GEM.

Wates Residential organised an event last week, that was designed to educate local primary school pupils of the dangers of playing on building sites. Reader Julie writes:- "Ivor Goodsite (the mascot shown in the photo above - click on the photo to see a larger version) visited Peareswood Primary School to deliver a site safety assembly about the dangers of construction sites and to launch a competition for the children to design artwork for the nearby Park East construction site. The project, which is being delivered by Wates Residential and Orbit, in partnership with the London Borough of Bexley, will see 320 new homes built, of which 80 per cent will for affordable rent and shared ownership to ensure a mixed, aspirational and sustainable community for local residents. Ivor was joined by Wates Residential Construction Manager, Lawrence Baxter. The names from the photograph are: Victoria Oshunkoya (Year 6), Amelia Walker–Kane (Year 2), Millie Wade (Year 2), Laila Menebhi (Year 6), Mason Humpheries (Year 1), Amelia Rackley (Reception), Clayton Walker (Reception), Lincoln Walker (Year 1) Charlie Costen (Reception), Tommy George–Pankhurst (Year 2). Amelia, year two, said what she liked about the assembly, which took place last month, was “when I had to wear the hat because it was funny”. Victoria, year six, added: “What I liked about [the event was] when the builder came in and we got [to] see what they wore and told us what they do when they’re working.” If this initiative keeps just one child safe, then in my opinion it has been worth it. Observations and comments can be sent to me by Email to hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Early last week, Caroline Field, the Head of Regeneration at Orbit Housing Association Emailed me. Over the last month or so, she has been researching local historical figures. The reason for this is that the forthcoming Park East development in Northend Road, Erith will need new road and apartment block names. Caroline is keen for the new housing development to represent local identity. Whilst undertaking her historical research, Caroline came across a story that I had not heard before. As I have written in the past, during The Great War, a large number of women took over jobs previously done by men. Many of these jobs were in heavy engineering and weapons manufacture in factories located in both Erith and Crayford. I had always assumed that the women were exclusively working class people from the local area, but Caroline's research has uncovered a different story, which may well surprise many readers. In a contemporary magazine article, an unknown journalist wrote:- "The first contingent of Titled Society ladies who volunteered to work for Messrs. Vickers, Sons and Maxim as shell makers. In this group are Lady Gertrude Crawford, sister of the Earl of Sefton; Lady Gatacre, Lady Colebrooke, Mrs Pearson, Mrs Greig and other well-known ladies. The caption details that 'delicacy of manipulation is a feminine instinct' and therefore the work is certainly not 'unsuitable'! In August 1915, Eve in The Tatler was also listing some of the new workers at the Vickers’ factory: "Erith is the latest craze. Here, at Messrs. Vickers’, a gallant band of women are really doing it. Not just playing about, you know, but living at a hostel and taking the regular rate of pay – I think it’s not quite enough to pay for two stalls at the newest revue each week. Lady Gertrude Crawford and Lady Colebrooke are among the toilers, and Lady Gatacre too … Lady Scott, Captain Scott’s widow, is also working at this particular factory, but hers is skilled electrical work. (*Kathleen Bruce, Lady Scott, spent much of 1917 manufacturing electrical coils at the factory. She also devoted time establishing an ambulance service in France, working at the Ministry of Pensions and, in 1918, put her talent as a sculptor to use helping to reconstruct the faces of wounded soldiers). Vickers are willing to take a lot more women to train during the week-ends so as to have them ready for work at the new munition factories, for there won’t be enough men to go round, I’m told." Lady Gertrude Eleanor Molyneux was referred to as GEM by her close friends and family. The lower of the two photographs above his is of her, which taken September 2nd, 1890. GEM became the first Chief Superintendent of the Women’s Royal Air Force – otherwise known as "the penguins". Article from inaugural edition ‘RAF Spirit of the Air’, 1st April 1918). She did not remain in this position long, feeling that she was little more than a ‘figurehead’ in the organisation. Shirley Grey - In 1901 Lady Gertrude was living in 3 Willow Place, Knightsbridge with 6 servants. Her brother Richard was a Lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards, living in Hyde Park Barracks. Before the war Gertrude practised ornamental turning, like her father and grandfather. Ivory was turned at Croxteth Hall on a lathe. Gertrude continued this hobby after she was married to Captain John Halkett Crawford and she was awarded prizes at the Worshipful Company of Turners. Members of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) and the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) worked in the air stations of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The RFC and RNAS were to merge to form the Royal Air Force (RAF), however to ensure the specialised female workforce remained a separate service, the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF) was formed on 1 April 1918. In 1918 Gertrude became the 1st Chief Commandant for the (WRAF). This organisation aimed to provide female mechanics to free up men, who were needed to fight on the front. Large numbers of women enrolled for various occupations, such as drivers and mechanics. Gertrude would have worked on a base in Britain. In May 1918 Violet Douglas-Pennant became the second Commandant for the WRAF. The WRAF was disbanded in 1920.

Recently I have had  number of relatively new readers who have been asking me the same question. They all wanted to know where the name of this blog came from, as it appears so surreal and unusual. Well, I have told the story before, but it was rather a long time ago, and I seem to have picked up quite a few readers since, so I suppose the story could do with repeating. It all dates back to the beginning of 1987, when I first got involved with Bexleyheath based FM pirate station Radio Lumberjack (see the photo above of me taken in the Lumberjack studio in March 1987, a couple of years before I moved to Radio Caroline, and a big step up in the radio world). I got named “Arthur Pewty” by the chap who ran the station, after the meek and mild accountant character from the Monty Python sketch. Now I had a radio pseudonym, I needed a name for my late night show, which featured mainly album tracks. I was reading a book on the history of offshore radio at the time, and had come across the story of John Peel and his show on the offshore station Radio London, which was called “The Perfumed Garden”. I was trying to think of a suitably satirical alternative to this, when an incident from a few years previously popped into my mind. For a couple of years I took up coarse (fresh water) fishing, and would spend much of the school summer holidays either at Dartford Lakes or at Horton Kirby, unsuccessfully trying to catch a few fish. I sometimes used to go with a friend, who had a somewhat unique idea of practical jokes. On one occasion I was about to take a bite of a cheese and coleslaw salad sandwich when I noticed something wriggling around in the filling. I opened up the sandwich to find a small mound of maggots! My compatriot had filled the sandwich from his bait tin when I was not looking. Nice chap. Anyway, the idea came to me that how could I combine the bland and anodyne (Arthur Pewty) with something uniquely revolting (the Maggot Sandwich) and the name for my show was born. When I started blogging nearly fourteen years ago, it seemed logical that my web based voice to the world would follow my radio based venture from years before. The idea stuck, and back in 2010 it was voted the most unusual blog name in London, at the Online Conference hosted by Ofcom. So now you know.

