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.