Two stars.

The photos above show a couple of views of Erith Pier - the longest pier on the River Thames by quite some distance. Last year the very first Erith Pier Festival took place; the organisers expected around four hundred people to turn up to the inaugural event. As it turned out, something over four thousand people visited the pier on the day - helped by the excellent weather at the time. The Erith Pier Festival will be returning to the riverside on the 21st September 11am - 9pm this year. The festival will feature live music, various pop - up food stalls from the Erith Kitchen, Bexley Brewery will have a beer tent serving some of their excellent, locally brewed real ales, and there will be a number of children's entertainers as well. You can read more about the event by clicking here. Please note that the "Get there by boat" option is erroneous - it is not currently possible to visit Erith Pier by any public river service. If you own your own ship, that is however another story. 

I know that some sections of the popular press have been getting quite upset over the price of computer printer toner, and it is indeed a complete rip – off. I think that they were missing a trick, however, as there is something that is an even bigger con; I know it is something I have mentioned before, but I do feel strongly that it needs to be revisited. Why is the cost of men’s wet shaving razor blades so extortionate? Some are £15.75 for a measly eight blades. The materials involved in their construction and the labour utilised is minimal – the production lines are almost completely automated, and the materials are high quality, but there is little metal involved in reality. The only conclusion that I can come to is that the reason razor blades are so eye wateringly expensive is that the companies that produce and sell them seem to have the market completely sewn up. They charge so much just because they can. I think the only solution to this would be for a new player to enter the market to produce blades of an equivalent quality and durability (don’t get me going as to how quickly blades wear out – you are lucky to get four shaves out of a blade, nothing like the month of use that the manufacturers’ claim) at a fraction of the cost. I cannot believe that this would be technically or financially impossible. It takes someone with the kind of business expertise and audacity that have caused Ryan Air to overturn the short and medium haul air travel industry, to be able to challenge the big players in the men’s grooming market.  I bitterly resent being held over a barrel when it comes to shaving. On a side note, does anyone have a clue why there are no mousse or gel hair removal products targeted at men? A facial “Immac for Men” or similar might be an interesting product. I don’t know if there are any technical or medical reasons why such a product could not be brought to market. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please leave a comment below. All comments will be moderated and published within 24 hours of receipt. Email me at the usual address:- hugh.neal@gmail.com.

A form of ferry service has been in place at Woolwich since the 14th century, as a way of allowing the community to safely cross the Thames. The service pre-dates all other tunnel and bridge crossings in the capital. The documentation from that date refers to the waterman who ran the ferry, William de Wicton, sold his business and house to William Halle, for £10. In 1320 the ferry was sold again for 100 silver marks. There is no further mention of the ferry during the years that Woolwich rose to prominence as a royal dockyard under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Much later, in 1810 the army established its own ferry that ran from Woolwich Royal Arsenal to Duvals Wharf. In 1811 an Act of Parliament was passed to establish a ferry across the Thames from Woolwich at the Old Ballast or Sand Wharf, opposite Chapel Hill, where the dockyard then terminated. The ferry became known as the western ferry and was run by a company that called itself The Woolwich Ferry Company. The Western ferry continued to operate until 1844, when the company was dissolved after a history of inept management. The current free ferry was set up in the 1889 and has run ever since. The ferry infrastructure at the Woolwich terminals had been in operation for over 50 years, providing a ‘roll-on/roll-off’ transport service, and has seen traffic volumes using the service dramatically increase over this period. Over 1 million vehicle crossings and 1.95 million passenger journeys were recorded using the service in 2014, which is operated and run by Briggs Marine Contractors, under a long term operating contract with Transport for London (TfL). Since the two new ferry vessels entered service earlier this year, there have been an almost constant series of mechanical and electrical breakdowns, labour strikes and other disruptions to the service, which the public was erroneously told the introduction of the new ships would prevent. There have been several problems with the new service; the ships are run by electric motors powered by diesel generators, and the new automated docking system is also powered by electro magnets. The diesel generators have so far proved far less reliable than predicted. On top of this, the electro magnetic docking system only seems to work properly when there is little wind or tide affecting the movement of the ferries as they dock. Anything less than perfect conditions causes the ferries to bounce on the docking mechanism, and fail to make a secure contact. I have read reports that the new ferries, despite their new technology, are actually far harder to operate than the old 1960's models that they replaced. On top of this, there are a series of ongoing labour disputes between the ferry crews and the management of the service; at the time of writing these are unresolved.

Shock news following the recent health and hygiene inspection of the KFC Drive Through (I will not call it "Drive Thru" as that is an abomination). Bexley Council inspectors visited the restaurant located at 1, Manor Road, Erith on Tuesday the 6th of August. After the visit, the chain outlet scored a worryingly low two out of a possible five stars on the "Scores on the Doors" hygiene rating system. The low, two star award, means that "Improvement is necessary" - not what you would expect of a large multinational food franchise. How could a multinational mega brand allow one of its stores get into a position that it can only rate a two out of five star rating? It is immaterial whether the store is company owned or a franchise – the standards expected are identical. The damage to the KFC brand should such information become widely known is difficult to calculate, but it certainly would not be good. The Erith store has had a history of problems; In the summer of 2016, I received several reports of certain menu items being unavailable when requested, and I also heard a couple of unsubstantiated rumours that the store was suffering cash flow problems. It would seem from the investment subsequently made into the store, that these rumours were either incorrect, or had been successfully resolved. The Erith KFC branch made it into the tabloid papers back in February of last year; one of the largest news stories both nationally and locally had been at that time that of the temporary closure of a majority of KFC fast food restaurants around the country due to problems with their supply chain management, which had recently been taken over by courier firm DHL. KFC outlets around the UK ran out of ingredients, and had to temporarily close. Footage, allegedly showing KFC staff transferring raw chicken from a car into the side entrance of the Erith store was taken by a local person and uploaded to Facebook. The uploader made a number of unsubstantiated claims about the restaurant, including that staff were sleeping in the building. This was all published by the Sun newspaper without verifying any of the claims - not surprising as the Sun is well known for not letting the facts get in the way of a good story. A local source informed me at the time that the box the workers had taken from the car into the back of the restaurant actually contained a selection of cleaning materials. I was also told that when the Erith KFC Manager realised that the workers could not serve much in the way of food, and they could not at that stage be sent home, he got them to carry out a deep clean on the kitchen and the public areas of the restaurant - an instruction that apparently did not go down too well with some of the staff.

The vintage photo above (click on it for a larger view) was originally taken by me as part of a school geography project on the River Thames, way back in 1981. You can see Erith Police Station - when it still was a police station, and not a seedy and badly converted bunch of low rent apartments as it is nowadays. Next to it are some buildings that were a remnant of the old Erith - they are boarded up in the photo; not too long afterwards they were demolished to make way for sheltered housing. I came across the photo whilst going through a huge pile of photographs whilst clearing out a cupboard in my Mum's house some years ago. Nearly all of the shots were consigned to the bin. A few choice ones I have kept, and may share a couple with you online in the next few weeks. Unfortunately the rest of the geography project photos of Erith have disappeared - I was hoping to be able to archive them, but sadly this is not going to be the case.

Erith has been the location for an astonishing number of world changing inventions. It is unfortunate that prime amongst these is one that will forever be associated with the carnage in the trenches of the First World War. Hiram Maxim, the American born, naturalised Briton who invented the eponymous Maxim machine gun had his factory at Erith, which I covered in some depth recently; Maxim's company later merged with the larger Vickers company to become Vickers Sons and Maxim, and went on to produce the most heavily used machine gun of WW1. It was responsible for more deaths in combat than any other weapon at the time. What a lot of people don’t realise is that the biggest killer of World War One was not a weapon at all, it was a disease. More people died during the great flu pandemic of 1918 than died as part of the conflict itself. Figures are somewhat vague, but it is estimated that five hundred million people around the world  became infected with the H1N1 influenza virus, of these, between fifty to one hundred million ended up dying; at the time this was between three and five percent of the world population, making it the deadliest natural disaster in recorded history.  What was especially unusual about the outbreak was that the victims were mainly young, normally fit people, rather than the elderly and infirm. The reason for this was that the H1N1 virus caused a massive over – reaction in the body’s auto immune system. The strong immune systems in healthy people were thus far worse affected than those in elderly people or infants, and consequently more people at the prime of their lives ended up dying. To maintain wartime morale, British and allied censors removed almost all references to the horrendous flu outbreak in newspaper stories featuring the UK, Germany, France and the USA, and instead focussed on flu stories in the then neutral Spain. Consequently the outbreak nowadays gets called the Spanish Flu, when in fact the terrible effects were felt all around the world.

