The Forum.

The Erith Riverside Gardens are a lovely place to visit, and to sit and watch the world go by. Recently the gardens have been the home of some free yoga sessions. The next free sessions are being held on Saturday the 7th September 11-12pm. Then on Saturday the 14th September from 11-12pm, and finally an evening session on Monday the 23rd September from 6.30 - 7.30pm. Bring along a yoga mat and wear suitable loose clothing. Before anyone asks, no, I will not be participating!

Now for some rather sad news, that I have to admit I did see coming. Erith Town Forum have decided to disband. A message was sent to a number of local people, including myself, on Friday afternoon. The message reads in full thus:- "Erith Town Forum Management Committee met today. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the future of the Forum. After much careful thought both prior to and during the meeting it was decided that now is the appropriate time to close Erith Town Forum since it no longer has sufficient voluntary officers able to give time and attention to make sure it can be as active and useful to the community of Erith as it has certainly been in the past. We are extremely proud of the achievements of Erith Town Forum over many years. Another consultative group has come into being “The Erith Think Tank” who aim to do many of the things the Forum have done in the past but using new modern methods of communication and generally operating in a different way. You will find details of their activities through The Exchange, the organisation now refurbishing the old Carnegies Library for use as a community hub. The funds raised by the Chairperson of Erith Forum from local business and larger charities over the years have been spent to organise events for senior citizens, young people and the community as a whole, together with the cost of hiring the Veterans Club for regular meetings and secretarial services. There is a small amount of money left in the accounts and the Management team recommend that this be divided between 2 charities – the Erith Food Bank and Evergreen, both of whose services are in greater demand than ever. In case you are in doubt as to who Evergreen serve, it is largely the older generation who are sick, returning from a hospital stay or simply lonely. These people need help to keep their homes clean and tidy and company to keep them mentally stimulated. We have sent a note to all Members of the Forum inviting them to comment on the above and await their reply. Meantime we would like to thank you for your contributions and regular attendance at Forum meetings and events over many many years, and hope you will be able to get to the Think Tank meetings and enjoy participating in their activities". To learn more about the Erith Think Tank, and to join in with its activities, click here. 

Back in July I wrote at some length about the threat to the two metre VHF amateur radio band. A proposal had been submitted by France to make the Aeronautical Mobile Service the primary users of the 144-146 MHz (2 Metre VHF) band and demote the Amateur Radio Service to secondary users - effectively removing them from the band. Thanks to concerted efforts by the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) and other European amateur radio societies, At 144MHz, after a major effort, the 144 to 146MHz frequency range was successfully withdrawn from the French WRC-23 aeronautical proposal. This hot topic had been the subject of detailed submissions by the IARU, France and Germany. This excellent result for amateur radio occurred in parallel to a number of other proposals being adopted to support aeronautical interests. The upshot of this is that the 2M amateur band is saved and can continue being used exclusively by licenced amateur radio operators. 

Here is a message from Caroline Field of Orbit Housing Association:- "Orbit and Wates invite you to join us to celebrate the completion of Erith Park and launch of Arthur Street regeneration. Our community fun day, organised with residents of Erith Park  celebrates the new community.  We are building homes here, not just houses, and that means working together to create a lasting community legacy. We would love to welcome you to show our appreciation of your contribution to the new community of Erith Park – and our future vision for Arthur Street. Join us for a day filled with fun activities and entertainment for all. It’s the weekend so feel free to bring family members if you wish. Food and drink vans will be available on the day. Saturday 14th September 1-4pm. Community Room, Adamson Court, Dell View Road, DA8 3FG". Caroline also wrote to me to explain the recent decision by Bexley Council to reject the initial plans for the demolition of the old Arthur Street Estate, which I covered in detail last week. Caroline writes:- "As you know the planning committee resolved to give consent for the demolition of Arthur Street and the building of our new development.  What people often don’t realise is that there are other processes to go through before a planning consent is confirmed and you can actually start work.  Some of these processes involve lawyers so they can take some time.  We plan to start work on structural demolition at the end of September and we are still hoping to get our main consent confirmed by then. However, as is normal in these circumstances, we submitted a simpler application to cover the demolition as a back up.  This is what the Council have refused". It would appear that the decision from Bexley Council is a minor blip, and not the major problem that some had envisaged. The regeneration of the Arthur Street Estate is much needed by hundreds of local people. 

Since my piece on the potential new Micro Pub in Welling which I covered last week, a reader who wishes to remain anonymous Emailed me to inform me that planning permission has just been given for The Bolthole in Falconwood Parade, Welling. This will be another Micro Pub. The writer and I share the opinion that this may be one too many in the Welling area, and we share concerns that the opening of a third micro pub in a relatively small catchment area may lead to the market becoming over saturated. On the other hand, there is a large residential community around the Falconwood area, which might well support the venture. Regarding the application, I notice that another local resident has submitted an objection on the Bexley planning website. The person has submitted the following comments:- "This application should be refused and the applicant asked to apply as a public house (not a Micropub). Micropubs should not serve lager as the applicants have suggested on their website. The area is not suited to a venue that will supply large quantities of lager, creating antisocial behaviour to residents and children playing nearby. The alternative is strict conditions that say all beer sold must be unpasteurised and therefore conform as real ale whether served on draught or in bottles/cans. This can be tested and will prevent the sale of mass-produced lagers. If the applicant is to be allowed to serve fizzy lagers, they should be required to have door staff as a condition of the licence between 1800 and 2300 on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and bank holidays". on top of this, another local resident has submitted the following, which I was not aware of, until now:- "After your comments about lager on your blog it did make me wonder. This area The Green in Welling has a history of anti-social behaviour. There is a covenant on all our property deeds that no intoxicating alcohol should be sold on this estate, but we have two restaurants who sell same but to customers, and three off-licences so I presume nobody takes any notice of these things now, as it was in 1936. I did mention it to the Planning Officer". What do you think of this situation? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I am a big fan of Google's Chromebook computers. Chromebooks run a cut down version of the Linux operating system called Chrome OS, and the only locally installed application on the simplified computers is the Chrome web browser. All "apps" run on the machines are actually web based applications that are remotely accessed; whilst the machines do have a limited amount of local storage, users are strongly encouraged to store their data in encrypted form in the cloud.  I have had a Google Chromebook by Samsung - (the photo above is my own model) since 2012, and I have been very satisfied with it - especially considering their inexpensive price. Most Chromebooks cost between £179 and £279, though it is possible to spend considerably more, though personally I can see only limited benefit in getting a pricier model, as most of the "heavy lifting" of any computing is not done on the Chromebook itself. but on the server in the cloud. Chromebooks are basically terminals onto the net. As long as you have a good WiFi or a 4 / 5G connection, you are good to go. Google's Chrome operating system has proved to be extremely robust and secure, though it has to be said it has far less to do than a "full fat" desktop / Laptop operating system such as Windows 10. I bought my Chromebook back in 2012, when they were a relatively knew phenomenon; I paid £229 for it - which I thought was little enough that if it did not work for me, little money would have been wasted. On the contrary, I found it to be an excellent tool with long battery life, a decent screen and most important to me - an excellent keyboard very similar in style to a MacBook Pro. I spend most of my time online typing, so keyboard quality is something very important to me - and also the reason that I am not a fan of tablet computers - I am primarily a content creator, rather than a content consumer. I recently encountered an issue which I had been half expecting, but which nevertheless came as somewhat of an unpleasant surprise. I powered up the Chromebook one evening recently, and a pop up notice appeared on screen, which said:- "This device will no longer receive the latest software updates. Please consider upgrading". I did a bit of research, and the current Chromebook will continue working, but it will not get functionality and security updates in future. This is not too bad really - the machine has been a workhorse for seven years, so it really does not owe me anything. If I want to continue using it with continuing updates, I can install a full Linux operating system on it. Saying that, I do like Chrome OS, and looked at possibly getting a brand new Chromebook at some stage in the future. One thing I discovered was that buying a brand new Chromebook does not guarantee you will get six and a half years of updates to it from Google. Support from Google for Chrome OS on a device lasts from the moment that particular model is released by the manufacturer, not from when the end user purchases it. Every Chromebook has an "Auto Update Expiration (AUE) Date" after which the operating system is unsupported by Google. If you happen to buy your Chromebook late in the product's life cycle, you may be surprised how soon the AUE date arrives. You can see the AUE dates for the whole range of Chromebooks listed in order of the manufacturer by clicking here. Would this put you off buying a Chromebook? What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

