Wharfside Close.

One of the unique selling points of Erith that seems to get overlooked by many people is its rich maritime heritage - after all, it is the only place in the whole of the London Borough of Bexley which has public access to the River Thames. The Riverside Gardens and the Pier are lovely places to spend time on a nice day, and it is a pity that more local people are not aware of these assets. What is also remarkable - to me at least - is that there are some very attractive houses and apartments located right on the river front. One would have expected that these properties would attract a premium price, but this is actually not the case at all. A four bedroomed, terraced town house in Wharfside Close, right on the river walk sold in May 2018 for £214,500, and a two bedroomed apartment sold in April 2018 for £125,000 - astonishingly reasonable, when one considers that a similar house or apartment with decent river views in somewhere like Deptford or Woolwich would sell for around ten times as much, and in somewhere really upmarket like Putney, the sky would be the limit. The Wharfside Close properties are large and modern, they have off street parking and there is even a dedicated children's play park area. The views out over the River Thames and Erith Pier are stunning, and you have Morrison's supermarket next door. I find it strange that the properties do not command a higher price. Wharfside Close is no more than five minutes walk from Erith Station, two minutes from the Riverside Shopping Centre and the bus terminus, and less than ten minutes by car to the M25 and A2. I feel that at some point soon, the market for these places is going to take off, probably once the Crossrail / Elizabeth Line finally opens. More on this story later - who says I don't plan these things?

I have an apology to make to a reader; earlier in the week someone Emailed me with an enquiry about the historical gardening practices of local residents - specifically referring to the preference for certain plants. I read the Email with great interest, and intended to reply to it. Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the Email before I replied to it, for which I heartily apologise. Please could the sender resend the Email to me, and I will get back to you accordingly? In my defence I can say that I get between 90 and 120 non - Spam Emails every day, and in an attempt to keep control of my inbox, there have been recent occasions when I have been a little over - enthusiastic in hitting the "delete" button. Please get back to me. 

In a disturbing recent development, there is evidence that the notorious "Croydon Cat Killer" has been operating in Erith. Claire Tack of Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association announced on Tuesday that:- "On 12th September a dead cat was found mutilated in the Brook Street area. A vet confirmed that the cat had been attacked by someone using a knife or scalpel". The so called "Croydon Cat Killer" is a real mystery; the first reports of an individual apparently killing and then mutilating domestic pet cats dates back to October 2015 when animal welfare group South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL) reported incidents of cat mutilation to the police and RSPCA. In November 2015 the Metropolitan Police began to investigate the mutilations, under the name 'Operation Takahe' and led by Detective Sergeant Andy Collin. In January 2016 it was reported that 30,000 local people signed a petition requesting the police conduct DNA testing of the corpses. By February 2016, the deaths of 10 cats (four in Croydon and one each in Streatham, Mitcham Common, Sutton, Charlton, Peckham and Finchley) had been linked by an examining vet who wished to remain anonymous. However, the police at this time stated that the number of cases was in single digits. In February 2016 it was reported that police had yet to find any evidence that the animals were deliberately killed by a human. At this time an investigating vet stated that he found raw chicken in the stomachs of several killed cats and suggested the animals had probably been lured by the killer with the offer of meat. In March 2016, Detective Sergeant Collin said that the perpetrator might be only mutilating the corpses after the animals had already died and might only face charges relating to public order or theft. He noted that of the six cases being investigated, five of the cats had not been claimed which would make it difficult to bring charges of theft or criminal damage. As of March 2016, no human DNA had been recovered. In April 2016 it was reported that the RSPCA believed that the deaths were due to blunt trauma, “likely consistent with being hit by a moving vehicle”. SNARL claimed that the animals were killed deliberately, perhaps by being thrown against a wall. By April 2016, SNARL had recorded 50 attacks across Crystal Palace, Mitcham, Streatham, Peckham, Charlton, Richmond, Orpington, and Farnborough in South London, Finchley, Tottenham and Archway in North London, Stepney in the east, and Guildford in Surrey. SNARL reported that other animals including foxes and rabbits have been attacked in the same way. In June 2016, SNARL speculated that there had been 100 kills following a decapitated cat being found in Morden. At this time police stated that they had spent 1,020 hours on the inquiry since December 2015. By July 2016, the media and SNARL had begun referring to the attacker as the "M25 Cat Killer" after new reports, including a cat killed in Whyteleafe, Surrey, suggested the killer was operating around the M25 motorway. After reports of animal deaths in Maidstone, Sevenoaks and seven other locations, SNARL adopted the terms "M25 Animal Killer" and "UK Cat Killer". In September 2017, ArroGen Veterinary Forensics began re-examining some animals to help police and RSPCA to bring prosecutions. In October 2017 it was reported that the killer was suspected of mutilating over 370 animals. Detective Sergeant Collin stated that it was possible there were copycats. In December 2017, police linked five cat deaths around Northampton from August to November that year to the same killer, but later police stated the Northampton deaths were not being linked to the others though a 31-year-old man had been arrested. It was reported in August 2018 that, three years after the first report of the "Croydon Cat Killer", no evidence relating to an individual who may be committing the alleged crimes had been found. There was no evidence found of clothing, human DNA or a murder weapon and no CCTV footage has been recovered. The mystery continues, and it is worrying that whatever is behind the animal deaths and mutilations, it has now happened on our own doorstep.

Following on from the article last week on the unparalleled level of traffic congestion that is occurring in Northumberland Heath, due to Tesco lorries parking in the road in order to unload stock for the Tesco Express mini supermarket located on the corner of Bexley Road and Northumberland Park, right in the centre of Northumberland Heath, I have had a considerable amount of correspondence from readers on the issue, which seems to be a concern for many local people. As some readers may know, fellow local Blogger and campaigner Malcolm Knight of the excellent "Bexley is Bonkers" and I keep in a pretty regular correspondence, as some of our stories are of mutual interest. Malcolm highlighted that he had in fact raised the issue of Tesco induced traffic congestion way back in an (edited for brevity) Blog entry he wrote on the 25th May 2012. Malcolm wrote (reproduced with permission):- "The next subject for discussion was Tesco’s plan to open an ‘Express’ in the premises formerly occupied by the family owned electrical retailer Wellingtons. Wellingtons has not succumbed to the corporate might of Comet and the like, but has moved next door to a modern store more suited to their requirements. Tesco seems to be on a mission to take over the borough. Two large stores (planned or open) and five Express stores come to mind immediately. The protesters and their placards stood no serious chance of stopping Tesco in their tracks. The existing store permission would allow a shop to open there tomorrow. However Tesco wants to install a cash machine (ATM), change the shop front a bit, put up a Tesco sign and install air conditioning units and compressors all of which do require permission. It was said there are already six ATMs in the small shopping centre and they attract groups who loiter with ill-intent and outside a store selling cheap alcohol it was a “dangerous” situation. Councillors Bishop and Waters were concerned about the traffic congestion that delivery vehicles would cause and anyone who knows the area will be very aware that things are pretty bad already. The shops do not have rear service areas but Planning Department chief, Susan Clark, had to remind the Committee that there was absolutely nothing that could legally be done to prevent Tesco using any delivery vehicle they might choose. For the record, Tesco has said they don’t plan to use anything bigger than ten metres long. If I lived close to the proposed store I would be more concerned about the noise from the compressors and air-con units. They would be only about four metres from the nearest dwelling, that was the official estimate, the protesters sitting near me said it was closer. It was alleged that the compressors at the Welling store are noisier than the permission allows but councillor Val Clark said this wasn’t true. Tesco might consider sending her some Club card Reward Points for her consistent loyalty. The protesters filed out at 21:45 with shouts of “whitewash” the relevance of which I failed to comprehend. Whilst I can see that Tesco will add little or nothing to the wellbeing of Northumberland Heath and will make the frequently appalling road congestion even worse, the Planning Committee could not reasonably stop it. If local feeling is strong enough residents can always boycott Tesco. It’s not as though the Express prices are competitive. A rip-off from my limited experience". Certainly a prescient prediction from Malcolm. All his concerns about the Tesco Express in Northumberland Heath have now come to pass. With the forthcoming opening of phase one of the Erith Quarry development - which has an entrance / exit located in Carlton Road, the increase in local population that will shortly take place in such close proximity to Northumberland Heath will only exacerbate the congestion problem. I have it on excellent authority that in Northumberland Heath:- "Loading and unloading is permitted on single and double yellow lines for a maximum of 40 minutes if loading is observed. You must not cause an obstruction and ensure that there is no loading ban. A loading ban is indicated by single or double stripes on the kerb (see the graphic above), a double stripe means no loading ever, a single stripe means only loading / unloading at certain times. I have been hoping that Bexley would change the parking to one stripe and restrict the times that Tesco can gridlock the Heath, but there was no appetite for it from council. Instead what they wanted to do is put a loading bay in. That could be done by buying a stretch of the pavement nearest the shops which belongs to the shop owners and then there would be an inlet for the lorries to park up. However I believe that an agreement to sell could not be obtained from the Wellington family who own both their own shop and the Tescos next door". What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

