A tap at last.

The story I published two weeks ago concerning the unwelcome changes made to the 99 bus route between Bexleyheath and Woolwich, and the replacement of the modern, ecologically sound and very comfortable Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 buses with older, less reliable and pretty much worn out Wright Gemini 2 buses sourced second hand from Tottenham have caused quite a bit of commotion in the transport world, and I have had considerable correspondence from readers who either use the bus service, or others who operate it, but need to remain anonymous. Following the piece I published last edition, which included a guest written article by a person who requested anonymity, due to their close involvement with the story, I received a couple of very interesting Emails from a very well known transport industry expert, who has worked in the bus business for many years. He writes:- "I was interested in your recent notes about bus route 99. This passes through my former home in Barnehurst and so was of interest. The new 5 year contract was awarded to Arriva London from Stagecoach Selkent to commence on Saturday 20th January 2018. It is indeed being operated from their Dartford garage which these days falls under the Arriva London entity. TfL specifically awarded the contract to be operated by existing fleet double deck vehicles. They have actually been drawn from the DW class vehicles used previously elsewhere in North London. As you say these have Wright Gemini 10.4m bodies fitted on the VDL (DAF) DB300 chassis. They were actually decent bits of kit when new, but have had a fair pounding in London service. While the route is being operated to a new timetable I am a little surprised at the statement that it actually required no change to the previous peak vehicle requirement. It had previously required an 11 bus pvr, but the new contract apparently calls for 14 vehicles. This is no great surprise as the route obviously requires significant dead running from Dartford garage whereas Stagecoach buses had passed the Plumstead garage from which they operated the route. Interestingly the 99 has previously reached Dartford during its lengthy history, but that’s another story. The substantial funding reduction for TfL going forward means that the number of new vehicles being specified for bus service contracts will be far less than previously. This is because operators will usually provide a variety of compliant bids for contracts and these will include alternative bids for new and existing vehicles. Whereas previously lower cost bids might have been less attractive, now it is far more likely that TfL will look favourably on lower cost bids because of the funding reductions they are experiencing. Stagecoach of course took over the 422 service the same day as Arriva took over the 99 so they more than made up for the loss as the 422 has a pvr of 16. The DW class vehicles are indeed 5 years older than the previous ADL E40H hybrids fitted with the Enviro 400 MMC body that started to take over the route during the summer of 2016. I must admit though that I didn’t realise the Stagecoach vehicles were fitted with the Gyrodrive facility. I thought they were standard diesel-electric hybrids. They would still appear to demonstrate the characteristics you described in your blog. You don’t seem to have mentioned the recent (December 2017) closure of the GoAhead depot at Belvedere. This was, of course, originally opened by Harris Bus that esteemed operated originating in that fine West Essex town of Grays. The Belvedere bus depot closed in December. The site was originally set up by Harris Bus (the bus operating offshoot of Harris Coaches based in West Thurrock) in 1998 to house its operations that had moved from the London Borough of Bexley base at Crayford. The Crayford base had itself been previously used by Maidstone Boroughline. Harris took over some of their operations, but needed a more suitable base when they won the 108 cross river service. Harris Bus expanded too fast and under costed their London operations and went into receivership in 2000. They were effectively re-nationalised in a similar manner to some of the railway franchises and taken over by London Buses under the guise of East Thames Buses. East Thames Buses was created to take over failed contracts pending procuring new operators. In October 2009, East Thames Buses was sold to Go-Ahead London. Even though Belvedere was a London General Garage it operated as a satellite of London Central's Bexleyheath garage. All of Belvedere's engineering and fleet and staff management was done at or organised by Bexleyheath. It had proved to be an inconveniently expensive unit as only routes 180 and 244 plus night route N1 and school route 669 were operated from there in the end. It closed on 1 December 2017 when the lease expired. Routes 180 and N1 transferred to the recently opened Morden Wharf bus garage in Greenwich, while Routes 244 and 669 transferred to Bexleyheath which had  some space freed as a result of other tender losses".

Some good news; Erith Riverside Gardens have finally got connected to the mains water supply. This means that the Friends of Riverside Gardens Erith (FORGE) will in future be able to water the gardens in the summer. As I wrote some time ago, plants and bushes planted by a contractor for Bexley Council last year died after the contractor neglected to water them during the very hot spring and early summer. FORGE members, myself included, had offered to water the gardens, but we were told that no water supply was actually available on the site. That has now been rectified, and there is to be an official opening of the new water tap / hose facility, along with  Councillor June Slaughter, Councillor Peter Craske, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Environment and Leisure and Colin Rowland, Head of Parks and Open Spaces on Monday 19th March 2018,  at 12 noon. FORGE are also getting a notice board on site where news and information regarding the Riverside Gardens can be displayed. I know it is short notice (FORGE were only informed of the presentation on Friday morning of last week), but if you can make it to the opening at midday on Monday, I will be there with my camera. 