One of the most widely known companies to have a historic association with Erith was Callender's Cables, formerly known as The Callender Bitumen, Telegraph and Waterproof co. Originally the company was primarily concerned with the production of bitumen and waterproof damp course material for the building trade, with cable making little more than a side line. The rapid growth in telecommunications in the late Victorian era led to cables becoming the company's main product, and in 1896 the firm was reorganised as The Callender Cable and Construction co, which was later changed to British Insulated Callenders Cables, or BICC. By 1965 the Erith based factory was the principal manufacturing facility for the world's largest cable group - the production area covered some 65 acres and provided employment for 1,300 local workers. Callenders were one of the main manufacturers of PLUTO (Pipeline Under The Ocean). Callenders also contributed much to the area of culture and the arts; Callenders Cableworks Band, which was started in 1890 as a Salvation Army band. Some members wanted to play a wider variety of music, so the band was relaunched as a temperance promoting popular music band. Callender's employees included at least a hundred instrumentalists who spent their leisure time in four band groups. The Senior Band consisted of 31 picked men: this was the band which broadcast on BBC Radio. There was also the A-band, the B-band and a learner's class of beginners from school age onwards; the A- and B-band members and the learners could all be promoted upwards as their skills developed and vacancies occurred. There was also a degree of "poaching" of skilled instrumentalists from other bands, not necessarily local to the area; It was kept quiet at the time, but in August 1925 when the St Hilda Colliery in South Shields temporarily closed, seven members of the colliery band, which was undoubtedly one of the best in the UK at the time, were all offered positions working at Callenders, even though they were miners, not cabling engineers. It is understood that their "day jobs" were nominal at best - making the tea or doing a bit of sweeping up - they were actually recruited primarily for their musical talents, and the prestige that they would bring to the company. This "poaching" of the best musicians from other brass bands carried on over the next ten years or so - a period when the Callenders Cableworks Band were considered the very best in the country. They became popular around the country and gave many public performances, and had a regular feature on pioneering radio station 2LOduring the early days of radio. The Band's first broadcast was from radio station 2LO on 27 February 1925. By 1932 the Band had twice toured all stations of BBC Radio, and they were to broadcast there twice again in April of that year, by which time they had broadcast 72 times on radio. By 16 December of that year, they had broadcast 80 times. They aspired to performing music which was "out of the rut of marches, operatic selections and other pier head pieces." They performed on 5 March 1932 at the Queen's Hall, London. On the afternoon and evening of Sunday 20 March of the same year, they performed at the opening of the new art deco frontage of the Central Bandstand, Herne Bay, Kent. On 18 December 1932 they took part in a special BBC Radio programme in which most of the music had been composed especially for them. Under the name of Callenders Senior Band they recorded Colonel Bogey, Entry of the Gladiators, Le Grenadier, Les Huguenots (parts 1 and 2), Three Dale Dances and Triana on 78 rpm disks. They recorded A Sailor's Life (Descriptive Fantasia), parts 1 and 2, conducted by Tom Morgan, on two Broadcast Twelve disks. Broadcast Twelve Records was a United Kingdom based record label introduced in 1928 to partner the regular "Broadcast" brand records introduced in 1927. These brands replaced the Aco Records label. The manufacturer of the discs were the Vocalion Gramophone Company. "Broadcast" discs were 8-inch (later increased to 9-inch) and "Broadcast Twelve" discs were 10-inch 78rpm gramophone records, but with small labels and a fine groove pitch so they would play as long as regular 10 and 12-inch discs respectively. They ceased production in 1934. The label was a subsidiary of the British branch of Vocalion Records. In brass band competitions over the years they had 25 wins, 11 second places and 3 third places. For some years they took part in the Elthorne Band Contest which started in 1919 at Elthorne Park. The competition had four sections with many entries, and a massed band concert. They won the competition on 20 May 1924 and 3 May 1925, and again on 7 June 1930. The band was disbanded at the start of World War 2, and reformed at the end of the war; though it never regained the prestige it had once held - and in any case brass band music was losing favour with the listening public. The band struggled on until 1961, when it was finally wound up due to a lack of members. Ironically the history of the band is now starting to come to the fore again, and interest in what Callenders did in the early decades of the twentieth century is now starting to grow.

