Red Sonya.

Local customers of the Belvedere branch of Lloyds Bank have started a petition to try and save the well used and much loved branch, which is slated to close for good on the 28th of May, as part of a programme of cutbacks and branch closures enacted by the giant banking group. Objections have come from elderly people who don't use online banking, and a number of local businesses who have commercial accounts at the branch in Nuxley Road. It is rumoured that the site of the bank has been, or is about to be sold off to a property developer for a series of flats to be built, which would not at all surprise me. The lady behind the online campaign said in a recent online interview that:- "It would be awful to lose the small number of independent shops we have if they are unable to bank locally. The village and surrounding area of Belvedere is also home to many elderly residents. Some of whom are unable to travel on public transport to Bexleyheath or Woolwich. For those who can, it’s not very safe for them to carry large quantities of cash around with them if they are elderly and vulnerable. I understand that a lot of banking is done online. However, many people feel safer and more in control of their money when having the guidance of actual humans. It’s good we are evolving with technology and moving forward with the times, but sometimes certain circumstances mean people need a local bank". The News Shopper contacted Lloyds for comment about the branch closure, and a spokesperson gave the following corporate line:- "We have made the difficult decision to close Belvedere on 28th May 2020 due to the changing ways customers choose to bank with us, which means the branch is being used less often. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause; customers can continue to bank locally by visiting the nearby Post Office, which is less than half a mile from the branch. The nearest alternative branch is Bexleyheath". The Lloyd's spokesperson is obviously not familiar with Belvedere - the post office is actually around 100 metres from the Lloyd's bank branch, not half a mile as they stated. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. You can sign the online petition by clicking here. 

