Incinerator blues.

I took the photos above last week. Click on either for a larger view; they show the former Belvedere Police Station now surrounded by wooden fencing; demolition work has already begun. Inevitably a block of residential apartments is to be built on the site. In essence, Belvedere Police Station was shut and sold off to save the Metropolitan Police £91,000 a year - only a little more than is paid to employ a single Chief Superintendent. I am not sure how this is meant to represent good value for money, but the decision has been made, and the current situation is a "done deal". What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

As regular readers will be aware, I have in the past benchmarked the activities (or indeed lack thereof) of Bexley Council against our close neighbours on the opposite side of the River Thames in the London Borough of Havering. The two boroughs are remarkably similar in many ways; both have a broadly similar population demographic, geography and council tax budget, yet it seems to me that Havering seem to get much more out of their finances than Bexley do, and this is not just me thinking that "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence". As an example, the News Shopper have ran a story last year about the anniversary of the cancellation of the very popular Danson Festival. It is now six years since the council cancelled the annual festival, erroneously stating that this was a temporary cancellation due to problems with the geology of the park, and drainage issues. In an interview with the News Shopper, a spoke person for Bexley Council said:- "Unfortunately Danson mid-park is not currently suitable for large-scale events such as the Danson Festival. The council saves approximately £150,000 from not putting on the festival. Whilst the festival has not been held for a number of years, we have recently increased the number of community and cultural events we have hosted and supported – and we continue to look at new opportunities to bring the community together to share experiences and celebrate". In reality a festival has been held in Danson Park since - but it has been run by a commercial events company called Oakleigh Fairs, who charge for admission. The fair is running this weekend, and entrance fees are £7 per adult, and £4.50 per child. Attractions include arts, crafts, food, drink, gifts, and trade stands. On Sunday, a Companion Dog Show, and a children's entertainer. This all rather contradicts the statement that the park could not be used due to drainage issues. The real reason is that Bexley Council do not want to spend £150,000 on the very popular event. It is my understanding that the free, council run festival in the past actually operated at a modest profit. This all does look rather poor in comparison with Havering, who run a huge event in Harrow Lodge Park, Hornchurch during the month of August. The very popular event, which is having its 41st anniversary this year, which will be held on August Bank Holiday Weekend, Sunday 25th and Monday 26th August 2019. Acts appearing include:- Aswad, Toploader, Alison Limerick, Eban Brown, Mr Soul, Livin' Joy, Oye Santana, Exposé, Tina Turner Tribute, Robbie Williams Tribute. There will also be a large Fairground, Fairkytes Live Stage, a Community Performance Stage, Licensed Bars, Street Food and Children’s Attractions. All this at a cost of £3 per adult, and children under 10 go free. Value - wise, the Havering Show looks like it beats the Danson commercial festival hands down - better acts, more stages, a wider variety of attractions and all for less than half the price of the Danson Show. This is not the only way in which public arts are better catered for in Havering; It also plays host to an arts festival, the award winning Romford Film Festival and a Havering in Bloom competition, to name but a few. Bearing in mind that Havering Borough Council has very similar demands and constraints to its budget as Bexley does, it does beg the question, how is it that Havering can offer popular arts and cultural events to its residents, but Bexley Council are unable, or more likely unwilling to? Effectively the arts offering in Bexley is outsourced to third parties, such as the excellent Exchange - a not for profit group who run the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith. Other than that, Bexley's offering to its residents is very poor in comparison to neighbouring boroughs such as Greenwich, who run the excellent - if pricey - Blackheath Festival over the weekend of the 13th and 14th of July, and which will feature acts such as Ali Campbell and Astro, Aswad, Brand New Heavies, Grace Jones, Incognito, Jacob Collier, James Morrison, Jamiroquai, Morcheeba, Rag n Bone Man, SG Lewis, Soul II Soul, Swing Out Sister, and The Roots. What do you think? Please feel free to leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Former host of The Big Break and The Generation Game, stand up comedian and former Shooter's Hill resident Jim Davidson is a very familiar TV presenter for anyone in the UK. He has appeared on numerous programmes and advertising spots. His self-confessed bankruptcy woes before successfully bouncing back are why Jim Davidson has been swept up in the latest wave of BitCoin robot software scams. The advert above, which has been created to fraudulently look like it is on the entertainments section of the Daily Mirror website, has been linked to the News Shopper website, as one of their "click bait" articles. At least £41,000 on average was lost each day in the past year to Bitcoin scams, according to new figures. Consumer interest group Which? is renewing its warnings about the dangers of dodgy so-called cryptocurrency investment firms that use fake celebrity endorsements to lure victims. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency which exists only online and doesn’t have a central bank or country of origin, so can be traded anonymously. Action Fraud figures given exclusively to Which? show in the year to 19 March 2019, more than 1,200 victims collectively lost £15,248,130 to scams involving Bitcoin. Some people found themselves the victims of a double scam after being tricked by bogus companies promising to get their money back, for a fee – only to realise they had been conned once again. To be clear, Jim Davidson never endorsed any of these products. The people behind them simply believe that the public will think he did. Unfortunately, Bitcoin robots are only of use to their owners, who make money from gullible people who trust obviously false advertising claims like this one. Be warned. If it sounds too good to be true, it normally is.

I was watching a documentary on Amazon Prime the other night; it featured an international convention of Beatles tribute bands – there were South Korean and Ghanaian Beatles covers groups, amongst a huge number of others. I did not realise that there is a shop in Liverpool that specialises in selling costumes, wigs and boots to Beatle tribute bands, it is that much of a lucrative market. The programme was light hearted and warm and followed a few of the bands as they visited the locations featured in so many Beatles songs. This got me thinking; The Beatles have spawned a huge tourist industry in Liverpool, with Beatles themed tours, events and shows all over the city, all eager to being in the cash from the tourists eager to explore the place that the band called home. Their major contemporaries have fared less well. When you mention The Beatles, you immediately form an association with Liverpool. When you mention The Rolling Stones, you don’t immediately think of Dartford, do you? Yet the band had their roots in Dartford, even though their music had more in common with the Mississippi Delta than the Thames Estuary.  Apart from the excellent Mick Jagger performing arts centre, there is almost nothing to commemorate the band in Dartford – which is ironic, as unlike the Beatles, The Rolling Stones are still a (just about) going concern. I wonder if a lot of this is because the band abandoned the town to move to a house in West London as soon as they started to find success? There was a campaign to get a blue plaque installed on platform four of Dartford railway station a few years ago – where Mick and Keith first met after both visiting the West End to buy rare American blues records, where they discovered they shared the same musical passion, and the seeds of the band that would become The Rolling Stones were sown. Unfortunately nothing came of the campaign, which I think epitomises the rather ambivalent attitude some locals have to the group. The local area has been instrumental (if you will excuse the pun) in being home to Kate Bush (Welling), John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin (Sidcup) and David Bowie (Bromley). The musical influence this part of South East London / North Kent has had worldwide has had is huge; we just seem to be exceptionally poor at celebrating its’ success.  Going back to The Rolling Stones, one thing which has been unclear for years is the actual origin of their name. Some think it comes from the Muddy Waters song of the same name, which may indeed be the case. The thing is, what exactly is a rolling stone? Well, according to a source I read, it is nothing to do with a stone rolling down a hill. The “rolling stone that gathers no moss” actually refers to a 16th Century carved stone garden lawn roller; so The Rolling Stones, with all of their “bad boy” image are actually named after something you would find in a garden shed...

Other famous local residents have in the past included Sir Roger Moore - Wansunt Road in Old Bexley Village, Bernie Ecclestone (Bexleyheath), Lennox Lewis (Danson), Nevil Shute (Hatherley Road, Sidcup), Delia Smith (Bexleyheath), Michael Crawford (Bexleyheath), Roald Dahl, (Hurst Road, Bexley), Sheila Hancock (Erith), Boy George (Shooter's Hill), and Sir Edward Heath (Old Bexley), and Steve Davis (Danson) All of these well – known and illustrious people have contributed to both the local and the national well-being in one way or another. One other local person was the late and much lamented comedienne, Linda Smith, who lived in Erith for many years.

Here is the outcome of the recent second meeting of the Erith Think Tank, a new group who seek the betterment of the local area. You can see their website here. The meeting notes read as follow:- "Thank you to those who were able to attend our second meeting, where we discussed together 'Why are we here?' and 'How can we achieve our aims?' so as to find common ground on the purpose of this Group. Each attendee was asked to answer these two questions, and to discuss their answers in small groups. Then each group was asked to write down the key responses on larger paper, which was pinned to the wall, and presented to the other groups. There was LOTS of positivity in the room for Erith and its future, and it's been a pleasure to read the responses. We have documented all the responses, and attached them, should you wish to read through. Based on this information, I have drafted the following manifesto. I hope you'll agree, it covers the big-picture issues discussed, and will provide a 'mission' for the group going forward. I invite you to email me back with thoughts, comments, suggestions for edits etc. 