The two photos above show Belvedere Police Station in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere. The upper of the two photographs was taken in August 1968 when the Police Station had not long been opened. The lower photo was taken by me last Monday afternoon, and shows the former Police Station before it is demolished to make way for flats. All of the outside signage and the iconic blue light that hung next to the main entrance have now been removed in preparation for demolition. I am not certain if the large emergency generator that was located in a dedicated area to the rear of the station has now been removed; I can recall that on the night of the 1987 hurricane, when the entire area was blacked out due to downed power cables, the Police Station was the only building still lit, due to its independent generator system. It is currently unclear who the owner of the building now is; the last time that I was able to ascertain, the status of the old Police station was "Under Offer". Large concrete barriers have been placed over the entrances to the car park at the front of the building to prevent locals from using it to park whilst visiting Belvedere Village. It is a prime site for a residential development, located as it is on the corner of Nuxley Road and Woolwich Road. The decision for the Metropolitan Police to dispose of Belvedere Police Station has been on the cards for a very long time. The station has been only used on a part time, limited hours basis for years, and the formal decision to close it and sell it off was started back in 2013. The document proposing the closure of Belvedere Police Station states:- "In 2013 MOPAC carried out extensive consultation on both the draft Police and Crime Plan 2013-16 and the proposed local police estate and public access.  In respect of Bexley this highlighted that Belvedere Police Station was not suitable to be retained in the longer term as it did not meet operational requirements. The site was to be retained until alternative accommodation for both the operational teams and the contact point could be provided. Operational teams currently in Belvedere Police Station will be re-located between Pier Road in Erith and Bexleyheath Police Station. More agile working practices and an element of investment is necessary to achieve this arrangement. The Contact Point is proposed to be re-located to Asda in lower Belvedere. Upon the above re-locations the Belvedere Police Station will be disposed of. The sale of Belvedere Police Station will generate a capital receipt which will be used to support the MOPAC/MPS Capital Programme. The disposal will also generate annual revenue savings of £83,000. The investment to achieve the change is estimated at £8,000, and will be met from within existing MPS budgets. The report confirms the recommended option represents the best option that will support the delivery of a leaner estate which is lower in cost to run and is fit for purpose complying with modern standards, and will therefore assist MOPAC securing the maintenance of the Metropolitan Police Force, and ensure that it is efficient and effective, as required under Section 3(6) of the Act". In essence, Belvedere Police Station has been shut and sold off to save the Metropolitan Police £91,000 a year - only a little more than is paid to employ a single Chief Superintendent. I am not sure how this is meant to represent good value for money, but the decision has been made, and the current situation is a "done deal". What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Fellow local Blogger Richard of The Thamesmead Grump has recently reported that his website is getting a lot of visits from what appear to be people living in the Russian Federation. I too have had a marked increase in hits from Russia, but not quite to the extent that Richard has noticed. He and I are in agreement that these are most probably Bots - automated software scripts programmed to surf specified websites. The reason for this is unclear. As regular reader will already know, neither Richard or I engage in international diplomacy or reporting on terrorism, so quite why we would be targetted by some Russian software Bots is a bit of a mystery. If anyone has any insight into this, please leave a message below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Whilst I am well known for my personal dislike of travel, I know that I am rather unusual in this regard. A landmark has been reached in the last week which many holiday makers and business travellers will be very familiar with; The most popular and numerous passenger jet of all time has just sold its 10,000 aeroplane. The very long running Boeing 737 released its latest model last week, after being in production for fifty years. The 737 debuted in 1967, a time when demand for air travel started to boom. Boeing decided to cash in by making a smaller, cheaper plane to complement its long-haul ~200-seat 707 and the mid-sized and mid-range 727. The first 737, the model -100, carried up to 124 passengers on journeys up to 3,000km. Only 30 were made because airlines preferred the model -200 which added another dozen passengers and extended the plane’s range to almost 5,000km. Boeing’s history of the type says the company wanted to get the 737 to market fast and therefore used “the same upper lobe fuselage as the 707 and 727 so that the same upper deck cargo pallets could be used for all three jets.” But other elements were new in important ways: placing the engines beneath the wings made for a wider fuselage and six-abreast seating, which beat other small jets of the time. A flight deck capable of operation by a crew of two also made a difference, by reducing costs. Airlines therefore quickly came to appreciate the 737, as it added superior passenger capacity when compared to its competitors, could haul freight and had no trouble with rough runways which meant it could go where other planes could not. The -100 and -200 are known as the “Original” 737. Next came the “Classic” models. Introduced in 1984, the new -300, -400 and -500 models increased passenger capacity to 188, added new engine options and updated plenty of on-board technology. A bigger change arrived with the Next Generation 737, which debuted in 1993 and was designed to make the type more competitive when compared to Airbus’ A320. The new −600, −700, −800, and −900 models could handle over 200 passengers in some configurations and featured larger wings and winglets to make them more efficient. The Next Generation planes sold well and in the year 2006 Boeing pushed the 5,000th plane out the door. That the type has remained popular is easy to see by the fact that it has taken 12 years to double that number. Indeed, Boeing has 4,600 orders to fill, most for the 737 Max variant that adds a new split wing, quieter engines, passenger capacities up to 230 and range over 7,000km. The plane has also spawned several military variants and a line of business jets. The type arguably made low-cost airlines possible: pioneering carriers Southwest Airlines and Ryanair both made the 737 the only model they would fly, which helped them to reduce costs. Airlines are now putting the 737 MAX to work on transatlantic flights and other routes once thought unsuitable for single-aisle aircraft. So popular is the 737 family that Boeing recently announced it would increase production from 47 to 52 a month. Airbus will operate at a similar pace as it works to fill the 5,000-plus orders on its books for the A320. Airbus, however, has only delivered around 7,000 A320s, making the 737 the most common passenger aircraft in the skies. And that is a position it looks set to enjoy for many years to come.