In a move which will have been a surprise to many readers, fellow local Blogger Malcolm Knight has taken the decision to revise and remodel his Blog "Bexley is Bonkers". The long established, influential and popular site has been retired in its present form. Instead it has been relaunched in a far more slimline and responsive version. Malcolm writes:- "Readers who looked at the website yesterday and found it gone deserve an explanation of what is going on, or at least a partial one. Bonkers is ten years old and has grown far too big. Even though redundant pages have been progressively weeded out there are close to 40,000 files and very nearly 100,000 hyperlinks, It may be a conservative estimate because the Menu is a separate entity and the file counter excludes pages linked only from the Menu. On top of that there are 30,000 images and that is after deleting a great chunk of them last year and again recently. The site is hand coded, no Wordpress or anything like that so the housekeeping tools are primitive. I can no longer keep on top of it and it is time to start again. I might also add that with increasing age and having lost my original team of helpers I frequently lack the energy and enthusiasm to follow up leads and attend meetings. (Nearly 77 and generally flu ridden in case you are wondering.) For the future Bonkers probably will not die completely but I expect Council meetings will more often be reported from the Webcast - when it works properly - rather than driving to the Civic Offices and very occasionally running the gauntlet of people I would rather not. In the streets, not in the Civic Centre I hasten to add. I also genuinely feel that Bexley Council has improved immeasurably, there are things I don’t like but it must be five years since a Councillor or Senior Officer became involved in something which was criminal and caused the police to investigate and refer cases to the CPS. Readers like scandal and while that was going on I could count on more than 10,000 unique visits per month to the site from Bexley people and far far more individual repeat visits. With nothing very special going on those numbers are well down, 5,000 unique visits would be a good score in 2020. One wonders whether it is worth the effort but I do get a huge amount of encouragement to continue from the loyal few. One thing that surprises me is that when I indulge in wildly off topic subjects and perhaps rant about something or other the number of visitors goes up so I may do more of that sort of thing when Bexley news is thin on the ground. You will have probably noticed that the Menu is now much smaller than before. Every page sources its Menu from the same file so they are all identical except for the Contact form pages which are compiled from a commercial package which is not fully compatible with the main Menu system. It is a pain to construct separately and it will not be updated in line with the gradually expanding Main menu until the latter becomes stable. The banner icons which allowed quick access to blogs, Today, Month and the rather obscure Any Day will be restored as soon as possible but until then the Menu is the main navigation point As you should notice - well you are here! - the 2020 blogs are restored but any references back to previous years will fail because those earlier blogs are not on line at all, not even in some hidden form. If I ever find the time the backward references will gradually be restored. but there are more than 5,000 to trawl through. Council meeting reports will probably be the priority but many older blogs may never be seen again. Finally because Bonkers was never designed to be a blog the main entry pages do not directly access the blog pages. The tail wagged the dog of the original plan and it has always annoyed me. I am not sure how yet but the plan is that www.bexley-is-bonkers.co.uk will display the latest blog page immediately. For a long time www.bexley-is-bonkers.com always has but almost no one uses it and it costs quite a lot of money to maintain! So there it is. Thank you for your patience and I hope the occasional visit to Bonkers will continue to be rewarding". I sincerely hope that Malcolm continues with his insightful, pithy and witty Blog postings - he has established himself as a vital local commentator. What do you think? Please feel free to contact me by Emailing me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Regular readers will be aware that I have posted a number of articles over the years about former Bexleyheath resident and decorated Soviet spy Melita Norwood. Her story is now pretty well known, despite the utterly awful recent fictionalised film starring Dame Judi Dench called "Red Joan" which deservedly sank without trace at the box office. Several books have been written on the subject of Melita Norwood and her long career as Russia’s top female spy; the best account is in my opinion “The Spy That Came In From The Co-Op” by Andrew Pierce. He conducted a series of interviews with Norwood in her house in Bexleyheath from the day the spying story publicly broke in the spring of 1999 (he had been travelling to interview her on another subject, but the news story meant that he had a whole more important book to write than that he had intended). Over the course of a few months and many cups of weak and milky Co-Op 99 brand tea – purchased from the Long Lane branch, she told him her complete story, whilst sipping from her Che Guevara mug. Like many traitors, Melita Norwood had a very selective memory, and her politics remained those of the extreme left until her death in 2005. What has until very recently been very much less known is the identity and story of her GRU (Soviet military intelligence, as opposed to the KGB) handler, the story of which has only very recently come to light. Ursula Kuczynski (15 May 1907 – 7 July 2000) also known as Ruth Werner, Ursula Beurton and Ursula Hamburger, was a German Communist activist who worked for the Soviet Union in the 1930s and 1940s as a spy, most famously as the handler of nuclear scientist Klaus Fuchs and Melita Norwood. She moved to East Germany in 1950 when Fuchs was unmasked, and published a series of books related to her spy work, including her bestselling autobiography, Sonya's Report. Her spying career, and her later writing career make for interesting reading. Ursula Maria Kuczynski was born in Schöneberg, Prussia, German Empire, the second of the six recorded children born to the distinguished economist and demographer Robert René Kuczynski and his wife Berta Gradenwitz/Kuczynski, who was a painter. Her family was Jewish. The children were academically gifted, and the household was prosperous. Her elder brother, Jürgen, would later become a distinguished historian-economist who had a controversial relationship of his own with the espionage community. In 1926/27 she attended a librarianship academy while working at a lending library. She then took a job at Ullstein Verlag, a large Berlin publishing house. However, she lost this job in 1928 after participating in a May-Day Demonstration and/or on account of her Communist Party membership. Between December 1928 and August 1929 she worked in a New York book shop before returning to Berlin where she married her first husband, Rudolf Hamburger, who was an architect and fellow member of the Communist Party. It was also at this time that she set up the Marxist Workers' Library in Berlin which she headed up between August 1929 and June 1930. With her husband she relocated, in July 1930, to Shanghai where a frenetic construction boom afforded ample opportunities for Hamburger's architectural work. She would remain based in China till 1935. It was here that the couple's son, the Shakespeare scholar Maik Hamburger, was born in February 1931. After they had been in Shanghai for a little more than four months she was introduced by the US journalist Agnes Smedley to another German expatriate, Richard Sorge, outwardly a journalist, who is better remembered as "Ramsai" an active agent of the Soviet Intelligence Directorate (GRU). Sources are vague as to whether the Hamburgers were already working for the GRU before they left Germany for China, but in any case it was after the meeting with Sorge that between 1930 and 1935 "Sonja" (the cover name by which Kuczynski was known in The Service - means dormouse in Russian) operated a Russian spy ring under Sorge's direction. In Autumn 1934 she had to send her son Michael to live with her husband's parents (now relocated from Germany to Czechoslovakia) when she was sent to Moscow where she undertook a seven-month training session before returning to China. There had been a concern that if baby Michael had accompanied her to Moscow he might inadvertently have blown her cover later by blurting out words in Russian. It was also during this period that she mastered various practical aspects of spy-craft. This included radio operator skills that were much prized in the world of espionage: she learned to build and operate a radio receiver, becoming an exceptionally fluent and accurate user of Morse code, although her "fist" (the distinctive technique a morse coder uses on a Morse key, which is almost unique between operators) was very unusual - she learned Morse using the Cyrillic alphabet, which made her transmissions somewhat distinctive to listeners. Between March and December 1934 she was based in Shenyang in Manchuria which had been under Japanese military occupation since 1931. Here she met the GRU's chief agent who was working under the name "Ernst". Sonja and Ernst had a romance which would result in the birth of her daughter Janina in April 1936. Her husband Rudolf Hamburger generously acknowledged "Nina" as though she were his own daughter. The GRU were nevertheless concerned that the affair with Ernst might lead to the unmasking of both agents, and she was recalled with Rudolf to Moscow in August 1935. In September 1935 they were both posted to Poland where, apart from at least one more lengthy visit to Moscow, they would remain till Autumn 1938. In the meantime it would later transpire that in 1937 the Soviets awarded her the Order of the Red Banner for her espionage work in China. Without ever wearing a uniform, she now held the rank of colonel in the Soviet military. She divorced later that same year, and early in 1940, while still in Switzerland, married her second husband. Len Beurton, like her, was working for the Soviet GRU, and like Kuczynski he came with an unusually wide range of names. He also came with a British passport, and by marrying him Agent Sonya automatically acquired a British passport too. Sent by the GRU she and her new husband now relocated from Switzerland to England where she would remain for the rest of the 1940s, and where her second son was born in the late summer of 1943. They had settled in north Oxford, but soon moved on to the first of a succession of nearby villages, settling initially in Glympton, and then in Kidlington. In May 1945 the Beurtons relocated again, to a larger house in the north Oxfordshire village of Great Rollright where they remained till 1949 or 1950, becoming so integrated into the village community that both her parents, who were frequent visitors in Oxfordshire even after the war ended, and who both died in 1947, are buried in the Great Rollright churchyard. In each Oxfordshire property in which she lived Agent Sonya installed a radio receiver and transmitter (which during the war would have been considered illegal had it come to the attention of the authorities). Living in Oxfordshire placed them conveniently close to Ursula's parents who had emigrated to London after 1933, and were then living with friends in Oxford because of the air raids in London. The Beurtons' Oxfordshire village homes were also close to the UK's Atomic Research Centre at Harwell, and to Blenheim Palace, where a large part of the British intelligence service had been relocated at the start of the war. In Oxfordshire, together with Erich Henschke, she worked on infiltrating German Communist exiles into the US Intelligence Agency. By Autumn 1944 she and Henschke had succeeded in penetrating UK activities of the US Intelligence Service (OSS). The Americans were at this time preparing an effort called "Operation Hammer" for parachuting UK-based German exiles into Germany. Ursula Beurton was able to ensure that a substantial number of the parachuted OSS agents would be reliable communists, able and willing to make inside intelligence from the "Third Reich" available not merely to the US military in Washington, but also to Moscow. From 1943 she also worked as a courier for the USSR's "Atomic spies", Klaus Fuchs and Melita Norwood. Agent Sonya thus hastened the development of the Soviet atomic bomb, successfully tested in 1949. In addition to the (retrospectively) high-profile spies Fuchs and Norwood, Sonya was the GRU handler for (among others) an officer of the British Royal Air Force and a British specialist in submarine radar. She was also able to pass to her Soviet employers information from her brother, her father, and other exiled Germans in England. It was, indeed, her brother Jürgen Kuczynski, an internationally respected economist, who originally recruited Klaus Fuchs to spy for the Soviets at the end of 1942. Many years later Ruth Werner (as she would by that time have become known) recalled that she was twice visited by MI5 representatives in 1947, and asked about her links with Soviet intelligence, which Werner refused to discuss. Werner's communist sympathies were no secret, but it seems that British suspicions were insufficiently supported by evidence to justify her arrest. Her visitors were unaware of or unconcerned by her periodic, and apparently casual, meetings with Fuchs in Banbury or on country cycle rides. At that time the British intelligence services seem to have been disinclined to follow up their concerns. Two years later detonation of the first Soviet atomic bomb refocused priorities within MI5, however. Klaus Fuchs was arrested towards the end of 1949; in January 1950 he was put on trial and confessed that he was a spy. The day before his trial started, fearing that she was about to be unmasked, Agent Sonya left England. In March 1950, after two decades away from the city of her birth, she turned up back in Berlin. Meanwhile, Klaus Fuchs finally identified her as his Soviet contact in November 1950. The espionage-related aspects of her friendship with Melita Norwood only began to emerge several decades later. Between 1958 and 1988, she produced a succession of books under the name by which she subsequently came to be known, Ruth Werner. Most were story books for children or suitably expurgated memoirs of her time in espionage. Her autobiography appeared in East Germany under the title "Sonjas Rapport" (Sonya's Report) and became a bestseller. There was no mention of Klaus Fuchs who was still alive in 1976, and, presumably for the same reason, no mention of Melita Norwood. An English language version appeared in 1991 and a Chinese translation in 1999. An uncensored German language version came out only in 2006, although many questions were still left unanswered. She died in 2000. more information has become available concerning at least some of her espionage achievements, and appreciation of Ruth Werner's exceptional abilities has grown. In the opinion of one historian who has studied her career, she was "one of the top spies ever produced by the Soviet Union and her penetration of Britain's secrets and MI5 possibly went far deeper than was thought at the time she was operational." An unidentified GRU chief is reported to have observed during the war, "If we had five Sonyas in England, the war would end sooner." Werner herself could be more reticent about her contribution: "I was simply working as a messenger". What is incontrovertible is that she engaged in an exceptionally high risk trade on behalf of Stalin's Intelligence machine without being shot by the enemy or sent to the Gulag by her own side. Her husband and the father of her first son, Rudolf Hamburger, who also worked for Soviet intelligence, fell foul of the Soviet regime in 1943 and was deported to the Gulag in the east of the Soviet Union. He was released in 1952 but remained officially "banned" and was sent to Ukraine, only being permitted to return to Germany in 1955. This type of experience was far from unusual among Soviet spies. Sandór Radó with whom she had worked so closely in the hills above Geneva also spent long years as a guest of the Russian Gulag. Richard Sorge, who probably recruited her to work for Moscow in the first place, was caught and hanged by the Japanese. Werner herself, as far as her story has come into the public domain, suffered nothing more harrowing than a couple of pointed but ultimately inconclusive meetings with British Intelligence agents in 1947, and was able to escape to the safe haven of East Germany before her espionage activities became the subject of any trial or other retributive process. Simple survival represented a considerable achievement under the circumstances of her two decades in espionage, and seem to justify the media epithets she attracted to the effect that she was "Stalin's best spy".

