The Shop.

Here is a puzzle for you; the photos above show the interior of a new shop that is shortly to open in the local area; you can see the shelves being filled prior to the first opening. Your challenge is to identify exactly where the new shop is located. No prizes - just a bit of fun. The only clue is that the shop is physically located within Erith - as to precisely where, that it up to you to determine. Answers on a postcard, or better still, by Email to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. I will have photos of the grand opening of the shop next week. 

Another venue that will be opening shortly is the refurbished White Hart pub, which is going to be an African restaurant / bar. The owners have not exactly covered themselves in glory thus far - mainly due to the outrageous drinks licence application that they have submitted to Bexley Council. They have applied to open to serve alcohol at 10am in the morning, and not close again until 4.30am the next morning. Bearing in mind there are residential apartments above the bar / restaurant area, and retirement flats and sheltered housing nearby, I think that this application is almost certain to be summarily thrown out. 

I come across stories every so often that sound very much like "urban myths" - and usually, after some detailed research, they turn out to be so. This time, however, I have encountered a tale, that sounds very much like a "shaggy dog story" - but actually turns out not only to be rooted in reality, but absolutely true. It was sent to me by a very long term reader who has a knack of turning up interesting stories now and then. The real ale producer The Westerham Brewery came up with a novel method of transporting their beers to the troops in France after the 1944 D - Day Normandy landings. Westerham Ales were exported to troops in Normandy inside the auxiliary fuel tanks of Spitfires! They were dubbed “Modification XXX Depth Charges” to get them officially approved for flights. Edward (Ted) Turner Describing working at Brittain’s Engineering in Peckham:-" We were also making ‘jettison’, auxiliary fuel tanks for fighter planes to carry extra fuel to enable them to fly further into Europe and still be able to get back home. Once refuelling facilities were established over there, the Westerham Brewery used to fill those auxiliary non-returnable petrol tanks with Westerham Ales for our troops in Europe. Black Eagle lorries delivered it in barrels to Biggin Hill where the auxiliary dual purpose tanks were filled with Bitter on one side and Mild on the other. We made them of 16 gauge metal with baffles for safe landing, the RAF’s version of the brewer’s dray.”  In his book “Dancing in the Skies”, Tony Jonsson, the only Icelander pilot in the RAF, recalled beer runs while he was flying with 65 Squadron. Every week a pilot was sent back to the UK to fill some cleaned-up drop tanks with beer and return to the squadron. Jonsson hated the beer runs, as every man on the squadron would be watching you upon arrival. Anyone who made a rough landing and dropped the tanks would be the most hated man on the squadron for an entire week. The famous Spitfire test pilot Jeffrey Quill stated “After D-Day in 1944, there was a problem about getting beer over to the Normandy airfields. Henty and Constable (the Sussex brewers) were happy to make the stuff available at the 83 Group Support Unit at Ford near Littlehampton. For some inexplicable reason, however, beer had a low priority rating on the available freight aircraft. So we adapted Spitfire bomb racks so that an 18-gallon (82-litre) barrel could be carried under each wing of the Spitfires which were being ferried across from Ford to Normandy on a daily basis. We were, in fact, a little concerned about the strength situation of the barrels, and on application to Henty and Constables for basic stressing data we were astonished to find that the eventuality of being flown on the bomb racks of a Spitfire was a case which had not been taken into consideration in the design of the barrels. However, flight tests proved them to be up to the job. This installation, incidentally, was known as the aforementioned Mod XXX Depth charge". This is a completely true story - and it just goes to show that truth can indeed be stranger than fiction. 

As I have previously mentioned, the fact that the Maggot Sandwich is published each Sunday afternoon can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage is that readers know when it is published - and they often visit the site not long after the weekly update has been posted. The downside is that publishing at a fixed time each week does very much limit flexibility, and the ability to respond to news items that have a limited life span. In this case, I was passed the image above at the same time as it was posted on FaceBook, but due to only publishing on Sunday, it looks like I am somewhat late to the party. The image is of a painting of the river front at Erith which was made in 1866. Nothing that unusual there then - except that the painting now hangs in The Louvre in Paris. Quite why such an apparently unremarkable painting should hang in the same gallery as the Mona Lisa is beyond me, but it is very gratifying to know. The artist was a chap called Charles Francois Daubigny, and he painted the river scene at Erith in 1866. 

Guest contributor Miles has submitted part four of his thoughts on electrically powered vehicles, and how Bexley Council could accommodate a charging infrastructure. Miles writes:- "So why do we want to bring Electric Vehicles (EV's) to Erith? We could arguable start with our failing high-street and town centre. There is a direct correlation between the installation of rapid chargers and the rise of footfall in the area. Given the affluent owners of current high-end EV drivers seeking out charging locations, we could see a generous increase in spending in the town - which in turn further attracts new businesses and associated jobs. As EVs become more and more mainstream, air quality should improve drastically as idling engines outside of schools, traffic lights and junctions are left firmly in the past. For the government and local councils EVs provide an precision tool to encourage good habits, Bannatyne’s Health Club have already used this to great effect by placing charging bays in their parking bays. Bexley could use the same approach to encourage more utilisation of council leisure, recreational and heritages sites. Unfortunately it appears Erith, and most of North Bexley is entirely devoid of any charging infrastructure but there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. Following Hugh’s coverage of Bexley’s sudden interest in EVs, why should they be interested? Well as it turns out, they’ve overlooked central government funding to accelerate EV adoption in the UK, that aside it could be a potentially excellent revenue generating scheme at a time when austerity is rife- charging networks such as InstaVolt are actually offering to install, maintain AND pay ground rent on new charging stations! Putting aside the economic benefits I mentioned earlier, this could not only earn the council income but also focus regeneration and good habits by placing chargers in tactical locations. Erith and surrounding areas are particularly well placed for EV infrastructure. We have generous amount of on street parking, with a plenty of lamp posts that are ripe to be retrofitted for on street charging. Morrisons alone could support a significant charging network which could be huge for the supermarket and riverside shopping centre. I recently reached out directly to Morrisons, they tell me they won't be installing a charging network in the immediate future, but would support any council initiative to supply chargers. New charging installations provide an excellent opportunity to our entrepreneurial residents, I personally believe there's significant opportunity most current sites have overlooked. Car washing/valeting is an obvious opportunity straight out the gate, leading through to vending machines or food stalls. Local shops and restaurants could very easily encourage custom to their business by simple advertising (another potential revenue stream for the council). Lidl offer free charging providing you use their store, imagine if a restaurant such as the White Hart had a captive audience for an hour looking to waste some time! As the tides turn, and EVs become more and more dominate in car sales new opportunities for the public and private are ripe for the taking. What should Bexley Council take into consideration when installing charging infrastructure? First and foremost the location and types of charger, Ecotricity hit the nail on the head with their balance of Rapid and Fast chargers - a charger than can put 100+ miles per hour vs. 22. The key is to place a specific quantity with room for expansion at strategic sites. Off the top of my head I'd say somewhere near the fish roundabout, maybe with Erith Riverside, Hall Place without a doubt, Bexleyheath Asda, ideally a spot somewhere on the A206 but that may fall to another borough. As for fast chargers, I'd simply place them at key shopping locations and places undergoing regeneration. As a courtesy to other drivers, I'd always place them towards the back of the car parks to minimise ICEing. I'd also take advantage of Street light conversion we discussed in part one. Parking enforcement, idle fees and overflow should also play part in any new installations. The first two are intended to discourage ICEing and EVs overstaying once charged. Overflow parking, whilst not always possible at certain locations, alleviate circumstances where an EV is waiting for a charger, or needs to vacate the charge but not leave the location - this could be as simple as a few additional spaces for mixed use. Government subsidies and grants have been used in the past to encourage the transition to cleaner technologies, whilst I do support this to a degree it must be carefully managed to recipients don't simply bake that subsidy into their profit margin. I would to see any public funds managed with careful scrutiny, for example, OLEV home and work charger subsidies should consider the bill of materials and installation of a typical install - not simply dish out £500. Often the consumer ends up paying the same price! Lack of noise an EV produces, even at moderate speeds should be considered during the tradition to electric. Most of us a accustomed to a fair amount of noise when a car approaches, I've surprised a few people at the supermarket as they suddenly discover a large car moving at walking pace.  I’ve heard of certain manufacturers introducing artificial noise to the vehicle, personally I feel a bit of common sense, good signage, rumble strips, traffic calming would go a long way without removing a key advantage of EVs, minimal noise pollution. EV’s open up new possibilities for the council, as noise and pollution slowly reduces throughout the borough properties built near busy roads suddenly become more attractive to properly developers and customers alike. Previously commercially unviable brownfield sites, and dilapidated properties could see new investment leading to increased council revenue. All in all, it’s great to see Bexley are gaining interest in EVs, and I hope it continues to gain traction". Some interesting insight from Miles; if you have any thoughts on the subject that you would like to share, please contact me.