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Another fantastic week for Barnehurst ward with no crimes of note reported On 7th March the team assisted Crayford ward and Fraud investigators from the local authority to carry out warrants in Crayford and Erith. This resulted in an arrest for fraud related offences Sadly the team said farewell to Gwen Biagioni, Neighbourhood watch co-ordinator for Dorothy Evans Close, who is standing down due to health reasons. Gwen ably assisted by her husband Eric is one of the longest serving coordinators who has dedicated over 20 years to neighbourhood watch and will greatly missed by the team, (we will keep in touch Gwen) A big thank you to another resident who has volunteered to take over the scheme. Our next in door Drop in surgery will be on the 27th March 2018 at Barnehurst Golf Course at 1PM. Please join us for a chat about local issues that may be concerning you and crime prevention advice We will also be holding pop up surgery’s at various locations across the ward utilising the boroughs CCTV van (or other vehicles if unavailable) to give residents who may not be comfortable attending our indoor sessions a chance to talk to police in a less formal environment. Please follow us on twitter @MPSBarnehurst and Face Book - Barnehurst Police, where dates and locations will be advertised". Belvedere ward:- "On Tuesday 13th March 2018 at about 8:30pm there was a fatal collision on Picardy Manor Way at the junction with Anderson Way. A 60 year old male who was the driver of a Mercedes was announced dead at the scene. A dark coloured Audi was involved however failed to stop at the scene of the accident, we urge anyone with any information to get in touch with the team. On Wednesday 7th March PC Rob and PC Ash stopped two males in relation to an incident outside the Erith Police base. The two males were arrested for possession with intent to supply class A drugs. The male arrested by PC Ash was also arrested for theft and the male arrested by PC Rob was arrested for possession of an offensive weapon, namely a large kitchen knife. The investigation remains on-going. The team received calls of an off road bike riding around Franks Park on Tuesday 13th March. While Franks Park is not currently covered by the Belvedere team, we will inherit it in May 2018, as such we attended the call. We recognised the males on the off road bike and managed to stop them. They have been issued with a “section 59” warning, which if given again, whether in the same vehicle or a different vehicle, means the vehicle will be seized. Finally, on Wednesday 14th March 2018 PC Rob arrested a female who was wanted for a breach of court order. Our next Community Contact Session is on the 19th March at 5pm in the Asda café". Brampton ward:- "Brampton had 1 Burglary over this week that occurred in Long Lane, rear access was gained by unknown suspects by smashing a kitchen window , jewellery was stolen. Prosecco and chocolates were stolen from Co Op Long lane during a shoplift Theft of a motor vehicle in Fairlawn Avenue , a motor bike was taken from the driveway Theft from a motor vehicle in Barrington road , a mobile phone was stolen , please do not leave anything in or on show in vehicles Incidents in Pickford lane were communications act offence , indecent photos shown without permission and public order offence when a victim was sworn at by an unknown suspect. An Harassment offence occurred in Mayfair Avenue victim was sent letters that caused Harassment , Alarm and Distress. A person was arrested for possession with intent to supply a psychoactive substance (nitrous oxide) in Brampton Road". Christchurch ward:- "Over the last week we have had 5 burglaries reported on the ward. Below is a brief summary of them: 04/03/2018 – Midhurst Hill Bexleyheath. Entry was gained via a rear ground floor window and property stolen. Burglary was reported on the 12/03/2018 05/03/2018 – Lewin Road Bexleyheath. Rear door was smashed and entry gained. Burglary was reported on the 07/03/2018 07/03/2018 – Midhurst Hill Bexleyheath. Entry was gained via a rear patio door. 13/03/2018 – Olron Crescent Bexleyheath. Patio door window smashed to gain entry. 13/03/2018 – Olron Crescent Bexleyheath. Patio door window smashed to gain entry. We have also had two reports of items stolen. One was a mobile phone and the other was a purse. Brief details below: 12/03/2018 – Phone was stolen from whilst victim was in the Bowling Alley. Phone was left with clothing and was then taken. 07/03/2018 – Purse was stolen from victim and then cards were used. After reports of youths being anti-social on push bikes. The team had conducted patrols around Iris Avenue and Upton Road, numerous amounts of stops were also conducted. Youths were advised about behaviour and of possible letters to parents. Bexley Police are spending a week raising awareness about Child Sexual Exploitation. As a result of this the Christchurch team were out on the Broadway last Monday and Tuesday, engaging with young people to raise awareness". Colyers ward:- "Three vehicles have been stolen from the ABC roads this week. The most recent being at approx. 10am on Wednesday when a blue Volkswagen Carravalle van was lifted from outside the owners house in Appledore Avenue by a green pick up truck. A neighbour spoke to the driver of the truck but didn't think anything was suspicious. The truck was sign written 'Pick a Part', the driver is described as white approx. 50 years of age with dark hair. With the snow hopefully well behind us, and spring on its way, it is back to business as normal here on Colyers Ward. Starting with some good news, we have not had any burglaries in the last week. This is a great outcome and long may that figure stay at zero!! In regards to motor vehicle crime, we have had two vehicles stolen. One was in Cumbrian Avenue, where the car was clamped to be reclaimed. However when the enforcement officer returned to collect the vehicle, the clamp was there but the vehicle had gone. The other was a straight forward theft from outside 21 Beechfield Road, where the vehicle was stolen despite being locked. In other news, the team has assisted with some of the disorder that took place in Erith Town Centre last week, while work continues at Hampton House to deal with the ongoing ASB/drug issues currently taking place at the location. Please continue to be vigilant, keep your possessions locked and secured, and above all, stay safe". Crayford ward:- "Thankfully crime has been quite low this week. There have been reports of shoplifting and domestic assaults but generally we do not include these crimes in this report. Between 18.00 on 06/03/2018 and 11.30 on 07/03/2018 the seals were damaged on windows of a Mazda parked behind the flats in Green Place. On 08/03/2018 between 04.30 and 15.00 a Vauxhall Astra had all four tyres deliberately punctured whilst parked in a car park on the Acorn Estate on Crayford Road. On the 10/03/2018 a lady had her bank card stolen whilst shopping at Sainsbury's. She had paid for her goods and believed she had replaced her bank card in her purse. The card was