The Big Sky.

I took the photo above a while ago; it shows the River Thames at low tide, exposing the historic Erith wooden jetty that is still used by Erith Rowing Club to launch and recover their canoes. The photo really shows what I call Erith's "Big Sky" - something that you cannot see anywhere else in the London Borough of Bexley.  More on the view from the river front at Erith, and its unique properties later in this update. 

In the 12 months to the end of June of last year, Tesco distributed 430 million "bags for life" – the highest number for a supermarket. Environmental Investigation Agency figures show Sainsbury’s gave out 268 million, Morrisons 140 million, Aldi 52 million, Co-op 28 million, Waitrose 22 million, Marks and Spencer 14 million and Iceland 3.5 million bags.  Environmental campaigners are calling on retailers to increase the cost of bags for life to at least £1 in order to clamp down on their use. Environment Secretary, and current Prime Ministerial candidate Michael Gove is reportedly planning to hike the price of these bags to a minimum of 20p, which some supermarkets have already voluntarily done. He is also expected to extend the charge to small shops, which are currently able to give out plastic bags without making customers pay. Mr Gove is not planning to take any action on plastic bags for life. Some people just find it an inconvenience but will stump up the 10p or 20p to get their shopping home. Those are the people who have never and will never have their own bags with them when shopping, and regard the whole bag charge as a cost of going shopping. The problem with the 20p "bags for life" issued by many shops is that unlike their more expensive versions, which can cost up to £2 each, the 20p bags tend to be relatively fragile, despite containing twice the amount of plastic than the single use versions. In addition reusing such bags also can raise the risk of food poisoning, Bags for life pose a food poisoning risk if they are used to carry raw foods such as meat and fish, a consumer watchdog has warned. The Food Standards Agency says even if there is no leakage, packaging can harbour traces of harmful bacteria that can cause stomach bugs. Shoppers should have separate bags for raw foods, ready-to-eat foods and household items such as detergent. Reusable bags could be colour coded or labelled to avoid any mix-up, it says. If there has been visible spillage, soiling or damage, plastic bags for life should be replaced, while fabric ones could be washed or cleaned. "Even if there are no obvious spillages or staining after several uses, we would recommend that cotton/fabric bags for life be machine-washed regularly if they have been used for carrying raw items," warn the FSA. It is all so much more complicated than many, including me, had ever realised. Morrison's supermarket have been particularly clumsy in reacting to the changes; firstly they hiked the price of their entry - level plastic carriers from 10p to 20p each, with no increase in the extremely poor quality. Last week I used one for only the second time, and one of the handles came off, entitling me to a free replacement - but with each plastic "bag for life" containing twice as much plastic as one of the older single use bags, it does strike me that Morrison's at the very least are trying to be seen to do the right thing, without necessarily actually doing it. On top of this, I am a keen user of the Morrison's self service salad bar - on the occasions that it is actually open. Previously customers filled various sized salad containers and took them to the checkout, where the container was then wrapped to prevent leakage - the containers have a snap lid, but they have a tendency to break open and leak, which can cause quite a mess, especially if it happens whilst on your way home. Now the bags that are used to wrap the sometimes leaky salad containers are no more. Please don't get me wrong - I entirely support the move to reduce the prevalence of one time use plastics, and I am a very keen recycler. What I do object to is the virtue signalling of the big supermarket chains, where they make changes that are detrimental to the customers in the effort to be seen to be green. I am keen that the big supermarkets make changes that are less harmful to the environment, but please actually think things through rather than taking a "knee jerk" reaction to the public mood. The law of unintended consequences has seemingly come into force yet again; I have been talking to a couple of (anonymous) contacts I have in retail management. It would seem that the ban on giving away free plastic carrier bags at supermarkets has been successful in reducing the number of disposable bags shifted by the stores, but it has had an effect that has at the time of writing proved to be far more economically damaging. What has happened is that criminals are now able to walk around supermarkets with large reusable shopping bags on their arms, and can easily shoplift items into the anonymous bags. For shop security staff, someone carrying a large shopping bag around the store used to be a significant indicator that they could well be a shoplifter, and the security staff would consequently pay them more attention. Now that virtually all shoppers carry their own bags round the store, the criminals can far more easily blend in with the innocent shoppers. I have been told that the increased levels of stock loss have completely wiped out the lowered costs of supplying single use shopping bags in many high - street stores, but the management do not want to highlight the issue for fear of being thought of as "anti environment".  What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me in confidence at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Groundwork London, the consultancy that is currently advising Bexley Council regarding improvements to the public realm in and around Erith, published the following press release last week; it reads thus:- "Several more events are planned following the success of two open days held in April at 68 Pier Road Erith, when over 200 local people came along and gave their views on the improvements planned to begin in Erith this year.  Local people can give their views on the Riverside Gardens improvements at two more consultation events, that will be held as part of the Erith Kitchen, at Pier Road on Friday 14 June 4pm–9pm and Friday 12 July 4pm–9pm. There is no need to pre-register for these - simply turn up on the day. An online survey is also available for community input into the refreshed Riverside Gardens in Erith. Cllr Louie French, Bexley’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Growth said: “The support of the local community is essential to help Erith become a vibrant riverside town again.  Its’s important to us that we get the input of local people at an early stage and that we ensure the improvements benefit everyone’. That’s why we’re running lots of different consultation events and have commissioned the specialists Groundwork to help us run the co-design and engagement process for the Riverside Gardens, and GCDA, who helped us deliver the open days at 68 Pier Road. There will be lots more opportunities to tell us what you think and you can always contact us via the Greater Erith website.”  Daniel Brittle, Community Programme Manager, Groundwork London said: “We’re delighted to be working with London Borough of Bexley to reach out to the community and find out what residents, businesses and community groups would like from the Riverside Gardens. We’re looking forward to hearing the creative suggestions that local residents come up with.” Residents can fill out the survey online www.greatererith.com/riversidegardens and community groups will also be invited to give their views at a Riverside Gardens Ideas Forum in May. There’ll also be the chance to get involved in outdoor activities celebrating Erith such as wellbeing walks and heritage talks. The details of which will be publicised on the Greater Erith website. The Improvements proposed to start in 2019 will be funded with £1.6m the Council secured from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund.  As well as the upgrade of the Riverside Gardens, improvements include bringing Units 66 and 68 Pier Road, that have stood empty for some years, back into use and securing the long-term future of 70 Pier Road.  Funding will also be used to support business start-ups by providing new office space in the town centre to showcase their products and services and the pedestrianised area on Erith High Street will be brightened up. The improvements will build on previous regeneration work funded by the Council and the Mayor through their partnership project, the ‘Greater Erith Programme’. This includes the upgraded public areas at Erith Station and the soon to be renovated public space at the entrance to Erith Pier, as well as the renovation of the Carnegie Library building. Find out more about the planned improvements and tell us what you think at www.greatererith.com or follow Greater Erith on Facebook and Twitter.  

