Pipe of Peace.

The photos above - click on any one to see a larger version - were taken by me yesterday at the All Saints Church in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere (not Nuxley Village - no such place exists). It was on the occasion of their annual Summer Fair. This was the first year when Simon Archer has been the Priest in Charge, and the turnout for the fair was very large indeed, probably helped by the good weather. The only fly in the ointment was that the previous night a thieving scumbag had broken into the church administration office and made off with a laptop computer. Apart from this disappointing issue, the event was hugely successful; at the time of writing, the total amount raised by the fair this year has not yet been released. It was good to see so many visitors enjoy the church gardens. On a happier note, Local businesses have chipped in to help in respect of the theft of the laptop computer. Ace Computers in Bexleyheath have offered to donate a replacement laptop, and Advance Security Alarms, also from Bexleyheath are upgrading the church security systems for free. It does seem that good generally comes after bad, and I understand that no data will be lost from the laptop theft, as it was fully backed up. Last year the Summer Fair was also hit by criminals - around £240 of forged £20 notes were passed off during the course of the event; the church was one of a number of places hit by the criminal fraudsters. Nevertheless the overall impact of last year and this years Summer Fete was extremely positive. Over the last few years I  have heard several critics say that there is no local community spirit - I strongly feel that events such as the All Saints fairs show that this is actually very far from the case - community spirit is strong and positive, even when criminals try to disrupt it. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

There has been a story in the mainstream press over the last few days, which turns out to have a local link. David Gilmour, former lead guitarist of Pink Floyd has put most of his extensive collection of guitars on sale in order to raise money for his anti climate change charity. The 73-year-old singer and guitarist sold more than 120 instruments for a total of almost £17m. His 1969 Black Fender Stratocaster alone fetched £3.1m, setting a world auction record for any guitar. What caught my eye about the story was not the record breaking Stratocaster but one of the far less well known and unusual guitars also included in the sale. A Vox Guitar Organ made by Jennings Musical Instruments in their West Street, Erith factory in 1967 was sold for $87,500 - which I believe is also a world record for the unusual combination of an electric guitar and a Vox Continental electric organ in a guitar body. More than 2,000 bidders from 66 countries registered for the sale, which was held at auction house Christie's in Rockefeller Centre in New York. The auction house said it delayed the start of the sale by one hour after an "unprecedented number of bidders" turned up, leading a second sale room to be opened up to accommodate the crowds. Christie's said Gilmour's collection was the most valuable sale of musical instruments in auction history, beating a previous record held by Eric Clapton.

Many thanks to occasional Maggot Sandwich contributor and restaurant critic Brian Silk for the information he sent me in respect of an invention I had previously not heard of. Hiram Maxim (1840-1916) is best known for the invention of the automatic machine gun, the spring mouse trap and the fire sprinkler, along with the first heavier than air aircraft - The Maxim Flyer, which took to the air - albeit briefly - in 1894, nine years before the Wright Brothers. The experimental steam powered aeroplane accidentally took off during ground testing in Baldwyn’s Park, Bexley – it flew for an estimated 281 metres at a height of 1.4 metres, according to contemporary accounts. You can read more about the story here. Suffice to say that Maxim realised that his design of flying machine was dynamically unstable, and not viable for any longer flights. He abandoned the project shortly thereafter, leaving the Wright Brothers to gain the fame and fortune that went with the first viable aerodynamic flying vehicle. As well as being a skilled engineer and inventor, Hiram Maxim was a very shrewd businessman, and I think he realised that his own flying machine was an engineering dead end, and he decided to stop throwing good money after bad, and work on other projects instead. Maxim was already a very wealthy man, and did not really need the flying machine to be a financial success at all. However, he also developed the inhaler in the photos above. Click on either photo to see a larger version. The inhaler, known as the ‘Pipe of Peace’. It was used to treat throat and chest problems such as bronchitis. Soothing vapours from water warmed with a few drops of 'Dirigo', made from Maxim’s own recipe, which consisted of a mixture of liquid menthol and wintergreen oil, could be delivered right to the back of the throat via a long, swan-necked glass tube. In this set, the drug is made by John Morgan Richards and Sons Ltd. As word of the effectiveness of Maxim’s invention spread, demand grew and eventually hundreds of thousands were sold in the early 1900s. Hiram Maxim was an excellent inventor, engineer and very canny businessman. He realised that his main product - the Maxim machine gun was a weapon of war, and was giving him a negative public image; by diversifying into medicines, this would contribute to a far pleasanter and more positive personal reputation. In his autobiography of 1915, Hiram Maxim wrote:- "I think it was about the year 1900 that I had a very severe attack of bronchitis. First, we had the family physician; then he called in two experts on throat troubles; but they did me no good. They recommended, however, that I should go to Bournemouth and put myself under the treatment of a noted specialist. It was a failure. I returned to London and consulted the greatest specialist on throat troubles in England, and a few days later he sent me about half a ton of stoneware bottles containing mineral water. I took some of the water and followed the treatment for a time without the least effect. I was then recommended to go to Mont Dore, where they have strong and hot mineral springs and there are many doctors who make a speciality of treating bronchitis. I submitted to a very long system of steaming and boiling and taking the waters with no effect. I next learned that at Royat, not far distant, there was an English physician who was supposed to be the greatest expert on throat troubles in France. After he had been working on me about three weeks he said: "There remains only one thing for you to do, and that is to go to Nice and go through a system of treatment at Vos' Inhalatorium." I spent the next winter at Nice and was much gratified to find that I was greatly benefited by the treatment. It was very long and very severe. Every day I had to inhale an hour at a time; but the bronchitis had disappeared completely by the beginning of April, when I returned to England. However, with the cold and foggy weather of the next autumn the trouble returned as bad as ever; so again I went to Nice and went under the treatment. While there I heard a great deal of discussion regarding throat troubles—generally in the French language. Mr. Vos became very much interested in my case, perhaps more so on account of the comic sketches that I made for him, some of which greatly amused the Russian Grand Dukes who were his patients. At any rate I made a point of learning all that could be learned about the treatment of bronchitis before I left Nice, and the next season, when the trouble commenced again, I bought some glass tubing and made a few glass inhalers myself. By making a mouthpiece of such a shape that the vapours were introduced directly into the throat instead of medicating the inside of the mouth I found that my simple device was much more effective than the very elaborate machinery of Mr. Vos. When I became fully satisfied that my apparatus would ward off bronchitis, I gave a few away, and they all did very well indeed. The next move was to get two hundred of them made by a glass-blower, and these I also gave away, with splendid results. This created a demand, and I placed the sale of the instruments with the eminent firm of John Morgan Richards and Sons, of London, since which time hundreds of thousands have been sold and have given entire satisfaction. A short time ago, while returning from the seaside, I found myself in a first-class compartment with a distinguished-looking gentleman. He asked me if I were not Sir Hiram Maxim, and upon telling him that I was he gave me his own name, which I recognised as being one of the most eminent of the Harley Street physicians. He said: "I have tried your inhaling apparatus with very good results; it is a splendid thing; I recommend it to all my patients who have throat troubles. You have prevented an immense amount of suffering in the world and you ought to be very proud of it." This is the way that one of the greatest physicians in the world looked at the subject, but some of my friends not altogether unconnected with the gun business have told me that I have ruined my reputation absolutely by making a medical inhaler, and a scientific friend has written me deploring the fact that one so eminent in science as myself should descend to "prostituting my talents on quack nostrums." However, this little inhaler enables me to live all winter in England and large numbers are now being sold all over the world. So I think I shall be able to withstand the disgrace of having brought out such an invention. From the foregoing it will be seen that it is a very creditable thing to invent a killing machine, and nothing less than a disgrace to invent an apparatus to prevent human suffering. It is a curious and interesting fact that one of the gentlemen who has ridiculed me the most recommends these inhalers to his friends and always takes one with him when travelling. While at Nice I learned that the inhalants could be taken very much stronger if a small quantity of cocaine were used, but as cocaine was regarded as a poison, it was not expedient to use it. I spent my boyhood in the State of Maine, where there is a little plant which, although it is used for flavouring confectionery, really benumbs the mouth and throat just as cocaine does, only in a less degree. By mixing a small quantity of the oil of this plant with pine essence, the vapours may be inhaled very strong without producing coughing, and this little discovery is one of the things that has made the inhalers such a remarkable success. I suppose I shall have to stand the disgrace which is said to be sufficiently great to wipe out all the credit that I might have had for inventing killing machines".