I found out this week that the inventor of the barcode recently died. George Laurer was born in New York City in 1925. He attended a technical school to learn how to repair radios and televisions, but his instructor persuaded him to reach higher. Laurer joined IBM where he developed what is officially known as the Universal Product Code - better known as the barcode. The Universal Product Code is now a packaging mainstay on everything from cereal boxes and produce to electronics and aeroplane tickets, but it might not have worked without IBM engineer George Laurer. Laurer, who died in December aged 94 in North Carolina, had been given an assignment by his manager: Write a proposal for supermarket executives explaining how IBM would take a previously invented bar code pattern, in the shape of a bull's-eye, and make it work in supermarkets across the USA. Instead, Laurer had created something else — the bull's-eye was gone and in its place was a linear bar code. Laurer had deemed the bull's-eye design unworkable. The circular code, inspired by Morse code and patented by N. Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver in 1952, was too small, and it would smear when run through the poor-quality printing presses used for most food labels at the time. "My nature and my training would not allow me to support something I didn't believe in," Laurer said in a 2010 interview. "I simply went against my manager's instruction and set out to design a better system." In a rented space in Raleigh, Laurer and a team of IBM colleagues refined and tested the design. Woodland, who created that first bull's-eye bar code and whom Laurer called the father of the supermarket scanning system, came on board to help. When it came time to present to the team of supermarket executives, Laurer said his boss "made it clear that if I was wrong or I could not sell the idea to the brass, it would end my career, not his. My arguments must have been persuasive". Over his lifetime, Laurer received more than two dozen patents. But he never got rich from his most famous breakthrough. That's because IBM didn't patent the UPC and mostly gave it away to sell scanning equipment. Laurer didn't get recognition for his innovation until decades later. Even once stores widely adopted the barcode, Craig Laurer said, his father didn't think it would have the longevity it ultimately has. "He expected it to be supplanted with some other technology within a decade or so," he said. "Instead, it grew beyond the grocery industry into all retail and then worldwide." Today, the barcodes Laurer designed are scanned more than 6 billion times a day, according to the nonprofit organisation GS1, which manages the codes."My father always said he would go to the supermarket, and just stand there when they checked him out, knowing that it was his invention," Craig Laurer said. "But he'd stand there in awe and say, 'This just can't work this well.' It amazed even him." What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Another week with very little crime to report. No burglaries and only two reports of vehicle crime. Front and rear number plates were taken from a vehicle in Frinsted Road on the morning of Friday 31st January. A victim had his vehicle keyed in Downbank Avenue overnight of Monday 3rd February. Sainsbury's in Erith Road has had two reports of shoplifting over the last week despite two people arrested outside the store in the last couple of weeks. Barnehurst are continuing to roll out Smart Water in Holmesdale Grove. The next community contact session will be held at Barnehurst Golf Course on Wednesday 19th February at 11am". Belvedere ward - no report this week. Bexleyheath ward:- "Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association have been invited to assist Yorkshire building Society (112 Broadway) in their Fraud Action Day on Wednesday the 26th of Feb between 10am and 2pm, come along, get some fraud prevention advice and join us for a cup of tea and a biscuit. Sadly we have had a lot of Catalytic Convertors Stolen this week from ASDA and The Mall car parks see below crime prevention information from The Mets website Catalytic converter theft. The precious metal in catalytic converters has led to an increase in their theft. To keep yours safe, ask your car dealer if they can give you any advice on locks or guards that are approved by the vehicle manufacturer. Alternatively, try to make sure your vehicle is parked in a garage overnight, or if you have a commercial vehicle park it in a secure compound. If this isn't possible, park in an area that's well-lit and overlooked and try to park so that the convertor can't be easily reached by potential thieves. Vehicles that sit high above the road are particularly vulnerable. You should also register your converter and mark it with a forensic marker, which will make it harder for thieves to dispose of". Crayford ward:- "An unknown amount of money was snatched from a till in Stadium Way on Thursday 30th January at 19.29 by two males. A male was arrested after racially abusing a passenger on a bus and then throwing an item at glass causing it to smash at Stadium Way on Friday 31st January at 22.10. There have been reports of wing mirrors being smashed off vehicles in Mill Place in the last week. On Tuesday 4th February at 20.53 a black Mercedes was deliberately set on fire to at the end of Lower Station Road. The team have been busy around the ward and stopped and searched several people. There will be a community contact session (it's totally informal) at Crayford Library on Friday 14th February between 10.00-11.00, please come along for a chat if you can".  Erith ward:- "We have had our first ward panel meeting of 2020. Many thanks to all that attended and The Exchange in Erith for letting us their facilities. Areas chosen for the team to concentrate on for the next few months are Erith Park and Erith Town Centre. The team have been working on a few warrants this week and are getting some good results. Crimes of note from this last week: Theft from MV (Motor Vehicle) Sunday 02/02/2020 Rutland Gate, Theft of Motor Vehicle Tuesday 04/02/2020 Thwaite Close". Northumberland Heath ward:-"Theft of number plates at Walsingham Walk, Cavendish Avenue Theft from motor vehicle on Brook Street. Work tools had been stolen from the vehicle. Attempted burglary on Avenue Road were the suspect has tried to gain entry into two addresses .The suspect has then tried to gain entry into the victims vehicle. Still ongoing investigation as the victim has CCTV evidence. Burglary on Swanton Road. There has been an eviction within the Northumberland Heath Ward. This is regarding a large amount of anti – social behaviour reports from the local community and the police. We have been receiving good feedback from local residents regarding the CCTV camera that has been placed at Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground / Sussex Road". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Only one crime of note this week. 6 males were arrested in the early hours of Thursday 30/01 down by Erith Yacht Club after the gate was forced open and a stolen car was found nearby. Enquiries are ongoing into various offences and our thanks to response team officers and the police helicopter for their work on our ward in the early hours. The team assisted Hyde Housing on Weds 05/02 in securing an empty property on the Frobisher Road estate after reports of possible squatters. There was nobody inside during our time there. PC James and PCSO Mark were involved in a reported incident of threats made in Orchard House on Tuesday 04/02. No further incidents have occurred and thanks to PCSO Adam from Erith SNT for assisting with the door to door enquiries. Our next CCS in on Saturday 15/02 from 1030 at the new estate on the old Linpac site in Slade Green Road which will be doubling up as a Smart Water giveaway event". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglary Manordeane Road owners returned home from holiday to find garden shed broken into with a set of golf clubs and golf shoes removed by suspect/s unknown. Overton Road East Tuesday 4/2/20 between 11am – 6pm Victim returned home to find front door has dents and marks around the door handle, with letter box bent out of shape no entry gained by suspect/s. Motor Vehicle Crime. Kale Road Monday 3/2/20 1am – 8am victim has had both front and rear number plates removed by suspect/s unknown. Good News - Following information by residents of drugs/ASB whilst proactively patrolling Aspen Green. Drug use is being disrupted as persons seen running away. Patrolling of the area will be ongoing by the team". West Heath ward - From Neighbourhood Watch Member - in Bostall Park Avenue. "On 5th February I received an email which appears to come from TV Licencing. THIS IS A SCAM! It looks very authentic but beware. I had 1 last year claiming my direct debit had been rejected by my bank and asked me to confirm my bank details. Having changed banks a few months before I could easily have fallen for it, but I never respond to any emails, texts or calls like this without checking them out. I phoned TV licencing and was told my licence is still valid and they don't even have my email address. The one today is much the same but says my licence expires today; No doubt to panic me into responding. My licence still has several months to run and TV licensing still don't have my email address so definitely a scam". From Police SNT Team - PCSO Dee Reid:- "Excellent news this week no burglaries have been reported to us. On Monday February 3rd at just after 4am, two males were seen trying car doors in Canberra Road he first male was described as being in his late twenties, F600. The second male was described as being quite small and younger than the other male. The next drop in police surgeries will be held on Thursday February 13th at 4pm and Saturday February 22nd at 1pm. These sessions will be held at the Bostall Library, King Harolds Way".

The end video this week is a visitors impression of the local area. It is interesting to see how an outsider sees what locals live with on a daily basis.

The clothing thief.