I had a very strange encounter last Saturday evening, and it is something that prompted me to write this article. I popped into Morrison's supermarket in Erith to pick up a few bits and pieces - nothing more than a few items in a hand basket. The supermarket was quite busy for a Saturday night, and after I had done my shopping I went to the checkout line to pay for my goods. I noticed that only one checkout was staffed, and that there was a queue of people waiting for it. I waited in line for a couple of minutes, until I caught the eye of one of the relatively new junior store managers, who appeared to be doing his rounds. I asked him if, as per company policy, they would be opening more staffed checkouts to deal with the rapidly forming queue. He said no, they would not, and that if we did not want to queue, we should use the self service checkouts. As you may well be aware, I will not use self service checkouts in any shop, for reasons I have outlined several times in the past. Please bear in mind that it is Morrison's written policy that they will always open an extra staffed checkout if a queue has formed behind another checkout. It appeared that the junior manager was contradicting this - which I challenged. His response was "we don't have the staff - you will have to use the self service checkouts". I put my basket down and left the store, with the junior manager trailing behind me saying "that's no way to behave!" I was furious - his attitude was that he was doing me a favour by getting me to self serve, which I absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances. Much to my regret I did not get his name, as I would certainly have reported him for his attitude. Since the incident, I have done some research, and coincidentally this week several sources have reported the news that Morrisons is telling staff to become ‘more Disney’ as the supermarket giant tries to improve customer relations. The Yorkshire-based firm is sending thousands of employees on training courses to teach them how to have a friendly and cheery demeanour on the shop floor. One checkout worker said she was instructed to be ‘more like the Disney staff in Florida’, according to a report in retail trade magazine The Grocer. Shelf-stackers have been told to ‘drop the box’ when they see customers in need of a hand. Morrisons is the worst performing of the so-called ‘big five’ supermarkets when it comes to shop-floor service, a recent mystery shopper trial by The Grocer found. It scored a lowly 12.9 out of 20 on average during the 51-week study that ended on June 10. Sainsbury’s came out top with a score of 16. A Morrisons spokesman said the store did not recognise the instruction to be more like Disney, and he added: ‘We want colleagues to be friendly, but to behave like themselves.’ Earlier this month, 8,000 Morrisons staff qualified for shares or a cheque of an average £4,000 as part of its Share Save scheme. Disney is renowned for the high level of customer service provided by theme park staff, known as ‘cast members’. It is somewhat unfortunate that the junior manager I encountered last Saturday night had obviously not been on the customer service training course. It is not the first time recently that I have had to complain about poor customer service in the Erith branch of Morrison's. I have complained on several occasions about the salad bar. There is nothing wrong with the quantity or quality of the salad on offer - quite the opposite - I find it to be of high quality. The problem I have is that the salad bar normally closes at or just after 8pm - a full two hours before the store closes, and it is impossible to purchase a salad from the bar after it has closed. I have mentioned this to Morrison's management before, but have had little in the way of a response. It appears to me that the salad bar is being run for the benefit of the staff that operate it, not for the benefit of the customers. Other supermarket chains do not close their salad bars hours before the main part of the store, so why should Morrison's do it? If you have any insight into these issues, please contact me, either by posting a comment below, or alternatively by Emailing me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Some sad news for fans of stock car and banger racing along with other forms of amateur automotive competition such as speedway; the popular race track in Purfleet, Essex, just over the River Thames has announced that it will be shutting down. The Arena Essex Raceway issued an announcement last week which stated:- "Contending with our great British weather with the first two months of the season seeing both opening events for the Rolling Thunder Show and King of the Ring events being cancelled due to freezing weather conditions and our own season opener being held in minus 11 degrees followed by a cold and miserable Easter weekend didn’t make for a great start to the year. The Lakeside Hammers on a continuing downward spiral in terms of spectator support as well as having meetings cancelled not just due to weather conditions but ongoing issues with the BSPA to contend with also heavily impacted the Raceway’s income. The above along with the amount of investment needed to just maintain the stadium plus the continued increasing costs for compliance, insurance and health and safety has led to the Raceway no longer being financially sustainable and therefore with great sadness and a heavy heart we have to advise 2018 will be the last racing season for the Woodroffe family. The final event to be run bringing Arena Essex Raceway’s gates to a close will be on Sunday 4th November with the 27th Firecracker". I know that many race fans have made the trip over the Dartford River Crossing to The Arena Essex Raceway for many years, and it will be sad to see this long established venue closed for good. I understand that the site will be redeveloped as a new housing estate, as an extension to the already existing one nearby at Chafford Hundred.

