Evacuation.

Dramatic scenes in the centre of Bexleyheath on Friday afternoon. The Wetherspoons pub The Furze Wren, and Nandos were evacuated following a power cut, and a subsequent mains gas leak, and the area between the two buildings, which is normally used as a pick up and drop off point by several local bus routes was taped off. The buses were diverted, and the Police, Fire Brigade and engineers from power company SGN, along with a Transport for London incident support team dealt with the situation. The bus stops were re-opened at around 5pm, but both Nandos and The Furze Wren remained closed. I spoke to a member of The Furze Wren management team, and she told me that they were having trouble bringing several of their systems back online, and that as a result the pub would be closed until the technical problems were successfully resolved. I have to admit that I was somewhat mystified as to how the pub got the name The Furze Wren, but after undertaking some research on the Wetherspoon's website I found the following explanation:- "Less than 200 years ago Bexley Heath was rough open land, unfit for cultivation and frequented by highwaymen. Across the Heath ran the old Roman road, approximately along the line of Broadway / Market Place. In 1773, Doctor John Latham, then living in nearby Dartford, discovered a previously unknown bird on the Heath. The species has since been named the Dartford Warbler, although its old country name was the Furze Wren. The population of this small, dark, long-tailed warbler crashed to a few pairs in the 1960s, but its numbers have since recovered. There is a carefully preserved specimen of the Furze Wren in Dartford Museum, part of the collection bequeathed by John Latham".

