West Street.

On Wednesday morning, at a special demolition event, representatives from Wates Residential, Orbit and the London Borough of Bexley joined together with former Erith-born residents, who shared some of their favourite memories of the old Arthur Street Estate, off Northend Road to mark the occasion of the start of demolition to make way for the new development that is to take its place. The new estate will be called Park East, and will cost £95 million to create. The official press release regarding the event reads:- "The project, which is being delivered by Wates Residential and Orbit, in partnership with the London Borough of Bexley, will see 320 new homes built, of which 80 per cent will for affordable rent and shared ownership to ensure a mixed, aspirational and sustainable community for local residents. It comes after Wates Residential and Orbit completed six years of work on the nearby Larner Road estate, transforming it into the award-winning, mixed tenure community Erith Park and delivering 587 new homes. Team members from both organisations came together with guests from the London Borough of Bexley and former residents at a special demolition event on Wednesday to mark the significant step forward for the project. Work is expected to be completed by 2023. Two of the guests were Erith-born Doreen and Mick Weekes, who shared some of their favourite memories of the area. The couple, who have six grandchildren and six great grandchildren, moved into their three-bedroom maisonette on the estate, which used to be known as Arthur Street, just 18 months after they were built. They went on to enjoy 50 happy years in the property, raising two children amongst friends and neighbours. Mick remembers teaching young children from the area DIY and helping to coach the Thamesmead sailing club to victory at the London Youth games. He also shared how he had used a horse drawn plough along the Northend Road. As part of the demolition process, Orbit helped residents find new homes close to the area. When Orbit found a two-bedroom house in Belvedere for Doreen and Mick, Doreen cried for joy. Mick said: “Now we’re settled in our new home we love it.  It’s cosy, quiet and we’ve got our own garden at last.  We can still enjoy our memories of the time we lived at Arthur Street!” As part of the venture, Wates Residential and Orbit have also pledged to kick start training opportunities for local residents by hiring at least 31 apprentices and at least 25 people in full time employment from the local area. Another of the unique training and employment initiatives that Wates Residential has brought to Erith is its Building Futures programme, which helps unemployed adults gain valuable practical experience and employability coaching to reinvigorate their career prospects. Seven students recently graduated from the two-week course having gained hands on experience of a construction site. Glen Roberts, Operations Director for Wates Residential, said: “The start of demolition is a significant moment for the Park East development, which will deliver hundreds of high quality new homes and a lasting legacy for the area. “We are pleased to have been able to join together with our partners Orbit and the London Borough of Bexley to hear from residents about their fondest memories of the area. We are looking forward to the community being able to make new memories in Park East over the coming years.” Caroline Field, Head of Regeneration for Orbit, commented: “We’re delighted Doreen and Mick could join us and to hear they are happily settling in their new home.  We moved over 250 households from the old Arthur Street estate and aimed to find all of them a better quality home.” What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