On Tuesday afternoon I received an Email which has been a long time in coming. You may recall that back in 2016 I wrote at some length about the demolition of historic Belvedere pub The Leather Bottle. The photo above, supplied by Daniel Francis, shows the moment that the demolition of the landmark local building went under way, to the horror of those watching. On Friday the 14th June 2019, Councillor Daniel Francis, leader of Bexley Labour Group and one of the three ward councillors for Belvedere received confirmation from the Health and Safety Executive that they are prosecuting Balmonza Ltd. and its Director under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The first hearing will take place on the 21st August 2019 at Westminster Magistrates Court.The prosecution relates to the demolition and works carried out on the site of the former Leather Bottle public house by Balmonza Ltd. during June 2016. On top of this, another development by the same company has been refused retrospective planning permission after a long fought battle with local residents. The development at the rear of 238 Woolwich Road, which backs onto Abbey Wood has finally been rejected, after multiple complaints from local residents and a blatant attempt by the person behind the developer to yet again break planning law. Balmonza Ltd had built a huge concrete platform at the rear of the house, and it appeared that they were trying to build an illegal block of flats, actually inside the Abbey Wood. Fortunately after a prolonged and concerted campaign by local residents, this has now been stopped. What remediation work will be undertaken is unclear at this point.

Pretty much anyone who works in an office, runs their own business, or who works with figures to any extent will be familiar with using a computer spreadsheet – most commonly Microsoft Excel. Many will curse at them from time to time, but would also find working with numbers far more difficult without a spreadsheet. It was not always the case. The term “Spreadsheet” has been in use for several hundred years; originally. In the realm of accounting jargon a "spread sheet" or spreadsheet was, and is a large sheet of paper with columns and rows that organises data about transactions for a business person to examine. It spreads or shows all of the costs, income, taxes, and other related data on a single sheet of paper for a manager to examine when making a decision. The problem with this is that if a value on the sheet changes – for example if the rate of tax was to increase, then the business person had to erase the related values in the relevant column, manually recalculate the new value, and write it onto the sheet – this could be a complex and time consuming business. Accountants and business owners would spend frustrating hours wrestling with figures in this way. In the early 1960’s several electronic versions of spreadsheets were created, which needed to be run on complex (for the time) and hugely expensive mainframe computers. Forty years ago this week, the first spreadsheet application was published in the UK for use on a personal computer, and it became the first “killer app” – a piece of software so powerful and groundbreaking that many businesses bought a computer just to be able to run it. The program was called Visicalc, and it is debatably the single most important piece of software for business ever written. In 1979, personal computing was very much in its infancy; outside of large companies and universities, computers were really only used by hobbyists and engineers who wanted to learn about the new technology, and how to program. The Apple II had just been released in the USA, which was arguably the first computer for home use that did not require a high level of technical expertise to run. It was a perfect storm –the first widely available and (relatively) easy to use personal computer, along with an incredibly powerful spreadsheet program in Visicalc. Consequently both flew off the shelves; business people bought an Apple II purely to run Visicalc, which greatly pleased Apple, and ultimately led to their giant size and influence nowadays. Visicalc was ported onto a wide variety of other computers in the early 1980’s the upper screen capture above - click on it for a larger version - was taken from the Atari 8 bit computer port, which I used to sell when I worked at Silica Shop in Hatherley Road, Sidcup), and without a doubt it led to the adoption of computers in many companies that had previously done without. Once Visicalc became available for the then new IBM 5150 personal computer (what we now refer to as the PC mark one) the future was assured. By this time many other software companies had produced their own versions of an electronic spreadsheet – often with more functions, and Visicalc fell by the wayside. The creators of Visicalc had made one decision which benefitted many in the long run, but led to the demise of their own product – they did not patent or copyright it.  What I find fascinating is that whilst most software has changed beyond recognition over the years, the computer spreadsheet has stayed pretty much the same. If you were to time travel a Visicalc user from 1979 and put them in front of a Windows PC running Microsoft Excel now, they would find that the basic operation was exactly the same, albeit with many more functions and options. The principle has not changed at all. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly safety and security reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Another fairly quiet week crime wise on Barnehurst ward and once again I am pleased to report no burglaries. Unfortunately motor vehicle crime continues to be a problem. These crimes mainly occur late at night to the early hours of the morning with the suspects apparently just trying random vehicles so please ensure your vehicles are locked and parked under a light source if possible. Overnight of Thursday 13th June there was a theft from motor vehicle in Pennine Way, the owner waking up to find all the compartments emptied onto the front seats of the car. In the early hours of Saturday 15th June two males were seen trying to break into a vehicle in Colyers Lane, fortunately they were disturbed by the car's owner and fled. Most recently a vehicle was taken from a communal car park off Drummond Close, however this vehicle had been shown off road for over two years and had already had its engine removed. Our next community contact session will be held at Barnehurst Golf Course on Tuesday July 2nd at 11am so please pop along. On a finishing note; now that summer is here could residents please shut all windows when leaving the house. Burglars love an open window. Don't make it easy for them". Belvedere ward:- "The team have been made aware of a male that has been seen in Calvert Close in the early hours of the morning recently (although not every morning). This male has been breaking into several vehicles at the location and has stolen several items from within each vehicle. We have been informed by dog walkers around the Lesness Abbey site that there has been ASB taking place by groups of youths who have been gathering just within the wooded areas and causing issues. The team have been actively patrolling the location and will continue to do so. PC Holmes and PCSO Worrall recovered yet another stolen vehicle that had been left in the residents car park in Shortlands Close. It had been at the location for several months and had been stolen from Greenwich Borough. Our next Community Contact session is taking place on Wednesday 26th June at 12pm at Lesness Abbey ruins site". Bexleyheath ward:- "There has been one reported burglary on the ward along Heversham Road Bexleyheath on Monday 17/06/2019 between 11am & 1pm. Entry was gained via an upstairs window using a ladder. There has been three reports of theft from motor vehicles also: Friday 14/06/2019 – Mayplace Close Broadway Bexleyheath; Thursday 13/06/2019 – Broadway Car Park area; Thursday 13/06/2019 – Broadway Car Park – Exhaust taken from vehicle; Theft of motor vehicle along Gravel Hill Close Bexleyheath that happened overnight between Fri 14/06/2019 and Sat 15/06/2019; Tuesday 18/06/2019 - A hand bag was reported stolen from New Look store along the Broadway. Bag was taken from the back of a wheelchair. The team regularly patrols along drug hot spot areas and ASB areas on the ward conducting regular stop and accounts and searches".

Image: Left to right: PCSO Joyce Barlow (Crayford SNT), NW Committee Member Stewart Bartle, Mayor of Bexley Councillor Geraldene Lucia-Hennis, NW Coordinator John Whelan and NW Volunteer Andrew Davis at the Crayford Funday last Saturday.

