Takeover.

This week the Maggot Sandwich has a bit of a nautical theme; The ship in the photo above is a regular visitor; it travels between Dagenham and Vlissingen in Holland, transporting container lorries and other bulk goods between the two locations. The roll - on, roll - off vessel is called the Celestine, and it can be seen several times a week, passing Erith Riverside Gardens and Erith Pier on its journey to the Netherlands.

The Dartford Crossing is more or less a captive market since the nearest alternative river crossing is a congested 15 miles away, which means that a crucial route that was supposed to become toll free in 2003 is earning the government millions. The toll system is broken, but it is in the government's interest for it to remain that way - it is a cash cow that unfairly penalises users both local and from far away. Last August a petition was set up to urge the government to reconsider the Dart Charge. In an interview in the News Shopper, Mrs Phillips, one of the petition's creators, said she was "really angry" when she heard about the plans to increase prices for regular users. "Every time I try and use the crossing there are terrible queues," Mrs Phillips hoped the petition would gain enough support so she could take it to the government to ask them to reconsider the Dart Charge. The precise wording of the petition reads:- "Under the original agreement, once the Dartford bridge had paid for itself, the tolls were to stop. In 1999, the government agreed that fees would be abolished by the end of 2003, an agreement that was not honoured and has been successively reneged on. We ask that the tolls are removed permanently". On Wednesday of last week the government replied to the petition in a completely predictable and rather unimaginative manner. The official response reads:- "Government has no plans to remove the road user charge at the Dartford Crossing which exists to manage demand. Without charges, traffic volumes would increase and additional congestion would occur. The Dartford charge is not a toll for to pay for the infrastructure but a charge the Government has set at levels which manage demand. The Crossing was designed to handle up to 135,000 vehicle movements each day, but currently it is not uncommon for 160,000 to occur. Research undertaken in 2001 into the impacts of lifting the tolls indicated that traffic volumes could rise by 17 per cent. However, the charge levels and concessions available also take account of local peoples’ need to use the Crossing in their daily lives. There are discounts of up to 20 per cent for those who chose to maintain a pre-paid account. In addition, residents of the boroughs of Dartford and Thurrock can make up to 50 or unlimited crossings for different minimum fees. There is no charge for the hours of 06h00 to 22h00. The standard charges have not increased since they were last revised with the introduction of the Dartford Free Flow Charging Scheme in 2014, an investment which has improved the road user experience by removing the need for users to stop at barriers to pay the charges. The Government is investing in the new Lower Thames Crossing will connect Kent and Essex through a tunnel beneath the River Thames and high quality road connections between important existing routes A2, M25 and A13. This addresses the demands for road capacity of an expanding economy by doubling cross river road capacity in the Thames east of London. To improve the situation over the next few years at the Dartford Thurrock Crossing and surrounding roads, the Department for Transport (DfT)is investing £10 million to contribute to a wider package of interventions to reduce congestion through traffic flow and safety measures. This investment is aimed at improving traffic flow at individual junctions; enhancing weather resilience; and better management of dangerous goods and over-height vehicles. Highways England continues to look for ways to improve performance and reduce congestion at the Crossing". Thus responded the Department for Transport. I don't think many people will be surprised by the announcement. There is far too much money being made for the government to ever back down, especially since the ANPR system which can recognise vehicle number plates replaced toll booths at the busy crossing in 2014, and has so far generated 3.5 million penalty charge notices for drivers who have failed to pay. A series of complaints