The Royal Alfred refurbished.

Many readers will be familiar with the building in the photo above; it is the former Royal Alfred pub in Manor Road, Erith. The pub has been empty and unused for years due to a number of factors. It has been a landmark on Manor Road since it was built in 1874. Over the last couple of years, the building has been covered in scaffolding whilst a complete new roof was installed, and huge changes made to the internal architecture of the building, which was also extended to the rear by a significant degree. A very large amount of exceedingly expensive work has been undertaken, and I have a bit of a scoop - the first look inside the refurbished former pub, now that work on the refurbishment of the upper floors has just been completed, and before the first tenants move in to the extremely high quality apartments which are shortly to be available for private rent. You may recall that I ran a feature on the Royal Alfred almost a year ago, when the place was little more than a shell - you can read my original article by clicking here. things have progressed amazingly in the intervening time, as you can see in the photos I took last Saturday afternoon, which you can see below. Click on any one for a larger version. All of the photos were taken using natural light, and no electronic flash.

I was given free reign to go wherever I liked in the building, and take whatever photographs I wanted to; I have to say that the workmanship of the refurbishment is of an exceptionally high quality, and the materials and domestic appliances installed are all absolutely top notch. Manjinder and his family have done a stunning job - I expected the fit and finish to be good, but what he has achieved has exceeded my expectations by a substantial margin. Now that the upper floors are now complete, work will shortly begin on the ground floor - turning it from a building site into a new, expanded Londis store to replace the cramped and outgrown shop on the opposite corner of Appold Street that the Bains family have run very successfully since 2002. They plan to keep as much of the former Royal Alfred pub identity as they can. If you are interested in learning more about these lovely apartments, then drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com and I will put you in contact with Manjinder.

The News Shopper are reporting a story that I predicted well over a year ago. The Dartford River Crossing Dart Charge system has not been anything like the success its operators had promised when the number plate recognition system was introduced. Recently released figures show that the Department of Transport has failed to collect a total of £32.5 million in unpaid fines, just from the last financial year. As I originally wrote, the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system used at the Dartford Crossing is easily fooled by dirt on the number plates, by certain foreign number plate designs with non – UK fonts, fog, rain and road spray. Basically unless the plate is scanned in near perfect weather and visibility conditions – something of a rarity in the local area, there is a strong chance that the number plate will not be recorded by the Dart Charge system correctly. On top of this, there is the well-known local issue of a large number of stolen and forged number plates in wide use by drivers which enable the criminal fraternity to travel over the crossing with impunity. If this situation was not bad enough, a lot of foreign drivers who ignore the Dart Charge system – the reports says that 437,304 unpaid crossing fines were forwarded to European debt recovery agents in the last year, very little, if any of which will be repaid. What also occurs to me, is if the level of fee avoidance is as high as now becomes apparent, how much does the collection process in itself actually cost? I wonder if it would actually work out cheaper to make the crossing – both the bridge and the tunnels free as had originally been intended? I have no vested interest in the Dartford Crossing myself, as it is not something that I personally use. I feel that the cost of administration versus the actual toll receipts could do with being looked at. Would a free crossing make a difference to the traffic levels in North Kent and South Essex? I am not an expert, but it would be interested to hear the opinion of a professional transport analyst on the subject.

One tends not to think of the local area as being one that fosters much in the way of agriculture; a fairly unglamorous South East London / North Kent suburb is not exactly the kind of place one would expect to find much in the way of food production. In many respects this may be the case, but in one particular area it is most definitely not true. Erith, Slade Green and Dartford are renown for the quality of honey that is produced in the area; indeed Dartford Bee Keeping Club have just won an award for producing some of the best quality honey in the country. I guess that this is due to areas such as the Slade Green Marshes, with the large open areas covered with heather, wild flowers and bulrushes. For what is thought of as a predominantly urban area, we actually have quite a large amount of uncultivated, wild wetlands and other places which bees find attractive. You can read more about Dartford Bee Keepers on their website here. I must warn you that the text on much of the site suffers extensively from rogue apostrophes – “bee’s” occurs on multiple occasions, amongst other misuses of possessive apostrophes. The site is obviously a labour of love, created by someone with rather more knowledge of bee keeping than good web design, or English grammar and punctuation.

Last week I ran an article on the proposed closure of Bexleyheath Police Station; Dana Wiffen of Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association sent me the following report on a recent public meeting to protest against the proposed closure:- "Thursday night’s meeting at The Council Civic Offices-main chamber, with representatives from The Mayor's Office including the Deputy Mayor-Sophie Linden and Bexley Police Borough Commander-Stuart Bell who took questions from a passionate 90 Bexley residents who attended. The top table included with the above two, plus Joyce Sutherland Chair of Bexley Safer Neighbourhood Board and myself. Many of those who attended were NW-Coordinators and most of NW's Committee was there also present, all NW members are volunteers that work in the Borough to try and reduce crime; all are against the planned closures of both front desk and then the police station itself, moving all police and front desk to Marlow House in Sidcup. There are also plans to close the police sub-offices in the Borough as well. We were told that this is part of a London wide programme to try and save £400 Million pounds from the MET's budget. Some of the arguments against were:- 1) Bexleyheath is Central to the Borough-Sidcup is not. 2) Bexleyheath allows a quick response to crime in the North of the Borough such as Thamesmead, Sidcup would not. 3) Bexleyheath is accessible from all parts of the Borough by bus, Sidcup is not. 4) Bexleyheath Town Centre has its own problems around pub closing times on Fridays and Saturdays - how would police responding from Sidcup be able to handle these problems quickly? 5) Pushing for a reality type police contact would exclude the 30% of over 65 year olds that do not have computer access. 6) There are no public parking facilities near to Marlow House and bus services to other parts of the Borough are limited making travel say from Erith to Sidcup difficult. 7) With a growing population in Bexley, the planned building in the North of the Borough as well as around Bexleyheath was pointed out with residents amazed that none of this has been taken into consideration. Although the figures for cost saving of Bexleyheath Police station were offered none were available for the amount of money needed to be spent on Marlowe House to allow it to take all the extra officers and vehicles and also the cost of installing a 24/7 front desk, which Marlowe House does not have at present. Already Bexleyheath Police Station has been devalued with the holding cells closed last year, it is ridiculous that police now have to take those arrested to either Plumstead Police Station or to Bromley meaning they can be off-line for a long period of time while offenders are booked in and they travel to and from Bexley. What seems just as bad is that Marlowe House does not have this facility either and there are no plans to include them if these changes are made. We feel that the plans to close both the 24/7 front office and police station will rip the heart out of community policing in the Borough, and that the already rising crime figures will continue during this process if it goes ahead. In addition to being able to respond the MOPAC on-line questionnaire (which is loaded towards the closure and reality policing), Bexley residents can sign an online (38 degrees) petition and if they prefer or do not have computer access they can sign hard copy petition and use it to gather their neighbours signature etc which are available from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch. (Tele: 0208 284 5537 Email: bexwatch-office@btconnect.com). The fight will go on with the on-line petition approaching 3,000 signatures there is scope to push this to 10,000 in time for both types of petition to be presented to our London Assembly Member-Gareth Bacon in time for him to present to the Assembly in early November. It is important to remember and this seems something both the MET and MOPAC have lost sight of Community Police Officers on the beat are "the eyes and ears" for fighting crime along with NW-Coordinators who continue to work with these teams to reduce crime and improve safety for residents, with the ever present danger of terrorist activity and the continued increase in gun and knife crime as well as the continued rise in lawless and dangerous biker gangs, the closure will give them the green light to carry on with their criminal activities knowing there is even less chance of them getting caught. While we are assured that there is going to be 2 fixed officers in each ward, by the time they have travelled from Sidcup to their ward, set up planned "Hubs" and start working on their newly acquired tablets there will be little time to patrol their wards. Bexley's residents should be aware and act now, as once these plans have been rubber stamped, the plan to build flats on the site will be the next step and Bexleyheath Police Station will be gone forever". You can sign the anti Bexleyheath Police Station closure petition by clicking here.