I took the photograph above - click on it to see a larger view - in the recycling facility in the car park of Morrison's supermarket in Erith on Saturday evening. Someone had illegally dumped empty industrial Nitrous Oxide containers. In the past seeing small silver Nitrous Oxide bottles had become common place, but the sight of these far larger and even more dangerous industrial sized containers is worrying. The situation is becoming even more complex due to legal changes which are to be put into place. In a significant move aimed at curbing the recreational use of Nitrous Oxide, also known as laughing gas or "NOS," the United Kingdom is making the possession and sale of Nitrous Oxide for recreational purposes illegal. This decision has sparked debates about the risks associated with Nitrous Oxide use, its cultural significance, and the broader implications of substance control policies. Nitrous Oxide, often used for medical and dental purposes as an anesthetic and analgesic, has gained popularity as a recreational drug in recent years. It is typically inhaled from small metal canisters, commonly referred to as "whippets" or "NOS balloons." When inhaled, Nitrous Oxide can produce a euphoric, dissociative, and sometimes hallucinogenic effect, which lasts for a short duration. Health Risks: Nitrous Oxide abuse can have adverse health effects. It can cause oxygen deprivation, leading to loss of consciousness and, in extreme cases, even death. Repeated use may result in neurological and cognitive impairments The substance - which is sold in metal canisters - can cause headaches and make some users anxious or paranoid, while over-use can make people faint or lose consciousness. Intensive, frequent use can also lead to vitamin B12 deficiency which can cause neurological damage, according to a government report quoting several scientific studies. Environmental Impact: The proliferation of discarded Nitrous Oxide canisters in public spaces, particularly in urban areas and parks, has raised environmental concerns. These canisters contribute to litter and environmental pollution. Road Safety: There have been incidents of individuals inhaling Nitrous Oxide while driving, which poses a significant risk to road safety. Encouraging Drug Use: The availability of Nitrous Oxide for recreational use can serve as a gateway drug or normalise substance abuse, especially among young people. While the ban addresses the immediate concerns related to nitrous oxide use, it also raises questions about individual liberties, harm reduction strategies, and the broader context of drug policy in the UK. Critics argue that a blanket ban may push the use of Nitrous Oxide underground, making it more dangerous due to a lack of regulation and quality control. Advocates for harm reduction suggest that a more comprehensive approach, including education and awareness campaigns, could be more effective in reducing the harms associated with Nitrous Oxide use. The ban on Nitrous Oxide fits into the broader framework of drug policy in the UK, where there has been a gradual shift from punitive measures toward harm reduction strategies. While some argue that criminalizing Nitrous Oxide aligns with a "zero-tolerance" approach, others question whether such measures truly reduce harm or merely exacerbate issues by driving drug use further underground. The decision to make Nitrous Oxide illegal for recreational use in the UK is a complex one, balancing the need to protect public health and safety against individual freedoms and the broader context of drug policy. It highlights ongoing debates about the most effective way to address substance abuse issues, with proponents of harm reduction advocating for a more nuanced approach. As the ban takes effect, it will be important to monitor its impact on Nitrous Oxide use, public health, and the wider drug policy landscape. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The local area has been the home to many notable people - writers, comedians, theologians and composers, among others. One person who lived and worked in Erith for much of his relatively short life was engineer and inventor Anthony Reckenzaun (23 March 1850 – 11 November 1893) who was an electrical engineer who worked in the UK and the United States. Reckenzaun worked on electric tram cars and electric boats. He is probably best known for applying worm gear drive to tram cars. This was not a great success on full-size vehicles but was later very widely used on electrically powered model railway locomotives. He was born in Graz, Austria on 23 March 1850. At an early age he had first-hand opportunities of practical engineering, seeing the operations in the iron works of his father who carried out large contracts for brewery plants, tanneries, buildings and railway materials - especially for the Hungarian railways. After receiving a practical education at the Technical School in Graz, and with a view to widening his engineering knowledge, he moved to England in 1872, making his home in Erith. He was first employed by Messrs Ravenhill, Miller & Co, the noted steam engine manufacturers and marine engineers of London. When John Richard Ravenhill left the partnership in 1875, the business transferred to the works of his former co-partners, Messrs Easton and Anderson of Erith - engineers, millwrights, and lead pipe manufacturers, and Reckenzaun followed the firm. In connection with the Erith iron works, Reckenzaun established evening classes for the workmen, lecturing in machine construction and drawing, and steam. First, however, he had to qualify himself under the rules of the South Kensington Science and Art Department in these subjects, which he took with first class honours. Afterwards he attended the course of lectures given to qualified science teachers at the Royal School of Mines in 1877 and 1879. Again he obtained first class passes in steam and mechanics. After visiting the Paris Exposition of 1878, he determined to pursue a career in electrical engineering and attended Professor William Edward Ayrton's lectures at Finsbury Technical College which later became the City and Guilds. At the time of his death he was vice-president of the Old Students' Association of that body. He returned to Paris for the 1881 exhibition, studying the electrical exhibits at the Palais d'Industrie over three months. When he returned to England, he briefly joined the Faure Electric Accumulator Company before accepting the post of engineer to the Electrical Power Storage Company. In connection with the E.P.S. company he undertook much original and pioneering work on various forms of electric traction. In 1882 he designed the first significant electric launch driven by storage batteries, named Electricity. Soon afterwards he was building an electric tram car which was exhibited in March 1883 on the West Metropolitan Tramways Company's line in London. From 1884 onwards Reckenzaun continued his electrical work independently, to build boats, cars and electric motors for various purposes. He conducted numerous investigations into electric traction and patented improvements in secondary batteries, electric motors, electric meters and related devices. He was an early electric motor designer and, paid particular attention to bogie cars and worm gear in this connection. This was not a great success on full-size vehicles but was later very widely used on electrically powered model railway locomotives. His storage battery tramcars were tried out on a number of tramlines, in the U.K. but mainly in the US, where his inventions were assigned to the Electric Car Company of America and his brother Frederick Reckenzaun, based in New York City developed associated electrical businesses and was his representative there. His traction motors were applied to the first large scale telpherage system for the Sussex Portland Cement Company at Glynde in 1885. The telpherage system, had originally been tested on the estate of Mr Marlborough.R. Pryor at Weston, Hertfordshire and also a line in Peru by Professor Fleeming Jenkin in association with Professors William Edward Ayrton and John Perry and the Telpherage Company, Limited. Perhaps one of his most noteworthy developments came in electric launches. On 13 September 1886 the boat Volta made the double voyage from Dover to Calais and back. He also built perhaps the first significant electric boat in the United States, named Magnet. He was a member of, and contributor of papers to, various professional and scientific bodies, both English and International. In 1882 he was elected a member of the Society of Arts. On 16 January 1884 he read a paper before that society on 'Electric Launches'. On 20 April 1887 he gave a paper on 'Electric Locomotion'. For this latter paper he received the society's silver medal. On 1 November 1887 he was elected an Associate Member, and on 6 December the same year, a Full Member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. In 1889 he was elected to the Society of Telegraph-Engineers and Electricians now the Institution of Engineering and Technology. In December 1892 the I.E.E. awarded him the Paris Electrical Exhibition Premium for his paper on 'Load diagrams and the cost of electric traction'. He also gave papers at the British Association, the American National Electric Light Association and the Vienna Electro-Technical Society. In later years he associated himself with the General Electric Company and Greenwood and Batley and was a regular contributor to the electrical journals of the day. He published a collection of much of his work on electric traction was published in 1892 by Biggs & Co, London, entitled 'Electric traction on railways and tramways'. Anthony Reckenzaun suffered from ill health for much of his life; he suffered from Asthma and complained of frequent Migraines. He died at the early age of 43 from a Tuberculosis infection, and was buried in Stockwell Cemetery. 