Prior to the weekly local safety and security reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association, here is an alert from a member of a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme in Northumberland Heath:- "New scam going on in Northumberland Heath today (26th July) outside Tescos. The scammer managed to get my grandfather's bank card off of him. A man in a uniform approached my grandfather and told him that he needed a parking permit to park his mobility scooter on the forecourt of Tescos in Bexley Road and that this was a new thing only introduced on Monday. To pay for the ticket this man in uniform escorted him to the ATM and told him that is how you paid for the permit. My grandfather tried to use his card, but nothing happened and he couldn't get his card back. The man in uniform then said he was going to get his supervisor. My grandfather then went into Tescos, where he found out that there was no permit and when he got back to the machine the card had gone. Thankfully, we have managed to stop the transactions. Several had been made including one for £500 and a money transfer between his savings and current account". Now onto the reports from the wards. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Another excellent week for the ward with only one crime of note reported which was an attempted burglary in Parkside Avenue where between Wednesday 25th July from 1.30am to Friday 27th July - 6.20pm suspects have attempted to gain entry to a semi-detached property which is currently undergoing renovations and not occupied. The suspects described as “three skinheads” have tried to access the property by forcing the front and rear doors causing damage to the door and frames. The team held their first ward panel meeting this week after the boundary changes in May. There was an excellent turn out and it was a pleasure to meet the old Colyers Ward members who have moved over to Barnehurst. It's good to see so many residents who are passionate about the local area and try to make a difference A big thank you to Barnehurst ward Councillor Howard Jackson who also attended. Local issues were discussed & the ward priorities/promises were set. They are 1/ To prevent & reduce burglaries using various tactics focusing on crime prevention. 2/ to prevent & reduce motor vehicle crime. 3/ to prevent and reduce incidents of ASB. We have also launched our street a week campaign, we aim to visit all residents across the entire ward on a street by street basis making sure that a least one street a week minimum is visited, our aim is to meet as many residents as possible and make sure every household knows who their local officers are and how to contact them. Our next community contact session is at Barnehurst Golf Club on Wednesday 8th August at 1pm. Please pop along to meet the team and to discuss any local issues that may be of concern". Belvedere ward:- "The team are now getting reports that the same beggar that was in Nuxley Road is also attending ASDA, Lower Road. He is white, about 50 plus years old, white hair and white beard. If anyone is having issues with this male please get in contact with the team. We had a burglary at 31 The View on Saturday 28th, unknown time. If anyone saw anything or has any information please get in touch. We are having issues in Wilton Road with street drinkers. The issues are mainly happening on the Greenwich side near to the pub. If anyone know who these males are please let us know. On a lighter note we attended Court Lodge on 31st July and spoke to the residents about general safety and security. Biscuits were had by all! Our next drop in surgery will be on Wednesday 8th August at 14:00 outside The CO-OP". Bexleyheath ward:- "We are continuing high visibility patrols around Martens Grove and surrounding areas including the garages between Grove Road and Braeside Crescent as there has been previous reports of ASB issues. Car Park patrols are also included in the teams daily patrols to help deter the same sort of problem. The next contact session is at Café Nero Bexleyheath between 2pm and 3pm. We are very keen for more Neighbourhood Watches to be setup on our ward. If you do speak to others who do not have one set up on their street and are interested, please feel free to put them in contact with us and we can help them in setting one up. Please do follow us on Twitter and Facebook so we can keep you updated with contact points and what we do on a daily basis. If you wish to pass on information to Police then please feel free to contact Crime stoppers on 0800 555111". Erith ward:- "Crimes this week are down from last week which is good news. 26th July 2018 – Robbery James Watt Way at 1645Hrs Bike stolen; 26th July 2018 –Attempted Burglary – Alford Way between 1315-1450hrs –Tool marks to front door; 30th July 2018 – Theft of Motor vehicle – Rutland Gate between hours of 1900 – 1000hrs; 31st July 2018 – Criminal damage to motor vehicle – Viking Way – at 1030hrs; 1st August 2018 – Theft of pedal cycle – Outside Morrisons Erith – 1310 hours; 2nd August 2018 – Burglary – Thorne Close – Motorbike stolen – between hours of 1715 – 1805 hours. Extra patrols still happening on West Street to combat ASB issues". Northumberland Heath ward:- "One burglary this week in the early hours of Wednesday morning August 1st. The incident took place in Sussex Road Erith where the house and car keys were stolen. A silver Mercedes was stolen from the drive at the property. Please ensure all downstairs windows and doors are securely locked when retiring for the evening. On the evening of Thursday July 26th London Fire Brigade were called to a fire in Northumberland Park. Rubbish and a fence were set on fire, the fire was extinguished and no one was hurt. We have had reports of anti-social behaviour in one of the stairwells in Walsingham Walk which is a residential area for elderly residents. Youths have been gathering urinating and spitting in the bin chute area, and also outside a resident's flat. The staff from the library in Mill Road have reported an incident of anti- social behaviour where a group of Male youths were being rowdy and were eventually asked to leave. The CCTV following this has been viewed and we are working to identify the offenders. We have had two reports of anti-social behaviour in Dickens close over the last weekend. A group of youths with their faces hidden by Tee shirts, egged one property and threw apples at another in the area. One attempted theft of motor vehicle In Belmont Road on Thursday July 26th. The victim was in the process of selling his car when the suspect asked to test drive the vehicle. The suspect jumped in and tried to drive away at speed but the victim jumped on the car causing the suspect to stop and run away from the scene. One theft of number plates overnight on July 30th in Northumberland Close. Further details are not known. We have been made aware of a particularly unpleasant scam this week where an elderly gentleman was targeted . The incident took place at the Tesco Express store in Bexley Road on Thursday July 26th between 1pm – 2pm. The victim parked his mobility scooter outside the store and began shopping when he was approached by a male in what was believed to be a uniform, stating that he needed a permit to park his scooter outside the store and would be fined as a result of new parking regulations. The suspect accompanied the elderly gentleman to the cashpoint outside the store where a number of attempts were made to get cash out using the PIN without success. The male then told the gentleman he would go and get his supervisor to assist with the transaction. In the meantime, the card was swallowed by the ATM leaving the male confused and worried. A number of transactions were made from the account which involved a large amount of cash being transferred, thankfully the bank contacted the victim's daughter and the account was blocked. The next Coffee with cops event will be held on Friday August 10th between Noon - 1pm". Slade Green and North End ward:- "We have had another burglary in Manor Road. The victim was on holiday for 2 weeks and came home to find entry had been made via the back door and mainly jewellery was stolen. This happened just a few doors from the Erith Watch coordinators home and he is aware. Crime prevention leaflets have been delivered to neighbouring properties and the team have made a reassurance visit to the victim. Good news this week comes in the form of PC's Mark and James spotting a male with a motorbike in the field at Whitehall Lane. He ran away from them but they ran faster and he was caught and arrested after it was discovered that the bike was stolen. He was also further arrested for going equipped to steal. Once the forensic tests on the bike are completed the decision to charge will be made but this was a great way to show our zero tolerance to anyone riding bikes where they shouldn't and also to send a message to those out stealing bikes. Our next Community Contact Session is on Weds 14/08 from 12 midday at Slade Green Library. At Tuesday night's ward panel meeting, the ward promises chosen for the next 3 months are Shop Patrols, Traffic issues (Manor Road) and Patrols of Parks and Open Spaces. Due to various holidays being taken we are not a fully staffed team during August so only have 1 or 2 officers available from August 7th until around August the 29th so please bear with us if we are a bit slower to rely to any correspondence". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - A parcel was stolen from the victim's post box in the communal area of a block of flats in Redbourne Drive. On Friday 27/07/18 at 12:00pm a property in Parkway was entered and money was taken. Crime prevention - With the warm weather that we are experiencing now, remember to Close windows, LIFT and LOCK doors when leaving the property even for a short time. Motor Vehicle Crimes - Between the hours of 12:00pm on Wednesday 25/07/18 and 08:00pm on Friday 27/07/18, a motor vehicle was damaged whilst parked in Redbourne Drive. Between the hours of 12:30 am 07:10 am on Sunday 29/07/18 a motor vehicle was stolen from Whernside Close. Between the hours of 11:00pm on Friday 27/07/18 and 07:00am on Saturday 28/07/18 a motor vehicle parked and locked was stolen from outside Muskovy House, Kale Road. A vehicle parked in Holstein Way, on Sunday 29/07/18 between 10:00pm and 12:00pm on Monday 30/07/18 was broken into. Crime prevention in motor vehicles - Coins for the car park, sunglasses or other items take them with you and it should go without saying that wallets, handbags, purses and credit cards should never be left in an unattended vehicle. Have a Say event - Wednesday 8th August between the hours of 1:00pm and 2:00pm, the team will be attending Lakeside Health Centre, Yarnton Way. An opportunity for members of the community who prefer face- to – face contact, to speak with a Dedicated Ward Officer. DON'T MAKE YOURSELF A TARGET FOR THIEVES ON BIKES - Criminals are using mopeds and cycles to snatch phones and valuables. They often ride up behind the victim and even mount the pavement to grab them. Don't text while walking as you'll be distracted. Go hands free or stand away from the roadside, near a wall, so no one can come up behind you. Make sure the security features on your phone are activated. Don't openly display high value watches and jewellery. Keep handbags fastened and close to you". West Heath ward:- "Unfortunately the ward has had a commercial robbery and 3 vehicle crimes over the last week. Happily though no reported burglaries. The robbery occurred at 8.50 in the evening on Sunday 29th July in the Cost Cut Stores, Hadlow Road. Two males entered the shop and took 3 bottles of wine and then tried to take cash from the till. The males were followed by the shop keeper and a member of the public and subsequently arrested by police at a nearby address. There was also an attempted theft of a van in The Pantiles in the early hours of Tuesday 31st July where 3 males on 2 motorbikes attempted to open the door of a work van. A car was stolen from outside an address in Gypsy Road sometime between midday and 6.30pm on Thursday 26th July and a car windscreen was smashed in Osborne Road on the evening of Saturday 28th July. We are making progress with getting our ward panel together and have had a very fruitful meeting with one of our NHW Coordinators. We have also had a meeting with L and Q about various ward issues. Our next community Contact Session will be in Abbotts Walk on Saturday 4th August from 12-1pm and we have planned two bike marking events for Saturday 18th August on the Pantiles at 2pm and in Stevens Park at 4pm".

Following on from the update from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association, and their warning about motorcycle and scooter based criminals, the video below is a BBC 4 documentary on Britain's most dangerous motorbike gangs - the documentary was shot in and around Thamesmead, which is regarded as the worst place in the UK for an infestation of the bike mounted criminal scumbags. Give it a watch, and please feel free to either leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Open day.