In a similar story, a reader alerted me to the advertisement above - which shows the former Belvedere Police Station which is now up for sale.  The plot of land, which is located on the corner of Woolwich Road and Nuxley Road in Upper Belvedere (NOT Nuxley Village - there never has been such a place - it is a recent, historically incorrect invention of estate agents that do not live around here, and have no knowledge of local history) is up for sale for redevelopment. Whilst I have no ideas what property development companies have expressed an interest in the site, but you can be pretty much certain that a large block of flats will end up being built on the site. Nuxley Road is already about to see some extensive changes; the very long established Walk Around store and the hardware store Nuxley DIY next door to it are about to close for good. The owner of the buildings is selling up and both buildings are being redeveloped for housing in the form of an apartment block. The whole nature of Nuxley Road is about to change. It seems that the threat of the closure of Bexleyheath Police Station and the selling off of Belvedere Police Station are not isolated cases; indeed it has come to my notice that our neighbours across the River Thames in the London Borough of Havering are experiencing a similar problem. Indeed the borough issued a public announcement last week that read:- “Havering Council Leader Roger Ramsey, is urging residents to speak out against proposals to close a number of police public access points. The Council strongly opposes the Mayor of London’s Office for Policing and Crime’s (MOPAC) proposal to close both Hornchurch and Rainham police stations along with seven Safer Neighbourhood bases.  Cllr Ramsey, said: “I understand that there are cuts being made to the service which has put the Mayor in a difficult position, but closing these stations and bases is a short-sighted decision. It will leave our residents feeling unsafe and for some, in particular residents in Rainham, this means having to travel over an hour to their nearest police station, which isn't acceptable. “I urge residents across the borough to attend MOPAC’s public meeting tonight (Wednesday 13 September), at the Salvation Army in Romford from 6pm to 8pm." It would seem from that midweek announcement that the two boroughs share a lot in common in terms of challenges that we both face.

In what has become an annual event, Riverdale Road based country and western musician and composer Wayne Jacobs has just won the ukcountryradio.com listeners club award for song of the year. He has won this award every year since 2012. This year he was also a finalist for UK country artist of the year and UK male country singer of the year. Mr. Jacobs is obviously very talented in his chosen field, and has been accordingly recognised. What surprises me is that he has not chosen to emigrate to the USA, where the main market for country and western music exists. It occurs to me that he would be in a far more receptive environment over there, and certainly far more ability to generate a substantial income for himself in the process.

The Bexley Times published a rather poorly researched story last week; it printed an interview with the Chief Executive of MBNA Thames Clippers, Sean Collins, after the recent trials of Thames Clippers ferrying commuters from Gravesend Town Pier into Central London. In the interview he said:- “The trial has been a total success so far, passengers have been asking a lot of questions to find out when a permanent service could be up and running and how much it will cost. These questions are the reason we are running this trial, I set up this company 18 years ago, and two years later people were asking me about a Gravesend service, the only reason we haven’t done anything sooner is because we’ve been working on other projects across London. We need to set out a full business case, it could take up to two years to start up a service, it would be great to see it stop at other places, such as Erith, Greenhithe, Dagenham and Thurrock. Because of demand we’d need to build at least two bigger boats, at around 300 capacity. They would cost around £6 million each and then there’s the cost of running to consider. By having new, bespoke boats, the journey time wouldn’t be longer, but for now the idea of additional stops is something we would have to evaluate in a business plan, as we would have to bring in the cost of setting up dedicated piers for the service.” Sean Collins obviously made his statement before consulting with either the Port of London Authority, Morrison’s Supermarket, or indeed Bexley Council. As regular readers will recall, I have previously researched and written about using Erith Pier as a embarkation / debarkation point for the Thames Clipper ferry service. The pier, albeit the longest on the entire river Thames, is a dogleg shape with the long axis running parallel to the river bank. At low tide, the pier “dries out” meaning river craft cannot access it for several hours each side of low tide. The solution for this would be to install a floating jetty which would extend into the deep water channel further towards the centre of the river. The problem with this solution is that there are a number of factors acting against it – firstly, a jetty extending from the pier might be construed as a hazard to navigation by the PLA – and would require hazard warning lights at night, and in times of poor visibility. Secondly, Morrison’s, who own the pier and have responsibility for maintaining it do not want it used as a ferry terminal, as commuters would use spaces in the supermarket car park which they would rather see in use for their own customers, and thirdly, Bexley Council say in not so many words that they are not interested; a spokesperson from the council was recently quoted as saying:- “We are not aware of any such proposal. There was a query raised with us about whether the service could stop at Erith pier but it does not have the facilities to allow a vessel to dock and fitting them would be very expensive. We are supportive of increased use of the river particularly for leisure and tourism, but the economics of a commuter service may be challenging. In this context we await the outcome of the trial with interest.” Local MP Teresa Pearce has examined the possibility of ferries stopping at Erith Pier, and she too was told that it was not going to happen. Personally I would love to be able to commute to and from Erith Pier to my place of work in Canary Wharf, but unless there are some drastic changes in policy by several involved organisations, I really cannot see it happening. Let's hope things change for the better.

This weeks incident reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Another Good week for Barnehurst ward with only one crime of note reported, unfortunately this was a nasty robbery which occurred at 12 noon on the 12th September near to Gravel Hill Primary School by two suspects riding a moped. The victim was crossing the road towards the school when a male wearing a crash helmet grabbed her necklace with such force that she was pulled to the ground. He then jumped onto the back of a waiting moped and made off down Gravel Hill towards the roundabout. If you have any information please call us with any details. Please be aware of your surroundings and take care of your property especially mobile phones and jewellery, for crime prevention advice on how to stay safe please visit the Metropolitan Police web site. We are aware of reports over the weekend of some ASB in Martens Avenue regarding youths on their pushbikes, we will be adjusting our duties to patrol at the relevant times and deal with the youths involved. Please join us on Friday 15th September at 11am at Barnehurst Golf Course to discuss any local issues or concerns that you may have. As always please follow us on twitter @MPSBarnehurst for regular updates from the team". From a member of the public in Martens Avenue:-  "Once again we are plagued by large groups of boys on cycle doing wheelies up and down the centre of the Martens Avenue, Bexleyheath. adjacent to the kids playground. This evening there are about 15 of them blocking the driveway of our house. When told to move they are abusive, rude and give you the one finger gesture. It is quite clear nothing seems to have been done with these kids who seem to be a law on to themselves. I can foresee that one of them will get hit by a car and seriously injured as they seem to hold no fear of traffic and indeed on occasions I have seen them play chicken down the centre of the road and force cars to slow down or stop. Something drastic needs to be done with these kids. They seem to have no respect for anyone or anything and I can foresee the time when if something is not done, one of the residents here taking the law into their own hands to deal with them. Their parents who should take some of the responsibility for these kids as they seem to do nothing and indeed no doubt if something is said to the kids about their behaviour, they would be soon knocking on doors and being confrontational. Please do something before things get out of hand". From Belvedere ward:- "We are continuing to canvass the ward to set up new Neighbourhood Watches. This is a lengthy process, but we have managed to set up 10 watches across the ward since we began. There has been ongoing Anti - Social Behaviour (ASB) by children/ youths acting in an intimidating manner and gathering in large groups in the public car park in Nuxley Road. We are monitoring this area and have spoken to residents of nearby streets to gain further information. Patrols of the area are set to continue and we have spoken to a number of young persons to advise them that any such behaviour will not be tolerated. There has also been a spate of thefts recently on the Belvedere Park estate in Lower Belvedere. Of note, uniforms belonging to the management company Pinnacle have been stolen. If there are any suspicions around people seen wearing these uniforms, we would urge residents of Belvedere Park not to allow these people access to any of the blocks on the estate and to contact Police immediately".