The terrible, stormy weather we have had recently has had a knock – on effect with local drainage. A Thames Water pumping lorry has been parked by the foul water drainage pumping station in Appold Street, near the far corner of Morrison’s car park. I talked to one of the Thames Water operatives, and apparently the drains have been blocking up on an almost daily basis. The have rodded and jetted the pipes to remove the blockages, but they keep coming back. I recall this happened back in January 2012, when I wrote about how Morrison’s drainage contractors had to run a remote controlled robot equipped with a camera along a waste pipe that ran from Morrison’s to the waste pumping station. It would appear that the same thing is happening again, but from the opposite direction. The huge amount of additional rainwater that has been dropped on the area has also made the problem worse.  I would not be at all surprised if Thames Water end up digging up Appold Street to replace the pipework underneath; one beneficial side effect of this would mean that for a short period it might discourage fly tippers from dumping stuff – for some reason the road is a favourite for them. Only a couple of days ago I found an old, stained and smelly mattress dumped in the street. It had been carefully rolled up and tied with a length of rope, so the person dumping it had clearly planned the operation. The problem in Appold Street, and as previously mentioned, the nearby Morrison’s recycling centre, is that they are relatively quiet and secluded; someone with a van full of old lorry tyres or worn out furniture can easily dump their load and be off with little chance of anyone actually seeing them do it. I have spoken at length in the past to the Environmental Crimes Unit at Bexley Council, and they are acutely aware of the problem. The have told me that the area spanning Appold Street, James Watt Way and the recycling centre in Morrison’s car park has historically suffered some of the worst incidence of illegal fly tipping of anywhere in the whole London Borough of Bexley, though in recent months this has improved considerably. There are some plans afoot to further reduce fly tipping, but at this point I don’t know the details – and even if I did, it would probably not be wise to publish them.

Local technology guru and occasional Maggot Sandwich contributor Miles has a strong interest in electric vehicles; recently he sent me the photograph above - click on it to see a larger version. Erith has now got a couple of dedicated electric vehicle charging points. Miles writes:- "Not the most thrilling content I'll admit, but I decided to take a trip to the two Erith based EVSE chargers, looks like a collaboration between Bexley Council and BP Chargemaster. Both installations. I checked Sainsbury's Erith Road, and the London South East Colleges – Bexley Campus charger locations. They look quite nice, plenty of parking room and interestingly enough, Electric Vehicle only (I bet that'll go down well with the regulars). In theory both chargers can accommodate 2 cars where parking allows, both are close enough to the curb not to be an annoyance to any wheel chair or buggy pedestrians".  It will be interesting to see how much use the dedicated electric vehicle chargers get, as they do not appear to have gained much publicity at the time of writing. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