It is now just over three months since I quit Sky TV after twenty three years of subscription to their satellite TV service. I was expecting to "go cold turkey" but quite the opposite has actually been the case. Despite Sky writing to me on a weekly basis, unsuccessfully trying to persuade me to rejoin. The quality of programmes on Sky, and especially the selection of premium movies leaves much to be desired, and I seriously resented paying for premium channels like Sky Atlantic, and still have to sit through advert breaks. All Sky subscribers are actually paying a subscription to watch adverts – it makes no sense. In the USA, commercial TV companies are already feeling the pinch. Some are cutting back on the number and length of their commercial breaks to try and tempt back customers who are now voting with their feet and leaving the traditional broadcasters and moving to subscription based, advert free streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Netflix knows their customers hate adverts. "We know one of the benefits of an ecosystem like Netflix is its lack of advertising," Howard Shimmel, a chief research officer at Time Warner, told Bloomberg in an interview last year. "Consumers are being trained there are places they can go to avoid ads." In response to Netflix's advertising policy, many networks have actually cut back on the amount of ads they show in an effort to lure back in the younger Netflix / Amazon Prime Video generation. Media analyst CordCutting.com crunched some numbers and found that each Netflix subscriber saves themselves about 158.5 hours of commercials per year. The number will be somewhat lower in the UK and most of Europe, where fewer adverts are allowed per hour of broadcast television, but it is still a substantial number. As I have previously written, I consider the Sky business model to be fundamentally broken, and if they don’t move away from hugely expensive satellite broadcasting and convert to a full streaming service, I think they will be dead and gone in the next five years. What do you think? Comment below, or Email hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "There was a recent report of a burglary early hours of Thursday 8th August along Drummond Close Erith, entry was gained by smashing the front door of the property. Also there was a report of theft of motorbike outside an address along Normandy Way Erith between 9 pm and 9.30 pm The team shall also be holding a contact session between 4 pm and 5 pm at the Barnehurst Golf Club along Mayplace Road East if anyone wishes to speak to the team. If you do wish to pass on information to Police then please contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111. If you are after crime prevention advice, please look at the Met Police website which has lots of information that you may find useful. Remember in an emergency please dial 999 and 101 for non-urgent reporting". Belvedere ward:- "On the 31/07/2019 we had a burglary in poplar mount. The thieves stole gold, jewellery and tools. They gained entry via the rear windows and door, from the alleyway it is believed. Happened sometime between 10:00 and 21:00. The team assisted the RSPCA on 07/08/2019 by seizing two mistreated dogs form an address on Erith Road. Just over our border by PC Smith was happy to help out. We have, for a while now, had complaints about certain HMO's in Barnfield Road. If you are experiencing problems with any of the residents of the HMO's please let us know. Our next Street-a-Week will be on 18/08/2019 from 12:00 - 12:30 on Halt Robin Road, at the junction with Upper Park Road". Bexleyheath ward:- "There have been reports of fights and disturbances in and around the Golden Lion public house, Bexleyheath. The council is seeking witnesses for more information. here seems to be no reports off any burglaries or attempted burglaries on the ward over the last week A theft from motor vehicle was reported overnight on the 04/08/2019 & 05/08/2019 along Pinnacle Hill, tools were stolen from a van. Also along Rochester Drive Bexleyheath, suspects had tried stealing a van off the driveway at about midnight. A purse was reported stolen from an elderly female. Believed to have been taken in the H and M store on the Broadway, this was reported on the 03/08/2019. Also a wallet was reported stolen which was reported in ASDA on the 6/08/2019. There was a report of a victim using an ATM on the Broadway on the 01/08/2019 and was unable to use the machine. They were approached by two youths who allegedly tried to help him get the card out of the machine and victim thought this was suspicious and took their card and walked away. Money was taken from victims account, card was cloned. There was also another report of suspects calling the victim to say they need to upgrade their online banking security and to log on to their online banking which they did and money was stolen. The team regularly conduct patrols along drug hot spot areas and ASB areas on the ward and conduct regular stops and searches where necessary".

Crayford ward:- "On 3rd August between 12.00-14.30 a catalytic convertor was stolen from a vehicle parked in Bexley Lane. Between 1.20-1.25am on 3rd August two vehicles had items stolen from them in Falsfaff Close, items included two pairs of Rayban sunglasses, a handbag and a wine coloured Barbour jacket. Number plates were stolen from Stadium Way on 3rd August between 11.15-12.15, LX16VXB should be on a red Citigo Skoda. At about the same time on the same day and place, someone attempted to remove number plates from a silver Ford Focus. A Bosch garden strimmer and other items were stolen from a garden shed in Marden Crescent overnight between 3rd and 4th August. A green and white Greenmech Dual Feed towable wood chipper was stolen from a locked yard in Thames Road over the weekend 3rd and 4th August. A white Fiesta van GJ68XYU was involved in a road traffic accident at Swan Lane on Saturday 3rd August. It has since been reported stolen by an unknown person. Our next community contact session is on Wednesday 14th August between 16.00-17.00 at Vintage Lindy Lou's in Waterside Gardens, Crayford". Erith ward:- "We had the Erith Ward panel meeting and had a really nice turn out of people, if this meeting would interest you feel free to contact me for more information. The priories we set out which was chosen by the residents of Erith are as follows - Extra patrols around Compton Place which includes a meeting with the local Cllr. ASB patrols around West Street. Crimes of note - Burglary Residential 01/08/2019 Rutland Gate - By unknown suspect attempting to gain entry into victims house and damaging the front door and making off without gaining entry. Theft of Motor Vehicle 01/08/2019 Fraser Road. Theft of a  Motor Vehicle 02/08/2019 Avenue Road. Theft from Motor Vehicle 20/07/2019 Park Crescent. Theft from Motor Vehicle  03/08/2019 Bexley Road, Theft of Motor Vehicle 06/08/2019 James Watt Way".  Northumberland Heath ward - no report this week. Slade Green and Northend ward - no report this week. Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglary - No household 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 Burglary Business/Commercial The Beam Engine House, located in Bazalgette Way, SE2 was broken Into between the hours of 4:00pm on Friday 02/08/19 and 07:50am on Sunday 04/08/19. Numerous items taken, unknown Total value of items taken and damage caused to gain entry, however a new roller shutter was costing about £3,500. Theft from Motor Vehicles - Between the hours of 11:245pm on Thursday 01/08/19 and 10:15am of Friday 02/08/19, a vehicle parked locked and secure on the drive of a property in St. Katherines Road, DA18, was broken into. No damage was caused to gain entry, the glove box was searched. A hire vehicle locked and secure parked Kale Road, had windows smashed, untidy search. The theft of a Catalytic converter had occurred at 10:55pm on Monday 05/08/19 in Grange Crescent, SE28. Between 9:am of Monday 05/08/19 and 8:00 pm of Tuesday 06/08/19,a vehicle was stolen from Eastgate Close, SE28.The theft from a motor vehicle occurred in Kale Road .The incident happened in May 2019, after the victim had noticed the passenger door was open and the victims purse was on the passenger seat. Bank cards and cash ,which apparently the victim had left in the vehicle were taken .bank cards were cancelled Victim had not contacted police regarding the theft, it was only after officers contacted the victim following a search of a male found to be in possession of the stolen cards. Good News - Message of thanks from the staff from at the Beam Engine House to Mark Headley - Designing Out Crime Officer and PCSO Dennis Hobbs for help given". West Heath ward:- "No burglaries reported to us over the last week. Unfortunately we have had a number of vehicle crimes. On Friday August 2nd at approximately 8.30 am a vehicle was broken into in Hythe Avenue, an untidy search of the vehicle was made but nothing appeared to be stolen. Attempted theft of an exhaust/ catalytic converter in Bedonwell Road on Tuesday August 6th between 10.30 – 10.40 am. A vehicle was broken in to in Glenview on Monday August 5th at approximately 9.45 pm via the driver's window. Untidy search of the vehicle, no further details known at this time. Theft of motor vehicle from Cranbrook Road between Saturday July 27th and Sunday August 4th, the victim was on holiday and returned to discover the vehicle missing. The victim was still in possession of the keys. Theft of a motor vehicle from Preston Drive on Wednesday August 7th between 4.15 – 4.30 am, thankfully the vehicle was later recovered. One report of criminal damage to a motor vehicle in Longleigh Lane on Saturday August 3rd between 1 am and 2 pm when the owner returned to the vehicle and discovered several dents that were not there before. The team arrested two prolific offenders over the weekend, one for failure to appear and the other was wanted on recall to prison".

The end video this week is a return to a local jazz combo who I first featured a couple of weeks ago; The Tom Fleming Trio were filmed in the main hall of the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, courtesy of The Exchange. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.  

Goodbye Sky.

Now that we are heading into Spring, the use of Erith Pier will increase, as the anglers, ship spotters, parents with buggy - bound children and all of the other patrons of the unique structure come out to enjoy it. I feel that only in the last couple of years has any real appreciation of the longest pier on the River Thames really come to the fore - and with the inaugural pier festival last year hopefully going to become a regular event in the social calendar of the town. 