The temporary closure of the Bexleyheath railway line in February next year grows ever closer. As regular readers will be aware, there were a series of landslips in 2014, 2016 and in February of this year just outside of Barnehurst Station, which closed the Bexleyheath line for several days on each occasion. Temporary repairs were made the the banks of the line to try and anchor the earth and stop if from collapsing onto the rail track, but a permanent solution has been needed since then. Network Rail plan to close the Bexleyheath line between for nine days between Saturday 15th to Sunday 23rd February 2020. During this period they will Remove 2,500 tonnes of mud and trees so engineers can reduce the steepness of the cutting slopes. They will then bring in 8,000 tonnes of material, such as gravel and concrete, to build retaining walls along both sides of the cutting, stretching 650 metres. The walls are made from steel beams, which are vibrated and driven into the ground six metres deep and then finished with huge concrete blocks and will stop any future landslips from reaching the tracks. To make the most of the closure, they will also bring forward other infrastructure improvements in the area, as well as essential maintenance at the affected stations. This will not only reduce the amount of engineering works in the future but give passengers the reliability benefits much sooner. The railway will close between Kidbrooke station and Barnehurst station only, where buses will replace trains. The Greenwich and Dartford Loop Lines and the Charlton station to Blackheath link will remain open. Capacity on these lines will be increased by running additional or longer trains where possible. Rail replacement bus services will run and tickets will be accepted on all other reasonable routes, although TfL have still to clarify if rail only tickets will be permitted on the rail replacement buses. Shuttle buses will ferry commuters to and from Eltham and Falconwood during the nine day shut-down of the Bexleyheath line in February. Southeastern and Network Rail have still to reach agreement on whether rail-only season tickets will be allowed on normal service buses. The shuttles, along with an all-day rail replacement bus service to Lewisham, will run from Eltham to Mottingham and Falconwood to New Eltham on the Dartford Loop line where some trains will be lengthened to 12 cars. The shut-down is to allow £6.6m bank strengthening works of rail cutting at Barnehurst, where multiple landslips have caused chaos in recent years. The time chosen is half term with a closure on the weekend of Jan 11 and 12 for scrub clearance. Some travellers will prefer to go via the 132, 286 or 161 buses but no agreement has been reached on 'ticket acceptance' yet with TfL. 'Ticket acceptance' is the norm when disruption is unplanned but TfL are taking a different approach where the dislocation is the result of planned remedial works. More detailed information on the exact times of alternative train and bus replacement services will be available nearer the closure. Not only will commuters be affected, but residents living close to the railway will be impacted, as works will be undertaken 24/7 - noise and disruption will be expected. On top of this, businesses close to the railway stations on the line may well lose a lot of passing trade, as footfall will be seriously reduced during the period of closure. A group has been set up to work with Network Rail and the various rail operators to best represent the concerns of commuters, local residents and businesses affected by the forthcoming line closure. The Lewisham and Bexleyheath Community Rail Partnership has also been carrying out detailed research into the current state of rail transport provision in the area, and has published a report on possible improvements to the service. The report has just received the backing of Sir David Evennett. and Labour candidate in the Bexley / Crayford seat, is also in full support. Other electoral candidates have been sent copies of the report, and feedback from them is expected in due course. Below is a very short precis of the report, which in full runs to a total of twenty four pages. The report is entitled "lewbex: RENEW Building a better future for the Lewisham and Bexleyheath railway. The railway between Lewisham, Eltham, Bexleyheath and Dartford is arguably the most important strategic transport artery of the three ‘North Kent’ lines. It is the most recent of the three built and offers the best levels of service and destination variety in the event of perturbation on either the Sidcup or Greenwich arterial lines. The purpose of this document is to understand the pressures, the projected demands, infrastructure needed explicitly for the Bexleyheath line, the infrastructure interventions needed in the wider region and how we wish to see the future rail franchise be shaped. There are several possibilities, but what is equally important is political willpower to deliver such a wide- ranging set of ideas and build on the success of the routes to now and improve for the future. The decline in passenger numbers affecting ‘middle’ stations such as Eltham and Falconwood is mirrored on the Sidcup line with decline in use at New Eltham and Sidcup in the same period; as well as significant decline at Charlton, Woolwich Dockyard, Plumstead and Abbey Wood on the Greenwich line as examples. Reversing decline, which is likely to be as a result of changing passenger habits, is important. Equally important is a sound understanding that the opening of Crossrail from Abbey Wood and Woolwich should not be a solution to crowding on other lines: this will rapidly absorb new housebuilding in areas such as Erith, Slade Green, Greenhithe and Rochester to name a few. Few who live in areas such as Bexleyheath or Welling are likely to amend their existing commuting patterns to take in a bus or even road journey to alternatives on the Greenwich line as traffic will cause uncertainty and unreliability to journeys; whilst positive and improved connections at stations such as London Bridge to Thameslink makes journeys on the legacy railway attractive.The route will continue to suffer as a result of a number of infrastructure ‘pinch points’. These include, but are not limited to the plethora of junctions between Barnehurst and Dartford (along with Dartford only having four platforms); the lack of turning facilities to allow a level of service to continue during serious service perturbation; some stations which lack the ability to continue high levels of throughput of passengers (e.g. Lewisham); the flat junction at Lewisham station which is a major bottleneck and cause of unreliability; and further flat junctions and conflicting movements that take place near St Johns, New Cross and Borough Market (to name a few)". Lewisham Station should be totally rebuilt to remove the subway (this is too congested at peak times and is no longer fit for purpose), withdraw the ineffective lift access to Platform 1 from the street and to enable the station to prepare for its role as major interchange hub. We propose the London end (near the DLR and existing ticket office) be entirely overhauled; providing escalators and lifts to an ‘upper level’ over the existing Network Rail tracks for access between platforms; and thence escalators down from the central hall to the Bakerloo line. This will be entirely suitable for the thousands of extra journeys that could be made through Lewisham each hour". We propose stations be staffed from first to last train, seven days a week. We are also proposing that the new franchise have written into its contract terms that there must be much higher numbers of Revenue Enforcement officers for ‘spot checks’ at stations and on trains (particularly the latter), and we are keen to see the franchise fund more British Transport Police officers for evening and weekend patrols. Depots, stabling and train crew - In order to achieve Crossrail to Gravesend (and beyond), it is suggested that due to the track layout in the Slade Green area, Slade Green Depot would become a re-built Crossrail facility. Stabling of trains would also take place in the existing Up Sidings. Train crew would all be based at Slade Green, providing a suitable and sensible ‘South East’ base for Crossrail crew for trains to all destinations including Maidstone West and Rainham. South Eastern franchise trains would therefore need new stabling, suitable for twelve carriage operation. Plumstead’s existing sidings could be re-built for this (with exit/entry at each end), and South Eastern trains could also be stabled on the incumbent Crossrail engineering site. In order to gain further twelve carriage stabling, trains would need to use Grove Park (re-built for twelve and twenty-four carriage formations) ‘Up’ and ‘Down’ sidings as well as the carriage shed; and a new maintenance depot location be found. We propose that services between Abbey Wood and Cannon Street via Greenwich be reduced in scope to a train every 6-9 minutes (eight trains per hour), with no peak service via Blackheath. This is due to constraints between London Bridge and Cannon Street (better planning to give more service resilience) but also due to the fact that high levels of passengers are expected to use Crossrail from ‘east’, freeing up large amounts of capacity on legacy trains from Woolwich, Charlton and Greenwich to London. There is also a reduced need for services via Lewisham when passengers can use the Docklands Light Railway between Lewisham and Greenwich to complete their journeys; and very few numbers of passengers require travel via Lewisham from the North Kent line. Whilst potentially unpopular in theory, the reality is that this is a positive step and that off-peak connections can be retained. This is not an expensive list of transportation schemes: it is expenditure that will mostly be needed in any event to support increases in passenger numbers generally; whilst also being part of arresting any small declines in passenger usage in Bexleyheath line stations. It opens stations up to the community, improves the environmental impact of rail and its stations, improves amenities, integrates better the existing services with other routes and prepares for new infrastructure. It uses positive, natural next steps such as the Bakerloo line extension and Crossrail extension to provide for high levels of service on the Bexleyheath line and other routes; as well as being well-designed for growth. The new franchise, investment in trains and stations, commitment to infrastructure spending and such will all enable high levels of connectivity and promote more rail use. Off-peak trains from Bexleyheath to Charing Cross could continue to be supplied in line with the wider train service specification; but with a roughly five-minutely Metro service to Cannon Street only at peak times. Commitment to the extension of Crossrail (and services thereafter) and the Bakerloo line to Hayes and Beckenham (and the resulting capacity freed) will be extremely positive to tens of thousands of passengers, many of whom will be new to rail. This is the sort of investment that is needed to stimulate local jobs and modal shift; and will prove entirely beneficial in the form of greater fare income. There is also consideration to be made for improved on-board experience as a result of better, longer trains. We believe this is a proportionate array of commitments, designed to support operationally sensible interventions. Examples include the mostly illogical yet alluring extension of Crossrail to Ebbsfleet when it would be Crossrail’s extension towards Medway is vital to the region. It would be more logical and proper to extend to Gravesend and beyond. Further investigation is needed, and therefore we require a post-election commitment to immediately study these possibilities, produce studies and then implement the results. It is, though, of pivotal importance that all infrastructure commitments be put in place such that all of the benefits of this document be realised in one: piecemeal construction or extension of some schemes which creates uncertainty within franchise periods and also prevents the effective ordering of an appropriately-sized rolling stock fleet and construction/amending of stabling and depot facilities for the legacy South Eastern network is not acceptable. We hope to realise this document’s potential rapidly and give it the political credence it deserves". As previously mentioned, this article is merely a brief summary of a document that runs over twenty four pages. You can download a PDF file of the whole, extremely detailed report by clicking here. Do let me know what you think - Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Security researchers have discovered a glaring security hole that exposes the home network password of users of a Wi-Fi-enabled video doorbell, called The Ring - now a very popular security addition to many households, which allows users to answer people knocking on their door from their mobile phone or web enabled tablet device, even when they are not at home. The kit acts as a CCTV camera, automatically activating if people approach the door, letting homeowners talk to visitors, delivery couriers and so on. There is an optional feature that allows the kit to hook up to some smart door locks, so users can let guests into their home even when they are not in. IT News website The Register have reported in the past that there is a serious problem with this system. Security researchers at UK consultancy Pen Test Partners were shocked when they carried out a security evaluation of the device. The major component is the doorbell itself, which comes with electronics and battery and is fitted outside the house. The electronics are connected to a back plate which attaches the doorbell to the wall and can provide power from a mains source. The device is secured outside a house using two commonly available screws, leaving it vulnerable to theft. The supplier - Ring offer a free replacement if the kit is stolen, so homeowners are covered in that scenario (at least). However that’s not the end of the problems with the device. An easy attack makes it all too simple to steal a homeowner's Wi-Fi key. To do this, hackers would need to take the kit off the door mounting, flip it over and press the orange "set up" button. Pressing the setup button puts the doorbell’s wireless module into a setup mode, in which it acts as a Wi-Fi access point.  The doorbell is only secured to its back plate by two standard screws. This means that it is possible for an attacker to gain access to the homeowner’s wireless network by unscrewing the Ring, pressing the setup button and accessing the configuration URL. The configuration URL is simple, so the attack could be pulled off using only a mobile device and a screwdriver. The device could be screwed back on afterwards, all without leaving any visible signs of tampering, Any hacker could walk up to a door fitted with a Ring smart doorbell, unscrew the unit, connect it to a mobile device with a web browser and download the house Wi-Fi password and settings, all without physically needing access to the inside of the house. Carrying out this very straightforward attack, the hacker would have complete control over the house’s wireless network. This may be an extreme situation, but it is a prime example of the law of unintended consequences. I guarantee we will be seeing more of this kind of issue in the very near future. Ring did issue a firmware update to try and prevent this exploit, but reports are that its effectiveness is patchy, and in many cases, householders have installed Ring doorbells, but at no stage have they updated the firmware - many owners incorrectly think the devices are "fit and forget" - which could not be further from the truth.