At around 4.45pm on Wednesday afternoon, I took some cardboard and glass to the Council recycling facility behind Morrison's supermarket in Erith. I caught a man breaking into the charity clothes and shoes hoppers; he was stealing the donated clothes and shoes - he had a series of large carrier bags - he was separating and grading the clothes - those he did not want, he threw on the ground. He took five bags of stolen material in total. I went into Morrison's to alert the security guard, but he was nowhere to be seen. The perpetrator was of South East European appearance, about 5,10" tall, slim with a straggly moustache and olive skin. He had a dark blue hoody and grey jogging pants on. He appeared to be in his late 20's / early 30's in age. From the casual way he was operating, I suspect that this was not the first time he had raided the donation hoppers. There is a dedicated Council CCTV camera in the vicinity of the recycling centre - it is possible that footage of the incident will have been recorded. After this disturbing incident, which I have reported to both local Police and Bexley Council, I did some research on the subject, and what I found was most worrying. Clothes donated by members of the public to charity are being stolen by organised criminals and sold abroad, depriving leading charities of millions of pounds for good causes. Gangs from Eastern Europe are believed to be responsible for a growing number of raids on doorstep collection bags and clothing banks, attracted by a trebling in the price for old clothing in the past three years. The lucrative thefts – a single clothes bank can contain a haul of £150 to £200 – come as the country's 6,800 charity shops struggle to cope with a drop in donations during the economic slump as people move house less often and keep old clothing for longer. According to Britain's biggest charity shop operator Oxfam, police have shown little interest in investigating the crimes because of a perception that donated clothing is worthless and because of a lack of firm evidence. As a result of the price of used clothing rising from £200 to £600 per sorted and graded tonne, the public's donation of 480,000 tonnes of clothing to charity annually is worth £280m. But when volunteers try to empty metal clothing banks in car parks, they often find they have been emptied. Thieves are also stealing toys, clothing and books left out by householders in sacks, and are making bogus doorstep appeals, sometimes using a real charity's name, logo and registration number. In an interview recently, Oxfam's trading director David McCullough, who looks after the charity's 704 shops, said:- "There has been a huge growth in the commercial rag trade. What was once a market that didn't have much resale value now suddenly has a very serious commercial value. We are seeing a huge amount of legitimate and illegitimate companies collecting house to house, setting up clothing banks, collecting on behalf of charities. We are also seeing a very substantial increase in thefts by what appear to be well-organised criminal gangs. They are emptying textile banks in supermarket car parks in the middle of the night, so when volunteers go to empty these banks they are empty already. The less sophisticated fish the clothes out of the banks from the hatches. Some of them send kids into the hatches to throw the stuff back out. Others take bolt cutters and take the padlocks off and lift the banks onto lorries, unload them somewhere else and take off the sides with thermal torches. Evidence suggests it's being taken into the commercial market abroad, principally in Eastern Europe. Some of the people who have been stopped and cautioned are predominantly Eastern European." The charity has fitted electronic sensors to some of its 700 clothing banks to identify when they are ready for collection and when a theft has occurred. According to The Textile Recycling Association, gangs steal clothing from donation banks – in some cases, even taking the banks themselves. In one instance, thieves in south east England were stealing around 30 tonnes of clothing every week from charity and local authority banks, which would have raised about £500,000 a year for the crooks, instead of going to good causes. *Update* - On Thursday afternoon, I had occasion to pass by the recycling centre; Any fly - tippers or clothing thieves will be in for a shock if they try anything in the Erith Morrisons' car park recycling centre. Over the next ten days, the Metropolitan Police firearms unit are running a series of exercises in and around the recycling centre. I spoke to one of the instructors who told me about the series of simulated interceptions they would be making. Apparently they do not do training in public very often. I told him about the theft incident on Wednesday afternoon - I somehow think that the thief would be ill advised to make a comeback whilst the armed team are around! What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Some thoughts from local IT guru and software developer Miles, and his opinion of the newly launched free WiFi for several towns in the London Borough of Bexley, as I outlined two weeks ago. The graphic above shows existing publicly available WiFi spots in and around Erith - the Bexley WiFi is in addition to these spots indicated. Miles writes:- "#BexleyFreeWifi. I took the opportunity to explore the terms and conditions today, and as we expected it's a data gathering exercise. They have been fairly transparent about the information they collect which I suppose is good - mind you I wonder how many people will immediately click the "Agree" button that covers a large portion of the page. One aspect of the Privacy policy which is a concern, all information collected it shared with the venue owner - is that the host of the WIFI access points? Or just any location you can receive a signal? There is one aspect where I think they dropped the ball, you can make up any old garbage and still use the services - OK that doesn't stop them gathering other information, or storing cookies for tracking but at least it offers a measure of anonymity (just make sure you enable MAC Address rotation in your devices settings). As for the service itself, I was quite impressed. I picked up a very strong signal all the way to the pier. The speed of the internet connection was very respectable, at around 20Mbps down, and 10Mbps up - I'm sure the local kids will make, well I would say good use, but use nonetheless. May even save the local residents the cost of an internet connection, assuming they don't mind the privacy trade off". You can see the existing free use WiFi hotspot map of the London Borough of Bexley by clicking here. The operators of the website must have war driven around the streets of Bexley in order to compile the very detailed map. What is war driving? Well, War driving, also called access point mapping, is the act of locating and possibly exploiting connections to wireless local area networks while driving around a city or elsewhere. To do war driving, you need a vehicle, a computer (which can be a laptop), a wireless Ethernet card set to work in promiscuous mode, and some kind of an antenna which can be mounted on top of or positioned inside the car. Because a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) may have a range that extends beyond an office building, an outside user may be able to intrude into the network, obtain a free Internet connection, and possibly gain access to company records and other resources. Some people have made a sport out of war driving, in part to demonstrate the ease with which some improperly secured wireless LANs can be compromised. With an omnidirectional antenna and a geophysical positioning system (GPS), the war driver can systematically map the locations of 802.11 b / g wireless access points. Companies that have a wireless LAN are urged to add security safeguards that will ensure only intended users have access. Safeguards include the use of the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption standard, IPsec, or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), together with a firewall or DMZ. The term derives from a somewhat similar approach to breaching the telephone system called war dialling. Breaching a private network may be illegal and at least one person has been prosecuted for it. You have been warned. 

Following a freedom of information request, Bexley Council have released information as to how many publicly sponsored trees have been planted since the project began - and it does not make for good reading. The question asked went as follows:- "Last year Bexley council ran a campaign where residents could sponsor the care of a tree. Could I be so kind to ask the result of this campaign? I would like to know the expenditure of the campaign and the take up plus any associated costs. This request is being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000". This not unreasonable request was met with the following Council response:- "I can confirm that the information requested is held by the London Borough of Bexley. I have detailed below the information that is being released to you. The campaign was run in the Bexley Magazine and with press releases - no advertising was paid for. There was no actual expenditure other than officer time, which was not recorded. For 2018/19 planting season 4 trees in Bexley parks were sponsored. A further 8 trees were provided by a local trust but the Council was not approached directly. For 2019/20 planting season 2 trees in the parks has so far been sponsored. 1 tree in the highway has so far been sponsored". It would seem that as many local residents had already suspected; the whole tree planting project was a box ticking exercise, so that Bexley Council could vaunt its' green credentials, when in fact it was doing nothing more than playing lip service to the whole thing. What do you think? Please feel free to send feedback to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

As regular readers will be aware, I have written extensively in the past in regard of Smart utility meters, and how in my opinion in many cases they are not fit for purpose. Last week, fellow local Blogger Malcolm Knight of the excellent "Bexley is Bonkers" published a story of his experiences with a smart meter over the Christmas holidays, and it makes for instructive reading. The following account originally appeared on the Bexley is Bonkers update published on the 29th of December, which I republish here with the full permission of Malcolm Knight. He writes:- "I have been resisting the siren calls of the energy companies to fit a smart meter. They cannot actually save any money if you are already careful with usage and I already have phone apps which tell me how much solar energy is being generated and where it is going. Do I really want to give my energy supplier the ability to cut me off on a whim or tell me when I cannot charge my car? Probably not but I wasn’t sure I would resist them for ever. I am now. I drove down to my son’s place in Malmesbury on Christmas Day, got there in time for breakfast. The main meal was scheduled for 1 p.m. At ten o’clock I complained that his wi-fi was no longer working and a couple of minutes later we realised why. Nothing was working. The energy distribution company, the Western equivalent of our local UK Power Networks very quickly diagnosed a Smart Meter problem by which time my son and I were coming to the same conclusion. The problem then was that Octopus Energy had completely closed its emergency phone system for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The distribution company advised that they were supposed to be monitoring their web form and provided the link. What if you have no access to the web during a power cut or your mobile’s battery was flat? By about 11:30 a.m. the form was located and filled in. Just before 4 p.m. the Octopus Energy technician arrived with his diagnostics kit having come from Newbury. By 4 p.m. the power was on again. The not so Smart Meter had rebooted itself for reasons unknown and decided to come back to life as a pre-payment meter. Not finding any credit balance it promptly cut the power. No questions asked as would be the case with the old technology, just ruin Christmas Dinner instead. It’s total madness to accept a Smart Meter while there is no obligation to do so". This mirrors my own thoughts on Smart meters - the technology is unreliable, if you change electricity supplier, it is likely that you will have to have your Smart meter changed, and they are very vulnerable to hackers, as has previously been demonstrated. They are a solution in need of a problem in my opinion. What do you think? Contact me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

If you bank online, use Ebay, post onto FaceBook or use a web based Email service like Gmail, you will have used online encryption – the chances are without even being aware of it. When you are on a website that shows a little locked padlock in the address bar, and the site address begins with HTTPS:// instead of the more familiar HTTP:// you are using a secure, encrypted connection that is designed to keep any information travelling across the link secret from hackers and other bad guys. The bad news is that a prominent team of IT security researchers have discovered a potential vulnerability in the two main methods of encryption that are used by most modern computer operating systems and web browsers. These two encryption methods are named RSA and Diffie – Hellman after their inventors. Both systems are underpinned by a mathematical challenge known as a discrete logarithm problem. The problem is astronomically difficult to solve without access to the problems’ unique numerical key. Breaking RSA or Diffie – Hellman encrypted messages today takes vast computational power and a long time. This is one of the things that so occupies the likes of the NSA and GCHQ – their vast supercomputers are used to crack encrypted traffic supposedly between terrorists and criminals (the ethics of this is a debate for another time and place). As far as the person in the street is concerned, an encrypted connection is functionally unreadable without the special key. The security consultants have discovered that it is theoretically possible that a new algorithm could be developed which would make solving the discrete logarithm problem that encrypts the message much more easy to break.  Security researcher Jarved Samuel said of the situation “we rely on that new, efficient algorithm not being found; if it is found, then the crypto system is broken”. Recently, French academic Anoine Joux published two papers that suggested that  such an algorithm could be found before long. “This is a big deal, since there was marginal progress for 25 years,” said Samuel. “This will spur researchers into looking more closely at the problem and most likely result in more progress. One reason to believe that progress will be swift, says Samuel, is that Joux’s advances weren’t based on inventing completely new techniques. Rather, he applied known tricks that hadn’t previously been used on this specific problem”. What this all boils down to is that we are all relying on some super intelligent hacker NOT creating a new, hyper – clever decryption algorithm to break our up until now very secure online transactions. This does not sound like a very reassuring position to be in. More on this in the future.