It has come to my attention that we will shortly be losing a well known and very popular local figure. Rob Radcliffe, who has been the vicar at St.John's Erith - Bexley's oldest church - since 2011 is about to move on. He's heading off to the Isle of Man, where he was born, to take charge of four churches in the island. The official Church of England announcement reads:- "Bishop Peter is pleased to announce the appointment of The Revd Mark Radcliffe, currently Vicar of St John the Baptist, Erith, as the new Vicar of Malew and Santan, succeeding the Revd James McGowan. Mark was born on the Isle of Man but with both of his parents serving in the British Army, his childhood saw him living in different locations across the globe, including a spell in Singapore. Prior to ordination Mark worked for various organisations as an Information Technology Officer and was also an active member of St Philip and St James’ Church in Walderslade, Kent, where he served on the PCC, Diocesan Synod and Bishop’s Council. Mark also spent time as the Lay Chair of Rochester Deanery as well as chairing the Diocesan Youth Committee. Mark began training for ministry at Cranmer Hall, Durham, in 2005 before being ordained deacon in 2008 and serving his Title in the Parish of St John the Evangelist, Welling. Revd Mark took up his current position as Vicar of Erith in the Diocese of Rochester in 2011 and has overseen a growth in school outreach work that culminated in over 800 young people attending the most recent Christmas Carol services. Mark is 56 years old and in his spare time he enjoys walking and reading military history and science fiction books. On his appointment the Revd Mark Radcliffe said, ‘I am looking forward to spending time getting to know the congregations of the parish and the local communities that they serve whilst trying to discern God's plans for our shared future’. Commenting on the new appointment, Bishop Peter said ‘I am delighted to welcome The Revd Mark Radcliffe to the Diocese of Sodor and Man.  Mark brings with him substantial experience of parish ministry and a desire to reach out across the entire community with the Gospel and with a ministry of care.   I thank Wardens, Parish Officers, and colleagues for sustaining the life of the parish through the period of Interregnum, and I express my gratitude and happiness that we have been able to appoint a new Vicar so swiftly.  I now look forward immensely to welcoming Mark into our diocese and into the Southern Mission Partnership.  Thanks be to God.’ Please pray for Mark as he prepares to move to the Island and please also pray for the people of St John the Baptist, Erith, as they prepare for a period of vacancy". In case you were wondering, Rob will be using the first name of Mark when he moves to his new post. I have no idea why. I will miss my occasional chats with him; we used to discuss old computers and military history, of which he is a great enthusiast. Rob is a Maggot Sandwich reader, and I hope he will continue so to do after his move to pastures new. I wish him well in his new parish.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Since the last weekly update there have been no crimes to report. This is great news however we continue to remind residents to double lock front doors, check windows are closed securely and ensure your vehicles are safe with no items left out on show. PC Arif and PC Tom Smith have been carrying out proactive patrols targeting hotspot areas. Police Community Support Officers Cathy and John have been out on foot patrol engaging with local residents and carrying out reassurance visits to vulnerable residents. Street a week was carried out in Taunton Close where residents had the opportunity to speak to officers about local issues. The next community contact session will be held in Barnehurst Golf Club on Tuesday 10th September 2019 at 11.00am. We look forward to seeing you". Belvedere ward:- "Last week, there was damage caused to the window of a residents vehicle in Brigstock Road overnight from Wednesday 21st to Thursday 22nd August. It appeared to be an attempt to gain entry to the car which had been parked in Halt Robin Road. Having completed door to door enquiries, we have been unable to establish any witnesses or possible leads as to who may have been responsible. If anyone has any information in relation to this incident, please contact the team. Earlier in the month, there was a catalytic converter removed from a vehicle in Eardley Road. Again, this took place overnight (seemingly in the small hours of the morning). We are in the process of viewing CCTV in relation to this incident. Anyone that may have any information, again please contact the team". Bexleyheath ward:- "There has been one report of a burglary on the ward as well as an attempted burglary reported. Wednesday 21/08/2019 Burglary– Iris Avenue Bexleyheath – Happened overnight and entry was gained via the side extension. Wednesday 21/08/2019 – Attempted Burglary along Martens Avenue Bexleyheath. Suspects tried to gain entry on rear door of property and happened between midnight at 2am.  A Theft of motor vehicle was reported on the Tuesday 20/08/2019 along Market Place Bexleyheath between 3.40pm & 4pm. Also on the Wednesday 21/08/2019, there was a report of a theft from motor vehicle near Albion Road Bexleyheath. There was also a report of a purse stolen from the victim’s hand bag, purse was discovered stolen whilst shopping on the Broadway on the Wednesday 21/09/2019". Crayford ward:- "It has been a relatively 'Q' week for crime in Crayford this week. However, we did have a residential burglary and a robbery. The burglary took place on bank holiday Monday, 26th August between 14.00-15.20 in London Road. Entry was made by smashing windows to gain entry. Among the items stolen was a Louis Vuitton handbag and contents including an annual train pass, photography equipment, an air rifle and sentimental jewellery belonging to the victim’s elderly Mother. The robbery took place near Greggs in Crayford Road on Tuesday 20th August between 19.10-19.20. Three IC3 males were seen to follow the two victims from Town Hall Square, past the library and Sainsbury's and out to Crayford Road where they had their property stolen. Items stolen include a laptop and bag containing work related paperwork, currency, keys and fobs to home and vehicles, a watch, a sports bag. The victims believe they were targeted due to the nature of their jobs. A white Range Rover Evoque number plate LM16XGY was stolen from Inglewood Road between 15.30 on Friday 23rd August and 08.50 on Saturday 24th September, the owner still has the keys. A catalytic convertor was stolen from a black Toyota Prius Plus on Friday 23rd August between 11.40-12.10 whilst parked at Hall Place car park. Number plates were stolen from Dale Road on Tuesday 27th August between 16.30-21.45, EU64SXJ should be on a white Ford Transit with L and Q markings on. A black and blue TREK bicycle, model 4300 D 13 was stolen with all accessories from the bike shed outside Crayford BR Station on Tuesday 27th August between 07.55 – 17.05. We cannot stress enough the importance of locking doors and windows securely when leaving your property, even for a short time. Make your home look like it is occupied, consider a burglar alarm or CCTV, ring door bells are brilliant too. Please look at www.met.police.uk/burglary for lots of useful tips and advice on keeping your home safe and secure. Our next community contact session will be held on Wednesday 4th September at Sainsbury's Café between 16.00-17.00, please feel free to come along for an informal chat".