The dramatic photograph above was taken by a reader at the road junction of Danson Road and the A207, directly outside of the main entrance to Danson Park, and opposite Crook Log Leisure Centre. The photo was taken at just after 5pm on Monday evening. The photographer, who wishes to remain anonymous, wrote that the junction and the pedestrian crossing is extremely dangerous. Although they did not see the moment of the actual crash, they do comment that the van must have been travelling at considerable speed to have turned over. All three emergency services were in attendance, but the condition of the passengers and pedestrians is not currently known. At the time of writing, no local paper has picked up on the serious accident.

On Wednesday evening it was announced journalist and TV presenter Clive James had died as the result of Leukaemia. I used to see him regularly back in 1988 / 89. Then I was working as a trainee Quantity Surveyor on a very large commercial building site next to The Barbican Centre. Clive James had an apartment in the Barbican development, and I would see him on a regular basis. It did seem to me that for all his wealth and fame, he always appeared to look like he had slept the night in his suit, and had just got up to go out for breakfast to a local cafe. He was always very dishevelled and scruffy, but would alway say "hello - how are you?" in passing. He will be missed by many, myself included.  

The photos above were taken on Saturday lunchtime in the West Street / Chichester Wharf Park, which is being threatened with being built on by a private company owned by Bexley Council. Jonathan Batten, chair of the Erith Think Tank writes:- "Save West Street Park! A community-driven campaign to save key green space from problem-ridden housing development – sign the petition! The clock is ticking to save the West Street Park in Erith. After consultation with Erith and West Street residents, local community group the Erith Think Tank are launching a campaign to save this green space for the town. The creation of the West Street Park came out of a 1970's programme where the Council identified the southern side of West Street as a General Improvement Area (G.I.A.). Under legislation which dealt with the Council’s promoting of G.I.A.’s, Councils were able to acquire land so that it could be laid out as Public Open Space. The current location of the West Street Park was chosen to create a street that was more desirable with clear open space for communities to enjoy, and to provide respite down a busy road. The proposed development that Erith residents now object to go against these original ambitions. The objections are:- This would mean the loss of key green space in Erith. Aside from the Riverside Gardens there is very little open green space in Erith for communities to enjoy. It was a criticism of the Council’s Growth Strategy, by the GLA, that not enough provision for green space was allowed for in their regeneration plans. It is too costly to lose another Erith asset. The development includes no affordable housing allocation, in spite of there being a great need for this kind of housing. It will be sold at market value. Leader of Bexley Council Teresa O’Neill, indicated in an email to the Think Tank that BexleyCo will ‘prioritise’ Bexley residents when the properties are sold, but refused to expand on any detail about how this might be done. It would mean the removal of the majority of 20 mature trees to make way for the development and a car park; and the remaining trees would likely not survive because of the trauma to roots. It would mean the loss of light for residents living in the existing flats that surround the park. There are no provisions for additional civic infrastructure. In fact, there are no plans for new nurseries, schools or doctor’s surgeries in the whole of Erith, despite huge increases in population size owing to recent and in-progress new builds, many of them on West Street. This green space plays or could play an important role in connecting old and new Erith – at one end of West Street is the town’s oldest building St John’s Church, and at the other end the current town centre. Local residents also question the tactics being used to push this development forward; Residents have been given only days to have their say regarding the plans, as the deadline set by Bexley Council is 02 December. A public exhibition, held on one evening, was also poorly publicised and announced with little notice. In 2003, when the new build flats were constructed, residents were promised that this area of land would remain a park. In 2015, the council delivered consultation on about 30 pieces of land which included the West Street Park. At the time, local residents strongly opposed plans to build on the park. However, these consultation reports were never published and now cannot be located. The BexleyCo representative was not aware of this consultation, and didn’t deem it relevant. The developer is BexleyCo, a private company that is 100 percent owned by Bexley Council. This raises questions about accountability and use of public funds. In the Bexley Growth Strategy there is a commitment to enhance social and green infrastructure for the wellbeing of the borough’s residents and its environment; there is little evidence of this in the current proposals, and no information is available on the bigger picture for Erith’s regeneration, therefore making a valued judgement impossible. The Erith Think Tank are now asking for your support by signing the petition to save West Street Park. Your support will act as a record of objection to be put before the planning department". You can sign the online petition to save the much loved local park by clicking here. 

