Red Barrel.

You may recall that back in July of last year, I wrote of Bexley Council's plans to rejuvenate and improve the gardens in Pier Square, next to Erith Pier. Now, revised plans have been submitted for planning approval; with luck the works will happen before the Erith Pier Festival 2020, which is to be held in September of this year. If plans are approved the newly renovated public space will also be used as a venue for community events and festivals with new landscaping, seating and lighting. The Council has worked closely with architects BDP and land owner Morrisons on the new draft design for Pier Square which will transform it to a more attractive space to spend time. The designs incorporate comments made by local people during a public consultation held in April 2019. The planning application also sets out plans to appoint an artist or designer to develop creative space or a series of artworks that will add to Pier Square. Students from The Cass School of Architecture at London Metropolitan University will help to develop the brief for this creative opportunity and will be part of the selection panel. The students studied Erith’s history and regeneration potential during 2018. Their work culminated in an exhibition at The Exchange in 2019. A decision on the plans for Pier Square is expected in the Spring.

The dismal service currently being provided by the Woolwich Ferry is not going to improve any time soon; listeners to the excellent Time 107.5 FM will know that the radio station gives regular, hourly traffic reports, including the status of the Woolwich Ferry, which recently has been out of service very much more than it has been working. As I have previously written, there have been a series of engineering problems with the electro magnetic docking system used by the new ferries. I have heard that the new so called "state of the art" system is actually far more complex and harder to operate than the old manual hydraulic system. It also does not latch if there is a swell or a strong cross - current, both of which are common on the River Thames at Woolwich. There has also been a long standing dispute over the pay for the ferry crew, which is about to lead to another couple of labour strikes. You can read the details on the excellent 853 website here. 

I discovered an interesting historical fact quite recently. The huge, 219 metre (719 feet) tall antenna tower at Crystal Palace, that supplies TV and radio signals for a large part of London and the South East was designed and built by Erith based company British Insulated Callender's Construction Co Ltd (later known as BICC) with steelwork fabrication by Painter Brothers Ltd, Hereford, back in 1955. Much of the tower’s construction was prefabricated and test erected in sections in the Callender’s Erith works before it was pulled apart and transported to site for final erection. When completed in 1956, the tower was the tallest structure in Greater London, a title it held until the completion of the One Canada Square Tower in Canary Wharf back in 1991. The first transmission from Crystal Palace took place on 28 March 1956, when it succeeded the transmitter at Alexandra Palace where the BBC had started the world's first scheduled television service in November 1936. In November 1956 the first colour test transmissions began from Crystal Palace relaying live pictures from the studios at Alexandra Palace after BBC TV had closed down for the night. In May 1958 the first experimental Band V PAL 625-line transmissions started from Crystal Palace. The transmitter tower holds another record, one that cannot be beaten. On 18 July 1986, with the First Night of the Proms on BBC2, the transmitter became the first in the world to transmit stereophonic sound using the NICAM digital sound system. On 2 December 2009, the site entered service as one of the first DVB-T2 transmitters in the world, carrying a variant of the BBC's Multiplex B broadcasting high-definition TV services. All of the analogue television services transmitted from the Crystal Palace tower were discontinued back in 2012; all TV signals are now from a digital multiplex. The only analogue output of the tower is now FM radio (BBC radios 1,2,3,and 4) a couple of independent local stations, along with some legacy services on Medium Wave. The historical connection that Callender’s had with the BBC back in the day was wider than merely being the constructor of the Crystal Palace transmitter tower. Callender’s had an amateur band, called The Callender’s Cableworks Band, which was active between 1898 and 1961, of which all members were employees of Callender's at Erith. They rehearsed and performed in their leisure time, while the company in its role of patron lent its name and supplied uniforms and instruments. The band broadcast prolifically on BBC Radio in the 1920s and 1930s. The Band was started in the 1890s as a Salvation Army brass band, but because they felt limited as to the types of music which they were permitted to play, they formed their own temperance band. However this caused difficulties in purchasing their own uniforms and instruments, so their employer, Callender's, stepped in as patron. From then on they were Callender's Cableworks Band under various forms of that name. They were always an amateur band, rehearsing and performing in their leisure time. The Senior Band had a high reputation, and in 1932 were described as the finest in the south of England. In 1929 Jim Thompson joined the band; later in 1939 he was to found the Belvedere Male Voice Choir. In 1932 the band consisted of all brass instruments, plus four saxophones. At the time they were the only brass band with saxophones. In competitions over the years they had 25 wins, 11 second places and 3 third places. By the end of 1932 the band had performed on radio a total of eighty times – something unprecedented at the time. The band finally disbanded in 1961 as members retired and few young volunteers could be found.