Crayford ward:- "A quantity of plants were stolen from Mulberry Court on Sunday 2nd June between 19.00-19.30, the suspect and vehicle were seen on CCTV. A bicycle parked at Crayford BR station was tampered with on Tuesday 11th June between 08.00-18.30. A Renault had its windscreen cracked whilst parked at Town Hall Square between Sun 9th and Thurs 13th June. A black Lambretta, LX18CWD which was not in working order and had a broken front fender, scratches and dents was taken from a driveway in Dale Road. On Thurs 13th June between 09.00-23.40, a white Nissan Amera was dragged off a driveway in Shearwood Crescent, also inside were tools and a pressure washer. A blue disabled parking permit, sunglasses, tom tom and wi-fi box were stolen from a vehicle parked in Wolsley Close, there was damage caused to the vehicle. There has been a burglary this week, it occurred on the evening of Sunday 16th June, the patio door was forced and an untidy search made, a 32 inch Sony TV and other items were stolen. A catalytic convertor was removed from a Toyota Prius whilst parked at Stadium Way on Monday 17th June at approx. 11.30am. Number plates DE53YBG were stolen from a vehicle whilst parked near Maiden Lane junction with Gable Close, these should be on a Nissan Micra. A dash cam, bag containing money and bank cards were stolen from a parked grey Mercedes C180 in Halcot Avenue. A male has reported being pickpocketed whilst waiting for a train at Crayford BR Station on Tuesday 18th June at approx. 08.45-08.50, the black leather wallet contained a driving licence and cards, someone did attempt to use a card before it was cancelled. It was a fabulous turn out for the Crayford Fun Day last Saturday, really nice to meet so many enthusiastic residents. Our next community contact session is on Wednesday 26th June between 16.00-17.00, please come along if there is anything you would like to discuss with me". Erith ward - no reports received this week. Northumberland Heath ward:- "This week the team assisted Greenwich Borough with a large crime scene, due to a serious shooting in Plumstead. PCSO Lorraine has been conducting patrols on Bexley Road in relation to recent reports of ASB to various locations/stores. Any children who are caught acting in an anti-social manor will be reported to the relevant schools and home visits conducted. There has been an attempted theft of motor vehicle in Limewood Road, DA8 in the early hours of the Saturday 15th June, the vehicle had damage to the door lock. Also a possible attempted burglary in Carlton Road, at the rear of the property an outside pane of glass was broken on the double glazed window, entry was not gained to the property. At this time of year when the weather is warmer and windows are opened, please be mindful to close all windows when leaving your property. Our next community contact session is on Wednesday 26th June at 4pm in the Mill Road Library, please do come along and meet a member of the team and discuss any issues or concerns you have, or just pop in and say hello". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "We have had 3 theft from motor vehicle offences in the last 2 days, all of which have happened in daytime hours. Duriun Way at 1130am Sunday 16th June, Betsham Road at 1045am on Monday 17th June and Lincoln Close at 2.40pm, also on Monday. Items stolen include a mobile phone and a sat nav. Please please remove all valuables from your vehicles and ask any family/visitors to do the same, even if you are only getting out of the car for a minute or so. PC's Mark and James arrested a wanted male on Monday after he was seen in Budgens in Rainbow Road. The male is wanted for 9 previous offences and the investigating officer is aware and enquiries continue before the suspect is due back for a charging decision. Our team and our colleagues from neighbouring wards all assisted at the fatal shooting crime scene in Plumstead all through the day on Saturday. After 4 weeks stuck in the office with a broken rib, PCSO Mark will be back in uniform this coming Saturday when he will be attending the St Augustines Summer Fete from 11am. Our next CCS is at 6pm on Sunday June 23rd at our SNT base in Pier Road, Erith (next to Farm Foods)". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries On Sunday 16/06/19 between the hours of 07.00pm and 08.40pm a flat in Muscovy House, KALE ROAD was broken into, believed entry was gained via an insecure window. A property in TEMPLAR DRIVE was broken into, between the Saturday 08/02/19 and Monday 17/06/19 ,the resident was away at the time. The blocks of flats in both WOLVERCOTE ROAD and KALE ROAD are undergoing refurbishment of double glazing windows , scaffolding has been erected to aid the installation A Theft in a Dwelling occurred in Teeswater Court, MANGOLD WAY on Wednesday 12/06/19 at 02.10pm,the victim allowed a female into the property, when the victim was out of the room ,the female stole a number of items. Crime Prevention. Close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you're going out for a few minutes. Photograph and keep a detailed inventory of each item of jewellery and keep it in a separate place. Remain vigilant at all times. Motor Vehicle Crimes – Between the hours of 11:30pm on Thursday 13/06/19 and 06:20am Friday 14/06/19 a vehicle parked locked and secure was broken into in THAMESBANK PLACE .The Theft of a Motor Vehicle occurred in ASPEN GREEN on Tuesday 18/06/19 between the hours of 06.00am and 07.00pm. A vehicle parked on YARNTON WAY, was taken between 09.00am and 10.00am on Thursday 13/06/19.Unknown suspects broke into a parked vehicle outside of Trefoil house KALE ROAD between the hours of 21.00pm of Saturday 15/06/19 and 09.20am of Sunday 16/06/19. Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention. Did you know that your vehicle is like a shop window? If you can see ANY property left on view then so can a thief . Take it with you. Good news – Following good work by PC Pruden, a female who failed to appear at court for various theft offences was arrested, appeared at court ,now awaiting sentencing".

The image above was captured on a Ring doorbell at 5.30 am on the morning of Friday 14th June in Lodge Hill - someone stealing a resident's milk. Please contact NW office if you have info or similar to report.

West Heath ward:- "Attempted burglary in Dryhill Road on Monday 17/06/2019 between the hours of 9am and 09.30pm. The suspect smashed the rear kitchen window and attempted to gain entry by removing items from the window ledge, it is believed entry was not gained. Residential burglary in Preston Drive on Saturday 15/06/2019 between 10.30pm and 11.45am on Sunday 16/06/2019. The victim was away from the property overnight and upon returning, discovered the upstairs bedroom windows wide open. Several pieces of jewellery and a watch were stolen. There are currently no Neighbourhood Watches in either of these roads. Once again we have had a spate of motor vehicle crimes over the last week. Attempted theft of two Range Rovers from Bedonwell Road just before midnight on Thursday 13/06/2019. Both vehicles were searched and loose change and a pair of sunglasses were stolen. Theft of a wallet and mobile phone from a vehicle parked in Orchard Avenue between Thursday 13/06/2019 at 17.30pm and Friday 14/06/2019 at 4pm when the owner returned to his vehicle. A Number of photographic equipment was stolen from a black Mercedes in Romney Gardens between Monday 17/06/2019 at 11pm and 6am the following morning. The owner of the vehicle returned to find the doors of the vehicle wide open. An attempt was made to enter two Jaguars in Hollingbourne Avenue between 11pm on Monday 16/06/2019 and Tuesday 18/06/2019 at 7am. Nothing was stolen from the vehicle as the victim did not keep any items of value in the vehicles. The team have continued to carry out joint arrest enquiries and patrols this week with our colleagues from Crook Log, East Wickham wards".

The end video this week features a team who describe themselves thus:- "We are IKS Exploration  WHAT WE DO - We explore and document historic locations from all eras mainly WW2 bunkers Cold War Bunkers. WHAT WE HATE - We hate people who vandalise historic locations and people who give out explore locations on the internet! WE RESPECT PRIVACY - Some locations that are privately owned will have all traces of where it located removed. All locations we visit are open locations, we at IKS Exploration don't condone forced entry or any sort of break in at any location! if the location is locked or bricked up we move to the next location". This is a video of theirs exploring a former Cold War disaster co - ordination centre which forms part of Dartford Civic Offices.

The Installation.

I took the photos above yesterday whilst attending the licensing and installation of Reverend Simon Archer as the Priest in Charge at All Saints Church, Belvedere, and the Commissioning of his wife Tasha Archer in the role of Anna Chaplain - which I understand is primarily a role involved with the welfare of the elderly, and those suffering from the various forms of Dementia. As you will see from the photos above (click on any for a larger version), the event was exceedingly well attended; in fact the reception, which was held after the service in the church hall was so packed at one point that movement in the hall was actually extremely difficult. Apart from local parishioners, the Bishop of Rochester and the Archdeacon of Bexley and Bromley were in attendance, as was the Mayor of Bexley, and Teresa Pearce, MP for Erith and Thamesmead. Prior to his installation in Belvedere, Simon was the Curate at Christ Church, Erith. 