used to withdraw cash and buy other goods. The only way the suspect could have obtained the pin number was by seeing it when the card was used. The card was stopped so that further transactions were declined. Please be sure to cover your pin when using your card in a public place. Between 15.00 on 09/03/2018 and 06.00 on 12/03/2018 a shed by a marketing office at Acorn Industrial Estate was broken in to by removing a padlock and tools were stolen from within. Between 16.00 and 17.30 on 10/03/2018 business in Crayford Road was broken into and tools and clothing were stolen, a padlock was broken to force entry. A CPN (Community Protection Notice) was issued to a youth who had been causing anti-social behaviour at Town Hall Square and the Europa Gym. Two home visit were also made to youths who had caused anti-social behaviour at Town Hall Square, each youth agreed not to go there again and was very apologetic, the parents were very much on board and pleased that the issue had been highlighted to them. PC Scott Gardiner and PC Chris Murphy have issued several process tickets this week for offences including jumping a red light, using a mobile phone whilst driving, no insurance on a vehicle. At other times, words of advice were given". Erith ward:- "In community work from last week PC Tom + PC Gill visited Trinity Secondary School, visited the Sikh Temple to speak with the new president and held a pop up surgery in Erith Library. All local hotspots were patrolled: Compton place, West Street and Erith High Street. Praise for weekly NHW Champion - Pam from Sherwood House. A massive well done to Pam who brought to PCSO Adam and PCSO Mark's (North End ward) attention that there was a fight going on in Erith High Street where it looked as if a knife was seen. We made our way to the area and with some great work from Erith town centre security, we managed to find those involved. Arrests were made as well as a knife being found. Without Pam’s quick thinking in letting us know what was going on, we would not have found those involved as fast as well did. Also great work from the Belvedere Safer Neighbourhoods Policing team who rushed out of the office to join us even though they were due off shift. PC Ash and PC Rob both made arrests. This shows what great work can be done by a NHW member. Crimes from the last week: Theft of a motor vehicle in Rutland Gate, Silver Spring Close, West Street and Lower Road; Burglary in Stanmore Road and Lower Road; Shoplifting in Iceland. Looks like we are being hit with quite a few thefts of motor vehicles".  Lesnes Abbey ward:- "Crimes from Wednesday 7th March to Wednesday 14th March. Burglaries on Tuesday 13/03/18 a burglary occurred in Bedonwell Road between the hours of 12:00pm and 04:00pm. Entry was via the front door, however the porch door was not fully locked. Motor Vehicle Crimes Between the hours of 10:00pm of Wednesday 07/03/18 and 10:00am Thursday 08/03/18 a vehicle parked in Wolvercote Road was broken into and items taken. Date for your diary - Police Surgery on Tuesday 20/03/18 between the hours of 4:00pm and 5:00pm at the Bostall Library, King Harold's Way. Follow Lesnes Abbey on twitter@mpslesnesabbey Any Burglary or Motor Vehicle Crime prevention information wanted, Contact the Lesnes Abbey team below on the details below. PCSO Dennis Hobbs 7253 RY Lesnes Abbey Dedicated Ward officer, Thamesmead East Police Base".  North End ward:- " On 08/03/2018 PC Brookes-Smith arrested a male for possession of cannabis after he was stopped and searched on Whitehall Lane and found in possession of a small amount of cannabis resin. The male was unable to produce any form of identification and as such, he was arrested and taken to Plumstead Custody where he later received an Adult Caution. The male was also flagged up as being of interest to immigration. Almost simultaneously while PC Brookes Smith and PC Telfer had the male stopped on Whitehall Lane, PCSO Pigott assisted with a call to Erith Town Centre in company with a number of officers including officers from Belvedere and Erith Safer Neighbourhood Teams. There were reports of a large scale fight involving weapons and during the chaotic incident PCSO Pigott detained a suspect and provided excellent radio commentary. As a result of great work by all involved, two males were arrested for a variety of offences including affray, possession of offensive weapon and drugs related offences. Unfortunately we did have a burglary on the ward during the early hours of 10/03/2018 on Whitehall Lane. The suspects have stolen a vehicle which was located on the drive after entering from the rear of the property and taking the keys. Reassurance was conducted with thanks by our colleagues from Erith and Northumberland Health LPT in our absence. It is worth remembering to keep car keys well out of view and in a safe place especially if you have valuable vehicles on the drive. A male was searched for drugs on Hazel Road on 13/03/2018 and found to be in possession of a partially smoked cannabis joint. He was suitably given a cannabis warning. Finally, we have been receiving reports of an increase in Fly Tipping on Ray Lamb Way (Erith Marshes) and at the entrance to the footpath near Erith Yacht Club. Although the council are aware we would ask residents to be vigilant and to pass any relevant information onto us as soon as possible". Northumberland Heath ward:-"Two burglaries in Northumberland Heath over the last week. The first burglary took place in Northumberland Park on Wednesday March 7th between 12.30 – 9.20pm. The victim was burgled previously in February of this year. The suspect entered the property by kicking a piece of board off the back door which the victim placed over the broken glass from the previous incident. A laptop was stolen from the address. The second burglary in Bedonwell Road took place between Friday March 9th 1800 to Saturday 10th March at 2.50pm. The victims were on holiday at the time of the incident and a family member was checking the property daily when the burglary was discovered. It is believed the family were targeted for Asian gold. It is unclear what was stolen as the family have just returned. The suspects entered the property having jumped fences in neighbouring gardens. The rear kitchen door was smashed in and an untidy tidy search was conducted in the property. Two thefts from motor vehicles this week. A light was stolen from a van in Walsingham walk overnight on Friday 9th March and theft of number plates in Ethelbert Road also on Friday evening". Thamesmead East ward:-"Criminal Damage to Motor Vehicle – Monday 05/03/17 between 9pm – 9am Lime Row informed by the mechanic that a very sharp object was used to puncture the tyre, believed deliberate. Theft of Motor vehicle - Tuesday 06/03/18 between 11pm-5am Thamesbank Place Theft of Motor Vehicle – Saturday 10/03/18 between 7pm – 7am Glendale Way PC’s Nana and Pruden issued Community Protection Notices to 2 males and 1 female all were aggressively begging in Wilton Road. If the continue they will be fined. PC’s also assisted Bexleyheath CID in arresting a person wanted for Public order Act".