Back when flat screen televisions were first made available around twenty years ago, they had a finite life. The early plasma screens were normally good for around 30,000 hours of service, the problem was that whilst the screens were bright and had a very good viewing angle, they used a lot of power, even when in standby, and when on they got very hot. When LED screens came along, their life was substantially longer, and again the limiting factor was the life of the backlight – a common issue. Newer screen technology now available is OLED, and Samsung's proprietary QLED. An OLED display works without a backlight; thus, it can display deep black levels and can be thinner and lighter than an LED screen. In low ambient light conditions (such as a dark room), an OLED screen can achieve a higher contrast ratio than an LED, regardless of whether the LED uses cold cathode fluorescent lamps or an LED backlight. The trouble is, the screens are very expensive, and they are difficult to manufacture in the large sizes that a lot of customers want nowadays; on top of this, as the OLED screens generate their own light, the screens “burn out” relatively quickly, and the colour rendition fading – blues especially “wash out” quite early on in the life cycle of the TV screen. QLED is similar to LED, but with more of the visual characteristics of OLED. All this in actual use may be relatively unimportant, as other factors are far more likely to affect the length of life of a modern flat screen television. Most TV’s on sale nowadays have so called “smart” functionality built in – the ability to stream media from companies such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, for example, and access to the web and sites such as YouTube is now something many people take for granted. In my opinion, the limiting factor in the real – life durability of a modern smart TV is not actually the display technology hardware, but is rather how long the TV remains in software support from the manufacturer. How long updates, patches and software downloads are available for the TV. For example, I have a Samsung TV from 2012; many of the applications installed on it will no longer run, as they went out of support in 2016. The TV itself still works fine, but if you want watch BBC iPlayer, for instance, you are stuffed. The issue here is that most smart TV’s use a version of the Android operating system – which is constantly being updated and modified by its creator, Google. The problem is that the TV manufacturers usually stop providing Android updates to TV’s after a couple of years, and sooner or later versions of apps for TV’s stop working on older versions of the Android operating system. It seems from my research that a TV will cease getting OS updates at around the fourth year from the point of purchase. It seems to me that TV’s are going the way of the computer and the motor car – they are now seen as time limited, disposable devices. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

A short piece by local transport enthusiast Dana Wiffen:- "It seems ironic that from the 1900's to the 1960's we had two forms of Transport that did not pollute the air, both running from electric overhead wires. In London Trams ran from 1860 (as horse drawn up until the 1900's) then until 1952 as electric with the last one running from Woolwich to New Cross in that year, although some were sold to Leeds and continued to run until 1959. Trolleybuses ran in London from 1931-1962 on 68 routes around London with the 696 Woolwich to Dartford, and the 698 Woolwich to Bexleyheath were the two main routes locally. Both trams and trolleybuses were replaced by diesel motor buses which in the most have been withdrawn today with newer electric or semi-electric buses replacing current stock as the emission zone is extended further into the outer London Boroughs. Some areas such as Croydon reintroduced trams in 2000 as have other Cities in the UK, while Blackpool has continued and still run Trams, with their heritage stock being a major tourist attraction".

After an Email conversation earlier this week, I was reminded of something. There was a period in the 1980's when British Rail ran a series of fast food outlets called Casey Jones Burgers. The restaurants were located at the major rail stations such as London Bridge and Charing Cross. The burgers were quite indescribably vile; they certainly bore absolutely no resemblance to the paragon of great burger - ness featured in the advert above. They were actually composed of greasy, gristly, zombie flesh - like cold grey meat on the outside, and lava hot in the middle so that molten cheese scalded the roof of your mouth like dairy based napalm (I think they microwaved the burgers). Rumours abounded when the Casey Jones opened at Charing Cross, all of the feral pigeons that plagued the station concourse suddenly disappeared. It was all very coincidental. Fortunately Casey Jones did not last too long, and eventually Burger King took over their station locations. they are now nothing other than a distant memory. If you have any recollections of Casey Jones Burgers, please get in contact and let me know. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The following very atmospheric photograph was taken recently by Ian, the webmaster of The Belvedere Splash Facebook group. It shows the view from Woolwich Road in Upper Belvedere towards the recreation park. The housing in this part of Upper Belvedere has changed little in 150 years; indeed, many of the houses are in part of a conservation area. If you are a member of The Belvedere Splash, and have seen this photo on that site, I have not stolen the image - Ian actually sent it to me for use, before he published it himself.