A technology birthday happened last week, and almost nobody even noticed; Microsoft's Bing search engine had its tenth anniversary. The engine was launched back in 2009 with the hope of persuading people to adopt yet another verb and "Bing it" rather than "Google it". Microsoft has sunk millions of dollars into Bing in the last decade, with almost no effect. Currently worldwide web searches using Bing account for 9.4 percent of the total, whilst Google's share of search (which does not include China) now is 75.48 percent. The USA is pretty much the only country where Bing has any kind of traction - with a creditable 34 per cent of the market (as of 2018) with 6 billion monthly searches. Around 19 per cent of UK searches are performed using Bing (405 million monthly). It is worth remembering that those figures are from the Bing team and include Yahoo! searches. Bing itself was a replacement for Windows Live Search and was unveiled by then CEO Steve Ballmer on 28 May 2009 with Yahoo! jumping on board in July of that year to have its search powered by Ballmer's baby. The Microsoft team has spent the years fiddling with the search engine in an effort to speed things up and make the results more relevant in order to tempt users away from the Google behemoth - even paying users to search with the thing, in the form of Microsoft Rewards, has not made much of a dent in Google's global search dominance. Incidentally, I once met the aforementioned Steve Ballmer. My encounter with him was very brief; I attended the UK launch of Windows XP back in 2001 in London, after managing to blag a ticket to the event through my job (there were occasions when working for a household name multinational blue chip professional services firm had its benefits). I was sat in an aisle seat in the Royal Festival Hall. There was a big opening video with a track by Madonna, then Ballmer came running down from the back of the hall, all WWE wrestling style. Had I known Ballmer was  running past my seat a couple of moments earlier, I could have stuck my leg out and sent him flying. Anyway, at the end of the presentation, a few members of the audience, myself included were invited for a corporate “meet and greet” session. I said hello to Steve Ballmer; he took one look at me, and the polo shirt I was wearing, and his look was pure poison. He blanked me completely. I have to say that I was very impressed with this reaction; the polo shirt he had taken such offence to was a sober grey in colour, but on the right  hand breast was embroidered Tux – the Linux mascot; this was at around the time that he said of the open source movement  “Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.” Understandably he was not too impressed with my appearance! Steve Ballmer is retired now, thankfully, as his record as a business leader was patchy at best, and I personally found him to be a boorish loudmouth. 

There has been much speculation regarding the fate of the former Cairngall Medical Centre in Erith Road, Upper Belvedere. The building had been used as a GP surgery for the last half a century, but due to the owners of the building being unwilling to renegotiate the lease with the partnership who operated from the building, the doctors practice closed permanently earlier this year, and all of the patients were forced to move to other nearby medical practices. It had been thought by some locals that the prime development spot might well result in the current building being demolished, but recently information became available that the owners of the building actually plan to turn it into a pre - school children's nursery, as you can see from the architectural floor plan drawing above - click on the image to see a larger version. Workers have been active on the site over the last few weeks, mainly clearing the garden and the small car park that is next to the main building. A series of skips have been on site, and it would also appear that the interior of the building has now been stripped prior to alteration work commencing. More on this story in the weeks to come. 