Veteran readers may recall that I first talked about the forthcoming, what was then termed The London Paramount Theme Park back in October 2012. The London Paramount Theme Park was originally scheduled to open at the latest by 2020, but due to a number of factors - not least that of major partner Paramount dropping out of the project a couple of years ago, the whole affair looked like it was dead on the vine. Last week the new consortium behind the theme park - the London Resort Holding Company, announced a new partnership had been agreed with ITV as the content provider - a bit less ambitious than Paramount perhaps, but still worthy of attention. The theme park will be built on the site of the derelict quarry site at Swanscombe, which has got to be excellent news for the entire region, if not the country as a whole. The proposed site features Europe’s largest indoor water park, theatres, hotels, restaurants and all manner of themed rides, all in a site spread over approximately 110 acres in the core resort, with another 600 acres surrounding; allowing for typical British weather, over seventy percent of the attractions will be under cover. The bill (at least now, but it is bound to escalate) is estimated to be in the region of £3.2 billion, and the park will employ 27,000 people, many of them from the local area.  It will be a massive boost for the economy for the whole of North Kent and South East London. One downside - whilst a lot of ITV content will be used in the new park, along with rides and attractions based on BBC shows such as Doctor Who, one other content contributor announced last week that it soo was pulling out. Aardman Animations, the creators of Wallace and Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep said in 2015 that the deal would “bring a number of the nation’s favourite characters to the resort and introduce them to a whole new international audience”. However, last week a spokeswoman for Aardman announced that the company is “no longer involved with this project”. A spokesman for London Resort Holding Company said: “The partnerships are under continuous review and when the agreement with Aardman expired both parties decided not to renew the partnership.” The park will be a complete economic game changer for an area that will encompass a vast swathe of the South East of England. Once the park is built and running there will be all sorts of permanent jobs needed to keep the place ticking over – electricians, security, engineers, cleaners, administrators – the list is as long as your imagination. The concept is to produce an attraction so large and absorbing that it will take a visitor around three days to see everything. It seems that the planners have been very clever in their thinking; they realise that much of the new economic growth is coming from China and the Far East. They realise that tourists coming a long distance will think “we can go to Disneyland Paris and ITV London in a one – week holiday”. The planners chose Northfleet and Swanscombe, as the area has excellent road and rail connections, is only forty minutes or so by rail from the coast, and is on the rail route to London. It also helps that the land in and around Northfleet and Swanscombe is dirt cheap brown field stuff that would be excellent for a change of use as a theme park. According to the London Resort Holding Company (the organisation behind the project, now in conjunction with ITV) want to present a very British feeling amusement park experience – they are not trying to emulate Disney, rather to make something with a unique and British identity. I would imagine the success of the Harry Potter Experience may well have stimulated this approach, though the Potter park will be miniscule in comparison with the ITV London site. The London Resort Holding Company team did not select Swanscombe / Northfleet for its new theme park on the ground of aesthetics (the place is full of old gravel pits, and is currently somewhat of an eyesore).  They chose it as the area has excellent road and rail connections, is only forty minutes or so by rail from the coast, and is on the rail route to London. It also helps that the land in and around Northfleet and Swanscombe is dirt cheap brown field stuff that would be excellent for a change of use as a theme park. People who complain about the potential traffic congestion that a large influx of new residents will do to North Kent should consider the huge number or well paid, permanent jobs the developments will bring – initially in construction and associated support services (the builders will need to eat, for example) and later all manner of trades and professions will be required to run the theme park. When I mentioned this to one local a few weeks ago, I got the response “But I don’t want to work in a furry character suit!” The reality will be that whilst suitable individuals will be required to dress up in character costumes, these will in a tiny minority. Most of the jobs involved in running a theme park are in areas like facilities – cleaners, repair engineers, project managers, electricians, administrators, security and the like – and these will no doubt have a wide appeal. The ITV London Park and the Ebbsfleet garden city will, if properly developed and run, be a huge benefit to the entire region in terms of economic activity. The one thing that does concern me over the town will be the price of property – if it is too high, the whole project could wither on the branch. Local workers at the theme park and surrounding businesses are likely to be on the low to middle incomes; there is no point in having half million pound homes in the town, if the average wage is in the region of £20 - £30K range. Developers will need to be realistic regarding their target market for this to work. Other parts of the country need the same, but the spur to building a new town is the availability of work for those that are going to live there – this is where Ebbsfleet / Northfleet / Swanscombe win out. The place is in the right spot at the right time. The project planners conservatively estimate that the park would attract around ten million visitors in the first year, and around fifteen million a year by the fifth, when there are more rides on offer. By way of comparison, Thorpe Park pulls in about two and a half million visitors a year. On top of the money visitors will bring into the region, there are the aforementioned new jobs that will result both directly and indirectly from the park. It is estimated the beneficial financial impact of the park will stretch from Greenwich to Dover, with thousands of permanent jobs being created both in the park itself, and in industries that service both the park, and the park workers themselves. The down side to the project is the loss of Paramount, and the on boarding of ITV has affected the project plan to a pretty dramatic extent. The earliest the new park will now open is 2024, and that date is dependent on construction beginning at the start of 2021, and I suspect that this date will be about as accurate as the originally announced date for the opening of the Crossrail project. 

The 14th annual Bexley Beer Festival is taking place at the Dartfordians Community Sports Club War Memorial Club House, Bourne Road, Bexley, Kent, DA5 1LW. It will be open on Thursday 9th May 2019 2pm-11pm, Friday 10th May 2019 11am-11pm, and Saturday 11th May 2019 11am-9pm. I hope to attend on the Friday, which is usually the busiest of the three days. The lower of the two images above shows the beer list for the festival - click on it to see a larger version.

Now, in an attempt for the Maggot Sandwich to be open, inclusive and neutral in reporting as possible, you can see the beer list above for the alternative Bexleyheath Beer Festival, which is being hosted at the Kentish Belle micro pub in Bexleyheath over the same weekend as the more established Bexley Beer Festival. I have had Emails from several readers with various opinions on the relationship between the Kentish Belle landlord Nick Hair, and Bexley CAMRA, which I am not going to go into here. Suffice to say that I refuse to get dragged into the disagreement. I wish to remain balanced and objective in my reporting. 

Following the Erith public space improvement public consultation, which I covered last week, Some output from both that event, and research carried out both by Bexley Council staff, and also by a couple of external consulting organisations has resulted in some initial conclusions, which I reproduce below for your information:- "Town centre users, business and stakeholders were asked about their ideas and priorities for improvement. Improving the retail offering topped the list (30 percent), followed by public realm improvements (28 percent), enhancing the connection with the riverside and regeneration (both 20 percent); and improving the culture and leisure offering (including restaurant and cafés). This feedback, combined with the wider evidence has led to the selection of the below key themes and suggested actions. The key themes for action arising from this vision are set out below: - Erith currently has limited place recognition and many people are unaware of its many strengths, including its interesting heritage and riverside assets. The Council, using its Greater Erith brand has been working to change this – and this brand is becoming associated with positive regeneration projects such as the Carnegie Building refurbishment and community events such as the Pier Festival. There are also a number of businesses and organisations operating locally which have an interesting marketing Erith to residents and visitors. However, there is a need for coordination of marketing efforts to ensure consistency of message and more efficient use of available resources. Part of place marketing is also to develop an inward investment pack to proactively market Erith to potential new occupiers to help deliver the improved offering demanded by town centre users. Accessibility and way finding – Linked to place marketing, the first view that many people have of Erith is from the A206 (Fish) Roundabout, which is not perceived by stakeholders to create a welcoming and attractive feel. Perceptions around way finding and signage have deteriorated since 2013. This needs to be addressed through both a review and rationalisation of the signage and improving the legibility for those who want to access the town centre by foot, bicycle and car. Work has already started on this aspect through the Erith Links project – which will improve linkages between the station and the town centre. Leisure and evening economy – In the town centre user survey Erith did not have any positive scores for the evening economy offer – and in fact the offer is extremely limited at present. Footfall data shows that there are very few visits to the town centre after the shopping centre closes at 5.30 (weekdays and Saturday). Whilst there are a number of takeaway outlets, a pub and a couple of restaurants, there is a distinct lack of diversity in the evening economy and the leisure offer more generally. Therefore there need to be short and long term measures to encourage a wider range of appropriate food and beverage and other leisure operators to locate in Erith – to build a more sustainable evening economy.  Events and markets – Linked to the Leisure and Evening Economy theme is the need to build a regular programme of special events to attract a diverse audience. These events can be used as a test trading environment for new businesses, and as trailblazers for new concepts, such as the London Borough of Bexley Town Centres Strategy - Erith Summary (Draft), Erith Lighthouse and Erith Kitchen events, which have demonstrated that there is a demand for evening food options in Erith. The first Erith Pier Festival was held in September 2018 and it is believed that this, and other events, could be developed in future to have a London-wide draw. Responses show that people miss the Erith Market and work needs to be done to investigate the feasibility of reintroducing a 21st century version into the town centre. Public realm – Erith scored the lowest of all of Bexley’s town centres with only 16 percent of respondents agreeing that it is an attractive place to spend time and only 20 percent thinking it had good quality public realm. The quality of the public realm needs to be improved and stakeholders want a greener town centre that has visibly improved connections to the river. Supporting businesses – There is a town centre forum that represents the views of businesses, residents and community organisations. However, participation by businesses in the forum is limited and the existing business community is small and relatively fragmented. There is also a limited offer in terms of work space. In addition to provision of a retailer-relevant business support programme – which is a borough-wide requirement – Erith would benefit from work to help kick start a business association, and the introduction of appropriate workspace in and around the town centre". Overall I think this assessment makes a lot of sense. Erith Town Centre is finally recovering after fifty years of under investment, and lack of attention from local government, all of which started with the demolition of the old town centre, and the construction of the horrendous, brutalist concrete shopping centre in the late 1960's and early 1970's. I can recall that as a child, my overall memory of the old concrete shopping centre was the smell of Jeyes fluid and stale wee - and I know that I am far from alone in that respect. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Another IT anniversary happened this week; the Nintendo Game Boy hit 30 years since it was launched. The Game Boy was the first handheld game unit that could use interchangeable cartridges. Up until this point, all hand held games came with just one game, with maybe a few variants of it. Nintendo had been a big player in the single game market, with a range called “Game and Watch” – you got a simple game like a Space Invaders clone, and it also showed the time. This market had slowed – and Nintendo were looking for a new product. Their head designer Gunpei Yokoi came up with a battery powered hand held unit that housed an 8 – bit processor manufactured by Sharp, along with a whopping 8K of RAM. This might sound laughably puny nowadays, but when it was launched, the hardware was way more powerful than anything else on the market. It had a grey scale screen (colour displays were still a few years off, and even then, they would have had a catastrophic drain on the batteries). The Game Boy was designed to fit in a child’s pocket, and could be brought out to play during car journeys and the like. What made the Game Boy so massively successful (it sold more than 64 million units in the ten years it was in production) was that not only were there a mass of great games available for it (estimates are that around 800 titles were produced, including classics like Tetris, Pokémon, Super Mario Land and Zelda) but that Nintendo continually released add – ons, such as a rudimentary digital camera and printer, as well as a cable allowing two Game Boys to share game content ensures that the system continued as a viable toy for many more years than the seemingly low technical specification would suggest. There have been many hand held games computers since the Game Boy, but none have had the success or longevity in the market.