Erith ward - no reports this week. Northumberland Heath ward:- "Search warrant executed on Saturday 24/8/19 at Hind Crescent. Items of interest were found and enquiries are ongoing. Officers are working around the clock to bring criminals to justice. If you are concerned about police activities in your area or you would like to speak with an officer please contact us. If you have any information you would like to pass to police related to criminal activities please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on freephone 0800555111. A set of number plates has been taken from a parked and unattended vehicle in Belmont Road. If you happen to see registration number S800TTP please contact police so further enquiries can be made. Should you wish to protect your vehicle from this type of offence drop us a line and we may be able to provide appropriate anti-theft devices". Slade Green and Northend ward: -"On Friday 23/08/2019 number plates were stolen overnight from a vehicle in Cornwallis Close. Please let us know if you require any anti theft screws. There was an attempted theft of a catalytic converter from a vehicle in Alexandra Road around 2.30pm on Saturday 24/08/2019. Fortunately the suspects were approached by a neighbour and drove off.  A pushbike was stolen from a garage in Brompton Drive in the last week. It was noticed missing by the victim on Sunday but they hadn’t been to the garage area for a few days so it is unclear at this point when the theft occurred. CCTV enquiries are ongoing. Unfortunately the victim does remember that they did NOT lock their garage leaving it insecure. Please please always lock all your property. A moped was stolen from a drive in the afternoon of Monday 26/08/2019 in Bridge Road. Enquiries are ongoing". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglary: No burglaries this week. Crime Prevention: Close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you're going out for a few minutes. Photograph and keep a detailed inventory of each item of jewellery and keep it in a separate place. Remain vigilant at all times; Theft from Motor Vehicles: Overnight of Wednesday 21/08/19 and Thursday 22/0819 a vehicle parked in Wolvercote Road was broken into, a laptop and various other items stolen. At 5:00am of the Friday 23/08/19 vehicle parked in St Edmunds Close broken into, bag left in passenger footwell, however nothing taken as suspect believed to have been disturbed by another resident. Overnight of Friday 23/08/19 and Saturday 24/08/19 a vehicle parked in Wolvercote Road, had the rear passenger quarter light window smashed, untidy search ,nothing believed to have been taken. theft from a vehicle parked in Hartslock Drive overnight of Sunday 25/08/19 and Monday 26/08/19, the driver’s window was smashed, a wallet containing various bank cards and cash taken from the driver’s side door pocket; Another vehicle parked in Wolvercote Road, broken into during the early hours of Monday 26/08/19 - the driver’s window smashed, an untidy search, nothing believed to have been taken; Overnight of Sun 25/08/19 and Mon 26/08/19 a vehicle parked in Maran Way broken into and a laptop and sat-nav taken; Overnight of the Sat 24/08/19 and Sun 25/08/19 a vehicle parked in Northwood Place broken into, a wallet containing bank cards/travel card /store cards left in glove compartment stolen .Sometime between 7:00am and 6:00pm of the 26/08/19 a company vehicle parked outside Argali House, Kale Road, had the driver’s side window smashed and a sat-nav stolen; A vehicle parked in Redpoll Way between the hours of 4:00pm and 10:15pm of the Monday 26/08/19 was broken into and a wallet containing a bank card and a driving licence stolen; Criminal Damage to Motor Vehicles - A company vehicle parked in Dalberg Way had a window broken. Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention - coins for the car park, sunglasses or other items that can earn quick cash are irresistible to the opportunist thief. The cost of replacing a window is often much more than that of what’s stolen. Tell family, friends and neighbours. Good News: Excellent work by PC Pruden resulted in a male being stopped and searched, he was found to be in possession of a Class 'A' drug and cannabis, the male is now serving a custodial sentence". West Heath ward:- "We are pleased to say that there have been no burglaries reported over the last week. We are however still suffering from motor vehicle crime on the ward. One attempted theft from motor vehicle in Bedonwell Road on Wednesday August 21st between 11.25pm – 11.30pm. A male was seen attempting to try to open the victim’s door without success. The male then walked away without gaining entry;Tools worth approximately £500 were stolen from a van in Long Lane overnight between Thursday 22nd August 9pm – Friday August 23rd -8am; An attempt was made to steal a motorbike in Madison Crescent on Sunday August 25th at 11.45pm. A male was seeing dressed in motorbike clothing and wearing a helmet. The suspect was disturbed by the victim banging on the window the male made off on the back of a silver scooter. The team have been working flat out this week conducting arrest enquiries and assisted with the policing at the Notting Hill Carnival over the bank holiday weekend. The next drop in police surgery will be held at the Bostall Library in King Harolds Way on Monday September 2nd between 12-1pm. All are welcome to attend". 

The end video this week shows the first day of service of  the new 301 bus route, which runs from Beresford Square in Woolwich via Plumstead, Thamesmead and Abbey Wood on its way to its termination at Bexleyheath shopping centre. The journey in real time takes approximately thirty five minutes. The producer of the short video has sped up the footage so that the journey only takes five minutes, and is accompanied by some pretty awful and distracting music for some unfathomable reason. You can always turn off the audio. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Nonexistent Nuxley Village.

Erith has certainly had its share of press attention this week, not least on Monday, when a suspect package was discovered in Pembroke Road, adjacent to the railway line. Train services were stopped, and the Police and emergency services summoned. Eventually the package was found to not be a bomb, and the line re – opened; train disruption continued for several hours, as services were misplaced. Obviously the authorities had to err on the side of caution when dealing with the suspect package, but a few questions still need to be asked. Who found the package, and why was a bomb suspected? I lack the detailed background knowledge to fully understand the circumstances, but it does seem rather unlikely that ISIS or Al Qaeda would target Erith over a more high profile target in central London. Still it is reassuring to know that the authorities are on their toes when it comes to potential local threats.