I don't normally comment on stories that make the national press, as professional journalists make a far better job of commenting on important issues; there are however exceptions, when a national story has a local influence or angle. In this case I have noticed whilst in Bexleyheath recently that the number of - almost always - young men with ugly and aggressive fighting type dogs has noticeably increased. The dogs seem to be employed as a status symbol and as an implied weapon. There are several breeds of dog so employed, but the current most fashionable among the aforementioned youths is the American Bully XL, as seen in the photo above. As readers will be aware this particular breed has been involved in several unprovoked attacks in the recent past. Despite making up a small number of dogs in Britain, they are responsible for killing five people in the past two years. People in the UK are 270 times more likely to be killed by American Bullys than any other breed of dog. Three of the victims were professional dog handlers, including Adam Watts, a well-respected animal behaviourist who was ­trying to retrain a Bully responsible for two previous street attacks when it turned on him. They were bred for dog-fighting and two of the main breeds used to create XL Bullys are the American bulldog and American pit bull terrier. One of the key problems is the underground breeding and training of American Bully XL dogs for criminal purposes. Criminals often selectively breed these dogs to enhance their physical characteristics, such as size and strength, and it has been reported in the press that some dogs have been fed Steroids to increase their muscle bulk and aggression - making them ideal for illegal activities such as dog fighting and as guard dogs for illicit operations, such as protecting drug production facilities from criminal rivals. These breeding practices result in poor living conditions for the dogs, leading to neglect and suffering. These dogs have a powerful genetic disposition to be aggressive. They are the type of dogs that were used in bull and bear-baiting and also hark back genetically to the dogs of war used by the Romans to help create their empire. Dog fighting is a barbaric and illegal activity that continues to plague communities in the UK. American Bully XL dogs, with their strong and muscular build, are often chosen for participation in dogfights. These dogs are subjected to brutal training regimens, injuries, and even death in the pursuit of illegal gambling and entertainment. The welfare of these animals is gravely compromised by such cruel practices. American Bully XL dogs, when subjected to abusive training and neglect, can develop aggressive tendencies. When criminals use these dogs as guard animals or to intimidate rivals, they pose a significant risk to public safety. Incidents involving attacks by aggressive American Bully XL dogs have raised concerns, particularly in urban areas where these dogs are being exploited for criminal purposes. The use of American Bully XL dogs by criminals has led to increased fear and mistrust within communities. Innocent owners of these dogs often face unwarranted suspicion and prejudice due to the association between the breed and criminal activities. This fear and mistrust can further isolate responsible dog owners and hinder community cohesion. The UK has laws in place to combat illegal activities involving dogs, such as the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. However, these laws may not adequately address the specific issues surrounding American Bully XL dogs and their exploitation by criminals. Legal loopholes and inconsistencies in enforcement can hinder efforts to curb this problem. Additionally the breeding and sale of American Bully XL dogs - which can grow to the same size and weight as a Mountain Lion, is currently completely unregulated. The government have announced that the breed will be banned by the end of this year. When researching for this article, I came across American Bully XL dogs openly for sale on Gumtree in the local area - as you can see by clicking here. Send your comments and feedback to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