1. The Erith Think Tank is a place where members of the community can meet, get to know one                another, and discuss issues pertaining to Erith. 
2. We will meet regularly, and endeavour to understand each other. 
3. We are passionate about, and wish to celebrate Erith, our community and our members. 
4. We want to support positive change, and help Erith to realise its potential. 
5. We will use the groups expertise and work together to achieve our aims.
6. We will create a 'register of assets' that celebrates Erith, its community and it's businesses. 
7. We aim to give Erith a co-ordinated and strong voice that engages with and represents all aspects       of the community.
8. We aim to inform, in plain language, about plans for Erith's present and future.
9. We will engage with and nurture a dialogue with decision-makers and the Council.
10. We will gain an understanding of how the Council works, how decisions are made, and by who,          and translate/explain this to the group and wider community, with a view to influence these                  decisions. 
11. We aim to understand, participate in and influence any regeneration.
12. We will propose ideas that improve Erith. 
13. We will identify problems, and propose solutions.
14. We will create group Ambassadors, responsible for different topics (ie youth engagement,                     environment, planning). 
15. We will create a support structure for 'projects'.
16. We acknowledge that trust and respect need to be built between us, the community and the                   Council, to create better dialogue. 
17. We will develop a plan to attract and involve the community (including youth) through effective           networking on a variety of platforms. 
18. We will prove that the group is an asset to the community and the Council. 
19. We aim to challenge and provide alternatives to the current consultation process.
20. We will scrutinise decisions, and agitate when our demands are not met. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

Johnny / Team Think Tank - you can contact the think tank at:- eriththinktank@gmail.com.

The technical press have been following up a story that I featured a while back relating to the Metropolitan Police running a series of tests of facial recognition technology. The Metropolitan Police have been trialing facial-recognition systems for a while now. The technology was rolled out to monitor partygoers attending the Notting Hill Carnival in 2016 and 2017, as well as at the Port of Hull docks and Stratford Transport Hub. Last year, it was estimated the technology had a whopping 98 per cent false positive rate. In January this year, it emerged that the Met had blown more than £200,000 on facial-recognition trials with little or no arrests to show for it. Privacy organisations such as Big Brother Watch, a British nonprofit, have urged the Police to stop using the technology. The Information Commissioner, UK’s data protection watchdog, has launched an investigation into how the police are using face-scanning and biometric systems. Facial-recognition technology is a contentious issue. Experts have been critical of its inaccuracies and biases. Now, an independent report has been published which raises serious doubts about the use of the technology. Researchers from the Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project, based at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre, identified significant flaws with the way live facial recognition (LFR) technology has been trialled in London by the Metropolitan Police Service. Facial recognition technology trialled by the Metropolitan Police is highly inaccurate and its deployment is likely to be found "unlawful" if challenged in court, according to the reports authors; Professor Fussey and Dr Murray were granted unprecedented access to the final six trials, running from June 2018 to February 2019. From those, the authors found that just eight correct matches were made out of 42 suggested in total. LFR technology allows for the real-time biometric processing of video imagery to identify particular individuals. The software processes the images in order to identify any faces, creates a digital signature of identified faces, and then analyses those digital signatures against a database referred to as the "watch list". An alert is then issued by the police control room and may be available on officers' portable devices. However, accuracy of the watch list data also remains a challenge. Legacy data-handling systems meant data relevant to watch lists was spread across different databases and each watch list entry needed to be assembled by manually extracting and merging records from each of these locations, the University researchers found. The report noted it is possible for LFR software to be integrated into police body-worn cameras. That could be used to create a database of individuals' movements within a city, which in turn could be automated to identify any unusual patterns. Professor Fussey and Dr Murray are calling for all live trials of LFR to be ceased until these concerns are addressed. They noted it is essential that human rights compliance is ensured before deployment, and there be an appropriate level of public scrutiny and debate on a national level. Murray said in a recent press interview that-: "This report raises significant concerns regarding the human rights law compliance of the trials. The legal basis for the trials was unclear and is unlikely to satisfy the 'in accordance with the law' test established by human rights law. Ultimately, the impression is that human rights compliance was not built into the Metropolitan Police's systems from the outset, and was not an integral part of the process". In January this year, it emerged that the Met had spent more than £200,000 on facial-recognition trials with little or no arrests to show for it.

A new campaigning group has just been set up locally; the group's spokes person writes:- "The proposed second Cory incinerator in Lower Belvedere project has prompted the formation of a new group Greenwich-Bexley Environment Alliance. With encouragement from among others: The Crossness Nature Reserve, BNEF, Belvedere Ward Councillor Dave Putson, and Mark Alexander-Smale Head of St Augustine’s School we have formulated a petition and web site. The web site (NOT ANOTHER INCINERATOR IN BEXLEY) can be found at www.naiib.org and the petition initiated by Jenni White. I am sure your readers will be interested to know that The Cory Incinerator project is already opposed by among others: The Mayor of London, GLA members, the MPs for Thamesmead, Bexleyheath and Rainham. However as influential as their opposition may be, it may not be enough, as you may know HM Government will make the final decision. Today, schools in Bexley, Greenwich and Havering have been appraised by us of the petition etc. but in order to achieve success we need a wider audience. Time unfortunately is pressing, and the Planning Inspector is expected to make his decision on the project later this month". Jenni White, of Slade Green set up the petition partly due to living off the A206 main road, where pollution levels and traffic jams are already a daily problem; she reports that "One day I counted 8 lorries passing before I could turn onto the main road this was at 11.30 a.m!" Jon Cruddas MP for Dagenham and Rainham has launched a petition against the plans which will undoubtedly have a severe impact on air quality in his constituency, particularly Rainham and the Beam Park development area. On his website, Jon writes:- "Incineration is the least environmentally friendly form of waste disposal after landfill, and the energy produced by this scheme if approved is not enough to justify the negative impact it would have on the London Riverside Opportunity areas. Over the last five years recycling rates have stalled across the UK whilst government approved waste incineration has doubled. The Tories seem to have a complete disregard for our environment and the quality of air we breathe. Thermal Energy from Waste (EfW) plants do deliver large energy generation benefits however, they do this by destroying waste materials in a harmful way which releases air pollutants and greenhouse gases on an industrial scale. The use of EfW plants will also have an impact on recycling rates in London with much recyclable waste being redirected and incinerated. I am in complete opposition to the proposal and next year when these plans open up I hope that both local authorities in my constituency will join me in opposing the development. I will also be writing to the Thames Estuary Commission raising my concerns. The application fails to meet the Mayor of London’s key environmental and air quality policies included in the London Plan and draft London Plan, and as such the Riverside Energy Park is not supported by the Mayor of London. It is expected that in early 2019 local authorities will be able to respond to the proposals in the pre-examination period". What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Once again there has been no reported burglaries during the past week however in Colyers Lane on Friday 28/06/2019 between 04.30pm and 06.35pm a small brick wall to a flower bed had been damaged in a rear garden and footprints were see near the rear window of the property, there was no sign of any attempt to enter the property. In Grassmere Road on Saturday 29/06/2019 at 05.50pm officers stopped two males after they were seen in Colyers Lane driving with hazard lights on. One male was found in possession with a substantial amount of cash. Drugs were found following a search of the vehicle which led to both males being arrested. The investigation is ongoing. The team continue to be proactive around the ward concentrating on areas that have recently been targeted for vehicle crime. Our next community contact session will be held on Thursday 18th July 2019 at 11.00am in Barnehurst Golf Club". Belvedere ward:- "There has been an increase in thefts from motor vehicles in the Belvedere Park Estate recently. It appears that cars have been targeted with a device that unlocks the car without using the key. Please be on the lookout for anyone acting suspiciously or out of place. If you see a crime being committed call 999 immediately, or if you suspect anyone please contact Police via 101 or our website. The team recovered a stolen motorbike on Monday in the alleyway next to St Augustines School. It was battered but in one piece. Stolen in May from Crayford. We will be conducting forensic examinations to see if a suspect can be linked. We also arrested a wanted burglar on Monday. They had recently moved to the area from central London, however an address was found and they have been brought in for questioning. PCSO Jay gave a personal safety and home security talk to the Evergreen Care Group. They are a charity that care for the elderly and will pass on the advice given to their clients, as well as taking on board what was advised. Jay also gave a crime prevention talk to the Asian Ladies Group, who meet weekly at the Community Centre. The group found the talk helpful, so much so that Jay has been invited back! If any other groups would like an input (formal or otherwise) from the team please get in touch. Garage burglaries have also increased recently. Latest is Mossdown Close sometime over the past week whereby several thousands of pounds worth of items were taken. A white van was involved in this theft and CCTV enquiries are continuing. Same advice as above, if anything suspicious seen call Police". Bexleyheath ward:- "Sunday 30/06/19 - There was a report of a theft of push bike along the Broadway, bike was locked up but still taken; Friday 28/06/19 – Report of a Theft of motor vehicle along Ennerdale Road Bexleyheath; Thursday 27/06/19 overnight into Friday 28/06/19 – Report of a theft from motor vehicle along Meadow Close Bexleyheath; Friday 28/06/2019 – Report of a theft of motor vehicle along Oakhouse Road Bexleyheath; On Wednesday 26/06/19 – A purse was reported stolen along the Broadway Bexleyheath at about 1230 midday. The team regularly conduct patrols along drug hot spot areas and ASB areas on the ward and conduct regular stops & searches where necessary. On Thursday 11th July – The team shall be holding a contact session between 10am and 11am at the Central Library Bexleyheath". Crayford ward:- "There has been three reports of theft from motor vehicles on the ward, brief details below: Wednesday 26/06/2019 – Bourne Road; Friday 28/06/2019 – Green Place Dartford – Number plates stolen; Tuesday 02/07/2019 – Outside Nando's Crayford Rd Tower Retail Park; Also there has been two reports of theft of motor vehicles reported: Monday 01/07/2019 – Alcock Crescent Crayford; Tuesday 02/07/2019 – Thames Road Crayford. There is a contact session that has been arrange for anyone that wishes to speak to the team at Crayford Library on Wednesday 17th July 2019 between 10am and 11am".

