The Garden Party.

The photos were taken by me yesterday at the first summer garden party hosted by not for profit group The Exchange in the old Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith. Some really good news now; after having open for six months now, The Bookstore Cafe (seen in the uppermost photo above - click on it for a larger version) in the old Carnegie Library building has just been awarded the best place to eat in Erith by the reviewers of TripAdvisor. You can read their submissions by clicking here. The garden party included a number of events - you can see a Bhangra dance lesson in the second photo above - originally this had been intended as a one - off session, but it proved so popular with visitors that a second session was quickly organised. Following this, a group of African drummers and circus performers took to the stage, as well as sensational traditional drumming, the group juggled hats, metal bowls and wine bottles, danced and clowned with the appreciative audience. The performance ended with the Bhangra drummer joining the African group in a stunning cross genre performance that had the audience up and dancing. As well as the musical performances, a barbecue was run by Old Haven BBQ, who source all of their meats from Pickett's Butchers in Bexleyheath. Later in the day soft rock group Shindig played, and there was the welcome return of the very popular BBC Symphony Orchestra string quintet. Originally it had been intended to hold some of the performances outside, in the newly created herb and vegetable garden to the rear of the library building, but the rain meant that these were moved into the main library hall area. To be honest, I felt that the amazing acoustics in the main hall added to the performances, and that the move inside would have been a good idea whatever the weather. More on performances in the Carnegie Library at the end of this week's update. 

There has been much concern regarding changes to several local bus services; At present the 428 route serves Darent Valley hospital and Bluewater after leaving Dartford town centre. TfL’s proposals would see the route terminating in Crayford with passengers asked to transfer to the 96 route to reach Dartford town centre, Darent Valley hospital and Bluewater. Slade Green Councillor Stef Borella said that:- "At present the 428 route serves Darent Valley hospital and Bluewater after leaving Dartford town centre. TfL’s proposals would see the route terminating in Crayford with passengers asked to transfer to the 96 route to reach Dartford town centre, Darent Valley hospital and Bluewater. One proposal I will be suggesting to TfL will be for the 428 route to terminate at Darent Valley hospital and travel as an express route from Crayford to the hospital. This would therefore deliver some savings to TfL while still delivering a direct bus route to the hospital from Erith, Slade Green and Crayford. I would urge local residents to respond to the consultation arguing that a direct link to the hospital be maintained.” More on changes to the 428 bus route later in this article. One of my local news correspondents, who chooses to remain anonymous, has submitted the following report and analysis on the changes to several local bus services. He writes:- "Some bad news for residents (potentially) in the North / East of the Borough. TfL are now consulting on cutting the 428 back to Crayford and cutting the 492 back to Dartford. A forerunner to this change was made in December 2017 when Route 96 began to operate via Darent Valley Hospital. At this time, it was known that changes to the 428 were afoot and that it was likely that the 428 would be made 'Double Decker' and be cut back to Dartford to improve reliability. That said, with TfL budget cuts now biting particularly hard, it would seem they will be cutting the 428 right back to Crayford to give an end-to-end journey time of some 26 minutes and therefore needing no more than 4 buses instead of the current 7/8. This represents a significant cost saving for TfL although it would appear all buses will be double-deck moving forward. The arguments behind this change are not only that there is now a repetition of the 428 east of Crayford by the more frequent 96 but also that the 'Hopper Fare' also allows people to make the same journey albeit with one change at Crayford Bridge / Sainsburys in each direction for the same cost. I personally am somewhat supportive of the change, although I hear through the grapevine that the reason for making this change now is to provide a future westbound extension of the 428 to Abbey Wood when Crossrail opens (and therefore they need to get the reliability up between Erith and Crayford). As for the 492, east of Dartford it replicates the 480 and 490 buses that Arriva run in Kent. Of course, it is probably the case that they no longer wish to be paying to supply what is, in effect, a cheaper service than the 'Provincial' service that Kent County Council etc. will be involved in. The 492's lengthy detour around Chastilian Road north of Crayford (and also Mayplace Road in Barnehurst) makes it unattractive for the residents of Crayford, Bexleyheath and such to use to Bluewater and Dartford in any event; so it should be the case that the shortening to Dartford is entirely sensible. Moreover, the key use for the 492 bus in the mornings and evenings is school children to the Dartford Grammar School, the Girls' School and the Technology College. These students will be unaffected. The 492 runs with 6 buses, so I assume it will also then be reduced to 4 or 5. Another cost saving, if nothing else. There will also be re-routing in Dartford. Most will know that buses around Dartford are now going the 'same way' they go towards Bluewater when travelling back towards Crayford. Market Street, the Library and such have now been closed off as a result of a huge increase in housing and Dartford developing a 'new public realm'. This is a good change as at least this way people get the bus at the same stops in each direction and also brings Crayford-bound buses right next to Dartford station. Personally, I don't find the changes at all that bothersome. Yes, people from Chastilian Road and Mayplace Road won't be able to get to Bluewater without a change and yes, the limited number of people on each 428 who need to get through to other places will need to change but even if this wasn't cost-cutting it would at least be sensible for cutting the number of 'overlapping' routes and the bits that a lot of people just don't use enough. There's also the issues of reliability: I think the days of extremely long routes such as Bluewater - Dartford - Crayford - Bexleyheath - Bexley- Foots Cray - Sidcup are numbered as people who are making shorter journeys should not be to the detriment of people who might make a long journey as buses get later in traffic. At least two shorter routes would be more likely to deliver people on certain journeys to their destinations more quickly. From my point, the Community Rail Partnership is currently bringing together some ideas as to how to change buses in the Borough for the benefit of end users including creating new journeys presently unavailable within the framework of current routes. Examples include Bexleyheath station to Upper Belvedere and Welling station to Erith. There is also a need to create improved services towards Abbey Wood and Erith in preparation for Crossrail". I am aware that a campaign has been set up to try and save the 428 bus route. The group write:- "Slade Green has long been forgotten by everyone now we have been told that the 428 bus route will no longer travel to Darenth Valley/Bluewater and will terminate at Crayford. We the undersigned want to petition Arriva London to continue with the current bus route. Without this bus route the people of Slade Green have no direct route to a local hospital. Elderly people and those that do not drive use this service to attend appointments and Accident and Emergency services. Without this bus route it will put extra pressure on the ambulance service and will be detrimental to local peoples health. Currently it can take an hour plus on a good day to get to Darenth Valley, travel time will be massively increased and pressure put on other services if residents have to travel on different routes. The 96 which is the only other bus that travels to Darenth Valley is already overstretched by the time the bus arrives at Crayford passengers are rejected because they are over full. We ask Arriva London to rethink their plans for the bus route and help the residents of Slade Green. We also feel that this will make more residents isolated and will affect their health as people won't be able to attend appointments. We also feel that this will have an affect on economy as people will not be able to access Dartford or Bluewater easily. We cannot get to any other hospital directly Queen Mary's -2 buses, Queen Elizabeth's 2 buses. Most appointments are give at Darenth Valley Hospital" You can see the group's petition on Change.Org by clicking here.

On top of this, the area has just got a completely new bus route - the 301 service, which now runs between Woolwich, Thamesmead, Abbey Wood and Bexleyheath. From Saturday the 13th July, new Route 301 operates from Woolwich, Beresford Street to Bexleyheath, Shopping Centre via Plumstead Station, Nathan Way, Thamesmead Town Centre, Bentham Road, Abbey Wood Station, New Road, Woolwich Road and Long Lane. The route is operated by Arriva London with double decker buses and operates every 12 minutes during the day on each day of the week, and every 15 minutes each evening. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Hall Place has to be one of the most historic and picturesque locations in the whole of The London Borough of Bexley. Most recently it was used as the location for one of the Alcock and Brown centenary commemorations. There is a free to visit exhibition featuring the story of the forts trans Atlantic flight located in the main building, which is open until the 27th of October. The opening times are from 10am to 5pm daily. Hall Place has been home to many organisations over the centuries. The main building dates back to 1537, when it was built for a wealthy businessman and former Lord Mayor of London, Sir John Champneys. In rather more recent times, during the Second World War, it was home to many American service personnel, some of whom worked for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services – the predecessor to the CIA) who used it as a base to train agents to be dropped into occupied Europe. Ian Fleming was based at Hall Place for a period when he was acting as an intelligence liaison officer; it is thought that some of the roots to the James Bond novels may have started whilst he was stationed there. In addition to the OSS, there was also a “Y” radio intercept station, code named “Santa Fe”. The grounds were filled by antenna towers and long wire aerials, feeding then state of the art H.F communication receivers located in the main building, staffed by members of the U.S Army 6811th Signals Intelligence unit. These powerful RCA AR-88 receivers - as seen in the lower of the two photos above - click on it for a larger view - were used to intercept German radio traffic, including both the Enigma and Lorenz ciphers. The encrypted signals were then passed by secure telephone lines up to Bletchley Park for decryption. The interception of weak and sometimes garbled signals made for very strenuous work; operators would spend eight hour shifts listening intently via headphones; any missed digits might make the message indecipherable, and possibly leading to lost lives – operators would often end their mammoth listening session with shaking hands and bloodshot eyes. The Great Hall and Tudor Kitchen housed the set room and cryptographers work rooms, some of the men’s billets were up in the Great Chamber and the Parlour was used as a mess room. The roof was strung with radio antenna wires and outbuildings were erected in the gardens. The GI’s made an impression on the neighbourhood, attending dances at the Black Prince pub, and playing softball on the Hall Place lawns. Some observers noted  said that to their knowledge none of the local’s ‘ever inquired what we were up to at Hall Place.’ It was one of the only intercept stations that was permitted a copy of the “Elephant Book” – a painstaking compiled list of German military call signs from previous, decrypted messages. This gave an indication of just how important the stately home and its contribution to the war effort was. Today the historic building and its formal gardens are open to the public, and the main building is available for hire for special occasions - if you have very deep pockets.