Many regular Maggot Sandwich readers are familiar with my writing about Hiram Maxim, the inventor,  engineer and very successful businessman whose main factory works were located in Fraser Road, Erith for many years in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. There was a second foreign born engineer and inventor who worked in Erith at around the same time as Hiram Maxim; his name was Thorsten Nordenfelt. He was a Swedish born and educated man who married a British woman and moved to the UK; initially they lived at an address in the Uxbridge Road, Paddington, after migrating to the UK in 1867. Thorsten and his British brother in law started a business trading high quality Swedish steel for British railway rails and engineering fittings. After a while, he founded the Nordenfelt Arms and Ammunition Company, which manufactured a variety of medium calibre deck mounted guns for arming motor torpedo boats and coastal patrol vessels. The guns were manufactured in Erith (as you may gather, in Edwardian times, Erith was a major centre for weapons manufacture, and many locals were employed in the factories). The problem that Thorsten Nordenfelt had was that he  was an excellent engineer, but an absolutely terrible businessman. His arms factory was losing money hand over fist, and after much pressure from his bank – Rothschilds – Nordenfelt was forced to merge his company with Maxim to form the Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition company, with Maxim as the majority shareholder. Two years later Nordenfelt was declared personally bankrupt, and lost complete control of the company, leaving Maxim the benefactor. Not to be deterred, Nordenfelt and his family upped sticks and moved to France, hoping to start afresh. He set up a new company designing arms, and developed a revolutionary new breech mechanism for the French 75mm field gun. This all went swimmingly until he received a letter from Maxim’s lawyers, reminding him that he had signed a non compete clause that Nordernfelt had signed upon leaving the Maxim Nordenfelt company. The case went as far as the House of Lords, and was found partially in Nordenfelt’s favour, but by this time he had grown heartily sick of the arms business, and decided to go into the then brand new submarine business instead. He formed a new company with a vicar and keen amateur naval architect called the Reverend George Garrett. They jointly designed a new submarine – the Nordenfelt One, which weighed in at fifty six tons, was 19.5 metres long and had a range on the surface of 240 kilometres, powered by a one hundred horse power steam engine which gave the vessel a speed of nine knots. It was armed with a single torpedo, and a deck mounted gun. It had to shut down the steam engine before it could dive. It was accepted by the Greek Navy, but never saw active service, and ended up being scrapped in 1901. A Nordenfelt Two submarine was later built, followed by a Three, which was larger at thirty metres long; It did have one claim to fame – it was the first ever submarine to successfully fire a torpedo at a target whilst fully submerged. The final Nordenfelt submarine was the Four, which was commissioned by the Russian Navy, but in sea trials it proved to be unstable and very unseaworthy, and ended up running aground off Jutland. The Russians refused to pay for it, in yet another commercial disaster for Nordenfelt. He then decided to call it a day and retired to Sweden, where he died in 1920 aged 78. Some small signs of Thorsten Nordenfelt do still exist in Erith. Nordenfelt Road, off West Street is one link, as was the Nordenfelt Tavern at 181 Erith Road – a local pub named after the man; it is now long closed and converted into flats, and so another link with our past is severed.

Now for the weekly local safety and security reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "On Tuesday 28th May 2019 between 02.30 and 03.30am an attempted burglary occurred in Coniston Close. Unfortunately a side gate was left open and suspects have entered and taken plastic piping. It is believed suspects have attempted to enter the property by trying a rear door handle, this triggered the house alarm and suspects fled. A burglary occurred on Monday 03/06/2019 in Cumbrian Avenue between 06.00am and 23.30pm nothing was taken however a television was smashed. It is believed entry was gained through an open window. In Hillingdon Road there was a theft from motor vehicle on Saturday 01/06/2019. The item taken has since been recovered by the owner after seeing it for sale on eBay. In Hurstwood Avenue a mobile phone was taken from a vehicle, the window was smashed and glove compartment was also searched. Our next community contact session is on Tuesday 18th June 2019, 4pm at the Barnehurst Golf Club. Please come along and join us for a chat. From Member of the Public - in Downbank Avenue:- I was walking my dog in the grounds of Barnehurst Golf Club when 2 unaccompanied Rottweilers ran from the rear of a property backing onto park and attacked my dog. I lifted my dog up and the 2 dogs continued to attack me and my dog. After a few minutes the dogs must have been called off by someone from the house, although i could not see who. My dog needed the vet's attention. It was a very frightening experience". Belvedere ward:- "We had an attempted garage burglary on Wednesday 29th May in Elstree Gardens. The lock was broken and door opened but nothing was taken. It happened overnight. On the same night we had a burglary at the Chestnut Nursery on Nuxley Road. Access was gained through a window. A camera was taken. CCTV enquiries are on-going. On the Thursday 30th May we had a report from a resident that a male was seen to be loitering in a back garden in Mossdown Close during the day. Police attended but the male had gone. If anyone sees someone in their back garden please do call Police as they are probably up to no good. There has been some criminal damage to a wooden door leading to a rear garden in Albert Road. This has happened three times, once during the half term and twice last weekend. Garage burglaries are continuing, this time in the Albert Road estate. Locks have bene broken off and doors opened but nothing taken. If you see anyone loitering that looks suspicious and out of place please contact Police. The Wellbeing Centre had a window damaged during the half term week. The window was smashed, nothing was taken from inside. No exact date and time known. There was a distraction burglary on Tuesday 4/06/2019 in Court Avenue. At approximately 1500 hours two males knock at an address claiming that the homeowners roof is damaged. While the owner stays with one of the males the other goes into the address and steals a large sum of money. If you have any cold callers and are not happy with them never let them into your property or step outside, leaving the door open. Do not give any personal details over. If you have any concerns about a cold caller please let us know. Any descriptions of the people or any vehicles they ae using will be helpful to build up an intelligence picture. Our next drop in surgery will be held at Belvedere Community Centre on Monday 10/06/2019 at 10:00". Bexleyheath ward:- "Theft of motor vehicle reported on the Friday 31/05/2019 along North Street Bexleyheath between 1pm & 7.30pm, vehicle was left secured; Another theft of motor vehicle reported between the Wednesday 29/05/2019 & Thursday 30/05/2019. Vehicle was taken over night at some point; A theft from motor vehicle was reported on the Thursday 23/05/2019 along The Green Bexleyheath, cash and bank card used and card used to make transactions; Number plates were stolen from a vehicle along Heversham Road at about 2100hrs on Thursday 30/05/2019; On Tuesday 28/05/2019 – Another theft from motor vehicle was reported, vehicle was broken into on the victims drive along Mayplace Road East. Incident happened overnight; On Monday 03/06/2019 – There was a report of a theft of purse in the ASDA store at about 10am. Purse was taken from the victim's shoulder bag. Also on Saturday 25/05/2019 an elderly female had their bank cards and money taken from an unattended handbag.  Regular patrols are being conducted around the war memorial as the team have received complaints about ASB and drugs, also the car parks are regularly patrolled". Crayford ward:- "A metal barrier was stolen from Tower Retail Park on Sunday 19th May between 12.00-midnight. A white Skoda was broken in to whilst parked at Mill Place between Monday 27th and Wednesday 29th May, a sat nav, Apple watch and wallet were stolen. Number plates were stolen from a vehicle whilst parked in Greyhound Way between Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th, OX06 LZG should be on a blue Audi A3. Between 13.00 – 17.30 it is believed there was an attempted burglary in Crayford Way. Keys were heard in the lock outside, keys were in the lock on the inside of the property and entry was not made. As a precaution the locks have been changed, the keys have also been returned. There was an attempted burglary to the Bear and Ragged Staff in the early hours of Thursday 30th May. Tools were used in an attempt to open a door but the alarm activated, no entry made. Within the same time frame a burglary took place at the Dukes Head in Crayford High Street, a window was smashed to gain entry and money was stolen, again an alarm was activated. A male was robbed whilst in an alley way close to Station Road Thursday 30th May at approx. 20.00, his oyster card and money were stolen. Youths caused criminal damage to a window at Subway on Wednesday 29th May between 20.55 – 21.15, this has been captured on CCTV. The off-side wing mirror was kicked off a car in Crayford Road on Saturday 1st June. The rear number plate was stolen off a vehicle parked at Wilmoths Citroen dealers on Wednesday 22nd May. Sports Direct reported that clothes rails and equipment were stolen from the rear of the shop on Saturday 1st June between 5.25am and 6.05am. There was an aggravated burglary at Crayford Road on the Tuesday 4th June at 23.15, two suspects entered the shop and stole approx. £150. Large wheelie bins have been stolen from Topps Tiles between Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th June. We have been out patrolling the ward on foot and speaking with members of our community. Our next community contact session will be at Vintage Lindy Lou's tea room at Waterside on Wednesday 12th June between 10.00 - 11.00, please come along and say hello. If there is anything you think we should know about, please contact us on the details above". 