As predicted, the opening of the African restaurant / bar in the newly refurbished White Hart building in Erith High Street has been delayed; the restaurant / bar was due to open today - the 16th September, but as the licencing committee of Sevenoaks Council (who handle the workload formerly processed by Bexley Council) are not meeting to discuss the application until the 19th September, a delay in opening was inevitable. On top of this, I understand that a number of objections to the current licence application have been submitted by local people. The operators of the restaurant / bar want to serve alcohol from 10am until 4.30am the following morning, and not shut the place until 5am. I am pretty certain that this is merely a "fishing trip" and that the don't really expect this to be granted, but we will have to wait and see what the planning team say. I am positive that the local objections to such excessive opening hours will be fully taken into account. More on this story soon. 

It is a long established fact that digital news platforms have a hard time monetising their content; a good example of this is the Sun newspaper website; for several years it was locked behind a paywall that very few readers actually paid for. In the end the website was made free, and instead relied in online advertisements to pay for it. Smaller local papers have an even harder time of it, as attracting wealthy advertisers can be a real challenge. An example of this is the News Shopper website - a news site that recently boasted of record - breaking viewing figures. The latest industry figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations covering the first six months of 2018. The ABC statistics show www.newsshopper.co.uk had an average of 40,592 daily unique browsers, up by a creditable 12 per cent on the same period last year. The problem the News Shopper website has, like so many other news based sites is that the number of user hits on embedded advertisements is falling off a cliff. The number of website hits compared with the number of clicks on adverts no longer correlate in the way that they used to. The reasons for this are relatively straightforward. Most modern web browsers have a degree of pop - up - blocking and advert filtering built into them. Google's excellent Chrome web browser (which I wrote about at some length last week) has a full ad blocker built in as standard in the latest version. The News Shopper is notorious for having very intrusive adverts, including ones that automatically play audio and video content - which can startle a viewer when they are not expecting sound or video to spontaneously display. In addition to this, the large amount of bandwidth these intrusive adverts take up can cause even the fastest computer to have problems - causing the displayed web page to "jump around" and not load other content as fast as the user would wish. News based websites are suffering as now many viewers use either stand alone ad blockers, or the ad blocking functionality built into many modern web browsers to stop what users see as irritating and intrusive advertising content. The web content providers and the web browser developers are in a virtual arms race to see who can get one over on the other. At present the ad blockers are in the ascendant - to the extent that the News Shopper website now displays a pop - up banner at the bottom of every page on their website asking users to switch off ad blocking, which you can see in the screen capture above - click for a larger image. The trouble is, the News Shopper really only have themselves to blame by making the adverts on their website so numerous, annoying and intrusive. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Thamesmead Police have issued an appeal to the public to identify the woman in the photograph above. She is wanted in connection with a number of offences, not least that of endangering the life of a child whilst illegally driving a quad bike through a pedestrian walkway in Southmere Park, Thamesmead. If you can identify the woman in the photo, please either contact CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or give the information via http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org. Alternatively privately Email me with the information,  and I will pass it on to the relevant Police contact for you. If you wish, you can remain completely anonymous. The important thing is to identify the criminal in the photo above, and get her off the streets before the child or an innocent bystander is injured or worse.

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst Ward:- "Good news again for Barnehurst as we did not have many crimes. The Barnehurst Officers visited Woodside School for the new term. There have been issues with individuals parking their vehicles on the yellow lines outside the school, on Colyers Lane. This is causing a lot of traffic, so can any parents who pick up their children from Woodside School please bear this in mind. Please join us for our community contact day on Tuesday 18th September at 11am at Barnehurst Golf Course. We will discuss any ward issues that you have and we will also provide residents with crime prevention advice". No report from Belvedere ward this week, so we move swiftly on to Bexleyheath ward:- "We have had a report of a burglary that had happened on the Friday 07/08/2018 along Long Lane Erith. Entry was gained via the rear and jewellery was taken. Also, on Monday 10/09/2018 along Pinnacle Hill Bexleyheath. Suspects had entered victims rear garden and had stolen items. Over the weekend a van was broken into along Grove Road Bexleyheath. Suspect had tried to steal parcels out the van. On Saturday 08/09/2018 – There was report of an interference with motor vehicle along Sterling Road Bexleyheath. Sunday 09/08/2018 – There was also another interference with motor vehicle along Bowness Road Bexleyheath. Between Friday 07/09/2018 & Sunday 09/09/2018 – there was a report of a theft from motor vehicle along Grove Road Bexleyheath. Between Monday 10/09/2018 and Tuesday 11/09/2018 – Along Silverdale Road, a vehicle's window was removed and the ignition barrel damaged. On Saturday 08/09/2018 there was a theft/snatch reported along Market Place Bexleyheath. On Monday 10/09/2018 there was a theft from person reported in Primark Bexleyheath. Phone and cards taken from victim. The team are targeting patrols around Martens Grove and Grove Road especially around the garages to reduce any further reports of anti-social behaviour. Over the last weekend the team had taken part in the Food & Music Event that was on the Broadway, the team had also marked peoples push bikes using Bike Register. We will be holding a coffee morning on Wednesday 19th September between 10.30am and 11.30am at the Central Library, Bexleyheath. Please come along and have a chat with us if you wish. 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. 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". Crayford ward:- "Between Monday 20th August and Wednesday 5th September, criminal damage was caused in the grounds of Mayplace Primary School. Four benches were destroyed and the parts moved to create a new seating area. There was evidence of drug usage as well as graffiti. On Thursday 6th September at 7.33 a quad bike was stolen from a driveway in Halcot Avenue. It had an immobiliser fitted and would have been lifted to remove. Between 09.00 on Monday 3rd September and 14.00 on Wednesday 5th September a window was broken in a disused building at Farm Buildings in Maiden Lane. Overnight on Friday 31st August an unknown person threw bricks and alcohol bottles at a Black BMW parked in Whitehill Road causing damage to windows and body panels. Between Friday 20th July and Wednesday 8th August there was an attempted burglary at Whitehill Road. Whilst the owners were away on holiday someone attempted to gain entry, although the UVPC frame was dented and lock damaged, the suspects were unsuccessful. Between 14.00 on Thursday 30th August and 15.00 on Friday 31st August number plates were stolen from a black Seat parked in Valley Road. On Saturday 8th September a resident left their mobile phones and cash card on top of their vehicle in Station Road. Realising that they had done so they stopped to discover them gone. They called the phones to find they were switched off and on checking their location they were in different places not associated to the resident. On Wednesday 5th September between 11.00 -11.10 a theft not classified was recorded. The victim had accidentally left their laptop, a Panasonic Toughbook, on the roof of their vehicle, realising when it slid across the roof and in to the kerb and saw a vehicle behind stop to pick it up. The rightful owner pulled over but the person drove off with it. On Sunday 9th September, an arson of motor vehicle was reported in Bascombe Grove. The silver Ford KA had extensive damage to the interior and engine area, it was confirmed that an accelerant had been used. There is local CCTV of this incident. Between Friday 7th September and Sunday 9th September a resident reported three separate incidents, a lock was glued, a door was broken and eggs were broken all over a silver Ford Focus. On Sunday 9th September at 23.34 there was an interference of motor vehicle reported. A white Honda motorcycle was parked outside an address in Ridge Way, 2 Males were seen tampering with it, they fled when confronted and it was found that the steering column and disc lock had been damaged. On Sunday 9th September a resident reported that their two vehicles had been damaged. The Audi A3 that had been parked in Iron Mill Lane had the windscreen cracked and windscreen wiper snapped off. The Seat Leon that was parked in Rectory Close close to Iron Mill Lane had a deep scratch along the nearside. Our officers gave out three tickets for using a mobile phone whilst driving. We have been out and about on our open spaces in response to calls about youths using and selling drugs".