The screen capture above shows data from an internet enabled weather station in Northumberland Heath; the capture was taken at just before 2pm on Thursday afternoon - as you can see, the local temperature at that time was a staggering thirty seven degrees Celsius - for readers in the USA, that is ninety eight point six Fahrenheit. I got stuck on a broken down B12 bus in Parsonage Manorway, on my way home from Bexleyheath. I waited twenty odd minutes in the blazing sun for another B12 to turn up so that I could complete my journey. As many may well be aware, I suffer greatly in the heat, and this incident was an extremely challenging one for me. I have been reading some fascinating research this week into the whole thorny subject of climate change – and before you mentally switch off, it is not quite what you might be thinking. My own personal view on the contentious subject is that there are a lot of vested interests and hidden agendas on both sides of the climate change camp. Much of what we now may attribute to warming due to increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere may turn out to be periodic fluctuations in the output of the Sun – however, I believe that we cannot afford to take the chance based on any particular entrenched dogma; and secondly whatever the actual situation, one unescapable fact is that we have finite natural mineral resources, and it may be several hundred years before mining the moon or the asteroid belt becomes financially or technically viable. In the meantime we have to try and reconcile the current situation: The global warming advocates are mainly financed by large grants or bursaries from the research universities – it is in their vested interests for climate change to be real; conversely the climate change deniers are financed by various big businesses and mega corporations, and they too have their own biased axe to grind. It would seem to me that the opponents are pretty much as bad as each other when it comes to trying to get an unbiased, accurate view of the situation. That may have now changed, a report published a while ago throws a great deal of uncertainty into the very building blocks of climate change research – the temperature and weather data used. It turns out that much of the weather data has been gleaned from a network of mostly privately owned weather stations around the United States of America. Some of these stations have been operational since the early 19th century, though some are much more recent. One thing that has come to light, is that for many years a phenomenon known as UHI (Urban Heat Island) affects the readings from weather stations; in essence, urban areas with large amounts of concrete, asphalt, warm buildings and vehicles make the temperature readings appear warmer than they really should be. This effect is more marked after dark as these surfaces retain the heat of the sun, and release it slowly, just like a giant storage heater. The results recorded by weather stations in areas such as these are understandably skewed. The problem has been that over the last hundred years or so, urban sprawl has happened; weather stations formerly in countryside areas are now in fully developed, urbanised regions. The previous system for measuring temperature change did not take into account the location of the weather stations, so the results were biased in favour of a large degree of temperature increase. Researchers have been revisiting the historical data to try and reconcile the results against modern Urban Heat Island information. It would seem that once this is taken into account, the actual increase in global temperature is now somewhat unclear, and certainly something that the climate change experts need to carefully ponder – it would seem that both pro and anti camps have been working from incorrect data for years. It will be interesting to see where this all leads. I suspect the popular press will pick up on this soon. The fact remains, however, the temperatures in recent summers in the UK have been extreme, as was very much evident this Thursday, and we are predicted to have even more extreme weather in the weeks to come.

As regular Maggot Sandwich readers will know, I am vey keen o supporting local policing and efforts to support law and order. As I have written in the past, things that start off in the USA almost inevitably end up later occurring here in some kind of osmosis. A story broke this week which could potentially be a cause for concern should the same thing take place in the UK. Amazon's home security company Ring has enlisted local police departments around the USA to advertise its surveillance cameras in exchange for free Ring products and a “portal” that allows police to request footage from these cameras. The agreement also requires police to “keep the terms of this program confidential.” Dozens of police departments around the USA have partnered with Ring, but until now, the exact terms of these partnerships have remained unknown. A signed memorandum of understanding between Ring and the police department of Lakeland, Florida, and emails obtained via a public records request, show that Ring is using local police as a de facto advertising firm. Police are contractually required to "Engage the Lakeland community with outreach efforts on the platform to encourage adoption of the platform/app.”Ring donated 15 free doorbell surveillance cameras to the Lakeland Police Department, and created a program to encourage people to download its “neighbourhood watch” app, Neighbours. For every Lakeland resident that downloads Neighbours as a result of the partnership, the documents show, the Lakeland Police Department gets credit toward more free Ring cameras for residents: “Each qualifying download will count as $10 towards these free Ring cameras.” A Ring doorbell camera currently costs $130 on Amazon US. Police already have access to publicly-funded street cameras and investigative tools that help them track down almost any criminal suspect. But Ring cameras are proliferating in the private sphere, with close to zero oversight. Andrew Ferguson, a professor at the University of the District of Columbia School of Law, said in a recent press interview that products like Ring can remove typical judicial due process. Typically, police have to get a warrant from a judge before collecting digital evidence. Ring’s Law Enforcement Neighbourhood Portal, given to police for free as a part of the agreement, lets police request footage directly from Ring owners. “What people fundamentally misunderstand is that self-surveillance is potentially a form of government surveillance,” Ferguson said. “Because the information that you are collecting—you think to augment and improve your life—is one step away from being obtained by law enforcement to completely upend your life. Amazon is convincing people to self-surveil through aggressive, fear-based marketing, aided by de facto police endorsements and free Ring camera giveaways. Consumers are opting into surveillance. And police are more than eager to capitalise on this wealth of surveillance data. The result of Ring-police partnerships is a self-perpetuating surveillance network: More people download Neighbours, more people get Ring, surveillance footage proliferates, and police can request whatever they want. People often buy and use Ring doorbell cameras under the premise that they’re making their individual homes safer. But these people aren’t just making choices for themselves. They’re consenting to surveilling everyone in their neighbourhood and anyone who comes in the vicinity of their home, including friends and family, delivery workers, and anyone else. Professor Ferguson said that it is important to remember the societal impacts of these decisions. “Amazon has products to sell, and an incentive to get consumers to be fearful and buy their self-surveillance technologies; police have a related interest to obtain surveillance from areas that they don't have the resources to obtain surveillance from,” Ferguson said. “You can see why it’s in their economic sense. But it raises some problems and troubles and issues that society should have about whether this is the type of self-surveillance world we’re comfortable with.” As I wrote earlier, what happens in the USA has a way of filtering over to the UK, often more quickly than anticipated. CCTV coverage of one's home is fine; the problem comes when video files are uploaded into the cloud with no proof of how secure that is, and also the default standard is that the local Police have full access to all footage - it strikes me that in the UK and mainland Europe this may well be subject to the GDPR laws. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Good news, yet another week goes by and no burglaries have been reported on Barnehurst Ward. In Downbank Avenue on 21st July 2019, overnight a Ford Transit van with work tools inside was stolen. This van was later found in Cricketers Lane, Erith however tools from inside the vehicle were missing. Our next coffee with cops is at Barnehurst Golf Club, Mayplace Road East at 11.00am on Wednesday 31st July". Belvedere ward:- "We are pleased to report that Belvedere now has all its Neighbourhood Watch signs put up. If you are a new Coordinator you should note they are now up, if you reported damaged or lost signs you should now see them fixed or replaced. Please let us know if this has not been done". Bexleyheath ward:- "There have been no reports of burglaries or attempted burglaries on the ward over the last week. We have had three reports of catalytic converters being stolen from three vehicles over the last week: Monday 22/07/2019 – Albion Road car park between 0835hrs and 1635hrs; Monday 22/07/2019 – near Marriot Hotel Broadway at about 1345hrs; Monday 22/07/2019 – Albion Road at about 1345hrs. There was also a report of a theft of motor vehicle along Rydal Drive Bexleyheath. This could of happened anytime overnight from Sat 20/07/2019 at about 8pm and Sun 21//07/2019 at 10am. There was a report of a theft of motor vehicle on Tuesday 23/07/2019 along Royal Oak Road Bexleyheath between the hours of 4.15pm and 4.35pm. There have been two reports of theft of purses reported on the ward: Both happened on Monday 22/07/2019 between 1215 and 1245. A purse was stolen whilst in M and S or Dorothy Perkins. Also the other was between 1015am and 1030am whilst victim was shopping. There was a report of money taken from victims handbag whilst in the Savers store between 2.15pm and 2.25pm".