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Another week with no burglaries on Barnehurst Ward. All in all a very quiet week crime wise on the ward with only two crimes of relevance to report which both occurred in Eversley Avenue. The first was a theft of a catalytic converter in Eversley Avenue. This occurred at 11:35am on Friday 22nd November. A grey vehicle entered the road and three white males got out and lifted the vehicle before removing the catalytic converter. They left when disturbed. The suspect's vehicle's registration began LD09…….. There was also a theft of pedal cycle in Eversley Avenue which occurred between 9:20am and 5:20pm on Saturday 23rd November. The cycle was locked up at the end of the road but was taken along with the lock. On a positive note the roll out of Smartwater kits in Eastleigh Road has almost been completed. We will be informing you soon of the next road to receive the kits. The next community contact session will be coffee with cops at Barnehurst Golf course which will be held at 11am on the 5th December". Belvedere ward:- "There was a recent burglary in Eardley Road in which entry was gained via smashing glass in the rear door of the property (having accessed the rear garden via an adjacent alleyway). Several items of jewellery were taken from the property. This incident took place between 5pm and 10pm on Saturday 23rd November. The team have been conducting hi-visibility patrols around several areas of the ward this week in an effort to prevent burglaries. We have been distributing crime prevention and home security literature in the areas patrolled – most recently Upper Park Road, Calvert Close, Heathdene Drive and Elmbourne Drive. We will continue this activity in the weeks leading up to Christmas and the New Year. We have been informed that Smartwater (property marking) is now more widely available. If you know of anyone that is interested in this, please contact the team on 0208 721 2050 or via email at belvedere.SNT@met.police.uk. Our next Street a Week meeting has been arranged for Saturday 7th December, from 6pm in Tyeshurst Close". Bexleyheath ward:- "Tuesday 19/11/19 1130/1200 Purse Stolen from bag inside The Works Bexleyheath. Thursday 21/11/19 1200/1300 Theft of Mobile Phone – Stolen from table by way of distraction in Chin Chins Coffee Shop. Friday 22/11/19 1105/1300 Purse Stolen from bag in either Bon Marche or Card Factory from elderly female. Please ensure that doors and windows to properties are locked and secured with keys (lift the handle and turn the key in the lock) where applicable – revisit home security and lighting now the dark lights are coming. Please be careful with purse/wallets whilst out shopping, make sure they are secured inside your bags with a zip type handbag. The team have been busy stopping youths causing ASB and with cannabis. They have also been involved in plain clothes operations and arrested several shop lifters. From Member of the Public - in Church Road - A resident of Church Road has reported that on Tuesday 26th November at approx. 1.45pm two workmen knocked on his door to ask if they would get a parking ticket for parking in the road. They claimed that they worked for Marshalls and the Council had sub contracted them to install drop kerbs, but had not provided them with a parking permit. The resident told them that they would get a ticket if they parked without a permit and advised them of where they could park. The men named 'Tony & Steve', then proceeded to try to persuade the resident to have his drive pressure washed for several hundred pounds! 'Tony' is described as white, 5'11' aged in his 50/60's , dark hair with a goatee beard. 'Steve' was of slim build, had dark hair, clean shaven and in his late teens/early 20's. Both had local accents and drove a white pick up truck with a 3 part ladder resting on the top of the cab". Crayford ward:- "On Thursday 21st November between 8.50-8.55 a sandy coloured rucksack was stolen from a silver Peugeot estate whilst parked in Iron Mill Lane junction with Woodfall Drive. Items inside the rucksack included wallet, bank cards, oyster pass/train pass. The cards have since been cancelled but had been used at cashpoints in Crayford. Please always ensure you put all items in your vehicle out of sight and lock vehicle securely, sometimes it may be better to take the items with you. On Thursday 21st November at 12.19, a Samsung S8 was stolen from McDonalds. The victim had placed their phone on the table, directly in front of them, they were approached by a Spanish looking male aged about 35 years and of medium build who placed a paper over the phone whilst speaking to the victim and removing the phone with the paper before walking away. Please keep your phone in your hand or out of sight, people tell me they could give chase but this is not really likely to be a successful outcome. A bicycle was stolen from a rear garden in Crayford Road on Thursday 14th November at around 1am, neighbour heard a loud bang but didn't see the suspect. A catalytic convertor was stolen from a cab parked in Wolsey Close on Friday 22nd November between 10.00-13.50. A silver BMW 1 series was broken in to at Tower Retail Park on Saturday 23rd November at 3.20, it is unknown what they stole but the window was smashed to gain entry. A bicycle was stolen from a shed between 21.00 on 14th November and 6.30 on Friday 15th November in Maiden Lane. A drink driver was detained at Tower Retail Park after crashing his vehicle at 1.20 on Saturday 23rd November". Erith ward:- "Once again we are experiencing a high number of Theft from motor vehicles in the Erith area, please see below, we have had 10 in just this week. We have been out on the ward this week posting motor crime leaflets to residents in areas targeted and also placing leaflets on cars and posters in parking blocks. Most vehicle crime is preventable. It can take as little as 10 seconds for a thief to steal something from your car. The best way to protect your belongings is to lock your car whenever you leave it. Other things you can do include: •Removing everything from the car; don't even leave a jacket where it can be seen •Closing the sunroof along with the windows when you leave •Not storing things in the boot; take them with you •Storing car ownership information in your home, not your car •Having a routine to ensure you always take the keys out of the ignition •Taking removable stereos and sat nav equipment with you •In addition, using secure (theft resistant) number plates can make your plates less attractive to thieves". Northumberland Heath ward:- "A burglary took place in Bedonwell Road sometime between 1745 and 2345 on Friday 22/11/2019. Entry was gained via smashing the rear pation door window. The house was ransacked and a secured and locked gun cupboard was broken into but the weapon not taken, only cash. Number plates were stolen from a car in Carlton Road overnight on Sunday 24/11 into Monday 25/11. If you would like secure number plate screws, please contact the team. CCS dates for December will be sent out in the next few days.  PC Tom Brown has now left the team and the police and he will be missed. Once we know details of his replacement we will let everyone know. Please bear with us during this time as there is only PC Lucy and PCSO Lorraine covering the ward with assistance from neighbouring teams". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "A burglary took place during the evening of Sunday 24/11 and early morning of Monday 25/11 in Wallhouse Road. It is believed that the victim left their door open as there were no signs of forced entry. A handbag with purse, cash and keys was taken. Victim has changed their locks. Please ensure all doors and windows are closed/locked before going to bed or going out. On Tuesday 26/11/2019 PCSO Mark attended the Welcome Café at St Augustines church and engaged in conversation with the many attendees. On Wednesday 27/11/2019 PCSO Mark attended Peareswood Primary school and gave a talk to year 6 pupils around the importance of evidence so they can use this in their writing lessons. On Monday 02/12/2019 at 12pm, Mark will be attending Slade Green Seniors Cinema club Christmas event at the Community Centre with Adam from Erith SNT, where the Mayor has also been invited. On Tuesday 03/12/2019 residents from the new estate being built on the old Linpac site at the dead end part of Slade Green Road, are coming to the office to meet Mark and Claire from N.Watch to discuss a new watch for the estate. Watch this space. Hopefully we will get some images from all these events to post on Twitter where we can be found @MPSNorthEndRY. Finally we would like to say congratulations to Sandra Fox who has become our new Ward Panel Chair". Thamesmead East ward:- "Vehicle Crime - Southmere Drive Monday 18/11/19 between 9am – Wednesday 20/11/19 12pm Victims vehicle was parked in the communal garage suspect/s entered the vehicle by means unknown. An untidy search of glove box resulted in the communal garage key fob being stolen. Kale Road Thursday 21/11/19 between 6:30 – Saturday 21/11/19 2:52pm Victims tyres have been slashed by suspect/s unknown for the second time in one week. Overton road Sunday 24/11/19 between 11pm – Monday 25/11/19 2:18pm Victim parked vehicle which is in trade outside home address. Victim forgot to remove the trade plates from vehicle, these were stolen by suspect/s unknown. Maran Way Sunday 24/11/19 between 10pm – Monday 25/11/19 2pm suspect/s have removed Catalytic Converter from victims Toyota Prius. Try to park so that the convertor can't be easily reached by potential thieves. Vehicles that sit high above the road are particularly vulnerable. Having your car broken into and losing your things to thieves can be very distressing. Here are 10 simple steps you can take to keep your vehicle and contents safe. 1. Always lock it.  2. Close windows and the sun roof to prevent ‘fishing' 3. Secure your number plates with tamper-resistant screws. 4. Fit locking, anti-tamper wheel nuts to secure alloy wheels.  5. Secure anything that's on the outside of your vehicle. 6. Take it with you or hide it. 7. Hide electrical items and leave no clues. 8. Take your documents with you. 9. Park in well-lit and busier areas. 10. Choose your car park wisely". West Heath ward:- "Sadly we have suffered three burglaries on the ward this week. A substantial amount of cash and gold jewellery was stolen from a property in Elmstead Crescent. The victim was out between the hours of 3pm – 23.10pm on Saturday November 23rd. and returned to find the front door open and a locked door within the house damaged. An untidy search of the property was conducted. A burglary took place in Knowle Avenue between Friday November 22nd 23.50pm – Monday November 25th at 7.10am when the victims' returned home from being away. The keys to a VW Golf were stolen along with the vehicle itself. The third burglary occurred on Monday morning in Clovelly Road, the victim woke up to find the front door open. A wallet containing credit cards and cash was stolen from a handbag left on the sofa. One theft of a rear number plate in Glenview on Tuesday November 26th between 9am – 5pm. Drop in surgery dates for the Christmas period will be displayed in the Bostall Library later on this week".

The end video this week features a progress report on the Quarry development by the builders The Anderson Group. Give it a watch, and send any questions to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Bexley Beer Festival 2014.