The photos above were taken by me in the old Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith on Thursday afternoon. The long closed building was opened for a public viewing for the first time in many years, and I took the opportunity to go along to take a look around. Local arts commissioning group The Exchange are taking over the building from Bexley Council (who have long neglected it), and plan to refurbish and repurpose the building for both public and business use. Contrary to some local rumours, the old library will not be converted into flats. If you recall when the old library was still open, it was a very large space indeed; what I did not realise until my explorations on Thursday was just how big the place actually is. Only about one third of the floor space was ever open to the public, and it was quite an eye opener to see the areas that had always been out of view. Refurbishing the structure will be a truly massive undertaking, involving many construction disciplines - not to mention a large amount of money. The old Carnegie Library is very damp, and whilst I was there it was raining outside, and water was pouring through a number of windows. If Bexley Council had taken more care of the historic building, this situation need never have arisen. I am very much behind the works of The Exchange, and will be keen to follow their progress during the restoration and repurposing of this historic local landmark building.

The photo above shows members of Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association presenting the petition against the proposed closure of Bexleyheath Police Station to Gareth Bacon, London Assembly member outside of City Hall, close to Tower Bridge. The figures in the photo (click on it for a larger view) are:- Meeta, Peter, Dana Wiffen, Olu (Crouching), Joyce(SNB) behind her Claire Tack, Grant (NW Vice Chair), Gareth Bacon, Stewart, Mr and Mrs Smith and Andrew. It is too soon to say what effect the petition will have on the decision to close Bexleyheath Police Station and relocate its function to Marlowe House in Sidcup - a decision which seems to have been made by someone with no knowledge of the local area whatsoever. Crime has incresed in the London Borough of Bexley over the last year - we need lots more Police - not less.

The very worrying local problem of vehicle number plate theft has encountered a further development. It has come to my notice that local criminals are not just stealing legitimate plates from parked motor vehicles in order to circumvent the automatic number plate recognition system used to charge drivers for using the Dartford River Crossing, but also, and even more worryingly they are also doing it in order to travel into central London without paying the new T-Charge penalty applicable to older, more polluting vehicles. The T-Charge (T for toxicity) came into fore last Monday morning; it applies to motor vehicles that were manufactured prior to 2006. Vehicles which do not comply with the Euro IV exhaust standard must pay the charge. The standard defines emissions limits for cars, vans, buses, coaches and lorries. Most vehicles registered before 2006 are likely to exceed these limits. The zone now operates between 07:00 and 18:00, Monday to Friday. The T-Charge is an emissions surcharge, applied in the same areas as and paid in addition to the congestion charge, for vehicles travelling through central London. It is expected to affect 10,000 drivers in the capital each year after it emerged 9,000 Londoners a year die prematurely because of long-term toxic air exposure. Drivers of older, more polluting vehicles will pay an extra £10 in the form of the T-Charge, on top of the existing £11.50 congestion charge. This increases the cost of driving through central London up to a total of £21.50. Vehicle number plate theft is now endemic in the local area. Three or four years ago it was a relatively minor issue, but now it is one of the major problems for the Police and local residents. Just how many vehicles are driving around on illegal registration plates I do not know, but I suspect that the number is far higher than many realise. Many of the number plate thefts are carried out by members of the illegal biker gang Bike Life TV UK - more regarding them later. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

As I recently predicted, it seems that the threat of a vigilante group being set up to combat the threat from the illegal moped gangs looks like it is now coming to pass. In an interview with The News Shopper, Orpington resident David Stokes said:- "The feeling is that the local area is under siege - residents have had enough of Police inaction. The problem has escalated over some years from what was relatively petty crime to acts of a much more sinister nature. Confidence amongst those responsible is clearly growing as their actions go unpunished. From what I can establish, the same group has been responsible across the county for theft from vehicles, motor vehicle theft, theft from the person, robbery, assault and burglary. Conversation are taking place between a select few as to how best to resolve this problem if the police are not prepared to take meaningful action". From conversations that I have heard, this kind of reaction to events is becoming increasingly common. Local people feel that the moped criminals are seemingly above the law - a problem which is affecting the Greater London area particularly badly. I have personally heard comments made by residents in both Lower Belvedere and Erith which pretty much reflect the statement made to The News Shopper by David Stokes; whilst much of this may be just "blowing off steam", the fact that people would even consider direct action against the moped criminals says a lot about how seriously the issue is now viewed. In my view there is a third way to combat the criminals, and it does not involve direct - and possibly illegal - action. It is intelligence based. Join your local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, or if one does not exist, then set one up (contact me for details on how to do this - it is remarkably straightforward). Once you are part of a Neighbourhood Watch group, then covertly gather information on the illegal moped riders in your area; registration numbers (usually fake, but it gives some kind of ID to the bike in question), descriptions of the riders and their vehicles, along with the precise times they are seen in your area, and if possible, discreetly taken photographs of the offenders. These can then be passed onto your local Police Safer Neighbourhood team for further investigation - you might well be surprised at just how much information the Police already have on many of these gang members, as most of the offenders already have criminal records. More on this later in the Neighbouhood Watch local update news.

Some good news regarding the redevelopment of the old Arthur Street Estate - which is located adjacent to North End Road in Erith. The estate has become very run down and it is definitely at the end of its' life. The estate is owned and operated by Orbit Housing Association. They recently carried out a survey of the residents of Arthur Street, and over ninety percent of people consulted, stated that they would like the old Arthur Street to be demolished, and a new estate built in its' place. On Tueday morning I received the following announcement:- "Plans for the £73m regeneration of the Arthur Street estate in Erith will go on display at a public consultation event on Saturday 4 November. Orbit, which owns and manages around 4,600 homes across the borough, is holding the open event, at Peareswood Primary School, Peareswood Road, Erith, between 10.30am and 2.30pm. Following their successful regeneration of Larner Road into the award winning Erith Park in Bexley, 40,000-home housing association Orbit, is now proposing to redevelop the neighbouring Arthur Street estate.  Built in the late 1960s, Arthur Street consists of three 13 storey tower blocks and a number of low rise blocks providing 263 one and two bed flats with some three bed maisonettes. Despite substantial investment since the transfer from the London Borough of Bexley in 1998, many components are now failing and the blocks no longer meet modern standards. The proposed £73m regeneration will feature at least 270 new apartments, of which 80 percent will be for affordable rent and shared ownership with associated parking and public open space. Maggie McCann, Orbit’s development director, said: “The regeneration of Arthur Street is part of our wider investment plans for the borough of Bexley. As one of the largest housing providers and landlords in the borough we are investing in Bexley for the long-term, working locally to create sustainable communities which meet both need and aspiration.” Orbit has appointed Wates Residential to help develop the proposed scheme which is set to benefit from more than £10m from the government’s Estate Regeneration Fund and the Greater London Authority’s Affordable Homes Programme. Orbit intends to submit a planning application to London Borough of Bexley in summer 2018. If anyone would like to view the proposals but is unable to attend the public consultation, the plans will be made available to view online at www.orbithomes.org.uk/publicconsultations and via the Facebook page ‘Arthur Street Future’ from Monday 6 November". This is very good news for local residents; there has been some criticism that some of the local housing developments in progress are focussed to closely on full price, commercial sales, rather than for affordable housing; the new Arthur Street development should answer these concerns - at least to some extent.