Some bad news; it would seem that my announcement of the forthcoming improvements to the accessibility of Erith Station were somewhat premature, despite having information provided by two previously reliable sources. Only a few minutes after I published last week's update, I was contacted by local MP Teresa Pearce with a list of the stations that had been confirmed as being ones who would be getting improvements. Much to my shock and disappointment, Erith Station was missing from the list. I hope to have more detailed information on the subject soon, but at the time of writing it unfortunately looks like once again Erith Station is being overlooked for a much needed lift. One reader with an interest in this issue has advised me of the following:- "Did you know that if any disabled person has not got a Disabled Access Station they can phone South Eastern Railways Head Office and asked to be put through to Disabled Travel Section and request Taxi Transport to take them to the nearest Access Station. I did use this service when living in Erith a few times. The taxi cab does not cost them anything, that is paid for by South Eastern Railway. When phoning South Eastern Railways they must make sure that they ask for a “Wheelchair Friendly Taxi If they use a wheelchair”. That is very important, otherwise they could just send a standard size taxi. Even though Taxis are supposed to be Access Friendly now". More railway news to come.

Last week you may recall that I published a story about the Erith Fun Day 2019 had been cancelled. I appealed for background information about the cancellation, and the organisers named Tracy has been in contact with me. She writes:- "I just wanted to let you know why there will be no Erith Fun Day in 2019.  We (a group of local people along with members of Erith Rotary) have worked tirelessly for the last 6 years organising this event for the community of Erith. It takes up many hours of work each week all year round to organise the event and in the last few months leading up to the event, it takes up even more time, virtually taking over our lives.  A couple of people from the committee stepped down after the 2018 event, others have increased family commitments (including myself) and those of us left on the committee have struggled to recruit new committee members able to commit to the time and effort needed to stage the ever growing event. It was therefore with regret we decided we couldn’t organise something for 2019. We hope to maybe try and bring the event back in 2020, but this will depend on being able to recruit people onto the organising committee who have the time, energy and commitment needed to assist us in putting on a great event for the local community". 

One of the most popular end videos I have featured recently was that of YouTube star Geoff Marshall exploring the unique pedestrian crossing at Angerstein Wharf in Charlton. The video got more feedback from readers than any other for the last couple of months. Thanks to "From The Murky Depths" blog, and a couple of readers who also brought the story to my attention, plans by Network Rail to close the foot crossing are shortly to be implemented. When questioned about the very short notice, and the disruption to many Charlton residents, who use the route to travel to Westcombe Park Station, a spokesperson from Network Rail wrote:- "Thank you for contacting us with regards to the footpath over the Angerstein railway. In order to make the infrastructure safer, the track and signalling in this area must be reconfigured to enable safer operations and stop the risk of derailments. The reconfiguration will mean that freight trains exiting Angerstein Wharf are more likely to sit on the crossing while waiting to exit the Wharf onto the mainline. This will increase the risk of the public coming into contact with moving freight trains and the only way to mitigate against this is to permanently close this crossing. I am also able to inform you that there are no rights of way across this footpath crossing. We are unable to build a tunnel under the railway, however there are alternative ways around the railway which are of a short distance. The safety of the public and our passengers is of the utmost priority and importance". I gather that the real reason is that on the one or at most two times per day that a train makes the journey from the Angerstein Wharf to the North Kent line junction, a safety supervisor has to be present by the pedestrian crossing. Network Rail don't want that inconvenience and expense, and so are closing the crossing as a result. If you were not aware, The freight trains one sees on a fairly regular basis travelling on the North Kent line almost exclusively transport sand and gravel to various sites in the region. They load up at Angerstein Wharf, which is located on the banks of the River Thames between Charlton and Greenwich. There is a branch line which connects to the main line just outside of Charlton Station on the London bound side. This branch line is believed to be the oldest privately owned standard gauge siding in the world. Angerstein Wharf was built and opened by Russian born Charlton landowner John Angerstein in 1852 in order to get rail access to the to Angerstein Wharf on the River Thames; it also ran deep into the old East Greenwich gas works. Nowadays it is purely used for freight. Many of the ballast and gravel trains one sees passing along the North Kent line divert onto the Angerstein Wharf branch line. Gravel and sand that has been dredged from the sea is collected by the freight trains for use in the construction industry. No passenger trains run on the branch line; it is exclusively used by freight trains.

Now for part one of a three part special feature by a guest writer to the Maggot Sandwich. Parts two and three will be published next week, and the week after:- "Southeastern: The franchise that didn’t die, the pensions scandal, the private companies vying for a contract and the sorry state of the railway. Firstly, might I introduce myself. I am former Train Driver and Commercial Manager of a few railway companies Nicholas Hair. Following a 5-year career in ‘the trains’, I set up and own the Kentish Belle Micro Pub in Bexleyheath. The reason? Well, the railway is very rapidly going downhill as a result of mismanagement, wastage, Government interference, a loss of knowledge and, most importantly, a complete lack of care for the infrastructure and services by various bodies. I count Hugh Neal as a friend of mine and, following months of interaction since the Kentish Belle’s opening, I have continued to speak to dozens of industry and political contacts and have formed the Lewisham and Bexleyheath Community Rail Partnership to begin to address these concerns. I could never have hoped to form or even participate in a group such as this due to a perceived conflict of interest from companies I have worked for; so to be able to not only have a thorough technical understanding of legal and operational matters (from the movement of sets of points, to the numbers of trains and coaches, through to the stations and whether they get staff or not) without fear of reprisal is a great opportunity for the local area and the line’s passenger base. So, what’s the news? This week, Andrew Jones (Minister of State for Rail) announced that the South Eastern franchise (in the olden days the Integrated Kent franchise) was not going to be awarded. The proposed date for launch in June would have been almost impossible as we were within 7-8 weeks of it starting yet needing around 16-17 weeks to fully mobilise a private franchisee; and therefore a Commons Written Answer to our new friend Teresa Pearce (MP, Erith and Thamesmead) in early April in which it was stated that bids were still being assessed we deem to have been nothing short of an outright lie to all of the MPs of the House of Commons. Whilst Ms Pearce could not make such a ferocious comment for fear of suspension, we are willing to say that given the full facts of the situation it is obvious that Andrew Jones and Chris Grayling must have known many weeks ago that the South Eastern franchise would be extended further and continue to be under another ‘Direct Award’ to Govia (a consortium of Go Ahead and Keolis). A brief run-down of rail franchising, perhaps? A franchise is let from a set start date to a set end date. It is usually about 7 years long and, based on key performance indicators (KPIs), it can be extended under a ‘direct award’ to the private company holding the franchise (it’s almost like being allowed to stay out later playing with your friends for being good and doing as you’re told; whereas giving your mother attitude will get your privileges cut short and you’ll be brought back inside to tidy your room and have to watch everyone else play outside for another hour!). Southeastern was first extended in 2014 to June 2018 (an almost unprecedented franchise extension in respect of length) to cover the London Bridge rebuilding programme, and thence again to December 2018 and then again until June 2019. At this point, we should finally have received a new full franchise, but the Department for Transport has decided to extend until October 2019 with an optional extension again until April 2020. There is a review being undertaken at the moment by former John Lewis Chairman Keith Williams which aims to find all of the ‘fatal flaws’ of the current privatised railway network and identifying how to fix it such that future franchises don’t end in failure or, at least, actually deliver for the customer. It is felt that Govia’s continued extension would be due to awaiting the outcome of the Williams Review but the East Midlands contract was let this week to Abellio and thus we must assume that the Government does not value the outcome of the Williams Review all that much! And therefore we move onto the ‘what on earth next?!’ part of the presentation. Well, Hugh’s previous blogs alluded to several service improvements that were due in May 2022 as part of a mass overhaul of the South Eastern timetable. It was widely-anticipated that new direct peak-time services would operate from Maidstone West to Cannon Street or Charing Cross via Gravesend, Dartford, Abbey Wood and Woolwich Arsenal to create connections with Crossrail; that early morning services would exist from stations such as Bexleyheath to Abbey Wood on the ‘Loop’ service so people could get to Abbey Wood quickly for Crossrail and that Victoria trains would go via Sidcup instead of Bexleyheath to stop trains ‘cutting each other up’ on the unreliable flat diamond junction at Lewisham which was felt would make things more reliable. Whilst we have reasonable confidence that these services will start and run May 2022, it is trains that are now felt to be the problem". Part two of this article will be featured in the next edition. 