According to the online resource the Rightmove Rental Tracker, Erith and Belvedere are the cheapest places to rent property in Greater London. Average prices for two-bedroom flats are £1,013 and £1,064 a month respectively, almost half the London average, yet direct train services reach London Bridge station within 40 minutes. Belvedere sits one stop further up the line, which also stops at Abbey Wood, Plumstead and Woolwich, an area set to gain high-speed Crossrail links from 2018. With rents rising by up to 21 per cent in some parts of the capital in the past year alone, it is no surprise that the most affordable areas also are becoming the most in-demand among renters. The Rightmove report refers to Erith as “little known”, and “North East of Bexleyheath and North West of Dartford”. It makes Erith sound like it is halfway up the Zambezi – the survey is obviously conducted by estate agents unfamiliar with the area. This is not unusual, as I have previously covered; A lot of people, some long – time local residents included, who call Nuxley Road in Upper Belvedere “Nuxley Village” – even though no such place has ever existed since the beginning of recorded time. The origin of the names of the  places in the local area, and some of the surrounding landmarks dates back to the early fifteenth century, and the name Belvedere even earlier. The area of Bedonwell gets its name from the Bedon stream, which runs through what is now known as Streamway; the Bedon is a minor tributary of the River Thames, which is now run through an underground drain for much of its length. A fifteenth century form of the name was Beton Well, meaning “praying well”. The exact origin is lost in the mists of time, though the old English word “bydan” meaning a shallow valley may have something to do with it. On the South side of the stream was a further area of open heath land, called Nuxley or Little Heath, which occupied an area around what was later Bedonwell Primary School (and is now a Doctor’s surgery and private flats). The name Nuxley was sometimes spelled Naxley, which in turn is a corruption of Knocksley, meaning a small hill. Nuxley Road was originally named Bexley Road, until March 1939 when it was renamed as Nuxley Road, which it remains to date. There is no record of Upper Belvedere ever having been named Nuxley Village, and parish records for the area date back to 1235 AD, and survived the reformation, when ownership of the parish was transferred from Lesnes Abbey to the owners of Parsonage Farm (on what is now Parsonage Manor Way). During the late 19th century, Parsonage Farm was owned by the Vinson family, who were at the time rich and powerful enough to issue their own trade tokens (a kind of informal local currency). There are records that beer houses such as the Fox, and full pubs such as the Eardley Arms took trade tokens for payment for food and drink until sometime around 1900. The farm buildings, which were  constructed in the Middle Ages (principally to provide food and drink for Abbot and Monks at Lesnes Abbey) lasted until the end of WWII, when it was used to house an auxiliary fire station. After the war the building was so derelict it was demolished. Thus, the name “Nuxley Village” is a construct – a fictional creation of local estate agents who have no knowledge of the history of the area. Upper Belvedere has been so called for at least the last 781 years, and the thoughtless action of a handful of ignorant house peddlers is not going to change facts any time soon.

A report last week in the New York Times poses serious questions about the long held belief that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It turns out that the idea is the result of spin over the years by breakfast cereal companies and others. skipping  breakfast can allegedly lead to weight gain, a sluggish metabolism, or stress. According to a new piece in The New York Times however, our beliefs about breakfast are all based on "misinterpreted research and biased studies"–propaganda, basically. Author Aaron E. Carroll notes that almost all breakfast studies suffer from a "publication bias." There are flaws in reporting of studies that skew findings to link skipping breakfast with causing obesity. Carroll writes: "The reports improperly used causal language to describe their results. They misleadingly cited other's results. And they also improperly used causal language in citing others' results. People believe, and want you to believe, that skipping breakfast is bad. Additionally, there are usually conflicts of interest behind the studies, considering most of them are funded by the food industry. The Quaker Oats Centre of Excellence, for instance, paid for a trial that concluded eating oatmeal or frosted cornflakes reduces weight and cholesterol. People are conditioned from a young age to believe that breakfast is essential to performance. It turns out that's because most of the research geared toward kids is meant to evaluate the impact of school breakfast programmes. They don't take into consideration that 15 million children in the U.S. go hungry at home–of course they would do better in school if they eat". That isn't the same, though, as testing whether children who are already well nourished and don't want breakfast should be forced to eat it," Carroll writes. Overall, you should just go with your gut. If you're hungry in the morning, eat. If you're not, don't think you're sinning by skipping it. Finally, approach all studies skeptically – Carroll put it best: "Breakfast has no mystical powers."

Yet another serious incident on Erith Pier has caused the Gravesend Lifeboat to be called out. Even at maximum speed, the lifeboat takes quite some time to travel Westwards from Gravesend; several times when it was been called to Erith, it has been in relatively close proximity whilst on patrol. The most recent incident happened at around 4am on Sunday morning, where a man was reported to be hanging off a ladder on the far end of Erith Pier. The RNLI and Police were called, and the man was rescued. To my mind, this once again shows that we need a fully staffed lifeboat sub – station in Erith. As I have written before, Erith is approximately equidistant between Gravesend and London Bridge – the two locations of the nearest lifeboat stations, which means potentially it is the point furthest from a rescue service in the event of a river emergency. The RNLI are getting call – outs to Erith every other week at present. Thus far the recent emergencies have all reached positive conclusions, but it is only a matter of time before we have a fatality. Erith Pier already has a plaque fixed to the wall of the building at the far end. This commemorates the young man who ended his life by throwing himself into the river back in 2011. I am writing to the RNLI to see if any consideration has been given to a substation at Erith. As I have previously mentioned, the old Port of London Authority office adjacent to the wooden jetty on the river front would make an ideal substation – it has power and water, and enough space for four people to stay whilst on call. The lifeboat could be moored at the end of the jetty. What do you think? Does the level of river – related emergencies justify the expense of an RNLI substation? Another emergency happened in the outskirts of the town on Sunday. A number of ambulances and other emergency vehicles raced along Manor Road, heading in the direction of Erith Yacht Club at around half past three in the afternoon. A biker had crashed, and in the process had suffered head injuries. It turned out that he had been illegally riding on the marshes. For some unknown reason a lot of local bikers have the erroneous idea that off – road biking is permitted on Slade Green Marshes, when in fact it is specifically forbidden, and the Police have successfully prosecuted individuals for doing this in the past. Slade Green Marshes are an area of outstanding scientific interest, being the home to a number of rare and protected plants and small animals. Biking on the marshes, as well as being noisy, inconsiderate and polluting, causes erosion to the footpaths and damage to the flora adjacent to the pathways. I don’t know the specifics of the biker involved in the accident last Sunday, so I will not comment further. Slade Green Marshes were the location of a large explosion back in 1924 – here is a contemporary press account of the disaster:- February 19th: "The Slade Green Filling Factory, situated midway between Erith and Dartford on Crayford Marshes, was the scene of a terrible disaster yesterday in which eleven girls and a foreman lost their lives. Between 8.45 and 9 o'clock the girls were at their work breaking open Verey light cartridges and extracting powder. Suddenly there was a flash and in a moment that building ? of brick and corrugated iron ? was an inferno of smoke and fire. As the fire reached the cartridges they exploded, appearing like stars among the smoke. Eleven of the eighteen girls were trapped by the fire. Miss Charlotte Coshall, the forewoman and seven of the remaining girls managed to get out of the building, some with their clothes alight. The awful suddenness of the catastrophe and the smoke and fumes prevented any possible chance of rescue. The Slade Green Filling Factory was originally munition works under Government control but more recently has been used by Messrs WB. Gilbert Ltd for the breaking down of munitions. The factory consists of a number of buildings, all separate from each other and reached from Slade Green by a narrow winding road over the marshes. Close to it on the Erith side are the Thames Ammunition works. Some of those who escaped turned back at once but, finding it impossible to reach the unfortunate girls inside, rushed towards the gates of the works screaming for help. One eye witness said the foreman who died had tried to lift a girl through the window but the heat and smoke were too great and he fell back. When help eventually arrived only one girl was alive, Miss Edna Allen, and she was terribly burned. She was taken to Erith Cottage Hospital but died during the night. The inquest will be opened at Crayford tomorrow (Wednesday) and a memorial service will be planned later".