This month marks the 75th anniversary of the murder of one of the most heroic figures in 20th Century history; and something that has not been commemorated as I feel that it should. Violette Szabo was a major hero due to her work for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. Violette was born Violette Reine Elizabeth Bushell in Levallois Paris on the 26th June 1921. Her father Charles was English while her mother Reine was French. Violette had four brothers and the earliest part of her childhood was spent with her aunt in Picardy as her parents moved to London because of The Depression. Finally when Violette was eleven years old her family were reunited in Stockwell South London, while they ultimately settled at 18 Burnley Road where Violette is commemorated with a blue plaque. Violette was somewhat a Tom Boy probably due to the fact that she spent much of her time with her four brothers and cousins who were also boys. The competition to be as athletic as the males in the family must have been tremendous and Violette excelled at athletics, gymnastics, cycling and even shooting as her father taught her how to fire a gun. Violettes petite stature - she was only five feet tall, did not hinder her at all as she was said to be as strong as the next man. School days were spent in Brixton and Violette was a popular student who was much admired as she not only spoke English but French fluently. Violette left school at the age of fourteen and worked for a French corsetiere in Kensington, while later moving to a somewhat less exotic sounding Woolworths store located in Oxford Street in London. Violette had a happy childhood and although doted on by her father (who spoke only English and would sometimes feel left out of conversations) was head strong and would often have raging rows with him with one row resulting in her making her way back to France alone. By 1939 Violette was working in a department store in Brixton called Le Bon Marche where she sold perfume. In 1940 she joined the land army strawberry picking in the countryside followed by working in an armaments factory in London. In 1940 her French mother asked her to go out and find a French soldier who would come and spend Bastille Day with the family. It was while searching for a suitable candidate that Violette met Etienne Szabo, her future husband. The couple hit it off instantly falling in love and marrying within a very short time. Etienne was thirty one, while Violette was a mere nineteen years old but never the less knew her own mind. Once the couple had married Violette went to work as a telephonist at the GPO, while Etienne returned to duty in Senegal, South Africa, Syria and eventually North Africa where he was killed during an act of extreme bravery, as he led his men from the front in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942. Violette had meanwhile joined the ATS but following her initial training found that she was pregnant so had to return to London. Her daughter Tania was born on the 8th June 1942 and Violette returned to work, this time in an aircraft factory, while Tania stayed with a child minder. It was only three months after Tania's birth that Etienne was killed in action therefore he never saw his daughter. Violette was devastated by Etienne's death and soon joined the SOE in order to become a field operative and courier. Violette would be extremely useful to the SOE as she could speak both French and English. Violette subsequently became Section Leader of The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, a title that was created in order to keep her real missions secret and undercover. Violette took part in strenuous paramilitary training in Scotland where she was instructed in Field Craft, Weapons, Demolition and Night and Day Navigation. Violette then attended training in Hampshire where she learned communications, cryptography, weaponry, uniform recognition and escape and evasion tactics. Finally Violette learned how to parachute jump out of a plane and passed the second time around as her first attempt resulted in a badly sprained ankle. Violettes first mission was as courier to Phillipe Liewer who was head of the SALESMEN circuit in Normandy. The poem "The Life That I Have" was given to Violette as her code poem by Leo Marks, Cryptographer at the SOE. This assignment was mooted to be extremely dangerous, not something that fazed Violette. She travelled to Rouen alone under a false identity in order that she could investigate the circumstances surrounding the capture of Claude Malraux and an SOE wireless operator the month before. Violette reported back that over one hundred French Resistance workers had been captured by the Gestapo. Violette returned to Liewer in Paris where she had left him to say that his network was crushed. The couple returned safely to England together.  On June 7, 1944, the day after Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, Szabo was dropped back into France to disrupt German communications. She quickly established contact with resistance forces, including a young man named Jacques Dufour, and on the morning of June 10, the two set out on a mission by car, Szabo’s bicycle thrown in the back and her Sten gun up front. As they approached Salon-la-Tour, they came across a German road block. Dufour stopped the car about 50 yards from the soldiers and told Szabo to be ready to run. He leapt out and began firing his machine gun—and noticed, to his surprise, that Szabo stayed with him, firing her Sten Gun and hitting several Germans. He ordered her to run toward a wheat field while he provided cover, and once she got there she fired at the Germans from the flank, enabling Dufour to join her. The two began to run, taking cover in the tall wheat as they headed for the woods. Soon they heard vehicles in pursuit. Running, crawling, they tried to retreat to safety but found nowhere to go. Szabo was bleeding and her clothes were ripped; exhausted, she told Dufour she couldn’t go any further. She insisted that he flee while she tried to keep the Germans at bay, and fired judiciously for a half-hour while he found refuge under a haystack. When she ran out of ammunition, the Germans closed in. Dufour could hear them questioning her about his whereabouts. Szabo simply laughed. “You can run after him,” she said. “He is far away by now.” Szabo was turned over to the Gestapo, who interrogated, tortured and sexually assaulted her. She refused to cooperate, however, and was transferred to Paris, held by the Gestapo and tortured some more. Fearful that the Allies might mount a rescue mission, the Germans transferred her to a series of camps and prisons. On one transfer near Paris, British planes strafed the prisoner train carrying her. The German guards exited to take cover, but a group of male prisoners were trapped as the bullets hit. Szabo secured a jug of water from a bathroom and crawled to the wounded, even with another woman chained to her ankle, so she could pass jug around and calm them. By the end of 1944, Szabo had arrived at Ravensbruck, still wearing the dress she’d been captured in months before. There, she joined Denise Bloch and Lilian Rolfe, where they were put to hard labour, digging wells and clearing boulders for an airfield. They were subjected to more beatings, and women around them were succumbing to tuberculosis and dysentery; Szabo hatched several plans to escape, but to no avail. In August of that year Violette, Denise Bloch and Lilian Rolfe were deported along with thirty seven others to Saarbrucken Transit Camp located just inside the border of Germany. Their train was bombarded by allied aircraft and it was during this attack that the three women managed to get water for the other prisoners. Ten days later the three women were taken to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp North Germany, where thousands of women died during the war, then on to Torgau. The women were put to work in Torgau and survived under horrendous conditions albeit they were left in a much weakened state. Returning to Ravensbruck the women were placed in solitary confinement where they were brutally assaulted. Around February 5th 1945 Violette Szabo was executed by a shot in the back of her head aged just twenty three. Her two companions Denise Bloch and Lilian Rolfe met the same fate although these two brave women were so weakened that they were unable to walk to their deaths. Cecily Lefort who was also an agent of the SOE was put to death in the gas chamber, while all the bodies were cremated in the camp crematorium. The SOE had fifty five female agents of which thirteen were killed in action, twelve were executed, one died from typhus, and one died from meningitis. All the operatives who died whether in camps by execution or otherwise were listed as killed in action. Violette Szabo was the second woman to be awarded the George Cross for bravery. Her award came posthumously on 17th December 1946, and was collected by her daughter Tania. Violette was also awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government in 1947 along with La Medaille de la Resistance in 1973. Violette is also listed on the Valencay SOE memorial as one of the SOE agents who died liberating France. Violette and Etienne were the most decorated married couple of World War II.