It has been brought to my attention that the long dead brewing name Watneys is now back in business. It is now a trendy new craft beer range. You can see their website here. Back in the 1960's and 1970's Watneys was a mass producer of keg ales, their most popular and well known was called Red Barrel. Red Barrel was originally developed as an export beer that could be transported for long distances by sea. Red Barrel, like all keg bitter, was filtered, to remove the yeast. It was then pasteurised and carbon dioxide was added. The "keg" was linked to a tank of carbon dioxide which effectively forced the beer up from the cellar. There was no need for the traditional long-handled beer pump. Keg was usually served chilled and was fizzy, with froth on the top. Red Barrel was tentatively trialled at the Sheen Lawn Tennis Club where Watneys' Master Brewer, Bert Hussey, was a member. He was convinced that once sampled it would be instantly popular. By the early sixties, Watneys were able to claim that it was the country's most popular keg bitter. It was also the first. Red Barrel today is regarded with distain; in the 60s it was a premium product. Watneys negotiated a contract with BEA for Red Barrel to be supplied to passengers. Given that air travel, especially on scheduled flights, was still a privilege of the few, this must have been quite an achievement for Watneys and must say something about the quality image that the brand then had. Watneys were also able to sell Red Barrel at all bars on the new luxury liner, the QE2. As well as supplying to non-traditional outlets, Watneys also had a fair share of the Free Trade market, selling over one million barrels of beer, mainly Red Barrel and Watneys Pale Ale. So their products must have had some sort of following outside Watney Mann pubs where it might have been the only choice. Against this, however, "Which" reported on 1972 on keg bitters and their view was that there was little to choose between one keg and another. All were bland tasting and fizzy. There was also little reason for preferring keg over traditional beers such as Watneys own Special Bitter, which was somewhat cheaper. Keg, though, had the image and at the time, people preferred its consistent quality. More traditional brews were considered downmarket. Part of that image was a strong advertising campaign and Watneys were very astute at linking their products with the pop world. The Liverpool group, The Scaffold, famous for drinking to "Lily the Pink" drank to Watneys Pale Ale. Watneys Red Barrel was promoted with a television campaign and a slogan "Roll out the barrel". The campaign was supposed to suggest that drinking Red Barrel would promote "good fellowship, friendliness and happiness associated with beer drinking". Red Barrel was by no means Watneys only product. Watneys Special Bitter had been available in London for many years. In 1969 they took the decision to market it nationally in all Watney Mann houses. It was a traditional draught bitter, cheaper than Red Barrel. The late sixties was a time of rapid change in the brewing industry. New trends seemed to come and go quickly. Draught stout was quickly gaining a following. Watneys tried to compete head to head with Guinness for a time with a trial of Colonel Murphy's Stout. It did not prove successful. They had to accept that Guinness had cornered the market and sell draught Guinness in their houses. An agreement with Carlsberg Lager in 1969 was, however, more successful. Watneys were surprising latecomers to the lager market. Carling Black Label had been on sale in the UK at Bass Charrington houses for several years and Whitbread linked up with Heineken as long ago as 1961. However, Watneys jumped at the right time and joined the lager market before it really took off in the 70s. Another feature of drinking in the late sixties and early seventies were strong ales available in small bottles. The most well known is Whitbread's Gold Label - "Strong as a double scotch, less than half the price". Watneys produced two beers in this category "Export Gold" and "Stingo" barley wine. The new owners of the brand seem to be aiming their products up - market; I feel their use of the name is somewhat ironic, considering the bland and anodyne beers that the original Watneys used to sell.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Good news first, there has been no Incidents of vehicle crime in the past week. We have however suffered a burglary in Erith Road on Thursday 23/01/2020 between 10.25am -10.35am where the victim returned home to find the front door open and the lock damaged. Various items were taken from within the property. We ask residents to stay alert as a male was captured on CCTV in Hillingdon Road approaching a front door to peer through a window. In the background was a vehicle with lights on parked in the road. The driver's side door was seen to open therefore it is believed there were at least two suspects. Fortunately no attempt was made to force entry however it shows they were in the area! Our next community contact session will