From North End Ward:- "A vehicle has been spotted parked in Appold Street with no registration plates. It looked like they had been forcibly removed . It's a blue Chevrolet and a photo has been sent to the local police team with relevant information". Copy of the photo above - click for a larger view. "There has been a burglary is Masefield Close (off of Bridge Road). Access was gained by a side window and air rifles, a tv and custom made remote control cars were among the main items stolen. The victim has been visited by SNT and is looking into getting CCTV at his home. There has also been an attempted bag snatch near the underpass on North End Road this week. Fortunately they didn’t get the bag but the victim is naturally very shook up. Patrols of the underpass area will be taking place and our advice is that if you are alone, please use the traffic lights at the bottom of Colyers Lane to cross the road. We have a surgery at 1800 hours on Tuesday 19th September in the Community Centre on the Rainbow Road estate. Please come along and say hello if you are around". Northumberland Heath ward:- "A burglary took place in Matfield Road where the suspect has been arrested and is currently on bail. Other than the burglary it has been a fairly quiet week on the ward apart from criminal damage to a motor vehicle parked outside the BNM Store in Brook Street where the victims window was smashed. This took place on Thursday 7th September between 0100 – 0500am. We have received a report from a member of the public of youths on pushbikes outside the post office in Mill Road throwing stones at passers-by. The incident was caught on film. Some rubbish was set fire to in Stream way, the Fire Brigade attended and put the fire out. No damage to property or life. On Thursday September 7th a member of staff from Erith School had her handbag stolen whist working in the school office." From Thamesmead East ward:- "No Burglaries to report. Delivery drivers beware – On Monday 4th September, food items were stolen from an ASDA’S delivery van, while the driver was with a customer, Kale Road. On Wednesday 6th September, a moped was stolen from Yarnton Way, however good news to report is that later in the day a male was seen with the bike, subsequently arrested and charged to court. Between Sunday 10th September and Tuesday 12th September a car was stolen from Pointer Close, officers managed to locate the vehicle in the Belvedere area, and has now been reunited with the owner. Just a reminder that between the 15th and 17th September a summer fete will be held at Southmere Park. Lots planned. We are always interested in recruiting new Neighbourhood watch co-ordinators for the ward. Please ask your family and friends if they would like to set up a Neighbourhood watch in their road. Contact us on 020 8721 2049 or Thamesmead.SNT@met.police.uk for more information, (or reply to this email to contact the NW office direct) For latest news from Bexley Police visit our twitter pages @MPSBexley and @MPSThamesmeadE".

The ending video this week shows the work to complete the new Abbey Wood railway station, which combines both the North Kent Line tracks and the new Crossrail (soon to be renamed Elizabeth Line) into one facility. Do give the short video a watch, and leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Erith Fun Day 2017.

The photos above were taken by me yesterday at the 2017 Erith Fun Day, which took place on the large field that is located behind Erith Leisure Centre. The event was bigger than last year; I would estimate that it was approximately one third larger in terms of both the number of stalls and the number of attendees. The weather was overcast, and there were occasional showers of rain, but overall not too bad for a British Summer. Some people say that Erith has no sense of community; I would beg to differ - the Fun Day shows just how much a sense of community that the local area has. The event grows bigger by the year, and the number of voluntary groups represented carries on increasing, which can only be a good thing.

Following the recent problems with illegal bikers in the area, it is interesting to see that a precedent may now have been set in the way that criminal bikers and scooterists are dealt with under the law; On Tuesday you may have  seen that the BBC News website covered a story about a large group of over 100 illegal bikers, who on the 31st October last year, rode through Leeds town centre on pavements and through pedestrianised areas, causing alarm amongst local pedestrians. The organiser of the huge event was a scumbag called David Armitage, who was actually not one of the participants, but nevertheless due to his setting up of the event on social media and promoting the whole illegal enterprise, was sentenced to two years in jail for the offence. Another twelve riders who took place in the large scale disturbance were sentenced to between twelve and fourteen months in jail. The judge said their actions on 31 October could "not be tolerated". Armitage, 26, had been filmed on 31 October telling riders to "shut down" the city centre. Jailing him for two years, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said: "This is a case which calls for a deterrent sentence. Behaviour of this sort, having serious effects on this city, cannot be tolerated.". This kind of robust policing and subsequent sentencing is precisely what The London Borough of Bexley and other London boroughs really require. At present the “softly softly” approach has proved ineffective, and from the dialogue I had with the Borough Commander of Dagenham and Redbridge Police during the radio discussion programme I was a contributor to last week, it is clear that stronger measures are to be taken to combat illegal riders in and around London in future; it may well be where Leeds leads, London will follow. More on this issue in the weeks to come.