Erith ward:- "Tuesday 4th June 2019, 5am - Two males trying every single door of a car. They smashed a car window on St. John's Road but the owner refuses to report it. At least we now have a description of these criminals not the best but you can see the clothing attire and the use of gloves [of one of them, above]. We have had 2 Burglaries over the past week. Burglary Residential on Wednesday 29/05/2019 Cricketers Close - Unknown suspect/s have broken into the venue via the front door; Burg Res Sunday 02/06/2019 Compton Place - unknown suspects believed slipped lock gaining entry with minor search carried out and property stolen; Theft of a motor vehicle 31/05/2019 Neptune Walk. Theft from a motor vehicle 01/06/2019 Meyer Road. Theft from a motor vehicle Thursday 30/05/2019 Christchurch Avenue". Northumberland Heath ward:- "This week the team have said goodbye to PCSO Dee, she has moved to West Heath ward. She will be missed by the team as well as many residents on Northumberland Heath. We wish her luck. The team continue to patrol our ASB hotspots. Recently we have had complaints from both the Subway and Nisa store on Bexley Road regarding a large group of males causing ASB within the stores. We have obtained CCTV footage and are working hard to identify these males. So far we have identified two of them, we will continue our investigations into this matter, working together with Bexley council and local schools we will be dealing with these individuals. This week the team arrested an adult male in Carlton Road. The male was later charged with theft from motor vehicle, this was a good result for the team as we have had a rise in this type of crime on the ward recently. A residential property in Northumberland Heath that had been converted into a cannabis factory was discovered by police this week. An adult male was arrested under suspicion of production of cannabis. I am pleased to report that there have been no residential burglaries on the ward this week. A set of number plates were stolen from a vehicle in Colindale Avenue overnight on Monday 27th May. The next community contact session is Wednesday June 12th, 4.30pm in the Mill Road Library". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "There was a burglary around 3am on Monday June 3rd in Crescent Road. NHS ID and uniform was taken as well as a laptop. This comes less than 2 weeks after an attempted burglary just 2 doors away at a similar time. Crime prevention leaflets have been delivered. Three stop and searches this last week resulted in one positive find and the suspect given the relevant warnings. After a nasty robbery earlier this year at the Post Office in Forest Road, one of the suspects, Michael McCluskey was sentenced this week to serve 10 years in prison. Crime really does not pay. We are aware that last weekend there were a lot of issues around the ward involving a lot of off road bikes being ridden dangerously, with no helmets and on paths etc. We have received lots of intelligence on some of the riders and are working closely with the relevant Housing Associations in taking action against these people. Please keep us updated with any descriptions of bikes, riders and anything you may see that is causing any disruption across the ward. All information received is treated in strict confidence. We have also received a letter from Stoneham Estates stating that they forbid anyone riding anywhere on their land after recent confrontations with riders by Erith Yacht Club whereby they claimed to have permission to be there. They do not. We are also making Bexley Council aware that the access gate at the entrance to the Thames Path is not preventing the bikes from gaining access. Some good news - A male was arrested by PC Mark in Forest Road on Wednesday afternoon after being found in possession of several bags of cannabis. An investigation is ongoing.  Our next community contact session is from 9.30am on Saturday June 15th in Forest Road café".