For only the second time in its nine year history, the Bexley Beer Festival was blessed with stunningly good weather. The event was held at the Old Dartfordians club in Bexley Village, and was very well attended indeed. Last year the visitors had to crowd into the main clubhouse building, and huddle together against the freezing temperature. This year the beer was served from a large marquee to the rear of the main building, which was a far more pleasant experience. on top of the already friendly and congenial atmosphere, a very civilised game of cricket took place on the green owned by the club, which many of the attendees were free to watch. Click on the panoramic view above to see just what the event was like - very laid back and civilised. Thanks to the Rev for supplying the wide screen photo. If you fancy playing a game of "Where's Wally?" (or in this case "Where's Pewty?") see if you can see me in the picture. I am hidden away somewhere in the shot. Answers on a postcard, please. Better still, leave a comment below.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich – our “local” hospital has been the subject of an in – depth investigation recently, and the results have been released this week. They do not make for encouraging reading. The report author, the Chief Inspector of Hospitals found that the Accident and Emergency department was “not fit for purpose”. The essence of the findings were that there were too few staff on duty, many of which were agency temps, rather than permanent staff. There were long delays in seeing patients, which often exceeded the four hour maximum the official guidelines stipulate, there was a lack of capacity to accommodate the number of patients requiring treatment, and the process for transferring patients from Accident and Emergency to a ward was inadequate. All of the points raised were directly or indirectly the result of chronic and ongoing under staffing. Bearing in mind that the Queen Elizabeth is the prime hospital for South East London, and if you live in the local area it is the most likely place for you to be taken should you require the services of an ambulance, it does somewhat focus the concentration. Not only was the Accident and Emergency department in trouble, but patients on general wards reporting that there were so few staff available that it could take thirty minutes to get a call bell answered. From my own limited experience of the hospital, the staff are very good and professional, but it would seem that there are just too few of them. I don’t know if the results of the report will get the hospital additional funding for extra medical staff to be employed, but plainly something needs to be done to address the problem of chronic understaffing.

The skyline over Erith is now starting to return to normal. The large orange tower crane that has loomed over Walnut Tree Road for the last year or so has gone. It would seem that construction on the new Bexley College campus has now reached a point where heavy lifting is no longer required. I must admit that I almost miss the sight of the crane, though I doubt that the residents of Stonewood Road, Cricketers Close and Tranquil Rise will be so keen. The crane, and the new college main building structure have obscured the Clarke belt from their satellite dishes. To explain, the Clarke belt is the area of geosynchronous orbit where communications satellites are located. It is named after science fiction author Sir Arthur C Clarke, who created the concept in the 1940’s for a story he was writing.  The effect of the new college building for a handful of local residents is that they can no longer watch Sky TV. I would imagine that Virgin are rubbing their hands with glee. Their fibre optic cable TV does not require access to satellites. I would think that a swap to cable TV would be the most pragmatic solution for those in close proximity to the new building. The mention of new building brings me back to last weeks’ lead story – the construction of a passenger lift at Bexleyheath station, despite there being little actual need for it. Reader Paul B commented “As a regular user of Bexleyheath station (long time commuter), I was amazed when I saw we were getting lifts. There are two perfectly good road bridges (with pavements) at either end of the station. To go from one platform to another using these existing bridges (rather than the station footbridge) takes but a few minutes. To my knowledge, no work was being done on the footbridge prior to the installation of the lifts began”. This is an interesting observation; my contact told me that the reason that the lift was being installed was that as maintenance work was being carried out on the passenger footbridge anyway, the installation of a lift was deemed to be cost effective, as contractors would already be working on the site. What Paul says is that this may not actually have been the case. If any other reader has information regarding this, please contact me at hugh.neal@gmail.com – you can remain completely anonymous if you so wish.

May 2014 marks the 30^th anniversary of the launch of Laser 558, the offshore radio station that for a brief period between 1984 and 1986 became the most popular music radio station in the UK.  Laser was known for its fast paced format “you are never more than a minute away from the music”, and exclusively employed American DJ’s, including some, like Charlie Wolf, who went on to become household names. It all sounded very glamorous, and nothing like any rather more staid British radio station of the period. Most listeners believed the story that the station was crewed and operated exclusively by Americans, and supplied from mainland Europe, and therefore operating completely legally. The reality was that whilst the broadcasters were all US citizens, the station and the supplies all came covertly from the UK – the main supply point was Herne Bay.  The Laser ship was called the M.V Communicator – it was a converted hydrographic survey vessel originally names the Guardline Tracker. The work to convert the ship to a marine broadcasting station was carried out in Port Everglades in Florida – if you ever see a rerun of the Miami Vice episode “Phil the Shill” (the one that guest starred Phil Collins) there is a long aerial tracking shot of Crockett and Tubbs driving through Port Everglades – and the M.V Communicator can clearly be seen whilst it was being converted to a radio ship. When Laser 558 first came on air from the North Sea, the station tried using a novel wire antenna suspended from a helium balloon. Whoever thought of this idea clearly had no concept of the weather frequently experienced in the area. The strong, gusty and changeable winds soon destroyed the balloon antenna, and a conventional tower array was built to replace it. Laser quickly picked up a massive following in both the UK and Europe. It had a strong, loud signal on Medium Wave, it played far more music that BBC Radio One, and operated a format of top 40 pop and familiar oldies, played back to back. The sound was slick and very professional, and soon listeners started to defect from local radio and BBC national stations to Laser. At this point the government became worried – they could not let this upstart pirate take all of their precious listeners from the BBC and ILR stations. A ship called the Dioptric Surveyor was despatched by the Department of Trade and Industry Radio Investigation Service to monitor both Laser 558 and Radio Caroline, in what became known as the “Eurosiege”. It was soon apparent that Laser, rather than Caroline was the real target. This was mainly due to the constant on air jibes and arch comments made by Laser DJ’s – most notably by Charlie Wolf, the station motor mouth. Soon a spoof record was released called ”I Spy for the DTI” by the Moronic Surveyors (actually the Laser DJ’s) which got heavy play on Laser, and got into the lower reaches of the charts. In contrast, Radio Caroline continued in their policy of not annoying the authorities, and they carried on pretty much unmolested. Eventually a mixture of running low on supplies, bad weather (the Communicator was not an ideal ship for the North Sea and its heavy swell – it rolled terribly, unlike the Radio Caroline ship the M.V Ross Revenge – a massive, former ice breaking trawler which was solid as a rock in rough seas) and a lack of advertising revenue caused the crew to bring the ship in, under escort from the DTI. The other reason for the failure of Laser was its management, which was pretty financially incompetent, and also a few suppliers that managed to con a large amount of cash out of the station for very little in return. The whole project lasted only around eighteen months, but it did shake up UK radio, which up until that time was legally restricted as to the amount of music it was allowed to play. The “needle time” rules dictated that fifty percent of broadcasting time had to be dedicated to speech; this was later relaxed when it was found that the audiences for Laser 558 were primarily attracted by the stations policy of “never more than a minute from the music”.  In contrast Radio Caroline continued at sea for another six years,  which was when my own involvement happened. Back when Laser and Caroline were both broadcasting to Northern Europe, I was still at school – I recall many occasions when there would be scuffles in the 6^th form common room when some pupils wanted to listen to Laser on the ancient radiogram we had, whilst I wanted to listen to Caroline. Strangely I cannot recall anyone wanting to listen to Radio One at the time. I think that just about says it all.