Now for the return of the weekly local safety and security reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association, after the break for the Christmas holiday last week. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Only one burglary to report and that was in Cumbrian Avenue overnight on the 24th December. Car keys and vehicle taken. Vehicle later recovered. Any burglary is too many but Barnehurst has done really well especially being Christmas. There are three vehicle crimes to report. Theft from motor vehicle in Twigg Close overnight of the 27th December where the victim had alcohol and toys taken from the vehicle. Theft of motor vehicle overnight of the 28th December from outside Locals off license in Barnehurst Road. Finally a theft of motor vehicle overnight of the 28th December in Colyers Lane where a white transit van was taken. Please remain vigilant for the forthcoming year and help reduce crime and we will continue to support our community. Happy New Year from Barnehurst SNT". Belvedere ward:- "There were recent reports of graffiti damage caused to garages in Standard Road – we are pleased to inform you that this was promptly removed by Bexley Council and there have been no further reports of this nature since. We have (when possible) continued our hi visibility burglary patrols in varying areas of the ward over the Christmas period – this will also continue into the New Year. However – there have been recent burglary reports in Walden Close, Upper Park Road, Edwards Road and Abbey Road. A property in Lower Park Road has once again been subject to attempted burglary and criminal damage for the fourth time in 2019. Most recently, a group of males made efforts to gain entry to a garage, causing extensive damage and also damaged a vehicle belonging to the residents in the process. Items were also taken from the vehicle by this group. PC Marc Smith has been continuing to patrol Ruskin Road on a regular basis after reports of ongoing anti-social behaviour and drug use at the location. Most recently on Christmas Eve a male was stopped and searched – and found to be in possession of four bags of ketamine". Bexleyheath ward - no report this week. Crayford ward:- "Two burglaries over the festive period. In the early hours of the 24th December a house was entered in Gascoyne Drive through the front door and the house keys and vehicle keys were stolen, a white C220 Mercedes was stolen. It was later found within a mile of the address. The other burglary took place at sheltered accommodation in Wolsley Close between 10.00 25th December and 23.45 on 27th December, the TV was knocked over, there was an untidy search and some coins were stolen. It is believed the suspect is known to the victim. A timely reminder to all to ensure the door handle is pulled up and key used to lock the door securely and to check before retiring to bed. It was reported on 22nd December that in the previous two weeks a lock had been sawn off a garage in a block of garages to the rear of Glebelands and items including an air compressor had been stolen. At Tower retail park on 19th December between 15.15-16.15 a blue disabled badge was stolen from a Mercedes parked near Currys, the victim is quite sure the vehicle was locked. The padlock was broken off an outhouse in Grazeley Close between 10.00 on 25th December and 20.00 on 26th December, tools and toys were taken. Two separate incidents in Hillside Road whereby tyres were let down or slashed over a period of days, all three vehicles were parked on driveways. Criminal damage was caused to the school mini bus at Haberdasher Askes Academy by three youths between 13th and 16th December, the incident was captured on CCTV. A Carrera Hell Cat bicycles was stolen from outside McDonalds on 19th December between 15.30-16.00 whilst the victim was inside. Please ensure bicycles are chained and padlocked to something secure if leaving them unattended, even for a very short time. On 24th December between 13.55 and 14.40 a black Jaguar F Pace was keyed down one side whilst parked at Tower Retail Park. Windows were smashed and a hard top was stolen from a Mazda MX5 Mk1 Convertible on 27th December between 01.00-01.30 whilst parked at Chapel Hill. A moped was stolen from Ridge Way between 22.30 on 27th December and 02.00 on 28th December. It was later found by police. Criminal damage was caused to a 96 bus on 28th December at 13.55. The suspect pulled the whole wing mirror off the bus. A tyre was slashed on a Peugeot whilst parked at Town Hall Square between 00.30 and 10.30 on 25th December. It seems this may have happened to other vehicles parked nearby but these have not been reported to police. A white BMW 218 was stolen from Lakedale Court on 29th December at 22.01 with keys. It was found on 30th December nearby in Green Place with no damage and there is CCTV of the suspect. There are no community contact sessions in the next week but we will be out and about patrolling. Wishing you all a very happy New Year".

Erith ward:- "Crimes of note from the 17/12/19 – 31/12/19 Theft of motor vehicle 17/12/2019 Pier Road, Theft from motor vehicle 17/12/2019 Winifred Road, Theft of motor vehicle 18/12/2019, Europa Trading Estate Fraser Road, Burglary Residential 20/12/19 Winifred Road – Items stolen from address access gained via rear door Burglary Residential 20/12/2019, Thanet Road – rear door opened items taken Theft from motor vehicle 20/12/2019 Morrisons, James Watt Way, Theft from motor vehicle 20/12/2019 Fraser Road Theft from MV 21/12/2019, CHANDLERS DRIVE – MV taken from address Burglary Residential 22/12/2019 Park Crescent – door opened untidy search doesn't seem to of been anything taken Burglary Residential 19/12/2019 Holly Hill Road – front door opened items stolen from house including car keys. Burglary Residential 27/12/19 Galleon Close – Rear door opened no items stolen but an untidy search was carried out Theft mail 27/12/2019 Victory Lodge Chichester Wharf – Items of mail stolen from community letter boxes. Burglary Residential 19/12/2019 Winifred Road – Items stolen from shed and kitchen". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Unfortunately over the Christmas period we have a slight increase of Burglaries over the Northumberland Heath and Erith Ward. The roads are listed below: 02/12/19 Burglary at on Colindale Road. 04/12/19 Burglary at Bedonwell Road. 03/12/2019 Burglary at Dalmeny Road 19/12/2019 - 20/12/2109 ,Carlton Road Nothing stolen from the address. Entry through the front window. 30/12/2019 Burglary at Beechfield Road . 30/12/2019 Burglary at Hurst Road. 30/12/2019 Attempted burglary at Frinstead Road 31/12/2019 (3920133/19) Shinglewell Road - Burglary - Suspect has gain entry through the front door and stolen car keys and taken victims Land Rover Evoque. Victim has been visited by LPT and been issued a smart water kit. A report of criminal damage on Sussex Road and Lawrence Road Erith. Graffiti tag marks have been sprayed on garages and on a side wall of a property. Northumberland Heath LPT have been able to complete a successful arrest on an outstanding suspect on Emes Road. Female was wanted for fraud offences . Your Local Policing Team have now started issuing Smartwater to Northumberland Heath residents. Beechfield Road have now been issued with the kits including all Burglary victims. If any residents would like a SmartWater pack please contact us. Officers have also been on lots of AID during the Christmas period which has prevented Officers from Patrolling on their Wards". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Over the festive period we suffered one burglary and one attempted burglary. At 2am on Christmas Eve a suspect tried the front door handle of an address in Hazel Road, they did not gain access but sat watching the house for a while. The RingDoor system did pick up what seemed to be 4 males approaching the door but all had their faces covered. CCTV was viewed at Bushey Court but again was negative. At 2.45am on 29/12/2019 in Peareswood Road a victim was injured after a male broke into his house and stole his car. He is still in hospital. This is an ongoing investigation so no more details can be released at this time. Please ensure that if you have a UPVC door you lift the handle AND turn the key to lock the door properly. Several other vehicle thefts have taken place across the North of the borough whereby entry was gained to properties by UPVC doors not being locked correctly. We would like to wish all our Coordinators and residents a very happy New Year. Please keep your eyes out in future emails for details of SmartWater kits and how to get them for your roads". Thamesmead East ward - no report this week. West Heath ward:- "Theft from Newlyn Road Sunday December 15th. No further details at this time.Unfortunately we have had two burglaries on the ward. The first one took place on Thursday December 19th between 3.30pm – 1900 hours in Stapleton Road. Entry to the property was gained via damaging the front door. It is unknown at this stage if anything was stolen from the property. The second burglary also took place on Thursday December 19th between the hours of 00.01 – 1900 hours in Milford Close. A rear patio window was smashed, again it is not known if any property was stolen. One report of attempted burglary at 4.20am on Christmas Morning December 25th In Berkeley Avenue. A hooded suspect was seen on the ring doorbell trying the handle to access the property. Thankfully entry was not gained. A Land Rover / Range Rover was seen in the road following closely behind the suspect at the time of the incident. One residential burglary in Long Lane on Saturday December 28th between 4.30pm – 10pm. The occupants arrived home to find a rear side back door forced. An untidy search of the property was conducted and a tablet and several pieces of jewellery was stolen. No vehicle crime has been reported to us over the Christmas period".