to The Observer newspaper has shown how the system is far from foolproof, however, with cameras misreading number plates and people being pursued for fines they are unaware of. This can in turn lead to a complaints system which can appear inflexible. Thousands of those incorrectly charged simply pay up to avoid the risk of an escalating fine, according to Auto Express. In August 2017, the motoring magazine found that while the vast majority of appeals were upheld (80 percent), only one in 25 motorists actually appealed a fine. Many more motorists who do use the crossing, one of the UK’s busiest, fail to pay the charge because of confusing signs. The only warning of the levy is a large C which is identical to the symbol for the congestion charge, the £11.50 fee for vehicles entering central London. A recent poll by the AA found that 60 percent of drivers mistook it for the latter, an entirely different fee which is not payable on the Dartford Crossing. Non-Londoners are likely to have no clue of the symbol’s meaning. When the toll booths were bulldozed to reduce congestion, it seems the levy went from being a toll to a “congestion charge” and was increased by 20 percent. This distinction was never explained, nor is the fee called a congestion charge on the website, but the new terminology gets round the fact that the levy, introduced to cover the costs of building the Dartford Bridge, is still in place 15 years after it was paid for in full - something that locals are still extremely angry about. On top of this, as predicted, the two new Woolwich ferries did not go into service after Christmas. At the time of writing, they have said that they expect the service to recommence at some unspecified point in February. The whole communication with the North side of the River Thames is a major challenge. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

In a week when Martin Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, dropped his lawsuit against Facebook for running scam advertisements featuring his name and image. The entrepreneur had lodged papers against the social media giant in the High Court last year, telling Sky News the legal action was the result of months of frustration with scammers piggybacking on his reputation and preying on Facebook users with get-rich-quick scams. On Wednesday, Mr Lewis and Facebook jointly announced a settlement to the defamation action as Facebook donated £3m to set up a Citizens Advice scams action project from and launch a new reporting tool for scam adverts. The donation will be made up of £2.5m in cash over the next two years, and £500,000 in Facebook advertising credit coupons which will be issued over the next three years. In an interview with Sky News, Martin Lewis said that he received a six-figure sum from Facebook for his costs. Online investment scams targeting people through social media have stolen increasing amounts of money from victims in recent years - rising in the UK by 400,000 percent in the last six years alone. Figures from Action Fraud show the amount lost to "binary options" trading increased from £6,200 in 2012, to £27m in 2017 alone, with the total currently standing at £61m. Following that information, it was not surprising that I found yet another fraudulent advert (see above) that linked from the News Shopper website to a site that was selling fraudulent BitCoin trading options, and trying to make out that celebrities from TV series "Dragons Den" were promoting the service, when they are absolutely not in any way, shape or form. The con artists also infer that BBC, The Guardian, The Sun and other organisations have been promoting the scheme, which is utterly false and misleading. You have been warned - it is a massive con. 

A message from Christ Church Erith:- "If you are coming to visit Christ Church Erith for a service or to sit a while to gather your thoughts or view the magnificent inside of the Church, you will now be able to enter through the main doors in the Bell Tower. Previously these doors were only used on special occasions and for weddings and funerals.  They will now be open for everyone to use on a regular basis.  Of course the ramped entrance at the side of the Church will also be open for those who need to use it. We have Open Church Monday–Friday mornings 10am – 12.00 noon so please do take the opportunity to visit us". For more Christ Church information visit their website here. 