The historic photo above shows the magnificent Walnut Tree House, taken back in 1880. It was owned by the Parish family, who by the looks of it were not short of a bob or two – the place looked 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. I don't know what the Parish family would have made of the location nowadays, with 24 hour motor traffic using the De Luci fish sculpture roundabout, it would definitely be very different from when the house was occupied. As part of the Ex Libris Erith exhibition programme, local historian Ken Chamberlain from the Erith and Belvedere Local History Society will be giving a talk about the Walnut Tree House Estate, the land on which the Old Carnegie Library was built. The illustrated talk will include fascinating stories of the Carnegie gifted library, the tram shed and the electricity generating station. The talk will be taking place in the old library in Walnut Tree Road on Friday, May 24, 2019, between 7:30 PM and 8:30 PM. The talk is free to attend, but to manage numbers you need to book places online by clicking here.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. The first report comes from Barnehurst ward:- "The team have been busy increasing Smart Water coverage on the ward. Beverley Road almost has full coverage as we are hopeful this will be complete this week. Once we have finished with Beverley Road we will be starting Westfield Road. If you live on Beverley Road and have not yet received a Smart Water kit then please get in touch. The team are actively patrolling Drug and ASB area's as stop and searches' have been conducted at Hampton House, Erith Road. One male was found in possession of cannabis. We will continue to patrol ASB hotspots as well as increasing our smart water coverage and street a week coverage". Belvedere ward:- "We have been chasing around these nuisance mopeds this week trying to catch the riders. At least one of the mopeds was stolen. Thanks to our colleagues in Slade Green the stolen one was found abandoned and locked in a garage in Erith. This will have forensics completed with a view to trying to identify the thief. If any suspicious mopeds are seen please try and note the registration plate and let the team know. Theft of mopeds is a regular problem throughout the UK. Please try and lock your moped, motorbike and bicycle up in a garage if possible. If not able to please secure it with a heavy duty chain. We are continuing an investigation into two males that we searched in Mary Slessor House a couple of weeks ago. One had a metal grinder in their backpack. One interviewed, the other to follow. We will look to charge both males with Going Equipped for theft. We arrested a male while helping out in Erith for a Domestic ABH. Took four of us to detain him due to his bulky stature but he was eventually placed in handcuffs and taken to custody. DV will not be tolerated. Our next drop in session will be on Tuesday 07/05/2019 at 11:00 at the Belvedere Community Centre". Bexleyheath ward:- "There was a reported burglary reported on Tuesday 30/04/2019 along Bellevue Road Bexleyheath. Suspect had gained entry from the rear UPVC patio door, items taken as well as the victims vehicle. There has been one report of an attempted burglary along Haslemere Road Bexleyheath on the 26/04/2019 – Suspect had tried to gain entry to the front door of the property using a crowbar. Also a shop along the Broadway had reported a burglary. Steel doors were cut open and cigarettes and cash was taken. We have had three reports of Theft from motor vehicles: Tuesday 30/04/2019 – Brantwood Road Bexleyheath; Monday 29/04/19 - 30/04/19 Heversham Road Bexleyheath Sunday 28/04/19 - Monday 29/04/19 Gravel Hill Close Bexleyheath. Also a catalytic converter was stolen from a vehicle along Rossland Close Bexleyheath on Sunday 28/04/2019. A purse was reported as stolen from a shopping trolley whilst the victim was shopping on Monday 29/04/2019. Also there have been several push bikes stolen from a bike shed along Sovereign Court Sterling Road Bexleyheath. This was on Tuesday 30/04/2019. A group was stopped in the cinema carpark but had made off from Police. This particular group are known to us and further enquiries shall be made. During the dispersal zone on the Broadway, two males were stopped and one male was dealt with for possession of cannabis, the other male after a foot chase was detained and dealt with for assault on PC Laing and offensive weapon. Patrols have been and still will be conducted in and around the Premiere Inn car park and including the cinema car park to help tackle anti-social behaviour. If you do wish to pass on information to Police then please contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111 Please do not hesitate to contact us via Twitter, Facebook, email and the ward phone. If you are after crime prevention advice, please look at the Met Police website which has lots of information that you may find useful. Remember in an emergency please dial 999 and 101 for non-urgent reporting". Crayford ward:- "There has been three reports of theft of motor vehicles: Wednesday 24/04/2019 & Thursday 25/04/2019 along Crayford Road / Town Hall; Tuesday 23/04/2019 - Mayplace Avenue; Friday 26/04/19 - Thames Road Crayford. There have also been five reports of Theft from motor vehicles: Tuesday 23/04/19 – Two reports made along Woodside Road. Between Friday 26/04/19 & Saturday 27/04/19 – Another two reports made along London Road, Dartford; 29/04/2019 – Mayplace Road East. The team has been conducting regular stop & searches on the ward. The team have patrolled known drug hotspots on the ward and two stopped for possession of drugs and investigations are on-going. The team have a drop in surgery planned for the Wednesday 8th May between 10am and 11am at the Vintage Lindy Lou's Waterside Gardens". Erith ward:- "We have had meetings with housing officers regarding ASB in areas, this will be ongoing for a while but hopefully we get some good results on this. Weapons sweeps around Erith including West Street; Stop and searches for drugs in the Erith area daily. We have been doing surveys along West Street with local businesses trying to get some feedback on any issues, a full update with be provided on this. Weekly crime update Burg Res Saturday 13/04/2019 Chandlers Drive; Burg - Bus / Com Friday 26/04/2019 West Street; Theft of MV Saturday 27/04/2019 Lower Road; Burg Res Tuesday 30/03/2019 Pembroke Road; Burg - Bus / Com Wednesday 01/05/2019 Rutland Gate. The next Contact Community Session is on Saturday 11th May, 2pm at Costa Coffee".