Erith ward:- "A weapon sweep carried out around the West Street area 3 knives were found in a bush and taken to Bexleyheath police station (photo above). Crimes of note from this week - Theft from Motor Vehicle 05/08/2018 Parkspring Court, Erith High Street - unknown suspect gained access to victims vehicle which was parked in underground open car park; Theft of cycle 05/09/2018 Pier Road - suspect seen on CCTV stealing two bicycles from bike rack at location; Theft of cycle 04/09/2018 Domino's Pizza Bexley Road - male has left his bike locked in a bike rack and when he has returned a short while later the chain was cut and the bike was gone; Theft from Motor Vehicle 06/09/2018 Riverdale Road - suspect taking the vehicle registration plates; Making off 08/09/2018 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, James Watt Way; Burglary Residential 07/09/2018 Wharf House, West Street - stolen VIW1's bicycle from the fourth floor of the communal hallway; Theft from Motor Vehicle 10/09/2018 Queen Street - smashing the vehicle window and taking property". Northumberland Heath ward:- "This week we have continued with our work tackling all forms of anti-social behaviour. Over the summer we had several report of nuisance behaviour from a group of young teenage boys and we were able to identify all the individuals involved by viewing CCTV and by talking to the boys on the street whilst on patrol. Two of the boys involved have already received parental letters in regards to this informing their parents of the type of behaviour being reported to police. We referred one of the boys to our ASB panel, chaired by the Bexley Community Safety team at Bexley Council. This week we were able to agree on conditions on an acceptable behaviour contract (ABC) and hope this will both deter and prevent the boy from being in situations where he will be involved in any further ASB. Another boy in the group, already on an ABC, has been reported to the Bexley Community Safety team and more formal intervention is due to follow. We have continued our work on tackling ASB from a group of older teenagers. We have had several reports of noise nuisance in and around Walsingham Walk recently. We conducted plain clothes patrols here throughout the week and identified a group who were congregating here. Details were taken, words of advice were delivered and the group moved away to a different area. We will continue to revisit the area if we continue to receive reports of ASB. Last week we searched a 15 year old female and a 17 year old male for cannabis who were found smoking down an alleyway off Frinsted Road. Over the week both individuals have been interviewed at the police station with parents and will be getting referred to our youth offending team (YOTS) who work with children to try and help and deter them from getting involved in crime. Please continue to report all forms of ASB to the team, so we can continue our work on trying to prevent and deter such behaviour. No burglaries reported to us this week.One theft of motor vehicle in Beechfield Road overnight between Sunday September 9th 7pm to Monday September 10th 9am". Slade Green and North End ward:- "Two vehicle crimes were made aware to us last week after we went on rest days. Overnight on Tuesday 04/09 a camper van was stolen from the drive of a house in Northend Road, there is very limited detail on the crime report but no broken glass was found at the scene and the owner still has the keys. Overnight on Weds 05/09 a pushbike was taken from the back of a house in Lincoln Road. The victim did get some pictures of who they believed we responsible but the images we unfortunately not clear enough to make a positive ID. St Pauls Primary School (formerly Slade Green School has been the victim of criminal damage twice over the school holidays. 2 windows were smashed over 2 separate weekends. There is an ongoing investigation to try and ID the suspects involved. This Saturday was meant to be the Slade Green Big Local Community Safety Saturday but sadly the event has been cancelled due to unknown circumstances but we will keep you informed of any future Big Local events. Our next Community Contact Session is on Friday 21st September from 7pm in our SNT base at Pier Road Erith (next to Farm Foods). Please come and say hi if you are nearby". Thamesmead East ward:- "Good news on burglaries - No burglaries. With the evenings starting to get darker earlier, remain vigilant at all times. Motor Vehicle Crimes - On Thursday 6/9/18 at about 3:00pm, a black laptop was stolen from a Virgin media vehicle parked in LIME ROW whilst the engineer was working on the exchange. A vehicle parked outside of JACOB HOUSE, KALE ROAD had the front number plate stolen between the hours of 09:00pm on Tuesday 11/9/18 and 08:00am on Wednesday12/9/18.A van parked on the forecourt of the BP garage HARROW MANOR WAY had the front nearside window smashed and the driver's lunchbox stolen, house and car keys and a pair of sunglasses stolen. Ongoing investigation by the Thamesmead East team following the BP garage incident. Police Surgery - Tuesday 18/09/18 between the hours of 2:00 pm and 3:00pm at THE THAMESMEAD LIBRARY, BAZALGETTE ROAD. An opportunity for members of the community who prefer face-to-face contact, to speak with a Dedicated Ward Officer." West Heath ward:- "It has been a good week this week with a small amount of crimes being reported. On Friday 7th September, a female was arrested on Axminster Crescent following a failure to stop for police in her vehicle. She was found to be in possession of an offensive weapon and an amount of cocaine. Officers continue to reassure residents following a number of Asian gold burglaries on the borough and would like to remind residents to remain vigilant and call police with any information".

The ending video this week is another submission from transport expert Geoff Marshall with further insights as to why the Crossrail / Elizabeth Line has been delayed by at least a year - and possibly quite considerably longer. Do give it a watch.

The Street Kitchen.