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "There have been no burglaries reported in the last week. The team have made two arrests, of offenders wanted for failing to appear at court and for breaching a court order. We have also been patrolling the ward and have searched several people for drugs. We continue to patrol drug hotspot areas. There has been mainly vehicle crime reported in the last week, three vehicle stolen and a further two number plates stolen. Between Friday 7th and Saturday 8th Feb – Silver Honda, GK52MPU, stolen from Eversely Avenue. Between Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th Feb – Registration plate stolen, ML60PKV from Swallow Close. Between Sunday 9th and Monday 10th Feb – Registration plates stolen, KY63BHU from Parkside Avenue. Tuesday 11th Feb – Black Yamaha, LG61WND, stolen from Parkside Avenue. Between Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 2th Feb – Black BMW, BD60VEM, stolen from Parkside Avenue. Please remain vigilant and report and suspicious activity, that you have seen around these locations. If you can assist with any information in relation to any of these incidents please make us aware". Belvedere ward:- "Recently, there was a reported burglary that took place at a vacant property in Gideon Close. Access was gained to the property via the wooded area of Franks Park that borders the rear of the property and the back door was damaged to allow access. As the property was vacant there were no high value items taken from within. The team have continued to carry out several high visibility patrols of affected areas/ surrounding areas. There also appears to have been a significant decrease in garage burglaries on the ward in the last few weeks. Over the last few months, we have been made aware of several discarded vehicle registration plates that have been found in Halt Robin Road. Should anyone witness any suspicious activity around that area of the ward, or discover any of these discarded items, please contact the team. We have also been made aware of several males that have been gathering from time to time to the rear of houses in Ripley Road. There have been several mopeds observed at this location when the males are present and it is suspected that drug dealing is taking place – the team have included this area in our patrols but have not seen any activity taking place thus far". Bexleyheath ward:- "01/02/20 1355 - 1410 Theft of Purse from handbag The Works Bexleyheath 29/01/20 1030 – 1200 Catalytic Convertor Stolen from Broadway Car Park 01/02/20 1430 Robbery of phone, bag and personal belongings, knife seen Town Park behind Asda – suspects arrested 01/02/20 1800 – 02/02/20 0600 Gravel Hill Close Theft from Motor Vehicle, damage to Motor vehicle x2 – coins taken from car, also car scratched and another car wing mirror damaged 02/02/20 1430 Attempted Burglary Gravel Hill Close male knocked the door, tried the handle and had another male waiting in a vehicle parked across the driveway. No entry gained 01/02/20 2250 – 02/02/20 0900. Criminal Damage - Bexleyheath Methodist Church window smashed by bottle being thrown at it. 03/02/20 1125 -1130 Theft of Purse Asda Car Park. Purse was put in open top of handbag and as victim was putting shopping in the car a male approached and spoke stating there was an issue with the car underneath getting her to look. He distracted her and after he left the purse was missing. 04/02/20 1200 – 05/02/20 0440 Theft from Parking Meter – coins taken Albion Road Car Park 04/02/20 0620 – 2230 Damage to Motor Vehicle Broomfield Close 06/02/20 1145 – 1200 Criminal Damage to Roof – male knocked the door pretended that roof tiles had fallen off got paid £60.00 to repair but roof wasn't in need of repair – resident has been deceived 06/02/20 1250 – 1400 Burglary car and keys taken entry gained through rear window Meadow Close 06/02/20 1900 – 07/02/20 0730 Criminal Damage to Motor Vehicle Braemar Avenue 09/02/20 1900 – 2100 Burglary Rydal Drive. Building items and tools stolen 09/02/20 – Attempted Burglary Braemar Close damage to back door and window – No Entry gained and nothing taken 05/02/20 0000 – 09/02/20 1805 Theft from Parking Meter – coins taken Albion Road Car Park. It appears that there are opportunists going around trying to gain money by deception and looking for properties to target. Please please do make sure that properties are as secure as they can be; thankfully although there are a couple of attempted burglaries they have been foiled by having excellent locks, lights, cameras etc".  Crayford ward:- "Just four crimes of note this week. Between 22.00 on 05/02/2020 and 10.00 on 06/02/2020 someone has badly damaged a garage door to the rear of shops in Crayford High Street, buckling the door, rendering the garage unusable, nothing was stolen. Front and rear numbers plates LV54HZX were stolen on Tuesday 11th February between 09.00 – 17.00 from a grey Fiat Punto whilst parked in Mayplace Avenue, close to Thames Road. On Saturday 8th February at 04.00 photographic equipment was stolen from a Vauxhall Astra whilst parked at Mulberry Court, Bourne Road Industrial Site, the suspect who was riding a bicycle was seen on CCTV smashing the vehicle window to gain entry. On Tuesday 11th February at 18.10 a motorcycle, registration number GD14OOH was stolen without keys whilst the owner was at the ATM at Sainsbury's, the victim saw two males wearing black crash helmets". Erith ward:- "Theft from and of Motor Vehicles across Erith is still high, we are getting out patrolling the areas that are worst affected, this is in both uniform and plain clothes. We have been carrying out weapon sweeps, so far we are pleased to say we haven't found any weapons in and around Erith.Theft of Motor Vehicle, Thursday 6/02/2020 West Street, Theft from Motor Vehicle Saturday 8/02/2020 Winifred Road, Theft of Motor Vehicle Saturday 8/02/2020 Erith Road, Theft from Motor Vehicle Monday 11/02/2020 near Farmfood, Erith High Street, Shoplift value £200 Tuesday 12/02/2020 Wilkinson, Erith High Street, Making off from petrol station,Tuesday 12/02/2020 James Watt Way". Northumberland Heath ward - no report received this week. Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Great partnership work this last week by our SNT along with Orbit Housing, Bexley Council and London Fire Brigade. Threats were made to a flat in Orchard House last week. We conducted door to door enquiries for reassurance and to gain intel on if anyone saw anything. Steps were made by the council and Orbit to get the victim out of the property and the flat was made safe by Orbit and LFB. Reassurance patrols will continue by us over the coming days. An attempted shed burglary was made overnight on Saturday 8th to Sunday 9th of February in Ely Close. Access was not gained and the door has been made much more secure now". Thamesmead East ward:- "Attempted Murder - Manordeane Road On Friday 7/2/20 6:03pm A 28 year old male received a gunshot wound to the stomach, two suspects have been arrested and charged to court. Residents from Grange Crescent, Manordene Road were visited by the team to give reassurance. Motor Vehicle Crime - St Martins Close Tuesday 4/2/20 10pm – 5/2/20 8am Number Plates removed by suspect/s unknown. Kale Road Tuesday 4/2/20 midnight – 6am Passenger side wing mirror removed by suspect/s unknown. Pointer Close Friday 7/2/20 6:30pm – 8:30am Front and rear number plates removed by suspect/s unknown. Thamesbank Place Sunday 9/2/20 8:20pm – 8:40pm victim disturbed a male under victims Lexus with a torch probably looking at the catalytic converter. On Saturday PC's Nana and John attended The Thames Innovation Centre to give a talk about violent crime, youths from Lion of Judah International Christian Ministries age 11 and above attended". West Heath ward:- "Excellent news this week no burglaries have been reported to us. On Monday February 3rd at just after 4am, two males were seen trying car doors in Canberra Road he first male was described as being in his late twenties, F600. The second male was described as being quite small and younger than the other male. The next drop in police surgeries will be held on Friday February 7th at 2pm, Thursday February 13th at 4pm and Saturday February 22nd at 1pm. These sessions will be held at the Bostall Library, King Harolds Way. One residential burglary in Preston Drive on Sunday 9th February between 02.59 – 03.01.The victim was woken upstairs to hear the dog barking downstairs . The victim looked out of the upstairs bedroom window and saw a vehicle running and parked in front of her house in the middle of the road. The vehicle was black and the victim believed it looked similar to a Toyota Prius but could not see the number plates. It was not until the following morning that the victim realised that a burglary had taken place. Entry was gained via the front door and a black North Face jacket was stolen. Two commercial burglaries in Hadlow Road and the Pantiles both in the early hours of Sunday February 9th.On both occasions an attempt to gain access to the premises was made by damaging the shop shutters. Entry was not gained. One theft of a front registration plate in Osbourne Road between the hours of 1200 on Sunday February 9th and 20.20 on Monday February 10th. A set of number plates were also stolen from a vehicle parked in Burcharbro Road Saturday February 8th between Midday and 22.30. Theft of a catalytic converter in Knee Hill on Thursday February 6th at 13.20. The team spoke to a female in Leckwith Avenue following concerns that she had been sleeping in a vehicle with the engine running all night .The female had recently been made homeless and left the location after speaking to officers and has not returned".