Going about as far as it is possible to go in the opposite scale of radio station, the photo above shows an old and abandoned building in the grounds of Erith and District Hospital. I have to make an appeal; if anyone has any information or period photos of Radio Erith when it was operational, could you please get in contact with me? So far, nobody has any memories or information about the long closed hospital radio station, and I can find nothing online either. If you volunteered on the station, or know someone who did, please drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com, or leave a comment below.

Bexley Police are being equipped with wearable video cameras (the Police terminology is Body Worn Video, or BWV) to record incidents for possible use as evidence. As you may have gathered from my previous postings, I have severe misgivings over the way in which face recognition technology can be misused in order to form a database which records where an individual goes, what they do when they get there, and a host of other personal behaviours. Despite this, my overall feeling in respect of the Police being equipped with cameras is that this is a good thing, both for the police, and for members of the public. It will remove the possibility of dispute in the event of an incident, in places where wearable cameras have already been deployed (including some U.S states) the level of disputes about what took place has dropped considerably once the video footage was released. It also protects the public – with the caveat that any cameras should be permanently on, and the video footage should be non editable by the police officer. Unfortunately I have received a letter in an Email from Chief Superintendent Peter Ayling, the Borough Commander, which contains some frequently asked questions on the subject. I it would appear that the cameras will be switched on and off at will by individual officers. Personal video recorders are becoming increasingly widespread, as the price falls and their storage capacity increases. It is getting quite usual to see private drivers fitting them to their car windscreen to record any potential road accident – for some reason the Russians seem particularly keen on this approach – though whether this has any reflection on their overall standard of driving, I could not say. Anyway, the letter I received was addressed to "Dear (insert name of stakeholder)" so I am not exactly being personally favoured! Some pertinent points from it are outlined below:-

I am writing to let you know that Bexley Borough has been selected to take part in the Metropolitan Police Service’s pilot of body worn video (BWV) equipment. You may have seen some debate and publicity around the use of these cameras in recent months. Our Borough will be taking part in the largest urban trial of this technology in the world to date. I think it is therefore essential to inform you as to what the pilot will look like locally. As always, I would be keen to hear feedback, so I would be grateful if you could cascade this information as you see fit. Below I have listed some ‘Frequently asked questions’ in respect of the cameras, and I hope they will prove informative. 

Which officers are using BWV? 

Front line emergency response officers from two teams on this Borough will be using the cameras, as well as armed response officers from the MPS Firearms command, who may be deployed on the Borough from time to time on patrol or in response to incidents. 

The reason only two teams are being issued with the cameras at the moment is because we would like to assess how productivity and performance is affected by the teams using the cameras as opposed to those teams without them. By having teams on the same Borough with and without cameras, this is the most efficient way of ensuring that other local factors remain the same. 

Why use BWV at all? 
 

BWV provides an additional option for officers to gather evidence at incidents. 

BWV cameras have already been used in the MPS and in other forces to good effect. The cameras can capture evidence of criminal behaviour and can help to ‘set the scene’ for the court at a later date. 

By capturing this evidence, officers can spend less time writing statements and completing paperwork at the station. This allows them to spend more time patrolling and responding to incidents in the community. 

The use of BWV in other countries has been shown to moderate the behaviour of people present at incidents, resulting in less of force by officers and reduced complaints against police. It is hoped this will help to ensure public confidence in police actions. 

Evidence from other forces in the UK has shown that, where BWV is key evidence, guilty pleas at the first opportunity at court rise significantly - this means reduced burdens across the Criminal Justice System, not just in policing. 

When will officers be using the BWV? Will it be ‘always on?’ 

No - the use of BWV will be ‘incident specific’ - officers will switch on the camera when they would ordinarily be considering recording an incident or interaction by conventional means - for example, a statement or notebook entry - or if they feel that there would be evidential value in recording the incident. 

Officers will, when practicable, tell those present when they are recording and when they are about to switch off the camera. They will usually only switch the camera off when the incident has concluded or where there is no further evidential value to be had in continued recording. 

To have the cameras ‘always on’ may result in private or confidential interactions with the public being recorded and also may represent a significant intrusion into the privacy of those who might be caught on camera. 

As well as this, continual recording will result in massive amounts of data being retained and stored by the police, which would result in increased logistical problems in back office functions. 

What is the pilot going to measure? How long will it last? 

At this stage the pilot is expected to last for the next financial year. 

The pilot will be measuring a number of outcomes including: criminal justice outcomes, complaints against police, use of force by police, amount of time saved in administration tasks and the impact on public confidence through the use of cameras. 

The pilot will compare the performance of those officers issued with the cameras against those without cameras. It is hoped that the pilot will be able to demonstrate improvements in these key areas. 

How does the BWV work? 

The BWV camera is a video and audio recording device. Depending on the model, the device is either mounted on the body or worn on a head mounting. 

The camera records footage onto an internal and secure hard drive. Footage recorded can then be uploaded to MPS servers for use as evidence at court or other proceedings. 

What about rights to privacy? 

It is understandable that some people may be concerned about officer’s recording their interactions with the public at incidents. They may be worried that footage concerning them may be held on police data servers. 

This is a key reason why officers will not indiscriminately record all interactions and activity. This is to ensure that any intrusion into private lives is kept to the minimum level necessary. 

All footage recorded on BWV in the MPS is subject to legal safeguards and guidance set by the Information Commissioner’s office and the Home Office. 

Footage that is not likely to be of evidential value will be removed from the system within a very short time - the current guidance is within 31 days. 

Footage that is retained is subject to regular review and, if no longer required or likely to be required as evidence, will again be weeded. 

People who have been recorded have the right to see footage of them that has been retained by the MPS. See our website - www.met.police.uk  for details on how to obtain this footage. 

How do I give feedback or find out more? 

A key consideration for the MPS pilot is to gauge feedback from the public and London’s communities about their feelings around BWV. 

You can give your feedback and/or comments to your local Safer Neighbourhoods Team or you can find out how to give feedback to the MPS at www.met.police.uk

Overall I think this trial is a good move; I just have reservations about the potential for a bad cop to switch the recording off midway through an encounter if they thought it might go badly for them if the footage was filmed and later reviewed. What do you think? Either leave a comment below, or drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Local historian Ken Chamberlain has been busy - he recently sent me the following piece on a historic steam engine that originally worked in Erith, before it was restored: In March 1932 a new Bagnall 0-4-0 steam locomotive was delivered to the Fraser and Chalmers engineering factory in Erith. For many years the engine was a familiar sight in Nordenfeldt Road, crossing West Street. It was made redundant in 1969 and sold to a private buyer, a member of the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton Road. There it has been painstakingly restored and over the May Bank Holiday weekend was on display in full steam. The first photograph shows the engine working beneath the gantry of Messrs Talbot Estates in the late 1930s. The site is now redundant but the location is still recognisable from Sandcliffe Road, with the exterior wall of Fraser’s on the left. The houses to the right are those of Crusoe Road and Friday Road. The second photo (below) is the Loco fully restored and in steam at Quainton Road earlier this month. Only the colour has changed.