Finally a short flashback to last Summer in Erith Riverside Gardens, with a video showing the Erith Lighthouse pop - up restaurant and bar. I gather there are plans for further events in the future, though at present the details are not very clear. No doubt I will be able to report in more detail closer to the time. Please feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

400!

A new African church is opening in Erith in the next few weeks. The Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries (see the photo above - click for a larger view) is set to occupy one of the empty industrial units on the Manford Industrial Estate off Manor Road. I don’t know if they have planning permission for the change of use from light industrial to a place of worship, but to be honest I cannot see much of a problem. The industrial estate is a long way from any residential housing, it has plenty of parking; the 99 bus has a stop almost right outside, and they will be able to make lots of noise and not disturb anyone. There has been a bit of an explosion in the number of African churches in and around Erith in the last few years – reflecting the demographic change in the local population. There is one adjacent to the hideous fish sculpture roundabout – The Redeemed Christian Church of God, which occupies the “Praise Ministry” at 33, Bexley Road - the former tyre warehouse behind the kebab shop. They tend to have very noisy services, and have been in trouble with the council over exceeding their permitted car parking quota. The Celestial Church of Christ shares the same building, though I am unsure of the precise mechanics of their co-operative arrangement, but it seems to work for them anyway. There is also a church using one of the industrial units located just off Birch walk, though details of it remain hazy – and their web domain seems to have a lapsed registration, so they may well have moved on. I recall on one occasion, the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s mini bus broke down right outside my front door several of the passengers got out and started praying for their transit van to be fixed by the almighty, whilst one slightly more pragmatic person got on his mobile phone to the RAC. One thing that unites all of these churches is their impressive and rather flowery names. I have done some web searching on all of them, and it would appear that they all have origins in Nigeria. Shirley once told me that generally, the more imposing and impressive an African churches’ name, the smaller and less impressive they were in reality. They all seem to make decent money from their activities; it will be interesting to see how the new Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries does when it opens – from what I have observed, business would appear to be good.

One thing I find that many of the local African churches have in common is that they invest heavily in high quality, glossy promotional material like the A6 sized card flyer depicted above. The card is of good quality, and the full colour printing would not have been cheap. What astonishes me then, after all this attention to detail, the leaflets invariably have one or more glaring typographic errors. If you look at the travel directions in the photo above, surely someone would have noticed the missing "e" (thanks Malcolm!) and "h" in "Bexleyheath" before the flyer went to press? Somebody should be kicking themselves.

Corduroy trousers. It has been a very long time since I have had a quality whinge about anything, so I am now making up for lost time. I was recently bought two pairs of corduroy trousers as part of my birthday present – both pairs were from Marks and Spencer, not some cheapo outlet. Both pairs of trousers have worn out with little over a weeks’ wear each. The area of wear is at the top of the legs, where the material has already worn so thin that you can clearly see light through them. Are there some restrictions to the wearing of corduroy that I am hitherto unaware of? I don’t exactly have legs like a rugby player, yet two pairs of supposedly superior quality trousers have worn out in what to me is a completely unacceptable time period. I would have returned them, but unfortunately I no longer have the receipts. Very annoying and frustrating. Avoid Marks and Sparks cords!

I am absolutely gutted to hear of the death of Neil Armstrong. The man was diffident about what he had achieved, correctly saying that he was only one of a team of nearly 400,000 involved in the Apollo programme; nevertheless he was the first human being to set foot on the moon, and in doing so he changed history forever. Whatever the naysayers and conspiracy theorists may say, Armstrong's footprints in the dust on the moon will be his memorial for millennia to come.