The 21st January last week marked the 35th anniversary of the very first test transmission from  Laser 558, the offshore radio station that for a brief period between 1984 and 1986 became the most popular music radio station in the UK. Laser was known for its fast paced format “you are never more than a minute away from music”, and exclusively employed American DJ’s, including some, like Charlie Wolf, who went on to become household names. It all sounded very glamorous, and nothing like any rather more staid British radio station of the period. Most listeners believed the story that the station was crewed and operated exclusively by Americans, and supplied from mainland Europe, and therefore operating completely legally. The reality was that whilst the broadcasters were nearly all US citizens, the station and the supplies all came covertly from the UK – the main supply point was Herne Bay. The Laser ship was called the M.V Communicator – it was a converted Lowestoft hydrographic survey vessel originally named the Gardline Seeker. The work to convert the ship to a marine broadcasting station was carried out in Port Everglades in Florida – if you ever see a rerun of the Miami Vice episode “Phil the Shill” (the one that guest starred Phil Collins) there is a long aerial tracking shot of Crockett and Tubbs driving through Port Everglades – and the M.V Communicator can clearly be seen whilst it was being converted into a radio ship. When Laser 558 first came on air from the North Sea, the station tried using a novel wire antenna suspended from a helium balloon. Whoever thought of this idea clearly had no concept of the atrocious weather frequently experienced in the area. The strong, gusty and changeable winds soon destroyed the balloon antenna, and a conventional tower array was built to replace it. Laser quickly picked up a massive following in both the UK and Europe. Certainly, Laser's signal - and their following - reached into Holland, Belgium, and other Continental European countries. Laser 558's ship, the MV Communicator was anchored in the Knock Deep area of the Thames Estuary of the North Sea. The anchorage was approximately 3 miles off the Essex coast, not far from Harwich. It had a strong, loud signal on Medium Wave, it played far more music that BBC Radio One, and operated a format of top 40 pop and familiar oldies, played back to back. The sound was slick and very professional, and soon listeners started to defect from local radio and BBC national stations to Laser. At this point the government became worried – they could not let this upstart pirate take all of their precious listeners from the BBC and ILR stations. Laser 558 claimed an audience of some 8,000,000 listeners and was seriously threatening the long established duopoly of the BBC and the IBA. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) started to take action against the station, firstly by advertising in specialist magazines to warn boat owners of the penalties of supplying "pirate" broadcasting ships. Notices began appearing around the British coastline warning not to supply the radio ships, though this was widely flouted. A ship called the Dioptric Surveyor was despatched by the Department of Trade and Industry Radio Investigation Service to monitor both Laser 558 and Radio Caroline, in what became known as the “Eurosiege”. It was soon apparent that Laser, rather than Caroline was the real target. This was mainly due to the constant on air jibes and arch comments made by Laser DJ’s – most notably by Charlie Wolf, the station motor mouth, and at that time a serious rival in popularity to Radio 1's Steve Wright. Soon a spoof record was released called ”I Spy for the DTI” by the Moronic Surveyors (actually the Laser DJ’s) which got heavy play on Laser, and got into the lower reaches of the charts. In contrast, Radio Caroline continued in their policy of not annoying the authorities, and they carried on pretty much unmolested. Eventually a mixture of running low on supplies, bad weather (the M.V Communicator was not an ideal ship for the North Sea and its heavy swell – it rolled terribly due to its very high freeboard - the height of the hull out of the sea - unlike the Radio Caroline ship the M.V Ross Revenge – a massive, former ice breaking trawler which was solid as a rock in rough seas), and a lack of advertising revenue caused the Laser crew to bring the ship in to port, under escort from the DTI. The other reason for the failure of Laser 558 was its management, which was pretty financially incompetent, and also a few suppliers that managed to con a large amount of cash out of the station for very little in return. The whole project lasted only around eighteen months, but it did shake up UK radio, which up until that time was legally restricted as to the amount of music it was allowed to play. The “needle time” rules dictated that fifty percent of broadcasting time had to be dedicated to speech; this was later relaxed when it was found that the audiences for Laser 558 were primarily attracted by the stations policy of “never more than a minute from music”. In contrast Radio Caroline continued at sea for another six years, which was when my own involvement with the station happened. Back when Laser and Caroline were both broadcasting to Northern Europe, I was still at school – I recall many occasions when there would be scuffles in the 6th form common room when some pupils wanted to listen to Laser 558 on the ancient valve radiogram we had, whilst I wanted to listen to Radio Caroline. Strangely I cannot recall anyone wanting to listen to BBC Radio One at the time. I think that just about says it all.