I took the photographs above on Friday evening - click on any one for a larger view. The event was the first Erith Street Kitchen Food Fair. I arrived not long after the event started, and people were beginning to turn up. There were a number of stalls selling a variety of foods and drinks, along with a chap with an acoustic guitar who was singing. I spoke to a number of the people who visited the event - they were pleasantly surprised by it, as they had been walking past and stumbled on it. There were a number of stalls selling everything from alcoholic ice cream, Italian Gnocchi, African food and even a candy floss stall, which proved very popular, especially with children. I have to admit that my only criticism of the food fair was the lack of publicity prior to the event. If I only just knew about it shortly before it took place, how would most local people get to find out? There was very little promotion or publicity, which was a shame. Fortunately the location of the event meant that it attracted a lot of passing attention, and also meant that people returning home after work, who had got the train from London would come across the fair on their way home, or on their way to Morrison's supermarket. I spoke to a lady from Bexley Council who was involved with the organisation of the event, and she told me that they had been leafletting commuters at Erith Station (more on the station shortly) for three days prior to the event, but it would have been nice to see a few posters in and around the town centre. She also told me that they plan to make a Street Kitchen Food Fair a regular occurrence - maybe once a month. I would heartily welcome such a move, as long as the council give the events the appropriate level of publicity and support. I was also told that the re - relaunch of Erith Market is now not likely to happen; the previous half hearted attempt only lasted a few weeks. Last September local arts, heritage and education group The Exchange carried out a public consultation regarding the future of Erith Market; the feedback that they gathered was summarised as:- "The Market needs to be on a weekend to ensure enough people are able to attend it; it needs a better location than the unsuccessful attempt in Morrisons car park; it should have a variety of stalls as it can’t compete with cheap shops in Erith on price alone; it should offer more than just shopping – e.g. music, workshops, activities for children, street food – a real day out. The Market could include opportunities/subsidised stalls for non established traders e.g. teenage market, free stalls for local entrepreneurs, car-boot stalls – maybe we trial it with a Christmas market. To compete with other markets it would be great to become a destination market – need something unique to do this". It would appear from what I was told that the council have now abandoned any attempt to restart the market, which, if it is true, is a real shame. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Bexley Police have started a crackdown on the users of Nitrous Oxide. The gas, which is inhaled, has become a popular recreational drug over the past few years. According to the latest Global Drug Survey, Nitrous Oxide – or laughing gas – is now the seventh most popular drug in the 50 countries surveyed. Just over half the UK respondents said they had tried the drug at some point, and 38 per cent said they had used it in the last year, making it more popular in the UK than any other country. Nitrous Oxide is a colourless, sweet tasting gas that has been used recreationally since the late 18th century, most notably by Sir Humphry Davy, former president of the Royal Society. Medical use was established in the early 20th century and Nitrous Oxide remains an important anaesthetic, tranquilliser and painkiller, used by dentists, obstetricians and sports doctors. Indeed, many members of the public will have experienced the effects of Nitrous Oxide themselves without realising it. The popularity of recreational use of Nitrous Oxide is unsurprising. It is legal in many parts of the world, it is cheap and it reliably produces a short-lasting euphoria as well as heightened senses and a slight feeling of disconnect from the body and is often used as a drug at concerts, nightclubs and festivals. As one can see, the desired effects would be a quick little “pick me up” but continued usage causes major damage. Physically, Nitrous Oxide is not considered an addictive drug; psychologically it is because it mimics other narcotics. It is a very quick high which usually causes intense repetitive behaviours in its users. Users of this drug will continue to try to get more and more high, which again, in turn, creates major issues. Purposely making the human body pass out or by cutting circulation of to the brain does not only kills brain cells but can creates numbness in extremities, vitamin B12 deficiencies, suffocation, and it can even lead to death. If a person is to stop breathing, even for a short period of time, it also affects the central nervous system which includes the brain, brain stem and spinal cord. Death typically occurs in people who highly abuse Nitrous Oxide. They continue to chase their first high and try to inhale more and more gas. If death does not occur from doing this, it can cause severe brain damage due to asphyxia. There have been statements made about how the effects on the body after going on a Nitrous Oxide binge and then not doing it for a while, can be similar to the withdrawals that someone may experience if they have not smoked marijuana in a while. There may be bouts of nausea, impulse to want to do Nitrous Oxide again, headaches accompanied by lethargy, and just an overall feeling of achy joints and weakness. Nitrous Oxide can be combined with other drugs to alter the effects. Availability is affected by national laws but, generally, where the drug is available it is either dispensed from large canisters or small bulbs (“whippets”), into balloons, which is then used to inhale. Because Nitrous Oxide has legitimate uses in the food industry (to make whipped cream, for example), it can easily be bought from online retailers such as catering companies. However, according to the Global Drug Survey, people are increasingly using the dark net to buy it. Long-term and heavy-use of Nitrous Oxide can lead to vitamin deficiency, amnesia and anaemia as a result of the inactivation of vitamin B12 in the body, although the incidence of this is unknown. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause tingling and extended periods of numbness in the fingers, toes and extremities which can last for hours or days. More severe cases can lead to numbness and difficulty walking, and the risks are heightened in people who are already vitamin B12 deficient. The misuse of Nitrous Oxide in and around the London Borough of Bexley is widespread - empty canisters and balloons can be seen strewn in the gutters of many local roads - as you can see in the photo above - click on it for a larger version. 

Work is about to begin to improve Erith Station, which until now has been largely overlooked in the refurbishment work to the stations on the North Kent Line. Whilst the work is welcomed, it still will not include a passenger lift for the London bound platform - something that has been requested and campaigned for nearly a decade, with no result. The announcement from Bexley Council says:- "Works to improve access to Erith station and to enhance the forecourt and building will begin on 23 July and last until early autumn. The improvement work will not affect passenger train use, and has been timed to coincide with the school summer holidays, to minimise inconvenience to residents. The majority of the work will take place in the station forecourt area with the public space opened up to increase pedestrian and vehicle access.  There will be new seating, trees and shrubbery plus more bicycle racks which will be more secure. The existing heritage lights which are a key feature on the station building, which is locally listed, will be restored and brought back into full use. Traffic and pedestrian access may at times need to be restricted to enable the works to take place.  Diversions will be fully signposted. The improvements at Erith station are being funded by London Borough of Bexley and the Mayor of London. The aim is to create an active town centre that can make the most of Erith’s unique setting by the River Thames". So when are we getting a lift? Bexleyheath Station has a lift which is not needed, as there is already step - free access to both the London and Kent bound platforms, something that is not available at Erith Station. 