The leaflet shown above was distributed around parts of Slade Green and Erith at the beginning of last week; As you can see, it contains some very alarming and serious claims. Many people who were in receipt of the leaflet have been extremely worried about its contents. I have been in discussion with fellow local blogger Malcolm Knight of the excellent Bexley is Bonkers about the situation, and he posted his thoughts on Wednesday after I forwarded him scans of the leaflet. Malcolm has the freedom to post multiple times in the week, whereas the Maggot Sandwich has a set publication date of early on Sunday afternoons. Malcolm and I have both investigated the lurid claims made in the leaflet, and have jointly come to the conclusion that they are for the most part pretty far – fetched. I have had private words with a number of people involved with the Bexley Regeneration Consultation Project, and off the record it has been said that it is pretty much a “sticking a finger in the air” exercise at present, and that a lot of the suggestions included in the report will never see the light of day. The much touted extension to the Crossrail development that Bexley Council seem to regard as almost a done deal is actually very far from it. An extension would require a new Act of Parliament, and a very substantial fresh investment; since the whole Paramount London Theme Park is now very much in doubt due to the withdrawal of Paramount from the project in the last couple of weeks, the motivation to extend the line from Abbey Wood as far as the Swanscombe Peninsula is now no done deal. More on this issue below. The London Borough of Bexley does have ambitious and far reaching aspirations regarding their thirty year plan for the development of the borough, but the classic impediments of lack of money and inertia from local stakeholders usually mean that few long term projects ever seem to amount to anything. I note that a number of aspirational projects have been outlined, not least the proposed tram / trolley bus system which would purportedly run through Erith to Dartford via James Watt Way / Crescent Road and then on  through what was the historic industrial railway route which ran under the Appold Street Bridge, and then Eastwards, following the River Thames towards Dartford. If this was run using zero emissions transportation technology, it could be an interesting new travel system – and one of particular appeal to me, as it would run past the bottom of my garden. Having said that, I really would not hold your breath, as the chances of it actually happening are in my opinion vanishingly small. The situation regarding the development of the planned £3.2 billion entertainment resort on the Swanscombe Peninsula has taken an unexpected turn after Paramount recently pulled out of the development; it was anticipated by many observers that the development would be put on hold for a period whilst a new brand partner was sourced, but on Wednesday of last week, London Resort Company Holdings has announced a “Memorandum of Understanding” with Port of Tilbury London Limited to use the port and its facilities as a main location for storing and barge operations in the construction phase of the park. This signals that the development is to go ahead as originally planned, just without the involvement of Paramount. This may be for one of two specific reasons; either London Resort Company Holdings have as I suggested recently, already found a new theme partner in another studio, or, more worryingly they are now gambling on another partner coming along during the build phase, or they are now planning on “going it alone” without a theme partner at all. I feel that if the third option turns out to be the case, then it would be a recipe for disaster, as I have previously written. Nevertheless the developers seem to be optimistic; in an interview with the News Shopper, Charles Hammond, Group Chief Executive from Forth Ports, owners of the Port of Tilbury, said: “The Port of Tilbury is ideally located as a hub for LRCH’s proposed major construction project in Kent. At Tilbury we are committed to encouraging the increased use of the River Thames for major construction projects. By using the River Thames, there is not only a reduction in the road miles impact but it also helps to reduce congestion on the road network. At Tilbury, LRCH will benefit from our expertise in warehouse consolidation, handling services as well as water-borne transportation.” The £3.2 billion park is aiming to open doors in 2022 and submit for planning permission later this year. If planning is granted the project will create 33,000 jobs during construction and operation. The park expects to receive approximately 15 million visitors per year. Time will tell.

I took the photo above yesterday afternoon in Manor Road; it shows one of the newest Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 Series 2 double deck bus that operates on the 99 route between Woolwich and Bexleyheath. The bus in question had recently broken down; you can see the driver on his mobile phone, calling the depot for a repair engineer. The passengers had been picked up by a following 99 bus. I understand that some of these new buses have problems with their zero emission Stop / Start systems, which use a large flywheel to store energy whilst stationary. Whether this was the problem with the bus photographed, I really don't know. More on local buses a bit later on.

I have been trying to find out what has happened to local eel fisherman Dave Pearce, who used to operate his eel fishing business out of a small boat which used to be moored on a buoy off Erith Jetty; I have heard nothing from him since his last posting online, which was in November 2013. It is been silent since then. I wonder if the last eel fisherman on the River Thames has now retired? Back in 1981 there were around thirty eel fishermen, over half of whom made a living from fishing in the river Thames off Erith. The irony is that eels have become rarer, and their price has subsequently risen to the point that nowadays very few traditional pie and mash shops sell jellied or stewed eels, as they have become too expensive for their main customers, who often are retired people on a budget. Several recent TV cooking shows have given the impression that eating eels is moving upmarket, and that smoking and barbecuing the fish is becoming increasingly popular. Bearing in mind how eel fishing has formed part of the historical culture of Erith, it is remarkable just how little the humble eel is celebrated locally. Perhaps something roughly analogous to the Whitstable Oyster Festival could be set up in Erith? After all, the Oyster Festival has been tremendously successful and brings visitors and business to Whitstable, to the point where it is now the commercial and social highlight of the year. Perhaps something like it could be established for an "Erith Eel Extravaganza" could be set up? What do you think? Over a decade ago, we had an Erith Multicultural Festival, which involved lots of food stalls along the high Street, and dragon boat races on the river, along with a big firework display in the evening. Perhaps an "Erith Eel Extravaganza" could be organised along similar lines? I concede that we might have a bit of an image problem; you think of oysters and you think of James Bond, whereas when you think of eels, you think of Alf Garnett. Eels have been a working class staple food since Roman times, and ironically until relatively recently, so were oysters, but overfishing of oysters caused them to become rare, and consequently they went up market – exactly the same thing is happening to the humble eel nowadays. Is the time right for an eel revival and a new image? Should Erith be nailing eels to the mast (poor analogy, but you see where this is going). Should we be celebrating the Erith eel, or is it just a sad footnote in history? What do you think? Do give me your feedback; you can comment below, or Email me to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association have published the following reports on local crime and community safety issues this week:- “Please be advised that the RSPCA will be going door to door within Bexley borough fundraising until 30th July. Always check charity collectors identification before passing on your contact details. If in doubt, contact the RSPCA directly rather than relying on a contact number that the collector may give you. Thanks to Senior Engineer Graham Wood at London Borough of Bexley for the advance notice of upcoming re-surfacing works on the North Cray Road starting 20th July. With the increase in motorbike and scooter theft in the Borough, the following link to the Met's website highlights the 'Be Safe' initiative to help combat such crime and help owners reduce the chance of becoming the next victim. From the Barnehurst Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team:- “Sadly we have had a burglary reported in Westfield Road, Barnehurst. Entry was gained to a house via the front UPVC door which was NOT double locked. Please make sure that you lift the handle to engage the locking system and lock with the key. If it’s not double locked then it’s NOT locked and will take a burglar just seconds to open the door. We welcomed the Barnehurst Beavers to the police station on Wednesday evening, they learnt about what the police do and got to examine some of our equipment as well as having a tour around our custody suite. The evening finished with the taking of fingerprints and an interesting question and answer session. A big Thank you to East Wickham and St Michaels SNT for their assistance. We now have 235 followers on our twitter account, thank you for your support, we would like more, please follow us @MPSBarnehurst for updates regarding what the team are up to and crime prevention advice”. From the Belvedere team:- “This week the team held a meeting at the Recycling Centre, Norman Road with representatives from Bexley Council Roads, ASB Team, local Councillor and the Roads Traffic Policing team. The issue of nuisance motorbikes using the road as a race track is causing major issues for the recycling centre. They gather en-masse and basically block the road. The purpose of the meeting was to try and come up with plans on how to deal with this issue jointly with Bexley Council, the Police and the Recycling Centre. Overall it was a productive meeting and we will be implementing the ideas in the coming weeks to try and put a stop to this problem. The team also had a meeting with the Bexley Council ASB officers with regards to the issue of street drinking on Picardy Street. As with the Norman Road issue, we will be working with the local council to try and curb the nuisance this is causing. We have recently received several neighbour dispute reports in various places on the ward. All we ask is that, if neighbours don’t like each other, just ignore and move on. A lot of people are becoming fixated with each other which is making the issues worse. Mediation is a good way forward, or just simply sitting down together and talking things through calmly. Unfortunately the latter is becoming a thing of the past. Our next Police surgery will be at ASDA, Lower Road on 18/07/17 at 17:00.” From the Erith Safer Neighbourhood Team:- "A female was arrested and charged for shoplifting goods worth £288.00 from Matalan Store, Riverside shopping Centre. A male was stopped and searched in Avenue Road and found to be in possession of Cannabis. Prolific shoplifter has been arrested, charged and sentenced to four months for stealing goods to the value of £100.00 from Argos, Riverside shopping Centre. PC Brown arrested a male wanted for failing to appear at court for Theft of a Motor Vehicle. The team have recruited four Ward Panel members and eleven potential Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators. Talks have been given by PC Couzens to the students at Christchurch School and the Rainbows. PCSO Winch has attended the summer fete at St Augustine Church along with Northend Ward. PC’s Brown and  Couzens have been conducting arrest enquiries at various addresses to trace wanted offenders. A female suffered a cardiac arrest while at the Riverside Shopping Centre. She was promptly and fortunately treated by an off duty nurse and cardiologist before PC Couzens assisted in transporting the patient to hospital where we understand that she is currently recovering. There have been two theft of number plates from motor vehicles, one in Bexley Road the other in Francis Road". The Thamesmead East Team report:- “Our Ward Panel meeting was held on Wednesday 5th July, Priorities agreed by the members are, Drug Abuse, Motor Vehicle are Anti- Social Behaviour. Promises agreed by the members are, Fly- Tipping, Engagement with youth/elderly and recruiting Neighbourhood Watch members. Local Ward Officers attended the Atrium Community Centre, Middle Way for the reopening of the Over 50s Hub. While on routine patrol, PC Nana and PC Pruden discovered a stolen motor vehicle parked up in Thamesbank Place. It had been reported stolen in March 2017 from the Lewisham area. The victim was updated, and the vehicle was recovered to Charlton Car Pound re forensics. Male arrested for a number of theft offences was sentenced to prison for 16 weeks. After the team conducted extensive CCTV enquiries regarding an assaulted that occurred in May 2017, a male has been charged with Actual Bodily Harm, and will appear at Court next month".