In a shock move for many of its customers, and real ale drinkers in general last week, the last major London brewery, Fullers announced that they were selling their entire brewing business and beer brands to giant Japanese brewery conglomerate Asahi for a reported price of £250 million. Under the deal, the family run brewery will sell the production and distribution of its beers to the European arm of the Japanese brewer, which already owns Greenwich based brewery brand Meantime in the UK. The sale includes the historic Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, where the company was founded in 1845. The deal means London Pride and Dark Star Hophead, lager brand Frontier, as well as my favourite bottled beer - Fuller's ESB and Cornish Orchards cider and soft drinks will join Asahi Super Dry, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Meantime under Asahi Europe ownership. Fuller’s says the deal will allow it to concentrate on its pubs and hotels which generate 87 per cent of its profits. The city in which famous names such as Charrington, Watney, Whitbread, Courage and Truman were born now has no locally owned major brewers. Even the sizeable players among the new wave of brewers to have emerged in the last decade or so have all fallen into foreign hands, with Camden Town brewery now owned by Budweiser-to-Stella Artois behemoth AB InBev, Beavertown owned by Heineken, the London Fields Brewery is owned by Carlsberg and the Meantime Brewery in Greenwich is now owned by Asahi itself. Many commentators have expressed reservations as to whether the Asahi - who are well known for brewing gassy and bland lagers, will be able to maintain Fullers beer quality, and also worries that the large brewery location would be worth a fortune a potential property developer for the prestigious Chiswick site. Other historic London breweries have not survived as property values in the city have soared. The Ram brewery in Wandsworth, west London, was sold off by Young’s in 2006 and is being turned into homes and shops, and the Mortlake brewery in South-West London is becoming luxury flats. Analysts speculated that the Fuller's Griffin site could be worth up to £100 million, so could be ripe for even partial redevelopment. On top of this there may well be an unexpected consequence. Currently Asahi beers are brewed in the UK under licence by Faversham, Kent based brewers Shepherd Neame. With Asahi taking over Fullers, there will be no need for Asahi to have their beers brewed by a third party. This may well harm the bottom line for Shepherd Neame. Indeed in a detailed article in the Times on Saturday it was suggested that Shepherd Neame, Britain's oldest brewer, may well be next in line to be taken over. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. The first report is from Barnehurst ward:- "Barnehurst ward have suffered two burglaries during the past week. The first burglary occurred on Saturday 19th January 2019 between 13.34 - 13.45 hours. Entry was gained through an insecure ground floor window. A number of items were taken. The victim had a clear picture of the suspect from footage of CCTV at the property. This was aired widely on social media. A shoe print was left at the scene, this print was taken for forensic opportunities. The suspect has since been identified and has now been charged with eleven counts of burglary including the Barnehurst Road burglary. The suspect has committed burglaries across Bexley and Greenwich Boroughs, Barnehurst Road being the most recent. The second burglary took place on Tuesday 22nd January 2019 at 11.55pm in Stuart Mantle Way. Unfortunately the front door was not double locked which allowed quick and easy access for these burglars to gain entry within seconds. Again, items were taken from the property. In Hillingdon Road on Wednesday 16th January 2019 victim found all four tyres flat on a vehicle parked in the driveway. It is believed the tyres were stabbed with a fine implement. If you see anything suspicious in your area please report it. If you wish to remain anonymous you can always contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. We will be at Barnehurst Golf Course on Wednesday 30th January 2019 at 1pm should you wish to come along for a chat". Belvedere ward:- "We have been receiving complaints about the HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupancy) on Stanmore Road and Ashburnham Road. The complaint on Stanmore is drug-related. Apparently drugs are being used and sold from this address. As for Ashburnham Road we have been told that some suspicious activity has been taking place recently. A hooded male has been seen to try car door handles and loiter around houses. The male has been seen to go into the HMO on Ashburnham. Whether he lives there or is just visiting is unclear. If anyone has any information about either addresses please get in touch. A resident has also expressed