You may recall that last week I published part one of an article by guest writer Miles on the subject of electric vehicles, their practicality, and the the proposed creation of an electric vehicle charging infrastructure within the London Borough of Bexley. Here is part two of the article, and it makes for fascinating and thought provoking reading. Miles writes:- "The media have performed an excellent job casting the electric vehicle as nothing more than an inconvenience yet this couldn't be further from the truth, modern EVs are almost indistinguishable from normal cars bar several key differences, torque, charging, maintenance and finally, Silence (with a capital S). There’s nothing comparable to an EV accelerating off the line, unlike internal combustion cars (ICE) torque is immediately available at all rev ranges, this translates into show stopping, almost supercar like acceleration, overtaking manoeuvres become far safer and is always guaranteed to put a smile on your face. With no gears you can creep along in traffic, stop and start with no noisy engine ignitions, and when it is time to put the pedal to the metal, pure and constant acceleration is delivered thanks to the gearless drivetrain. Let's look at charging, as that's always a hot topic. If you own an EV you've got to know your ABCs - Always Be Charging. When you have an opportunity to charge, whether that be at home, work, shopping etc - plug in. Depending on your car, and charger type you'll get anywhere from 100-350 miles off range in an hour.  What's more, a significant number are free to use - I write to you now sitting in the Lidl parking lot in Bexleyheath not having paid a penny…. OK, ok I had to buy a pint of milk. One huge benefit of EVs is you can leave your car charging overnight meaning you wake up to a full tank of petrol, well electricity, but you get my meaning; In fact there’s a significant population of EV drivers who simply never use public chargers. Statistically speaking in the US the average daily distance driven is less than 30 Miles. If your battery range is 2-300 miles, it’ll only be on rare occasions you need to use the public charge network. Whilst this may not suite the travelling salesmen of old, for the majority of us it's ideal. Now it's not all sunshine and roses, whilst there are tens of thousands of chargers around the country we will need vastly more - it's not much fun waiting for a charger to free up! EV owners can even be their own worst enemy by overstaying at a charge bay despite a fully battery; Thankfully the community have come up with two solutions, charge sharing by allowing other drivers to unplug your car, and at more disputed locations, an idle charge to encourage a prompt return for the car. It's also becoming increasingly common to see drivers prioritise the cars with the least range to charge first which is great to see in action. Another frustrating aspect of charging is the sheer number of different providers, each with their own phone apps, cards and subscriptions. Thankfully the tide is quickly changing as the government are pushing for simple contactless payments - already offered at many stations. Faulty chargers and ICEing bring this section to a neat close. Unfortunately it is not uncommon to find a faulty charger - thankfully the excellent EV community built ZapMap, a crowd-sourced website & mobile app that gives you the real-time status of all EV charges throughout the UK. With a bit of forethought you can generally avoid wasting time at faulty or busy chargers. ICEing - the deliberate action of parking in an EV charger by a normal car - is a particularly irritating event, akin to parking your car at a petrol pump and going off to do the weekly shop.  Often this appears to be out of malice, or some sort of entitlement but thankfully it is reasonable rare. Most chargers tend to be placed with ANPR systems which will automatically issue a ticket if the vehicle is not parked in the correct location. With that out of the way, let’s talk maintenance or more precisely, there lack of! An EV has vastly less moving parts than a typically car which drastically reduces the number of components that need maintenance or can fail. Your yearly service involves topping up the washer fluid, wiper blades, maybe a coolant check if you’re a high miler and a quick check of the 12v battery - annual service intervals become almost pointless. Brake pads tend to last significantly longer as regenerative braking - braking that is provided by the motor and simultaneously recharges the battery - means it’s entirely possible to drive without using the brake at all! Simply put, the majority of service requirements can be carried out at home saving you a small fortune each year". Some very thought provoking issues covered by Miles; part three of his essay on electric vehicles and the practicality of using them will be published next week; please feel free to leave any comments or other feedback below. Alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The photo above was sent to me by a reader a couple of weeks ago; due to pressure from other content it is only now that I have been able to publish it. The photo (click on it for a larger version) shows a large freighter ship coming in to moor at Erith Pier. It was apparently taken in around 1968. As I have written in the past, one of the most underused and overlooked assets that Erith has is the pier. Erith Pier is the longest pier on the River Thames. It was originally constructed for commercial use for the unloading of goods from cargo ships that used to moor at the pier. Most of the cargo were large reels of blank newsprint from Scandinavian paper mills for what was then Fleet Street and the newspaper printers. Erith Deep Water Wharf provided many local jobs for years, but as container ports such as Tilbury took over, the wharf became less popular with shipping companies, and it was closed down – it remained empty for a number of years. Back in 1998 work started to convert the former wharf into what is now Morrison’s supermarket and the aforementioned pleasure pier, which opened to the public in 1999. Nowadays it is a pleasure pier, and somewhere well worth a visit in the warm weather. In my opinion it is one of the little known gems of the River Thames. 

I have commented on several occasions as to how the feedback function on the News Shopper website seems to be either somewhat broken, or more likely, unmoderated. The sheer number of facile, ill considered and downright rude comments that appear under many of the news items is of concern to me. Not only do the authors of some of the comments seem to leave their opinions on most if not all of the stories that have comments enabled, but it appears that they try to appear "funny" when in reality all they do is annoy the reader. Regular comment contributors include "Gypo Joe" and "I think you will find I am correct" - all they do is grandstand and try and annoy other contributors in a completely pointless way. There is also a strong subtext of racism in some of the comments - one regular contributor repeatedly writes "hit them with a stick, then deport them" about any issue he or she comments upon. I fully realise that the News Shopper has very limited resources nowadays, and that the reporting staff do not know the area well, as they are not locally based. You may notice that screen captures from Google Street View are widely used to illustrate stories, as the paper no longer has a staff photographer. 