I have long been of the opinion that there is no point in having rules or laws if they are not going to be enforced. This applies to all sorts of situations, one of which occurs locally. The owners of Erith Riverside Shopping Centre have seemingly given up their publicly stated smoking ban in the centre – although warning signs are still evident, nobody seems to enforce it. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen people sitting at tables outside of the Mambocino coffee house / cafe, puffing away at cigarettes whilst directly underneath a sign prohibiting the activity. The security guard does not seem to do anything about it, so it strikes me that the smoking ban for the shopping centre might as well go out of the window. I don’t know what the statistics actually are, but it does appear that the percentage of Erith residents who smoke would seem to be somewhat higher than the national average. Personally I cannot stand the stench of smoke, but in accordance with my personal libertarian policy of “if it works for you”, if someone wants to slowly poison themselves to death, then that is their own right – just so long as they don’t affect others in the process. 

Fellow local blogger Olly Cromwell (real name John Graham Kerlen) was back at Bexleyheath magistrate’s court this week, where his legal team successfully appealed against the sentence he had been handed down in April for sending grossly offensive and menacing Twitter messages. The Judge, Philip Shorrock threw out the original prosecution, which had been instigated by members of Bexley Council. Suffice to say the judgement has quite a potential effect on a number of local bloggers, myself included. I had a very peripheral involvement with the case, whilst other bloggers had a more direct and proactive involvement. Mr. Kerlen has been vociferous in his derision of certain members of Bexley Council, and they have been trying to use the law to silence him. The implications to free speech had the case not been thrown out are quite worrying. Personally I think that Kerlen’s bad language and general lack of written civility actually dilute his message, parts of which I agree with. Nevertheless he did not break the law, as has now been proved in court. As I wrote back in April, to quote Voltaire “I detest what you say, but I would defend to the death your right to say it”. I get the feeling that Bexley Council will be less free with the vexatious legal writs in future, and not before time.

As the title of this week’s Maggot Sandwich update indicates, this marks the four hundredth blog update from me. Every Sunday afternoon / early evening since July 2006 I have posted an entry. There has been the occasional midweek update, when something of particular note has happened, but generally it is now well known that the posting will live some time after 6pm each Sunday. What used to just be a few lines from me venting my spleen about something that annoyed me, the Maggot Sandwich has evolved into what is now referred to as a hyper local news site. Each weekly posting is of a minimum of two thousand words, usually it turns out to be between 2,400 and 2,700 depending on what has been happening locally. Whilst I used to bash out the old style couple of paragraph updates early on a Sunday afternoon, it now takes me an hour or so every day to research and write some of the content. I do this on my work laptop during my lunch break, and in the evening whilst sitting in my home office. You might be surprised to know that one of the most time consuming parts of a weekly update is inserting the web links. I don’t assume that my readers will always know the context of what I am writing about, so I try and use as many explanatory links in my text as possible – my favourite source is Wikipedia, which contrary to some reports I find to be a pretty reliable information repository. The Maggot Sandwich is read in pretty much every country in the world with web access, but most hits outside of the UK come from the Commonwealth and the United States of America. 

Erith is getting its’ own wind turbine. There are already several such turbines located on the salt marshes in Lower Belvedere, and adding to these will be a single 500kW wind turbine installation on a small piece of industrial land on Manor Road, not very far from Erith Yacht Club. What is also quite interesting (and possibly quite ironic) is that the aforementioned Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries new church venue in Unit 4 at 209 Manor Road – almost right next door to the turbine site. If the church has (as I suspect) not gone through the correct planning process, then they could be in for a rude shock when the turbine is constructed; they do tend to hum and whine when you are in close proximity. It will be interesting to see what happens.

News has just reached me of a new club that has recently formed in the area; Amazing Bikes are a local bike firm who have set up a biker’s club, which meet on the last Friday of every month on the Darenth Industrial Park, out on Slade Green Marshes. Members bring along their customised bikes and tricycles – and a few cars also come along for the ride. One of my confidential contacts has informed me that the club is keen to be a responsible local resource, linked as it is to a respectable business. There has been some disquiet in parts of Erith due to the perception that a small handful of mostly teenaged bikers have been causing noise and disruption by repeatedly racing up and down certain roads. I am reliably informed that these people are not members of Amazing Bikes, who take a very dim view of such activities.

Erith was for much of the twentieth century the home of one of Britain’s biggest and best known toy brands. The Mobo Toy Company had a factory and offices in West Street, which opened in 1946. They made metal “ride on” toys such as the Bronco – a metal toy horse that the child could ride on, It worked by the rider sitting on the horse and pushing down on the stirrups, then releasing them and then the horse moved along. From 1947 to 1950 the Bronco could only be steered in a straight line, but in February, 1950 Magic Steering was introduced. This enabled the rider by pushing on either stirrup to move the horse in that direction. The Bronco was so popular that it stayed in production until 1971. The company also made a range of other ride on toys in a range of bright colours. The “market research” was primitive – the pupils of West Street School were consulted, and their choice of a yellow and red colour scheme became a trade mark for the company. The American Market was an amazing success for the MOBO Company. In 1948 they exported to the USA half of the total toy exports of ALL British Toy Companies. At this time Britain was recovering from the Second World War and steel was rationed according to the amount of goods exported. Mobo never had any trouble obtaining supplies because of their excellent export record. A New York office had been opened in 1948 at the Breslin Building, Broadway, New York and an American subsidiary formed Sebel Products Inc. Other major markets were Australia and South Africa. By the late 1960’s there was intense competition from cheaper toys from the far East, and after a reorganisation, the West Street works was closed in 1972 and all toy production ceased. You can read more about the history of Mobo toys by clicking here.