The end video this week features Erith Model Railway Exhibition 2020, which took place over the weekend of the 26-27th of January, and was held at the Longfield Academy. Please feel free to leave comments by Emailing me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Bridge or Tunnel?

I took the photo above last week whilst out one evening with my camera. I was amazed to see a young adult fox on the roof of the Vinton Metals warehouse, off Manor Road. The photo shows the fox reacting to the sound of my camera's shutter. The animal was scruffy and quite possibly suffering from Mange. It stayed on the roof for around five minutes before disappearing from view. Foxes in the local area have become almost completely indifferent to people; I saw a fox (it may have even been the same one as in the picture) on the footpath a couple of weeks ago. It had been going through a dustbin bag put out for collection. I moved toward it, expecting it to run off, but it just sat there watching me with evident curiosity. I then saw it again on Thursday evening when it was sitting on top of a wheelie bin, no doubt trying to get inside. It has absolutely no fear at all. 

The debate about the possible new cross Thames bridge in South East London drags on. After doing some research, I was astonished to discover that plans have existed in one form or another since 1943, where it was due to form part of the post war London regeneration plan. Then it was seriously proposed in 1979, before being subjected to a lengthy public inquiry, redesigned, subjected to a further inquiry, approved in 1991, cancelled in 1993, revived in 2002, subjected to another inquiry in 2005 – and finally cancelled again in 2008, after pressure from the London Borough of Bexley, who were concerned that there was no provision for improving the road infrastructure on the South side of the bridge to prevent serious congestion. If you look at London as a whole (in essence Greater London already functions as a semi independent state) there are twenty two road and rail crossings to the West of Tower Bridge, and only two to the East – the Rotherhithe and Blackwall tunnels (the Dartford QE2 tunnel and bridge do not count as they are outside Greater London). Bearing in mind that more than fifty percent of the population lives to the East, and a majority of the growth in both housing and jobs is going to come in the future, it seems curious that so little priority seems to have been given to improvements in communications to the East. There are practical problems; as the river travels eastwards, it becomes far wider as it heads towards the Thames Estuary. Any crossing will by nature have to be larger and more expensive than those in the West. This is one of the reasons I recently suggested a runnel crossing between Rainham and Lower Belvedere as an alternative to a bridge between Beckton and Thamesmead at Gallions reach, which seems to be the solution favoured by most of the current group of decision makers. Personally I think the Gallions Reach option is a poor one; whilst the Beckton side of the river is mostly a brown field site, with old factories and other structures which could easily be demolished to make way for bridge approach roads, the same cannot be said of the Thamesmead side – where a large and well established housing estate and residential nursing home are situated. It is evident to me that the planners of the Gallions Reach bridge have not spent any time in the area that the proposed structure will affect, or they would be aware of the unsuitability of the solution they propose. Studies have been carried out as the negative impact that additional traffic coming up Knee Hill in Abbey Wood – a narrow road through Abbey Wood that struggles with anything larger than a small car, yet carries HGV’s in a constant stream, which would only get worse with traffic from a proposed bridge. The areas surrounding Knee Hill would also have their own problems – Wickham Lane in Welling is already heavily congested, which would only get worse, as would the side streets which extra traffic would no doubt use as a “rat run”. There would be additional air pollution on top of any increased congestion levels. If this was not enough, any new bridge would need to be high to allow ships underneath, both to the new cruise terminal adjacent to the O2 Arena, and to the Pool of London. If a bridge had sufficient air draught to allow large vessels to fit underneath, it would also need to have very long approach roads to avoid a too steep gradient during the climb up and down from the cross – river bridge span. Conversely my proposed tunnel would have none of those restrictions, and would connect the A13 in South Essex with the A2, and the South Circular in Kent. I feel that other crossings on the East of London will also be required, especially with the creation of Ebbsfleet Garden City (or whatever name the scheme finally gets given) and the Paramount theme park. It seems as if my outline plan for the “Arthur Pewty Memorial Tunnel” (image here) between Rainham in Essex and Lower Belvedere in Kent have at least been in part listened to by the civic planners. On Wednesday an announcement was made that a formal proposal for a road bridge between the two towns was to be launched by Transport for London, in addition to the Beckton / Thamesmead one, as previously described. TfL’s argument is that having two new river crossings would mean that the volume of traffic over each would be reduced, relieving any potential local congestion problems. My concern is that the river is very wide at Lower Belvedere, and any bridge built there would need to be high, long and consequently very expensive. I am still of the opinion that my tunnel proposal is a superior solution. Please feel free to leave your comments below, or Email me privately to hugh.neal@gmail.com. I just hope that planning consent does not take over seventy years like the current scheme already has.

The cinema industry is starting to get very nervous about the forthcoming Google Glass wearable computer. Vue Cinemas and the Cinema Exhibitor’s Association had bilaterally announced that Google Glass wearers will be banned from their cinemas. They have concerns that the camera in the Google Glass headset will be used to pirate movies by recording them from the screen. They seem to have overlooked the fact that the current version of Google Glass can only record 720p video for a maximum of around 45 minutes, and is thus incapable of recording an entire movie, and even then not in true high definition. They also have a “recording in progress” light which fairly blatantly shows observers what the Glass wearer is doing. I understand the wariness of the cinemas though; the technology being showcased in the current prototype version will be upgraded to increase the devices’ capability before the proper commercial launch; I would not be at all surprised if the actual production version of Google Glass bypasses 1080 HD, and goes directly to 4K resolution. This would be a genuine boon to potential pirates, though any films recorded in this manner would still be as obviously low quality, wobbly and pirated as the current ones readily available on dodgy DVD on Morrison’s car park in Thamesmead from the Chinese pirate DVD sellers. To be honest I think there is just as much resistance to the cinema industry to new, potentially disruptive technology they neither understand or want.

A story from the News Shopper caught my attention this week;  a lady called Michelle Roberts got sent  down for three and a half years for a range of thefts, including from her own relatives at her Uncle’s funeral in Southend in 2011, and from other friends and well wishers when she fraudulently claimed that her son had cancer so that she could obtain money for his treatment. You can read the story here. Many readers think she only got six months in prison, but the judge sentenced her to six months for each offence, which are to run concurrently. What this news article does not say is that I used to know her when she worked at the Gallions View Nursing Home in Thamesmead, where my Dad spent the last six and a half years of his life. She was a care assistant there, and to be honest she was not bad; we certainly would not have taken her for a habitual thief and liar. I notice in the photo the News Shopper use, Roberts has a stethoscope around her neck. This must have just been a pose, as she was not a qualified nurse, or even a senior member of the carers. Knowing the Gallions View team as a whole, I am sure that they will be horrified at the news that a former employee could turn out to be such a nasty and dishonest piece of work.

Regular readers may be aware that I run an occasional feature on independent local businesses, and how their work benefits the economy. This week I have received an Email from Dave Parsons, the boss of Kort Propulsion – a world famous and long established marine engineering company that are based in the old River Police station in Erith High street, right on the river front. The Email contained a press release concerning a large export order the company have recently won:- "Kort Propulsion receives order for further 28 x 7.5M RAMEWC Tugboats in Egypt. Kort Propulsion has received an order for the second batch of twenty eight Tug boats for the Egyptian Army. The 7.5M RAMEWC tug boat which has a requirement of 8 Knots and 2.3T Bollard Pull. The first fourteen recently completed by Kort exceeded the Egyptian Armies expectations and requirements. We are delighted to receive this positive feedback and the new order, it secures the future expansion plans of Kort Propulsion. Managing Director David Parsons comments "For the past 6 years we have been working on this project which started with an order for 1 Tugboat, Fourteen more in 2012, and now the quantity is increasing to Twenty eight. This new order well into 7 figures gives the platform for further growth in the company. "This is a special day and a mile stone for the company, my late Father Norman who started this project back in 2008 will be very proud of what we have achieved in such a small period of time. We are continuing his 40+ years of service to Kort and proving we can continue in his footsteps for many years to come." This new order for Twenty eight boat sets from Alexandria Shipyard will consist of Deutz Air Cooled Engines, ZF Gearboxes, Shafting, Propellers, Kort Nozzle Rudders, Steering Gear, all of the Fenders on board, Electrical Controls, and switchboards. Alignment and commissioning will be carried out by Chock Design UK in Alexandria, Chock Design was acquired by Kort Propulsion in 2013 and helps strengthen the group, this company specialise in mounting and alignment of rotating machinery, it also has the distribution rights to the RotaChock adjustable mounting product which are being used in the mounting of the prime movers in this project. "With further quantities due in 2015, this provides a great platform to build on our success in previous years. It's exciting times ahead for the company. We have added new members to our team with Naval Architects in our design office and another member of family to the team. Ann- Marie Parsons, will be looking after the marketing and image of the company moving forward. A new website will be launched within the next 2 months to show the continued growth." Interesting stuff indeed. When Dave has returned from his annual holiday, I hope to visit their offices to interview him and his staff, and to compile a feature on the well known and long established independent local company.