Historically, Erith has made quite a large contribution to the world of sport. Did you know that Erith was once one of the centres of English cricketing excellence? What is now The Europa Industrial Estate was once a cricket pitch and recreation ground? On Saturday 20th September 1884 a local team of sixteen played an eleven raised By a Mr. H.H Hyslop - a local businessman, from the Australian touring side of that year. Hyslop's Australian team won. A similar match took place between another scratch Australian team again put together by Mr. Hyslop on the 3rd May 1890. The Erith local team was composed of eighteen local men, pitted against a visitors team which included nine members of the Australian test side. This match resulted in a draw. Hopes for a rematch were dashed when the cricket ground was sold and a heavy engineering factory built on the site. Nevertheless, local historians refer to the matches as "when Erith took on the Australians". As many of you know, I am not a sports fan, but it is fascinating to discover, as I have done during my research for this week's entry, that Erith and the surrounding have been pivotal in the development of several now major sports. Football had much of its' origins in Erith in the early 1880's. Prior to 1885-1886, only Rugby Union was played in Erith - there were three clubs in the area; Star Rovers RFC played on Lessness Heath, near the Eardley Arms pub. Erith Raven RFC played on the recreation ground adjacent to the aforementioned cricket ground, and lastly, Erith Anglo - Normans RFC played on Faulkner's Meadow. This club had to be disbanded when the meadow was purchased, and the Nordenfeldt gun works was built on the site; no suitable alternative playing ground could be found for the club and it was wound up. In April 1885 Association Football was introduced to Erith by a gentleman called Bernard Beard, who came to Easton and Anderson's engineering works as manager of the boiler shop. A club was formed, called Erith F.C which played on an area then called Hartley's Meadow - which was located on the banks of the River Thames, just of what is now Lower Road. As a result of a personal dispute between club members, a rival club was established called Erith Avenue F.C. At first, as they had no ground, they were forced to play all of their games away, but they later were successful in securing a ground in what is now Avenue Road. Meanwhile, Erith F.C relocated from Hartley's Meadow to Lower Belvedere. Several members of the team subsequently played for Woolwich Arsenal F.C, what was later to become the current Premier League Arsenal club. The present Erith and Belvedere football club was founded in 1922 and had its' ground adjacent to Belvedere railway station for many years, until arsonists destroyed their main clubhouse and Park View stand in 1997. The club soldiered on for two years, using portakabins on the site, until they entered into a ground sharing arrangement with Welling United in 1999, which is still in place to this day. Most recent local football club to play in the area is Erith Town FC, who are based at Erith Sports Centre.

Sarah Batten of The Exchange has published an announcement and update on activities in the former Carnegie Library and The Bookstore Cafe within it - photo above. The update reads:- "We have a number of things going on over the spring holidays at The Exchange, including Garden Games available from The Bookstore, and a trail of our new exhibition Ex Libris. Here are a few more things that might interest you: The next stage in the creation of the Kitchen Garden at The Exchange! Participants will get crafty and green-fingered painting pots and planting up the the budding seedlings (which were planted at a previous workshop). Once grown these plants will be planted in our kitchen garden and all participants will be invited back later in the year for a feast made from the produce! There will also be mini-eggs to take away for all those who get involved. Throughout the Spring Holidays, young visitors to The Exchange will be able to borrow art materials - paper, clipboards, easels, paints and pencils - from The Bookstore Cafe, to create artworks for exhibition in our pop-up Young Person’s Gallery. Young People can enter their artworks into a competition where there are 3 categories:- Using The Old Library as inspiration - What I think should happen in the Old Library in the future? - Freestyle - drawing whatever I want! These entries will be judged by a group of local artists, and the winners of each category will win a set of art materials. Details of the judging to be announced very soon". Following this, you may be interested to learn that I will be conducting guided tours of the former Carnegie Library, starting next Saturday afternoon at 3pm. Visitors will be shown around the building, including areas not normally open to the public. You can learn about the historic building, and also of the future plans for the amazing space. Please note that some parts of the library are still a building site, so stout shoes are recommended. If you would like to join a tour, then please click here to book a place. The tours are free, but in order to manage numbers, we need you to book in advance. Please don't Email me personally about booking a place, but use the link above - many thanks, and I look forward to seeing you on a tour soon.

Early last week the BBC News website published a story about an experimental TV built by Sony that is designed to showcase cutting edge technology. The 63ft by 17ft (19.2m by 5.4m) screen is currently being installed at a new research centre that has been built for the Japanese cosmetics group Shiseido in the city of Yokohama, south of Tokyo. It is so large it will stretch between the first and second floors. The 16K display, contains 16 times as many pixels as a 4K television and 64 times as many as a regular 1080p high definition TV, meaning it can show images in far more detail than normal. this kind of technology is unlikely to emerge into public use for many years, if ever, as the resolution is actually far higher than the human eye can detect. nevertheless it gives an idea where one of the major high technology players is heading, and other large TV manufacturers such as Samsung and LG will no doubt be undertaking similar ventures. In practical terms, in a normal or even large lounge or dedicated home cinema room, the size of screen able to be accommodated and the viewing ranges involved mean that a screen of more than 8K resolution would be a waste of time, as people simply would not be able to detect the higher resolution. Having said that, I can recall when many pundits said that PC's would not need any more than 640K of RAM - and we all know how that panned out. In all this cutting edge technological development, let us not forget that not every new discovery gets accepted by the public, or ends up making the manufacturers pots of cash. A prime example of this is 3D television, which has turned out to be a massive white elephant. Initially 3D TV's were seen as being the future of home entertainment - at least by the vendors. In reality,  as early as 2013, 3D televisions were being seen as a fad. DirecTV had stopped broadcasting 3D programmes in 2012, while ESPN in the USA stopped in 2013. In the UK, Sky moved its content to on demand. Fewer and fewer 3D TVs were sold and soon TV manufacturers stopped making them. Vizio stopped production in 2014 and was followed by others. In January 2017, the last two major television manufacturers still producing 3D televisions, Sony and LG, announced they would stop all 3D support. Some viewers have complained of headaches, seizures and eyestrain after watching 3D films. There have been several warnings, especially for the elderly. Motion sickness, in addition to other health concerns, is more easily induced by 3D presentations. There are primarily two effects of 3D TV that are unnatural for the human vision: crosstalk between the eyes caused by imperfect image separation and the mismatch between convergence and accommodation caused by the difference between an object's perceived position in front of or behind the screen and the real origin of that light on the screen. It is believed that approximately 12 percent of people are unable to properly see 3D images, owing to a variety of medical conditions. According to another experiment, up to 30 percent of people have very weak stereoscopic vision preventing depth perception based on stereo disparity. This nullifies or greatly decreases immersion effects of digital stereo to them. 