Crayford ward:- "There have been three robberies in Crayford this week. The first occurred on Sunday between 8.05 and 8.22 near McDonalds, a black iPhone and bus pass was stolen. The second robbery occurred between 8.20 and 8.30 in Crayford Way by The Rise and Airpods were stolen. The suspect for these robberies was described as IC3, early twenties. The third robbery occurred at the bottom of Station Road between 11.50-11.58, the victim was robbed by IC1 males for his Apple iPhone 8 and earphones, all the victims were teenagers. It has been reported that an empty property in Crayford Way had a door forced and entry made between 12.00 on Tuesday 16 July and 15.00 on Wednesday 17th July. It appears that someone had been sleeping there but nothing appeared stolen. The property is now fully secured. Vandals destroyed two large round picnic tables with seats attached and damaged hard wooden benches as well as damaging plants at Hall Place, the cost to replace and repair is significant. A catalytic convertor was stolen from a green Honda Jazz between 12.00-19.30 on 17th July from Stadium Way, on that same day and location another catalytic convertor was stolen, vehicle details not updated on report at present. A white Mercedes van, registration PN65 EJG was stolen without keys from Shearwood Crescent on Friday 19th July between 5.05 and 5.10. It was later involved in an RTC and recovered by police. A motorcycle was stolen from Lower Station Road on 18th July between 13.00 - 17.00, no further details given at this time. A shed was broken in to at the allotments at Bourne Road between 20.00 on Saturday 20th July and 06.00 on Sunday 21st July and two knives were stolen. Youths were reported jumping on vehicles at the Mazda garage on Friday 19th July at approx. 00.15, damage was caused to several vehicle bonnets. On Monday 22nd July between 7.30-16.00 a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso registration number GF07 YHB was stolen from outside a property in Ridge Way. Our next community contact session will be held on Wednesday 31st July at Vintage Lindy Lou's at Waterside Gardens, please come along if you would like to have a chat about anything that may concern you. Please see the attached link https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/96-428-492/. Cuts are proposed to route 428 and 492 from January 2020. Please read this and consider how it may affect you or your loved ones, at the very least route 96 will be even busier. Already evident is that it will affect people trying to go to Darent Valley Hospital or to Haberdashers Academy, please take the time to have your say". Erith ward:- "PCs Dan and Markus from Erith have been on cycle patrols across the ward. Stopping and searching people, we have been sharing the cycle patrols on our twitter profile so be sure to check them out, plenty of searches carried out and a few good results. Adam attended an Orbit residential scheme pop up event. And finally the full team attended the community fun day on west street, which seemed to go well, NHW was also there in full force hopefully signing up a few new members. Crimes of the week – Erith bowls club was broken in to on Monday night and items were stolen. Theft from motor vehicles is on the decline so we are going in the correct direction. Finally, be sure to drink plenty of water in this weather and check on your neighbours if they are venerable just to make sure they are ok and having plenty of fluids". Northumberland Heath ward:- "The team have been patrolling Northumberland Heath recreation ground. Today we issued a community resolution for 1 male adult with regards to cannabis. Our new PC Lucy has had an arrest this week with regards to a domestic related incident. The team assisted with a mental health assessment. After receiving some intelligence from members of the public, the team recovered a stolen motorbike in York Terrace. Very pleased to say, there have been no burglaries again this week. Our next community contact session is on Wednesday 7th August at 2pm 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:- "Four more number plate thefts in the last week. Two occurred during the daytime on Thursday 18/07 close to Slade Green train station. Both victims were commuters. The other two happened around 11pm on Monday 22/07 in Hazel Road, both vehicles were close to each other in the road. Patrols of these areas will be taking place, especially the train station area. A male has signed an ABC (Acceptable Behaviour Contract) with ourselves and Bexley Council as he was identified as being involved in recent ASB in and around Rainbow Road. This is a result of some excellent work by PC's Mark and James as well as good information given by residents on the estate. Two Orbit tenants in our ward who have been causing issues for neighbours, came to our office this week and both tenants signed an Orbit Tenancy Management agreement meaning their behaviour must stop or Orbit will look to seek possession of their property. Our next Community Contact Session is on Sunday (28th July) at our Pier Road SNT base from 6pm. At this week's panel meeting the promises chosen for us to concentrate a bit more effort on for the next three months were ASB Open Spaces, Vehicle ASB and Drug issues (Dealing/taking)".

Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglary: On Friday 19/07/19, between the hours of 07:15am and 07:20 am, a burglary occurred in Overton Road, the back door was open. The victim heard a noise behind her and turned around to see a suspect standing in her living room. He said 'Sorry I'm looking for my cat' and then made off out the kitchen over the back fence which leads onto a service road which is gated at both ends but can be accessed by climbing the fence. A bank card was taken and used locally. CCTV has captured the suspect using the card. Investigations ongoing to identify the suspect. Attempted Burglary: Wednesday 24/07/19 an attempted burglary in Portmeadow Walk, the victim stated that they went to take the rubbish out of the front door ,when it was noticed the Yale lock was warped and the whole lock unit spins. the victim believes that someone tried to break in .There was a second lock and that kept the door secure ,so no one managed to enter. Crime Prevention: Close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you're going out for a few minutes. Photograph and keep a detailed inventory of each item of jewellery and keep it in a separate place. Motor Vehicle Crimes: On Thursday 18/07/19 between the hours of 00:01 and 06:00am an unknown person cut off the catalytic converter from the vehicle, which was parked near Dexter House, Kale Road. Another Theft from Motor Vehicle occurred in Maran Way between the hours of 12:00 am and 12:30 am. The exhaust pipe ripped apart and part of the pipe taken away, believed to be the catalytic converter. Wolvercote Road, Vehicle Interference on Friday between the hours of 07:00am and 11:00am an unknown suspect smashed the drivers window ,no apparent property taken .Saturday 20/07/19 a vehicle parked locked and secure in Kale Road had the drivers window smashed and a mobile phone taken . the incident happened between 11:00am and 12:00am.Between Tuesday 16/07/19 at 11:00am and Sunday 21/07/19 at 10;30am a vehicle locked and secure in Lensbury Way, had the rear doors damaged ,tools and other equipment taken ,unknown value . Between the dates and times of 21/07/19 at 04:30 pm and 23/07/19 at 06:45pm a vehicle parked in Whernside Close had the vehicle damaged by an unknown suspect using an implement scratching the vehicle .A vehicle parked in the garaged area in Dalberg Way was scratched by an unknown suspect ,down the whole passenger side of the vehicle .This incident happened between Saturday 20/07/19 at 06;00pm and Monday 22/07/19 at 06:15am. Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention: Did you know that your vehicle is like a shop window? If you can see any property left on view then so can a thief. Take it with you. Recent thefts of Catalytic Converters on the ward. Vehicles made after 1974 all have Catalytic Converters. There are 3 precious metals in your Catalytic Converter and thieves know this. Protect your vehicle before you become a victim of theft. Mark your catalytic converter by etching your vehicle registration onto the metal shell, or by using a Secured By Design (SBD) approved forensic marking solution which is heat-resistant. This makes it easier for police to trace the converter back to your vehicle should it ever be stolen, and links offenders to a crime. Consider fitting additional security on your vehicle(s) by installing an SBD approved converter security product, such as a catalytic converter clamp".West Heath ward:- "No residential burglaries to report this week, however there were two business burglaries at the same premises in Brampton Road on Monday July 27th. Several males were seen acting suspiciously just before midnight in a vehicle and on pushbikes. It is not clear at this stage if anything was stolen".

The end video this week was shot in the main hall of the Erith Old Carnegie Library mentioned earlier in this update - it features the Tom Fleming trio, a band headed not unsurprisingly by a chap called Tom Fleming, who is a guitarist, record producer, arranger and mixer. You can see his website by clicking here. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Bishop Odo.

The photo above shows the view looking Westward along Manor Road towards Erith Town Centre. What impresses me with the shot is, bearing in mind the industrial, retail and residential nature of the town, just how green it all is. I think many local residents overlook the fact that the area has some great open spaces such as Frank's Park, The Riverside Gardens and Erith Pier. 