West Heath ward:- "Unfortunately we have had one attempted residential burglary in Longleigh Lane which took place at 04.30 on Monday June 3rd, the victim heard noises at the front door and called Police. Tools marks were seen around the front door but entry to the property was not gained. One commercial burglary to a premises in New Road between 11pm on Tuesday June 4th and Wednesday June 5th at 5am. Entry was gained and an untidy search was conducted. It is not clear at this stage what, if anything was stolen. Once again we have several reports of motor vehicle crime over the last week. One theft from motor vehicle in Axminster Crescent on Friday May 31st in the early hours of the morning. The victim was delivering papers and left his van briefly. Cash and other personal items were stolen from the vehicle. On Sunday June 2nd 2019 at 1am, in Little Heath Road a male was seen on a resident's CCTV opening their car door and stealing loose change. The suspect left his water bottle in the vehicle! The previous evening, Saturday June 1st a white male was seen on CCTV by another resident in Little Heath Road trying car doors. A car was stolen in Hythe Avenue on Monday June 3rd at 9.10am. The victim left her car for approximately 10 minutes and when she returned her car had been stolen, although she was still in possession of the keys. On Sunday June 2nd at 3.55am a vehicle was broken in to in First Avenue, cash was stolen and an untidy search was conducted. The team have continued to assist with joint burglary patrols with East Wickham and Crook Log over the last weekend to deter crime". 

The end video this week closely follows the first photo at the top of this Blog entry; it is a short, time lapse film taken from Erith Pier, and shows passing river traffic, and what I have previously referred to as Erith's "Big Sky" - something unique to the riverside. Who says I don't plan these things? Please feel free to comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Horizon to Horizon.

The photo above was taken by local resident and occasional Maggot Sandwich restaurant critic Brian Silk. It shows the Sun rising over the River Thames at Erith. It is a beautiful shot, and proves that the riverside at Erith can be stunningly attractive when the weather and light are right. You can clearly see the classic Erith "Big Sky" - the town is the only place in the whole of the London Borough of Bexley where one can see from horizon to horizon with a completely unobstructed view - something I feel we ought to make much more of. Erith is undersold as a place to live - something I am keen to remedy. Brian has also written a short review on a long - standing Erith institution that has recently changed hands. "I recently checked out Dilz Café in West Street, ‘under new management’, having previously been West Street Café. I have to say I didn’t notice too much of a difference from this long-standing institution’s previous incarnation, but that’s no bad thing. Still the same kind of range of set breakfasts, snacks and sandwiches, and lunches and dinners. There were perhaps one or two additional menu items, but I can’t be sure. Still pay with your order at the counter and the food is freshly prepared. I suppose the new management thought, ‘Why change a successful formula?’ I chose the spaghetti bolognese for £4.95. I was not disappointed. A decent-sized meal arrived and it was really tasty. In fact, I had it again just a few days ago and it was every bit as substantial and good as the first time. Decent food at a reasonable price could describe all the Erith food outlets I use again and again (the others being The Running Horses, Yildiran and West Street Fish Bar) and that very much applies to Dilz. I look forward to trying out more of their menu before long. Dilz is at 115 West Street (opposite The Ship pub), phone 01322 446726". Excellent reporting Brian. If anyone else has content that they would like to supply me with, you can Email hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

There is much controversy about the various proposed schemes to add extra crossings across the River Thames to the East of London. As I featured last week, a group called Bexley Against Road Crossings (BARC) have formed to campaign against new river crossings. The next BARC meeting is on Tuesday 27 October at 7.15pm at Bexley Village Library, Bourne Road, Bexley. Personally I have no strong feelings either pro or anti additional crossings. Whilst the population of the UK is continuing to rise, and the London and South East region is particularly affected in this respect, I am also aware that the more roads you build, statistically the more traffic will use them. Malcolm Knight of the excellent Bexley is Bonkers blog does some detailed analysis of the BARC claims which you can read here. It makes for interesting consideration. One cross - Thames link that nobody seems to be disputing is the long established and well loved Woolwich Ferry. It is currently coming to the end of a £10 million improvement as part of a two-year upgrade programme, due to be completed at the end of this month. Over the course of a year the three ferries make around 50,000 crossings in total, carrying on average 1.1 million vehicles and 2.2 million passengers. The improvement works on the piers, loading bridges and vessels aim to extend the crossing's operational life and deliver a more reliable service over a period estimated to be around fifteen years.  The current three vessels were built in Dundee in 1963 by The Caledon Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, and were each named after prominent local politicians: John Burns, Ernest Bevin and James Newman (Newman was mayor of Woolwich, 1923–25). These vessels are now over fifty years old, and a considerable degree of engineering work has had to be carried out to extend their operational life to cover the new expected service period. 

