Extra.

The photos above, click on either of them to see a larger view, show the location and interior of the Erith Fish and Steak restaurant, which is located on the outside of the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre. In December of this year it would have been open for 10 years, after opening on the 10th of December 2016. Unfortunately, I have heard several rumours that this restaurant is very likely to close in the near future. It has never really been as successful as I believe the owners would have liked. It has both a takeaway section, and a sit-down restaurant section, which was originally designed to open until late at night, but this was very soon changed to a very limited number of opening hours, as they were so few customers in the evenings. The takeaway section did moderately well, but the restaurant never really flourished, which I was disappointed to see. Unfortunately, Erith has a reputation, which is at the present quite deserved as what is known as a dormitory town. Local residents tend to not go out in the evening in the local area; they are more likely to travel to Bexleyheath, Dartford, or even as far as Bluewater to go out for the evening for drinks or a meal. More often than not they stay at home and get a takeaway delivered to themselves if they do not fancy cooking. Not only has the catering world changed since the Fish and Steak restaurant opened, but the costs associated with running a restaurant have absolutely escalated. It is not just the cost of raw ingredients such as potatoes, fish and meat, but to a greater extent it is also the problem of a huge increase in the cost of energy, the deep fat fryers that fish and chips shops use are very expensive to run either on electricity or sometimes on gas. On top of this, the rent for the location, which was always expensive would have certainly been increased over the last decade. I feel very sorry for the chap who has spent so much time and energy running the place, as previously he also used to run the popular, if never financially successful Mambocino coffee shop and cafe further into the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, which went bust some years ago, after never having actually made a profit in all of the years that it was open and available for business. I must stress that the information I have received at the present time is based on just rumours, albeit from a number of very reputable sources. I have no concrete confirmation of the fact that the the restaurant is going to be closing, but unfortunately I am of the opinion that it is extremely likely, as it would appear that the place has never been economically viable, as much as I would have liked it to be, along with many other local people. Comments and feedback as usual to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

There has been much coverage over the last week in the popular press about the BBC's decision to close a number of its services in the future. This apparently will include, but not be limited to BBC 3, the youth channel, BBC Alba for Scotland, and most controversially BBC Radio 4 Extra. I have been in contact with a number of friends who are still active in the radio industry, and they all share my opinion on the proposed closure of BBC Radio 4 Extra. If you are unfamiliar with the radio station, it broadcasts archive programmes featuring classic radio comedy, drama, poetry and all other manner of spoken word content. Of all the national radio stations broadcasting on DAB+, it is by far the cheapest to run, as the BBC owns nearly all of the content, and apart from a continuity announcer, there is no live programming whatsoever. Basically it can pretty much all be run from a single computer. What is also instructive is that if one looks at the comments on the BBC News website covering the story about the potential cancellations, almost nobody makes any kind of criticism of the closure of BBC 3, or BBC Alba. Nearly all of the adverse criticism is directed towards the potential closure of BBC Radio 4 Extra, which is extremely popular. Although the BBC say that programmes from the station will be available on the BBC Sounds app and on BBC iPlayer, many long distance drivers rely on programmes broadcast on the DAB radio service, as do many older people, some of whom do not have access to a smart TV or a computer. As specialist comedy website Chortle wrote:- "At most, the move will save £4 million a year – just .067 per cent of the BBC’s almost £6 billion-a-year budget. That same percentage of the £180 a year licence fee works out at around 12 pence. That provides a linear, broadcast station which showcases the best BBC audio output over the decades. It is home to classic comedies such as The Goon Show, Tony Hancock and Beyond Our Ken as well as more contemporary stand-up specials, sitcoms and panel shows. The channel is expected to close in March. Its content will remain available on BBC Sounds, but as many listeners pointed out, to access that you need to know what to search for, rather than being presented with curated programming". The industry insiders I have consulted all share the same opinion that the BBC is actually putting up the cancellation of BBC Radio 4 Extra as a Trojan horse; some years ago they did something very similar with the threat to close BBC Radio 6 Music, which they later withdrew after much negative publicity. In essence, I feel they will use the same playbook again. They can then sneak through large numbers of changes and closures, whilst touting the fact that they have saved BBC Radio 4 Extra after public feedback. In essence, just a PR exercise to make them look good. This may be a cynical opinion, but it is a very common one among people who are in a good position to know about such things, and the internal politics of public broadcasting.

The following article was supplied by regular reader and amateur transport historian Dana. It describes the history of the tram, and its' place in local events over the years. Dana writes:- "The first electric Tramway in the UK was launched in Blackpool in 1892. In London horse drawn trams ran from 1860 to 1870 when they were gradually replaced by steam tramcars which ran until 1901 when the first electric trams were introduced. By 1903 there were over 300 electric tramcars in London, in the 3rd year of running London County Council Tramways sold 3.3 million tickets, such was their success. By 1914 London’s Tramways were the largest in Europe and they continued to run surviving both world wars until the early 1950’s. They were gradually replaced by Trolleybuses and diesel buses.Trams went on to become the main mode of transport around towns and cities across the UK, they were cheap and reliable and ideal for workers getting to and from work. After the war many tramways began to have problems due to lack of investment. By the 1930’s many operators began to close including The Rochester & Gillingham Tramway which closed in 1930, London was to survive for 20 more years and when Trolleybuses were introduced both used the overhead power cables for a while as one replaced the other. The final tram in London was in 1952 and the final Glasgow Tram was in 1962. While in Blackpool they still run some of the original tramcars along with modern ones. Locally Routes 72 ran from Woolwich Beresford Square to the Embankment via Eltham (see photo), the 96 route ran from Woolwich to Dartford via Plumstead and Welling via Bexleyheath, Crayford. While the 98-route served Erith running from Woolwich to Abbey Wood, Erith & Bexleyheath Market Place. Up until recently the tram tracks were still visible in Woolwich Beresford Square. Luckily a group on enthusiasts saw an opportunity to try and save at least one tram from most operators and they found an old disused chalk  quarry in the Peak District and began storing decommissioned trams there between the mid 1950’s to mid-1960’s. The photographs are of a London Tram saved by them that ran on the 72 route through Erith, the very quarry where they were stored is today Crich Tramway Museum where they can boast a rescued tram from many of our cities, many now restored and running for visitors. Other tram museums where you can ride them are Beamish Living Museum, Black Country Living Museum, East Anglian Transport Museum, Heaton Park Tramway, Wirral Tramway & Seaton Tramway. Today some cities in the UK have reintroduced tramways, With Croydon operating them nearest to London".