Erith ward:- "Theft from motor vehicles is increasing. Please see my crime prevention advice in the top half of this email to help reduce this. Theft of Motor Vehicle Monday 24/06/2019 14:40:00 Compton Place; Burg - Bus / Com Friday 28/06/2019 Bexley College - Walnut Tree Road – Window broken to the café food items stolen; Burg Res Saturday 29/06/2019 17:00:00 Bexley Road – entered via window; Theft from Motor Vehicle Sunday 30/06/2019 Lower Road; Theft of Motor Vehicle Monday 01/07/2019, Lower Road; Burglary Residential Monday 01/07/2019 Cricketers Close – Entered via rear door; Theft from MV Monday 01/07/2019 15:30:00 Parkspring Court, Erith High Street; Theft from MV Monday 01/07/2019 17:00:00, Hawthorn Place; Theft of MV Sunday 30/06/2019 07:00:00 Carlton Road; Theft from Motor Vehicle Tuesday 02/07/2019 Callender Road Theft of MV Sunday 30/06/2019 05:00:00 Fire Station, Erith Road; Theft from Motor Vehicle Sunday 30/06/2019 16:30:00 Queen Street Baptist Church, Queens Road. The next Community Contact Session in Erith is on Friday 12/07/19 at Costa Coffee Erith at 1pm". Northumberland Heath ward:- "This week the team say goodbye to PC Tom Smith who will now be joining the Barnehurst Team. We look forward to meeting our new PC - PC Lucy Butler when she joins the team in a couple of weeks. The team continue to target ASB on Bexley Road and surrounding Alleyways, working together with the schools and local authority. Very pleased to say, there have been no burglaries, and no Motor vehicle crime on the ward this week. Our next community contact session is on Friday 12th July 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:- "One burglary to report between Thursday June 20th and Thursday 27th - jewellery was stolen from a house in Manor Road while the owners were on holiday. Entry was forced through the back door with no neighbours reporting seeing anything during the time frame. PC's Mark and James assisted our sergeant who had caught a male in Erith causing criminal damage to a vehicle and James arrested the male. After a short chase on Saturday, Mark and James caught a male in Appold Street who was found in possession of drugs. As he was a minor, he is due back for interview next week. PCSO Mark  attended Peareswood school (Friday 5th July) and Monday 8th. Friday is for a year 6 personal safety talk before they move on to secondary school and Monday is to assist them at Erith Sports Centre as the whole school takes part in their Race For Life event. Our next Community Contact Session is from 1130 on Tuesday July 9th at St Augustine Church to make up part of their Welcome café which starts at 11am".  Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglary: Sydney Road Tuesday 2/7/19 between 2pm – 11pm Victim's room in a house of multiple occupancy was broken into causing damage to the door. An untidy search was conducted by suspect/s unknown, nothing reported removed at this time; Lensbury Way Wednesday 3/7/19 at 9am victim had been alerted by a resident that a suspicious male was seen in his garage and had got into a vehicle and driven off. When victim went to the garage both padlocks had been removed and a petrol lawn mower had been removed. Theft from Motor Vehicle: Grange Crescent Wednesday 26/6/19 between 11:30pm - 9:10am Thursday 27/06/19 victims vehicle was broken into by suspect/s unknown various items stolen from within; Hartslock Drive Friday 28/6/19 at 11:50am victim walked away from the vehicle for 5 minutes leaving a handbag and mobile phone in full view. When victim returned to vehicle a male suspect was seen smashing the vehicle window both items had been removed without victims consent; Sydney Road Friday 28/6/19 between 4pm – 11am Saturday 27/6/19 victim's vehicle was parked on victims drive an untidy search was carried out by suspect/s unknown nothing reported stolen; Kale Road Tuesday 20/6/19 – 2/7/19 Victims vehicle has been broken into while victim was on holiday; Landridge Road Tuesday 2/7/19 at 1245pm Victims vehicle windscreen smashed and mobile phone removed from vehicle without victims consent by suspect/s unknown. Theft of Motor vehicle: Southmere Drive between 16/3/19 – 29/6/19 victim's motor bike was removed without consent. Criminal Damage: St Andrews Close Saturday 29/6/19 at 11:12PM a brick was thrown through the living room window of the victim's property. No suspects seen or heard running away; Mangold Way Monday 1/7/19 between 9pm – 10pm Victim stated his neighbour had caused damage to his fence resulting in several glass jars to smash. Good News. An area which was reported to us for drug taking was patrolled routinely. 3 males were stopped by PC's Nana and Pruden they were searched, cannabis was found. One male was given a warning in the form of Community Resolution. There will be a street a week on Tuesday 9/7/19 at 7pm in Sydney Road.  A social network called Nextdoor has been launched which aims to encourage social interaction between neighbours and make people aware of crime in their area. The social network has already been trialled in 500 neighbourhoods across the UK. Thamesmead East will be putting crime updates on Nextdoor weekly". West Heath ward:- "One reported shed burglary in Longleigh Lane on Sunday June 30th between 1.30am and 07.30am. It was believed to have been committed by a family member. A number of tools were stolen. We have had a number of motor vehicle crimes reported to us again this week; On Saturday June 22nd between midnight and 7am, a handbag containing credit cards and personal items was stolen from a vehicle parked on a driveway in Lansdowne Avenue; Vehicle number plates were ripped off a vehicle parked in New Road On Thursday June 27th between 7.45am and 6.15pm. The victim left the vehicle to travel by train to London, when she returned to her vehicle she noticed that they had been placed underneath her car; A handbag containing a mobile phone, passport, driving licence and other items were stolen from a vehicle in Oakhampton Crescent on Friday June 28th at 11.50am. The victim left her car briefly for a few minutes before returning to the vehicle to discover a window had been smashed and her bag stolen. The suspect was believed to be a white male wearing a black top and riding a bicycle; A number of equestrian equipment was stolen from a vehicle parked in Pembury Road between Monday July 1st at 2am and 3pm the following day. The victim had left the car locked and secure but discovered the boot and the vehicle open. There was so sign of forced entry. PC Gill Couzens arrested a male on Saturday June 29th for the possession of a large quantity of drugs which is a great result for the team!"

The end video this week features the Erith Playhouse - the largest theatre in the London Borough of Bexley, and home to many amateur productions.

A hoax call.

A worrying incident took place last Sunday afternoon, only minutes after I posted my last Blog update. Local resident and occasional Maggot Sandwich contributor Miles took the photo above from the corner of Morrisons car park, looking towards the entrance to Erith Pier. Several fire engines, ambulances and at least two Police cars were congregated close to the river bank and Erith Pier. Miles was unable to determine exactly what had been going on, and contacted me for information. After making some enquiries with local contacts, I was able to determine that the call - out of the emergency services was as the result of a malicious hoax phone call. Someone had phoned 999 and told the controller that a crane was on fire on the banks of the River Thames at Erith. The fact that no dockside cranes have been located in Erith since 1999 when the pier was refurbished and opened to the public by its then new owners Morrison's did not seem to register with the hoaxer. Consequently valuable first responders were tied up for a considerable period of time, when they could have been far more productive elsewhere. It was lucky that there was no major incident at the time, or lives could have been lost. I understand that investigations are under way to try and identify the malicious hoaxer and bring them to justice. 