Northumberland Heath ward:- "This week the team have continued target area patrols focusing around stop and search for drugs offences, this has led to multiple searches and a number of persons reported for drugs offences. Please continue to send us information regarding drug use and offences that are happening near you, some of your intel has led to successful stop and search incidents. There has been a spate of theft from motor vehicles as detailed below. Please do not leave belongings on display in your vehicles, especially sat nav cradles and phone chargers, this may lead to the belief that there could be items such as phones and sat nav's stored in your glove compartment. On Saturday 25th – Sunday 26th of April a vehicle was broken into overnight on Parsonage Manor Way; On Sat 25th – Sun 26th of April a vehicle was broken into overnight in Swanton Road; On Sat 25th – Sun 26th of April a vehicle was broken into overnight in Cartmel Road, DA7. On Sunday 26th April a Red Honda motorbike was stolen from Northumberland Park, DA8 between the hours of 17:30 -18:30. The good news is that we have had no reported burglaries on the ward this week". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "At some point between Saturday April 20th and Saturday April 27th, 2 garages were broken into. One at Sun Court, the other at Grange House. Both are very close to each other. A bicycle was taken from one and a moped stolen from the other. PC's Mark and James managed to recover the bike after seeing it being ridden close to Morrison's in Erith. Unfortunately the suspect got away after a chase but there has been some good forensics recovered from items left behind. 2 vehicle crimes to report. Number plates stolen from a car in Appold Street overnight on Thursday April 25. A vehicle was stolen from outside Northend Road overnight on Monday 29th April. Several good positive stop and searches have been made across the ward with fines issued as well as interviews and cautions given. 2 knives have been recovered during a weapons sweep in Manor Road/James Watt Way. One was behind a fence panel, the other was propped behind a windscreen wiper! Our next Community Contact Session is on Saturday May 11th at 9.30am in the Forest Road café. Our ward panel have this week chosen Off Road Bikes, Drug issues and ASB in Rainbow Road as our Promises for the next 3 months. If you require more information about our ward panel and how it works etc, please let us know". Thamesmead East ward:- "Unfortunately we have had six burglaries reported on the ward over the past week. Between Saturday 27th April, 2200 hours and Sunday 28th April 0300 hours, three burglaries occurred in Manordene Road. Also later in the day between 2000 – 2100 hours, two properties were broken into, Longworth Close, and a vehicle was stolen. The team will be conducting a street briefing during the evening of the 1st May to update any concerned residents. On Wednesday 1st May, the team attended Northwood Primary School offering bike security marking. We held our Ward Panel Meeting on the 30th April, with Inspector Hebdon, Councillors Amaning and Ogundayo in attendance. The priorities set for the next three months were as follows - Burglary, Anti-Social Behaviour and Bike nuisance. On Friday 26th April, the team visited a victim of crime for what appeared as a burglary. However through diligence and victim care it transpired there were serious safeguarding risks present. The victim was subsequently moved to another address, after discussions with Bexley Council, and Bexley Police safeguarding unit. Excellent piece of partnership working by all involved". West Heath ward:- "There were two reported burglaries on West Heath Ward between 24/04/2019 and 30/04/2019. In Elmstead Crescent the victim was away from 5.30am hours to 7pm hours Friday 26/04/19.On their return he was told told him that his house alarm had gone off between noon and 1pm. The side gate to the rear was open and the French doors were insecure and the lock damaged. There was no sign of search and at the time of reporting nothing is believed stolen. He believes that the suspects made off when the alarm sounded. In Brampton Road states that on Tuesday 30/04/2019 at 0415 hours a male was seen on doorbell CCTV trying to open the garage door and then he gives up. He then hears a car and the suspect hides behind a hedge. The suspect then walks off once the car had gone. There were two reported theft of motor vehicles between 24/04/19 and 01/05/2019. A white Audi Q5 index LS65 WGW was stolen from a driveway in Chessington Avenue, Bexleyheath between 0258 hours to 0310 hours on Friday 26/04/19. Also on Friday 26/04/19 overnight 2200 hours -0730 hours in Burcharbro Road a vehicle was stolen from the driveway. There were also 6 reported theft from motor vehicles. A victim reported someone breaking into her vehicle between 1300hrs on Thursday 25/04/19 and 0820hrs on Friday 26/04/19.The victim states there was no damage to the vehicle and she has the keys to the vehicle in the house...unknown how entry gained into the car and sat nav stolen. On Sunday 28/04/19 at about 1815hours the victim in Westergate Road had parked his car outside his friends address and a black suitcase stolen whilst he was insider. It is unsure if the car was locked. Car was broken into overnight Tuesday 30/04/19 between 9pm -6am in Selsey Crescent and various items stolen. Car was broken into overnight 4pm - 6am on Monday 29/04/19 in Cranbrook Road and speakers taken. Vehicle broken into overnight in Seaton Road overnight Monday 29/04/19 between 5pm -7am and 2 pairs of Designer glasses stolen Prada and RayBan".

The end video this week is from local historian Martin Barnes, and it shows the results of the great flood of Erith and Belvedere in February 1953, which caused so much damage locally. Please feel free to leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Interesting times.

No more than a couple of minutes after last weeks Maggot Sandwich update was published, I got an Email giving me a scoop on a significant local story. As the Blog update had already been published, the story has had to be held over until this week. As some will by now already know, Simon Archer, Curate at Christ Church Erith will shortly be starting a new role. Simon has been chosen to serve as Priest-in-Charge (Vicar) of All Saints, Belvedere. Simon is a very popular local personality, and I am aware that the congregation at All Saints were very keen for him to get the job. I know that one All Saints parishioner who was asked to become involved in the selection of the final three candidates for the Vicar role refused, as she said she wanted Simon, and could not provide an objective opinion on the matter. In the time Simon and his wife Tasha (shown in the photo above - click on it for a larger view) have been at Christ Church Erith, they have made a large and very positive impact on the local community, church going and otherwise. Simon has a very down to Earth background, having previously worked for Apple, and also had a stint as a pub landlord. Simon’s final service at Christ Church Erith will be on the 31st March, before he, Tasha and the family move to Upper Belvedere in early April. Simon’s licensing at All Saints will be at 2pm on Saturday, 4th May. I am looking forward to buying him a congratulatory pint in the Royal Standard in Nuxley Road very soon.

A Turkish restaurant in Bexleyheath has been shortlisted as one of the best kebab shops in the whole of the UK. Hazine, which is located at 288-290 Bexleyheath Broadway is one of the finalists in the British Kebab Awards, which take place on the 19th March in London. You can read more about the awards by clicking here. incidentally Hazine has a five star "Scores on the Doors" food hygiene rating. 