Mobile phone usage has increased so much it has led to the invention of the term Nomophobia – the fear of being denied mobile phone contact. A study found that half of British people suffer anxiety if they lose their phone, run out of battery or credit, or lose coverage. Nine percent actually suffer stress when their phone is off. 3G mobile phone technology is also employed in many so - called Smart Meters, that various energy companies are currently plugging hard. These meters are part of the "internet of things". I have noticed that several of the national energy companies are currently targeting local residents with letters asking them to make an appointment to get their current electricity and gas meters replaced with a smart meter. Personally I have received three such letters from my energy supplier, EDF. As I have mentioned before, Smart Meters send real – time power usage data back to the supplier via a 3G mobile phone signal. This means that the meter does not have to be connected to a home data network. This sounds all well and good; the power company can bill you without having to send a meter reader to your house, and you get the option to monitor your power usage in an almost real – time way. There are however, problems. The data sent from the Smart Meter to the supplier is sent unencrypted, and “in the clear”; it is possible to intercept the data stream, and also a malicious attacker can potentially send instructions to the meter remotely. Several Smart Meter companies do tacitly admit this, but they play the whole lack of security aspect down. Secondly if one discounts the security implications, the various energy companies all supply different Smart Meters, many of which are incompatible with each other. If you choose to change your energy supplier, you will need to have your Smart Meter changed again – with the associated additional cost to you that this implies. Tellingly on the EDF letter there are a series of frequently asked questions. EDF initially state in the letter that “your current meter is old and now needs to be replaced – you need to book an appointment for an engineer to carry out this work”. They then go on to stress how old meters can be inaccurate and possibly unsafe. There is a giveaway in the FAQ’s that follow though – and I quote verbatim:- “Occasionally we may be unable to install a Smart Meter, usually due to communications issues with signal strength. If this happens we will not replace your meter, but will contact you again when we believe the Smart Meter national infrastructure will be able to support a Smart Meter in your premises.” There is the smoking gun – they don't actually need to replace the meter for the accuracy and safety concerns expressed earlier – they purely want to do it to make you have a Smart Meter, with all the security, privacy and expense worries that they entail. I have a preferred technique for dealing with such unwanted attention – I ignore everything they send me until they eventually give up and go away. Smart Meters primarily benefit the energy companies, because they no longer need to employ meter readers. The benefits to the consumer are minimal at best, and when allied to the security and compatibility concerns mentioned earlier, they don't add up for me. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Doreen Ives, Chair of the Erith Town Forum has released the following announcement:- "The next meeting of Erith Town Forum will take place on Thursday 29th October 2015, 7pm – 9pm at BEXLEY COLLEGE, Walnut Tree Road, Erith, Kent. Yes we have moved to Bexley College and to a Thursday evening.  The hall we use is normally the students’ lounge/restaurant. We have access to excellent computer facilities for presentations, and coffee or tea will be available. There is a security procedure we must follow so you should arrive five/ten minutes early to sign in. Obviously we only have access to the hall and toilets which are close by. Unfortunately as most of you will be aware, there is no car park specifically for the College but there is on street parking nearby. Richard Green, Bexley Town Centres Manager will give us updates on issues raised at our meeting in July. Tom Brown Director of Adult Social Care and Kevin Murphy Head of Housing Services will give a presentation including information about to the present use of the old Homeleigh site in Avenue Road. A second presentation will be given by Deniece Williams, a member of the Bexley Fostering Recruitment and Assessment Team. As you can see it should be a very informative meeting so I hope you will be able to come along".

The News Shopper have given extensive coverage this week to a story I featured on the Maggot Sandwich last week, about the launch of Operation Adgate, and also the new Neighbourhood Watch scheme called Bike Watch. The photo above was supplied to me by Dana Whiffen, the Chairman of Bexley Neighbourhood Watch Association. The problem is one of illegal bikers riding stolen, unlicenced, unregistered, uninsured bikes around the local area whilst not wearing helmets and pulling wheelies and other dangerous stunts on the public highway, then filming the results of their criminal activity and posting them on the Bike Life TV UK Facebook page, and also on to their YouTube channel. There has been a massive crackdown on these criminals led by Bexley Neighbourhood Watch Association and Bexley Police. Officers from Bexley borough have joined forces with the Met's roads and transport policing command, Bexley Neighbourhood Watch Association and the Gallions/Peabody Housing Association – in a bid to crack down on bike crime and anti-social behaviour across Thamesmead and elsewhere. Six illegal vehicles were seized and nineteen drivers reported for various traffic offences on the operation's launch day, Thursday the 16th October. In addition to this, legal action is being taken against an illegal biker that I recently had a personal encounter with. I hope to be able to report the full story after the 20th November, when the case will reach court. Until then I can say no more, though I know some readers are aware of the story. More on Neighbourhood Watch at the end of this update, with a video originally shot for a Russian TV news and current affairs show!

Many clubs and organisations, and all companies are required to have staff or volunteers qualified to administer first aid in the case of a medical emergency. Properly administered and professionally recognised first aid training can be expensive, so I am pleased to say that a professionally run course is shortly to take place in Erith, and local residents can take part, and get a substantial discount on the normal course price. The one day course will be taking place on Friday the 27th November in The Cross Keys Centre on Erith High Street. You can read more about the course, and how to book a place online by clicking here. I hope to cover this story in future, as it is a very welcome local addition.