In a surprise move by Bexley Council, the waste and recycling contract with Serco has been extended by eighteen months; many observers were convinced that the contract would be awarded to a different company, due to the perceived poor performance of Serco. As regular readers will be aware, there have been multiple incidents - including some caught on video - of Serco employees taking residents carefully sorted recyclable waste from their individual bins and pouring it all into the same dustcart, thus undoing all of the good work carried out by the residents. This has been repeatedly reported to the council, but nothing whatsoever has been done about it. Changes to the waste collection schedule are also being brought in by the council, including the introduction of two new wheelie bins – one for paper and cardboard and one for mixed recycling. What mixed recycling actually amounts to is at present somewhat unclear. Strangely the new bins are being imported from a manufacturer in Germany; I presume that a UK sourced equivalent supplier could not produce bins for a competitive price or quality. One thing that does strike me is that many people's front garden are already filled with a multitude of waste and recycling bins, and these two additions are going to make this even worse. Personally I fully support the recycling plans for Bexley Council, but I abhor the unsightly and bulky bins that they deploy. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

The Bookstore Cafe in the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith are looking to hire a Cafe Assistant for the successful new local business. The Exchange, the not for profit organisation behind the library renovation have made the following announcement:- "The Exchange is looking for enthusiastic and dedicated individuals to assist in its recently opened Bookstore Café which offers a fresh, quality and delicious menu developed by Chef Marina Power who trained and taught at the world-renowned Ballymaloe cookery school in Ireland". Anyone who is interested in this paid role can find out more about it by downloading the full job description by clicking here. 

Now that The White Hart controversy about opening hours has been laid to rest, and the African restaurant is now in normal operation, the development of the former pub garden is now being processed. As you can see in the top photograph above, the garden has been excavated and there is now a drop of around ten to twelve feet to the new ground level. The site is being redeveloped, and an application has been submitted to Bexley Council. Two of the drawings featured in the planning application are also above. The submission to the council states that:- "Erection of one 4/5 storey building comprising 3 x 3 bed. and 7 x 2 bed. flats and a commercial unit. Provision of associated amenity space, refuse and cycle storage areas and car parking within the lower ground floor". The application may undergo rather more scrutiny than usual, due to the somewhat dodgy history of the proposed developer, as has been documented in some detail by fellow local Blogger Malcolm Knight - click here for the details. Malcolm has been following the story for some considerable time. 

As I have previously mentioned, I rely on readers alerting me to stories and issues in the local area; I don't have some kind of magic prescience regarding local stories. Recently I was contacted by regular reader and occasional contributor Shane, who asked me if I had any information about the closure of the newsagent and coffee shop at Erith Station. At the time I was not aware of the closure, and Shane in return did some digging around. On Thursday morning he Emailed me to say that:- "It is back, with new owners and renovated. The woman running it seems friendly. The previous lot left under a cloud I'm told". So good news - the station now once again has a shop. Thanks to Shane for doing the investigation. 

The press advert above was originally published back in 1955; the product advertised is Cookeen hard vegetable cooking fat, which to this day is still manufactured in the ADM Edible Oils factory - the largest manufacturer of edible oils in Europe. If you have bought a supermarket ready meal in the UK, the oil used to cook it will have come from ADM Oils in Erith. It is also one of the largest local employers, with around 1,200 workers, many of whom live in the local area. It originally started up in 1908, when it was known as Erith Oil Works – the business then was similar to now; they crush and process all kinds of seeds, to extract their natural oils, which are used in foodstuffs, cooking oils and animal feeds. The seeds, then as now are brought upriver in large bulk freighter ships. The distinctive huge concrete silos that are still present on the ADM site were constructed in 1916, where they were some of the earliest surviving examples of reinforced concrete construction in the UK. They were constructed by Danish structural engineering company Christiani and Neilsen, who invented reinforced concrete construction techniques.

Half of British children will own a mobile phone by the age of eleven, according to new research published recently. The study of 2,000 parents shows the average child will receive a phone worth £120 on their eleventh birthday, and will then spend two hours every day glued to the device. But four in 10 parents end up regretting giving their youngster a phone at such a young age – as by their teenage years the child is transfixed by the likes of social media, texts, and computer games. Incredibly, researchers found one in 20 children will own a mobile handset by the age of six, as parents give in to primary school peer pressure. Owning a mobile phone comes at a price for parents – in addition to the £120 upfront fee, mums and dads will be expected to replace the phone at least twice due to it being lost, stolen or damaged. The study, which considers mobile phone ownership amongst children, reveals two thirds of parents will allow their child to have internet access on their device as soon as they get it. On top of this, 28 per cent of children are then allowed to use their phone all day without any supervision from an adult – despite 46 per cent have access to social media channels. The report also highlights that a third of parents fear their children spend far too much time on their phone – with one in eight youngsters spending more than four hours a day chatting to friends and playing games. According to the data, one in 10 children will use their mobile during the school day, and 12 per cent will log in to their phone as soon as they get home from school. Just 10 per cent of children can wait until after dinner before checking their phone. Just one in six parents will limit their child’s phone usage to emergencies only – with many admitting their child uses their phone for a range of activities. Unfortunately, purchasing a phone only adds to the worry parents have. A fifth of parents are concerned their child’s phone has now led to them not enjoying enough quality time with the family, and 16 per cent are concerned their child is missing out on face-to-face interactions with others. Apart from my usual antipathy towards mobile phones, I do have a concern that giving children such devices limits their ability to think for themselves or act fully independently. If they are out and miss the last bus, or some other problem occurs, all they have to do is ring Mum or Dad on their mobile phone to get picked up. They won't learn about improvisation, and in later life this will impair their ability to act in a fully independent manner. What do you think? Do the safety aspects outweigh the downsides of giving children mobile phones? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

You may recall that I recently wrote about The Metropolitan Police who are in the midst of what it is calling a trial of automated facial recognition (AFR) technology, although it has been using the kit since 2016. Recently it used the kit in Romford, parking a van outside the station between 10am and 6pm. The cameras scan the faces of passersby and checks them against a watch list that is supposed to be freshly drawn up for each deployment. Forces have argued the public expects them to use emerging technology to improve policing, but critics railed against the fact it is being tested in live environments without a legal framework and in the face of evidence it has a 98 per cent false positive rate. Since that trial, more information has come to light that the figure is the highest of those given by UK police forces surveyed by the campaign group Big Brother Watch as part of a report that urges the the police to stop using the tech immediately. Forces use facial recognition in two ways: one is after the fact, while cross-checking of images against mugshots held in national databases; the other involves real-time scanning of people's faces in a crowd to compare against a "watch list" that is freshly drawn up for each event. Big Brother Watch's report focused on the latter, which it said breaches human rights laws as it surveils people without their knowledge and might dissuade them from attending public events. Despite Police insistence that it works, the report showed an average false positive rate – where the system "identifies" someone not on the list – of 91 per cent across the country. That doesn't mean nine out of ten people seen on camera are wrongly flagged up, instead it means that 91 per cent of people flagged up turned out to be not on the watch list. The Metropolitan Police has the highest percentage, at 98 per cent, with 35 false positives recorded in one day alone, at the Notting Hill Carnival 2017. The system, though, hasn't had much success in positive identifications either: the report showed there have been just two accurate matches, and neither person was a criminal. The first was at Notting Hill, but the person identified was no longer wanted for arrest because the information used to generate the watch list was out of date. The second such identification took place during last year's Remembrance Sunday event, but this was someone known as a "fixated individual" – these are people known to frequently contact public figures – but who was not a criminal and not wanted for arrest. Typically people on this list have mental health issues, and Big Brother Watch expressed concern that the police said there had not been prior consultation with mental health professionals about cross-matching against people in this database. The criteria for the deployment and use of Automated Facial Recognition technology is defined by the Metropolitan Police thusly:- "1. Public Interest. The use of this technology is permissible only when it is being employed in the public interest. In some cases, this might be straightforward, for example, there is a public interest in being able to identify those engaged in criminal activity. Other cases may be less straightforward. 2. Effectiveness. The use of this technology can be justified only if it is an effective tool for identifying people. 3. The Avoidance of Bias and Algorithmic Injustice. For the use of the technology to be legitimate it should not involve or exhibit undue bias. This can be unjust in two ways. First, some kinds of mis-recognition are inherently demeaning and insulting. Second, technology with these biases can result in unequal and discriminatory treatment of some individuals (for example, members of some groups may be much more likely to be detained and/or required to identify themselves). 4. Impartiality and Deployment. If the technology is deployed for policing purposes it must be used in an even-handed way. For example, it should not be used in ways that disproportionally target certain events, but not others, without a compelling justification. 5. Necessity. Individuals normally have rights to conduct their lives without being monitored and scrutinised. (a) Given that the use of the technology interferes with these rights, such technology can be used only if other, less invasive, techniques are not available. (b) Furthermore, the technology should be used in ways that minimize interference with people engaging in lawful behaviour. 6. Proportionality. In addition to meeting a ‘necessity’ requirement, the technology should also meet a ‘proportionality’ requirement. That is, it can be permissible only if the benefits are proportionate to any loss of liberty and privacy. The benefits have to be sufficiently great so as to justify any interference with other rights. 7. Impartiality, Accountability, Oversight and the Construction of Watchlists. (a) If humans (or algorithms) are involved in the construction of watchlists for use with the technology, it is essential that they be impartial and free from bias.8 (b) The construction of ‘watchlists’ needs to be subject to oversight by an independent body. 8. Public Trust. If the technology is to be used for policing purposes it is important that those using it (either in operational deployments or trials) engage in public consultation and provide the rationale for its use. 9. Cost-effectiveness. Any evaluation of the use of this technology needs to take into account whether any resources it requires could be better used elsewhere. Biometric recognition systems (including data training sets) that will be used in public places should be to be open to scrutiny and effective oversight". As previously stated, I am all for the Police using new technology to catch criminals, but it does need to be properly tested and effective, which in this case it would seem not to be. 