concern about people parking up in the car park of Chalfont Court, Lessness Park recently. Piles of the nitrous oxide canisters have been found when the cars leave. Although it is not illegal to possess them at the moment it is still concerning that people are using them and then driving. If anyone is seen doing this then please let us know. On Wednesday16th January just before 8pm a window was smashed at Corals, Nuxley Road. If anyone was around at this time or saw what happened please contact us. There was also a burglary on the Wednesday 16th in Coptefield Drive. Happened at some stage from 7am and 8pm. One person was seen to go to the front door. Two other people went down the side alley to the rear of the property. The rear patio doors were smashed and entry was gained. Also throughout this week you may have seen the team looking through lots of bushes and skulking around buildings. Nothing to worry about. As part of the Mets aim to tackle violence and knife crime one of the activities we conduct is weapon sweeps. Please don't be alarmed if you see us doing this in your road, you do not live in a dangerous area. The sweeps are a preventive measure, we do not currently have any information relating to any specific areas on the ward that are at risk. Our next drop in surgery will be on the Wednesday 30th January 2019 at Belvedere Community Centre between 13:00 and 14:00". Bexleyheath ward:- "Over the last week we have had one burglary on our ward. This was on Monday 21/01/2019 along St.Aubrey Avenue, Bexleyheath, entry was gained via rear window. We have received several report of theft from motor vehicles that have happened on the ward over the last week, these are the details;- Iris Avenue between 19th & 20th January, Bowness Road-no damage but items taken from iniside between Fri 18th & Sat 19th January, Silverdale Road between Thur 17th & Fri 18th January, Rydal Drive 16th January suspect had searched an unlocked vehicle and items taken, Braemer Avenue 16th January Number plates stolen from vehicle, Outside Barclays Bank-Bexleyheath- Thur 17th January. 2 Thefts reported, On Sunday 20th January we had a report of theft of a bank card along the Broadway the card was used to make fraudulent transaction, on the Saturday 19th January another theft was reported in TK Max when a purse was dropped and then taken. The team have conducted two stop and searches in The Premier Inn Car Park, cannabis was seized, On another ward the team assisted in executing a warrant and cannabis was seized. Youths have been stopped in relation to riding bikes on the Broadway and also along Iris Avenue-words of advice given. Bexleyheath Team will have a contact point in Bexleyheath Central Library on Wednesday 30th January from 10.30am -11.30am. Please come along is you have any problems to report or if you wish to meet your local officers.  Crayford ward:- "Overnight from 18.00 on Monday 21st January and 06.00 on 22nd January the locks were broken off a garage door in Village Green Road, it is not known what may have been taken at this time. On Monday 21st January between 13.30 and 17.00 on the Tuesday 22nd January a white Ford Transit had its window smashed whilst parked in Halcot Avenue, it was believed that the suspect intended to “hotwire” it. Power tools were stolen from an a garage in Bexley Close between Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th of January. In the early hours of Tuesday 22nd January two males were seen in Hayward Close attempting to break in to a vehicle parked there, it was believed they had tools and knives with them, their faces could not be seen as they were wearing hoods. On Sunday 20 January between 13.00-14.00 two large oil containers were thrown at a house in Green Walk breaking the outside lights. On Sunday 20th January another shoplifting offence took place at Marks News, the same suspect as previously identified. If you may be able to identify this person please consider contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, you can give information anonymously if you wish. Our ward panel meeting was held on Saturday 5th January. Our promises for the next three months are ASB Vehicles linked to Hall Place, ASB Youth linked to Crayford Town Centre, Burglary Prevention and Street a week". Erith ward:- "Apologies for the short update this week. We had our ward panel this week, Low number of attendees this could have been due to the weather, thank you to all that attended. If you would like to attend our next meeting please get in contact with me Ward promises are the same as last time, Drugs and ASB West Street area. Crime wise hasn't been that bad in Erith over the last week. No burglaries to report, though still the odd theft from motor vehicles. We are in Erith Costa Coffee at 4pm on Tuesday 29th January". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Another good week with no burglaries reported to us. One theft from a motor vehicle in Parsonage Manorway. This took place between Thursday January 17th between midnight and 6am the following morning. The car was broken into on the driveway of the property entry unknown, an untidy search of the car took place and a green Michael Kors was stolen. On Sunday January 20th at 1230 three males were seen circling a vehicle in Becton Place junction with Brook Street. The males disappeared for approximately thirty minutes before re appearing, opening the boot and looking inside it. It is unclear if anything was taken but the males left and returned several times to the vehicle before running off. The team will be conducting weapons sweeps throughout the ward as part of the violent crime initiative, and we continue to focus on anti-social behaviour and engagement with our residents and local businesses. This week we will be holding our quarterly Ward Panel Meeting to decide our promises for the next three months. We will update you next week. The next drop in Police Surgery will be held at the Northumberland Heath Library in Mill Road on Wednesday 6th February at 2pm. All are welcome to attend". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "2 Vehicles have been stolen in the last week. A van was stolen overnight on Sunday 20th Jan from Cedar Road, no smashed glass and the owner still has the keys. A car for sale was stolen from Betsham Road on Tuesday 22nd Jan. At 1240 3 males turned up as prospective buyers, they gave the victim £800, the vehicle was for sale for £1600, then they drove off. Enquiries for both thefts are ongoing. 2 knives have been found in the last week during targeted weapon sweeps as part of Operation Sceptre which tackles violent crime across the Met. One was found on January 18th in Slade Green Road junction with Plantation Road and the other was found on Monday 21st January in Manor Road just down from the zebra crossing. There is no evidence at this time to suggest either knife has been involved in any crime but they have been sent for disposal. At our ward panel meeting on Wednesday evening the promises chosen for the next three months were ASB in Hollywood Way, Block patrols of Applegarth House and Grange House and Off Road Bike issues in the ward. Our next Community Contact Session is on Tuesday 29/01/2019 from 1100 hours in Forest Road Café".  Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglary Cherbury Close Thursday 21/01/19 between 7am-6:45pm Rear patio door smashed, untidy search carried out jewellery and cash stolen; Redbourne Drive Thursday 21/01/19 between 2pm-6:50pm Suspects entered through unlocked back door which may have been left unlocked, untidy search carried out within not known as yet what has been stolen; Hodkins Close Thursday 21/01/19 between 5:15pm-6pm Suspect/s apparently entered through ground floor bedroom window, untidy search carried out jewellery stolen. Motor vehilce crime - Wolvercote Road Tuesday 15/01/19 between 2am-7:30am suspect/s breaking into vehicle taking items from within; Landridge Road Wednesday 16/01/19 between 6am-8:50pm suspect/s unknown taking registration plates from vehicle; Southmere Drive Wednesday 16/01/19 between 6pm-11pm suspect/s have smashed vehicle window, vehicle searched however nothing stolen; Lensbury Way Thursday 17/01/19 between 2:40pm-4pm suspect/s unknown taking registration plates from vehicle; Fleming Way Friday 18/01/19 between 9pm-2:25am Suspect/s unknown taking victims vehicle without consent. Criminal damage - Fleming Way Saturday 19/01/19 between 12pm – 6:28pm suspect/s causing damage to glass panel in front door. Meetings - Street briefing to be held in FLEMING WAY Sunday 27/01/19, 4-5pm; Police Surgery (Community Contact Session) Friday 1/2/19 3 - 4pm at Thamesmead Library Binsey Walk". West Heath ward:- "A bicycle was stolen from a shed burglary in Hillsgrove Close over the weekend between 7pm on Saturday 19/01/19 and midday Sunday 20/01/29; There were two theft of cars in Okehampton Crescent on Wednesday 16/01/19 between 7am -7pm and Mayfair Avenue on Friday 18/01/19 between midday – 7pm; A set of golf clubs were stolen from the boot of a car in New Road in the early hours of Tuesday 15/01/19 between midnight and 8am; We have been made aware of a male trying car doors in the early hours of Monday 21/01/19 so please double check your vehicles are locked. The team has also been made aware of a male loitering in West Heath recreational ground over the last two weekends. The team have been doing extra patrols in the area. Due to operational needs, the next community session in Plymstock Road on Wednesday 30th January will be re-scheduled. The next session will be in the Hurst Lane Estate in Hurst Lane on Saturday 9th February between 1pm-2pm". 

The end video this week features the largest theatre in the London Borough of Bexley - the Erith Playhouse, which is run by volunteers. You can see their website by clicking here.