I have been sitting on a particular story for a while, as I was unable to get it properly verified by an independent source. It turns out that the story was true, and has now broken on several local news outlets. Extreme right wing group Britain First has been holding martial arts training sessions in the Erith Leisure Centre in Avenue Road. The racist, anti-pretty much everything group – who aspire to many of the same hateful ideologies as the jailed Joshua Bonehill (of whom I have written extensively in the past) have been using Erith Leisure Centre for “training” sessions for a while now. I am led to believe that the members of Britain First masqueraded as employees of a security company on a series of training days. The former leader of Britain First, a very unsavoury sounding chap called Paul Golding was jailed last year after he contravened a court order forbidding him from approaching every Mosque in England and Wales, when he organised a mass invasion of a mosque. As well as being banned from all mosques himself he was also prohibited from encouraging others to do so under the terms of the court order.  Nine days after the injunction - which prohibited entering any mosque in England and Wales without prior invitation – and was imposed in August last year, Golding drove four Britain First members to the Al-Manar Centre in Cardiff for a "mosque invasion". He ended up being sent to prison for a month as a result. The same group of bigoted individuals have been learning hand to hand combat locally in the sports centre; their publicity material states that disciplines taught include “Martial Arts, Krav Maga, close protection, knife defence and much more.” It was accompanied by fifteen  images showing mostly middle aged men, learning techniques as well as one posed shot with eight men standing arms crossed and looking at the camera.  Mr Golding, who was a Swanley town councillor for the British National Party from 2009 to 2011, appears to be among the men in the pictures. I understand that a member of the public alerted Parkwood Leisure, the company that operates Erith Leisure Centre on behalf of Bexley Council, and they then took action to prevent Britain First using the facility. I am not surprised that this ultra – right wing hate party chose to operate under the radar in the local area; I am sure that many would not wish Erith to be associated with such individuals.

Changes are being proposed to the bus services in parts of The London Borough of Bexley; Transport for London (TfL) have made the following announcement:- "The Elizabeth line serves Abbey Wood and Woolwich from December 2018. We have reviewed bus routes serving Abbey Wood and Woolwich, looking at how the introduction of the Elizabeth line will impact travel habits, the overall bus demand in the area as well as and other factors such as new developments. As a result, we are proposing to introduce a new bus route – numbered route 301 – and make some changes to routes 129, 161, 178, 180, 244, 291, 469, 472 and B11. Our proposals range in scale depending on the route to help us better match future demand with space available on the bus.  Our review of bus services in Abbey Wood, Woolwich and the surrounding areas has identified places where demand is likely to change following the introduction of the Elizabeth line, as well as areas that have no direct bus link to the new Elizabeth line stations at present. We are proposing to make the changes outlined above in response to this. The current bus links between Bexleyheath and Abbey Wood on routes B11 and 229 follow an indirect routing. The introduction of route 301 would provide a high frequency, direct route, saving 10 minutes journey time compared to route 229 and seven minutes compared to route B11. In addition, it would create new bus links from the south-eastern section of Long Lane where there is currently no direct bus service to Abbey Wood – an estimated 1200 households would gain a direct connection. Although we would be reducing the frequency of route B11, by introducing route 301 there would be an extra 4 buses an hour to the south of Abbey Wood on Brampton Road and Long Lane, while maintaining sufficient capacity elsewhere on route B11 such as the Hillsgrove Estate. With extra capacity between Abbey Wood and Thamesmead via Bentham Road provided by route 301 and the conversion of route 244 to double deck buses, it would no longer be necessary for route B11 to serve Thamesmead town centre. Shortening route B11 so that it terminates at Yarnton Way should help to improve the reliability of the route over the remaining section. However this change would mean that customers who use route B11 to travel from Harrow Manor Way and Thamesmead to areas to the south and east of Abbey Wood would need to change buses to complete their journey. Route 472 currently provides the main connection between Thamesmead, Woolwich and North Greenwich. Once the Elizabeth line is running, we expect less people to travel by bus across Woolwich from Thamesmead to North Greenwich. The proposed frequency reduction of the 472 reflects this. Even with this reduction of frequency, the introduction of route 301 would mean that the number of buses between Thamesmead and Woolwich would stay about the same as they are now. Similarly, the proposed diversion of route 180 to North Greenwich would mean that the total number of buses travelling between Woolwich and North Greenwich would remain broadly the same. Diverting route 472 to run via Western Way would shorten journey times between Thamesmead and Woolwich by around two minutes compared to the current routing via Nathan Way, which would served by route 301 instead. Extending route 472 to Abbey Wood station would create new links to North Greenwich from Abbey Wood and South Thamesmead. It would also provide an increase in capacity between the eastern side of Thamesmead and Abbey Wood, which would help to relieve crowding on route 229. South east of Abbey Wood on the Woolwich Road corridor, route 99 would provide a link to the Elizabeth line at Woolwich. Diverting route 469 so that it serves Woolwich Road would create a more convenient connection to the Elizabeth line at Abbey Wood station, and at the same time free up capacity on route 99. Customers who currently use the 469 to travel from Abbey Road to areas west of Abbey Wood each day would need to use route 229 instead and change at Abbey Wood. Extending route 180 to The Quarry, Erith would mean there are three bus routes running on the Erith, West Street – Abbey Wood corridor which would help to ensure there would be no capacity issues on Abbey Road or Woolwich Road. It would provide new links from the industrial areas on Church Manor Way and the new Quarry development to the Elizabeth line. These changes would mean that route 180 would no longer serve Fisher’s Way. At the other end of route 180, diverting the route to North Greenwich would mean that some passengers would have to change buses to complete their current journey. Most of these journeys are travelling to and from Lewisham and Greenwich town centres, where there are interchange options with other high frequency bus services". What do you think of the proposed changes? Do they affect you in a positive or negative way? Leave your comments below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The Riverside Fish and Steak restaurant in the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre continues to get rave reviews from diners; Comments left on review site Trip Advisor include:- “This must have been the fifth or sixth time we have eaten in this restaurant since it opened. The restaurant and toilets are always spotless and the service which may not be the fastest is always good and attentive. The menu is varied, tasty and good value for money. This restaurant is just consistently good with the standards set across the board in the beginning never wavering or faltering”. Another satisfied customer wrote:- “Visited this great little eatery with my wife. Had rib eye with rice and the missus had the same with cheesy chips. Great menu choices for fish, meat and other options. Very well priced. Very attentive young lady who happily would pour your drinks at the table or leave you to your own if wished. Really diverse choice of drinks for the size of establishment and reasonably priced. Food quality was outstanding. Thoroughly recommend and will be back. Long overdue in the area. Well done”. A third commented:- “A much needed local eatery. New and very clean. This unit is both a restaurant and a takeaway, but don't be misled, the restaurant is not just a few tables in a takeaway. The menu is not extensive but is very focus see on simple whether you order fried fish, grilled fish or grilled steaks they are always good. Just like the food there is a simple wine list. Since opening in late in 2016 we now go there at least once a fortnight. Whilst I have the superb grilled fish my wife often has the lunchtime menu in the evening (nothing seems to be too much trouble)”. It is great to see a new and innovative restaurant making such a favourable impression on local diners. For too many years, Erith has been a “ dormitory town” – local residents have had to travel to Upper Belvedere, Northumberland Heath or Bexleyheath if they wanted to go out for an evening meal that did not involve McDonald’s or KFC. The team behind Erith Riverside Fish and Steak have certainly made a destination venue; we just need several more such eateries and a decent pub in the town (I don’t count The Running Horses, as it is a sad shadow of its former self, and desperately needs to be taken over by a new owner with money to invest in the place). What would you like to see in the area and why? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The end video this week shows further work on the Crossrail development, specifically the final journey of the Plumstead based tunnel concreting machine, now that it has completed its work. Do give the short video a watch and let me know what you think.