The end video this week is a long form recording of the demolition of the old and unloved brutalist concrete Erith Shopping Centre and the rebuilding of is as the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre back in 2003. If you look closely you may see a few familiar faces in the vintage footage. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Thirteen.

The photos above - click on either for a larger version - show the garden party held by The Friends of Christ Church Erith last Sunday afternoon in a private house in Avenue Road, Erith. The event was held to promote the Friends group, to sell raffle tickets, and to bring local people together for food and drinks and to experience one of the very best gardens in the area. The fund raising aspect of the event is to raise funds to install toilets and washing facilities inside the Grade II* listed Christ Church building. At present, anyone who needs to use the toilet needs to trek round to the church hall, which is quite a walk, especially in bad weather, or in the dark. The Friends group have been working towards getting toilet facilities within the church building itself for around five years, and things are now moving towards realising the project. The plan is to construct three toilet cubicles - male, female and a larger unisex disabled / baby change facility in the East lobby of the historic building; the area where the toilet facility will be located is not currently used, and in effect is "dead space". A firm of specialist church architects have been engaged, and a series of preliminary drawings has been created. The final design choice will be made in August, and corporate sponsorship - along with money already raised by the Friends group will go towards the cost of the building work. More on this story in the future. You can read more about the Friends of Christ Church Erith, and the work they do by clicking here. Do feel free to join, and help maintain the historic local landmark building. 

This week marks an important landmark for me - it is the thirteenth anniversary of the launch of the Maggot Sandwich, which was first published on a Saturday night in July 2006. Very soon the Blog took on a regular format, being updated every Sunday afternoon. I am proud to say that I have not missed a singe weekly update in all thirteen years, even to the extent of having to go elsewhere to publish when my home broadband connection failed. Back in 2010 I won an award from OFCOM at a Blogging conference they held in their HQ building on the South side of the Millennium Bridge in London. It was at this point I met fellow local Bloggers Darryl Chamberlain of 853, and Malcolm Knight of Bexley is Bonkers. Over the years the Blog has led me to meet many people whom I otherwise would never have been in contact with, and a number of close friendships have resulted. The Blog is just a hobby for me, albeit a time consuming one; each update of the Maggot Sandwich take around ten hours to research, write and edit. The work is spread throughout the week; I don't sit down each Sunday morning and plough through it all, as some readers have erroneously suspected. This week the Maggot Sandwich becomes a teenager. I have no idea where it will head from here, but I have no plans to slow down or stop publication. Please feel free to leave comments below, or you can Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

One worrying trend is now coming to light; homeowners are deliberately failing to report minor crimes in their area, because they fear that doing so could damage the value of their property. Now that there are several online services featuring interactive online crime maps, homeowners are turning a blind eye to minor crimes, raising fears that the interactive maps are actually distorting official crime statistics. A recent survey found that half of households had been the victim of minor property crime, such as vandalism or theft from a garden shed. Two thirds of the people surveyed said that they did not report the incident to the Police. One in twelve said that their motivation for not reporting the crime was the worry that it might adversely affect local house prices. Official statistics show that the crime rate in England and Wales fell by seven percent in 2017, the most recent year that figures have been published, to the lowest figures since 1981. Studies in the U.S.A show that higher crime rates depress house prices. Since 2011 the Police have mapped every incident of recorded crime online, where users can see exactly how many crimes and the type of offence committed on every street in Britain. More than half of prospective house owners check the website before they buy, and almost two thirds said that they would not buy a property in an area with a crime rate that was higher than average. The figures have raised concerns that crime mapping may be encouraging criminals and distorting crime statistics. What do you think? Have you encountered this kind of behaviour?

In the early 1800's two Scottish engineers, Tom Chalmers and David Ross Fraser, emigrated independently to the USA to further their studies. It was a coincidence that they met, and after working in various manufacturing places, realised that their knowledge and experience warranted them starting their own business. A mining engineering works was then established by them in Chicago in 1847. In 1891, with a well won international reputation, they set up a similar works at Erith in what is now Fraser Road, under the supervision of D.R. Fraser, which became one of the largest employers in the Borough. The land sold to Fraser and Chalmers for the works consisted of an 18 acre site which had been excavated for valuable foundry loam and subsequently part was used as a recreation ground. The machine shop of the factory is said to have been built on the site of several historic cricket matches played from 1884 to 1890 between Erith and Australian teams - On Saturday 20th September 1884 a local team of sixteen played an eleven raised By a Mr. H.H Hyslop - a local businessman, from the Australian touring side of that year. Hyslop's Australian team won. A similar match took place between another scratch Australian team again put together by Mr. Hyslop on the 3rd May 1890. The Erith local team was composed of eighteen local men, pitted against a visitors team which included nine members of the Australian test side. This match resulted in a draw. Hopes for a rematch were dashed when the cricket ground was sold and the Fraser and Chalmers factory was built on the site. Nevertheless, local historians refer to the matches as "when Erith took on the Australians". The principal products produced were initially machinery for mines, including prospecting plants, crushers for rock and ore, and engines for running machinery. Over 90 percent of the Erith products were exported. During the Boer War the works had a slack period and the nearby Maxim gun factory made an offer of £300,000 for the Fraser and Chalmers factory which was rejected. The firm began to recover in 1902 and were receiving success in the home market with the growth of conveyor belt and turbine production. Access to the works was improved in 1906 by the construction of Fraser Road alongside the factory where only a rough track existed before Conditions in the factory were explained in a small book entitled "The Rules and Regulations of Messrs Fraser and Chalmers Ltd, Erith Works, Erith" dated 1900. Every employee was provided with one of the books. It stated that the working week was to consist of 54 hours, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5.45 p.m. and Saturdays 7 a.m. to 12.15 p.m. No-one was allowed to enter the works after 8 a.m. without special instructions. Workmen were not allowed to bring intoxicating liquids onto the premises or to harass their fellow employees. A medical officer had been appointed after several accidents at the works. In the pre World War I period there was a marked expansion of trade and intake of workers. Then, on the outbreak of war, men leaving to join the forces were told that their families would be supported up to 10/- a week (50p in today's currency). The heavy mechanical work carried out at Erith during the 1914-18 War was attracted to the attention of The General Electric Company Ltd. After a period of negotiation the company was acquired by them on 1 April 1918 to complement the GEC works at Witton. The Fraser and Chalmers name was retained. The plant was heavily involved in work for the War Department, and it was also one of the largest employers in the local area; including a large number of women, in what had previously been a male dominated industry. Workers at the factory assembled armoured cars and military tractors which were sent over from the USA in kit form; controversially close to the end of WWI, the Fraser and Chalmers Erith works manufactured hollow shell casings ready to be filled with chemical agents - something that would later become illegal under international law. They also made most of the explosives handling and conveying equipment for The Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. As if this was not enough, the Fraser and Chalmers works was also one of the largest manufacturers of marine engines in Europe. They made triple expansion coal fired steam engines for the use in fishing trawlers, and large scale steam turbine engines used in both British and French naval vessels. They also were one of the very first companies to introduce turbocharging to their smaller petrol and diesel powered motors. Eventually GEC closed the Fraser and Chalmers site, and it was converted into what is now the Europa Industrial Estate in Fraser Road. 