You may recall that a few weeks ago I expressed my concern about the seemingly unopposed spread of RFID chips in new debit and credit cards, and the fact that such chips can be remotely read by crooks with relatively simple equipment. I predicted that this is going to become an increasingly common vector for fraud. Some enterprising manufacturers have taken this information on board, and are now producing RF shielded wallets and card holders. The devices claim to block the signal from the card whilst they are enclosed in the device. Mobile phone companies are also encouraging users to adopt swipe able phones, though the initial take up appears to have been slow. The problem with all of these devices is that the technology is insecure. Our entire system of currency and exchange is based on trust, and we seem to be hell bent on handing that trust to organisations that have repeatedly proven themselves to be untrustworthy. It is bad enough that we have to deal with the serial offenders such as the big banks, but now the public are being asked to trust their confidential information to mobile phone network operators as well – the very companies that can barely keep their own networks up and running, let alone secure from hacking by tabloid journalists. I seriously question the wisdom of allowing such incompetents access to your personal information. Once your phone data and bank details are lifted simultaneously from your smart phone, you will be shafted by everyone from Russian gangsters to Nigerian scammers before you have a chance to draw another breath.

The video this week is of Genesis live in 2007 - during their European tour - the track is Los Endos.

Polo Golf.

Some months ago I promised to publish a photograph of one of the new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 buses now running on the 99 route through Erith, between Woolwich and Bexleyheath. The problem  was, I had not actually taken any photos of the buses, which was pretty remiss, as they run past my front door every few minutes. Anyway, I determined to get out and take some bus related photos, and here is one of them. The 99 bus, stopped at the Bexleyheath bound bus stop outside of the Londis corner store in Manor Road, Erith. Click on it for a larger view.

Pound Town has now successfully opened in Erith Riverside Shopping Centre; I visited it earlier this week, and it certainly seems to have a very wide variety of stock, and seems to be attracting a lot of customers. The one overwhelming issue that comes to my mind however is that the place is incredibly hot and lacking in ventilation - it was an absolute oven in there on a not particularly warm day. I am concerned for the health and wellbeing of the staff and customers. The place was an absolute hothouse - they really need to sort out the environment for all of the inhabitants - it was intolerable during my short visit, and would definitely deter me from dropping in again. Some air conditioning or plain old fashioned ventilation is in order.

Over the last couple of weeks I have received some questions about what the Maggot Sandwich is, and what it is actually designed for. The Maggot Sandwich is a Blog. A Blog is an online journal / personal diary. In my case, the Maggot Sandwich is designed to be a mixture of local news and personal opinion, topped off with a few amusing interludes and quirky stuff I have found online. It is designed primarily to entertain, like a magazine - if you pick up a few local tips on the way, great. I rely on feedback and tip - off from local people in order to create the weekly content. Needless to say, I am not a professional journalist or writer. Lots of people create and maintain blogs - it is now a very common way to bring local community groups and like minded individuals together - or just to have a quick read, and hopefully a laugh or two. The Maggot Sandwich is now read weekly by over 41,000 people from all around the world, and has been featured by Sarah Hartley in the Guardian, the News Shopper, and on XFM radio. Local MP Teresa Pearce is an occasional reader, as are the staff of Bexley Council, the local Police, and a number of local media outlets - this is in addition to random people from all over the planet. The Maggot Sandwich was voted as one of the 50 top blogs in London in September 2010 at the national online conference held at the OFCOM offices on the South Bank. I rely on information from readers and local residents to ensure the stories I publish online are both timely and accurate. Most stories are either originally sourced from local word of mouth, observation of planning notices that have been posted in the area, or other informal methods. This is an appeal to you - the loyal readers of the humble Maggot Sandwich. Keep me informed of local issues, events and quirky stories - especially if they involve something a shade on the geeky side - you know it makes sense.


The proposed frequencies to be used by the forthcoming advanced 4G mobile phone services may interfere with Freeview TV signals. Ofcom has extended the period for consultation on proposals for technical licence conditions for the award of 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum. The new closing date for responses to this consultation is 11th August 2011. Whilst not strictly related to amateur radio, there is an Electro Magnetic interference concern. The new 800MHz 4G signals will fall within the bandwidth of masthead preamps and TV tuners, adding to an already complex mixture for TV interference complaints. It may well turn out that the issue becomes part of the law of unintended consequences.

The video above shows the first experimental launch of a Lockheed F35C Lightning II fighter jet from a land based steam catapult, simulating an aircraft carrier launch. Britain is purchasing a number of these advanced, stealthy aircraft, to replace the Harrier. They are still some years away from delivery, and a great deal of work is required in the meantime. Watch the video to get an idea of what the aircraft are like. Personally, I wonder if the huge amount of money would be better spent on additional transport aircraft such as the C17 Globemaster, and a whole load more heavy lift helicopters to service our troops on the ground. The F35 is all very high tech and whizzy, but in these times of fiscal hardship, is it the best use for tax payers money I wonder?