Horizon to Horizon.

The photo above was taken by local resident and occasional Maggot Sandwich restaurant critic Brian Silk. It shows the Sun rising over the River Thames at Erith. It is a beautiful shot, and proves that the riverside at Erith can be stunningly attractive when the weather and light are right. You can clearly see the classic Erith "Big Sky" - the town is the only place in the whole of the London Borough of Bexley where one can see from horizon to horizon with a completely unobstructed view - something I feel we ought to make much more of. Erith is undersold as a place to live - something I am keen to remedy. Brian has also written a short review on a long - standing Erith institution that has recently changed hands. "I recently checked out Dilz Café in West Street, ‘under new management’, having previously been West Street Café. I have to say I didn’t notice too much of a difference from this long-standing institution’s previous incarnation, but that’s no bad thing. Still the same kind of range of set breakfasts, snacks and sandwiches, and lunches and dinners. There were perhaps one or two additional menu items, but I can’t be sure. Still pay with your order at the counter and the food is freshly prepared. I suppose the new management thought, ‘Why change a successful formula?’ I chose the spaghetti bolognese for £4.95. I was not disappointed. A decent-sized meal arrived and it was really tasty. In fact, I had it again just a few days ago and it was every bit as substantial and good as the first time. Decent food at a reasonable price could describe all the Erith food outlets I use again and again (the others being The Running Horses, Yildiran and West Street Fish Bar) and that very much applies to Dilz. I look forward to trying out more of their menu before long. Dilz is at 115 West Street (opposite The Ship pub), phone 01322 446726". Excellent reporting Brian. If anyone else has content that they would like to supply me with, you can Email hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

There is much controversy about the various proposed schemes to add extra crossings across the River Thames to the East of London. As I featured last week, a group called Bexley Against Road Crossings (BARC) have formed to campaign against new river crossings. The next BARC meeting is on Tuesday 27 October at 7.15pm at Bexley Village Library, Bourne Road, Bexley. Personally I have no strong feelings either pro or anti additional crossings. Whilst the population of the UK is continuing to rise, and the London and South East region is particularly affected in this respect, I am also aware that the more roads you build, statistically the more traffic will use them. Malcolm Knight of the excellent Bexley is Bonkers blog does some detailed analysis of the BARC claims which you can read here. It makes for interesting consideration. One cross - Thames link that nobody seems to be disputing is the long established and well loved Woolwich Ferry. It is currently coming to the end of a £10 million improvement as part of a two-year upgrade programme, due to be completed at the end of this month. Over the course of a year the three ferries make around 50,000 crossings in total, carrying on average 1.1 million vehicles and 2.2 million passengers. The improvement works on the piers, loading bridges and vessels aim to extend the crossing's operational life and deliver a more reliable service over a period estimated to be around fifteen years.  The current three vessels were built in Dundee in 1963 by The Caledon Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, and were each named after prominent local politicians: John Burns, Ernest Bevin and James Newman (Newman was mayor of Woolwich, 1923–25). These vessels are now over fifty years old, and a considerable degree of engineering work has had to be carried out to extend their operational life to cover the new expected service period. 