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Good news again for Barnehurst as we did not have many crimes. Due to a local resident being in possession of cannabis they were issued with a Penalty Notice for £90. The Barnehurst ward officers did a ward patrol with Mayor Bishop and Councillor Jackson, which was very successful as local issues were discussed. Please join us for our community contact day on Wednesday 25th July at 11am at Barnehurst Golf Course. We will discuss any ward issues that you have and we will also provide residents with crime prevention advice". Belvedere ward:- "There was a report that a gun was discharged on 03/07/2018 in Victoria Street and then subsequently in Grosvenor Road, around 23:00. No one was hurt as far as we know. However, we are conducting a fresh appeal for any witnesses. The immediate surrounding area was canvassed with leaflets but if anyone has any information please can you contact the Crime Team on 0208 247 4602. Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously. We have received reports of youths hanging around the undercover area of The Chestnuts, Bedwell Road. They are reportedly being noisy, leaving litter and using cannabis. We have patrolled this area more, searched some of them and moved the youths out. We will continue to patrol. If they do not take heed of the warnings other actions will be looked into to curb this nuisance. There is a persistent beggar in Nuxley Road, white male, white hair, white beard, 50-55 years old. He is causing a nuisance with his behaviour. We have spoken to this male and moved him off. We will continue to do so and, same as the youths above, will look to a long term solution if he doesn’t leave off. There was a burglary at the new builds on Caldy Road, 13th into the 14th July. Building materials including copper piping were stolen. If anyone has any information please contact the team on 0208 721 2050 or belvedere.snt@met.police.uk. Or Crimestoppers as above. Our next drop in surgery will be on 27th July between 11:00 and 12:00 at Asda Café". A member of the public in Upper Belvedere made the following rather disturbing report:- "I wanted to make people aware of a group of beggars that are targeting the area of Nuxley Road primarily from the bench outside the Co-Op, and occasionally although less often from the bench outside Sainsbury's, or the bench across the road from there, outside the Estate Agents. This has been going on for approximately two weeks, with usually (until yesterday) one person present, being one of two individuals who appear to work in 'shifts' from between three or four o'clock in the afternoon until 11 o'clock when the shop closes. One is very well turned out, with white hair and a white beard, approximate age mid-fifties to early sixties, slim-ish build, the other bald and more scruffy-looking, although not exceptionally scruffy, sometimes having a black or dark-blue haversack with him. Last night however, it was all a bit more sinister than usual. The white-haired man was there and as I approached the door of the Co-Op he directly moved to block my way and asked 'for a spare few pounds'. There were also three others with him, younger men, whom I had not seen before, and who moved to form a semi-circle behind me. I found this highly intimidating and changed direction to pass the white-haired man and hurry toward Sainsbury's intending to enter and ask for help if they followed. When I looked back they were all looking at me but not following, so I hurried up Albert Road and returned home via a long route avoiding Nuxley Road. I did not do my intended shopping as I could not have emerged from either shop without being seen by these men and I was concerned about them approaching me when I was encumbered by shopping bags". Bexleyheath ward:-"14/07/2018 - Criminal damage to motor vehicle reported at Gravel Hill Bexleyheath. Car window smashed; 13/07/18 – 15/07/18 – Criminal damage to motor vehicle along Palmer Crescent Bexleyheath. Drilled hole in lock to gain access, but access not gained; 15/07/2018 – Theft of mobile phone at ASDA Bexleyheath; 16/07/2018 – Theft of motor vehicle by means unknown at Albion Road Bexleyheath; 14/07/2017 – Criminal Damage to motor vehicle at Watling Street; 14/07/2018 – Theft from person at Broadway Bexleyheath. We are holding our next contact session on the 25th July between 10 & 11am at Café Nero along The Broadway Bexleyheath. We have had a theft of moped, however it was fitted with a tracker and because it had been reported so promptly to police it was found and returned to its owner. Please be careful of your property when out and about in public, do not leave phones, purses, wallets on tables as these are easy for thieves to take. Be aware of bogus callers and people dropping cards/leaflets through the door, if you need gardening/building work doing please do seek references from neighbours or friends. Yesterday 18/07/2018 – The team had helped with a knife arch operation by McDonalds Bexleyheath. This was to target knife crime and also as part of the stay safe during summer campaign. If you do want to pass on information to Police then please feel free to contact Crime stoppers on 0800 555111. Other means of contacting us are Twitter, Facebook, email and the ward phone as per above. For crime prevention advice, please look at the Met Police website which has the information that you may find useful. Remember, in an emergency please dial 999 and 101 for non-urgent reporting". Crayford ward:- "We are pleased to report that there have been no burglaries during the last week. The team have conducted several mini traffic operations around Crayford at different sites during which the following offences were dealt with: 1/One vehicles for no insurance (which was seized and taken to our police pound); 2/Driving without a test certificate; 3/Driving not in accordance with a licence; 4/Driving whilst using a mobile phone; 5/The team discovered a suspicious vehicle yesterday that had been parked in a residential parking space in Buckley Close, it later transpired that had been stolen locally three days before. The happy owner was contacted at the scene and will be able to collected it from our car pound shortly. We have also carried out foot patrols covering the open space areas of our ward (Biggs Hill), this has resulted in a lot of drug paraphernalia being found, many stop and accounts and one male being searched under section 23 Misuse of Drugs Act after trying to avoid police officers in this area". Erith ward:- "Erith has a new DWO added to the ward being PC Kidson. Pleased to announce that no burglaries have been reported. Most crimes reported are those involving motor vehicles/bikes: Theft of motor vehicle – Alford Road on the 11th July 2018 – Black Yamaha stolen from outside home address; Theft of motor vehicle – Lowry Close on the 11th July 2018 AJS Sorvio Stolen overnight outside home address; Vehicle interference – Larner Road – on the 12th July 2018 – Citroen C4 Car broken into and searched no damage caused to motor vehicle – Chandler Drive – on the 14th July 2018 – Merc. Chevrolet – Young boys in street damaging vehicle; Theft of motor vehicle – Alford Road – On the 16th July 2018. Overnight outside home address; Theft of Motor vehicle – Lower Road – On the 18th July 2018 – Direct Bikes – 3 boys stole bike from front garden; Theft of motor vehicle – West Street – On the 18th July 2018 – Honda – Stolen outside home address overnight . All those were Moped/ Motor bikes. All shifts for the week have been changed to late shift to battle ASB in St Fidelis and West Street. Coffee with cops shall be taking place on the 25th July at Costa Coffee at 12pm – come alone for a chat and crime prevention advice". Northumberland Heath ward:- "The team are delighted to report that over the last week no burglaries have taken place on our ward. Sadly, one report of motor vehicle theft in Parsonage Manorway which took place on The evening of Thursday July 12th. The vehicle sustained damage to the driver’s side and the barrel lock was damaged. A Sat Nav and a number of high value electrical power tools were stolen. PC Dan Young conducted a school talk regarding violent crime to year five and Six pupils at Northumberland Heath Primary School . Following a stop and search conducted by PC Tom Smith a male is to be issued with a £90 fine for possession of cannabis. The next Coffee With Cops event will be held at Noon on Tuesday July 24th at the Sunshine Café in Parsonage Manorway. All are welcome to attend". Slade Green and North End ward:- "We have unfortunately had 3 reported theft of motor vehicles in the last week within 2 day. On Weds 11 July at 11pm a car was stolen from outside Grange House, on Thursday 12 July in the afternoon vehicles were stolen from Canada Road and Duriun Way. No broken glass was found at any of the thefts but please be aware that although this is unusual to be so close together, we cannot be complacent. If you would like any vehicle crime prevention leaflet, please let us know. On Wednesday last week 2 positive stop and searches were made by Mark and James with cannabis found, confiscated and warnings given. PC Mark and PCSO Mark attended the Slade Green Big Local community fun day in Whitehall Lane on Saturday. Although it was very hot we had a good time speaking with many residents and speaking with stall holders etc. Dana from Neighbourhood Watch managed to get quite a few people signed up for new watches and Hound Watch. He basically used dog biscuits to bribe anyone he saw with a dog and got them signed up that way, a great way to do it! Towards the end of the event, Mark and Mark delivered letters to residents of Whitehall Lane as their new watch is now all set up and running. We have a CCS (Community Contact Session) on Weds July 25th from 11am at Slade Green Library. PLEASE NOTE that this weeks CCS on Thursday is at Forest Road café NOT the library as stated in last week’s update although you may see this too late. Apologies in advance if you go to the library and we aren't there". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - No burglaries this week. Motor Vehicle Crimes - 10/07/18 A motor vehicle parked outside of Oakenholt House, Hartslock Drive, was damaged between 630pm-1pm Thursday 12/07/18; 12/07/18 A motor cycle parked on a driveway Redbourne Drive was stolen between 3pm-4pm. The motor cycle which had a tracker fitted had been activated; 12/07/18 Number plates were stolen from two vehicles which belonged to the same owner in Fleming Way between 11am-2pm on Friday 13/07/18; 14/07/18 Vehicle parked in Leatherbottle Green between 10pm-11am damage caused by scratches made to driver and rear passenger door by persons unknown; 15/07/18 Theft from Motor vehicle Maran Way between 4pm-830am vehicle broken into wallet stolen from inside. Good News - The team attended two events over the week-end, celebrating the 50th Birthday of Thamesmead which took place in Southmere Park and Emmanuel Baptist Church, Yarnton Way hosted a family funday, which included a BBQ. PC Pruden assisted Belvedere DWO officers when he was called to a female who was self-harming in Picardy Road, on arrival the female was seen running in and out of traffic screaming she wanted to harm herself while making cuts to both her arms with a broken bottle. Eventually the female was calmed down and taken to QE Hospital for her injuries and left in the care of doctors". West Heath ward:- "There was 1 reported burglary on West Heath between 11/07/18 and 18/07/18. On 12/07/18 the victim on Cumberland Avenue Welling left the porch door opened and coats were taken from inside the porch door. The coats were then discarded at a nearby location and reunited with the victim. There were no reported motor vehicle crimes during the same period. There was however a reported robbery in Elmstead Crescent Welling where the victim's necklace was taken by a known suspect. Investigation is ongoing. West Heath Ward had their first ward panel meeting and we continue to recruit Ward Panel members as well as Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators".

The end video is a very nice piece of high definition aerial drone footage taken over Erith Yacht Club - do give it a watch - leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Post Office for sale.

The upper photo above shows the building and conversion work being carried out on the White Hart Pub in Erith High Street. The lower picture shows the low rise flats that will shortly be constructed in the former pub's garden behind the main building pictured in the upper photo. The building was left empty and unused after  the last occupants abandoned the property. It had been used as a wine bar / drug den by a couple of unscrupulous businessmen / criminals who illegally ripped out the historic Victorian acid etched glass and salt glazed tile frontage and installed hideous plate glass windows. The wine bar, which was called Potion, attracted all of the worst elements from the local area, and it soon became known as a hive of scum and villainy. The place was not properly run, and there were many incidents of drunken and drug fuelled fights taking place on the premises. Eventually the owners lost their licence, and they were also twice taken to court by Bexley Council over the illegal changes that they had made to the pub building, which is part of the Erith High Street Conservation Area. Needless to say they did not turn up at court, and claimed bankruptcy to save them from paying the extensive fines and restoration fees that the court subsequently imposed. Now the historic frontage has been replaced with a very nice looking and quite accurate replica of the original, and the building is being converted into apartments upstairs and to the rear of the bar area. The work is being funded by The Wellington Pub Company, the largest free of tie pub company in the UK, who specialise in resuscitating and renovating "problem" sites. It will be interesting to see if they do open a pub in the ground floor of the White Hart building, as the only other pub in central Erith is the dreary and under - used Running Horses, a pub / restaurant that was absolutely excellent in the late 80's / early 90's, with an extremely popular carvery in the upper floor of the pub building, but nowadays it is a sad shadow of its former self, which is a great pity. There have been many rumours about the potential future use of the bar area of the White Hart, as it is the only part of the building not covered in the extensive documentation that accompanied the planning application supplied to Bexley Council. Much guesswork and several rumours have abounded - that it was going to be an Indian restaurant, or a Gelato parlour, but thus far nothing concrete has yet been determined. 