As many local residents will have found to their cost, the recent 60 tonne landslide on the railway between Bexleyheath and Barnehurst stations has caused major disruption to commuters into London, and has also affected many businesses located near railway stations on the Bexleyheath line. One person whose business was adversely affected is Nick Hair, the landlord of the excellent micro pub, The Kentish Belle, which is located adjacent to Bexleyheath Station. Nick Emailed me recently to express how frustrated he felt over the ongoing problems experienced by rail travellers and businesses located near to the line. He writes:- " I sat down and decided the only way we can get passenger representation and make our line better is to form a community rail partnership. Therefore, on Monday, I got a constitution and a set of documents together that form the basis of the Lewisham & Bexleyheath Community Rail Partnership. It will focus on all stations from Lewisham - Barnehurst. Supporters so far include Councillor Charlie Davis (Con, Eltham), David Evennett MP and Councillor Brenda Dacres (Lab, Lewisham). We have invited all of the MPs on the route, all relevant ward councillors (well, the ones who sit on council transport committees) and a few other interested parties. The first meeting will be held on Monday, March 4th at 14:00 at the Kentish Belle where refreshments will be supplied. Those who are interested in the future of the line or who wish to volunteer for better stations should come along. Some of the local politicians etc will also be attending. Membership for passengers who wish to be involved in the AGM process etc will also be available for a nominal £1/year". This sounds like an excellent approach, and will hopefully mean that the rail service providers and those behind the rail infrastructure will become more accountable to members of the public that rely on their services. I have been aware of a few rumours about services and new trains from December 2022 since November 2017, but conflicting information has now finally been resolved, and a clearer picture has emerged from a trusted and very well informed local source, who has elected to remain anonymous. As many commuters into London will be aware, the train franchises for the Dartford to London Via Greenwich, and the Bexleyheath lines are both up for tender. My confidential source has inside information as to exactly what has been going on, and it will involve some pretty remarkable changes. The source writes:- "An announcement on the new Southeastern franchise will finally be made at the end of March. Originally, an announcement was to be made on Christmas Eve by the DfT and it was widely felt this was to be unpopular (hence doing it before Christmas where it would be suddenly forgotten). Sadly, all three bids (from Govia, Stagecoach / Alstom joint and Abellio / Japan Rail joint) were non-compliant. This was felt likely to be due to various other franchise issues such as First / MTR renegotiating the South Western franchise once they started as a result of Network Rail not providing infrastructure enhancements and the collapse of Virgin East Coast again due to Network Rail not improving infrastructure to allow more trains; the latter case resulting in less fare revenue against the requirement to still give the same premiums to a Government. Bidders should rightly feel protected against the likes of Network Rail not delivering especially as they are now a Government subsidiary (basically). The new franchise is expected to deliver a number of overall improvements including new direct services from Maidstone West to Cannon Street or Charing Cross via Abbey Wood and Woolwich Arsenal (a coup for Maidstone in getting a Crossrail connection); and also a new timetable meaning that instead of irregular departure times (example Charing Cross to Bexleyheath at 1700, 1721, 1743, 1808) everything will be uniform and in quarter-hourly increments. Services from Victoria to Lewisham will go up to quarter-hourly all day with these trains going to Hayes (half-hourly) and Dartford via Sidcup (also half-hourly). Whilst the idea of this was unpopular on the Bexleyheath line and got the big petition, it is sensible to stop trains pounding across the crossovers at Lewisham and ‘cutting each other up’ as they try and go from various London stations to various routes in the Metro area. Definitely the single biggest point of interest, however, is the rolling stock strategy. Due to expected continued growth, there will need to be either more high speed units purchased or some sort of better fleet utilisation. The Metro fleet, however, is expected to have the biggest ‘shake up’. I am reliably informed that the Class 707 trains currently operating on South Western Railway will he heading our way as their 10 coaches are perfect (especially with their low-density seating and plenty of standing room) for the Woolwich line. Woolwich Dockyard is also 10 coach only due to short platforms between the tunnels. I am also told that the Class 376 trains, deeply unpopular on Southeastern from Day 1, will be going to Southern and their rolling stock owner is planning to fit them with battery technology (!) and re-fit then so that they can be used in 5 or 10 car formation between London Bridge and Uckfield. If this is the case, this is an incredible use of battery technology in Britain as trials with the Class 379 (Anglia) and old District Line stock (VivaRail) is proving the technology very solid and the Class 350 trains are likely to be converted similarly when they come off lease from London North Western Railway out of Euston. The Class 465 and Class 466 fleet used on Southeastern Metro is likely to head for the scrap pile which, in some ways, is a shame because whilst they don’t look too smart around 97 of the 4 car units (built at York) are in sound technical condition and just need a good interior refurbishment to make them like new. That said, politically new trains are the way to go. We are likely to also see a wider fleet cascade with other trains coming into the region to bolster capacity on routes from Charing Cross and Victoria to Ashford, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells and Faversham: watch this space as I have two conflicting reports here. The Bexleyheath line looks set to re-open on Monday morning after a devastating week-long closure where many local businesses, and at other stations en route report huge trading losses. For many independent businesses, avoidable events such as these are terrible and threaten many.  I can think of 2 for which this has caused serious issue. Network Rail must, without any doubt, work to fix the embankments and cuttings on the Bexleyheath line once and for all especially as their own videos show their Geo-Technical Engineer saying they know it’s a problem area! A three month closure might be needed to fully excavate, stabilise and weather-proof / landslide-proof the Barnehurst to Bexleyheath corridor; but most importantly what this event has shown is how a lack of turn back facilities on the Bexleyheath line is so incredibly ludicrous and needs to be addressed. To give an example of this, on the Woolwich line trains can start or terminate at Charlton, Plumstead or Slade Green. During the Crossrail works, many weekends have seen trains from London finishing at Plumstead and then going back - meaning Woolwich and Greenwich among others at least keep a solid service. On the Sidcup line, peak extras terminate at Sidcup and trains can also reverse at Lee if needed. During engineering work at Lewisham one weekend they even operated trains from Dartford to Bromley North (!) and Orpington via Sidcup and Grove Park so Sidcup line passengers had a plethora of journey options. The Bexleyheath line previously had turnback facilities at Falconwood and Kidbrooke but these have both been taken away! This week it would have been a mammoth benefit to even operate trains between London and Falconwood to relieve pressure on Erith and Sidcup line diversions for people in Welling, Bexleyheath and Barnehurst. I am extremely disappointed. What this proves, more than anything, is that a London-facing crossover at Bexleyheath which could be installed for minimal cost could have saved various people time and money by allowing trains to get down to Bexleyheath, turn around, avoid the Landslip area and get back to London. All the stations on the way would have had a near-full service and with some intelligent planning they could have maximised the number of 12 carriage trains going along that route. Instead, we got nothing. Crossovers such as these are not only extremely useful in times of service disruption (fatalities, emergency engineering work, weekend engineering work, train failures) but also could be used for other purposes such as the Sidcup peak turn-arounds". I know a number of transport enthusiasts are regular readers of the Maggot Sandwich; please feel free to comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The Bookstore Cafe in the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith has had a very busy first week of operation. The new cafe and bar is open on the following days and times:- Wednesday - Friday 8am - 4.30pm; 6 - 10.30pm. Saturday 8.30am - 10.30pm. Sunday 9am - 4pm. The Bookstore Cafe is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. I was in the cafe on Wednesday afternoon, when local Councillor Danny Hackett (Labour - Thamesmead East) popped in for something to eat and drink. We had a very good chat (he's a Maggot Sandwich reader) and I happened to mention in passing the state of disarray in current national politics. He agreed, and the conversation was left at that. I now discover from fellow local Blogger Malcolm Knight that subsequent to my conversation with him, Danny Hackett has now resigned from the Labour Party. You can read Malcolm's article on the Hackett resignation case, including a copy of his letter of resignation by clicking here. We are definitely living in interesting times.

Following the Cambridge Analytica fiasco and the subsequent government investigations, it would be expected Facebook would be more mindful about the information it compiles on its users. A new report suggests otherwise, accusing Facebook of acquiring information that users would not typically expect to share with the company willingly. According to tests performed by the Wall Street Journal, Facebook's software collects data from numerous apps within seconds of it being entered by the user, without any sign of a prominent or specific disclosure by the app. In these cases, it was also found the data was transmitted to Facebook if the user didn't log into Facebook for authentication, or even if the user didn't have a Facebook account in the first place.  At least 11 popular apps across both iOS and Android mobile ecosystems were found to report data back to Facebook, with the apps downloaded tens of millions of times in total. Facebook is currently in negotiations with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over a privacy violations fine relating to the Cambridge Analytica scandal and its subsequent fallout. The talks, aimed at avoiding legal action, could result in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that extends to billions of dollars, far exceeding the current FTC settlement record holder Google's $22.5 million payment. 

The Neater Neighbourhoods project is a new Bexley Council  initiative to encourage residents to take pride in their neighbourhoods, improve neighbourly relationships and take action on eyesore gardens. The Bexley Tidy Garden Standard considers gardens untidy if any of the following applies:- If the garden is overgrown and creates an eyesore. If there is accumulated household waste, including but not limited to bags of rubbish, broken toys, broken garden furniture. If there are bulky household items, including but not limited to white goods, sofa, mattresses, fences, gates, sheds are in disrepair. If there are scrap cars or car parts in the garden. If there is accumulated building waste. Gardens which fall outside this standard will be visited by the Neater Neighbourhoods team; they will then discuss with the property resident the steps that need to be taken to make the necessary improvements. The Neater Neighbourhoods team will be working closely with other agencies, community groups and charities to offer assistance to residents where there are clear barriers to keeping their gardens within the Tidy Garden Standard. I am fully behind the concept of encouraging local residents to take pride in their environment and to keep their properties neat and tidy, but I do have concerns about the scheme. Elderly and / or infirm people, or residents with physical or mental disabilities may find clearing their gardens a real challenge, and a visit by the Neater Neighbourhoods team may be regarded as intimidating and threatening - I suppose it all depends on how sensitively the matter is handled by those involved. Conversely I have  concerns for the members of the Neater Neighbourhoods team when dealing with the small number of "problem" households in the area; I can foresee physical threats being made to the team by known criminal households. It will be instructive to see how the scheme pans out; I will be keeping an eye on it.

I have a rule on the Maggot Sandwich; I don't comment on stories that have been featured on the national news. The reason for this is that normally there is little point - readers will already be aware of the story, and it would be pointless in me re - telling a story that had already been covered by a "proper" journalist. Just for once I am breaking this rule, as I think the story has passed quite a few people by. Earlier in the week, the BBC News website carried an item on a nightclub in Bexleyheath that is holding monthly nights for people with learning disabilities and their carers. You can see the video the BBC released on the story by clicking here. Nyne Lounge, which is located at 267 Broadway, Bexleyheath has been hosting these special events for a couple of years now. The night club is situated inside the former Bexleyheath Snooker Club building. You can see photos of the place by clicking here. Nyne’s Shine event is on the second Tuesday of every month from 7pm to 10.30pm. The venue is wheelchair accessible and carers get free entry. So many organisations talk a good talk about diversity and inclusion, but actually do little in practice; it is good to see a local company really "putting their money where their mouth is" and actually taking positive action. I would imagine that the next Shine event at the Nyne Lounge will be even better attended than before, following the national exposure by the BBC.