Mobile phone usage has increased so much it has led to the invention of the term Nomophobia – the fear of being denied mobile phone contact. A study found that half of British people suffer anxiety if they lose their phone, run out of battery or credit, or lose coverage. Nine percent actually suffer stress when their phone is off. 3G mobile phone technology is also employed in many so - called Smart Meters, that various energy companies are currently plugging hard. These meters are part of the "internet of things". I have noticed that several of the national energy companies are currently targeting local residents with letters asking them to make an appointment to get their current electricity and gas meters replaced with a smart meter. Personally I have received three such letters from my energy supplier, EDF. As I have mentioned before, Smart Meters send real – time power usage data back to the supplier via a 3G mobile phone signal. This means that the meter does not have to be connected to a home data network. This sounds all well and good; the power company can bill you without having to send a meter reader to your house, and you get the option to monitor your power usage in an almost real – time way. There are however, problems. The data sent from the Smart Meter to the supplier is sent unencrypted, and “in the clear”; it is possible to intercept the data stream, and also a malicious attacker can potentially send instructions to the meter remotely. Several Smart Meter companies do tacitly admit this, but they play the whole lack of security aspect down. Secondly if one discounts the security implications, the various energy companies all supply different Smart Meters, many of which are incompatible with each other. If you choose to change your energy supplier, you will need to have your Smart Meter changed again – with the associated additional cost to you that this implies. Tellingly on the EDF letter there are a series of frequently asked questions. EDF initially state in the letter that “your current meter is old and now needs to be replaced – you need to book an appointment for an engineer to carry out this work”. They then go on to stress how old meters can be inaccurate and possibly unsafe. There is a giveaway in the FAQ’s that follow though – and I quote verbatim:- “Occasionally we may be unable to install a Smart Meter, usually due to communications issues with signal strength. If this happens we will not replace your meter, but will contact you again when we believe the Smart Meter national infrastructure will be able to support a Smart Meter in your premises.” There is the smoking gun – they don't actually need to replace the meter for the accuracy and safety concerns expressed earlier – they purely want to do it to make you have a Smart Meter, with all the security, privacy and expense worries that they entail. I have a preferred technique for dealing with such unwanted attention – I ignore everything they send me until they eventually give up and go away. Smart Meters primarily benefit the energy companies, because they no longer need to employ meter readers. The benefits to the consumer are minimal at best, and when allied to the security and compatibility concerns mentioned earlier, they don't add up for me. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Doreen Ives, Chair of the Erith Town Forum has released the following announcement:- "The next meeting of Erith Town Forum will take place on Thursday 29th October 2015, 7pm – 9pm at BEXLEY COLLEGE, Walnut Tree Road, Erith, Kent. Yes we have moved to Bexley College and to a Thursday evening.  The hall we use is normally the students’ lounge/restaurant. We have access to excellent computer facilities for presentations, and coffee or tea will be available. There is a security procedure we must follow so you should arrive five/ten minutes early to sign in. Obviously we only have access to the hall and toilets which are close by. Unfortunately as most of you will be aware, there is no car park specifically for the College but there is on street parking nearby. Richard Green, Bexley Town Centres Manager will give us updates on issues raised at our meeting in July. Tom Brown Director of Adult Social Care and Kevin Murphy Head of Housing Services will give a presentation including information about to the present use of the old Homeleigh site in Avenue Road. A second presentation will be given by Deniece Williams, a member of the Bexley Fostering Recruitment and Assessment Team. As you can see it should be a very informative meeting so I hope you will be able to come along".

The News Shopper have given extensive coverage this week to a story I featured on the Maggot Sandwich last week, about the launch of Operation Adgate, and also the new Neighbourhood Watch scheme called Bike Watch. The photo above was supplied to me by Dana Whiffen, the Chairman of Bexley Neighbourhood Watch Association. The problem is one of illegal bikers riding stolen, unlicenced, unregistered, uninsured bikes around the local area whilst not wearing helmets and pulling wheelies and other dangerous stunts on the public highway, then filming the results of their criminal activity and posting them on the Bike Life TV UK Facebook page, and also on to their YouTube channel. There has been a massive crackdown on these criminals led by Bexley Neighbourhood Watch Association and Bexley Police. Officers from Bexley borough have joined forces with the Met's roads and transport policing command, Bexley Neighbourhood Watch Association and the Gallions/Peabody Housing Association – in a bid to crack down on bike crime and anti-social behaviour across Thamesmead and elsewhere. Six illegal vehicles were seized and nineteen drivers reported for various traffic offences on the operation's launch day, Thursday the 16th October. In addition to this, legal action is being taken against an illegal biker that I recently had a personal encounter with. I hope to be able to report the full story after the 20th November, when the case will reach court. Until then I can say no more, though I know some readers are aware of the story. More on Neighbourhood Watch at the end of this update, with a video originally shot for a Russian TV news and current affairs show!

Many clubs and organisations, and all companies are required to have staff or volunteers qualified to administer first aid in the case of a medical emergency. Properly administered and professionally recognised first aid training can be expensive, so I am pleased to say that a professionally run course is shortly to take place in Erith, and local residents can take part, and get a substantial discount on the normal course price. The one day course will be taking place on Friday the 27th November in The Cross Keys Centre on Erith High Street. You can read more about the course, and how to book a place online by clicking here. I hope to cover this story in future, as it is a very welcome local addition.

You may recall that on a few occasions in the past I have written in some detail about an odious individual by the name of Joshua Bonehill. He is a self – professed racist, misogynist homophobic anti Semitic bigot. He targeted me with a threatening Email last year, which I published in full here. Bonehill has been in and out of court on numerous charges, and is currently on remand in jail on a charge of Inciting Racial Hatred. He managed the astonishing feat of being called back to court on a separate charge whilst actually already being in prison. Last week he appeared at Stevenage Magistrates Court charged with misusing a public computer network to propagate grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing material. He had written on his website that babies with conditions like Downs Syndrome should be killed at birth for the good of the nation. He accompanied the story, on a site describing itself as 'Britain's number one nationalist newspaper' with a picture of a Tesco worker with Downs Syndrome.  He was also charged over another article in which he claimed food sold by Tesco that had been imported from Africa contained the deadly Ebola virus. District Judge Carolyn Mellanby dismissed both charges, saying that his right to free speech protected him from being punished over the stories. Tesco said that they were alerted to Bonehill's article, and were contacted by almost two hundred customers concerned that the story was true; I share the opinion with Richard of “The Thamesmead Grump” fame, that I find it worrying that so many people are prepared to believe anything they read, “because it is on Facebook”) . Despite accepting that Bonehill was behind the stories, district judge Mellanby said he was protected by the Human Rights Act, which guarantees free speech. She said: 'Freedom of speech has a very high threshold and I would have breached Article 10 of the Human Rights Act if I had found you guilty. You have a right to express your opinions. You came close, but not close enough. I therefore dismiss the case.' Joshua Bonehill, of Yeovil, Somerset, who also goes by the name of Joshua Bonehill – Paine was returned to custody after the hearing ahead of a trial he faces at Southwark Crown Court in December. He is accused of inciting racial hatred before a neo-Nazi rally in London in July. Whatever happens in the December trial, I feel that Bonehill will be encouraged by the court judgement, and will make much of it whenever he eventually gets out of prison.

Another thirtieth anniversary for a well known technology is now upon us, though the press have been remarkably silent on the matter - though they did pick up on Back to the Future Day on Wednesday last week. The undocumented birthday was that for Microsoft Excel. The now dominant spreadsheet was originally released for the Apple Mac in September 1985 (and in the UK in October of the same year). Microsoft originally marketed a spreadsheet program called Multiplan in 1982, which was very popular on text based CP/M systems, but on MS-DOS systems it lost popularity to Lotus 1-2-3. This promoted development of a new spreadsheet called Excel which started with the intention to, in the words of Microsoft's Doug Klunder, 'do everything 1-2-3 does and do it better'. The first version of Excel was released for the Mac in 1985 and the first Windows version (numbered 2.0 to line-up with the Mac and bundled with a run-time Windows environment) was released in November 1987. Lotus was slow to bring 1-2-3 to Windows and by 1988 Excel had started to outsell 1-2-3 and helped Microsoft achieve the position of leading PC software developer. This accomplishment, dethroning the king of the software world, solidified Microsoft as a valid competitor and showed its future of developing graphical software. Microsoft pushed its advantage with regular new releases, every two years or so. Early in its life Excel became the target of a trademark lawsuit by another company already selling a software package named "Excel" in the finance industry. As the result of the dispute Microsoft was required to refer to the program as "Microsoft Excel" in all of its formal press releases and legal documents. However, over time this practice has been ignored, and Microsoft cleared up the issue permanently when they purchased the trademark to the other program. Microsoft also encouraged the use of the letters XL as shorthand for the program; while this is no longer common, the program's icon still consists of a stylised combination of the two letters, and the file extension of the default Excel format is .xls. Excel offers many user interface tweaks over the earliest electronic spreadsheets; however, the essence remains the same as in the original spreadsheet, VisiCalc: the cells are organised in rows and columns, and contain data or formulas with relative or absolute references to other cells. Excel was the first spreadsheet that allowed the user to define the appearance of spreadsheets (fonts, character attributes and cell appearance). It also introduced intelligent cell recomputation, where only cells dependent on the cell being modified are updated (previous spreadsheet programs recomputed everything all the time or waited for a specific user command). Excel has extensive graphing capabilities. When first bundled into Microsoft Office in 1993, Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint had their GUIs redesigned for consistency with Excel, the killer app on the PC at the time. Since 1993, Excel has included Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), a programming language based on Visual Basic which adds the ability to automate tasks in Excel and to provide user defined functions (UDF) for use in worksheets. VBA is a powerful addition to the application which, in later versions, includes a fully featured integrated development environment (IDE). Macro recording can produce VBA code replicating user actions, thus allowing simple automation of regular tasks. VBA allows the creation of forms and in-worksheet controls to communicate with the user. The automation functionality provided by VBA has caused Excel to become a target for macro viruses. This was a serious problem in the corporate world until antivirus products began to detect these viruses. Microsoft belatedly took steps to prevent the misuse by adding the ability to disable macros completely, to enable macros when opening a workbook or to trust all macros signed using a trusted certificate.  Many of us use Excel as part of our jobs nowadays - and I reckon that many are not aware of the long and rich history the application has. Whilst in very widespread use, it is not the only spreadsheet available, despite what Microsoft might have you believe. Happy 30th birthday Excel.