Bexley Council finally made a decision as to the future of the former Belvedere Police Station in Nuxley Road last week; the old building will be demolished and replaced with a four and five story apartment block which will contain 26 flats. Many locals are concerned that the development will be too large, and overshadow existing buildings, such as All Saints Church, which is directly opposite. There are also concerns about the very limited number of parking spaces that will be provided in the new apartment block; the developers counter this by arguing that they expect many of the residents to use bikes rather than cars. I find this somewhat unlikely, as any occupants of the high - end flats will probably work in London, and need to commute via Belvedere station, which is about half a mile away at the bottom of a one in seven hill. Whilst this is fine when going down it in the morning on a pushbike, it is not so great at the end of a long day at work, when your only option would be to walk up the hill, pushing the bike with you, as it is too steep to cycle up, and even electrically powered bikes struggle with the very long and steep incline. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. First a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Another good week crime wise across the ward. A theft from motor vehicle occurred in Beverley Road overnight from 4pm on the Monday 25th February, suspects took small change and sunglasses from a Ford Galaxy parked on a driveway. There was no damage to the vehicle which is believed to have been left unlocked. We have CCTV of potential suspects, enquires are continuing. Please make sure that your vehicle is locked securely, do not rely on the electronic fob always check manually that your vehicle is locked. Suspects are just walking down a street trying car door handles and taking whatever they can when they find a door unlocked. You can help reduce crime considerably just by simply checking that your vehicle is secure. On Thursday 21st February at about 3.30 pm a caravan was set on fire within an old garage block in Chipstead Road .The area had been suffering from fly tipping and the caravan was pushed up against a metal gate in an attempt to prevent further offences. The fire has also caused damage to fence panels on neighbouring properties. If you have any information on theses or any other crimes please get in touch or call CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111 this is completely anonymous and you do not have to give any personal detail. 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. As Always please follow us on Twitter @MPSBarnehurst and Facebook Barnehurst Police". Belvedere ward - no report this week.  Bexleyheath ward:- "We have had one report of a burglary along St Audrey Avenue Bexleyheath on the Thursday 21/02/2019 between 7am and 8pm. Entry was gained via the ground floor kitchen window. Also we have had a report of a distraction burglary along Heversham Road on the 26/02/2019 at 1030am. Males posing as gardeners in order to distract and enter property and take jewellery and money. Report of motor vehicle scratched on Park Grove 0n the Tuesday 26/02/2019 between 8am and 7pm. Theft from motor vehicle on Gravel Hill Close between Saturday 23/02/ - Monday 25/02/2019 between 1800 0800hrs. Window smashed -taken air bag Sat navigator and radio and external skirt panels removed. On the Broadway 3x purses taken from bags. On Saturday 23/02/2019 0n the Broadway two females after been advised by Town Safe Officers to move on this was ignored. Stopped and arrested for vagrancy and begging. By Methuen road on Wednesday 20/02/2019 a group of youths stopped by your local police for anti - social behaviour. Engaged with the youths and advised. On Saturday 23/02/2019 on Iris Avenue reports of youths blocking the road local policing team attended and youths stopped on push bikes for anti – social behaviour. Good news officers from your local team conducted Met Trace on ST AUDREY. Met trace is a Metropolitan Service operation to help residents make their homes more secure by providing crime prevention advise and Smart Water forensic property marking kits". Crayford ward:- "Please be aware that there are bogus builders in the area. A resident agreed to a small roof repair, the “roofer” then said the job was bigger than thought and would cost much more, the money was given. The “roofer” has come back and asked for a further amount and the work has not been completed, confirmed as a scam. These people prey on people's fears and concerns and by agreeing to have a small job done this opens the door for the bogus person to demand more. Do not agree to having work done by someone cold calling at your door, always ask for personal recommendations from family or friends if you need to have work done at your home and don't be afraid to make your own checks. We surveyed Bourne Mead, Mount Pleasant Walk and part of Hall Place Crescent and will continue with this in the coming week. Overnight on 20th into the 21st February a venue in Woodside Road was broken in to by means of an unlocked door, damage was caused to electronic items and graffiti was put on the wall. A silver Renault Traffic van was broken in to on Thursday 21st February between 06.00-17.30 at Hall Place car park and an electric tester megger, tool bag and 3 Dewalt Drills were stolen. On Wednesday 20th February at 22.40 suspects were disturbed whilst gaining entry to a garage at Old Road, two Males were seen to make off in a white van. An IPhone 8 was stolen from a van parked outside Bookers Cash and Carry on Wednesday 20th February between 14.15-14.30, please don't leave valuable items on show in your vehicle. On Monday 18th February between 02.00-03.00 a black Ford Mondeo had all windows smashed whilst parked in Heathview Avenue. Between 16th and 17th February, number plates F17 LEE were stolen from a parked vehicle in Tanners Close, these plates belong to a white S3 Audi Quattro. It was reported that on Friday 1st February windows and doors were damaged by an unknown suspect in Shearwood Crescent. On Friday 22nd February between 18.00-18.30 a teenager had his mobile phone and bicycle stolen from outside McDonalds by a group of youths. On Tuesday 26th February between 08.05 and 20.15 a burglary occurred in Crayford Way. The resident came home to find the living room and upstairs lights on and realised that the patio door had been smashed, there were visible tool marks on the frame. The bedrooms had been ransacked and at this time it is not known what was stolen. We have leafletted the local homes with preventative information. Between 22.00 on Monday 25th February and 6am on Tuesday 26th February, a blue Ford Focus was broken into whilst parked at Chapel Hill, items were strewn across the drive and money was stolen. On Tuesday 26th February between 14.00-14.07 a blue Giant bicycle was stolen from outside KFC whilst the owner had gone inside to order food. Suspect was described as being about 20 years old, wearing a blue and white hat, blue body warmer, grey jumper and sunglasses. We will be at Crayford Library on Wednesday 6th March between 14.00-15.00 if you would like to come along and speak with us about anything". Erith ward - no report this week. Northumberland Heath ward:- "One Residential burglary in a flat in Brook Street reported to us this week between 0300 – 0400am on Monday 25th February. An Xbox, passports and other personal items were stolen. The suspect climbed on to a roof and entry was gained via an upstairs window. One attempted break in to a garage in Swanton Road on Thursday 21st February at 01.30am. A white transit van was seen backing up to the garage door causing £600 of damage. On Friday February 22nd at 11.40am officers were patrolling in Bexley Road when they were approached by a member of the public who had witnessed two males in a white van attempting to steal a motorbike. A witness to the attempted motorbike theft saw and informed the officers of what they had seen just before they entered Limewood Road. Suspects in a white van were trying to steal a motorbike by trying to load it into a white van. They appeared to be disturbed and quickly made off in the white van without the motorbike. In their haste they left a piece of their van, the sliding side door discarded in the road. The witnesses knew the owner of the motorbike and called to informed him. She had also been on the phone to 999 but having seen the officers did not compete the reporting process and spoke to the officers instead. The team have continued to conduct a number of stop and searches and focus our patrols in our hotspot areas Bexley Road, Becton Place, Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground and the alleyways leading to Hengist, Horsa, Northumberland Park and Charlieville Road. The next Community Contact Session (Drop In Police Surgery), will be held at the Library in Mill Road on Monday March 4th at Noon. All are welcome to attend".  Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Not good news to start with. 4 garage burglaries have occurred in the last week. Two were at Clark Close at some point between Feb 20th and Feb 24th with tools taken from one garage and nothing taken from the other. A pushbike was taken from a garage in Boundary Street at some point between Feb 23 and 22nd and finally overnight on Tuesday 26th Feb a garage in Reddy Road was seemingly rammed but access wasn't gained. We will be patrolling all our garage areas in the coming shifts. PC's Mark and James have had several positive stop and searches across the ward in the last week resulting in one suspect being charged with possession of cannabis. 2 Community Resolutions were given for the other 2 who had drugs on them. An uninsured moped was recovered in Erith after the suspects fled upon seeing mark and James patrolling. Unfortunately they got away but did leave the moped for recovery. Alderney Road has a new Neighbourhood Watch coordinator and we await registration forms for new watches in Festival Close and Cook Square in Frobisher Road. A meeting was held with Hollywood Way N.Watch after recent issues on the estate with some good intel gained from the meeting. Our next CCS is on Tuesday March 5th from 11am in Forest Road Café, please come and say hi if you are free". Thamesmead East ward:- "Unfortunately one burglary to report this week, which occurred on Sunday 24th Feb, between 1730 and 2100 hours, St Andrews Close, Thamesmead. Entry was forced via the rear patio door, untidy search, jewellery stolen. The team attended the location the following day making CCTV and House to House Enquiries. We will also be holding a street briefing on Sunday 3rd March between 1500 and 1600 hours to discuss the above, and allow residents to discuss any other issues they may have concerns about. Two motor vehicle crimes to report this week, both happened on Sunday 24th February. A Green Mercedes was stolen from Southmere Drive during the early hours, and at around 0700 hours a black Mercedes was broken into, Manordene Road. This vehicle had a taxi badge on display in the rear window. Unfortunately the ward had been targeted recently regarding mini cabs/taxis being easily identified. It is believed the suspects feel money may be left in the vehicle overnight. Other News, a male has been identified for breaking into motor vehicles, after he had left DNA behind, enquiries ongoing. The team arrested a male who was wanted by the courts for failing to appear". West Heath ward:- "Burglary - We are extremely pleased to inform our residents that we have not had any residential burglaries during the last week and we hope that this continues. Non residential burglary - On Thursday 21st February at 0730 hours police were informed that several garages in Osborne Road had their padlocks broken off, no entry was gained and nothing stolen. Theft of motor vehicle - The ward has not suffered any thefts of motor vehicles, please stay vigilant and remember to secure your vehicles and do not leave any property on display. Theft from motor vehicle - During Thursday 21st February at 2230 and Friday 22nd at 0615 hours a vehicle in Ashbourne Avenue was broken into and a mobility scooter was stolen. PC's Gill and Mo have carried out plain clothes patrols in several areas where residents have brought our attention to drug use and drug dealing. We will continue to patrol these areas in plain clothes and full uniform to address the issue. The team had a street briefing in Hadlow Road and were joined by one of our councillors. We were spoken to by a number of residents who raised a few issues about drug dealing, anti-social behaviour which the team will be addressing. Yesterday we had a good attendance at our street briefing in Brampton Road j/w Shakespeare Road, residents raised the issue of vehicles speeding along Brampton Road and not stopping at the pedestrian crossing. Our next street briefing will be held on Monday 4th March outside the library in King Harolds Way from 7pm".