Last week I covered the new Bexley College campus on the piece of land between Walnut Tree Road and Stonewood Road, which is getting close to completion, and is scheduled to open in September for the new academic year. Whilst I was being shown around by Principal Danny Ridgeway and Deputy Principal Martin Peat, we discussed some of the archaeological finds that had been unearthed on the site before construction of the new college building began. I was very surprised when they told me that the foundations of the original Erith Swimming Baths had been unearthed; I was aware of the original baths, but erroneously thought that they were located on the opposite side of Walnut Tree Road, adjacent to the old and currently unused Carnegie gifted library building. Actually the baths were sited in Stonewood road, which back in the day was known as Station Road. If you click on the vintage photo above, which dates back to 1908 you can see that the baths were little more than a tin shack with an open roof, right next door to the old Erith tram shed; from the original ordnance survey plans, one can see that the baths were opposite a large coal yard, and very close to cattle pens that at the time existed outside of Erith Station. There was also an electricity generating station where the current substation exists, next to the old library, and the smoke from the boilers would have added to the whiff. The place must have reeked – and I would have thought it would be used more by the working man than by the local gentry. The photo shows some kind of special event, possibly involving a game of Water Polo, which was then becoming popular, after the sport made its first Olympic appearance in 1900. I think the aristocratic looking lady and gentleman standing on the poolside to the centre left of the picture are John Parish and his wife. Parish was a wealthy local businessman who owned several enterprises in the local area, including Erith Ballast pit and the accompanying riverside wharf. You can read more about John Parish here. what is tragic about the photograph is that many of the young men featured in the picture would not have survived the First World War, which took place only six years later.

Residents in and around Manor Road have learned with dismay that their inconvenience is going to last longer than they were originally informed. The large scale re – engineering of the main road, which had planned to be shut to traffic for ten weeks has slipped by a further week, only eleven days after the work began. Residents have not actually been informed of the change in plans, the only way they discovered that things were progressing more slowly than anticipated was that hand written notices that had been spray painted on the old road surface on the section between Londis and Frobisher Road which had read “No parking from 3/7/14" were hastily re – written to say “No parking from 8/7/14". It would seem that the new road surface is being laid at a slower rate than was expected. Residents were told that a liaison officer from the surfacing contractor would be available to answer questions, but little evidence of such a person has been seen. The fundamental re-engineering of Manor Road is vital to the economy of the area, and I suppose a little pain now should lead to a lot of gain later – it is just a pity that communications between the contractor F.M Conway and residents are not better.

This week Samsung announced that they would be ceasing production of plasma screen TV’s by the end of this year. A lot of film and sports fans are very keen on plasma technology, as it offers screen images with very deep blacks and almost imperceptible motion blur. The downside to plasma technology is that it uses a relatively large amount of electricity, and the screens can run very hot. This is not a major issue for commercial users – you will often see very large plasma displays used in offices, where they are often inset into meeting room walls. They have become less popular for home use, however, where LED and LCD technology has been improving steadily, to the point where picture quality differences are now minimal. On top of that, the newer technologies consume far less power, and consequently run at a lower temperature. To cap it all, plasma TV’s can be made in resolutions higher than 1080i, but they are very difficult to make reliably at full 4K resolution (the old spectre of “dead pixels” returns as the pixel density increases exponentially between HD and 4K resolutions).  Plasma televisions tend to be substantially thicker that LED screens – something that is a major factor for many buyers, who want the thinnest possible television in their living rooms. As I wrote last week, now is really not the time to be shelling out a large wodge of cash on a new television – the technology is in too much flux right now. Better to spend a small amount on a cheap and cheerful HD TV and save your cash for when 4K TV has matured to the point when the big broadcasters are actually providing 4K programming before investing in a 4K television, which will also have the benefit of having dropped considerably in price. I recall when I first saw a flat screen television in John Lewis at Bluewater. It had a 42” screen and was about five inches thick – and it cost £12,000! Nowadays a telly a quarter of the thickness would be about three hundred quid; the same will happen with 4K, even if the first sets have not been quite so eye wateringly expensive as the very first HD ones were.

A team from Exeter University led by Doctor Fiona Matthews recently published a report:- "The Effect Of Mobile Telephones On Sperm Quality: A Systematic Review And Meta-analysis”  in the journal Environment International. The team of academic researchers have been studying the effects of microwave radio frequency energy from mobile phones on the production of sperm.  Many men carry mobile phones in their trouser pockets, and the team were keen to discover if this could be a contributory factor in the increase in male infertility in the last twenty years or so. Currently around fourteen percent of couples in developed countries have problems in conceiving a child, and mobile phone radiation may be a contributory factor. The University of Exeter team discovered that in normal conditions between fifty to eighty percent of sperm are healthy and viable, but that this falls by a little over eight percent where they have been exposed to microwaves on the same frequency as used by mobile phones. Dr Mathews said: "Given the enormous scale of mobile phone use around the world, the potential role of this environmental exposure needs to be clarified. This study strongly suggests that being exposed to radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation from carrying mobiles in trouser pockets negatively affects sperm quality. This could be particularly important for men already on the borderline of infertility, and further research is required to determine the full clinical implications for the general population." Certainly a cause for concern. You can read the full, extremely detailed and technical report by clicking here.

Long time Maggot Sandwich reader Brian Silk (who is also webmaster of the Erith Town website) is also the Manager of local amateur football club Bexley Invicta. They recently won the Aslie Pitter MBE Trophy after winning 4-2 against Bexley Police F.C. at the Thamesmead Town ground in Bayliss Avenue in front of a crowd of more than a hundred people including local MP Teresa Pearce and Aslie Pitter himself. The Aslie Pitter MBE Trophy is named after a chap who first raised the subject of homophobia in football after playing in the late 1980’s for Sutton United and later Clapham Old Boys; when a fellow team  mate discovered that Pitter was gay, he got dropped from the first to the fourth team the very next day by the manager. He realised he was never going to be accepted just for his footballing talent and quit the team. By 1991 Pitter had set up Stonewall FC – the first gay football team in the UK.  Today Stonewall FC has grown to sixty players, and they field three teams, playing home games at Barn Elms playing fields in Barnes, West London. Aslie still plays for and manages the second team. "Today there are five other gay teams in England so we're no longer unique. But with all that we've been through, from some colleagues dying of Aids to others meeting their life partners, the club has become an extended family, and more than a football club." Bexley Invicta are an inclusive football club with both straight and gay players, and are keen to fight homophobia in the game. Bexley Invicta play their home matches at the Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground. If you would like to know more about the local club, you can visit their website by clicking here. Please feel free to comment below. Brian is also a talented amateur musician - here is the video for his latest song. 

Seven years of the Maggot Sandwich.