There has been an interesting and beneficial side - effect of the eerie yellow / orange / red sky that we all experienced last Monday. As was explained in the press, the cause of the weird sky was as a result of tons of iron oxide based dust from the Sahara being sucked up into the upper atmosphere by Hurricane Ophelia. The iron oxide that gives Saharan dust its red colour acts like fertiliser in the open ocean. Sunlight and warmer weather provide the perfect conditions for spring blooms – vast areas of ocean covered in plant growth typically in springtime. Out in the Atlantic Ocean this iron is an essential nutrient which is needed for growth of masses of microscopic plants – phytoplankton. This provides fodder for tiny animals, the zooplankton, and in their turn, food for fish and larger ocean beings. This sudden, lush growth of plant life is as significant to controlling the amount of greenhouse gases in the world as the contribution of tropical rainforests. These forests of the ocean may be rootless and transient but their take-up of carbon from the atmosphere reduces the amount of CO2 heating the planet. Far away from the coastline where rivers deposit sediments, sewage and excess fertilisers into estuaries and deltas, seawater is surprisingly low in iron. Although it is abundant in soils, the open ocean cannot hold it in solution for very long. Yet it is a micronutrient that is vital for kick-starting the ocean food chain. In the parts of the North Atlantic where there is a plentiful supply of wind-driven dust, there is no shortage of opportunities. Back in 2010 the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted tonnes of iron-rich dust into surrounding seas causing a spike in ocean productivity. So the strange skies that so many people found so disturbing recently, actually had a very beneficial side effect - and may well have contributed to a reduction in the level of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere. Another result of the law of unintended consequences.

The latest series of Robot Wars began last Sunday evening on BBC 2 at 8pm. As some readers may be aware, I had a small involvement with the original Robot Wars show back in the day. The Robot Wars reboot now being transmitted seems very similar to the original 1998 version, just with a much bigger budget and far slicker presentation. Motor, material and most importantly battery technology has come a very long way in nineteen years, and the new robots are far heavier, more powerful and better armoured than the old ones. Whilst the technology inside the competition robots has moved on, the kind of amateur engineers who enter their robots into the show have changed very little. Robot Wars is sport for the non - sporty. Back when the show originally ran, I had a friend, Adam Harper - he used to run a small, independent bicycle shop in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere (NOT Nuxley Village – there is no such place – that name is an invention of Estate Agents). Adam’s bread and butter was selling and repairing conventional bikes, but he had an unusual and quite lucrative sideline. When Sinclair vehicles went bust after the commercial failure of their Sinclair C5 electric trike in the late 1980’s, Adam Harper bought up the entire unsold stock, which he then warehoused at a secret location in Bexleyheath. Harper correctly guessed that the C5 would become a cult item, and its value would rise accordingly. He was correct. When new, a C5 retailed at £399. Nowadays, an unused, mint and crated C5 with all its original accessories will sell for around £5000! Harper also sold nearly all of the electric motors used by the competing robots in the original series of “Robot Wars” – because of his expertise with electric motors, the producers of the show hired him as one of the three competition judges. Back in the day, the C5 motor was one of the most compact, efficient and powerful available - which made it a prime choice for robot builders. Now electric motor technology has moved far ahead, and there are far superior alternatives available for the budding combat robot engineer to utilise. But I digress. I accompanied Adam Harper on a number of occasions to the studio to watch the Robot Wars being filmed. Back in those days it was presented by Craig Charles and Philippa Forrester, and was filmed in an old warehouse building next to The Excel Centre in Custom House, East London. I would imagine that it has long been demolished and replaced with an office building or hotel by now. The programme production was all quite amateurish and cobbled together - unlike the rebooted show which now has far higher production values - even if the kind of person who took part, whether as a competitor, or in the audience has stayed exactly the same. Adam parted company with Robot Wars after he disagreed with the producer over the direction the show was heading in. The producer wanted to introduce (scripted) feuds between the competing robot teams, and have the team shouting threats at each other to mimic the manufactured rows between rivals in WWE Wrestling. Adam disagreed with this, as he felt it gave out the wrong message to young viewers; he was of the opinion that the robot fighting was merely a means to an end - in getting young people interested in science, technology and engineering through constructing robots for use in combat. He called it "education by the back door". Needless to say the producer got his way, and Robot Wars and Adam Harper parted their ways. Unfortunately I lost contact with him not long thereafter. A real character and a pleasure to know.

If you would like to be not bothered by "Trick or Treat" children on Halloween, you can download and print out the poster above; alternatively you can download a PDF file of the poster by clicking here.