Bexley Brewery have just won another award. They have won the Gold award for their Black Prince Rum Porter at the SIBA South Eastern competition at the beginning of the month. SIBA is the independent trade body for small breweries, and each year they hold the competition to judge beers in various categories from their brewery members all over the UK. Black Prince Rum Porter will now go on to the national competition next year along with other regional Gold winners.

Whilst doing some research for this Blog update, I came across some information that may well be of interest to a number of Maggot Sandwich readers. The largest and most successful privately owned television station in the UK is one that you probably have not heard of. Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage film nostalgia television channel. It launched on 26 May 2015, on Sky channel 343 (it is now on channel 328). It is on air for 24 hours a day, and concentrates on older British films, both classics and B-films, but the schedule also includes some American films, straight-to-video programmes, cinema shorts, and period home movies of British locations. The channel was initially only available via digital satellite on the Sky platform in the United Kingdom. Since the 15th September 2015, it has also been available on Freeview channel 81. It became available on Freesat channel 306 in February 2016, and on Virgin Media on 1 June 2017. On Freeview it was initially broadcast only in standard definition (SDTV) on HD multiplex and could only be received by Freeview HD equipment. From 30 November 2017, it became available, to those within coverage (90 percent of UK households), on any TV capable of receiving Freeview. TPTV is a family business, founded by Sarah Cronin-Stanley, and is run by her with assistance from her father, former producer/editor Noel Cronin, and her husband Neill Stanley. A wide range of movies from different genres are shown, including horror, comedy, drama and thriller films. In-house productions are also shown, as are items from the Cronins' own back catalogue, including Noel's Dandelion Distribution, as well as series from the Southern TV franchise archive, and early American television shows. Movies are usually copied directly from film reels; damaged reels from the catalogue are often replaced by donations, either from online, viewers or available libraries. One of the aims of the founders was to maintain the history of British cinema; it was said to have been in the making since ca. 2007. Classic movies were originally shown on terrestrial channels, such as BBC and Channel 4, but had declined in the 2000s, with the most well-known of films occasionally getting aired. Cronin-Stanley explained to the Watford Observer in 2016 that "People were interested in the big titles but he [her father Noel] wanted to save the smaller, more obscure titles, from getting lost". However, television networks rejected their pitches, unconvinced that it would be of high demand, so they decided to set up the channel independently. For over 20 years, Cronin-Stanley and Cronin have been patrons to a DVD membership club, The Renown Film Club, for fans of B-film classics. Cronin had worked for The Rank Organisation and Central Office of Information, and bought the rights to several libraries that owned films that air on TPTV, such as much of the Southern Television library, and originally licensed them out to terrestrial channels. Many of the films aired on Talking Pictures TV are available to buy on DVD, often sold as compilations under different genres, through the distributing company, both online and through the Renown's telephone service. Each DVD set is full of films made between the 1930s and 1960s, and also include special features, such as interviews and history. Other merchandise is also sold on the website, such as mugs, clothing, biographies, and calendars (available to buy in December for the new year), often branded under Talking Pictures TV's name. In spring 2019, Renown released its first CD compilation album named Hits From the Flicks, three CDs of songs from musicals and movies with pop song theme tunes that had aired on the channel. Talking Pictures TV is especially popular with older viewers, and has a weekly audience of about 2 million - an astonishingly high number in the current multi channel broadcasting environment. 

There are going to be severe restrictions to traffic in Crayford for some time next week; Parts of Crayford Road between Nando’s restaurant in Roman Way and McDonalds restaurant, at the junction of Station Road, will be closed from between 10pm on Monday 22 July and until around 1pm on Tuesday 23 July. Vehicle access will be maintained to the garages underneath Town Hall square until 9.30am on the 23 July. Buses that use this route will be diverted. The usual town centre parking restrictions will be in force. Local car parks are expected to be busy. Barriers will be installed to assist with the road closure on the evening of Monday 22 July.  While vehicle access will be restricted for a short time, there will be emergency vehicle access. The reason for this extensive disruption is due to a visit by His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent KG will visit Crayford on Tuesday 23 July to officially unveil the magnificent new Alcock and Brown (photo of them above - click on the picture for a larger version) bench. The special occasion is part of the centenary events that mark 100 years since the pair made the first ever trans-Atlantic flight in a Vickers Vimy originally designed and built in the Vickers Factory, Crayford. Local business Erith Group paid for the new bench designed by artist Tony Stallard. It will sit outside the Tower Business Park close to the Clock Tower. Along with the bench, a number of plaques based on the aeronautical feat will also be unveiled. They were designed by local schools and the mental health group Centrepieces and made by ‘M@ke’, with support from the Learning and Enterprise Centre Bexley. The Duke’s visit coincides with the 100-year anniversary of Alcock and Brown’s visit to Crayford on 23 July 1919. They returned to celebrate their achievement at the re-opening of The Princesses Theatre by the then Duke of York (later King George VI). HRH Duke of Kent will be met by the Deputy Lieutenant for the London Borough of Bexley. Major David Hewer OBE. He will be accompanied by the Mayor of Bexley and Chairman of the Alcock and Brown Centenary Project Group (Crayford) Councillor Geraldene Lucia-Hennis.

Next weekend The Exchange are holding a summer garden party. Saturday, July 27, 2019 11:00 AM Sunday, July 28, 2019 7:00 PM.  A weekend of outdoor pleasure at the new garden around Erith's Old Library.

"This is a free event, but please let us know you are coming by signing up for the event.

There are some elements that you will need to book onto in advance of the day, and can do so by following the links below.

The programme:

Throughout the weekend, there are things to do including Painting a Big Garden Mural, planting workshops and Garden Games.

There is also going to be a Garden Hat Competition - we will be taking polaroids throughout the event, and prizes will be given on Sunday.

Saturday 27 July

11am - Drop-in Seed Bomb workshop with Re-Instate

11am - Drop-in Flower pressing 

12pm - BBQ with Old Haven BBQ

12pm - Live Acoustic music 

12.30 - Theatre Box Performing Arts perform!

1.30 - Taster Yoga Class with Bayleaf Yoga (Book here)

2.30 - Bhangra Dance Workshop 1 with Jugnu Bhangra Group (Book here)

3pm - African circus skills and drumming from Emmanuel the Magnificent

3.15 - Bhangra Dance Workshop 2 with Jugnu Bhangra Group (Book here)

5.30 - Live Shindig soft rock

8pm - Live Classical music from members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra

Sunday 28th July

11am - Matisse inspired Print workshop  (Book here)

12pm - Lunch time talk on 'Erith & The River Thames' by Ken Chamberlain, Erith & Belvedere History Society  (Book here)

1pm - Live Cello & Guitar music from Sophie Gledhill and Tom Fleming

2pm - Spoken word performance by Jade, Theatre Box Performing Arts

2pm - Sashiko Embroidery Workshop with Lemuel MC (Book here)

3.30 - Live Jigs & Reels 

4pm - Judging of the Garden Hat Competition with prize from Rosie Beard Illustration

5-5.30 / 6.15-6.45 - Live Steel Pan Band"