This week marks the seventh birthday of the Maggot Sandwich The drawing above (done by best friend Ian) shows what he thinks the fictional Arthur Pewty would look like - comments below as always. When I started the blog back in 2006 I thought it would be something that would last a couple of months at most. I certainly had no intention of it becoming a regular part of my life. I have never missed publishing on a Sunday afternoon in all that time, even on the odd occasion where I had lost my Internet connection – I have been to my Mum’s house to use her computer to ensure that some content gets posted. Back in the day my posts were short, rather inconsistent and generally rather idiosyncratic. Nowadays the style has settled down into something rather more consistent and (hopefully) readable. I did not really realise until 2010 just how many people were reading the Maggot Sandwich, and the impact it was making, until I was one of London’s 50 top Bloggers who were invited to the OFCOM headquarters on The South Bank for a conference on hyper – local websites and how bloggers and the professional press can interact. It was there I met Malcolm Knight of Bexley is Bonkers (the single most dedicated and probing of local bloggers) and Darryl of the 853 Blog – who specialises in news on the area in and around Greenwich and Charlton. Darryl’s writing is consistently of very high quality (but then he is a “proper” journalist, whilst the rest of us are just enthusiastic amateurs).  When I started the blog, it was really nothing more than a place to have a whinge about things that annoyed me, and was generally a rather self indulgent piece. I soon realised that if I was going to make the Maggot Sandwich into a realistic, ongoing concern, then it was going to need a tighter structure and a wider degree of content to attract a regular readership. It was then that it took on its’ current form. Over the years I have had hundreds of comments and all sorts of feedback – most of it good, some of it not. The Maggot Sandwich now has a regular 23,500 unique visitors a month, and gets hits from all over the world – mainly English speaking countries, but pretty much every major country has visited the blog at some point or other. I have encountered many new and interesting people through the medium of the blog; none more so than Malcolm Knight, campaigner, citizen journalist and much needed pain in the backside to certain lazy, vindictive and incompetent members of our local government, via his excellent website - Bexley is Bonkers. Malcolm has kindly sent me the following piece:- Congratulations on the Sandwich getting to seven. I bet you didn't think about that when you wrote its first entry. I didn't consider the future when the first words crept on to 'Bonkers' nearly four years ago. Now it is a treadmill going too fast to allow escape. I first came across the Sandwich early in 2010 and we first met in the September of that year when you cost me a thousand pounds by letting me look at your camera and amply demonstrating that things had moved on since I had bought my digital SLR seven years previously. Replacement followed within a couple of weeks. We were at the OFCOM sponsored gathering of London bloggers and I felt very much the new boy and in your shadow. We have since taken very different paths. I particularly enjoy your inventive descriptions of the low lifes you encounter on your travels, particularly those you used to meet on the bus to Plumstead, sadly no longer on your itinery, and your regular forays into the world of antique computing. My memory of computing goes back to those you walked through and tried not to break the valves! (Tubes for your American readers.) I have even forgiven you for your 'Pitchforks and Flaming Torches' metaphor. No, forgiven is the wrong word, without it and the ensuing police involvement Bonkers might not have survived its childhood. So cheers Hugh for brightening up so many otherwise dreary Sundays. Long may the Sandwich continue. Thanks for your kind words Malcolm - very much appreciated.

I am pleased to see that local MP’s  Teresa Pearce and David Evennett have both spoken out over the proposed rise in MP’s pay. Teresa Pearce has said that she thinks a pay rise would be wrong when so many people are struggling financially, whilst David Evennett said that cost of running Parliament should be going down, not up. I have seen comments in a couple of local newspapers to the effect that civil servants have been subject to pay freezes for several years, which with the level of inflation has effectively meant that they have taken pay cuts in real terms, and if this is the case, why should MP’s be any different. The thing is, that MP’s are not civil servants. They are actually self employed contractors on a retainer, and as such able to independently negotiate their remuneration. I think it is reassuring that both our local representatives are speaking out about the situation; I just hope that they stick to their guns and refuse any pay rise should their colleagues vote it through.  The whole issue is contentious in the extreme. To be honest, the pay level of an MP is pretty low for what they do. The hours are long, and I suspect that much of the work is pretty tedious. If I look at a roughly equivalent role in the professional services field where I work, a person with a similar level of responsibility and power is on a package worth around £400,000 a year – when you compare this with an MP’s annual pay of £66,363, it is quite a difference. Even cabinet ministers earn relatively little when compared to their compatriots in the commercial world. Of course many ex ministers go on to very lucrative consultancies and director ships once they leave Parliament, so  I suppose that it is swings and roundabouts. One can also say that the pay alone should not be a subject that attracts a person to stand as an MP; a level of passion and belief should be the deciding factor. It will be interesting to see how things pan out with the whole MP pay situation – it is entirely possible that many constituency MP’s, fearful of their electorate, will vote against the pay rise, or the whole issue may get kicked into the long grass as being politically inexpedient, as the whole issue is so poisonous with the general public.

Overall PC sales have plummeted over the last couple of years. This can be attributed to a number of factors; businesses have held back from renewing their desktop and laptop fleets as they struggle to keep their overheads down in the middle of the recession; Personal users have switched their spending to smart phones and tablet devices running iOS and Android instead of Windows, and the days of needing a bulky and unattractive desktop or tower system to run a web browser or other piece of relatively simple software are now long gone.  What is interesting is that certain types of devices have seen massive increases in sales, bucking the overall downwards trend. Amazon report very strong sales of Google Chromebooks, citing them as being the surprise sales hit of the year. I must admit that I bought one last Christmas, and I have been extremely impressed with it. A Chromebook is basically a device that runs the Google Chrome web browser. It is not a full PC, as it is not capable of running other applications - it is the modern equivalent of a VT100 terminal. This might sound like a bit of a disadvantage, but when one considers that most general computer users spend around 90% of their time using a web browser, it starts to make more sense. Chromebooks run a cut down version of the Linux operating system that has been optimised and tuned for the Chromebook system architecture. I have found that even though on paper the hardware specification is nothing to write home about, in reality, the machine flies along. It is robust, reliable and very secure. The other upside of the Chromebook is that most models are very reasonably priced. My model, built by Samsung, was only £229. A bargain. In contrast (and as I correctly predicted a couple of weeks ago) Microsoft have dropped the retail price of the Surface RT tablet (the cut – down ARM processor version that cannot run conventional Windows software) by around thirty percent in all worldwide markets. It is rumoured that they are selling the RT in America only to schools and colleges for $199, and to attendees at certain software conferences for only $99.  This is most definitely selling at a large loss; industry rumours say that Microsoft have taken a $900 million hit on their balance sheet this financial quarter, on the Surface RT alone. The rumour is also that Microsoft have realised that the Surface is not selling as they had quite optimistically predicted, and they are trying to offload their warehouses full of unsold stock at bargain basement prices. Apparently they are still undeterred by the lukewarm reception the Surface has received, and they plan a new Surface 2.0 device for early next year. You may recall a comment I made last week, when I said that the first thing you should do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging. I think that perhaps someone ought to impart this advice to Steve Ballmer of Microsoft.