This weeks local safety and security reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association.  Initially a report from Belvedere ward:- "The team recently paid a visit to ‘Little Lambs’ pre-school nursery in Nuxley Road. We spent time playing games and reading stories to the children and chatting to the staff. This was an excellent opportunity to introduce ourselves to the children in a safe environment, and to tell the children a little about what we do on a daily basis. We are continuing patrols of Belvedere Park estate and the area of Fremantle Road in relation to ongoing motor vehicle crime. PCSO Worrall has continued to look for new NHW on the ward and the team have distributed information to 3,900 homes in Belvedere since July 2017. We have also been working with shops in Nuxley Road after repeated shoplifting offences that have been taking place. On Friday, PC Green and PC Holmes assisted Northumberland Heath SNT officers to conduct a warrant at which drugs were found. Officers from both teams then conducted pro-active patrols of both wards, stopping and searching a number of people in areas subject to ASB by youths and drug use/dealing". A special report from PC Ash Green:- "Over recent months PC Green has been working on the concerns of vehicle ASB (anti social behaviour) in Belvedere as well as how it has affected other areas of the North of Bexley. PC Green has met with numerous people and taken various statements. The work has led to numerous arrests and vehicle seizures over the weekend. 15 riders were arrested, 14 of which were for dangerous driving. As well as this, 15 mopeds, motorbikes and quad bikes were seized for different reasons such as no insurance, being lost or stolen. Work is continuing to be done with regards to vehicle ASB and team will look to make further arrests and seizures". Brampton ward:- "On Brampton this week we have had 3 x Criminal damage to motor vehicle in Pickford Lane - vehicle was kicked by an unknown suspect, investigation ongoing. And twice on the same night in Normanhurst Avenue, tyres were slashed. 1 x shoplifting at Co –Op Pickford Lane; 1 x Theft from motor vehicle in Herbert Road. A street briefing was held in Pickford Lane on Wednesday 25th. Thanks to all the residents who turned up to this. We spoke about the upcoming events of Halloween and Fireworks nights and posters were given out. Residents aired there concerns regarding the traffic in Pickford Lane and surrounding roads which included speeding and parking issues. I will be emailing the council again to raise these with them. Residents also stated their concerns for the safety of youths on cycles 'riding around like maniacs and pulling wheelies'. This is a Borough wide problem and we are tackling the best we can at present. With the night’s drawing in earlier from now on please keep your homes locked please visit www.met.police.uk/burglary for advice , whilst there please check in your area and check on the wards crimes and also the advice it gives you on offences". Colyers ward:- "There were no reported burglaries on Colyers Ward between 19th October and 24th October 2017. There was one reported historic theft from dwelling at Twigg Close Erith from 1st July 2017 to 31st August 2017. The victim has just discovered that someone staying at the address has been stealing from the victim. The victim indicated that they gave the suspect somewhere to live as he had nowhere to go but the suspect has taken lots of items from the victim. The victim has not seen the suspect for over a month. There was one reported attempted theft of motor vehicle outside Heath Way Erith on 22nd October 2017at 10pm. The victim saw three suspects trying to steal the vehicle a white Mercedes Sprinter van registration KT66 UWO but the suspects made off when disturbed".  Crayford ward:- "There was a burglary on Saturday 21/10/2017 in Crayford Way. The burglars entered the property through the front door between 17.00-22.30 and made an untidy search of the property, stealing Asian Gold which was both unique and of great sentiment. For more information on how to keep your home safe, please visit www.met.police.uk/burglary. On Saturday 21.10.2017 between 11.25-11.50 a white BMW was keyed in Tower Retail Park, it is believed this was after an altercation about a parking space. Between Thursday 19.10.2017 at 16.00 and Friday 20.10.2017 at 07.00, two vehicles, a Black Nissan Juke and a Silver Nissan Xtrail were damaged overnight in Ducketts Road, Crayford. Overnight between Wednesday 18.10.2017 at 20.50 and Thursday 19.10.2017 at 07.00 a White Ford van was stolen from outside 186 Station Road. Officers from Crayford SNT took part in Operation Wheelie in Bexleyheath Town Centre on Saturday 21.10.2017, several people were spoken to and two bicycles were seized after being seen pulling wheelies through the area by the bus stops, one youth was from an address in Crayford. At the weekend, PC Gardiner was out and about on the police motorcycle, PC Murphy took part in Op Autumn Nights as part of the current Anti-Social behaviour initiative, PCSO Barlow completed foot patrols and reassurance visits locally in Crayford". Erith ward:- "No burglaries reported in the last week which is good news. Several reports of shoplifting in Morrison’s and the a couple of shops in the town centre. We are working closely with security and the store managers in identifying the suspects from CCTV footage. Proactive patrols have been ongoing in Compton Place, Battle Road and in Erith Town Centre to tackle ASB, shoplifting and drug related information". Lesnes Abbey ward;- "Burglary - On Friday 20/10/17 between the hours of 10 : 30 am and 18 : 20 pm a residential burglary occurred in Bedonwell Road. Home crime prevention - Check you have closed and locked all your doors and windows before leaving your property. If you have UPVC doors and windows double lock them with keys to secure them properly. Leave some lights on if it will be dark before you get home. Install low wattage ‘ dusk to dawn ‘ outside lighting. If you have a burglar alarm remember to activate it. Protect your important property, register at: https://www.immobilise.com. Motor vehicle crimes: On Wednesday 18/10/17 an Interference with Motor Vehicle occurred in King Harold's Way at 03 : 30 am. Fortunately the vehicle’s alarm was activated, nothing taken, no person/s seen . Between the hours 07:00pm on Friday 20/10/17 and 03:00pm on Saturday 21/10/17 a vehicle in Clovelly Road was damaged. Pedal cycle theft: On Saturday 21/10/17 at about 06:35 pm a pedal cycle was taken from outside the Manorway Stores, Harrow Manor Way".  North End ward:- "Crime numbers are low this week with no real trend for any particular crime and no burglaries reported. A firework was thrown through a window at Grange House a few evenings ago. Fortunately nobody was injured and there was only minor damage inside the property. The ongoing investigation is looking to ascertain if this was done deliberately or was just an accident. Extra patrols of the whole area will be ongoing. PC Mark Brookes Smith has stopped and searched 5 people relating to drugs offences. 2 of the searches were positive with cannabis seized, warnings issued and interviews pending. We assisted our colleagues in Northumberland Heath in executing 2 drugs warrants last week with drugs found in both premises. Good work all round from all the teams involved. This was followed by PC Brookes-Smith being on a police carrier with other ward officers tackling ASB related calls until late on Friday evening. We are working until 11pm on Halloween and there are more officers on patrol throughout the whole borough. At this weeks ward panel meeting, ASB in Daleview, Rainbow Road and Drug issues were chosen by the panel members as our promises for the next few months". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Two drug warrants were executed in Brook street in the last week and four cannabis warnings were issued. The team are continuing to receive reports of Motorbikes being ridden in an anti-social manner in and around the Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground. One youth has been identified and a visit to his parents has been completed. He was also issued with a section 59 warning which gives Police the power to seize any motor vehicle he is seen riding on in an anti-social manner in the next 12 months. Police motorbike patrols were also carried out in the area over last weekend to help to identify the culprits. The team have been tasked to carry out anti-social patrols in and around hotspot areas in the lead up to Halloween and Bonfire night to reassure our residents. We have also had several reports of youths banging residents doors in Dickens Close and running away on foot or on pushbikes. Plain clothes patrols will be carried out this weekend by officers in the area. Two reports of vehicle crime this week. A car was stolen from Becton Place, it is not clear when the vehicle was stolen as the owner had not used the vehicle recently. Lastly a number plate was stolen from a vehicle in Hurst Road Erith between Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd of October". Thamesmead East ward:- "Good News, no burglary reported this week, however please see below regarding motor vehicle crime. 18/10/17 20:43hrs Fairway Drive - Pizza delivery drivers Scooter stolen whilst attending the delivery address on 1st or 2nd floor of flats; 19/10/17 19:00hrs PARKWAY - Theft of Motor Vehicle taken over night". The next Police Surgery will be held on Friday 24th November 2017. 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. Please spread the word to any family and friends in the Borough - they can contact us on 020 8721 2049 or Thamesmead.SNT@met.police.uk for more information. For latest news from Bexley Police, visit our twitter pages - @MPSBexley and @MPSThamesmeadE".

The rebuilt Abbey Wood Station opened on Monday morning - albeit without any working lifts, and a lack of step free access to any platform. It is most definitely a "work in progress" - though the overland lines are working pretty much as usual. The Crossrail lines do not open until next year, when the name will officially change to the Elizabeth Line. Geoff Marshall, who, along with his partner Vicki Pipe are the people behind the "All the Stations" project, and a great public transport enthusiast, visited Abbey Wood Station last Monday morning; you can see a short video he made below. Please feel free to leave a comment below, or to Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Tony Brise.