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "I am very pleased to report that there have been no crimes to report over the last week. Whilst this is fantastic news we must not become complacent neither as local police or residents. Local police will continue to patrol ASB hotspots and potential burglary hotspots. We will also continue with stop and searches, especially in the battle against drug use and dealing, where sufficient grounds allow. We also implore residents to remain vigilant in a combined effort to keep crime at a low rate. Simple things like making sure windows are shut when the house is empty will help deter burglars. So many windows are left open at this time of the year when temperatures are soaring. Ensure that your car is securely locked and please do not leave any valuables on display in your vehicle. Let's keep this low crime trend continuing". Belvedere ward:- "No burglaries to report this week. We have been continuing to patrol in particular the drug hotspots on our ward in both uniform and plain clothes. Two male adults were stopped having been seen parked up in Ruskin Road Belvedere. Both were searched and cannabis found on the driver of the vehicle. He was issued with a community resolution for cannabis. Unfortunately at the time he was not driving his car so no further action in terms of driving under the influence could be pursued. Also this week both PC Rob and PCSO Jay have spent a lot of time dealing with incidents in our 2 local primary schools. In partnership with staff at the schools they are dealing with issues involving bullying between both parents and pupils. PC Rob has resolved one by issuing one of the parents an Harassment warning letter. PC Marc has spent time attending our local shops who deal with money transfers where letters warning the shops of becoming victims of money laundering have been delivered. This is a MET wide initiative looking at reducing money laundering and stopping the bad guys being able to hide their illicit gains using law abiding businesses". Bexleyheath ward:- "There have been two reports of a theft of motor vehicles reported on our ward: Tuesday 09/07/2019 – Albion Road Car Park between 1330hrs and 1340hrs; Tuesday 16/07/2019 – Watling Street Bexleyheath Motorbike stolen from a car park in Watling Street. There have been two reports of purses / wallets that were stolen. Saturday 13/07/2019 – Along the Broadway exact location not given; Friday 12/07/2019 – Believe to be outside M and S on the Broadway. A mobile phone was reported stolen on the Broadway believed to be outside Cancer Research shop on Friday 12/07/2019 between the times of 1130hrs and 1145hrs. A shopping bag was also reported stolen on Thursday 11/07/2019 by Monsoon / Accessorize. The team regularly conduct patrols along drug hot spot areas and ASB areas on the ward and conduct regular stops and searches where necessary". Crayford ward:- "Unfortunately we have had a residential burglary and a business/commercial burglary in Crayford this week and an increase in motor vehicle crime. On 12th July a burglary occurred between 8.20-12.30 in Ridge Way, entry was made via the front door which was kicked in, a safe was stolen containing cash, nothing else was touched or removed. Overnight 12th/13th July the VCD club at Old Road was broken in to, windows were smashed and one window was removed, money was stolen from the gaming machines. There was a theft from motor vehicle at Bookers, Thames Road on 8th July at approx. 11.00, a mobile phone, driving licence, purse and currency were stolen, the items were stolen while the vehicle was being loaded. A high value of tools and a bag containing personal items were stolen from a white Ford Transit on 10th July between 12.00-14.00 in Bourne Road. The sliding door was opened but there was no signs of damage. A rose gold Samsung J3 was stolen from the staff area at KFC on 10th July at 16.09, this has been clearly captured on CCTV.  An incident occurred at Claston Close for which the suspect has been arrested. Someone tried to break in to a van whilst parked in Green Place overnight 11th/12th July, when this proved difficult the perpetrator stole the number plates instead, AJ59BWF should be on a blue Ford Transit.  A grey Yamaha that had been left insecure and then stolen outside KFC on 11th July was later recovered at Bostall Hill. A black Piaggio Nrg 50 with the registration of LC67UBK was stolen from Optima Park on 9th July between 15.30-15.45. A number plates were stolen from a vehicle (no details given) overnight 12th/13th July from Tanners Close. Criminal damage was made to a black Ford Fiesta whilst parked in a poorly lit area close to Sainsbury's on 14th July, this was discovered by patrolling police officers and the registered keeper made aware. A black Aprilia SR50, number plate LK03MKF was stolen from Crayford High Street between 23.00 on 12th July and 02.00 on 13th July. A door was badly damaged on a white Citroen whilst parked in Sainsburys car park overnight 13th/14th July. An Apple iPhone 8 was stolen off a table at McDonalds on 14th July between 22.30-22.35. A grey Volkswagen Golf registration RJ60RYY was stolen outside a property in Bexley Close, it had been advertised for sale, the male jumped in it and drove it away before the registered owner could get in to the vehicle.  A TV was stolen from the communal area at Elwick Court in Beech Walk overnight 14th/15th July, it is not known how entry was gained. On 13th July, youths caused criminal damage at St Paulinus community hall. They entered the playground area through an unlocked gate and jumped on shed roofs causing damage, they also damaged children's toys. The youths are aged between 12-15 years of age. Number plates YF58WEV were stolen from a black BMW 1 series outside Crayford BR Station (date and time not confirmed on report). A blue BMW 1 series was stolen without keys from London Road, it seems a window was smashed while it was being removed (at this time the date and time has not been confirmed on the report). A ladies EM Decathlon bicycle with a mark “Born to be wild” was stolen from near Crayford Library, at this time the date and time have not been confirmed. Please be sure to double lock doors and close/secure windows when leaving your home and always be aware of your personal possessions when out and about. Crook locks or similar are always a bonus to secure vehicles. I know sometimes it seems inconvenient but these simple tweaks can prevent crime happening to you or someone you may know. We will be holding a community contact session at Crayford Library on Wednesday 24th July between 10.00-11.00 if there is anything you would like to discuss face to face". Erith ward:- "Weekly crime report: Theft of MV (Motor Vehicle) Thursday 11/07/2019 Christchurch Avenue; Theft from MV Friday 12/07/2019 Avenue Road; Theft of MV Saturday 13/07/2019 Avenue Road; Theft from MV Thursday 02/05/2019 near,Queen Street Baptist Church, Queen Street; Theft of cycle Thursday 11/07/2019, Dell View Road". Northumberland Heath ward:- "The team continue to target ASB on Bexley Road and surrounding alleyways, working together with the schools and the local authority. This week we visited Jaquelines Jems Nursery on Stelling Road. We had a lovely question and answer session with the children. The team have been doing door to door enquiries in Becton Place, with regards to a breach of tenancy when smoking drugs within their premises, especially when it is affecting other residents.Very pleased to say, that there have been no burglaries again this week. Our next community contact session is on Friday 26thth July at 4pm in the Mill Road Library. Please do come along and meet a member of the team to discuss any issues or concerns you have, or just pop in and say hello". 

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "We had the pleasure of attending The Slade Green Big Local Event last Saturday and enjoyed speaking to a lot of local residents and engaging with potential members. Our outdoor event season is now in full swing and our volunteers have been pulling out the stops to help us staff our stand most weekends to spread the word about NW and recruit new Coordinators and other NW scheme members across the Borough. We have had 3 sets of number plates stolen in the last week. All of them occurred overnight. They were in Reddy Road on Tuesday 16th July, Canada Road on Sunday 14th July and Peareswood Road on Thursday July 11th. If you would like some anti theft screws for your number plates, please let us know. PC James found and recovered a stolen vehicle in the car park behind Grange House yesterday (Weds 17th July). All parking areas are regularly checked on patrols for stolen vehicles. PCSO Mark attended the Slade Green Big Local Community Fun Day last Saturday (as did Bexley Neighbourhood Watch!) where many many people enjoyed all the bouncy castles, farm animals, donkey rides, slides, football etc. Picture of Mark and Mel from Big Local is above - click on it for a larger view. A new anonymous watch has been set up for Cook Square in the Frobisher Road estate. It has been running for a few weeks but all residents finally have their letters now that Mark is on full duties again". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - No burglaries this week. Remain vigilant at all times. 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 - Thursday 11/07/19 an unknown suspect/s stole the catalytic converter from the Victim's vehicle while it was securely locked and parked at Argali House, Kale Road. A neighbour informed the Victim that she observed two males near the Victim's vehicle at around 03:00am. 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. Good news - Following an arrest by PC Pruden attended Stratford Magistrates Court, where a suspect, arrested by PC Pruden was found guilty. Following a theft from a Motor Vehicle, forensic evidence was found linked to a known suspect, an on-going investigation is being undertaken by PC Pruden". West Heath ward:- "Good news this week, we have had no reported burglaries on the ward. Unfortunately, there are several reports of motor vehicle crime this week. On Saturday July 13th at 12.50pm a silver grey golf was stolen from a driveway in Gypsy Road. The victim was still in possession of the keys and no sign of forced entry was seen; Two reports in Plymstock Road this week on Saturday July 13th between 1pm – 2pm a child's bike was stolen, also overnight between Saturday July 13th at 10pm to Sunday July 14th a motor vehicle was tampered with. The owner discovered the vehicle with its doors open and the belongings scattered within it. It is not believed that any items were stolen; Theft of a white Ford Transit van from Hurlingham Road on Monday July 15th; A black Audi was broken in to overnight on Tuesday July 17th between 8am and 7am the following morning. An untidy search was conducted and it is not known at this stage if anything was stolen. The team assisted the Crook Log team with the execution of a drugs warrant on Tuesday morning where a small amount of drugs were found. We have also continued to carry out positive stop and searches for drugs and other possible offences. PC Gill Couzens also arrested a male this week for failure to appear and for being in breach of a court order".

The end video this week features St. John the Baptist Church in West Street, Erith. It is the oldest building in the town by some considerable margin - it is over a thousand years old, and there are references to it predating the signing of the Magna Carta. Leave a comment below, or alternatively you can Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.