An application has been submitted to Bexley Council to convert the former Club Extreme / Tease (prior to that T's) nightclub building in Erith town centre into a Day Centre, Youth Centre, Conference and Place of worship. The issue has been picked up by the News Shopper, although I originally wrote at some length about the situation back in October of last year, when the redevelopment proposals were first submitted to the planning department of Bexley Council. Since then the plans for the reuse of the old building have been revised and resubmitted after they were initially rejected by the Council. The upper floor of the building that housed the former night club has been empty and unused for over a decade. The lower floor is home to discount supermarket Farm Foods, and the Erith Police office. Back in July 2009 a chap called Wayne Miles submitted an application to open a nightclub called the Double Deuce Club on the site of the former T's / Club Extreme. Controversially he wanted his new club to open from 10pm until 7am seven days of the week, including Sundays. For an unknown reason the submission was withdrawn, and to the best of my knowledge it never went before the Bexley Council Licensing Sub - Committee for examination. No subsequent applications have been made by him, as far as I am aware. The new proposal makes for very interesting reading. The plans that have been submitted to Bexley Council are for a facility that will very closely mirror the controversial one already in operation in the former Erith Snooker Club site in the upper floor of Electricity House, less than one hundred metres from the proposed new facility. The P2 Event Centre in Pier Road offers precisely the same facilities as the proposed new one in the old Extreme / T's night club site. If you click on the link to the P2 Event Centre, please be aware that the photographs on the website do not represent the actual Pier Road location - they were taken elsewhere and do not represent the reality. The whole website is outright deceptive and misleading.  From my research it would appear that a rival African church are hoping to take on the former T's / Extreme night club site and turn it into another praise and conference centre. Bearing in mind the many other African churches already in the local area, it begs the question - is there actually a further market for more of the same? It is good that a site that has been empty and unused for more than a decade will be put back into operation, but have the prospective new tenants done any market research into the demand for something that already exists very close by?

Last Saturday a B12 bus was approaching its terminus in Erith town centre when it crashed in James Watt Way, opposite McDonalds. Local resident Dawn took the photo above and passed it onto me; Did you witness the accident? I was told about the incident by another reader, but was unable to get to the location in time. If you have any information on exactly how the crash occurred, then please let me know in complete confidence, should you so wish. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Last week I was sent a link to a page on the Sun newspaper website about early plastic surgery performed on wounded service personnel during and after the First World War. The story had come about as a large number of "before and after" photos of patients subject to very early plastic surgery have recently come to light. You can read the Sun's story and see the photos by clicking here. A little known fact is that the hospital that is now known as Queen Mary's in Sidcup was instrumental in pioneering several forms of surgery that have become vital in modern medicine. A chap called Doctor Harold Gillies – a New Zealand born surgeon, who earned the title of “The father of plastic surgery” pioneered reconstructive surgery on wounded soldiers who had been injured in the trenches of the First World War, and who had a remarkable local connection. Harold Gillies initially opened a small unit in the Cambridge Hospital at Aldershot which had beds for two hundred injured men. He pioneered the use of skin grafting – a technique he adapted from one first used by professor Hippolyte – Morestin in France, he employed dental reconstruction techniques invented by Charles Valadier, coupled with the use of X-Rays, and photographs to detail the injuries of his patients; he was also fastidious about cleanliness and the use of antiseptics (a very important point, as antibiotics were yet to be discovered, and deaths from sepsis or blood poisoning were still very common). Harold Gillies also came up with the simple but effective policy of ensuring that all patients were attached to a luggage label listing their injuries, and where the injured soldier needed to be sent for treatment – many of the men were unable to speak through injury, or otherwise rendered unconscious. Once The Battle of the Somme took place, the two hundred bed unit in Aldershot was drastically overcrowded – at one point there were ten patients for every bed. A new home needed to be found for the plastic surgery unit, and one was found at Queen’s Hospital at Sidcup (what is nowadays Queen Mary’s).  The unit took up much of the hospital, and it was conveniently close to the Royal Artillery barracks at Woolwich, where a small number of patients were located during their convalescence. Doctor Gillies was an interesting man – on top of being a very early pioneer of plastic surgery, he was a great golfer, a professional standard violin player, rowed in a winning team for Cambridge University in the boat race, and created a comedic alter – ego called Doctor Scroggy which he used to entertain his patients. He would walk around the wards of Queen’s Hospital at night, dispensing champagne and oysters to the injured soldiers, despite the strict ban on alcohol within the hospital grounds. He encouraged the recovering men to perform theatrical productions and shorter skits, which often involved the recuperating soldiers dressing in drag. Harold Gillies was aware of the emotional as well as physical trauma he was treating – and his solution was to make recovery fun. His influence was such that later, in the Second World War, he was able to rebuild the burned faces and hands of airmen, alongside his better known cousin, Archibald Mcindoe, whose disfigured pilot patients later formed The Guinea Pig Club. Harold Gillies also performed the first gender reassignment operations, and became a leader in the field of sex change surgery.  He was ahead of his time in so many ways, and much of his work first undertaken at Sidcup has been used as the foundation for modern reconstructive surgery. It is a shame that the story is not better known until now.

Following my piece on the fees earned by the Dartford River Crossing since it was originally meant to have become free to use after the construction fees were repaid, I have had an Email from a regular reader who chooses to remain anonymous. They write:- "I read, with great interest, your piece on the River Thames Crossing Tax (aka Dartford River Crossing tolls). As the busiest toll point in the UK, it has been a licence to print money for successive governments for decades. Therefore, the chances of the tax being rescinded is less than zero, I would suggest. I notice that Gareth Johnson, the Tory MP for Dartford made no comment. Perhaps, to be fair, he was not asked for his view. It would, however, have been interesting to find out if he just went along with the government line, or if he had a more sympathetic view toward those using the crossing, regarding this blatant piece of highway robbery.  As it clearly states in your report, the crossing broke even, in respect of the cost of building it, many years ago. The pledge had been that once that target was reached, the tolls would be ended. However, just as the government nowadays have no compunction, or conscience, in telling lies regarding Brexit, so too did they lie about ending the tolls. There was, and is, no way they would (will) give up this tax. Unfortunately, they cannot see the wood for the trees (so typical of our political classes). Haulage companies, and own account transport (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, etc, etc) pay huge annual sums for their fleets of trucks to use the crossing. However, they don't ask their shareholders to cough up the cash to pay for that. Those costs are passed on to their customers (you, and me) via unnecessarily higher prices at their checkouts, and for any other goods transported via the crossing.  It will be interesting to see what effect the new crossing, to the east of Gravesend, will have on the existing Dartford Crossing, if any. Assuming of course, it ever gets built, and does not become another 'white elephant', and bottomless money pit, like Crossrail. In any event, the only way you will ever be able to cross the Thames in that neck of the woods, for free, in future, is to swim". A very interesting and somewhat contentious view, but one I feel that many local people can identify with. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

On a more happy note, tickets are now on sale for the first classical concert to be held in the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith, organised by not for profit group The Exchange. On Sunday the 9th of June from 3 until 5pm, a concert will be held by a string quintet formed of members of the BBC Concert Orchestra. The quintet will be performing a programme that includes Vaughan Williams, Mozart and Erith composer Percy Hilder Miles. The purpose of the concert is to raise £3,000 which would fund the restoration of the original library book hoist, which was installed in the building in 1906 and allowed the librarians to easily move books from the bookstore on the lower ground floor to the public part of the building on the ground floor. Tickets for the event are made available by a minimum donation of £10, though more would be appreciated if possible, and concessions for a minimum donation of £5. You can read more about the concert programme, and the performers, as well as booking tickets by clicking here. The composer Percy Hilder Miles was born in Crayford in July 1878 and lived in Erith for almost all of his life, dying from pneumonia there in April 1922, aged only 44. He was a classical composer, conductor and violinist. He won a number of prestigious awards during his relatively short lifetime - he won the first Sauret prize in 1897, the Hine Exhibition composition prize in 1893, the MacFarren Scholarship in 1896, and the Charles Lucas Medal in mid summer 1898, as well as the Mendelssohn Scholarship in 1899. In 1896 he received a silver medal, which was presented annually to the most distinguished student at The Royal Academy of Music, The Royal College of Music, or the Guildhall School of Music, in rotation, the recipient nominated by the principal or director of the school. A box containing a substantial number of Miles' compositions is stored at the Royal Academy of Music, mostly in manuscript, some published works also are included. Built in 1906 Erith’s Old Library was funded by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and sadly closed to the public in 2009 in need of much repair.  The first phase of works is now complete and the building recently reopened as The Exchange, a centre for arts, heritage and community.  This will be the second concert following on from the successful anniversary of the building concert which featured new jazz/brass band ‘Don’t Problem’. Whilst the Carnegie Hall in Erith may not have as illustrious a musical history as its sibling venue in New York, which has played host to Billie Holliday, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, it boasts brilliant acoustics and will provide a fantastic venue for what promises to be a memorable concert. The string quintet is headed by local professional musician Phil Hall, who plays the Viola. In a press release, Sarah Batten of The Exchange said:- "We are delighted that Phil has managed to arrange for such talented musicians to come and perform in Erith –it will be a real treat for the town!” To book tickets for this prestigious event, which is bound to be very well attended, please click here.

