSB Squarial was a technological marvel - it was a phased array antenna - something previously only seen in high end military radar applications. It was very difficult to make, and BSB heavily subsidised the antennas to buyers from the outset. Undoubtedly the BSB squarial was the more elegant of the two but whose carried the most popular service? Well BSB offered then state-of-the art D-MAC satellite technology and an eclectic mix of arts, sport and entertainment programming, but for those who chose Sky there was unlimited ALF, 21 Jump Street and The Price is Right. Much in the way that VHS beat the marginally superior Betamax video recorder format a few years earlier. After not very long, Sky bought out BSB, and the D-MAC satellites were decommissioned. Thirty five years or so later, a very few people still have the defunct antennas attached to the outside of their houses - there is one I have seen in Northumberland Heath, and one in Barnehurst. They are now of some minor historical importance.

I received the following message from regular reader and occasional contributor Derek, who writes:-"Unfortunately my wife was taken by ambulance late Monday to Queen Mary’s Hospital, Woolwich and is still there undergoing tests. Having been at the hospital with her for some 15 hours I went to WH Smith, got a sandwich and drink and stood at the counter with a £5 note ready to pay. “sorry, can’t serve you, on my own and stacking shelves” greeted me “use self service”. I proceeded to return my goods to the lady in question and thanked her for her ‘service’. Went next door to Costa, where I requested coffee and a sandwich, “coffee machine not working and I don’t take cash”. I asked what do you do with people like me then? “Don’t serve you”. I wonder if the NHS who give the contracts to companies are interested in how they actually treat the customers? Hospitals have quite a few older people in them, many of whom don’t do cards". Organisations not taking cash is becoming increasingly common. Unfortunately with the mass closure of bank branches, dealing with cash is becoming increasingly difficult. Banks do not like cash. I agree this is unhelpful - especially for older people.

I have written in the past about the two unusual double decker trains which used to operate on local rail lines from 1949 until 1971, which were a remarkable failure. This week the end video is a period documentary featuring some unique period footage of the trains, much of which has not been seen for decades. The use of double-decker carriages, where feasible, can resolve capacity problems on a railway, avoiding other options which have an associated infrastructure cost such as longer trains (which require longer station platforms), more trains per hour (which the signalling or safety requirements may not allow) or adding extra tracks besides the existing line. Double decker (sometimes referred to as bi-level) trains are claimed to be more energy efficient, and may have a lower operating cost per passenger. A bi-level car may carry about twice as many as a normal car, without requiring double the weight to pull or material to build. However, a bi-level train may take longer to exchange passengers at each station, since more people will enter and exit from each car, and they are accordingly most popular on long-distance routes which make few stops (and may be popular with passengers for offering a better view). It may surprise you to know that double decker trains actually ran locally for quite some time - between November 1949 and October 1971 on the Dartford via Bexleyheath to Cannon Street line. The arrangement of two levels of seating was interesting, for the existing loading gauge precluded development of a double-decker unit in its true sense. Essentially, a ‘’one-and-a-half’’ decker unit had been proposed, which featured alternating high and low seating compartments along the length of each vehicle. Each of the four coach units carried twenty two high level and twenty four low level seats, a total of 508, with additional tip up seats at the ends of the upper level. This was a total of 1,104 seats on the train, normal trains had 772 seats. Access to the upper deck was via a short staircase. Ventilation of the upper deck was by constantly running electric fans, as the windows couldn't be opened. The train was higher than other trains so care had to be taken which routes to use it on. The Dartford routes were ideal and no alteration had to be made to the  track and bridges. Bearing in mind many people smoked on trains back then, the fug on the upper deck must have been terrible, especially in summer. The other problems with the double decker train was that the seats were cramped, hard and uncomfortable, and the time taken to get on and off the double decker carriages was significantly longer than with a conventional train. The double decker train was finally taken out of service on the 1st October 1971, and was scrapped. You can learn more about the Kent double decker trains by clicking here. The end video features historic footage of the double decker trains from when they were in service. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.