In a second television based post; I want to share something with you which reflects my own personal experience, but not something that I am inclined to encourage others to do. As regular readers will be aware, I have been of the opinion for quite some time that the business model used by Sky TV is unsustainable. When Sky launched their original analogue satellite based service back in February 1989, there was no broadband infrastructure in the UK (or anywhere for that matter), as the World Wide Web had yet to be invented by Tim Berners – Lee. Satellites were the only economic method of broadcasting to large areas of the planet. Now the use of satellites for broadcasting is soon to go the way of using hot air balloons for air travel – yes you can still do it, but why would you bother? Fibre optic broadband is the way forward. Mark my words, the age of Sky using hugely expensive satellites to broadcast will soon be at an end; they will either change their operating model and switch to online, or they will slowly die. To this end, after being a Sky TV customer for 23 years (I was originally an Analogue subscriber, and an early adopter of Sky Digital, and subsequently the HD service), last week I cancelled my subscription. Sky have been endlessly bombarded me with promotional material encouraging me to upgrade to Sky Q 4K UHD, but I have neither the desire to spend money on a 4K television to watch a handful of channels that are actually in 4K. The ultra high definition offering is primarily aimed at those watching the sports channels, which are of no interest to me. I also have recently got increasingly ticked off with the fact that even though you are paying a substantial monthly subscription for Sky, they still show commercials. In essence you are paying to watch advertising. After around a year of prevaricating, I have now bitten the bullet and cancelled my Sky contract. I have Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Freeview and BBC iPlayer, so I am hardly going to be short of entertainment. What do you think? Are you a fan of Sky, or do you too feel that the costs have now so far exceeded the benefit? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Barnehurst ward has yet another week with no residential burglaries to report however there has been an Incident in Eversley Avenue overnight on Monday 08/04/2019 whereby a garden shed was broken into and tools stolen from within. Vehicle crime on Barnehurst continues to be a concern following a further three Incidents over the past week. On Friday 05/04/2019 between 06.45pm – 11.15pm in Selkirk Drive both number plates were stolen from a vehicle. In Parkside Avenue on Monday 08/04/2019 overnight a spare tyre was stolen from a brand new Ford Transit van. Tool marks were seen on the van where it is believed the suspect went under the van to remove the tyre cutting the cables that held the tyre in place. Most recently on Tuesday 09/04/2019 overnight in Hillingdon Road a vehicle was entered and a Superdry jacket stolen. There was no damage found on the vehicle. We are asking residents to remove items from vehicles and once you have locked your vehicle please take a second to double check that the vehicle locked. There are opportunists out there that will stroll around and try door handles. On a good note Barnehurst Officers stopped a vehicle in Stephens Road and following checks it was established this vehicle was being driven with no Insurance held and the driver had also been disqualified from driving. The vehicle was subsequently seized. Our next Community Contact Session is on Tuesday 16th April 2019 at 04.00pm at Barnehurst Golf Club. Please come along and join us for a chat". Belvedere ward:- "PC Holmes and PC Smith took part in plain clothed patrols throughout the ward last weekend after reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in Nuxley Road/ Lower Road and drug use/ dealing in and around Picardy Street. During this, five stop and searches took place in relation to drug possession (cannabis). A community resolution was completed (this is a first instance warning to the person to cease their behaviour which will result in harsher penalisation should they come to notice for similar offences in the future). We recently received several different reports of a large group of youths causing ASB in Nuxley Road, Lower Road, Coleman Road and Essenden Road. Members of this group were committing various offences. PCSO Worrall and PC Holmes were able to view CCTV from these locations and ascertained that the same group were causing issues across the ward. We were able to identify six youths from the group and over last weekend visited each of the youths at their homes, where they were spoken to in the presence of their parents to make it clear that their behaviour was unacceptable. The youths were handed banning letters from both Asda (Lower Road) and Sainsburys (Nuxley Road) and have all been referred to Bexley Councils ASB team – further action is currently being considered by Bexley Council (the team will work alongside Bexley Council should further action be taken). The team were present at a vehicle collision that occurred in Heron Hill at the junction of Lessness Park shortly before 9pm on Saturday 6th April 2019. Two vehicles were involved however the driver of one of the vehicles failed to stop at the scene of this accident. If anyone was witness to this collision, or has any information in relation to this please contact the team. Our next drop in surgery is due to take place on Thursday 18th April 2019 from 11am at Belvedere Community Centre in Mitchell Close". A report from a Belvedere resident:- "At approx. 16.10 on Wednesday 10th April a group of youths aged approx. 14/15 years old in Kentish Road were picking up rocks from peoples front gardens when three more youths came running down the road after them with very long knifes shouting that they were going to ‘cut' them. The group of youths with rocks ran down Kentish Road and turned left into Abbey Crescent. The three youths with knifes ran back up Kentish towards Picardy Road. The Police arrived and were driving round looking for what we assumed were the youths. One of the knife wielding youths had a olive coloured tracksuit with what we would describe as a mop-top haircut - short at the sides with a ‘mop' on top while another was wearing a black top". Bexleheath ward:- "We have had no reported residential burglaries this week which is good news. There was a report of theft from motor vehicle between Wed 03/04/2019 & Thur 04/04/2019. The times were between 2200hrs and 0640hrs along Rochester Drive Bexleyheath. Laptop was stolen from the boot of the vehicle; On Sunday 07/04/2019 at 0100hrs headlights were stolen from a vehicle along Oaklands Close Bexleyheath; Monday 08/04/2019 between the hours of 1030hrs and 1815hrs – Catalytic Converter was stolen from a vehicle parked in the Marriot Hotel car park; Saturday 06/04/2019 between the hours of 2000hrs and 0800hrs Indicator lights were stolen from a vehicle along Meadow Close Bexleyheath; On Friday 05/04/2019 from about 1700hrs - Four stops inside the stairwell inside the Marriott Car Park which resulted in a community resolution and a fine (PND). Patrols have been and still will be conducted in and around the Premiere Inn car park and including the cinema car park to help tackle anti-social behaviour. The team have had reports of youths riding motorbikes at Bursted Woods. As a result the team shall be continuing to patrol this area. Along Haskenere Road Bexleyheath – There has been reports of scooters causing anti-social behaviour and drug use, area is being targeted with patrols. If you do wish to pass on information to Police then please contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111. Please do not hesitate to contact us via Twitter, Facebook, email and the ward phone. Remember in an emergency please dial 999 and 101 for non-urgent reporting". Crayford ward:- "Firstly, we are really pleased to be able to say there have been no burglaries on our ward this week. A padlock was stolen from a gated access to a building site at St Paulinus School overnight Sunday 7th April to Monday 8th April. Number plates were stolen from Woodside Road overnight on Saturday 6th April, number plates AV12BWZ should be on a black Vauxhall Zafira. Two company vehicles were significantly damaged between 21.00 and 22.00 on Thursday 4th April whilst parked to the rear of The Parade, Crayford Way. A male was arrested for assaulting a female member of staff at Tower Retail Park on Thursday 4th April. Between 18.00 on Saturday 23rd March and 06.50 Sunday 24th March a silver Kia had the front number plate (GU58HFW) removed whilst parked in Crayford High Street. A wallet, driving licence, cash and perfume were stolen from a black Mercedes YA17 *** whilst parked overnight at Alcock Crescent, the suspect was seen running to a white Ford Fiesta. At 1am on Monday 8th April a resident in Barnes Cray Road was woken up and realised that their Blue Yamaha XJ6, registration EA60 SOH was being stolen and loaded in to a van. Unable to get any description of the thief or vehicle. There have been a series of thefts of commercial high value recycling bins in Crayford. An eagle-eyed security guard recognised the van involved and called police and a male has now been arrested for these offences". Erith ward:- "Another week in Erith with zero burglaries. We have been talking to shop keepers and asking them to fill out ASB questionnaires so we can get an over view of any issues they may be having. Helped out with a warrant on Northend ward, arranging ward panel dates. If you would like to attend the Erith Ward panel we are looking for new members at the moment please email the Erith team for more information. Crimes of the week of note: Theft of MV Tuesday 02/04/2019, Pier Road; Theft from MV Saturday 06/04/2019, Bramble Croft; Shoplift <£200 Sunday 07/04/2019 supersaver, West Street; Shoplift <£200 Monday 08/04/2019 16:20:00 Screwfix, Fraser Road'. Northumberland Heath ward:- "We have very little to report this week. A couple of motor vehicle crimes reported to us over the last week. Between Friday evening of April 5th and Saturday afternoon of April 6th a number plate was stolen from a motorbike parked in Valence Road. The owner discovered that the chain and lock had been tampered with in an attempt to steal the bike. A Mercedes car was stolen near Carlton Road at 7.40pm on Sunday April 7th. The victim was in the process of selling the vehicle and took a prospective buyer out for a test drive ,along with another male who was with him, with as the victim got out of the vehicle, one of the males drove off in the car towards Bexleyheath. The first male was described as white, approximately twenty years old chubby build wearing jeans and a blue top. The second male was described as white, approximately thirty years old and slim. Another week with no reported burglaries".

The photo above shows a (possibly stolen) Honda scooter found hidden amongst the glass recycling bins in the Council recycling centre behind Erith Morrisons in James Watt Way on Friday evening. Both Erith and Slade Green and Northend Safer Neighbourhood Teams have been informed.

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "On Saturday 06/04/2019 the team (along with help from Erith and North Heath SNT) executed a drugs warrant on the Frobisher Road estate. Unfortunately the suspect we believed to be involved in drug dealing was not present at the time. A thorough search was completed but this time sadly we left empty handed. On Sunday 07/04/2019 between 3pm and 5pm an attempted burglary was reported in Frobisher Road. Entry wasn't gained. Reassurance visits have been carried out to the victims. A possible suspect has been linked to male who has been seen entering Bushey Court sheltered scheme late at night several times in recent weeks. Enquiries are ongoing to try and establish a positive ID. It seems that Catalytic converters being stolen is becoming a growing trend. 2 have been reported in the last few weeks on our ward (Frobisher Road, Howbury Lane) and there have been others reported in neighbouring wards. Although this is a hard one to prevent, if you do become a victim, please ensure it is reported via 101 or online so we can see where patrols may be needed. Our next CCS is on Thursday 18/04/2019 from 3.30pm in Slade Green Library". Thamesmead East ward:- "Motor Vehicle crimes - Between Sunday 5:00pm on Sunday 31/03/19 and Monday 5:30am on Monday 01/04/19 a vehicle parked in Overton Road had a window smashed and money taken .On Tuesday 02/04/19 between the hours of 7:00am and 8:00pm a vehicle parked outside of Dutton House, Southmere Drive had the passenger side wing mirror damaged .Between the hours of 10:00pm on Friday and 5:10am a vehicle parked in Northwood Place had both wing mirrors smashed. Overnight between the hours of 4:00pm of Sunday 07/04/19 and 11:10 am on Monday 08/04/19 a vehicle parked in Holstein Way had the front passenger window smashed, nothing taken. Damage to Property - On Thursday 04/04/19 between the hours of 8:30pm and 8:40pm a property in Overton Road, had a ground floor front window smashed, unknown person/s seen". West Heath ward:- "This week on West Heath Ward some scrap metal was stolen from a shed in Sidmouth Rd on Wednesday 3/4/19 at 4.30pm and there was an attempted burglary in Berkeley Rd where a male was seen on a video doorbell trying cars and front doors at 2.25am on Saturday 6/4/19 (see photo in Borough-wide news above). There was a burglary in Cranbrook Rd on the Monday 8/4/19 between 5.20pm and 9.40pm. Entry was gained by smashing the rear patio doors where an untidy search was carried out and cash and jewellery taken. We have also had an attempted theft of a motorbike in New Rd on the Saturday 6/4/19 at just after midnight, several male were seen trying to cut the security chain. The rear window of a car was smashed in Lenham Rd overnight Tues 3 - Wed 4th April and a male was seen on camera stealing change from an unlocked vehicle in Woolwich Rd in the early hours of Tuesday 9/4/19. Next week's street briefing is in Exmouth Road at 7pm on Saturday 20/4/19".