The recent spate of unspeakably hot weather has had some unexpected consequences. Places like the Belvedere Splash Park have been extremely busy indeed – with many parents finding it an ideal place to take small children where they can both play with others and keep cool at the same time. It is amazing to think that it is only a few months ago that Bexley Council had planned to severely curtail, or possibly permanently close the splash park as a cost saving measure. It was only the result of a concerted web based campaign that prevented it from happening. It is debatable as to how much cash the closure would have actually saved. Another activity which seems to have been encouraged by the ultra warm weather is the resurgence in traditional pub games – not dominoes, cribbage or bar billiards, however, but the more elaborate and old fashioned games that used to be played in the pub garden or on the local village green. Dwyle Flunking is a very traditional but rarely played pub game that is almost exclusively played in Kent.  At the Red Lion in Snargate, a pub that has a long tradition with unusual pub games, they manage to find enough volunteers for two teams of 8 players on a regular basis. The game was played thus:- Having tossed up to see who ‘went in’ first, the fielding side holds hands and dances around the member of the batting side who moves in the opposite direction. Next to him is a small bucket of beer slops with a rag ‘the dwyle’ and holding a broom handle ‘the swadge’. When the music stops the batter is allowed to make a throw or ‘flunk’ by launching the beer soaked rag at a member of the fielding side. A direct hit on the head scores ‘3’; a hit on the body ‘2’; and a hit on a limb (arm or leg) scores ‘1’. The batter has 3 strikes then he or she was handed a half pint of beer and had to drink it in 5 seconds flat – if not all the beer was consumed you are obliged to pour the rest ‘over you head’!  Sounds like a candidate sport for the next Olympic Games I think. Talking of Olympics, whilst I was photographing the 150th annual Thames Barge Race, which finished on Erith Pier last weekend, another illustrious event was happening in central London. The 2013 Chap Olympics. You can see some excellent photographs of the competition by clicking here.

Some time ago I wrote about Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) and how 2013 was going to be a landmark year for this little understood, emerging technology. Well, it would appear to be the case. The first LENR production power plant has been manufactured and is now under test in the USA. Low Energy Nuclear Reaction used to erroneously be called Cold Fusion, and was debunked in the late 1980’s / early 1990’s. It is now looking increasingly like there is something behind the reaction after all, even if it is not what the discoverers originally thought. The originator of the new process is a chap called Andrea Rossi, and Italian scientist and engineer, who has been working on LENR for many years; he’s not done himself many favours in the past by making some pretty outrageous claims about his work, and to be honest he’s annoyed much of the scientific community at one point or another. It would appear that after several years of appearing to be a big mouthed fraud to many, he’s actually come good. His LENR generator has now been independently tested by a group of very well respected, reputable scientists and the results were overwhelmingly positive. You can read the details of the tests by clicking here. I am generally very suspicious of anything that appears to be too good to be true – as usually it is too good to be true. If this is a fraud, it is one of the biggest and most elaborate cons of all time; I feel that too many experts with internationally acclaimed reputations have been involved in the testing for it to be fake – their good names would be in tatters if they had been duped into believing the generator was doing something that it was actually not.  I suppose that we can only judge the veracity of the technology when commercial LENR generators start being offered on the retail market. It is a very strange way for what could be a completely ground breaking energy generation technology to come to market. One way or another it is going to be a headline grabber – either as the beginning of a cheap, pollution free and unlimited source of energy for all, or as the one of the biggest cons of all time. We should know soon, one way or another.

I am known for not being very fond of Tesco. Like many, I find the supermarket chain to be the epitome of all that is wrong with big business.  Just for once I am pleased to say that they are doing something constructive which is going to bring something in the region of 650 jobs to the local area. Tesco are opening a distribution centre for their online delivery service in Church Manorway, Erith in October, but prior to the new venture actually going live, there will be a period of training and familiarisation for the new recruits. I understand that job applications are already being accepted for the outlet. Very pleasingly, of the 650 positions that will be created, well over 100 will be offered specifically to local people who have been unemployed for six months or more. Job openings include drivers, stock pickers, warehouse personnel, administrative staff, team managers and several types of support personnel. There will be part time as well as full time jobs available, something to be applauded. I am not actually surprised that Tesco have chosen to open a distribution centre in Erith. It makes economic and operational sense. Firstly, commercial land and property is plentiful and relatively cheap in the area; secondly Erith has excellent road communications with the whole of London and the South East – you have the M25, A2 , M20 and South Circular all in relatively close proximity, and thirdly you have a local population in a relatively deprived and generally overlooked area who are crying out for work opportunities. It would seem to be a win / win for all parties. Coincidentally, there is another  supermarket related story in the news; Asda are opening their rather more controversial store in Lower Belvedere, in what was half of B and Q on the 5th of August. This seems to have divided local opinion fairly sharply. Some welcome the fact that the residents of Belvedere will be getting a proper supermarket, rather than just having the existing small Tesco Express which seems to combine having a very small stock range with also being out of anything you happen to want. Until now, to go to  a “proper” supermarket meant a trip to Morrison’s at Erith, not always easy if you are old or infirm. Arguments against the new B and Q store seem to focus on two areas – the potential increase in traffic, and the effect on existing local shops. The traffic issue may well turn out to have some substance. Picardy Road (often incorrectly called Picardy Hill) is steep and rather narrow in places, especially near to the bottom, very close to the Asda entrance. It is quite possible that traffic jams may occur, especially when the double deck 401 bus comes along. You only need to get a couple of cars parked on the bend by the Methodist Church / Church hall for the road to gridlock. I can see this being a real problem, though I understand that Asda’s planning team have run traffic simulations which indicate very little change in flow up and down Picardy Road. As with many of these situations, time will tell.  I think the second main point raised by objectors is a little less clear cut; that the opening of an Asda store will adversely affect the independent traders in the block adjacent to Belvedere Station. There is a dry cleaners, bakers, cafe, pharmacy and a newsagent. With the possible exception of the baker, I think it unlikely that the Asda will adversely affect their trade. To use a real life example, the Londis store on the corner of Appold Street and Manor Road in Erith was thought to be doomed when the giant Morrison’s super store opened literally around the corner from it, back in 1999. Instead of going out of business within a few months as many people (I have to say, including myself) thought at the time, the Londis flourished and is still in very rude health to this day. The reason being that the store caters for passing trade – a lot of lorry drivers coming to and from the Slade Green Industrial Estate stop off to buy a paper, a cup of tea and a filled roll. Locals also use it for single items – prices are broadly comparable with Morrison’s, and you don’t have the fuss of queuing. I anticipate that something similar may happen to the parade of shops in Lower Belvedere.

Here is something different. A full length Superman film made by fans. It is a bit creaky, and has a few fairly large plot and logic holes, but overall it is great fun, and has obviously been made with love; see what you think by clicking below to make it full screen.  Comments at the bottom of the page, as always.