You may recall that not very long ago, Jeremy Clarkson test drove a giant, reproduction 1930's Blower Bentley, which instead of having the usual supercharged 4.5 litre engine, had a 27 litre V12 Rolls - Royce Merlin engine, as used in the Supermarine Spitfire. The car was a one - off project built to a customer special order by bespoke engineering company Bob Petersen Engineering. At the time, the owner of the one - off car was not mentioned. It obviously had to be a car enthusiast with a great deal of money, as the car was worth well in excess of a million pounds. Recently, American comedian and TV chat show host Jay Leno started a new, YouTube only television show called Jay Leno's Garage, which showcases cars from his collection - he and other experts talk about the model in question, then it is test driven. As well as being exceedingly wealthy, Jay Leno has reputedly got the World's largest private car collection - though in the nature of being private, this is impossible to verify. His collection is certainly huge with over 880 vehicles, and is housed in a giant warehouse on an industrial estate somewhere on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Understandably the precise location is kept secret. In a recent edition of the show, Jay Leno revealed that he was the owner of the 27 litre, Merlin engined Bentley, that Jeremy Clarkson had so adored. You can see the episode below - please feel free to comment. Enjoy.

Mother's Pride.

The photo above was taken by one of my confidential sources earlier this week. It shows the platforms and footbridge at Bexleyheath station. The reason that my informant took the photograph was that there is  construction work under way directly adjacent to the footbridge over the rails. From what can be seen, it is to install a passenger lift. This is excellent news for commuters from Bexleyheath, but it does beg the question, why is Bexleyheath getting a lift, when South Eastern have repeatedly refused requests to install a lift at Erith station, despite such a refusal being a contravention of the Equality Act 2010? I have contacted someone in a position to know about such matters, and I have been told that South Eastern and Network Rail are carrying out the lift construction as part of planned maintenance to the footbridge, as it is much cheaper to carry out such modifications whilst the bridge is being worked on anyway. A stand alone project would have been more expensive. It turns out that even Bexleyheath MP David Evennett was shocked that Bexleyheath was chosen over Erith, as Erith has a far worse accessibility problem. At Bexleyheath, there is a nearby bridge over the railway which can be easily used by those using wheelchairs or baby buggies – Erith has no such option. If you want to go to London, and cannot climb the footbridge steps, you have no option but to go to Dartford, two stops in the wrong direction, in order to use the lift there to change platforms to come back the other way. The reasons cited for choosing Bexleyheath over Erith also include a claim that the footfall at Erith is too low to justify a lift at this point. To my mind this is blatantly untrue. If you stand on the London bound platform (providing you can get to it) from around 6.30 on a weekday morning, you will see just how many people use the station. South Eastern’s usage figures are almost certainly distorted to read on the low side, as the only passenger data they will get on a daily basis will come from the Oyster card readers; many passengers, myself included, use paper tickets, and since there are no ticket barriers at Erith, there is no way to record the footfall accurately. The fact that Erith station has a car park that passengers are forbidden from using, and if you travel by car to the station, you end up being forced to park in nearby residential roads, though this is being stopped; there are already parking restrictions in Christ Church Avenue and Victoria Road. I am told that these restrictions are going to be widened to cover other roads around the station before the new Bexley College campus opens in September. Whatever the footfall for Erith station is now, it is inevitably going to increase. Not only will the new college attract passengers, but the massive increase in residential construction in the area will have an effect on commuting. Not only is Erith Park – currently the largest residential housing project in Europe – shortly coming to fruition, but, as mentioned last week, a further thousand houses and apartments may soon be built on the waste land, and former quarry located between Fraser and Bexley Roads. The residents are going to have jobs, and my guess is that many will need to travel to and from London. When these two large housing estates are factored in with all of the other smaller construction projects in the local area, it stands to reason that the demand for public transportation is going to explode. One does also wonder if the priority is being given to Bexleyheath station due to the demographic makeup of the passengers. Bexleyheath is generally regarded as being somewhat middle class, whilst Erith is regarded as working class. The North of the London Borough of Bexley is generally less favoured than the centre and South for this reason.

Some time ago I wrote describing how Tesco are shortly going to install display screens using facial recognition technology in their petrol station shops – the idea being that the screen will scan the shopper as they queue to pay for their fuel, and depending on the age and gender of the person, targeted adverts are played at the person. If this does not sound worrying enough, as the software improves and becomes more sophisticated,  it will be able to scan a database of previous customers to see if the shopper has used the outlet before. It can then check to see what the shopper previously bought and target adverts accordingly. There is a huge issue of invasion of privacy and lack of consent. If not only private companies, but government bodies employ facial recognition technology as a means of determining identity (which is already happening in the USA and China, for example), there are immediately problems when the system gets it wrong. At present, in ideal circumstances (good, even lighting, no rain or mist) the best facial recognition systems will be accurate about 97% of the time. That is a whole three per cent error rate. Unlike a PIN number or password, your face is not something you can change without resorting to surgery.  There have already been cases in the USA where mis – identification has had serious repercussions. In 2011 a blame free and conscientious driver called John Gass received a letter from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles informing him that he was ordered to stop driving immediately. After Gass made a series of concerned phone calls to the Registry, he eventually was able to determine that he had been incorrectly identified by a facial recognition system as a serial motoring offender, when in fact he had never had a driving ticket in his life. When he queried this, the Registry of Motor Vehicles official said that it was John Gass’s “burden” to prove his innocence, as the pros of protecting the public outweighed the inconvenience of the wrongly targeted few. I must admit that this made my eyebrows rise. The USA is often touted as a shining example of a country that espouses personal liberty; this example would seem to contradict that view. This kind of situation is going to become increasingly common; some bars and nightclubs are looking at introducing a facial recognition system called Scene Tap. This analyses high definition CCTV camera footage from within each establishment and can establish the gender ratios in the bar, it can also determine the age of patrons, and link their facial image with online social networking sites (in their words) to “determine the relationship status, intelligence, education and income.” Scary stuff. All this is done without the permission – or even knowledge of the patrons. You may think this is all rather “Minority Report”, but Scene Tap is already deployed and in operation in over four hundred bars and night clubs around the USA, and it is inevitable that it will be in the UK very soon, if it is not already here on the quiet. Even if you as an individual have no problems with facial recognition, it does raise the issue of identity. Once the technology becomes ubiquitous, cheap and interconnected, it will only take one system to mis – identify you for your entire online identity to become suspect; you may not even realise it for some time, and may have no way of even knowing why you suddenly get turned down for a loan, or barred from a nightclub where you have formerly been a regular visitor. At least where governments are involved with things like this, there are usually established processes to identify and rectify mistakes. When it comes to private businesses there are no such constraints.

Last week I posted an image of an advert from Groom’s bakery from back in 1903. Subsequently I have been in contact with local historian Ken Chamberlain, who sent me the photo above (click on it for a larger view) and gave me some valuable background information. I must admit that until Ken contacted me,  I had no idea how Grooms “the hygienic bakery” became so successful and known all around the country.  After starting off with the West Street bakery, the business rapidly expanded; eventually they ended up building the large bakery in Belmont Road, Northumberland Heath. The site had a stables for the horses that pulled their vans, plus workshops for the company mechanics, farriers and coach builders. The most famous product created by Grooms was “Mother’s Pride” – bread that ended up being sold all over the country, and is still a favourite today. The horse drawn vans were still in use until the late 1950’s – more I think as an advertising and publicity tool, than as a practical means of delivery. My late Dad would often hitch a lift with a van when he was a boy – he knew several of the drivers; if the were not following a route he wanted to go on, he would then roller skate the rest of the way. By 1957 this was to change though. Grooms merged with the Rank, Hovis McDougall Group, although the family continued to run the Northumberland Heath bakery until 1959. The bakery is still on the same site today, and is now owned by British Bakeries; it produces a substantial amount of the bread eaten by Londoners and those further afield.