The photo above was sent to me earlier this week by Maggot Sandwich reader, and occasional contributor Alan Magin. He was responding to the request I published last week for any information regarding the very early years of Thamesmead. Alan has exceeded my expectations. Alan describes the photo thusly:- "Photo shows me sitting astride a pre-stressed beam, with another about to be sited. It was a Saturday morning, l couldn't turn down a few hours overtime! It took me 10 months of travelling into London, from June 1968, with people fainting on the train in the heat of that hot summer, to make me realise I wanted out of the Rat-Race! I applied for a job with the construction company Holland Hannen and Cubitts Ltd. I was duly employed as a Junior Engineer/Chainman on the Civil Engineering side of things, (roads, sewers & bridges). Oh, by the way this is East Bridge on Yarnton Way in the summer of 1969. The site agents name Denis Counden, he is standing next to me wearing the trilby hat. The guy on the ground is the site manager Bill Monday, he is not saluting Mr. Hitler, but guiding the crane driver. The guy half-way up the ladder is Alan Rush a Civil Engineer, he designed and built the culvert (getting a BSc in the process) that runs under Alsike Rd, taking water away from the Sedgemere, Sydney Rd Estate that so often flooded back then! I was in construction until joining The London Fire Brigade in February 1974". Fascinating stuff - thanks very much for allowing me to publish it! The lack of any form of safety equipment such as hard hats, steel toe capped work boots, safety glasses and high visibility jackets really shows that things have changed since the photograph was taken. 

A real turnaround for catering in the local area - after woeful results only a couple of years ago, the following press release was published earlier this week:- "Bexley is now of one of the highest rated places to eat in London according to the latest national figures. Over 95% of food businesses in Bexley have food hygiene ratings of 3,4 and 5, which puts Bexley as the best in London, alongside Kensington and Chelsea. Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Environment and Leisure, Cllr Peter Craske said; “The variety of restaurants and places to eat is one of the reasons Bexley is a great place to live. Unseen by residents, our food safety team do a great job, inspecting premises and ensuring people can eat out in confidence. Our figures have improved massively over recent months thanks to changes in practice, a tougher stance on non-compliant businesses and an improved visit regime. I hope this will encourage everyone to continue to support our great restaurants, pubs and cafes.” Premises are encouraged to inform customers of their food safety hygiene rating. Look for the green sticker in the window of restaurants or takeaways or ask the proprietor what rating they have. Or use the Food Safety Hygiene app before you leave home". This is a real piece of positive progress. Only two years ago Bexley was at the very bottom of the pile as far as food hygiene was concerned - this reversal is extremely welcome news indeed. 

I think that pretty much everyone has heard of smart televisions, but did you know that smart radios also exist? Indeed, I recently bought a smart radio that you can see above. The Roberts 93i smart radio is a very good piece of kit; it receives analogue FM stereo broadcasts, DAB and DAB+ broadcasts, and also wirelessly connects to your broadband / fibre optic router to bring you thousands of Internet radio stations. It can also connect to Spotify and play audio files in multiple formats from a connected memory stick, or from a local music server. The sound quality is excellent (with my usual caveats about "old style" original DAB, as used by stations such as Planet Rock, which are only available in relatively low bitrate mono). Internet, DAB+ and FM sound quality is outstanding. You can read the What Hifi? Review of the Roberts 93i here. I highly recommend this radio.

Another radio - related discovery is the web based shortwave receiver - screen capture above. You can access this software defined interactive radio by clicking on the link here. The radio is simultaneously usable by several hundred people at a time - all listening to different frequencies. Give it a try - instructions are on the website. If you have never seen a waterfall display before, drag the on screen pointer to the areas with the white lines - that is where the strongest signals are. The online radio picks up all sorts of H.F signals - amateur radio operators, ships at sea, airliners on long distance journeys, military and clandestine numbers stations, and international shortwave broadcast stations - not to mention quite a few pirate broadcasters. Give the site a try and see what you think. Feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I discovered an interesting historical fact this week. The huge, 219 metre (719 feet) tall antenna tower at Crystal Palace, that supplies TV and radio signals for a large part of London and the South East was designed and built by Erith based company British Insulated Callender's Construction Co Ltd (later known as BICC) with steelwork fabrication by Painter Brothers Ltd, Hereford, back in 1955. Much of the tower’s construction was prefabricated and test erected in sections in the Callender’s Erith works before it was pulled apart and transported to site for final erection. When completed in 1956, the tower was the tallest structure in Greater London, a title it held until the completion of the One Canada Square Tower in Canary Wharf back in 1991. The first transmission from Crystal Palace took place on 28 March 1956, when it succeeded the transmitter at Alexandra Palace where the BBC had started the world's first scheduled television service in November 1936. In November 1956 the first colour test transmissions began from Crystal Palace relaying live pictures from the studios at Alexandra Palace after BBC TV had closed down for the night. In May 1958 the first experimental Band V 625-line transmissions started from Crystal Palace. The transmitter tower holds another record, one that cannot be beaten. On 18 July 1986, with the First Night of the Proms on BBC2, the transmitter became the first in the world to transmit stereophonic sound using the NICAM digital sound system. On 2 December 2009, the site entered service as one of the first DVB-T2 transmitters in the world, carrying a variant of the BBC's Multiplex B broadcasting high-definition TV services. All of the analogue television services transmitted from the Crystal Palace tower were discontinued back in 2012; all TV signals are now from a digital multiplex. The only analogue output of the tower is now FM radio (BBC radios 1,2,3,and 4) a couple of independent local stations, along with some legacy services on Medium Wave. The historical connection that Callender’s had with the BBC back in the day was wider than merely being the constructor of the Crystal Palace transmitter tower. Callender’s had This was an amateur band, called The Callender’s Cableworks Band, which was active between 1898 and 1961, of which all members were employees of Callender's at Erith. They rehearsed and performed in their leisure time, while the company in its role of patron lent its name and supplied uniforms and instruments. The band broadcast prolifically on BBC Radio in the 1920s and 1930s. The Band was started in the 1890s as a Salvation Army brass band, but because they felt limited as to the types of music which they were permitted to play, they formed their own temperance band. However this caused difficulties in purchasing their own uniforms and instruments, so their employer, Callender's, stepped in as patron. From then on they were Callender's Cableworks Band under various forms of that name. They were always an amateur band, rehearsing and performing in their leisure time. The Senior Band had a high reputation, and in 1932 were described as the finest in the south of England. In 1929 Jim Thompson joined the band; later in 1939 he was to found the Belvedere Male Voice Choir. In 1932 the band consisted of all brass instruments, plus four saxophones. At the time they were the only brass band with saxophones. In competitions over the years they had 25 wins, 11 second places and 3 third places. By the end of 1932 the band had performed on radio a total of eighty times – something unprecedented at the time. The band finally disbanded in 1961 as members retired and few young volunteers could be found.

