Television.

The photo above was taken back in 1995, when the Erith Deep Water Wharf was closed, and prior to the start of the redevelopment of the area. No Wharfside Close, and no Aveley Close, and no riverside retirement apartments behind the Cross Keys. 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 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. The pier is a great place to go for a walk, to watch the world go by, and to watch the river traffic come and go. There were tentative plans a few years ago to extend the Thames Clipper service to Erith Pier, but these came to nothing due to a number of technical issues, and objections from Morrison's supermarket, who did not want commuters taking up parking spaces in their car park, which nowadays is operated by a third party company. 

For those viewers who keep an eye on the details of both the BBC television schedules and also to BBC iPlayer online, they may have noticed an addition over the past few weeks. After several years of ignoring the programme, and it only famously being available on minority channels like Dave, the classic television show Top Gear is not only back on the BBC iPlayer but the programme is now being re-shown on prime Sunday evenings at 8:00 p.m on BBC Two exactly as it used to be when it was first transmitted. What is interesting is that it is the the hugely popular version with Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond despite the controversy which ended their residence on the show some years ago and their transfer to Amazon Prime and the alternative car programme the Grand Tour, It is quite interesting that Top Gear has returned on the BBC both on television and streaming. Considering that, from what I understand, the licencing rights are owned by a combination of Jeremy Clarkson and the producer Andy Willman. This suggests that some kind of licencing deal has been done between the BBC and the owners of the rights to Top Gear. What is also interesting is that certainly on BBC iPlayer the last few disastrous series of Top Gear starring new presenters is available to watch, but the viewing figures for those series are apparently far lower than those for the previous three, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. This is quite interesting considering that the series starring these three presenters have already been shown on multiple occasions on other channels on Freeview television and elsewhere. What is also interesting is that viewers are still watching these repeat episodes of Top Gear when it is considered that on many occasions the shows are now around 10 years old and the cars featured are now somewhat out of date. It does suggest it has been said on many occasions in the past that the main reason for watching Top Gear is not actually to do with the cars. It is to do with the interaction between the three charismatic presenters and their banter. It does seem to me that the BBC is stepping down somewhat in its attitude to the classic Top Gear after several years of ignoring it. I suspect, although I do not know that this may be a combination of a lack of budget for new programming and also an acknowledgement of the huge viewing figures the show has historically been able to attract, and is still able to engage a substantial number of repeat viewers nowadays who are nostalgic for what was one of the most popular BBC television shows ever broadcast. Not being an insider, I cannot debate or contribute on the ins and outs of the cancellation of the show back in 2015. But it does strike me that the management of the BBC are prepared to back down a to at least a limited extent now for reasons which may be complex. As I have written historically, the relaunch of Top Gear with new presenters after the three classic figureheads of the show left was extremely unsuccessful with both pundits and television insiders calling the continued programme TGINO. This stood for Top Gear In Name Only. It certainly did not last very long under the new presenter regime. To be honest, I do not think that most of the new presenters were actually any problem, and indeed some had been successful YouTube car broadcasters, but the problem was they did not have the charisma, magnetism and connection that James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson had. It was said at the time that the classic Top Gear was less a car show and more about three mates messing about that happened to feature cars. It may be that the BBC have come to a tacit realisation about this, and had finally acknowledging the fact and combining this with a budget saving move by repeating the shows and playing a licence fee to the third party producers. Obviously I do not know the details of this so, if anybody has further information then please let me know at the usual address. It does however, strike me a somewhat unusual that such a hugely popular TV show was cancelled and replaced with a new version, which never got the success of the previous, and after many years of ignoring it, BBC managers restore it to not only their iPlayer streaming service, but also to prime Sunday evening television in exactly the same programme slot that it used to have during its first broadcast run. I doubt that we will hear any feedback from the three classic presenters, but it would be interesting to hear their opinion of the rebroadcast of the classic show, although I imagine all three of them will keep their counsel. In addition, they have no now all moved on to other broadcasting projects and I doubt that they would want to revisit what is now their history. Nevertheless, it does show a level of backtracking and potential embarrassment for the BBC.  Comments and feedback to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

There are rumours circulating in parts of London's public transport fraternity that the long established Oyster card may be reaching the end of its' life. The rumours seem to indicate that Oyster will be replaced by an alternative system at some point in the future. The main motivator behind this is that TFL feel that the Oyster system is too expensive to operate, and they are thinking of the long term – where payments will go in the future, in a post – Oyster environment. There are a number of issues with NFC (Near Field Communication) payment systems. Whilst it is possible to store details of a number of debit and credit cards on a smart phone employing NFC, as these are heavily encrypted, it is not always a good idea to store Oyster card details, as these are less so. The Near Field Communication technical standard does not make any allowances for the  prevention of eavesdropping, and it is possible to record an NFC signal up to ten metres away from a smart phone, with suitable equipment and software easily available o the dark web – which is all available online already. Gangs who previously have been engaged in illegal “card skimming” activities at cash points are now known to be working on new and updated forms of NFC snooping. The problem with the NFC protocol is that once contact has been made and verified between the smart phone and the computer at the far end of the connection, the far end computer will accept almost any data sent over the connection; only the most basic of parity / sense checking is undertaken. This leaves NFC open to all sorts of trickery. I am sure that in a majority of cases NFC smart phones will work splendidly with any future TFL electronic ticketing system. The problem comes when something does go wrong – be it due to malicious interference, or a plain old fashioned mistake. The onus is on the device owner to prove innocence, not the other way around, as is already the case with chip and PIN debit cards. NFC may be acceptable (due to convenience) for many regular public transport users, but it does not help occasional travellers such as elderly people and tourists. Some form of manual ticketing system is going to also need to be put in place – even if it is a single use passive NFC ticket, as is already deployed in the public transport systems in places as diverse as Singapore and Canada. What is clear is that Oyster is regarded as old, nearing end of life technology, and a cheaper, more secure and robust replacement is needed soon.