You may recall that on a few occasions in the past I have written in some detail about an odious individual by the name of Joshua Bonehill. He is a self – professed racist, misogynist homophobic anti Semitic bigot. He targeted me with a threatening Email last year, which I published in full here. Bonehill has been in and out of court on numerous charges, and is currently on remand in jail on a charge of Inciting Racial Hatred. He managed the astonishing feat of being called back to court on a separate charge whilst actually already being in prison. Last week he appeared at Stevenage Magistrates Court charged with misusing a public computer network to propagate grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing material. He had written on his website that babies with conditions like Downs Syndrome should be killed at birth for the good of the nation. He accompanied the story, on a site describing itself as 'Britain's number one nationalist newspaper' with a picture of a Tesco worker with Downs Syndrome.  He was also charged over another article in which he claimed food sold by Tesco that had been imported from Africa contained the deadly Ebola virus. District Judge Carolyn Mellanby dismissed both charges, saying that his right to free speech protected him from being punished over the stories. Tesco said that they were alerted to Bonehill's article, and were contacted by almost two hundred customers concerned that the story was true; I share the opinion with Richard of “The Thamesmead Grump” fame, that I find it worrying that so many people are prepared to believe anything they read, “because it is on Facebook”) . Despite accepting that Bonehill was behind the stories, district judge Mellanby said he was protected by the Human Rights Act, which guarantees free speech. She said: 'Freedom of speech has a very high threshold and I would have breached Article 10 of the Human Rights Act if I had found you guilty. You have a right to express your opinions. You came close, but not close enough. I therefore dismiss the case.' Joshua Bonehill, of Yeovil, Somerset, who also goes by the name of Joshua Bonehill – Paine was returned to custody after the hearing ahead of a trial he faces at Southwark Crown Court in December. He is accused of inciting racial hatred before a neo-Nazi rally in London in July. Whatever happens in the December trial, I feel that Bonehill will be encouraged by the court judgement, and will make much of it whenever he eventually gets out of prison.

Another thirtieth anniversary for a well known technology is now upon us, though the press have been remarkably silent on the matter - though they did pick up on Back to the Future Day on Wednesday last week. The undocumented birthday was that for Microsoft Excel. The now dominant spreadsheet was originally released for the Apple Mac in September 1985 (and in the UK in October of the same year). Microsoft originally marketed a spreadsheet program called Multiplan in 1982, which was very popular on text based CP/M systems, but on MS-DOS systems it lost popularity to Lotus 1-2-3. This promoted development of a new spreadsheet called Excel which started with the intention to, in the words of Microsoft's Doug Klunder, 'do everything 1-2-3 does and do it better'. The first version of Excel was released for the Mac in 1985 and the first Windows version (numbered 2.0 to line-up with the Mac and bundled with a run-time Windows environment) was released in November 1987. Lotus was slow to bring 1-2-3 to Windows and by 1988 Excel had started to outsell 1-2-3 and helped Microsoft achieve the position of leading PC software developer. This accomplishment, dethroning the king of the software world, solidified Microsoft as a valid competitor and showed its future of developing graphical software. Microsoft pushed its advantage with regular new releases, every two years or so. Early in its life Excel became the target of a trademark lawsuit by another company already selling a software package named "Excel" in the finance industry. As the result of the dispute Microsoft was required to refer to the program as "Microsoft Excel" in all of its formal press releases and legal documents. However, over time this practice has been ignored, and Microsoft cleared up the issue permanently when they purchased the trademark to the other program. Microsoft also encouraged the use of the letters XL as shorthand for the program; while this is no longer common, the program's icon still consists of a stylised combination of the two letters, and the file extension of the default Excel format is .xls. Excel offers many user interface tweaks over the earliest electronic spreadsheets; however, the essence remains the same as in the original spreadsheet, VisiCalc: the cells are organised in rows and columns, and contain data or formulas with relative or absolute references to other cells. Excel was the first spreadsheet that allowed the user to define the appearance of spreadsheets (fonts, character attributes and cell appearance). It also introduced intelligent cell recomputation, where only cells dependent on the cell being modified are updated (previous spreadsheet programs recomputed everything all the time or waited for a specific user command). Excel has extensive graphing capabilities. When first bundled into Microsoft Office in 1993, Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint had their GUIs redesigned for consistency with Excel, the killer app on the PC at the time. Since 1993, Excel has included Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), a programming language based on Visual Basic which adds the ability to automate tasks in Excel and to provide user defined functions (UDF) for use in worksheets. VBA is a powerful addition to the application which, in later versions, includes a fully featured integrated development environment (IDE). Macro recording can produce VBA code replicating user actions, thus allowing simple automation of regular tasks. VBA allows the creation of forms and in-worksheet controls to communicate with the user. The automation functionality provided by VBA has caused Excel to become a target for macro viruses. This was a serious problem in the corporate world until antivirus products began to detect these viruses. Microsoft belatedly took steps to prevent the misuse by adding the ability to disable macros completely, to enable macros when opening a workbook or to trust all macros signed using a trusted certificate.  Many of us use Excel as part of our jobs nowadays - and I reckon that many are not aware of the long and rich history the application has. Whilst in very widespread use, it is not the only spreadsheet available, despite what Microsoft might have you believe. Happy 30th birthday Excel.