Singer / songwriter Si Cranstoun has been in the press quite a lot lately; he is shortly to go on tour, and his records have been getting a lot of radio airplay. Industry pundits seem pretty unanimous that he is going to be a major, mainstream star. What is less known is that he and his brother used to busk in Bexleyheath Broadway as "The Dualers". Below is a video from Christmas 2011 which shows Si Cranstoun performing to passing shoppers in Bexleyheath. Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Before and after.

After many false starts, delays and confusion, development work is finally to begin on the old Tram Depot site in Walnut Tree Road, Erith. You can see the brown field site in the photo above - click on it for a larger version. Part of the original depot site was built on a few years ago when Bexley College, (now renamed London South East Colleges: Bexley, which is somewhat of a mouthful at the best of times) was relocated from Tower Road to the new build campus next to Bronze Age Way and Erith Station. The other half of the site was left as wasteland; a plan had been hatched to build a hotel on the brownfield land, but that came to nothing, and the plot has been empty and unused for around the last forty years since the tram depot was demolished. Now a housing development is to be built as part of the planned redevelopment of Erith Town Centre. As previously mentioned, the redevelopment will mean the end of the much disliked underground pedestrian footway that links Erith Station with the town centre - which is better known as "The Tunnel of Doom" by locals. It has always been a magnet for graffiti and anti social behaviour, and I don't think that many locals will mourn its passing. The details of the new residential development are still very sketchy at present, but it is anticipated that it will consist of one or more blocks of flats. The architects for the project are a well known partnership called Ash Sakula, who have a very good reputation for both public and private building design; they have won a total of ten RIBA awards for previous designs. Ash Sakula is currently working on mixed-use projects in Hackney Wick, Southwark, Deptford and Newcastle, a car free development in Banbury, and a leisure scheme in Hangzhou, China. Their studio and office is based in a former 1930s workshop in the heart of London’s jewellery quarter. Cany Ash - Before setting up Ash Sakula in 1994, Cany Ash worked for the GLC Architect’s department and Burrell Foley Fischer as well as in New York and Berlin. She has taught at a number of architectural schools as a critic and studio tutor and is an External Examiner at Cambridge University. She is an experienced co-designer, leading design workshops with young people and many community groups. She has served on the RIBA Awards Group, as a CABE Enabler, a Client Design Advisor and a Civic Trust Awards Assessor. Currently she is member of the South East Design Review Panel. Robert Sakula - Prior to setting up Ash Sakula in 1994, Robert Sakula worked with Clough Williams-Ellis, David Lea, and DEGW. Robert is a Civic Trust Awards Judge, a RIBA Competitions Advisor and a RIBA Awards Jury Chair. He has taught and lectured at many schools in Britain as well as in Berlin, Stockholm, Oslo, Milan, Portland and Chongqing. He is a member of four design review panels. It would seem that the pedigree of the architects is above reproach; I am hopeful that whatever buildings they design for Erith will be worthy of the area, and not along the lines of the recent tower block built adjacent to Abbey Wood Station. It is too early to determine; I do understand that their preliminary designs will be open to public consultation later in the year, much in the way the development of the old Erith Riverside Swimming Baths site was a couple of years ago, though that development is completely unrelated to this newer one. This new project has been widely reported in the local media; both the Bexley Times and the News Shopper have covered the story, with varying degrees of accuracy. The News Shopper has not exactly covered itself in glory, unfortunately - once again the papers lack of local reporters has shown through. Walnut Tree Road is referred to as "Walnut Street Road" - when even a simple check on Google Maps would have corrected this fundamental error. I do not entirely blame the reporters - they are not locally based, and their knowledge of the area is limited at best. The big giveaway that the News Shopper reporters are remote from the area they write about is that many of the photos used in the paper and on their website are either stock images, or they are taken from Google. I understand that they often ask witnesses to events to submit photographs to the paper, as they no longer have a staff photographer. I fear that the paper is in a downward spiral. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Regular readers will be aware of my opposition to Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) as deployed in betting shops around the country. FOBT's have been described as "The crack cocaine of gambling" due to their extremely addictive nature, and the ability for them to take bets of up to £100 every twenty seconds - meaning that problem gamblers can lose fortunes extremely rapidly. There have been calls for the gambling machines to have strong limitations placed, upon them, or for them to be banned outright. A government consultation which began in October last year has been investigating the effects of FOBT usage on gamblers, and also feedback from the gambling industry, which provides a huge amount of revenue to the government in the form of taxes. The government review of fixed-odds betting terminals, could see the maximum bet reduced to between £2 and £50, with many finding the machines addictive because bets of up to £100 can be played every twenty seconds. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, reportedly in favour of the most severe restriction - a cut to £2, said it believes current regulation is “inappropriate” and that changes to the maximum stake would help reduce “the potentially harmful impact on the player and their wider communities”. The proposals include encouraging the industry to take greater social responsibility. Betting shops are able to have four FOBTs in each outlet but there is concern the machines are clustered in poorer areas where there is more unemployment. Though the government has admitted being unaware of how many problem gamblers are receiving treatment on the NHS, the Gambling Commission warns that more than 2 million people in the UK are either problem gamblers or at risk of addiction. Certainly the number of betting shops in the North of Bexley is a worry. It has been said that FOBT machines are so profitable, they actually subsidise other forms of betting such as on horses or football. I understand that the proliferation of betting shops in the area and elsewhere is due to the legal limitation of only allowing four FOBT machines per shop; the law apparently says nothing about the number of shops allowed in any high street, leaving the decision to cash strapped local councils, who need the business rate income - and who are thus likely to permit additional shops despite the damage these can cause to local communities. Hopefully a change in the law will put a permanent stop to this.

It has been long known that the outer London boroughs of Bexley and Havering are the two least expensive places to buy a house or flat in Greater London. A recent report by estate agency Rightmove has confirmed this; Erith came second in terms of property popularity after Sidcup, which saw the biggest growth in Greater London property prices in the past year, with prices rising 8.3 per cent to an average selling price of £443,000 in January this year. The average asking price for a house in Erith is now said to be £321,000 is almost half of the London average. The average is a bit misleading, however, as most of Erith has house prices which are below three hundred thousand; the figures are skewed by the relatively small number of very high end houses located around Park Crescent, Victoria Road and Avenue Road - the "Beverly Hills" of Erith. There are some absolutely lovely houses in that area, and they do add to the average price in the town by quite a margin. Bexley consistently records positive house price growth, and zone six has seen the biggest rises of 2.3 per cent, compared to zone four which only rose by 0.8 per cent. The forthcoming opening of Crossrail and the Erith Quarry housing development will no doubt increase the attractiveness of the area to potential outside buyers.

The photos above show the "before and after" look of the completed refurbishment of the fascia of the White Hart pub in Erith High Street. The pub fascia has been restored with a replica of the original frontage now in place; the original historic front had been illegally ripped out and replaced by plate glass by the criminal owners of Potion - the cocktail bar / drugs den that you can see in the upper "before" photo, which was housed in the building for a number of years until they lost their licence after repeated Police raids and complaints from the public regarding fights and drug dealing in the place. Now the new owners, The Wellington Pub Company have responsibly carried out the instructions of the Council and recreated as close as to the original Victorian frontage as was possible, which you can see in the lower "after" photo. It is not one hundred percent accurate, but it is very close.  Rumours still abound as to what business will occupy the ground floor, former bar area of the building; previously I had heard that it might become a Gelato shop, then yesterday someone mentioned to me that they had heard that it was to become a Meze Parlour. To be honest, I don't have any reliable information, and at this stage I am merely reporting conjecture. If anyone has some hard information, please let me know.

I can finally say that I told you so - a subject that I wrote in some length about, back in March of 2016, I wrote:- "When Sky launched their original analogue satellite based service back in February 1989, there was no broadband infrastructure in the UK (or anywhere for that matter), as the World Wide Web had yet to be invented by Tim Berners – Lee. Satellites were the only economic method of broadcasting to large areas of the planet. Now the use of satellites for broadcasting is soon to go the way of using hot air balloons for air travel – yes you can still do it, but why would you bother? Fibre optic broadband is the way forward. Mark my words, the age of Sky using hugely expensive satellites to broadcast will soon be at an end; they will either change their operating model and switch to online, or they will slowly die". Well, on Thursday of last week, Sky announced that they plan to make all their channels and content available online, meaning customers will no longer need a satellite dish on their property. Italy will be its first market to get all Sky channels online, followed by Austria, with the UK expected to follow in 2019. The story became one of the most widely read on the BBC News website. You heard it first from the Maggot Sandwich, nearly two years ago.