The photo above (click on it for a larger view) was taken back in 1880 of a very grand property which was called Walnut Tree House. It was owned by the Parish family, who by the looks of it were not short of a bob or two – the place looks lovely. The patriarch, John Parish owned the ballast wharf in West Street, and the ballast pit in what is now the Europa Industrial Estate in Fraser Road. The very fine quality loam dug from the pit was taken to the wharf to be loaded onto freighter ships for transportation up to the great iron and steel forges on Tyneside, where it was used to make moulds for metal castings. Unfortunately Walnut Tree House does not exist today; it was demolished to make way for Erith Council Offices in the early 1930’s. I don't know what the Parish family would have made of the location nowadays, with 24 hour motor traffic using the fish sculpture roundabout, it would definitely be very different from when the house was occupied. Still, the needs of the council had to be satisfied then, and again today. 

Nevil Shute Norway, known as Nevil Shute, was a British-born novelist and aeronautical engineer who led a fascinating dual life. His professional career as an engineer and his prolific output as a writer often intersected, with his technical expertise lending a realistic, grounded quality to his novels. His works, which blend adventure, romance, and a deep understanding of human nature, captivated readers and explored themes of duty, courage, and the impact of technology on society. Born in Ealing in 1899, as an adult he lived for many years in a house in Hatherley Road, Sidcup. Shute's early life was marked by a passion for aviation and engineering. He served in the British Army during World War I, although not in a combat role due to his poor eyesight. After the war, he studied engineering at Balliol College, Oxford. His career took off in the burgeoning field of aircraft design. In 1924, he joined the Vickers aircraft company in Crayford, where he worked on the design of the R100 airship. This project was a major milestone in his life and career, and his experiences with the airship programme later inspired his novel "Marazan". The R100, alongside its competitor the R101, was part of a British government initiative to build a fleet of passenger airships for long-distance travel. The R100 project, under the leadership of Barnes Wallis, was ultimately successful, while the R101 ended in a catastrophic crash, an event that deeply affected Shute and influenced his writings. Following the R100 project, Shute co-founded his own aircraft company, Airspeed Ltd., in 1931. The company specialized in designing and building aeroplanes, with some notable models like the Airspeed Courier and the Airspeed Oxford. This hands-on experience in the aviation industry provided a rich source of material for his novels, imbuing them with authentic technical details and a palpable sense of the challenges and triumphs of engineering. Shute began writing novels while still working as an engineer, finding success with his early books like "So Disgraceful" and "Kindling". His writing career really took off in the years leading up to and during World War II. During the war, he served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and was involved in secret weapons development, an experience that again provided a backdrop for several of his later novels. He was known for his ability to write about complex technical subjects in a way that was accessible and engaging to the average reader. His narratives often featured engineers, pilots, and ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. After the war, Shute immigrated to Australia in 1950, seeking a more relaxed lifestyle and a new perspective. This move had a profound impact on his writing. His later novels, such as "A Town Like Alice" and "On the Beach", are set in Australia and explore themes of post-war reconstruction, community building, and the human spirit's resilience. "A Town Like Alice" in particular, with its story of a British woman's journey to start a new life in rural Australia, became one of his most beloved and enduring works. Throughout his career, Shute wrote 24 novels. His writing is characterised by its clarity, authenticity, and a fundamental optimism about human nature, even when exploring grim subjects. He had a unique ability to combine the technical world of engineering with the emotional complexities of human relationships, creating stories that were both informative and deeply moving. Nevil Shute died in 1960. 

The end video this week comes from American firearms historian Ian McCollum, and it is an examination of one of the prototypes of the very first ever machine gun, which was built at the Maxim armaments factory in Fraser Road, Erith. Hiram Maxim was the first person to create a truly practical and functional machine gun, based on a patent he filed in 1883. He pioneered the recoil operating system – the concept of harnessing the recoil generated by a firearm to perform the actions of reloading that firearm. His patent was based on a lever action rifle, but his intent was to create a machine gun, complete with belt feed and water cooling. After a testbed “forerunner” gun, he built this model which he called the “Prototype”. It was meant as a proof of concept, and used in many public exhibitions and demonstrations. The Prototype used a hydraulic rate of fire control system which could be set as high as 500 rounds/minute (interestingly, the US Marine Corps example goes up to 600 rpm) and as low as just one round per minute. The gun did not have a trigger as we would recognise it today, but rather a single lever like a vehicle accelerator which acted as both trigger and fire rate control. Only three of these Prototypes exist today, with one belonging to the US Marine Corps, one on public display at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, and this one in the National Firearms Centre reserve collection also in  Leeds.  Please feel free as usual to leave feedback and comments to hugh.neal@gmail.com.