Here is an announcement that you may well find of interest. "THE FRIENDS OF CHRIST CHURCH ERITH ask you to a QUIZ NIGHT on Saturday 14th November 2015. Doors open at 7pm for a 7:15pm start in Christchurch Hall, Victoria Road, Erith, Kent, DA8 3AN (vehicular access via Glebe Way).  Maximum of 6 people to a team - £3 a person.  Form your own team or join one on the night.   Please bring your own drinks and nibbles.  There will also be a raffle.  A fun fund-raising event for the upkeep of the listed Church building.  Thank you if you have already bought tickets for the Quiz Night, but if not, then now’s your chance!  Tickets in advance only please:  Contact the Friends of Christ Church Erith at focce1874@aol.com".

Several readers have asked me to write in more detail about Edward Butler, the true inventor of the modern motor car. He was the first modern motorist, he invented several automotive components that are still in common use today, and his wife Kitty, also known as Kate Gildersleeves – is thought to be the World’s first lady motorcyclist. When Edward Butler was developing his petrol cycle (photo above - click on it for a larger view), he used Manor Road in Erith for testing purposes. The reason for this was (unlike today) the road was relatively quiet with little traffic; it also benefitted by being a very long road and mostly straight. It can therefore be said that Manor Road in Erith was the World’s very first car test track. It still gets used by would – be boy racers nowadays, despite a twenty miles per hour speed limit on the residential stretch of the road. The Butler Petrol Cycle is accepted by many automotive historians as the very first British motor car, although as it never went into production. Although Karl Benz is recognised as the inventor of the modern motor car, the aforementioned Edward Butler was said to have exhibited plans for a 3-wheeled vehicle two years earlier than Benz in 1884 at the Stanley Cycle Show, London, and it was also the first design shown at the 1885 Inventions Exhibition, London. Butler however did not patent his vehicle until 1887 due to British laws on experiments.  On the vehicle the patent read “Butlers Petrol-Cycle Syndicate Limited Patent”.  It also referred to “F.B. Shuttleworth, Erith, London.” as Butler built the Petrol Cycle in the engineering works of F.B. Shuttleworth who was an engineer who built naval torpedo ships and civilian yachts, and additionally was a steam boiler manufacturer.  In 1890 Butler finished his design which was a vehicle powered by an engine that combusted mineral hydrocarbons. The respected publication Scientific American published an article on the Butler Petrol Cycle in the February 14th 1891 edition of the magazine. This stated that one gallon of petroleum or benzolene was enough to “furnish sufficient power” to achieve a journey of forty miles at a speed ranging from 3 - 10 mph. Edward Butler is credited with first using the word “Petrol” and inventing the spark plug, magneto, coil ignition and spray jet carburettor.  The speed of the vehicle was regulated by a throttle valve lever  whilst over heating was prevented by water circulating through a radiator over the rear driving wheel. Butler was continually frustrated in his automotive experiments by the law. The Red Flag Act of 1885 was a major source of exasperation; the act restricted automotive vehicles to a maximum speed of 2 mph in the city and 4 mph in the countryside.  In addition each vehicle had to be attended by three people, of which one had to walk in front of the vehicle waving a red flag (The 1865 Red Flag Act) to warn other road users and help control horses. This act had originally appeared as a result of the growing number of steam powered vehicles in the UK. The restrictive nature of the Red Flag Act meant that inventors and engineers could only test their creations on private land, something which proved instrumental in holding back British car development, and allowing Karl Benz in Germany not only to gain a technological lead in car development, but more importantly to register a whole series of patents under his name. Butler became increasingly frustrated and disillusioned; In 1900 Butler penned a letter to “The Autocar” magazine of which they published on April 7th 1900. The letter read:- “Now that public attention is being drawn to the early attempts of the two German pioneers, Benz and Daimler, I trust that you may find space in your journal for an illustration of a small petrol vehicle, which I believe was absolutely the first made in this country, and if I could have interested any one to finance it when the drawings were exhibited at the Stanley Show in 1884, and the following year at the Inventions Exhibition, I should have been contemporaneous, if not earlier than either of them. Although I cannot claim to have done very much in the light of the present enormous development of the automotor trade, it may have been forgotten that I carried out a series of experiments in the perfecting of a motor vehicle at a time when progress was much hindered by the prejudice and want of interest - the motor part of which has been since used in many types of engines for industrial purposes.” By this time Edward Butler had already give up further work on his Petrol Cycle, realising that due to the restrictive traffic laws of the time, he was never going to win the race to build the World’s first commercially available motor car. He wrote “..the authorities do not countenance its use on the roads, and I have abandoned in consequence any further development of it.” Butler broke his Petrol Cycle up for scrap in 1896 where upon the patent rights were sold to H.J. Lawson and the engine continued to be produced for motor boats.  Shortly afterwards the Locomotive on Highways Act of 1896 was passed that allowed speeds of up to 14 mph and opened up the highways to motor vehicles, but this was too late for Edward Butler. He died in 1940, largely unrecognised for his pioneering work in automotive design. If things had turned out differently, instead of driving around in Mercedes Benzes, we could have been driving a Butler motor car.

The ending video is surprisingly timely; it shows an interview carried out by Russian television channel 1TV for their news and current affairs programme. This is an excerpt of the longer, Russian language piece which shows a member of Bexley Neighbourhood Watch explaining what the watch is, and how it operates for the benefit of the Russian audience who I understand currently don't operate anything similar at present. This version is in English, minus Russian language dubbing, which was added later by the producers. As a fellow Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator, I am pleased to see that we are getting some well deserved international recognition. Thanks to Dana Whiffen, the Chairman of Bexley Neighbourhood Watch Association for supplying the video clip.