Supermarket giant Morrisons is introducing a “We’ll Weigh What You Need” service at its fresh food counters. Both the Erith and Thamesmead branches are apparently going to be early adopters of this new policy. The service aims to reduce the amount of food thrown away in customers’ homes – which amounts to £500-a-year – according to the government’s Food Waste Champion. Its fresh food counters means that customers shopping at Morrisons can purchase the exact amounts of food they need. Food waste is one of customers’ top concerns and Morrisons, alongside other businesses, has signed up to a number of commitments including pledging to halve food waste by 2030. Jayne Wall, Director of Market Street operations at Morrisons, said in a recent press interview that: -“Listening to customers has told us they want help at our fresh food counters, because they don’t know how much to buy, they want to reduce their food waste, or they want to reduce the cost of their food shop. Our expert counter staff will help them buy exactly what they need, reducing their food waste bill and saving their pennies in the process.” In actuality Morrison's have long offered this kind of service on their fish and butchery counters, but this new initiative is designed to publicise a service that has been somewhat low key and generally unrecognised by their customers until now.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. First the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Another week on the Ward and I am pleased yet again to report no burglaries but please remain vigilant. On a more negative note we did have a spate of motor vehicle crimes late last week with a series of thefts from motor vehicles occurring on the Thursday 9th and Friday 10th May. There were four of these covering Manor Way, Thirlmere Road, Colyers Lane and Coniston Road. Cars were broken into and various items taken from inside and number plates taken in one instance. However, neighbouring wards have recently been involved in a joint venture to target these crimes and a suspect was arrested and since then these crimes have declined in number. Having said that there was a theft of motor vehicle from Swallow Close which occurred on 13th May when a motor cycle was taken off the drive. Three suspects were spotted. One riding the stolen vehicle and two others leaving the scene on mopeds. This could be a new team on the scene. Barnehurst officers continue to combat drug use and dealing, and working with Crayford and Bexleyheath officers they have completed several positive stop and searches with several of these occurring in Martens Grove Park, an area which although no longer on Barnehurst Ward is still regularly frequented by Barnehurst residents. Just to remind you all there is a community contact session to be held at Barnehurst Golf Course on Tuesday May 21st at 5pm. This is your opportunity to have a cuppa with your local police team and discuss any issues you may have". Belvedere ward - no report this week. Bexleyheath ward:- "A burglary was reported on Wednesday 08/05/2019 along Heversham Rd – Back patio door was smashed, incident had happened during the day and nothing was taken from the address. There has been one report of an attempted burglary along Wenvoe Avenue Bexleyheath, suspects had tried to gain entry via the front door; A theft of motor vehicle had been reported along Brantwood Road on Thursday 09/05/2019, vehicle was taken from outside the home address; A theft of mobile outside McDonalds on the Broadway on the Wednesday 15/05/2019 6pm; Purse taken from Superdrug store on the Broadway Tuesday 14/05/2019 between 12 – 1pm; Belvedere Road Shed broken into item taken from inside Sunday 12/05/2019 during the day; Knife point robbery car stolen – near Garrard Close; Sterling Road - Van stolen from Sterling Road, keys left in ignition. Someone jumped in vehicle and drove off. Wednesday 08/05/2019 at about 530pm; Theft of motor bike on Woolwich road parked on driveway outside front door. 08/05/2019 between 1115 and 1pm. Patrols are regularly conducted on the Ward which includes the areas mentioned above where they have been conducting stops. The team are aware of ASB issues along Martin Grove Park with motor bikes. Patrols are conducted and if there is any information that could help then please get in contact". Crayford ward:- "A white Suzuki motorcycle with the number plate OE02 VJK was stolen from Woodfall Drive between 19.30 on Thursday 9th May and 05.50 on 10th May, the owner still has the keys. On Thursday 9th May between 22.55 and 22.59 a white Kawasaki was stolen from the underground car park at Town Hall Square, this vehicle had a tracker and has since been located. An incident occurred between 23.00 on Thurs 9th May and 8.30 on Fri 10th May at Beech Walk, a front and rear window was damaged but no entry was gained to the property. On Thursday 9th May at 17.48 a fence panel was lifted in Crayford Way and hired machinery was stolen from the garden within. Between 23.00 on Thurs 9th May and 06.00 on Fri 10th May wheel covers were stolen off a Ford mini bus whilst parked in Inglewood Road. Between 17.30 on Fri 10th May and 11.00 on Sat 11th May a Vauxhall Vivaro was broken in to outside Keats House in Bexley Lane, the driver's door handle had been damaged and a hole was drilled in the rear door to open it. Fortunately, no tools were stored within the vehicle. Overnight between 19.00 on Fri 10th May and 11.00 on Sat 11th May, money was stolen from a vehicles parked on a driveway in Mayplace Road East. Power tools were stolen from a silver Nissan whilst parked outside St Paulinus Church in Perry Street on Saturday 11th May between 11.00-11.20, the locks were broken. A shed was broken in to at the allotments at Crayford Way between Friday 19th April and Sunday 12th May, the lock was ground out and a petrol lawn mower and petrol strimmer were stolen. At 00.10 on Monday 13th May, suspects were disturbed when they broke in to a home in Whitehill Road. The occupant heard the letter box rattle and went down stairs and saw a male in his hallway, who ran out and got in the passenger seat of a red metallic hatchback which headed off towards Maiden Lane. On Sunday 12th May at 22.30 a resident reported that someone unknown kicked their front door in Crayford Way, the intention is unknown. Number plates S88 GCW were stolen from Iron Mill Lane between 17.00 on Sun 12th May and 09.00 on Mon 13th May, these plates should be on a grey Honda Civic. A Mercedes was broken in to in Gable Close between 22.00 on Mon 13th May and 6.30 on Tues 14th May, the thief stole ladies Ralph Lauren Polo sunglasses, men's prescription Rayben sunglasses and expensive clothing. Number plates were stolen from a parked vehicle in Mill Place between 18.00 on Mon 13th May and 12.00 on Tues 14th May, no other details have been provided at this time. As you will see from above the majority of crime in Crayford is vehicle related, please consider marking any tools or valuables that have to be kept within the vehicle so that in the event of theft they could be returned to you and consider removing anything else. I know this doesn't stop the crime occurring but it does reduce the impact it may have on your day to day life. We are aware that opportunists will take what is not theirs if it is easily available to them. Please keep your personal effects about your person or in a closed bag and try to avoid leaving them in plain view. Our team were involved in a drugs warrant at Town Hall Square on Friday 10th May, this matter is ongoing at this time. Our next community contact will take place on Thursday 16th May between 15.00-16.00 at Crayford Library. We should be at Vintage Lindy Lou's between 16.00-17.00 on Wednesday 22nd May (please note that this may be cancelled at short notice) . The next community contact session after that will be at Crayford Library on Tuesday 28th May between 10.00-11.00". Erith ward:- "We had our Ward panel the other week really good turn out or people so massive thank you if you attended, also a thank you to the Exchange in Erith for letting us use a room for the meeting if you would like to attend feel free to contact us for more details. We also attended a residential meeting at the new Quarry estate in doing this we signed up one new NHW member. Upcoming Community Contact Sessions: Friday 17/05/19 Erith Library 1600; Saturday 25/05/19 Costa Erith 1600; Thursday 30/05/19 Costa Erith 1200. Crimes of the week: Making off Friday 10/05/2019 W M Morrison, James Watt Way; Making off Saturday 11/05/2019 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, James Watt Way; Theft from Motor Vehicle Monday 13/05/2019 Lesney Park Road". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Unfortunately, we have had a burglary in Bedonwell Road since our last report. On Tuesday May 8th at approximately 7.55pm the occupants heard noises and assumed it was another family returning home; Two males with their faces covered entered the property using an implement to force the UPVC front door. The males fled after realizing the occupants were at home without taking anything. It is not clear if the males were on foot or left in a vehicle. We have had an increase in Motor Vehicle Crime in the last week. Theft of number plates from a van in Avenue Road between Thursday May 9th and Friday May 10th at 9am when the owner discovered them missing; A Nissan Juke was broken in to in Plaxtol Road in the early hours of Saturday Morning May 11th. The vehicle was parked on the drive, an untidy search was carried out. Nothing of any value was taken; Theft of a rear number plate in Beechfield Road between Thursday May 9th at 7pm and Friday May 10th at 7.30am; A black Ducati Motorbike was stolen from Collindale Road between Tuesday May 7th and Friday May 10th. The bike was later found in Belvedere and returned to the owner. The next Community Contact Session / Drop In Police Surgery will be held on Friday May 24th at 4pm in the library in Mill Road Erith".