The end video this week was created by Maggot Sandwich reader and local Councillor Abena Oppong - Asare. It is a compilation of images from the "Our Erith" art exhibition that was held at Christ Church Erith on the weekend of the 13th - 15th May. See what you think, and either leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The Limp.

Tramway House, a residential block on the corner of Stonewood Road and West Street, opposite the Erith Riverside Gardens and overlooking the River Thames. The block was built seven years ago to offer subsidised housing to essential workers such as nurses and fire fighters. When it was being constructed it was rather ugly, and for a while looked like a bunch of Portacabins all piled on top of one another. Once it was glazed and externally clad, the view changed, and I think it now looks rather nice. It is certainly convenient for pretty much everything in Erith - although being in close proximity to the chav infested hell hole that is West Street must be a bit of a burden. I took the photo above during last weeks' bout of excellent weather - click on the photo for a larger version.

Erith received a group of foreign tourists on Wednesday afternoon; I was queuing to pay for some purchases in Morrison's when I noticed that a very well dressed family in front of me were having some communication difficulties with the checkout lady. They were, I think from Denmark, and their daughter of about twelve years old was consulting with a phrase book. This somewhat surprised me; people from the Scandinavian countries normally speak better English that most UK residents - and when it comes to the average resident of Erith, well, you can work it out for yourselves. Anyway, their issue was soon resolved and they went happily on their way. The thought occurred to me. What were an evidently affluent and cultured Danish family doing in Erith? Were they anthropologists or something? Answers on a post card please.

One of the most widely known companies to have a historic association with Erith was Callender's Cables, formerly known as The Callender Bitumen, Telegraph and Waterproof co. Originally the company was primarily concerned with the production of bitumen and waterproof damp course material for the building trade, with cable making little more than a side line. The rapid growth in telecommunications in the late Victorian era led to cables becoming the company's main product, and in 1896 the firm was reorganised as the Callender Cable and Construction co, which was later changed to British Insulated Callenders Cables, or BICC. By 1965 the Erith based factory was the principal manufacturing facility for the world's largest cable group - the production area covered some 65 acres and provided employment for 1,300 local workers. Callenders were one of the main manufacturers of PLUTO (Pipeline Under The Ocean). Callenders also contributed much to the area of culture and the arts; Callenders Band, which was started in 1890 as a Salvation Army band. Some members wanted to play a wider variety of music, so the band was relaunched as a temperance promoting popular music band. They became popular around the country and gave many public performances, and had a regular feature on pioneering radio station 2LO during 1922. They continued with much popular support until the outbreak of World War 2, when the group was disbanded. It did reform briefly at the end of the war, but it did not achieve its' earlier success, and was disbanded for good in 1948.

I am currently reading "The Defence of the Realm: The Authorised Biography of MI5" a scholarly 1,044 page, densely written history of Britain's internal security service from its' inception to today. The book is academic and a touch dry, but it is supremely interesting. During the late 1930's Callenders Cables was strongly suspected of being a hot bed of communist activity, much of which later was discovered to have been fermented and controlled for Moscow by Melita Norwood (see the photo above); a well known communist who was at the time Britain's longest publicly undiscovered traitor - though MI5 knew about her for years, and chose to do nothing. I recall back in 1999, when she was first uncovered in the press, I was bemused to discover she lived only a few doors away from a very close friends' parents in Bexleyheath. What a small world we inhabit.  The Communist Party of Great Britain is still around today, although it now seems a rather pathetic and internally divided handful of isolated social inadequates. They seem to spend their time worrying as to how they will pay their bills, and arguing extensively amongst their own tiny and deluded remaining membership. You can see their website here and judge for yourself. I somehow doubt MI5 have many concerns about them nowadays.

By the time you read this entry, I anticipate that the Maggot Sandwich will have reached its' 55,000th unique individual page view. Thanks to one and all - wherever on this strange old planet you are on. It is most flattering.

Fans of the long running BBC radio series "Test Match Special" and members of Middle England are very soon going to be saying "It is the end of the world as we know it!". BBC Radio 4 may shortly cease transmissions on 198kHz Long Wave. The reason cited is that their stock of bespoke high power transmitter valves (tubes to our cousins in the colonies) is running out. The gigantic transmitter will fall silent when the last of these highly specialised components fails. I think this reason is utter tosh. The Beeb want to close down the Long Wave channel and force listeners onto the DAB feed instead. Whilst no British company is currently capable of remanufacturing these highly specialised, metre high electronic components, the Russians retain excellent high power thermionic valve production facilities. It is something of a techie legend that one of the criteria that the Royal Navy SSBN fleet have to check to see if Britain has been hit by a thermonuclear attack is to check if the BBC Radio 4 service is still operating on Long Wave. I get the feeling that this may have to change. You can read a detailed report on the situation by clicking here.

The much vaunted iPad 2 has had its' security broken in around five seconds. With no need for any technical knowledge, it is possible to crack a locked iPad 2 running iOS 5 - watch the video below to see just how ridiculously easy this is.