The advert above has been doing the rounds on Facebook and other social media for a couple of months now. It promotes an apparent new facility in Erith for use for weddings, corporate events and suchlike. The location is the current Praise Embassy located in the former tyre warehouse on the corner of Bexley Road and Queen Street in Erith Town Centre. The grandly named P - Square Events Centre is what was the snooker hall on the upper floor of Electricity House, also shown above. Here is where the controversy comes in; The photos above are not actually of the venue in Erith, as it is not complete, and is anyway subject to a number of legal challenges. The photos show some venue elsewhere that the owners of the Erith location would apparently aspire to. There are a number of issues with the Praise Embassy and associated businesses that are not currently widely known. The pre - school nursery which is also run by the same group has been operating without planning permission since 2014, and it has been the subject of an unfavourable OFSTED report. If this was not bad enough, you may recall that I wrote a while back how the freehold of the snooker hall had been purchased by persons unknown - I was of the opinion that in the medium to long term, this was in order for the owners to "land bank" as much of the late 1930's building as possible, as it is close to the end of its useful life, and is a prime candidate for redevelopment. A developer would pay a premium for the site, which is located close to the M25, the A2 and the South Circular. It is also in an up and coming part of South East London / North Kent. If a compulsory purchase order was placed on the site, the freeholder with the largest chunk of rights to the building would be in for a considerable windfall. A reliable source has told me that the organisation that runs the Redeemed Christian Church of God Praise Embassy is the freehold buyer, and that although the snooker hall hold a long lease on the building, they have been unlawfully evicted, as the church wants to convert the snooker hall upstairs part of Electricity House into the P - Square events venue in the mock up photos on the flyer above. I am told that this is currently subject to a court case, though at present I am not aware of the details. As well as the proposed events / conference centre - that is subject to the outcome of an application yet to be submitted to the council for a change of use. The church have been heavily promoting Podium Radio – a radio station featuring content designed to appeal to African listeners. There has been some concern that studios are to be constructed in Electricity House, and one local resident has expressed worries about any new antennas appearing on the roof of the building, as it is already heavily populated by mobile phone masts and other digital communications devices. I think I am able to lay that concern to rest; it would seem that Podium Radio is Internet based, and does not broadcast terrestrially. Any studio would most likely be very small – little more than a single room. Podium Radio appears to be a pretty small affair; it has a website which you can see here. The pastor of the church is a somewhat flamboyant and controversial figure; her name is Pastor Chris Ogedengbe – you can see her FaceBook page here. Locals will have also noted that the previously open plan car park adjacent to the building has recently had a very large and imposing black metal fence erected around it, complete with sliding gates. At present the church / nursery / events centre management are trying to get an electricity supply run to the gates, so that they can be motorised. From what I have been told, no planning permission has been granted for this work, and it is definitely required due to their size and the cosmetic changes they make to the structure. It is ironic that the very imposing fence, which would not look out of place at Belmarsh Prison, only covers the front of the car park; the side is protected by a shoulder high brick wall, which would be relatively easy for any trespasser to scramble over. The whole situation with Electricity House is a mess; basically it would seem that you have a majority stakeholder who is now trying to take over as much of the building as possible, but to what end? At very best it would appear that any gains the church makes will be very short term – no more than a handful of years, before the entire building is demolished and replaced with something new and more suitable for purpose. Unless I am very much mistaken The Redeemed Christian Church of God are doing little more than re – arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. Conversely they may be playing a very clever game; appearing to invest heavily in the old building, doing it up and turning it around. This would ensure that any compensation paid out during a compulsory purchase of the site would be at the higher end of the scale. Whatever the options, one thing is clear – Electricity House is worth more demolished than it is standing. If you have any information on this, please feel free to drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com where it will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Boy racers who turned an East London industrial estate into “something out of the Fast and the Furious” have been banned from meet-ups under a new council crackdown. Any drivers taking part in street races or performing stunts could face a fine of up to £1,000, thanks to a new Public Space Protection Order. The order also gives police officers and the council the power to fine those who attend ‘road racing’ events simply to watch. It comes after hundreds of spectators began descending on Choats Road, in an industrial estate in Dagenham, to watch souped-up cars and bikes race at speed. Attendees at the events reportedly contain illegal racers from the South side of the River Thames, and apparently some people from Bexley, who drive across the Dartford Crossing to take part in the illegal events.  The races sparked complaints from nearby residents who said their lives were being made a misery, with the high pitched roars of engines audible from up to half a mile away. Some of the most criminally irresponsible road racers were even coating the street in oil to make high speed “drift turns” easier around a roundabout. Videos of the dangerous manoeuvres have been uploaded to Youtube. Councillor Laila Butt, Barking and Dagenham council’s cabinet member for enforcement and community safety, said in an interview last week with the London Evening Standard that the order was introduced for a large section of the borough following complaints from residents. She said:- “We have listened to our residents which is why we are showing the red flag to the irresponsible boy racers and petrol heads who are not only jeopardising their own safety but others around them. A whole swathe of the borough will be off limits to these boy racers who think they can use our streets as Silverstone or Brands Hatch.” The order bans activities including speeding, driving in convoy, racing, performing stunts, revving engines and wheel spins. It is thought to be the first time a ban of its type had been used in London to stop street racing. Earlier this year, residents said they welcomed the council’s attempts to crackdown on the practice. There seems to be an increase in illegal vehicle activity even over and above that we are unfortunately subject to. Erith has for several years been plagued by youths on illegal, unlicensed motorbikes and scooters; the problem appears to be worst around the Frobisher Road and Manor Road area. The scumbags ride their illegal vehicles along the pavements, very close to pedestrians, and also weave in and out of the traffic on the road. They usually end up heading East, and onto the Slade Green Marshes where they cause a nuisance to walkers and legitimate users of the protected marsh area. Local residents have been complaining about this behaviour, and Erith Watch have been active in working with the Police to get something done about the matter. The general procedure the Police carry out when arresting illegal, unlicensed and uninsured riders is that their bikes or scooters are confiscated and crushed. One can only hope that this will be the case in future instances. The only thing is the offenders will probably just go out and steal another bike and carry out their anti social and criminal acts as before. I feel that it will take another death before they realise how dangerous their activities are. Back in 2006, when the 469 single decker bus still ran on a route that included Manor Road, a young scooter rider came roaring West along the road; a West bound 469 was stationary at the Frobisher Road bus stop, and an East bound 469 bus was coming the other way; rather than waiting for the Eastbound bus to pass, the young rider raced for the gap; he was crushed between the two buses. The ambulance crew were able to stabilise him for long enough to get him to hospital, and his family to get to his bedside to say goodbye. I can see this terrible state of affairs happening again unless the illegal riders do something drastic about their behaviour. I was interviewed by Romford based local radio station Time 107.5FM on Monday evening. I had Emailed the station, as they were going to be doing a phone - in programme about scooter based crime in and around Romford, Redbridge and Dagenham. I had contacted them about the problems we have encountered on the South side of the river, and how I had discovered through a couple of readers that some of the illegal scooter riders from Bike Life TV UK have been going over the Dartford Crossing to commit crimes on the other side of the river. Time phoned me and I ended up doing a seven minute live interview on bike gang crime with the host. Good fun, and I did find out that Dagenham and Redbridge Police are dropping the general Met policy of not chasing biker riders who do not wear helmets. Their Borough Commander also appeared on the programme, and he said that they were trialling a new policy from next month, but they would not give specifics as the illegal bikers might find out and take countermeasures. If successful the policy may go London wide. We have seen the results of the very high profile watch and jewellery thefts in the West End of London that have featured heavily in papers such as the Evening Standard, but most of the crime committed on scooters is of a lower level nature – the theft of mobile phones and handbags being very common. I am also led to understand that some drugs gangs use younger members on scooters to distribute illicit drugs. It is a shame that decent, law abiding riders are becoming tarred with the same brush as the bad guys.

Following on from my article last week on the problem of drug dealing which seems to be centred around the former Mencap centre in Lesney Park Road, Erith, I have had further confirmation of nefarious activity in and around the site from yet another long time reader - the fourth independent witness thus far. The new contributor writes:- "Hi Hugh, I took this photo on 14/6/17, the location was the B12 bus stop Carlton Road, which is just along road to Mencap site.  I picked a couple up to check if they were used, and they had been. There were so many there, and as you can see in the photo that the cream charger boxes that they came in were present. I thought that someone close by must be a caterer and dumped them by the litter bin rather than their own dustbin.  I took photo, as it was such an unusual find, now reading your article it apparent where they came from". I feel that this story has much longer to run; more soon.

The forthcoming two new replacement Woolwich ferries have been named, and in a long tradition, the ferries will be named after prominent local people. The new boats will be named after Dame Vera Lynn, who celebrated her 100th birthday this year, and Ben Woollacott, 19, a deckhand who died working on the ferries. The state-of-the-art vessels will be delivered next year and will form part of the river crossings strategy for East and South East London – after their future was initially placed in doubt. Dame Vera was born in East Ham in 1917 and went on to become the “force’s sweetheart” in the Second World War. Ben was the sixth generation of Thames waterman but drowned after he was dragged into the water after a mooring rope accident in 2011. The former ferry operator Serco was fined £200,000 over failings that led to the tragedy. The two new ships cost around £20 million each and come with specialised “hybrid” engines allowing them to run on electricity generated by the idling motors running on fuel oil.