The end video this week features a video by a chap who has set himself the challenge of walking all the way around the London Loop and filming each stage of his journey to be published on YouTube. The London Loop is more properly known as the London Outer Orbital Path; it is a 150-mile (242 km) signed walk along public footpaths, and through parks, woods and fields around the edge of Outer London, England, described as "the M25 for walkers". The walk begins at Erith on the south bank of the River Thames and passes clockwise through Crayford, Petts Wood, Coulsdon, Banstead, Ewell, Kingston upon Thames, Uxbridge, Elstree, Cockfosters, Chingford, Chigwell, Grange Hill and Upminster Bridge before ending at Purfleet, almost directly across the Thames from its starting point. Between these settlements the route passes through green buffers and some of the highest points in Greater London. The chap starts his round London walking trip at Erith, and in this first video makes his way to Crayford. Do give the video a watch and see what you think. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

A 75th anniversary.

Erith is receiving extra money from the London Mayor’s Good Growth Fund. The cash will be used to improve several public areas around the town, including the Riverside Gardens (pictured above - click on the photo in order to see a larger version). In an interview with the News Shopper, Councillor Louie French, Bexley’s deputy leader and cabinet member for growth, said: “I am delighted this latest round of funding will see the Riverside Gardens rejuvenated and refurbished based on designs developed in partnership with local residents and community organisations. The project will upgrade this much-loved open space to improve visibility of and engagement with the river, creating opportunities for the community to use the gardens for play, leisure activities, planting and learning." The historic Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road has received similar funding, and the official opening event of the Bookstore Cafe within the building by The Exchange is scheduled to take place on the 14th February. You can read details about it here.

The mystery surrounding Electricity House deepens. Regular readers may recall that the large 1930's brick building opposite the De Luci fish roundabout and Pier Road. The building contains a number of businesses and other organisations. In recent times the building has had a somewhat rocky time. Part of the building was home to the Bright Steps children's nursery, until it was shut down by the Police and officers from Ofsted after a member of nursery staff was seen hitting a child, and the nursery owner tried to cover the crime up. After an unsuccessful court appeal against the ban, the owners of the nursery put it up for rent. This is all under a background of Bexley Council negotiating with the individual leaseholders in order to buy out the leases in Electricity House prior to what I and many others believe to be a compulsory purchase order and then site redevelopment. A new nursery provider took up the lease of part of the building. The nursery was originally called The Carnegie Playhouse, but shortly changed its name to The Bexley Road Nursery. Some building refurbishment work was undertaken, but for the last couple of weeks no activity has been observed on the site. I have Emailed the nursery owner asking for an update, but so far I have not had a response. In the meantime, the African church which has been using The P2 Events Centre - the shabbily converted former snooker club, located on the upper floor of the large building - have now moved out, and they are now holding their services in the White Hart African restaurant and wine bar. You may recall that last year the White Hart controversially submitted a request to Bexley Council licensing in order to stay open until 5am every day. Understandably this was thrown out. One other issue that came up at the licensing meeting was that the White Hart had converted the former beer cellar into an events space and an overspill area from the restaurant upstairs. The problem with this was that there is no fire escape - there is only a single staircase in and out of the lower floor area. Because of this, both Bexley Council planning team and the London Fire Brigade forbade the owners from using the former beer cellar until extensive alterations to create a fire escape had been made. Some locals have expressed concern that the church may be illegally using the former beer cellar area in order to hold their services, but at the time of writing, I have no solid evidence to back this up. Whatever is happening, things are changing, and the businesses located in Electricity House are gradually closing up as their leases are bought up by Bexley Council; I have it on reliable authority that the long established shoe repairer and key cutting shop called Soles and Heels. on the corner of Pier Road and Cross Street is soon to be no more. The council surveyors have been in to measure the place up prior to making the owners an offer that they will not be able to refuse. 