There was a recent article in the Guardian Online called "Leftover Crossover" which described the way one could cross cultures and cuisines by mixing leftover food to make interesting, tasty and original dishes - one prime example was serving curry with pasta or noodles (something I do regularly - after all the Malaysians serve their curries with egg noodles all of the time).  There have been the odd weekend occasion when I have made things like a chilli con carne toastie sandwich for breakfast, or baked beans with a dash of chilli sauce and turmeric, served on toasted wholemeal bread, spread with a little unsalted butter, with a poached egg and fried mushrooms on the side is my idea of an occasional weekend breakfast treat heaven. I have to say that in the normal scheme of things I don't eat breakfast, as I rarely feel hungry before lunch time, but there are the odd exceptions.

The remaining members of Pink Floyd are releasing a new "best of" compilation in time for Christmas. A Foot In The Door - The Best Of Pink Floyd, with a track listing chosen by David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Nick Mason.
The track listing is:

1) Hey You

2) See Emily Play

3) The Happiest Days Of Our Lives

4) Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2

5) Have A Cigar

6) Wish You Were Here

7) Time

8) The Great Gig In The Sky

9) Money

10) Comfortably Numb

11) High Hopes

12) Learning To Fly

13) The Fletcher Memorial Home

14) Shine On You Crazy Diamond

15) Brain Damage

16) Eclipse

Personally I think they are an excellent selection of tracks - with the glaring omission of "Echoes" - one of their finest works. But I fail to see the point. Pink Floyd were an albums band; their albums are designed to be listened to from start to finish, preferably when laying in a darkened room lit only by a single candle, whilst your brain slowly leaked out of your ears. To give you an idea the amount of regard my family has for  Pink Floyd, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond parts I - V" was the final piece of music played at my Dad's funeral a few weeks ago. 

On a rather more sober note, I hear that a an attempted abduction of a small child happened in Riverdale Road, Erith on the 18th of October. You can read more about the disturbing story by clicking here.

If you are wondering where the title for this weeks' blog entry derives from, it is actually quite simple. I have been practically housebound since last Saturday; I have been suffering from a particularly painful and unpleasant condition called Plantar Fasciitis - an inflammation of the connective tissue on the underside of my right foot. I had it once before, about six years ago, and I developed another case of it whilst working in London last Saturday. The condition can be brought on by standing around for long periods, which, due to the nature of the work I was undertaking (the physical upgrade of some electronic equipment in my company's head office building, which could only be undertaken outside of normal business hours).  Anyway, my right heel started to get very sore and painful, and by the time I had finished and was heading home, meant that I was unable to put any pressure on the heel at all - I was walking in a very strange "tip toe" gait on my right foot. It progressively got worse on Sunday. Knowing the only treatment was rest and an anti inflammatory pain killer such as low dose Ibuprofen, I arranged to work from home all of this week; It is fortunate that much of my job does not require me to be present in person - most tasks can be carried out remotely using my excellent, work supplied Lenovo X201 mini laptop and my secure VPN connection over my fibre optic Internet line. I am hobbling still, though now some of this is probably due to a secondary inflammation of the tendons on the upper side of my right foot - no doubt brought on by the strange gait I had to employ, in order to keep my super sensitive heel from touching the ground. I'm using my Dad's old telescopic aluminium walking stick, which is quite a help right now. With effort, I can hobble as far as Morrison's and back, but at present that is about the limit.

In the realms of "You could not make this up" comes the news that Hollywood are planning to make a biopic of mathematician, codebreaker, pioneering computer scientist and Olympic standard athlete Alan Turing - the man who contributed greatly to the work Bletchley Park did to shorten World War II by an estimated two years. You can read about the plan to make the movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio here. I get the feeling the resultant film will have the historical accuracy of U-571. That is, none at all. If you want to see a gripping, historically accurate movie about submarine warfare, you have to see the Director's cut of Das Boot - one of the greatest movies about war ever made. If there is a movie to be made about Turing, it should star someone like Benedict Cumberbatch.

Local rag The Bexley Chronicle is very much in my bad books this week. Just after the Alexander Selkirk Day event, I was contacted by our local MP Teresa Pearce. We are in semi regular contact on a number of matters, so the Email did not surprise me. She asked if it would be OK if she used one of the photos I took of her on the day as an illustration on her website. She was aware of the Creative Commons Licence under which all my photos on Flickr are published, and promised to give me full credit for them. In fact, she went above and beyond this, and put a direct link to my Flickr photos, and a link to the Maggot Sandwich as well. A couple of days after this, Teresa's researcher Emailed me to ask if it would be OK if the photos of the Alexander Selkirk day could be forwarded for publication in several local papers. I said yes, as long as I got proper written credit for anything that was used. My photos are licenced so that anyone can reproduce, modify and republish my photos, so long as 1) It is not for profit, and 2) That I as the content creator get full credit for the work. If you click on the captured image above, you will see that all but one photo (the one taken of shoppers in Erith Riverside Shopping Centre) were actually taken by me - you can see the originals by clicking here. And what is missing? No credit to me, or mention of me as content owner in any form. I am going to be having some very strong words with the editor of The Bexley Chronicle. More next week.

As I have been fond of recounting over the last few months, there are a lot of 30th anniversaries coming up around now; this coming Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of legal CB Radio in the UK. Many of the original CB users - "Breakers" went on to become licenced radio amateurs. I never had a CB radio as a kid, though I sorely wanted one, and I did manage to borrow a couple of rigs on occasion. I recall setting up a mobile CB car antenna on top of an aluminium foil wrapped metal "Quality Street" tin in my bedroom, and wondering why my signal was not getting far past Abbey Wood. Oh the ignorance of youth! Some years later, still absolutely fascinated by radio, and inspired by hours of illicit listening to pirate broadcast stations Alice's Restaurant, and later Rock FM, I joined the team behind Radio Lumberjack - a station that broadcast a surreal mix of left field music, comedy and local community news to large parts of Bexley Borough from a house on the Upper Belvedere / Bexleyheath borders. From thence I joined WHBS radio, got a Saturday job at what was then BBC Radio London (I would race home from the Beeb in order to then present my show on Radio Lumberjack - those were the days). This led on to Radio Caroline, and the rest, as they say is history. Nowadays I hold an advanced class Amateur Radio licence, and have the radio callsign of M1CXN.

The end video is something that I stumbled upon by pure chance. It features an formally untrained and rather geeky keyboard playing musical genius by the name of Ronald Jenkees. He reminds me a little bit of Herbie Hancock, and quite a lot of Rick Wakeman. Here he's playing a improvised composition - amazing stuff. See what you think and feel free to leave a comment below.