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "We have had four ‘theft from motor vehicle' reports this weeks. These occurred on Manor Road, Longreach Road, Alderney Road and outside Grange House and all occurred overnight. As always, please please please make sure that your vehicles are locked and nothing of any value is left on display! There has also been an increase in theft of number plates reported recently. If anyone would like a packet of anti-theft screws then please feel free to ask and we will be more than happy to supply them. In more positive news, we have not had any residential burglaries reported this week. We have Community Contact Session booked in on Sunday 19th May at 6pm at the office and again on Wednesday 22nd May at 2pm at Slade Green and Howbury Community Centre. Please feel free to pop along if you have any concerns or just for a friendly chat. Have a great week all".  Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - On Tuesday 07/05/19 a burglary occurred in Redbourne Drive between the hours of 08:35 pm and 08:39pm.Entry was gained by smashing a rear kitchen window, locking the front door from inside. Damage to window and fence lock amounted to £153.00; Wednesday 08/05/19 at 07:45pm a property in Thamesbank Place was broken into, wooden door forced open and the glass in door smashed, damage £300.00.victim to update officers as to what has been taken. Attempted Burglary - On Wednesday 08/05/19 at 07:45pm an attempted burglary occurred in Thamesbank Place. Glass of the front wooden door smashed and the garden door damaged, no entry gained. Damage to the doors £500.00 ; Crime Prevention - Close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you're going out for a few minutes..Photograph and keep a detailed inventory of each item of jewellery and keep it in a separate place. Motor Vehicle Crimes - On Monday 13/05/19 between the hours of 4:00pm and 11:00am of Tuesday 14/05/19 Criminal damage occurred to a vehicle parked and locked securely in Crowden Way ,the passenger side of the vehicle was scratched,£400.00 to make repair.Monday 13/05/19 between the hours of 6:00pm and 09:10am of Tuesday 14/05/19 a vehicle parked in Bayliss Avenue had the rear window smashed. Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention - Did you know that your vehicle is like a shop window? If you can see any property left on view then so can a thief . Take it with you-- Mobile phone, coins ,sunglasses, can earn quick cash are irresistible to the opportunist thief. Remember the cost of replacing a window is often much more than of what's been stolen. Wallets, handbags purses and credit cards should never be left in an unattended vehicle. Good News - PC Pruden having seen a male sitting on a low brick wall underneath concrete steps in Kale Road conducted searches on three males present, resulting in cannabis seizures and two males receiving a Community Resolution each. Community Resolution: The offender will not receive a criminal record, however a crime will be recorded on police systems for which the offender will be held responsible. The information may be used to inform any future matters brought to police attention". West Heath ward:- "During 8th – 15th May 2019 the ward has suffered 7 Motor Vehicle Crimes but no burglaries. Two theft of motor vehicles: On Wednesday 8th May between 12 noon and 1830 hours a vehicle was stolen in Woolwich Road and between Fri 10th May at 1800 hours and Sat 11th May at 0700 hours in Exmouth road a vehicle was stolen from the driveway. Five theft from motor vehicles: In Glenview between Wed 8th May at 1800 hours and Thurs 9th May at 0900 hours a vehicle had its number plates stolen; At around 0100 hours on Friday 10th May power tools were stolen from a vehicle in Stapleton Road; During Thursday 9th May 2200 hours and 10th May 0400 hours cash was taken from a vehicle in Whitfield Road; Documents were stolen from a vehicle in Pembury Road between Thurs 9th May at 2300 and Fri 10th May 0600 hours; A vehicle was broken into in Glenview between Sat 11th May 2100 and Sun 12th May 0845 hours and various items were taken. To combat this spike of vehicle crime the ward has changed their shifts and worked with other Welling officers from Crook Log and East Wickham. During the plain clothes operation two males were stopped and one arrested as he was wanted for theft of a motor bike. A male was seen loitering in an area known for drug use, he was stopped and searched and issued with a community Resolution as he was found to be in possession of cannabis. The team have assisted Crayford ward officers in effecting a Section 23 Misuse of Drugs Act Warrant. The team continue to carry out high visibility and plain clothes patrols". 

The end video this week shows an aerial view of the historic tithe barn at Howbury Moat in Slade Green. The site was originally the home of Bishop Odo, the half brother of William the Conqueror, and second in charge of England in his time. There is uncertainty about his birth date. Some historians have suggested he was born around 1035. Duke William made him bishop of Bayeux in 1049. Although Odo was an ordained Christian cleric, he is best known as a warrior and statesman, participating in the Council of Lillebonne. He found ships for the Norman invasion of England and is one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror, known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The Bayeux Tapestry, probably commissioned by him to adorn his own cathedral, appears to labour the point that he did not actually fight, that is to say shed blood, at Hastings, but rather encouraged the troops from the rear. The Latin annotation embroidered onto the Tapestry above his image reads: "Hic Odo Eps Episcopus Baculum Tenens Confortat Pueros", in English "Here Odo the Bishop holding a club strengthens the boys". It has been suggested that his clerical status forbade him from using a sword. In 1067, Odo became Earl of Kent, and for some years he was a trusted royal minister. On some occasions when William was absent, he served as de facto regent of England, and at times he led the royal forces against rebellions; the precise sphere of his powers is not certain, though it is thought that such was his wealth and power that he did not charge rent or tithes to the peasants who lived and worked on his Slade Green estate, something that made him very popular with the residents of the area in those days. Odo took part in the First Crusade, but died on the way at Palermo in January or February 1097. He was buried in Palermo Cathedral, where his tomb can be seen to this day. Please feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The cleanup.

The photos above were taken a little earlier today; they show the environmental charity Thames 21, who, along with volunteers from FORGE (Friends Of Riverside Gardens Erith), the Explorer Scouts and the Army Cadets spent most of the day clearing up items dumped in the Thames mud. The event was scheduled so that the river would be at low tide during the work, and the record for the numbers of shopping trollies from Morrisons that were retrieved from the mud was broken. Last year they rescued a total of 21 trollies; by 1pm the volunteers had collected 25 trollies, and there were still several still in the river. In an improvement on previous years, the volunteers did not just clear up the river, they also collected dozens of bags of rubbish from the Erith Riverside Gardens, which were to be collected by Bexley Council's waste management contractors. I have been reliably told that the collected shopping trollies will be recycled by local scrap processors, the Manor Road based European Metal Recycling. It is not possible to properly clean the muddy trollies, even with a pressure washer, and the mud contains all sorts of harmful bacteria, so they will be melted down and repurposed instead. The trollies cost Morrison's £60 each, so the supermarket will have lost something in the region of £1500 through the thoughtless and malicious actions of local vandals, not to mention the potential danger to the environment and the wildlife inhabiting the river and the Riverside Gardens. The number of volunteers helping with the cleanup was the highest I have seen - something in the region of eighty young people were on site, supervised by Thames 21 and FORGE. Not many appear in the photos above, as I took them when lunch was being served. Morrisons, McDonalds and KFC all donated free food for the volunteers, who were able to use the facilities in Erith Rowing Club next door to the wooden river jetty. 