Following up last week's story on the criminal moped rider who was hospitalised following a Police action called a "tactical stop", I have it on very good authority that the criminal who was detained has a long criminal record, both as a prolific moped thief, a drug dealer of some local repute, and the person who recently stole a bike from a member of the Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association management team. I get the strong feeling that the youth in question will be made an example of when the case reaches court. More news regarding the illegal motorbike and moped riders that plague the area; A reader who chooses to remain anonymous wrote to me recently, saying:- "Congratulations for highlighting the connection between illegal motorcycles and other crime. I support the police robust stop tactics. Any refusal to stop should be grounds for immediate confiscation of the motorcycle  without any  warning for the future at all. I can think of a few locations where a pursuit is not even necessary. Two bobbies posted with stingers deployed at the destroyed "kissing gates" into and out of Thamesmead former golf club would bottle up the regular motorcycle gang without the need for a helicopter blockade or active stop tactics by the police. Eventually they would be obliged to give themselves up. If you wonder about the relevance to Erith of this location then I invite you to inspect the recently installed barrier gate on the river path beside the Crossness Engines Trust. You will see that the ironwork beside the barrier has been destroyed  by cutting with angle grinders just like the adjacent "kissing gate". The River path is now being invaded by these illegal motorcycles rendering it practically useless for leisure purposes. Probably those same low-lifes  displaced by the recent Police action in Norman Road North beside Cory Environmental that you reported in a recent blog". I know that Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick stated only last week that the teenage thugs undertaking moped based crime need to have longer prison sentences. In an interview with the London Evening Standard, Commissioner Dick said:- "Years of trying to keep young offenders out of jail has resulted in an increasing number who are simply not fearful of how the state will respond to their actions. They don't see imprisonment as particularly likely or a serious threat and it does not in any sense deter them from criminal activity. At what point does the state prioritise its duty to protect the public and ensure that young people could see the criminal justice system as something that will catch up with them?" Commissioner Dick also reported the case of a 16-year-old in London who had 42 offences to his name, but had not served a single day in jail. Last year 26,236 criminals under 18 were reportedly sentenced by UK courts but just 1,598 – around one in 16 – were locked up. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

As I have previously covered, the quality of local journalism is going downhill; this is not the direct fault of the reporters on our main "local" paper - their numbers have been drastically reduced, and the areas they cover have been greatly increased. The News Shopper offices used to be based in Petts Wood, and the reporters were truly local; nowadays the News Shopper's parent company, Newsquest is based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The reporters that cover the London Borough of Bexley also have to cover such geographically diverse areas such as Richmond, Croydon and also South East London / North Kent. Bearing in mind the News Shopper only has s tiny handful of reporters nowadays, and those they do have are sometimes painfully unfamiliar with the area on which they are reporting; it is not surprising that they get things wrong from time to time, as has happened in the last week, where reporter Tom Bell wrote a story about a lady who had been mugged in Erith Road, Upper Belvedere - the piece is entitled "Strangers fundraise to replace pension of Nuxley woman, 84, robbed in street" - since when has there been a place / town called Nuxley? He is of course referring to Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere, although you would never know from his article. I don't entirely blame him - he has probably never visited the place. I decided that I would write to Mr. Bell and give him some history of Nuxley Road, and why "Nuxley" and "Nuxley Village" have never actually existed. Here is what I wrote:- "Hi Tom, I hope you don't mind, but I need to correct you on your recent story entitled:- "Nuxley robbery: Grandmother has pension stolen by a 'monster'". A lot of people, some long – time local residents included, 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 782 years, and the thoughtless action of a handful of ignorant house peddlers is not going to change facts any time soon. I hope that this clarifies". I currently await a reply. 

Bexley Council appear to be up to a few tricks right now. There was a full council meeting on the 8th of November. The majority Conservative council were challenged over their spending. After a couple of years of cutbacks and austerity, it appears that they are now on a spending spree. Why would this be? The money situation has not as far as I can ascertain improved to any significant degree. In a series of questions asked at the council meeting of the ruling Conservative group, Councillor Alex Sawyer was forced to admit that spending on resurfacing on roads and pavements has seen a one-off sharp increase in spending in election year. The Conservative group also refused to admit that the focus of their pre-election spending will be across Conservative wards in areas such as road resurfacing and street planting with 210 of the 225 trees planned for planting in this year, planned in the 16 of the 21 wards represented by the Conservatives. Speaking in an interview after the council meeting, Councillor Joe Ferreira, Shadow Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Environment and Leisure said “It is now clear that Bexley’s Conservatives are using the underspends from the 2016/17 budget to fund a pre-election programme of tidying up the borough focusing on areas represented by Conservative councillors. In a number of areas, they are attempting to re-invest services to 2014 levels, showing they now accept that their programme of cuts to street cleansing and parks have failed, albeit with an acceptance that this spending cannot be guaranteed to continue after the election. The Tories are desperately trying to use our residents’ money to fund their pre-election campaign and are reversing their entire budget policy in an attempt to retain control of the council.” If this is all as has been claimed (and at the time of writing, I have no reason to suspect that it is not), then this will be yet another example of the Northern wards of The London Borough of Bexley suffering at the expense of the wealthier Southern wards. We are currently in the unenviable position of having a local council that can safely ignore the wishes of a significant proportion of its residents in the North, as their mandate is supplied almost exclusively by the residents in the South. This seems to me to be contrary to the principles of good democracy and government.

Back when flat screen televisions were first made available, they had a finite life. The early plasma screens were normally good for around 30,000 hours of service, the problem was that whilst the screens were bright and had a very good viewing angle, they used a lot of power, even when in standby, and when on they got very hot. When LED screens came along, their life was substantially longer, and again the limiting factor was the life of the backlight – a common issue. The latest screen technology currently available is OLED. An OLED display works without a backlight; thus, it can display deep black levels and can be thinner and lighter than an LED screen. In low ambient light conditions (such as a dark room), an OLED screen can achieve a higher contrast ratio than an LED, regardless of whether the LED uses cold cathode fluorescent lamps or an LED backlight. The trouble is, the screens are very expensive, and they are difficult to manufacture in the large sizes that a lot of customers want nowadays; on top of this, as the OLED screens generate their own light, the screens “burn out” relatively quickly, and the colour rendition fading – blues especially “wash out” quite early on in the life cycle of the TV screen. All this in actual use may be relatively unimportant, as other factors are far more likely to affect the length of life of a modern flat screen television. Most TV’s on sale nowadays have so called “smart” functionality built in – the ability to stream media from companies such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, for example, and access to the web and sites such as YouTube is now something many people take for granted. In my opinion, the limiting factor in the real – life durability of a modern smart TV is not actually the display technology hardware, but is rather how long the TV remains in software support from the manufacturer. How long updates, patches and software downloads are available for the TV. For example, I have a Samsung TV from 2012; many of the applications installed on it will no longer run, as they are now out of support. The TV itself still works fine, but if you want watch BBC iPlayer, for instance, you are stuffed. The issue here is that most smart TV’s use a version of the Android operating system – which is constantly being updated and modified by its creator, Google. The problem is that the TV manufacturers usually stop providing Android updates to TV’s after a couple of years, and sooner or later versions of apps for TV’s stop working on older versions of the Android operating system. It seems from my research that a TV will cease getting OS updates at around the fourth year from the point of purchase. It seems to me that TV’s are going the way of the computer and the motor car – they are now seen as time limited, disposable devices. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The Post Office and Cost Cutter convenience store in Erith High Street (shown in the photo above - click on it for a larger view) has just been put up for sale for £800,000. It is my understanding that it is being sold as an ongoing, viable business, and there are no plans to shut it down, or convert it for a different use. You can read all of the details by clicking here.