Nowadays many people are familiar with the ground breaking work done by hundreds of men and women during World War II at Bletchley Park to break the Axis ciphers, which are said to have shortened the war by around two years. Much has been made of the work by Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman and the hundreds of mathematicians, linguists, statisticians, cryptanalysts and administrative staff who worked to crack the Enigma Code, and several films and documentaries have been made on the subject, including the absolutely terrible film, The Imitation Game, which is horrendously historically inaccurate, and actually fabricates much of the story. Nevertheless, the work carried out in utter secret was absolutely vital to the Allies eventual victory. What is far less well known is the story of how Station X (the code name for Bletchley Park) broke the cipher used by Germany's high command, which was even more fiendishly complex and hard to break than the already formidable Enigma Code. Tuesday of last week marked the 75th anniversary of the first use of a digital, programmable computer, which not only substantially eased wartime code breaking, but went on to change the world - and it all started in a draughty shed near Milton Keynes. I digress; The cipher used by Hitler and his top generals was called the Lorenz Cipher. Lorenz used a massively modified electrical teleprinter. Teleprinters are not based on the 26-letter alphabet and Morse code on which the Enigma machine depended. Teleprinters use the 32-symbol Baudot code. Note that the Baudot code output consists of five channels each of which is a stream of bits which can be represented as no-hole or hole, 0 or 1, dot or cross. The system enciphered the message text by adding to it, character by character, a set of obscuring characters thus producing the enciphered characters which were transmitted to the intended recipient. The simplicity of the Lorenz system lay in the fact that the obscuring characters were added in a rather special way (known as modulo-2 addition). Then exactly the same obscuring characters, added also by modulo-2 addition to the received enciphered characters, would cancel out the obscuring characters and leave the original message characters which could then be printed. The Lorenz machines at each end of the communication link had to be set up with the same cipher key in order to effectively communicate. The difficulty was how to ensure, in a hot war situation, that the same random character keys were available at each end of a communications link and that they were both set to the same start position. The Lorenz company decided that it would be operationally easier to construct a machine to generate the obscuring character sequence. Because it was a machine it could not generate a completely random sequence of characters. It generated what is known as a pseudo-random sequence. Unfortunately for the German Army it was more "pseudo" than random and that was how it was broken. Brigadier John Tiltman, one of the top codebreakers in Bletchley Park, took a particular interest in these enciphered teleprinter messages. They were given the code name "Fish". Because the Lorenz system depended on addition of characters, Tiltman reasoned that if the operators made a mistake and used the same Lorenz machine starts for two messages (known by codebreakers as a depth), then by adding the two cipher texts together character by character, the obscuring character sequence would disappear. He would then be left with a sequence of characters each of which represented the addition of the two characters in the original German message texts. For two completely different messages it is virtually impossible to assign the correct characters to each message. Just small sections at the start could be derived but not complete messages. As the number of intercepts, now being made at Knockholt in Kent, increased a section was formed in Bletchley Park headed by Major Ralph Tester and known as the "Testery". A number of messages were intercepted but not much headway had been made into breaking the cipher until the Germans made one horrendous mistake. It was on 30 August 1941. A German operator had a long message of nearly 4,000 characters to be sent from one part of the German Army High command to another — probably Athens to Vienna. He correctly set up his Lorenz machine and then sent a twelve letter indicator, using the German names, to the operator at the receiving end. This operator then set his Lorenz machine and asked the operator at the sending end to start sending his message. After nearly 4,000 characters had been keyed in at the sending end, by hand, the operator at the receiving end sent back by radio the equivalent, in German, of "didn't get that — send it again". They now both put their Lorenz machines back to the same start position. This was absolutely forbidden, but they did it. The operator at the sending end then began to key in the message again, by hand. If he had been an automaton and used exactly the same key strokes as the first time then all the interceptors would have got would have been two identical copies of the cipher text. Input the same — machines generating the same obscuring characters — same cipher text. But being only human and being thoroughly bored and disgusted at having to key it all again, the sending operator began to make differences in the second message compared to the first. The message began with that well known German phrase SPRUCHNUMMER — "message number" in English. The first time the operator keyed in S P R U C H N U M M E R. The second time he keyed in S P R U C H N R and then the rest of the message text. Now NR means the same as NUMMER, so what difference did that make? It meant that immediately following the N the two texts were different. But the machines were generating the same obscuring sequence, therefore the cipher texts were different from that point on. The interceptors at Knockholt realised the possible importance of these two messages because the twelve letter indicators were the same. They were sent post-haste to John Tiltman at Bletchley Park. Tiltman applied the same additive technique to this pair as he had to previous Depths. But this time he was able to get much further with working out the actual message texts because when he tried SPRUCHNUMMER at the start he immediately spotted that the second message was nearly identical to the first. Thus the combined errors of having the machines back to the same start position and the text being re-keyed with just slight differences enabled Tiltman to recover completely both texts. The second one was about 500 characters shorter than the first where the German operator had been saving his fingers. This fact also allowed Tiltman to assign the correct message to its original cipher text. Now Tiltman could add together, character by character, the corresponding cipher and message texts revealing for the first time a long stretch of the obscuring character sequence being generated by this German cipher machine. He did not know how the machine did it, but he knew that this was what it was generating. This manual cracking of the Lorenz Cipher proved that it could be broken, but it was far too slow and laborious to be used in any kind of practical manner. What would massively accelerate the breaking of Lorenz enciphered messages would be if there was a way to automate the comparison of the hundreds of messages that were transmitted by the Nazis every day. This is where Colossus - the world's first, digital, programmable computer came in. Built by the Post Office at their research and development laboratory in Dollis Hill, and designed by a largely unsung genius called Tommy Flowers. Colossus was huge - hence the name, and used thousands of thermionic valves (what the Americans call tubes) to operate. Colossus reduced the time to break Lorenz messages from weeks to hours, and sometimes even minutes. Colossus read teleprinter characters, in the international Baudot code, at 5,000 characters per second from a paper tape. These characters were usually the intercepted cipher text which had been transmitted by radio. The paper tape was joined into a loop with special punched holes at the beginning and end of the text. The broad principle of Colossus was to count throughout the length of the text the number of times that some complicated Boolean function between the text and the generated wheel patterns had either a true or false result. At the end of text the count left on the counter circuits was dumped onto relays before being printed on the typewriter during the next read through the text, an early form of double buffering. It was just in time for the deciphering of messages which gave vital information to Eisenhower and Montgomery prior to D-Day. In effect Bletchley Park were "reading Hitler's Email". These deciphered Lorenz messages showed that Hitler had swallowed the deception campaigns, the phantom army in the South of England, the phantom convoys moving east along the channel; that Hitler was convinced that the attacks were coming across the Pas de Calais and that he was keeping Panzer divisions in Belgium. Colossus was so good at deciphering Nazi High Command messages that there were many instances when the cryptographers at Bletchley Park were reading decrypted messages before Hitler did! After D-Day the French resistance and the British and American Air Forces bombed and strafed all the telephone and teleprinter land lines in Northern France, forced the Germans to use radio communications and suddenly the volume of intercepted messages went up enormously. The Mark 1 had been rapidly succeeded by the Mark 2 Colossus in June 1944 and eight more were quickly built to handle the increase in messages. The Mark 1 was upgraded to a Mark 2 and there were thus ten Mark 2 Colossi in the Park by the end of the war. By the end of hostilities, 63 million characters of high grade German messages had been decrypted — an absolutely staggering output from just 550 people at Bletchley Park, plus of course the considerable number of interceptors at Knockholt, with backups at Shaftesbury and Cupar in Scotland. The first Lorenz enciphered message to be cracked by Colossus happened 75 years ago last week - and it changed the world, launching the computer age.

You may recall that last week I wrote about the Metropolitan Police who are in the midst of what it is calling a trial of automated facial recognition (AFR) technology, although it has been using the kit since 2016. Last week it used the kit in Romford, parking a van outside the station between 10am and 6pm. The cameras scan the faces of passersby and checks them against a watch list that is supposed to be freshly drawn up for each deployment. Forces have argued the public expects them to use emerging tech to improve policing, but critics railed against the fact it is being tested in live environments without a legal framework and in the face of evidence it has a 98 per cent false positive rate. Last week's deployment was due to be the final one before a full analysis, but snow meant that the second day had to be rescheduled because footfall would be lower than is required by the tests. The Metropolitan Police have yet to provide details of where and when this will be – info about the Romford trial was only released at 4pm the day before. The problem is not with identifying and tracking criminals, which I am sure pretty much everyone applauds, but the fact that the technology currently deployed simply does not work as advertised, and the extremely high rate of false positives means that potentially passers by can be identified as a wanted criminal when in reality they are completely innocent. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. First a report from Barnehurst ward:- 