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; beginning this week with Barnehurst ward:- "Barnehurst Ward has suffered four burglaries in the past week, one of these was a non-dwelling burglary. On 16th January at 09.25pm in Dorothy Evans Close a loud noise was heard by the residents. Suspects fled due to being disturbed by the occupants turning an upstairs light on. A rear window was found smashed and the locking mechanism to a side gate had been broken. Barnehurst Local Policing Team provided the victims with window alarms, personal attack alarms and a TV simulator for added security. On the same date 16th January a burglary took place in Mayplace Road East between the hours of 09.00pm and 10.15. On this occasion the lights were seen on by a neighbour who in turn called Police. Entry was gained through a rear door whereby a wooden panel had been forced. No items were taken from the property. Also on the 16th January a non-dwelling burglary took place in Mayplace Road East very close the burglary mentioned previously. At 07.00pm resident returned home and found the side gate open, on further inspection the victim noticed the shed door open and the padlock removed however nothing was taken. Barnehurst Local Policing Team provided the victim with a shed alarm. On 19th January a burglary took place between 07.50am and 07.55pm in Hall Place Crescent. The resident returned home to find lights on and an untidy search was found within the property. Entry was gained through a ground floor kitchen window, this had been forced open leaving tool marks on the window frame. In the early hours of the 20th January in Sevenoaks Close there was an incident of Arson. A garden bench was found burned out and due to the heat from the flames, damage was caused to the windows of the property. It is unknown how the fire started or how it was put out. Barnehurst Officers have been carrying out plain clothes patrols in an attempt to combat the increase of burglaries on the ward, please be vigilant and ensure door are double locked. If you have porches be aware of what you leave in the porch. Wheelchairs, walking sticks tell burglars this may be the home of someone vulnerable. The team have successfully applied for a warrant under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and will be visiting an address on the ward today with the RSPCA Inspectors and vet. We will update you next week as to what we find and any offences. If you can’t wait til next week to see what’s going on please follow our Twitter and Facebook for updates. A reminder that Coffee with cops will be held at Barnehurst Golf Club on Tuesday 20th February. Feel free to join us for a chat". Belvedere ward:- "This week the team have been making enquires with Bexley Council in relation to CCTV in the Nuxley Road car park as occupants of a nearby property reported anti - social behaviour by youths, with eggs being thrown at houses. We are hoping to visit any person involved in the near future once they are identified. PC Green and PCSO Worrall also visited all primary schools to arrange upcoming talks to pupils and parents on various subjects. There was also a recent attempted burglary in Regent Square – in response to this, the team provided crime prevention tips and literature to resident. During patrols of Clive Road, a group of 4 people were stopped and searched. Subsequently, one person was issued with a cannabis warning and a second was issued with a PND for possession of cannabis. In a separate incident, the team assisted with the arrest of a male for ABH and also have recently conducted a weapons sweep, involving several stops and searches in the Picardy Street area". Brampton ward:- "Brampton team have completed liaising with ward panel members (21st Feb) and almost every NHW coordinators (16th Mar) regarding upcoming meetings this will be completed this weekend . Please send me in your email address and confirmation that you are attending for our records and so we can contact more easily (thanks to those that have already replied) . Both meetings will be at St Peters Church Pickford Lane small hall which is to the side of the large hall, Thanks to rev Jim for the loan of the hall A school talk was completed at St Thomas more , pupils were shown what Police do and what kit we use along with a talk on Stranger danger . Crimes over the week were very low with a residential Burglary in Heversham Road, a rear ground floor window had been forced open , the victim had a jewellery box taken. The team completed a reassurance visit and gave out some security items. 2 x Harassment in Bristow Road, by the same person to the same victim on separate days , investigation ongoing to obtain an Harassment warning . We conducted our first Community Contact Session at St Peters this week , this will be an ongoing feature to the ward .At present we only have the one venue, so if anyone knows of a small hall that we can use for an hour please get in touch. NHW coordinator in Dunwich road has asked the team to give out some security advice to residents in the road , this will be held in their home on February 8th , if anyone else would like us to attend to give a small talk or anything, also please get in touch. We will be attempting to recruit more NHW coordinators in those roads that do not have any over the next few weeks Please follow us on Twitter @MPSBrampton and Facebook : Brampton Police and on the met police website www.met.police.uk , place in your area , put in your road and you will go to the Brampton page". Christchurch ward:- "A vigilant neighbour called the police on Saturday 20 January at approximately 11.45pm. He had observed 2 cars park at the end of Sandford Road, occupants get out and dress with jackets, hoods and balaclavas and set off down Sandford Road. An occupant remained in each car. When the police arrived, they arrested one of the occupants and impounded both cars. The belief is that the arrest was for ‘being equipped’". Colyers ward:- "A busy week for Colyers again with 2 attempted burglaries, 1 aggravated burglary, 2 theft of motor vehicles and 1 theft from motor vehicles. The attempted burglaries were in Barnehurst Avenue on Friday 19th January at around 1am where a male attempted entry via an open ground floor window light but made off when disturbed by the home owner and the other was in Windermere Road on Thursday 18th at around 8pm where a rear window was smashed but entry not gained. On Friday 19th January at around 8-8.30pm in Hornbeam Lane an aggravated burglary took place where 2 armed males smashed the front panel and threatened the occupant in an attempted to steal goods within but made off on realising the next door neighbour had called police. In the early hours of Wednesday 17th January an Orange Duke motorbike was stolen from outside an address in Colyers Lane. Another car was stolen on Monday 22nd January at around 2.30pm in Frinsted Road. Unfortunately the victim had left their car door open and keys in the ignition with the engine running whilst they loaded their car. Please do not leave your car vulnerable in this way. We also had 2 persons stopped for possession of Cannabis, one in Colyers Lane and the other in Bexley Road". Crayford ward:- "Sadly, last week was too good to be true and we have had four burglaries in this last week. Between 22.00 on 17/01/2018 and 06.00 on 18/01/2018 entry was made via the front door of a property in Heath Road. A handbag on the stairs was stolen containing cash, cards and keys. The UVPC locking system was faulty and had not been securely locked, this has now been repaired. The resident there was concerned that the burglar had intended to steal the car keys to steal the car, the bag including cards was found locally. On 20/01/2018 between 17.30-23.55 entry was made via the front door of a property in Crayford Road. All the rooms were searched and English and American currency was stolen. On 19/01/2018 between 17.00-21.00 burglars smashed the glass panel of a door to the rear of a property in Valley Road, an untidy search took place but nothing was stolen, the resident believes that the burglar may have been disturbed. On 20/01/2018 between 20.00-23.00 burglars (captured on nearby CCTV) entered a property in Crayford High Street, by forcing a rear door after smashing a security light. There was an extremely untidy search of the property (furniture overturned, bath panel removed) resulting in a high value of Asian gold being stolen. One thing that all these properties have in common is that there is no Neighbourhood Watch. If you have friends / relatives in these areas perhaps they could be encouraged to establish a watch in their road? A number plate was stolen from a vehicle parked outside an address in Woolbrook Road between 05.00-18.30 on 19/01/2018, it is always best to report a number plate being stolen. On 22/01/2018 at 23.25 a motorcycle was stolen from Tanners Close. On 19/01/2018 between 19.00-22.45 a vehicle was reported stolen from Mayplace Avenue. The vehicle was involved in a fail to stop accident in Crayford town centre that same evening and the vehicle was seized. On 23/01/2018 thieves on mopeds attempted to steal a vehicle parked in Barnes Cray Road, as it had additional security they managed to move it a short distance before abandoning it. A robbery took place in Kennett Road on 23/01/2018 at 19.35. Several males with tools chased after two victims and then stole their vehicle which was located later, the victims were taken to a place of safety by a local business and unfortunately there are no details known about the victims or why this robbery occurred. Our team attended Walker Close on 23/01/2018 as we were made aware that a motorcycle stolen from Midhurst Hill in Bexleyheath on 14/01/2018 was parked and covered up in the car park there. The registered keeper came to collect it, damage amounted to £200 but the gentleman was delighted to get it back. We have visited most of the above victims, completed door to door enquiries and delivered crime prevention advice to the areas close to the burglaries. We have been able to provide more foot patrols for reassurance in the recently affected areas as well as utilising the Pulse Patrol bus for mobile patrols. On Thursday 25/01/2018 we will be holding a crime prevention/drop in for a chat event at the Ellenor shop in Crayford Road between 11.00-13.00, it would be lovely to see you. Our quarterly Ward Panel meeting will be held on Tuesday 30/01/2018 from 19.00 at the Europa Gym, Vimm Way (just off Maiden Lane). If you would like to come along, or know anyone who would like to represent their local community, we would be delighted if you would join us". Erith ward:- "Thank you to all that attended the Erith Ward Panel meeting last week. That was one of our biggest attended. Dates for your diary – Next Ward Panels for 2018 - Thursday 26/04/18, Monday 23/07/18 and Wednesday 17/10/18. At the moment these are all at 7pm Erith Pier Road. Street briefing in Christchurch Avenue. 25 residents attended and we recruited NHW coordinators in the street. Weapon sweep in Compton Place which resulting in a lot of finds you can see images of these on our Twitter @MPSErith. Some Crimes on the ward: Theft of MV (Motor Vehicle) 17/01/2018 Maximfeldt Road; C/Dam (Criminal Damage) 16/01/2018 22:00:00 Compton Place; C/Dam Vehicle 17/01/2018 Car park, St Fidelis Road; Theft from MV 19/01/2018 St Fidelis Road; Shoplift <£200 21/01/2018 Riverside Shopping Centre; Burg Res (Residential Burglary) 21/01/2018 Christchurch Road; Making off 23/01/2018 13:45:00 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, James Watt Way. Burg Res 23/01/2018 18:00:00 Chandlers Drive; Theft from MV 23/01/2018 Avenue Road". Lesnes Abbey ward:- "Attempted burglary occurred in Harvel Crescent, between the 22/12/17 and 04/01/18, damage to wooden back door and UPVC window. On Friday 19/01/18 between the hours of 3 : 00pm and 11:00pm a burglary occurred in Lensbury Way, no sign of forced entry to the UPVC door. Between Sunday 21/01/18 at 5 :20 pm and Monday 22/01/18 at 01:00 am a burglary occurred in Woolwich Road, entry was gained through the rear garden window which was smashed. Update from recent burglaries - Encouraging turn out regarding a burglary street briefing that took place on Sunday 21st Jan, Woodland Way. Despite the persistent rain approximately fifteen residents attended and voiced their concerns. Excellent work by Bexleyheath Officers where due to joint teamwork, a male has been charged and remanded in custody in relation to two burglaries at Abbots Walk and Woodland Way. While on routine patrol, PC Pruden identified a vehicle abandoned. Checks revealed that the vehicle was stolen by means of a burglary on the 12th January, and was subsequently used in further burglaries in the Bexleyheath area. The vehicle is currently at Charlton car pound where it will be forensically examined. Burglaries which have occurred on Lesnes Abbey, jewellery has been taken. Crime Prevention (Jewellery) - You can help to protect yourself from losing your valuable heirlooms by photographing your jewellery and keep copies of the images somewhere safe - with your insurance documents in case you are unfortunate to suffer a burglary. Make sure the jewellery is included on your insurance forms, in case you ever need to make a claim. Invest in a good quality home safe - consider the value of the items you want to protect when buying a safe. Speak to your bank to see if they provide safety deposit boxes. If anyone has friends or family in the Ward that is interested in being a NW Coordinator, please contact us". North End ward:- "It has been brought to our attention that an email has been received by several residents in our ward claiming to be from the Inland Revenue stating that there is an outstanding tax refund in your name awaiting a claim. It then asks to click the link to make the claim. This email is a SCAM and should be deleted. Please do NOT click the link as it will ask for all of your banking details etc. Please mention to friends and family. You can email us and ask any further questions if you have them. No burglaries this last week which is good. One crime of note was Criminal Damage to Motor vehicle in Howbury Lane last Thursday evening around 9pm. A bit of road rage escalated into an incident and lead to wing mirrors being kicked off the drivers car. Investigations are ongoing to find the suspects. PC’s Mark and James have had a busy week. 6 stop and searches were made in Grange House leading to a cannabis warning and all of the suspects removed from the communal stairwell after recent reports of drug issues inside the block. A stop and search was carried out in Boundary Street, again leading to a cannabis warning for the individual. They also made an arrest for a Domestic ABH, found a stolen motorbike in Lincoln Close which was reunited with the very happy owner, and extra patrols of The Nursery are ongoing after the recent knife point robberies at Erith Food and Wine shop at the location. Added to this they have been out with colleagues from other SNT’s on the patrol bus which included a weapon sweep in Compton Place whereby a Samurai style sword was found in some bushes. Finally, we have a surgery on Monday 29 Jan from 11am at Forest Road café. Hope to see you there for a coffee and a fry up!" Northumberland Heath ward:- "We have had some good results this week. We were conducting proactive plain clothed patrolling in Mill Road, when a disqualified driver pulled up in a car, who we recognised as being wanted for a burglary. We ran over to the male and after a three minute struggle were able to safely detain him. We arrested the male for suspicion of burglary, disqualified driving and possession of cannabis. The vehicle being driven was seized by police and permanently taken off the streets. We have also conducted a number of stop and searches throughout the ward and a further cannabis warning has been issued. We continue to stop and advice youths seen cycling in a careless manner, which is a ward panel priority. This has resulted in a parental home visit on one occasion and several youths having been given words of advice in the streets. On another positive note, having conducted three parental home visits at the start of the year and having delivered letter’s to local residents in Dickens Close and Byron Drive, we are pleased to report we have had no further incidents of anti-social behaviour in this area. Unfortunately in the last week we have had three burglaries on the ward and one garage burglary. The first burglary took place overnight Last Wednesday January 17th in Colindale Avenue. Thankfully the elderly resident was asleep throughout the incident, but is understandably very shaken and distressed by what happened. Tool marks were found on the front door and an untidy search took place, the resident had £55 stolen from her handbag. The second burglary was in Belmont Road on Saturday January 20th at approximately 5.45pm. The occupant returned home and was unable to enter the property by the inner door. He saw several people running down the stairs and they exited by the rear sliding patio door. It is unclear exactly what, if anything was taken at this stage but it is believed the victim may have been targeted for theft of Asian gold. The third burglary was in Nurstead Road and took place between Saturday and Sunday of last weekend. The occupant was away on holiday and the property was being checked daily by a family member who discovered footprints on the hall carpet when entering the property. The rear double glazed UPVC door was forced and the locking mechanism was damaged. The suspect stole an IPad and a Rotary watch. Power tools were stolen from a garage in Winchelsea Avenue on Monday evening this week. The occupant was in the lounge at approximately 9.45pm when she heard a noise coming from the garage. The resident is currently having building work done to the property and the builders put a Yale lock on the garage which had been removed. He tools were over £400 in value. One criminal damage to motor vehicle this week in Sussex Road. On Sunday 21st January the victim was woken up at 01.20 by the sound of a car horn going off. The victim went outside and discovered the offside middle window to her car had been smashed. Nothing was taken but it is believed that an attempt was made to steal the vehicle as plastic casing around the steering wheel was damaged". Thamesmead East ward:- "One burglary to report this week that occurred at Kingfisher Close, on Wednesday 17th January at 1900 hours. Kitchen window smashed, entry gained and expensive watches stolen. As a result the team have been patrolling the location and surrounding streets. A vehicle was stolen from Kale Road, on Thursday 18th January, however it had been notified off road. During the early hours of Monday 22nd January a motor vehicle was broken into (smashed passenger window) and a handbag was stolen. Just after midnight on Tuesday 23rd January, local officers stopped a male who was acting suspicious in Glendale. A search revealed 14 wraps of white powder, which is believed to be cocaine. The male was arrested, enquiries ongoing. The team have been busy over the past couple of days, attempting to recruit new Neighbourhood members by posting leaflets in various streets around the ward. Register your property for FREE and improve your chances of getting it back if it is lost or stolen and help reduce property crime, register at: https://www.immobilise.com . We are always interested in recruiting new Neighbourhood watch co-ordinators for the ward. Please ask your family and friends if they would like to set up a Neighbourhood watch in their road. Please spread the word to any family and friends in the Borough - they can contact us on 020 8721 2049 or Thamesmead.SNT@met.police.uk for more information".