The People's Question Time is coming to the London Borough of Bexley. Join Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and members of the London Assembly who will be talking to Londoners about their plans and priorities for the city. Gareth Bacon, Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley will chair the event. Topics up for discussion will include: - Transport, Safety, Air quality and environment, Housing, Growing London's economy, Other (culture, education). The event is free to attend, but visitors need to book tickets in advance. You can book your place online by clicking here.

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Fantastic news this week with no crimes of note reported. The team have continued to work some later shifts in response to the recent increase in motor vehicle crime, patrolling the ward in both uniform and plain clothes. We believe this has had a positive effect on crime figures with no burglaries or motor vehicle offences being reported during the week. These patrols will continue. We are always looking for intelligence around crimes and those who commit them. If you have any information or suspicions of criminal activity please let the team know and we will look into it. If you feel uncomfortable talking to the police consider calling CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111 this is completely anonymous and you do not have to give any personal detail. The team also attended Woodside School, Colyers Lane and gave a presentation to both the primary and secondary pupils about what we do, Stranger Danger and how to keep safe, both personally and online. The talk was very well received and we enjoyed meeting the children and joining them in the playground before the assembly. A member of the team will be at Barnehurst Golf course on Friday 8th March at 1pm. Please come along for an informal chat about any concerns or issues that you may have or just pop in to say hello. A big thank you to all our Twitter followers we have passed the 700 mark with 709 followers. We can be found on Twitter @MPSBarnehurst and also on Facebook at Barnehurst Police". Belvedere ward:- "The team are continuing our Street-a-Week initiative, and since our last update, we have visited both Stanmore Road and Kentish Road. There are many more streets to visit over the coming weeks, please keep an eye on Twitter or our website to find out where these will be taking place. On Thursday 14/02/2019, Valentine's Day, the new Lidl opened on the Belvedere Park Estate, on Clydesdale Way. It had only been open for a few hours when security guards at the store detained a shoplifter! The offender was dealt with by a banning order. Big on quality, Lidl on shoplifters. The team have also recovered two stolen vehicles from around the Battle Road area, both on Wednesday 13th of February (at different locations). More drug use is being reported to us by people congregating along Parkside Road, near to Stanmore Road and Gordon Road. Please contact us if you see anything suspicious with time, date and any descriptions. There was a burglary on Gordon Road on Monday 18/02/2019. The suspects entered via the rear door by smashing the glass. Please be on the lookout and report anything suspicious". Bexleyheath ward:- "There has been six reports of a burglary along Wenvoe Road Bexleyheath on the Friday 15/02/2019, sheds and garage broken into by breaking locks. Door to door knocking Burglary leaflets posted through letter boxes advised on crime prevention and enquiries made. The team also called as part of our street a week campaign a local initiative to visit at least one street a week and meet as many residents as possible across the ward. Between Wednesday and Thursday13/02/ - 14/-02/2019 between 2100hrs – 1500hrs - Rydal Drive garage broken into by cutting hole in roof items taken. Two males stopped Premier Inn car park Bexleyheath for possession of cannabis. On Wednesday 13/02/2019 – 0630hrs along Erith Road theft from motor vehicle. On Sunday the team door knocked on ST AUDREY and presented Met Trace a smart water to deter burglary. The officer who delivers your Met Trace pack will talk you through how to register your details and use smart water to mark your property. A theft of purse was report on the Wednesday 13/02/2019 – 1400hrs along the Broadway Bexleyheath The team has received reports of males on bikes causing ASB in the carpark area at the Premiere Inn, patrols are conducted daily. If you do wish to pass on information to Police then please contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111. Please do not hesitate to contact us via Twitter, Facebook, email and the ward phone. If you are after crime prevention advice, please look at the Met Police website which has lots of information that you may find useful. Remember in an emergency please dial 999 or 101 for non-urgent reporting". Crayford ward:- "Our apologies for a very brief message. We are pleased to say that there have been no residential burglaries in Crayford in the last week. We carried out a 'street a week' in London Road on Wednesday the 20th. We attended a meeting at Town Hall Square Community Hall with our partners from Peabody Trust, local Councillors and residents from Town Hall Square to discuss issues including anti-social behaviour. We will be visiting many addresses around Bourne Road in the coming days to ask residents their thoughts on their local area".

Erith ward;- "This week our patrol and community engagement took us via the Bookstore Café (see photo above). It looks very nice inside and well worth checking out. Other activity - Weapons sweeps have been carried out in west Street, Compton Place and Erith High Street Team have had a meeting with Bexley Council at the civic offices and with MOAT housing officers, which resulted in 2 joint visits to residential addresses with the housing officers. Theft of MV (Motor Vehicle) Thursday14/02/2019 Avenue Road - Victim left engine running on driveway when he popped in to get his coat and when he returned the car was gone; Theft of MV Thursday 14/02/2019 Erith High Street - unknown suspect has stolen the vehicle from the location; Shoplift <£200 Friday 15/02/2019 Farm Foods - suspect entered store and placed legs of lamb in his jacket and left without paying; Theft from MV Friday 15/02/2019, Erith High Street - By suspect taking victim's car keys, entering the vehicle, starting the car before being disturbed and making off with the keys; Shoplift <£200 Monday 18/02/2019 Farm Foods - Shoplifting by suspect unknown at location on said time and date shown; Making off Monday 18/02/2019 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, James Watt Way - drives off the forecourt making no attempts to pay; Burg Res Monday 18/02/2019 Tower Road - Residential Burglary gained entry through the front door but didn't take anything untidy search of the house; Criminal Damage Sunday 17/02/2019 at a newsagent in Pier Road - By suspect attempting to shoplift before causing damage to door. Community Contact Session for this upcoming week:- Friday 29th February at the Library - 1pm". Thamesmead East ward - no report this week. West Heath ward:- "The ward has had no burglaries this week. We have however suffered six motor vehicle crimes. A motorbike was stolen from outside a house in Denton Road overnight on Friday 15th - Saturday 16th February. Number plates were taken from a car in The Pantiles in the early hours of the Sunday 17th February and in Preston Drive three cars were broken into overnight Sunday 17th - Monday 18th February and various sundry items such as sunglasses, small change tobacco and a dashcam were taken. There was no damage caused to any of the vehicles and it is not known how entry was gained. Lastly, number plates were taken from a vehicle in Glenview overnight Monday 18th - Tuesday 19th February. The team held a street briefing in The Pantiles on Friday 15th February which was very well attended. Issues raised were the ASB and drug activity in the alleyway behind the shops and lighting. The team have been concentrating our patrols in The Pantiles and will be contacting the landlords to discuss the issues. Our next street briefing is in Brampton Road at the junction with Shakespeare Road at 1pm on Tuesday 26th February".

Regular readers may recall that not long ago I featured a short piece and video about the pedestrian crossing across the Angerstein Wharf Branch Line which is located between Charlton and Westcombe Park Stations. The freight trains one sees on a fairly regular basis travelling on the North Kent line almost exclusively transport sand and gravel to various sites in the region. They load up at Angerstein Wharf. There is a branch line which connects to the main line just outside of Charlton station on the London bound side. This branch line is believed to be the oldest privately owned standard gauge siding in the world. Angerstein Wharf was built and opened by Russian born Charlton landowner John Angerstein in 1852 in order to get rail access to the to Angerstein Wharf on the River Thames; it also ran deep into the old East Greenwich gas works. Nowadays it is purely used for freight. Many of the ballast and gravel trains one sees passing along the North Kent line divert onto the Angerstein Wharf Branch Line. Gravel and sand that has been dredged from the sea is collected by the freight trains for use in the construction industry. No passenger trains run on the branch line, with the notable exception of the very rare special trains run by railway enthusiasts. When I previously featured a video of the pedestrian crossing over the single rail line, I got a lot of very positive feedback from readers. Today I feature a brand new video of the same location, which was created by well known broadcaster and transport enthusiast Geoff Marshall. Give the video a watch, and feel free to either leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.