Last week marked the release on DVD of a very popular historic TV comedy series, which was first shown on BBC 1 back in September 1986; this year marking its 40th anniversary. Brush Strokes was set around a South London painting and decorating firm called Bainbridge's, where the lives - and more importantly, the loves - of the staff and their friends and family were at the heart of the story. Written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, who had previous successes with sitcoms including The Good Life and Ever Decreasing Circles, Brush Strokes ran for 40 episodes across 5 series from 1986 to 1991, becoming a huge hit with viewers across the country. The central character in the comedy series was called Jacko, a painter and decorator, played by actor Karl Howman. For many years Howman and his family lived in a house in The View, a turning off Woolwich Road in Upper Belvedere. At that time the show was being broadcast, I saw Howman on numerous occasions parking his red Ferrari 328 GTS outside of Mr Man's fish and chip shop in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere, when he went to purchase a fish supper for himself and his family. Howman had been a pupil at Picardy School (now called Trinity School), where apparently he only escaped being expelled on one occasion due to his excellent football skills. I understand at one time he had a trial with Charlton Athletic, but did not get a contract with the club. The premise of Brush Strokes was simple - It contrasted conventional lifestyles with that of being a more free spirit, not wholly unlike that presented in The Good Life. Jacko, Howman's central character, was the archetypal Jack-the-Lad who simply wanted to enjoy life without responsibilities, but friends, family and work colleagues just wouldn't leave him alone. At the height of its popularity, Brush Strokes was attracting around 16 million viewers each week; figures unheard of now. Whilst undeniably charming, some of the attitudes towards women, marriage and relationships certainly date the show to the late 80's, which is a shame because the writing and performances are no less excellent than 40 years ago, and the central themes of friends, family and love are timeless. 

The photo above, click on it to see a larger version was taken by a reader mid-morning on Thursday last week. The new Waterstones bookshop in The Mall, previously called Bexleyheath Broadway Shopping Centre, was originally scheduled to open on Thursday morning, but for reasons that are currently unknown, this was delayed until Saturday morning. It is too early to have any reports on what the new shop is like, although I have high hopes for it. For those with longer memories, originally there was a bookstore on precisely the same site when the shopping centre first opened for business. I am glad that another is now taking its place. Several other retail outlets have opened in and around the shopping centre in recent times, which is extremely welcome after other shops had closed down. The Mall was looking unwelcoming and partly empty, but I am glad to say that this is now changing for the better.

Halloween seems to be taking over as the main pre - Christmas winter festival from Guy Fawkes Night. Halloween was originally created in pretty much its’ current form by 18th century Irish people, the word is a corruption of All Hallow’s Eve. Irish immigrants to America took the tradition there, and it was exported back across the Atlantic in the early 1980’s. Although Halloween was celebrated before this time, it was a far lower key and less involved affair. I am convinced that the increase in popularity of the Americanised version of the festival can at least partly be laid at the feet of Stephen Spielberg and his 1982 movie “ET – The Extra Terrestrial”. The film carries strong Halloween themes such as dressing up and “Trick or Treating” which prior to the opening of the film had been relatively uncommon in the UK. The massive popularity of the film exposed may children of the time to take on the American aspects of the Halloween festival; many of those children now have children, and possibly grand children of their own, and the festival thus now has an amplified resonance not previously seen. Personally I am not struck with the whole thing, which basically encourages small children to demand goods with menaces, but I am probably in a minority.

The photo above shows a weapon that was produced in the Victorian era. It is the reason why older residents of the Western end of Erith around Pembroke Road and Alford Road know the area as the "Pom Pom". The rather impressive looking Victorian naval gun is a Maxim QF-1 37mm light cannon built in 1890 in Erith. It was popularly known as the "Pom Pom" gun, due to the noise it made when firing; The Maxim factory in Fraser Road, Erith (what is now the BATT Cables factory and warehouse) was where the guns were made in the 1890's, back then there was a test range to the rear of the factory where the guns were test fired before being shipped to their customers. The noise of the guns being test fired gave rise to the informal name, which is still in use today, some 130 years after the last Maxim 37mm QF-1 naval guns were test fired on the site - astonishing for a tiny piece of local social and engineering history. 

The end video this week is of the 2026 Erith Model Railway Society exhibition, which was held in the  Harris Garrard Academy, Yarnton Way, Thamesmead, back in January. You can read about their next annual exhibition by clicking here. You comments and feedback should be sent to me as usual at hugh.neal@gmail.com.