In a very interesting development, Secretary of State for international trade, and president of the board of trade, MP Liam Fox met with Bexley councillors on the 18th of January to discuss the need for the extension of Crossrail from Abbey Wood to Ebbsfleet. Bexley Council leader, and controversial figure Teresa O'Neill said in an interview with the News Shopper that:- "Given the scale of investment in Crossrail to date, C2E represents a fairly modest investment that can release valuable housing land and connect growth areas along the Thames with fast, reliable metro-style services. It is inconceivable that Bexley and West Kent will not be served by Crossrail services in the way that Essex and Berkshire will be – particularly given the region’s critical role as the country’s gateway to Europe". The Councillor makes one assumption in her opinion regarding an extension to Crossrail from Abbey Wood, down into rural Kent, and that is that the former London Paramount Theme Park development will still go ahead, despite Paramount having pulled out of the deal last year, and to date no new intellectual property partner being appointed. One of the primary justifications of any Crossrail extension into Kent was to provide a fast rail link to and from the proposed theme park and into London. Now that the whole project is in some doubt, the same must be said of the proposed rail extension. Secondly, Teresa O'Neill says that the rail extension is vital given Kent's role s the gateway into Europe. This may well be true, but there are doubts as to how that may or may not change once Britain leaves the EU - nobody knows for sure, as this kind of thing has never happened before. I think that Teresa O'Neill is confusing what she would like to happen with what actually may happen - in my opinion the whole situation is in such doubt and flux that it is impossible to make any accurate prediction at this point. I know that many of the proposals outlined in the Bexley Growth Strategy document rely on the assumption that the extension of Crossrail from Abbey Wood to Ebbsfleet will go ahead. I have always said that this was the single biggest flaw in the strategy document, amongst many smaller ones. Time will no doubt tell. Who says that I don't plan these things? The end video this week explains how the Crossrail system will open, and it is not as straightforward as you might think; not only is the whole new railway going to be renamed as The Elizabeth Line when it opens, but the opening is being done in phases over the course of a year - not as many had assumed all at once. The video below explains exactly what will happen, and when. Please feel free to leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.