You may have recently seen in the national news that the British Government is being challenged over its supply of computer and phone surveillance equipment to governments with a poor record on human rights. The issue is complex, and a number of factors are involved. The government and agencies such as GCHQ and MI5 in the UK, and the NSA in America have not recently covered themselves in glory. A lot of classified documents originating in the American National Security Agency (NSA) have been leaked and posted online, initially by Germany's Der Spiegel newspaper. They have been independently verified as genuine by a number of sources, and they make for fascinating reading. Basically, between the American NSA and the British GCHQ every form of electronic communication in the world can be monitored, recorded and decoded. This has been suspected for some time, but this is the first time that it has been backed up with documentary evidence. I was not surprised, by that, but I was astonished as to the level of commercialisation that is now not just government departments spying on other governments, but a lot of it is outsourced to commercial organisations. More on this later. A clanger of jumbo scale was made by British Intelligence when Julian Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. MI5 deployed a device called a Typhon HX; this is a device that mimics a mobile phone providers’ base station and collects phone calls, texts and web traffic – effectively tapping mobile phones. The spying was uncovered as people in the area around the embassy started getting “Welcome to Uganda Telecom” messages on their phones. It would appear that the spooks had not correctly reconfigured the Typhon HX from a previous spying mission in Uganda! I would imagine that the individual responsible would be given a rocket for exposing the whole operation in such an incompetent manner. On top of this, the leaked documents show that no computer, whether it be a server, desktop, laptop or tablet is safe from intrusion. The same is true of mobile phones. The security services are able to remotely control your mobile phone – they can switch on its’ camera and microphone to watch what you are doing, and listen to what you are saying. The phone appears in standby, and there is no way of easily telling it has been hijacked, other than the battery life is far shorter. The documents even detail an exploit for the iPhone code named DROPOUT JEEP which can take complete control of any phone running iOS and is “one hundred percent” reliable. There is some speculation that Apple may have actually helped the NSA to develop the exploit in a bid to assist in potential counter terrorism. A lot of the documentation is quite technical and in great depth, so I will not bore a general readership with it, but you can see more by clicking here.  Earlier I referred to the commercialisation of surveillance; the NSA actually manufacture a wide range of electronic spying equipment which they sell to friendly (and sometimes not so friendly) governments to spy on their citizens. There is even a catalogue complete with price list – almost like a parody of the (now defunct) Maplin catalogue. The trouble with all of this is that the security services are (nominally) controlled by politicians – who almost to a person don’t have a clue about the technology that has been developed – there is a real issue as to who is actually in charge when it comes to digital interception and decryption. On the subject of the commercialisation of the intelligence domain, much of the sales documentation of the software and hardware suite designed to hack and remotely monitor “targets” – a euphemism for people - the documentation also makes it clear that the software is capable of monitoring "up to hundreds of thousands of targets" - if you were genuinely monitoring even the largest of terrorist organisations, I would have thought a couple of hundred "targets" would have been all that was required. It sounds to me like they are enabling repressive governments to spy on substantial proportions of their citizens. The Italian company “Hacking Team” behind it are one of a handful that sell their products all over the world; I wish this was some paranoid fantasy, but it is all too real. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

A mystery has been brought to my attention, and I know that some correspondence has taken place on social media, including FaceBook. For several weeks a large, quite old camper van has been parked outside of the main gates of Erith Hospital. There have been rumours and suppositions as to why it is parked there, and if indeed anyone is living in it. I have passed the site several times whilst on the B12 bus to and from Bexleyheath, and the camper van has mystified me. If anyone has any concrete background information about the strange, out of place vehicle, then please do let me know - Email hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Much has been written - both by me, and others in respect of the threat that streaming video services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and even YouTube have made to traditional broadcasters. Linear video - as in, you have to remember to watch a TV show whilst it is actually being broadcast, is now far less of a factor than it used to be. The BBC have responded with BBC iPlayer, and other commercial stations have done similar things, with a greater or lesser degree of success. The one major broadcaster who seem to be still rooted in the past is Sky. Although they have announced that all of their services will eventually be available to be streamed on demand, they are still in my opinion culturally tied to their linear satellite services. Historically, before fast digital networking and the World Wide Web were in common use, the only way to send data over a large geographical area was either to build and operate a large and high powered network of terrestrial transmitters, or alternatively to purchase or lease a number of broadcast satellites in geostationary orbit. Each satellite costs somewhere in the region of £100 million to build and launch, so the financial commitment is extremely high, either way. Nowadays the requirement for very expensive broadcasting infrastructure is no longer present, but Sky don't seem to be moving anything like as quickly as I feel they should to respond to the changes in technology, and where the market is inevitably heading. Also, their pricing structure for their "standard" HD service is now prohibitive. A package with all channels minus the sports ones currently costs around £65 per month, and is due to increase to £68 per month in April. On top of this, Sky and the other broadcasters using the Sky platform all show adverts during the programmes. In essence you are paying to watch commercials. In contrast the newer streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix offer unlimited viewing starting at around £7.99 a month, depending on the package desired. On top of this, the streaming video services have no adverts whatsoever. It seems to me that market forces will cause Sky to alter their business model; if they don't, then in time they will cease to exist.

Founders of not for profit organisation The Exchange, Sarah and Peter have made the front page of the Bexley edition of the News Shopper this week; their hard work in the ongoing refurbishment and repurposing of the old Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith has been recognised by the local paper. The Exchange are converting the former library into a community and arts centre. Phase one of the project - the opening of The Bookstore Cafe has already been completed, and phase two, the refurbishment of the ground and upper floor of the building will take place when further funding has been confirmed. You can read more about The Exchange by clicking here.

One of the few land based pirate radio stations to make a successful transition to a legal commercial radio station celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last week. Radio Jackie started life as a pirate in 1969, with occasional programmes. The first transmission was just 30 minutes long before it expanded to a weekly broadcast. It was created by current owner and founder Tony Collis. It pre-dated Independent Local Radio in the UK and was raided by the authorities on several occasions. After initial broadcasts from houses and flats, Jackie decided that these regular locations were going to attract the attentions of the authorities, so they became the first station to move transmissions to open spaces. While it meant that they couldn't broadcast live and no longer had access to mains electricity for the power-hungry valve transmitters of the day, it did make operations considerably less risky. The equipment could be set up in the undergrowth with an aerial between trees, while station staff could be on lookout from a distance, ready to either whisk the equipment away if they had enough warning of the arrival of the Post Office investigators – or to simply run away if they didn't. Gradually Radio Jackie refined its mobile broadcasting, at one time even making use of a pram to house all the heavy equipment. From initial broadcasts in Sutton's Nonsuch Park, for a long time they could be found every Sunday in a corner of Beddington Sewage Works. Transmissions moved to 227m, where they would continue for most of their part-time pirate life. In 1971 they also experimented with VHF transmissions every Saturday night, at first on their own and then as part of the London Transmitter of Independent Radio group. At this time the authorities found it hard to track VHF transmissions, but when they could they rapidly wiped them off the dial and in 1973 Jackie were back to AM-only broadcasts. 1975 saw Radio Jackie disappear from the airwaves for most of the year. Several of the staff had jumped ship to Radio Kaleidoscope, while founder Mike Knight was caught in a raid at another station and sentenced to 28 days in Pentonville Prison because of his previous four convictions. After their return the format of the station began to change, positioning Radio Jackie as The Sound of South-West London and with more content for their broadcast area – though mostly confined to local listings. In 1983 Radio Jackie launched a full 24 hours a day service with Dave Pearce and Paul McKenna amongst the people involved in their early careers. As a pirate, it operated with full-time staff, high street offices and the support of locals. In 1984 a petition, calling for the station to be given a licence, was signed by over 55,000 people and supported by many local councillors and the MP for Mitcham and Morden. Offices and studios were set up in Worcester Park, a more professional transmitter and aerial system installed in Cheam and Jackie registered as a proper business with PAYE-enrolled employees. There was even a Radio Jackie shop. After the introduction of the 1984 Telecoms Act, Radio Jackie seems to have known it was living on borrowed time. On Friday 1st February 1984 the new DTI Radio Investigation Service launched separate raids on Radio Jackie's offices and studios and at the transmitter site. They stripped the premises of every last piece of equipment and all the paperwork that was needed to prove individuals' involvement in the station. Concluding that they could not continue operating in the way they had before and that if they didn't then it would not be Radio Jackie, the station decided to close down. They came back on the air using makeshift equipment and prepared for a final farewell on Monday 4 February 1985. Hundreds of listeners turned up outside their offices at Central Road, Worcester Park to say goodbye, with programmes also going out on a VHF transmitter from the same location to ensure they could not be taken off. Even then the DTI couldn't resist raiding the medium wave transmitter site in the last minutes of the broadcast. Members of Radio Jackie continued campaigning for a licence. When in 1996 the Radio Authority finally advertised one for South West London they applied, only to be beaten by Thames Radio. When Thames ran into financial difficulties Jackie bought the loss-making station for £1, returning as Radio Jackie in October 2003, restoring live broadcasting and local news bulletins. Radio Jackie is now a successful legitimate commercial radio station serving South West London. You can see their website and listen to them online by clicking here. 