As you may know, my favoured mode of footwear is the tan coloured steel toe capped builders boot (see the photo above). I find them cheap to buy and maintain, comfortable to wear and reassuringly stout in appearance.  They also have the secondary function in that they are a reliable and ever present defensive weapon. The unstated threat of a size twelve steel toecap in the nadgers tends to focus the attention of the scrotes and low lives in the area quite satisfactorily.  I do customise the boots to some degree - I don't just don them "out of the box". When preparing a new pair, direct from the shop, I remove the standard, chunky laces, that are more suitable for a construction site than the kind of offices I inhabit. I then give the boots a complete clean, using Punch Suede and Nubuck cleaner foam - to remove any little niggling particles left over from the factory. I then leave them to dry for 24 hours. The next stage is to thoroughly treat them with Kiwi "Aquastop" silicone based water repellant spray. This gives the boots an invisible waterproof protection that prevents them becoming discoloured if exposed to rain or puddles. The final stage is to replace the standard laces with longer, dark brown, flat boot laces from Morrison's. They provide better tightening and control than the originals. That leaves the new boots ready for wear. They may be rather heavier and more clumsy than regular shoes, but the level of wearer comfort and implicit security more than makes up for this.

When I reached Plumstead railway station on Thursday afternoon, I was greeted by the sight of a massive raid by British Transport Police and the Revenue Protection team from South East Trains on the fare dodgers that are endemic in the area. I entered the ticket office of the station, and immediately saw a chav in handcuffs (always a gratifying sight, and something I wish I was witness to on more occasions). From a short conversation with one of the Police officers, it transpired that the offender had travelled without a ticket, and when challenged had got abusive. He was restrained and his details checked on the Police computer. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that not only did he have a record as long as your arm, but he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, which the officers duly carried out - hence the handcuffs. Bunking a £4 railway ticket got him nicked and ready for sending off to jail. Some people really are just too stupid to be allowed out. As I consequently made my way home , I watched the  workmen undertaking the initial phase of the building activity between Plumstead and Abbey Wood railway stations which is now well under way, which is forming part of the forthcoming CrossRail project. This massive and long term construction project will link Abbey Wood with Maidenhead in the far West, and Shenfield in the far East. More interestingly, it will mean train journey times of 21 minutes to Tottenham Court Road from Abbey Wood, a journey time of 35 minutes from Abbey Wood to Ealing Broadway, and a travel time of around 41 minutes to Southall (a great place for a really good curry, home as it is to the Madhus Brilliant - one of the best Indian restaurants in the country). It all looks like a good deal for local public transport users. You can read more in detail about the whole Crossrail project by clicking here.

The Maggot Sandwich has now hit close to 42,000 visitors, and indeed, by the time you read this, it may have actually achieved this point. I guess that most of these will have stumbled upon it whilst looking for something else of more relevance to them, but it would seem from the figures that some still do tend to stick around - see the display below, which I culled from the Blogger users statistics earlier this morning. The figures don't give any information about repeat viewers unfortunately. 

I was in a particularly tedious meeting at work the other week; in an attempt to stop my own lower intestine throttling my brain in utter boredom, I determined to develop a new sport to replace the most time wasting and pointless pastime that is Golf. After a little consideration and some jiggling with rules, I evolved the sport of Polo Golf. Please let me elucidate. Polo Golf will involve a group of eight players, each equipped with an old style "sit up and beg" bicycle. They each have a choice of bat - a tennis racquet, fishing rod, cricket bat or lacrosse stick - the options are only limited by the contestants' imaginations. The aim is to use their weapon of choice to get the golf ball into each of the eighteen holes on the course, in the specific order in the shortest time possible. What's the harm in that? I hear you ask. Well, the entire event is designed to be a full contact combat - the players are able to attack each other to either deny the ball to an opponent, or just because bashing someone is a bit of a laugh when allowed as part of a sporting event. The players are permitted to wear any kind of protective gear they wish, with the one caveat that nothing can originate from after 1945. The reasoning behind this is that with older equipment, greater protection invariably means greater bulk and weight - no modern composite materials being available. In theory, a competitor could take part wearing a suit of field plate armour - but would be unlikely to get past the second or third hole due to exhaustion brought on my lugging around the heavy armour. A compromise between protection and bulk would have to be sought. A good combination might well be a cork life jacket plus a 1920's brass fireman's helmet. Oh, I forgot - there would also be additional marks awarded for style and panache. Obviously a shiny brass helmet might get points for elan, but it would clearly mark out the competitor for special attention from the others. All in all, gadding around a golf stadium on a bike, wearing improvised armour whilst bashing seven bells out of other contestants and potting balls into small holes seems a much more interesting way to spend ones' leisure time. It is designed to be a rather more civilised and cultured version of Rollerball for chaps. Do let me know what you think. All comments will be moderated and posted within 24 hours of receipt.

This week marks the 30th anniversary of MS DOS - one of the earliest products marketed by Microsoft, and the one thing that started their journey to world domination. They bought DOS from a third party developer called Seattle Computer Products for what turned out to be a derisory sum of money, and added some features to ensure that it would look and feel quite like CP/M to keep the older punters happy. Anyway, The Register does a far better job of documenting the history - which you can read by clicking here. 

In a similar retro vein, the presenters of BBC TV's "Top Gear"last week absolutely excelled themselves. After reviewing a restored and substantially updated Jensen Interceptor MK III, Jeremy Clarkson remarked how it made him feel like the star of a 1972 detective series. The team then went to work, to actually make the title series from the fictional show. It is spot on, and an absolute hoot - one of the best things on Top Gear for a very long time. It evokes the spirit of Jason King, Department S, the Persuaders and the Saint brilliantly. Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you the Interceptors...