In an interview this week with the London Evening Standard Sean Collins, the chief executive and co – founder of MBNA Thames Clippers said that passenger numbers using the river boat service have grown by over a million over the last three years, and he predicted that they would double to a total of eight million travellers over the next five years. Of that number, around half will be regular commuters, rather than tourists going for a day trip. MBNA Thames Clippers have a further two new vessels going into service this summer, bringing the number in their fleet to a total of seventeen. The first of the new ships, the Mercury Clipper, went into service this week; it is covering the route between Canary Wharf and Blackfriars Pier. The second new vessel, the Jupiter Clipper will go into service shortly and cover the Canary Wharf to Battersea Power Station route. Economists say that the large amount of riverside development currently under way in places such as Nine Elms and the Greenwich Peninsula are driving the demand for increased levels of ferry services. What seems to have been missed off in all of this discussion is any ferry service to the East of Woolwich. When one considers the refurbishment and expected massive expansion of Abbey Wood and Thamesmead, and the huge increase in residential construction planned for Lower Belvedere, Erith and Dartford, I am somewhat surprised that as far as I am aware, no provision has been made for expansion of ferry services to this significant part of South East London / North Kent. Some years ago local MP Teresa Pearce was in consultation with the ferry operators, Morrison’s and I believe Transport for London about the possibility of getting the MBNA Thames Clipper service to call at Erith Pier. From what I recall, it was a non – starter at the time. The River Thames has a very wide tidal range at Erith, and large pontoons would have been needed to be added to the pier to ensure that ferries could dock at low tide. On top of this, Pier owners Morrison’s were not keen on the idea – they did not want to see spaces used up in their car park by commuters, when they could (in their opinion) be better employed providing parking for Morrison’s customers. This specific issue has now become moot; a waiting time limit is now enforced in the car park, and it would no longer be possible for any potential commuters to leave their car all day. I still believe that it would not be outside the realms of possibility for the MBNA Thames Clipper service to introduce routes to the East of Woolwich, but thus far there does not seem to be the desire to do so from enough of the potential stakeholders. What do you think? Should a new attempt be made to bring the riverboat service into the local area? Leave a comment below, or Email hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Some crime reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association:- Belvedere Ward – “My Grandson (6 yrs old) and his brother (11 years old) were hit by a dark grey, stolen BMW 3 series coupe, in Lower Belvedere on Friday 30th June and both ended up in King College Hospital. The car didn’t stop. Both are now home recovering. If anyone sees a Dark Grey BMW 3 series coupe, broken near side door mirror, abandoned or having number plates changed, please will they report it straight away. It did have false plates, the police do know what they are. I won’t say at this time as I don’t wish to cause any more stress for the legal owner who has obviously had a police visit and is very concerned that his car had been cloned”. PC Ashley Green Of Belvedere made the following report:- "Over the last week the team have been very busy. PC Green has been receiving additional training for a variety of practical front line policing applications. The team have summonsed a prolific shoplifter for 2 offences in Co-Op, Nuxley Road and for a further offence in Erith working with PC Brown from the Erith team. Another male has been banned from Sainsbury’s, Nuxley Road. The male was challenged by staff for attempting to shoplift. When the team have attended to deal with the incident we have also gathered evidence for further offences linked to drug dealing which we are currently being investigated. If you note any suspicious activity around this area then please contact us to assist with any on-going investigations. The team have been very busy with criminal investigations around the ward and have collected evidence and CCTV for a variety of offences. This is to assist our colleagues working within the investigation units who will look to be identifying offenders. The team will be attending a meeting on 06/07/2017 and are to be joined by other police officers, local businesses, the ward Councillors and members of the local authority such as road safety and ASB staff. The meeting is part of our on-going efforts to combat vehicle Anti-social behaviour affecting Norman Road, Belvedere and the surrounding area. PC Green has compiled a large amount of research into offenders and the team will be looking to deal with offenders in coming weeks as part of the plan to deal with the on-going issues". From the Barnehurst team:- “This week the Barnehurst and Crayford Teams have been working together after discovering 8 stolen vehicles within a garage block in Mount Pleasant Walk. The venue had clearly been used by criminals since 2011 to store and work on altering the identity of vehicles as evidenced by the finding of 10 sets of number plates as well as stripping vehicles for parts as evidenced by the discovery of the eight cars some dating back to 2013. The cars identified were 6 x BMW M3 Coupes and convertibles 1 x Focus ST and 1 x Kangoo van. The total value of the vehicles is in excess of £145,000. We would like to thank residents for their patience whilst the recovery and forensic work was undertaken and thank you to one in particular who supplied the teas. For photos please follow us on twitter @MPSBarnehurst". From the Northumberland Heath team:- "Two incidents in Northumberland Heath reported and dealt with quickly by police, they were;- There were 4 boys all 16 plus in age all under the influence of drugs. It was at the back of Horsa road, in the alley. The police were called and attended shortly after the call was made. There was also a fight last night between school children around school closing time when 3 police cars attended this was outside Sasaks Food & Wine shop on Bexley Road, right by the bus stop”.

It is not very well known that Erith was the birthplace of a man who could well have gone on to be a Formula One world racing champion, had he not met an untimely end in a plane crash. Tony Brise was born in Erith in March 1952, and was a promising racing driver, who took part in ten Formula One Grand Prix events in 1975, before dying in a plane crash with Graham Hill. Tony Brise was born in Erith, the son of John Brise, a pig farmer and racing driver, who won the World Stock Car Championship on three occasions. Both Tony and his brother Tim showed an interest in go-karting at a young age, and John Brise gave up his hobby to support them fully. Tony Brise won his first UK championship in 1969, and switched to single-seater racing the next year, driving an Elden MK8 Formula Ford. In 1971 he placed second in the BOC British FF1600 Championship. While completing his degree in this period, a BA in Business Administration, he chose to continue with motor racing, joining Formula 3 in 1972 driving a Brabham BT28, the team run by Bernie Ecclestone. After switching to a GRD 372, his performance increased until he was one of the top drivers in the formula. He won two of the three British Formula 3 Championships in 1973, sharing one (the Lombard North Central championship) with Richard Robarts, as well as winning the John Player Trophy. At the end of the season he won a Grovewood Award for the second time, shared with Tom Pryce. Brise wished to move up to Formula 2 for the 1974 seasons, but was unable to due to financial limitations. Instead he bought a second-hand March 733 car, fitting it with a Holby-tuned Ford engine, and entering the MCD Formula Atlantic series. He won the first round of the British Championship unexpectedly, but subsequently wrote the car off in a crash at Snetterton. However, his performance had brought him to the attention of Teddy Savory of Modus, who offered him a work drive in the series. Although the car was another modified F3 chassis, he drove well enough to earn a drive in a purpose-built car in 1975. He also drove a Modus M1 F3 in the Monaco Grand Prix F3 support race, finishing second behind Tom Pryce in a March 743. Brise excelled in the new car in 1975, winning six consecutive races, at Snetterton, Oulton Park, and twice each at Brands Hatch and Silverstone, enough to win him the MCD International Formula Atlantic Championship. As a result of these achievements, he was contacted by Frank Williams in April, to make his Formula One debut standing in for Jacques Laffite. Brise made his Grand Prix debut on the 27th April 1975 for Williams at the Spanish Grand Prix in Montjuic Park near Barcelona, a controversial race marred by strikes over safety issues, a high number of crashes, and the deaths of four spectators. Brise finished seventh in this race, two laps behind the leaders, his race affected by a collision with Tom Pryce. Laffite returned for the subsequent Monaco Grand Prix, relegating Brise once again to Formula Atlantic, though former world champion Graham Hill's retirement at that race, due to a failure to qualify, brought Brise straight back into the top division driving for Embassy Hill, intended to be for the rest of the season. Over the next few races Brise showed a lot of promise, recording some very fast qualifying times and frequently outperforming his team-mate, Alan Jones. However, a combination of technical difficulties and bad luck prevented him from ever finishing in high leader-board positions, and he took just one championship point. Nonetheless, by consensus he was considered a bright hope and one to watch for the future, with a successful season anticipated in 1976. On the 19th November 1975, Graham Hill and Brise, along with Andy Smallman, the team's designer, and three team mechanics, were returning to London from southern France, where they were testing a new race car, the GH2. The Embassy Hill plane, a twin-engine six-seat Piper Aztec piloted by Hill, was attempting to land at Elstree Airfield at night in thick fog when it crashed and burned at Arkley golf course, killing all six aboard. Tony Brise was just 23 years old, and was survived by his wife Janet, daughter of triallist Reg Allen. Formula One experts think that had he lived, Tony Brise could well have been a future world champion.

New local group The Exchange have just issued the following update:- "Seventeen artists, some local and some from as far afield as Coventry and Hertfordshire braved the sweltering heat on Thursday afternoon to attend an artist workshop for the Pier Commission held at the Bexley Local Studies & Archives Centre at Bexleyheath Library. Archives manager Simon McKeon and Kirsty Macklen, the Collections Manager at Hall Place presented a fascinating trip through the history of Erith and its Pier from pleasure resort to industrial hub and beyond.  It was a real treat to see the amazing photographs and prints from the archive and images of the fascinating objects from the Bexley Museum Collection relating to Erith.  Also great to see the artists developing proposals for the Pier Commission that respond to Erith and it’s history, we can’t wait to see what they come up with. The deadline for proposals is Friday 14th July and an opportunity for the public to vote for their favourite will announced shortly afterwards – watch this space!! We would like to thank all the artists for attending and special thanks to Simon and Kirsty for presenting. The Pier Commission is a new temporary arts commission for Erith’s Pier, for more details please follow the link here.

Finally, in another public art related story, local artist Gary Drostle has been commissioned to create a mural for the Erith Quarry site in Fraser Road, which coincidentally is almost directly opposite his art studio in the Europa Industrial Estate. In the short video below, Gary talks about his work, and what inspires his unique creativity. Give it a watch, and see what you think.