On Friday morning I was sent the following press release by the office of local MP Abena Oppong - Asare. As long term readers will be aware, I don't engage in party politics or promote one political party above another on the Blog. In this case I am publishing the press release as I believe it is in the interests of many local residents to be aware of the information contained therein. NHS waiting lists: press release -  "1,603 patients in Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust died while on NHS waiting lists last year. 1,603 people died in Lewisham & Greenwich NHS last year while waiting for care on the NHS, as patients face record waiting times. Freedom of information requests have revealed that record numbers of people are passing away having never received the treatment they were waiting for. Latest data shows that around 121,000 people died across England last year while still waiting for NHS care, double the number of people who died on waiting lists in 2017/18, when the figure stood at around 60,000. The figures are also higher than in 2021, when the country was still in the midst of the Covid pandemic. The NHS constitution states that patients should not wait more than 18 weeks for treatment, but almost half of patients in England today wait longer than that to receive healthcare. At Lewisham & Greenwich NHS alone, 808 people died having been waiting for treatment for longer than 18 weeks. The public now face the longest waiting lists in NHS history, with a record 7.6 million people waiting for treatment. There are currently 68,437 patients on the waiting list for treatment at Lewisham & Greenwich NHS. Rishi Sunak promised to cut NHS waiting lists, but there are 600,000 more patients waiting for NHS care today than when he became Prime Minister. Abena Oppong-Asare, MP for Erith and Thamesmead, and recently appointed Shadow Minister for Women’s Health and Mental Health, said: - “Record numbers of people are spending their final months in pain and agony, waiting for treatment that never arrives. “The basic promise of the NHS - that it will be there for us when we need it – has been broken. The longer the Conservatives are in office, the longer patients will wait. “Only Labour can rescue the NHS from this crisis and restore it to good health. We will train the staff needed to treat patients on time again, and reform the service to make it fit for the future.”

Manor Road in Erith has a rich industrial history that is unknown to many local residents. Before the First World War Erith possessed extensive brick fields in Manor Road, to the East of the town centre. The deposit of the iron rich brick earth stretched all the way into Slade Green, where a company called Rutter's Brick Works was in operation for many years. The finished bricks were exported by ship from Anchor Bay Wharf, which was connected to the pits and brick works by a tramway. The semi liquid brick clay was transferred from the more distant pits to the main brick works in Manor Road by a network of iron pipes; apparently the ovens which fired the bricks were kept working around the clock, and in cold weather it was not uncommon to find homeless people using the buildings as somewhere warm and dry to spend the night. Nowadays many businesses are still based at the Eastern end of the road, whilst the Western end is exclusively residential.

Bexley Fire Brigade Update - From Jim Morford, Borough Commander for Bexley, London Fire Brigade. "The very hot and dry spell presented a few problems for our Firefighters in the last week or so. Four Fire engines were required to extinguish a wildfire just behind the Greyhound stadium in Crayford where we were able to use well-rehearsed tactics to ensure the fire was swiftly brought under control. In the last 2 weeks, our firefighters attended a total of 18 fires that involved scrubland, heathland , grass or rubbish. This was an increase compared to the same period last year and demonstrates how weather can assist in the risk of fire, it's in these hot spells we are very reliant on people being sensible with barbeques, discarding cigarettes and even having bonfires. The most significant fire recently occurred on the hottest day of the year. Whilst there were numerous large incidents requiring 6 fire engines or more across London our Firefighters attended a house fire in Bexleyheath, significant damage occurred as a result of the fire and the residents were rescued by Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus. There were no serious injuries, but the residents were taken to hospital by ambulance suffering from smoke inhalation and superficial burns. Conditions were extremely arduous, but 4 fire engines and 25 Firefighters brought the fire under control and stopped any further spread to neighbouring properties. Following this fire we carry out reassurance visits to neighbours to advise of fire safety in the home, seeing the devastation a fire can cause does give you food for thought on how to make your home safer. You can use our home fire safety checker tool and see how you can help prevent a fire from occurring in your home. https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/the-home/home-fire-safety/home-fire-safety-checker-hfsc/. Even in this warm weather when people have windows open I have smelt bonfires. I understand the temptation whilst the days are still relatively long to get rid of garden waste by having a bonfire, however the impact on neighbours can be troublesome and unpleasant, to say the least. When a fire occurs, we always advise those nearby to close windows, If you're burning garden waste, remember that the greener the waste, the more smoke it produces. This may affect your neighbours, and even cause concerned citizens to call us to report a fire. Alternatives to consider include composting and checking if the l council offers a garden waste collection service instead. In London, we attend a large number of bonfires that are out of control yearly. If you do have a bonfire as Autumn approaches then please consider the following safety tips. Build your bonfire well clear of buildings, garden sheds, fences and hedges. Never use flammable liquids to start a bonfire and never burn dangerous items such as aerosol cans, paint tins, foam furniture or batteries. Always keep a bucket of water or a hosepipe nearby in case of fire. Don’t leave bonfires unattended. An adult should supervise it until it has burnt out. If it has to be left, damp it down with plenty of water. Check the area to make sure there's no wildlife or pets hiding nearby".

The end video this week is a compilation of clips from the 1963 British thriller movie "The Silent Playground" - which was shot on location in Woolwich, Abbey Wood and Charlton. It serves as an excellent historical record of the area from that time. Comments and feedback as always to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.