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly Barnehurst ward:- "On Saturday 11th November 2017 between 11.00 and 18.10 in Northall Road suspects smashed a rear patio window, a brick is believed to have been used. Entry to the property was gained and an untidy search followed with personal items taken. On the same night 11/11/17 between 06.35 and 21.10 in Hall Place Crescent the glass to the rear kitchen door was smashed and entry gained. An untidy search was found and personal items taken. On 12/11/17 a business premises in Midfield Parade was broken into by means of smashing a glass window to the front door. Petty cash was taken along with the till tray. CCTV nearby shows a person at the front of the property just after midnight, unfortunately the footage just shows a pair of legs from knees down due to the shops canopy obstructing view. On 14/11/17 between 02.50am and 03.00am another business premises in Mayplace Road East was broken into, again the glass to the front door was smashed and entry gained. Suspects made off with a small amount of cash. It is hoped the suspects are captured on nearby CCTV. Youths are continuing to target property’s in Taunton Close by throwing or hitting golf balls and damaging property. On 10/11/17 at 1030 a golf ball damaged property. On 09/11/17 at around 14.40 youths caused damage to a vehicle, it is believed person/persons have sat on the vehicle causing a dent to the bonnet. It’s the time of year again where burglars are out there and committing crime. Please take time to look at your home security and look out for your neighbours. Ensure wheelie bins are brought in on bin collection day, If you see post sticking out of letter boxes, push it through. If away for any amount of time let your trusted neighbours know, leave a key with a family member to close curtains etc. If you wish to discuss any of these issues raised or anything else, please join us for Coffee with cops at Barnehurst Golf Club on Thursday 23rd November 2017". Belvedere ward:- "Over the last week the team have been working on a variety of issues. PC Holmes arrested a male for 3 public order offences as well as a breach of court bail as part of an on going dispute. That male later attended court and was found guilty of public order offences, was given a hefty fine, a restraining order and ordered to 90 hours unpaid work. PC Holmes has also been working hard on the investigation of thefts of post in the Belvedere Park Estate. The team will be attending the Belvedere Park Residents Association meeting later this evening to discuss issues in the area and speak with residents. PC Holmes and PCSO Worrall were on duty on Remembrance Day and paid their respects on the Broadway with other Bexley officers. PC Holmes also arrested a male for criminal damage to a motor vehicle and malicious communications. The team will be in the Co-op on 22/11/2017 for a crime surgery at 11:30am should you wish to speak with the team in person". Brampton ward:- " We have a quieter week than the last few but still more than we would like. 2 x Burglaries in Heversham road and Dunwich Road - both occasions entry was to the rear of the property and cash and jewellery taken; 1 x theft of a wallet from a house in Normanhurst Avenue; Criminal damage to a motor vehicle in Birchington Close another vehicle tyre has been slashed at this stage we cannot rule out the foxes return and criminal damage to a property in Brampton road the front door window had been smashed; Theft from motor vehicle in Pickford lane cash stolen from an unlocked vehicles glove box; Theft of a motor vehicle in Pickford lane. This week we had meetings with neighbours , ward panel and Brampton councillors which were all very productive. Please follow us on twitter @MPSBrampton". Crayford ward:- "A number plate was pulled off a car parked at Screwfix on Friday 10/11/2017 between 07.00 and 09.00. A van was scratched along the front and side in Station Road between 04/11/2017 - 07/11/2017. There has been an increase in shoplifting. A lady had her purse stolen from her coat pocket at Aldi on Saturday 11/11/2017 between 16.00-16.20. We would ask that you are vigilant, keeping wallets and purses secured and out of sight. Please shield your pin number when using chip and pin or ATM machines. On Monday 20th November we will be at Darlton Hall at Darlton Close from 17.00-18.30 holding a “one stop cop shop”. This venue is close to Perry Street roundabout. We look forward to meeting our residents there".  Erith ward:- " Normal walks and patrols around the ward this week. Nothing of note to say this week. Next survey is 25/11/17 at 11am which will include bike marking - location is Pier Road Police base (next door to Farm Foods) . Weekly crime reports - We are still getting a lot of theft from MV [motor vehicles] please make sure nothing is on show including sat nav holders". Lesnes Abbey ward:- "From a Neighbourhood Watch Member in Fendyke Road - Just had a call from 01258963258 a 'Alan Watson' (although the name didn't match the accent) claiming to be from Talk Talk. He advised my IP address was being hacked and used to download lots of stuff. I calmly told him I would ring TalkTalk myself and he said I was silly not to believe him and he would cut me off to prove it (that old chestnut!). Said I would ring from mobile. I've since reported to TalkTalk and they've confirmed scam etc". North End ward:- " 3 more vehicle crimes have been reported this week. This is down on last week but 2 of them were items taken that were left on display inside the car. Please remember to remove all valuable items from your vehicles and leave nothing on display - phones, sat-navs, bags etc. We assisted with patrols on Bexleyheath Broadway last Friday evening. PC Mark Brookes-Smith had a successful foot chase culminating in multiple searches and a cannabis seizure. Excellent work. We visited a vulnerable adult at his home with various partner agencies and plans are already in place to get him the care he needs with our support. We have a surgery next Tuesday 21 November at Slade Green Library from 12 midday. Please come along and say hi".  Northumberland Heath ward:- "A fairly quiet week on the ward this week with only one attempted burglary reported to us in Hurlingham Road. On Thursday November 9th at approximately 6.15pm a male put his hand inside the letterbox at the address and the resident believed that a leaflet was being delivered. The suspect then tried the door handle several times and stood outside the address before walking away unwrapping what appeared to be a bandage from his hand. One criminal damage to a motor vehicle in Horsa Road on Friday November 10th where a vehicle was scratched causing £200 worth of damage. A cannabis warning form was issued to a man in Lawrence Road on Tuesday November 14th after a man was seen by officers smoking cannabis in his car. A charge is also to be issued to a youth who has recently breached a Criminal Behaviour Order after being stopped by officers". Thamesmead East ward:- "Good News, no burglary reported this week, however please see below regarding motor vehicle crime. Theft of Motor Vehicle – Tuesday 07/11/17 08:00 -12:00 hrs KALE ROAD Silver MAZDA. Theft from Motor vehicle – Tuesday 07/11/17 – 09/11/17 LYTHAM CLOSE Number Plates. The next Police Surgery will be held on Friday 24th November 2017 2:30 – 3:15pm at New Acres Library. 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. For the latest news and updates from Bexley Police, visit our twitter pages - @MPSBexley and @MPSThamesmeadE".

Wellingtons (Erith) Ltd is a family owned retailer established in 1898. Andrew Wellington and his team specialise in the sale of freestanding and built-in appliances, cookers, TV and home entertainment systems.  The family have retailed in Northumberland Heath for 119 years and is now in its 4th generation of ownership. As many will know I like to use and promote independent local businesses whenever possible. The end video is a short film about Wellingtons - leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.