On Friday night I went out for a curry with an old friend. Nothing unusual there then. It did get me thinking; whilst the contents of the menu in most high street Indian restaurants are usually fairly similar, depending on the chef and the target market, the same is almost always not true of the drink available. It is almost without exception going to include three or four varieties of lager.  Apart from my personal preferences not including lager (too cold, too gassy, too tasteless) it strikes me as an opportunity for a curry house owner to do something to stand out from the crowd. Personally I think that real ale is a far better accompaniment to curry than lager is ; real ale does not fill you up with gas, for one thing. It tends to have a more robust, malty and hoppy flavour which works well with the strong flavours Indian spices create. I think the only down side with serving real ale in a curry house is one of shelf life. Once a cask has been opened, it needs to be used within three or four days before it goes off; I doubt that many curry houses would serve enough to justify it. I would like to hear your views on the subject – either leave a comment below, or Email me hugh.neal@gmail.com. More on ale later.

It would appear from what I can gather that Bexley Council have effectively pulled the plug on the Danson Festival permanently. It has been known for some time that the festival was being called off this year, due, so the council said to drainage problems made worse by the terribly wet conditions last Autumn and Winter. It was originally intimated that the festival would be back as normal next year. Now Councillor Don Massey has announced that substantial engineering work is required to fix the problems, and that the council currently does not have the money to carry out the work. Bearing in mind over 60,000 people visited the festival last year, to drop it completely is quite a brave move, especially in the light of the forthcoming council elections. My understanding was that the festival was pretty much self funding, and usually turned a modest profit. It showcased local clubs and not for profit groups, and gave a lot of good causes the opportunity to both raise awareness and also fund raise. Several readers have left comments on the News Shopper website stating that the real reason for the cancellation of the Danson Festival is that the wealthy people who live in the big houses around Danson Park do not want the noise and disruption that the festival brings. Compared with other boroughs in the area, Bexley does very little if anything in terms of public festivities or events; it seems to be very keen to be able to continue to boast that they have kept council tax rates the same as last year, which seems to involve making more cuts upon cuts. The same cannot be said of the wage bill of the council leaders, which, as Malcolm Knight of “Bexley is Bonkers” has repeatedly pointed out, are amongst the highest in Greater London.

I find that whenever I check the BBC News website for the weather, it is wrong. It might not be out by that much, but at around this time of year when the air temperature can vary quite widely, the difference of a couple of degrees can strongly influence your choice of clothing. Quite some time ago I found the answer to this quandary. Local resident Bob Hewitt has an amazing automated, digital weather station, which is internet enabled. The station has a website that can be accessed by anyone wanting to know what the weather is like in the Erith and Northumberland Heath area. I consult the site several times per day – the information available is very detailed – not only temperature, but wind strength and direction, rain level, humidity, barometric pressure and so on. Weather Display Live is an excellent web resource that I visit every day, and would highly recommend to you.  

The list of beers for next weeks' 9th Bexley Beer Festival has now been published - see the image above, and click on it for a larger view. The festival will run from the evening of Thursday 15th May at 5pm until Saturday the 17th May. You can see more details by clicking here. I plan on attending on Friday evening - usually the most popular day of the event. A full report will be published next week.

I have been passed some documentation regarding Bexley Council and the refurbishment work that they propose to undertake in Northumberland Heath. It is only right and fair that the area gets some money and attention, as both Erith and Bexleyheath, which border the town have both had considerable regeneration efforts in the last couple of years, but Northumberland Heath has until now been missed out. The council propose some fairly dramatic changes, quite a few of which may not actually be necessary or indeed desirable. The Northumberland Heath Community Forum have analysed the council proposals and countered with their own proposal document, which actually would involve significantly less council expenditure. Most of the proposed works will centre around Bexley Road, and the main shopping area. The council propose replacing the existing powder coated steel park benches with stone ones. There are concerns that this is not necessary; the existing benches are in pretty good condition, and only require a coat of enamel paint every couple of years. They also have the advantage of having a back, allowing people to lounge, whereas the proposed stone benches will not. Much of the weekday population of Northumberland Heath is elderly, and are those most likely to use the benches, and back support is a definite requirement, and the feedback from the forum is that a lick of paint on the current benches is all that is really required. Similarly, the council propose replacing much of the existing block paving and granite kerbs, when the existing paving is not in bad order at all. It would seem that a decent regime of weeding and some re-pointing would be sufficient – and would also save a wad of council (our) cash. The money saved by abandoning these works could be better spent on resurfacing the Mill Road car park, which currently is so cratered that it resembles the surface of the moon. The council also propose replacing many of the dented metal roadside barriers with new ones. This is laudable, but the feedback from the forum members is that this would only be practical if bollards were used to protect the barriers; otherwise passing lorries tend to clip and bend them within months of them being replaced. All in all, the works required to enhance Northumberland Heath shopping area are not that extensive, and a proportion of the money the council propose to spend could better employed, say in refurbishing the library, which is looking quite tatty at present. The counter proposal document from the Northumberland Heath Community Forum is well argued and presents what I consider to be a strong case. Whether the council choose to abide by their findings is something we will have to wait and see. More on this when new information becomes available.

Are you a FaceBook user? Chances are that most Maggot Sandwich readers will be, as it would seem to be the most pervasive social network round. If so, have you ever wondered just how much your personal data is worth to FaceBook? If you are interested in what can be done with your information, and who would want to buy access to it, there is a new web service called Digital Shadow. The website scrapes your FaceBook profile (after you grant access), creating its own profile of you that focuses on vulnerabilities. The access granted is similar to the access offered to cameras, location services, apps and other websites that users commonly associate with FaceBook. Digital Shadow spells out exactly what they have access to: "Watch Dogs Digital Shadow will receive the following info: your public profile, friend list, News Feed, relationships, birthday, work history, status updates, education history, groups, hometown, interests, current city, photos, religious and political views, follows and followers, personal description and likes and your friends' status updates and photos." So, pretty much anything and everything you've ever put on the Internet. The website also predicts your location if you have geotagging or location services turned on. It also estimates your salary and produces a very well educated guess of your passwords. The password generator pulls from your friends, pet names, interests, frequently used words, and more to auto formulate potential passwords. It then estimates the time it would take for the passwords to be tested against FaceBook's log in by a hacking program: over a million can be tested in about two minutes. After you have finished being scanned by Digital Shadow, you can easily remove the app from your FaceBook settings by logging into your account, selecting Settings, then Apps, and pressing the X next to Digital Shadow. While you're there, you should check out what other apps have permissions to use your data, because they're likely to be turning a profit on your digital presence. Unless you stop using social media completely, and delete — not just deactivate — your profiles, your data can always be mined. While Digital Shadow won't make that disappear, it will bring attention to the pieces of your personal life that are most useful as data points, offering you a chance to adjust privacy settings. I have had several people querying why I am not on FaceBook, or indeed any similar website. Now perhaps you can better understand why.

The World Wide Web is 25 years old this week. Many people think the World Wide Web and the Internet are one and the same, but they are not. The video below gives a little background explanation and history - watch and enjoy.