Image:- Fire fighters attending a property in Parkside Avenue, Barnehurst on Monday which resulted in the discovery of a cannabis factory. "Not a bad week crime wise across the ward with no burglaries reported. There has been an increase in theft from motor vehicles offences with five being reported in Hillingdon Road since Wednesday 30th January. All offences have occurred overnight. There has been no damage to vehicles and property including electrical items, sunglasses and small change has been taken. Please make sure that your vehicle is locked securely, do not rely on the electronic fob always check manually that your vehicle is locked. The team will be adjusting their duties and will be carrying out both uniformed and plain clothes operations at the relevant times. On Monday 4th February the fire service responded to a house fire in Parkside Avenue, the property was seriously damaged and whilst fighting the blaze a cannabis factory was discovered across the first floor of the house. Police attended and approximately 150 cannabis plants were seized from the property. Enquires are continuing in regards to potential suspects identified regarding the cultivation. Most cannabis factories are situated in residential streets, normally the electricity is by passed and with the heat generated from the hydroponic set up creates a major fire hazard. If you have suspicions that a property is being used to cultivate drugs please call the local policing team with details. If you do not want to talk to the police consider calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 this is completely anonymous and you do not have to give any personal details. Thankfully nobody was injured during this incident, however this was only due to the quick response from the fire service and the skill of the crews tackling the fire which prevented the blaze from spreading to neighbouring properties. A member of the team will be at Barnehurst Golf course on Tuesday 12th February at 11am. Please come along for an informal chat about any concerns or issues that you may have or just pop in to say hello. As always we can be found on twitter @MPSBarnehurst and Facebook, just search for Barnehurst Police". Belvedere ward:- "The team began this week by attending Belvedere Junior school in order to monitor parking and traffic along Lower Road, directly outside of the school after concerns were raised by both the school and Bexley Council. This has historically been an issue and the team are hoping to attend more regularly with partner agencies to take the necessary action against any person(s) that are found to be committing offences. We have now been advised that the elder of the two men that were sleeping rough on the site of the disused Belvedere Police station has been housed. A great deal of work took place by not only ourselves but several outreach workers and Bexley Council officers to assist the male with his health issues and he is now hopefully in suitable accommodation. We are aware that the younger male seems to have repositioned himself further along Nuxley Road and we are still working toward a suitable outcome for this male also. With the help of Ian Holt, the estate manager of the Lesnes Abbey heritage site, the team have recovered a safe that had been discovered discarded in bushes at the entrance to New Road. This has been stored in a more secure area at this stage and appears to have been taken from a house in the Welling area during a burglary. We are in the process of contacting the rightful owner in order to restore their property to them. Over the weekend the team responded to a call for Police as youths were apparently causing a nuisance in both Tennyson and Scott Houses in Albert Road. Unfortunately there was no sign of the group when we arrived at the location however we will continue to patrol areas such as this on a regular basis. Finally, the team visited a resident of Woodland Way who had reported a male that had been caught on CCTV from the property. He had been walking along Woodland Way in the early hours of one morning recently and was trying to open car doors. He eventually managed to enter a vehicle that had not been locked overnight, although he did not take anything from the vehicle as no items of value were left in the car by the resident. No other damage was caused to the vehicle however the team would advise that you always lock and secure your vehicle even if leaving it unattended for the shortest time. Also, never leave items on display within your vehicle. Place items where they cannot be seen (glove box or boot) or take any valuable items from the car when you exit your vehicle. Our next Community Contact session is due to take place on Friday 15th February at the Asda café from 12 noon". Bexleyheath ward:- "There has been one report of a burglary along Bedonwell Road Bexleyheath on the Friday 01/02/2019, method of entry is unknown. Saturday 02/02/2019 – Report of a theft from motor vehicle, outside Asda store Bexleyheath; Wednesday 30/01/2019 – Report of an interference with a motor vehicle along Hyde Road Bexleyheath. A theft of purse was report on the Monday 04/02/2019 along the Broadway Bexleyheath between 3.30 and 4pm; On the Monday 04/02/2019 - A male was stopped along the skate park in Bexleyheath for possession of cannabis. The team has received reports of males on bikes causing anti social behaviour 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:- "Number plates were stolen from a Ford Transit parked to the rear of a business by Crayford Parade between Friday 25th and Monday 28th February. On Thursday 31st January a burglary occurred at an address in Iron Mill Lane between 13.30 and 21.30. Entry was via a rear door, it was not reported what was stolen. Number plates were stolen from a vehicle parked in Farm Place between 18.00 on Thursday 31 January and 10.00 on Friday 1st February. These number plates OV53 VHJ should be on a Blue VW Polo. It was reported that between 09.00-09.10 on Tuesday 29th January a wing mirror was deliberately broken off a Ford Fiesta van whilst parked outside a property in Mill Place. Number plates KW10 GWV were stolen from a Black Volkswagon whilst parked in Perry Street on Saturday 2nd February between 12.15 and 14.30. Between 12.00 on Thursday 31st January and 14.15 on Saturday 2nd February a shed was broken into at Crayford Allotments, a quantity of power tools and gardening equipment was taken. A theft from motor vehicle occurred on Monday 4th February between 01.00-04.00 at Old Road. A small bag containing toiletries, a small flick knife and caravan keys were stolen from within a red Honda CRV, victim believes the suspect's intention was to steal the vehicle but it had a steering lock fitted. Our officers have dealt with 2 youths who had cannabis on them close to Halcot Avenue, their parents have been made aware. We were at Town Hall Square on Tuesday early evening with our partners from Peabody Trust to conduct house to house surveys about anti-social behaviour and disorder at that location and close by. Tackling anti-social behaviour in Crayford Town Centre is one of our current ward promises as agreed by our ward panel. Whilst there some youths were seen loitering in the rear of the underground car park and on seeing police ran off. A short foot chase ensued but the youths had too great a head start, they did however drop their lit cannabis joint which will now be destroyed. Many of the residents at Town Hall Square want us to be there to deal with the constant ongoing issues occurring there". Erith ward:- "Around Erith – A new café is opening soon, the bookstore café in the old Erith Library for more info have a look at this link: https://www.theexchangeerith.com/the-bookstore-cafe/ we will be popping in for a coffee every now and then supporting new local businesses. Also a free exhibition Windrush and Bexley's Story of Migration [exhibition] Sat, Feb 16, 2019, 11:00 AM - Sun, Mar 17, 2019, 4:00 PM. The Exchange Open Thursday – Sunday, 11 – 4pm. - Crimes of note: Burg Res (Burglary Residential) Sunday 27/01/2019 Rutland Gate - By suspect, breaking into victim's household whilst away, stealing several items and causing damage to several items + the household; Theft from MV (Motor Vehicle) Thursday 31/01/2019, St. Fidelis Road - Vehicle boot left unlocked and items taken; Burg Res Friday 01/02/2019 Crusoe Road - by suspect unknown gaining entry by smashing rear conservatory door to gain entry then remove property from within; Shoplift <£200 Saturday 02/02/2019 WM Morrison Supermarket, James Watt Way; Theft from MV 03/02/2019 Bramble Croft - front and rear number plates stolen from vehicle; Burg Bus (Burglary Business) Friday 01/02/2019, West Street - break in to a construction site. Community Contact Session date:- Thursday 14th February Erith Library". Northumberland Heath ward:- "One burglary reported to us over the past week in Belmont Road. This took place on the afternoon of Thursday January 31st between 3pm - 10.50pm when the occupiers returned to find the back door smashed and the house ransacked. A safe containing a large amount of cash was stolen along with a Rolex watch, a Louis Vutton handbag and office equipment to the value of£500. A Land Rover discovery was stolen overnight on Monday February 4th in the small hours of the morning between 0130 – 0620 when the victim discovered it missing when leaving for work .The vehicle was stolen with the owner still of possession of the keys. The victim has CCTV footage of three men in Balaclavas on their property, these males were believed to be driving a silver ford focus prior to the vehicle theft. Two theft from Motor vehicles in very close proximity to each other in Parsonage Manorway and Shinglewell Road. Both took place overnight on Thursday January 31st and Friday February 1st between 6pm and 8am. One vehicle had a bag containing £40 stolen and the other had a dashcam stolen. This week we had a meeting with Bexley council to discuss several youths who are still coming to police attention, we will update you with any further information in due course. Our next drop in Police Surgery will be held on Wednesday February 13th at Midday. All are welcome to attend". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "An armed robbery took place on Tuesday 05/02/2019. At 11:45 2 masked men entered the Post Office in Forest Road armed with axes demanding money from the tills. They got away with £600. Fortunately no one was hurt. The investigation is under way with the good news that one suspect has been arrested and hopefully the second will be caught soon. If anyone has any information relating to this matter please let us know or call 101. A vehicle was stolen from Cedar Road at some time between Saturday (2/2/19) and Monday (4/2/19) this week with no evidence of any smashed glass or stolen keys. The vehicle details have been flagged for the ANPR cameras. 2 positive searches this week. PC's Mark and James carried out some plain clothes work on Saturday 2nd Feb resulting in 1 suspect searched in Frobisher Road and found in possession of cannabis which ended with the relevant warnings given. Another suspect is coming back for an interview next week after also being found in possession of cannabis but denying any knowledge of it. On the morning of Saturday Feb 2nd police attention was drawn to an unattended motorbike with its engine running in the car park of Tesco Express, Northend Road. As officers went to go in the shop a male came out carrying £31 pound worth of chocolate, he said it was his bike. The bike was stolen as was the chocolate so he was duly arrested for both offences!" Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - No burglaries to report this week. However remain vigilant at all times. Theft of motor vehicle - Between the hours of 02:00pm and 04:00pm on Thursday 31/01/19 a vehicle was stolen from Manordeane Road. Theft from motor vehicle - Between the hours of 07:00pm on Saturday 02/02/19 and 07:50am Sunday 03/02/19 a vehicle parked, locked and secure in Lensbury Way had the front passenger window smashed and a brand new tom tom valued at £220 taken from the glove box. During the early hours of Sunday morning of the 03/02/19 another vehicle parked in Lensbury Way had both the front passenger window and rear passenger smashed, an Apple mini iPad, Microsoft surface laptop, optical equipment and £350 taken from the glove box. Crime prevention - Wallets, purses ,handbags ,credit cards and loose change should never be left in an unattended vehicle. Remove sat nav mounts, suction cup marks on windows and cables which may indicate electrical items in the vehicle. Good news - On Friday 01/02/19 a male who resides locally was arrested for failing to appear, was kept in over the weekend and bailed to court. Meetings - Have A Say Day On Thursday 14/02/19 at The Link, Bazalgette Way between the hours of 1:00 – 2:00pm,an opportunity to meet with your local police team and discuss any concerns that you may have". West Heath ward:- "The ward has suffered two theft from Motor vehicles and two Theft of Motor vehicles. Between Tuesday the 29th January at 9pm -- Wednesday 30th January at 7.40am a vehicle was stolen without the use of the keys in Powys Close, a second vehicle was taken from Canberra Road again without keys between 11pm on the Monday 21st January and 7.30am Friday 1st February. Number plates were stolen from a vehicle in Clovelly Road daytime between 9.30am and 8.15pm on the Thursday 31st January. Petrol was stolen and the vehicles tyres slashed in Hurst Lane between Sunday 10th at 10am and Monday 11th February at 10am. We have been made aware by the residents of Glenview that person/s are informing them that un-necessary remedial works are required to their properties, they have also been offered services of driveway cleaning. Please be aware of unexpected callers offering these services. Please do not hesitate to contact police if you have any concerns about these callers. Our next Community Contact Session will be on Saturday the Saturday 9th February at Hurst Lane Estate between 1 – 2pm. The team have carried out arrest enquiries for persons who are wanted and now currently have only one person outstanding on the ward. We continue to carry out high visibility patrols in an attempt to reduce burglaries, ASB and drugs. We have delivered leaflets regarding drug activity in Heath Avenue and Powys Road".

The end video this week is a documentary from 2014 featuring Welling born and raised musician Kate Bush; it makes for fascinating viewing. Please feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.