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Barnehurst are pleased to report there have been no burglaries in the past week. On Tuesday 12th March 2019 at 23.00 hours there was an attempted burglary in Erith Road whereby the victim heard someone tampering with the lock on the front door, the victim did not open the door. The following morning a small knife was found outside the address, this has been sent off for forensics. In Taunton Close on Thursday 14th March 2019 registrations plates were stolen from a Ford Transit. The team have been distributing Smart Water to all residents of Hillingdon Road following a spate of vehicle crime recently. We hope to continue in getting over areas of the ward covered in the near future. Coffee with cops at the Barnehurst Golf Club has been very successful in recent weeks. Following requests from residents we will be arranging some of these meetings at later times to accommodate those who are unable to attend earlier sessions. The next coffee with cops will be held at the golf club at 4.00pm, please join us to hear about what we are doing in your area and to discuss any concerns you may have". Belvedere ward:- "Throughout the last week, as part of Operation Sceptre, the team have continued to take part in ‘weapon sweeps' in several areas of the ward – Mitchell Close, Halt Robin Road, Salmon Road, Albert Road park areas, Parkside Road ad Franks Park to name a few…. .so far we have found no items of concern; On Thursday 14th March, PC Holmes and PCSO Worrall, during patrols of Picardy Street and in particular Mary Slessor House, discovered a motorbike in the rear courtyard of the building which (after checks were completed) transpired to have been stolen in the early hours of that morning. The vehicle was swiftly returned to a very happy owner. There have been four recent burglaries, three of which took place in the lower part of the ward – one in Gordon Road and two in Stanmore Road (these were thought to have taken place on the same day). The same method of entry was used here as rear patio doors where damaged / glass smashed in gaining entry. The fourth occurred in Milton Road and was an apparent attempted break in as the person(s) responsible do not appear to have entered the property after the house alarm sounded. Staff at the Lesness Abbey ruins site contacted the team recently as they happened to discover a discarded gun in the undergrowth whilst carrying out gardening duties around the site. The team attended and discovered that this weapon was in fact an air pistol. We have now removed this item to a safe location in order for it to be destroyed. Our next Community Contact Session is due to take place on Monday 25th March at Starbucks on the Belvedere Park estate from 4pm". Bexleyheath ward:- "On Thursday 14/03/2019 – There was a report of a burglary along Broomfield Road Bexleyheath. Alloy wheels had been stolen from the side gate access to the property; On Monday 18/03/2019.  There was a report of a theft of motor vehicle along Mayplace Road East that was taken from the driveway, taken by means unknown . This had taken place between 1am in the morning and 12 midday; Also on Thursday 14/03/2019 - There was a theft of a catalytic converter from a vehicle that was at the CIVIC office car park; Tuesday 19/03.2019 – Along Church Road Bexleyheath, victim had reported that their vehicle was scratched. There were four reports of theft from motor vehicles all on Monday 18/03/2019. The location are Midfield Avenue and Albion Road Car Park, two had taken place at each location and all of them seem to be during the day. On the Thursday 14/03/2018 – Victim had reported that they had their credit card stolen in Iceland's Store on the Broadway when the suspect had deliberately bumped into them. A person was stopped by the Premiere Inn with possession of cannabis and also 9 stop and searches conducted at the cinema car par. Also just to make you are, we have had problems with our ward phone and is now up and running again. We apologise if anyone was trying to call us and was unable to get through to us. Please note our contact number is not for emergency use and anything that does need reporting should ideally be via 999 or101 and online. 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:- "On Wednesday 13th March at approx. 13.37 a laptop valued at £1600.00 was stolen from Currys, the cable ties securing it were cut. There was a business burglary in Crayford High Street at 3am on Friday 15th March, a significant amount of fishing equipment was stolen from the premises, entry and exit was via the smashed front door, a white van was used and two suspects were seen. A white Ford Transit, number plate BW11TWZ was stolen from a property in Stour Road overnight Sunday 10th to Monday 11th March, the van had work tools inside. Number plates KF07XMU were stolen overnight Friday 15th in to Saturday 16th March in Mayplace Road East. these should be on a black Vauxhall. Two Males were seen stealing number plates from a black 1 series BMW and placing them on a White Audi A5 at Church Hill/Perry Street. Number plates PF57FFP were stolen from a white DAF overnight Sunday 17th - Monday 18th March whilst parked in Swaislands Drive. A Black GTF Vespa was stolen along with the chain and padlock from Bourne Road on Thursday 14th March between 12.00 - 13.00. Please be vigilant if using Bookers at Thames Road. On Sunday 17th March a lady's vehicle was hit from behind at Thames Road, she got out to exchange details with the driver, the accomplice snatched her handbag and just purchased cigarettes off the passenger seat. On the same day a lady had her handbag stolen containing a large amount of cash, driving licence, bank and credit cards, the suspect in this instance was seen to get in to a black Landrover before heading off towards Dartford. Please keep bags secured and out of sight whilst in your vehicle. We will be at Beano's café on Wednesday 27th March between 11.00 and 12.00 if you would like to come along and speak with us. Our next ward panel will also be held on Thursday 28th March at 7pm. The venue will be Vintage Lindy Lou's". Erith ward:- "We have unfortunately had a few burglaries in Erith this last week, All areas have been and will be patrolled more both plain clothing and in uniform, we will be checking residents CCTV and offering crime prevention advise to residents as well as trying to set up more Neighbourhood Watchesin the areas. Tower Road - By suspect(s) unknown breaking into the rear of the premises by smashing a rear window and conducting an untidy search and appropriating items unknown at time of report and making off. Bexley Road - Victim reporting attempted burglary at home address. Front doors smashed, no entry gained. Park Crescent – suspect detained nearby to venue who opened unlocked front door with no legal reason or good cause before being disturbed by occupier and making off on foot. Riverdale Road - By suspect(s) unknown entering garden then smashing rear window of property and conducting an untidy search and making off direction unknown". There was also a contribution from a Neighbourhood Watch member who observed:- "'A somewhat unusual event to report from Tuesday (19th March). I was just picking up a few supplies from Morrison's and spotted a man apparently keen to set his own bonfire by Wharfside Close, apparently trying to burn some sort of papers and other material(?!) with the aid of what I believe was a jerry can'. We understand that the Fire Brigade was called and the incident reported" There will be a special report on this incident in next week's Maggot Sandwich update. Northumberland Heath ward:- "This week the team have continued target area patrols. The team had 1 horse seized by the RSPCA and have reported a second horse. The team have also recovered a stolen moped that was found in South Road, DA8. In the early hours of Thursday 14th March officers were called to York Terrace where it was reported a male was rooting around in a garden shed, police attended and arrested a male for burglary. Unfortunately we do have a few crimes of note this week :- On Thursday the 14th March a white ford transit van was stolen from Hurst Road. On Thursday the 14th March there was a shed burglary in Belmont Road. On Monday the 18th March we had a theft of number plates from a vehicle in Carlton Road". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "We had a burglary reported on Saturday 16/03/2019 on Elm Road whereby a suspect was able to gain access to the property via an open window on the ground floor. This serves as a timely reminder to make sure that all windows are secured when going out especially as the weather (hopefully) starts to improve. We have also noted a slight rise in the number of reported thefts of motorcycles and mopeds, some of which are preventable. If you own one then I would encourage residents to remember ‘LOCK, CHAIN, COVER'. For more information go to: www.met.police.uk/scootersecurity. The team have had an eventful week which has even including seizing a horse and leaving it in the capable hands of the RSPCA, seizing a stolen moped found on South Road, Erith as well as a number of stop and searches, mainly for drugs".

Thamesmead East ward:- "Good News - After a lengthily investigation and subsequent court appearance a male was found guilty of criminal damage and a public order offence. Male is awaiting sentencing. Reception years 1 and 2 Pupils from St John Fisher RC School enjoyed exploring the CCTV Van - see the above photos. CRIMES THIS WEEK - Theft from Motor Vehicle: WOLVERCOTE ROAD Monday 18/03/19 between 8:30am-3pm Vehicle broken into and property stolen from inside by person/s unknown. Burglary: OVERTON ROAD Tuesday 19/03/19 between 11:30pm-9am Wednesday unknown suspect/s entered the victim's rear garden and broken into victims shed". West Heath ward:- "There have been no reported burglaries for 16 days. However after a break of 24 days we had two theft from motor vehicles overnight on Friday 15th- Saturday 16th March. One was in Whitfield Road where a nurses uniform was taken and found later discarded at the end of the road. The other was in Knowle Road where the car was broken into using keyless entry, no damage was caused and nothing was taken. We have held two well attended street briefings one in Milford Close on the Friday 15th March where the only issue raised was some historical suspicious activity in the garages to the rear of Milford Close and today's street briefing was held in Heath Avenue junction with Marley Avenue. The main issue raised was possible drug activity from people in cars late at night. Two males in a car were moved on by the team on Sunday night. The team continue to patrol the area both in uniform and plain clothes at various times to disrupt and deter such activity. We have been busy assisting our colleagues on Crook Log Team with a dispersal zone over the last week end as well as attending the local Mosques and other places of worship following the recent terrorist attacks in New Zealand. The team assisted in patrolling the Crook Log leisure Centre during the Mayor's Peoples Question Time. The next Street Briefing will be on Friday 29th March at 11.30am on the Hurst Lane Estate".

The end video this week features South Thamesmead - an area that is undergoing a great deal of change and redevelopment. A number of the buildings featured in the video will soon be demolished; indeed a number of the locations used in Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" no longer exist.