Here is an announcement that you may well find of interest. "THE FRIENDS OF CHRIST CHURCH ERITH ask you to a QUIZ NIGHT on Saturday 14th November 2015. Doors open at 7pm for a 7:15pm start in Christchurch Hall, Victoria Road, Erith, Kent, DA8 3AN (vehicular access via Glebe Way).  Maximum of 6 people to a team - £3 a person.  Form your own team or join one on the night.   Please bring your own drinks and nibbles.  There will also be a raffle.  A fun fund-raising event for the upkeep of the listed Church building.  Thank you if you have already bought tickets for the Quiz Night, but if not, then now’s your chance!  Tickets in advance only please:  Contact the Friends of Christ Church Erith at focce1874@aol.com".

Several readers have asked me to write in more detail about Edward Butler, the true inventor of the modern motor car. He was the first modern motorist, he invented several automotive components that are still in common use today, and his wife Kitty, also known as Kate Gildersleeves – is thought to be the World’s first lady motorcyclist. When Edward Butler was developing his petrol cycle (photo above - click on it for a larger view), he used Manor Road in Erith for testing purposes. The reason for this was (unlike today) the road was relatively quiet with little traffic; it also benefitted by being a very long road and mostly straight. It can therefore be said that Manor Road in Erith was the World’s very first car test track. It still gets used by would – be boy racers nowadays, despite a twenty miles per hour speed limit on the residential stretch of the road. The Butler Petrol Cycle is accepted by many automotive historians as the very first British motor car, although as it never went into production. Although Karl Benz is recognised as the inventor of the modern motor car, the aforementioned Edward Butler was said to have exhibited plans for a 3-wheeled vehicle two years earlier than Benz in 1884 at the Stanley Cycle Show, London, and it was also the first design shown at the 1885 Inventions Exhibition, London. Butler however did not patent his vehicle until 1887 due to British laws on experiments.  On the vehicle the patent read “Butlers Petrol-Cycle Syndicate Limited Patent”.  It also referred to “F.B. Shuttleworth, Erith, London.” as Butler built the Petrol Cycle in the engineering works of F.B. Shuttleworth who was an engineer who built naval torpedo ships and civilian yachts, and additionally was a steam boiler manufacturer.  In 1890 Butler finished his design which was a vehicle powered by an engine that combusted mineral hydrocarbons. The respected publication Scientific American published an article on the Butler Petrol Cycle in the February 14th 1891 edition of the magazine. This stated that one gallon of petroleum or benzolene was enough to “furnish sufficient power” to achieve a journey of forty miles at a speed ranging from 3 - 10 mph. Edward Butler is credited with first using the word “Petrol” and inventing the spark plug, magneto, coil ignition and spray jet carburettor.  The speed of the vehicle was regulated by a throttle valve lever  whilst over heating was prevented by water circulating through a radiator over the rear driving wheel. Butler was continually frustrated in his automotive experiments by the law. The Red Flag Act of 1885 was a major source of exasperation; the act restricted automotive vehicles to a maximum speed of 2 mph in the city and 4 mph in the countryside.  In addition each vehicle had to be attended by three people, of which one had to walk in front of the vehicle waving a red flag (The 1865 Red Flag Act) to warn other road users and help control horses. This act had originally appeared as a result of the growing number of steam powered vehicles in the UK. The restrictive nature of the Red Flag Act meant that inventors and engineers could only test their creations on private land, something which proved instrumental in holding back British car development, and allowing Karl Benz in Germany not only to gain a technological lead in car development, but more importantly to register a whole series of patents under his name. Butler became increasingly frustrated and disillusioned; In 1900 Butler penned a letter to “The Autocar” magazine of which they published on April 7th 1900. The letter read:- “Now that public attention is being drawn to the early attempts of the two German pioneers, Benz and Daimler, I trust that you may find space in your journal for an illustration of a small petrol vehicle, which I believe was absolutely the first made in this country, and if I could have interested any one to finance it when the drawings were exhibited at the Stanley Show in 1884, and the following year at the Inventions Exhibition, I should have been contemporaneous, if not earlier than either of them. Although I cannot claim to have done very much in the light of the present enormous development of the automotor trade, it may have been forgotten that I carried out a series of experiments in the perfecting of a motor vehicle at a time when progress was much hindered by the prejudice and want of interest - the motor part of which has been since used in many types of engines for industrial purposes.” By this time Edward Butler had already give up further work on his Petrol Cycle, realising that due to the restrictive traffic laws of the time, he was never going to win the race to build the World’s first commercially available motor car. He wrote “..the authorities do not countenance its use on the roads, and I have abandoned in consequence any further development of it.” Butler broke his Petrol Cycle up for scrap in 1896 where upon the patent rights were sold to H.J. Lawson and the engine continued to be produced for motor boats.  Shortly afterwards the Locomotive on Highways Act of 1896 was passed that allowed speeds of up to 14 mph and opened up the highways to motor vehicles, but this was too late for Edward Butler. He died in 1940, largely unrecognised for his pioneering work in automotive design. If things had turned out differently, instead of driving around in Mercedes Benzes, we could have been driving a Butler motor car.

The ending video is surprisingly timely; it shows an interview carried out by Russian television channel 1TV for their news and current affairs programme. This is an excerpt of the longer, Russian language piece which shows a member of Bexley Neighbourhood Watch explaining what the watch is, and how it operates for the benefit of the Russian audience who I understand currently don't operate anything similar at present. This version is in English, minus Russian language dubbing, which was added later by the producers. As a fellow Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator, I am pleased to see that we are getting some well deserved international recognition. Thanks to Dana Whiffen, the Chairman of Bexley Neighbourhood Watch Association for supplying the video clip.