be at Barnehurst Golf Course on Wednesday 5th February 2020 at 11.00am". Belvedere ward:- "There have been several garage break-ins across the ward in what appear to be secluded areas (stand-alone garage blocks rather than garages attached to residential properties). Having visited victims of these crimes in Upper Park Road, Essenden Road and Lesness Park recently, the team have been informed that these incidents involve two males who appear to be using a light grey / light metallic silver BMW car. The driver remains in the vehicle whilst the passenger attempts to forcibly open garages by cutting the padlocks. There were also residential burglaries in Regent Square and Ashburnham Road in the past week. Entry was gained to both properties via the rear of the property by smashing glass in the rear doors to enter. The team visited a resident of Kentish Road who had contacted us for advice as he had been visited at his home by an unknown male claiming that he would require roofing repairs to his house. The male then made efforts to obtain a substantial amount of money from the resident whilst no work had been done. Thankfully, the resident refused to pay the money and contacted police to report". Bexleyheath ward:- From Neighbourhood Watch Member - in Hawthorn Road:- "A neighbour has reported that she and several other neighbours saw 3 white males 'strutting' down the middle of Hawthorn Road at about 4pm on Saturday 25th Jan. They walked down the road (away from The Broadway) and then walked back up. They were pointing and gesticulating at various features of the houses and garages and at one point walked down the shared drive of 14 Hawthorn Road. They didn't knock at the door of the owner. Later the same afternoon, her husband opened the door to a couple who told him about gangs leaving marks for potential burglaries. I said that burglars would be more likely to text or take a photo rather than leaving any possible evidence. I said that I would pass on this information as there may have been other sightings. It could be something or nothing. She was also concerned about the drug dealing she has seen/ heard about on the corner by the Memorial on Methuen Road". From Neighbourhood Watch Member - in Rochester Drive:- "There was an incident reported this morning for an attempted burglary in Rochester Drive on 26 Jan 2020 at 22:40. Two men drove up in the car what looked like a Mercedes A-Class. Both men exited the vehicle and one of them went to the property to try and forcibly enter while the other man stood near the car. The occupants were upstairs trying to put their 2 year old to sleep. The lady who is also now 8 months pregnant is distraught at the thought that she could've been face-to face with the buglers if she hadn't locked her front door earlier than usual. Thankfully they left quickly. There are video footages from the ring door camera as well as the CCTV. The car registration isn't obvious but we are not sure if the police are able to extract the number plate details". From Neighbourhood Watch Member - in Belvedere Road:-"We had a very suspicious occurrence on 20th Jan 2020 at 10.30pm. 2 young men black hoodies with black masks knocked at a neighbours door. They left apologising when the door was answered and walked out on the drive. They said looking for the next door neighbour. They got in a silver ish colour small car Y555 SPY. We checked with neighbour and they were not expecting anyone and no one knocked on there door after. The description of people matches with another post on FaceBook where two males tried to force entry to a house when a child answered the door. I believe they were put off by a male answering or were expecting the house to be empty. Police report filed and Neighbourhood police informed as car reg seems legit". Crayford ward:- "One residential burglary and one attempted burglary to report over the last week. The burglary occurred in Glebelands between 3pm and 7:30pm on Thursday 23rd January. Entry was gained via the unlocked back door. An untidy search was conducted with a laptop, a hoover and various other household items taken. An attempted burglary occurred in Clive Avenue on Sunday 26th January. The Ring doorbell motion sensor was activated at 11:07pm and showed a male approach the door with his hood up and a scarf covering his face. No entry was gained. There were four incidents of motor vehicle crime reported over the last week. There was an attempted theft from motor vehicle in Samas Way on Tuesday January 21st at 10:30pm. The suspect was wearing a hoodie and tried to break into the vehicle but ran off when the alarm went off. Criminal Damage to motor vehicle occurred in Ridge Way when a wing mirror was smashed. Nothing was taken. The incident occurred between Monday 20th and Wednesday 23rd January. A white ford transit company van was broken into in Ridge Avenue overnight of Tuesday 21st January. It appears nothing was taken. Between Friday 24th January and Sunday 26th January a black Vauxhall Vivaro was broken into in Tanners Close. The driver's side window had been smashed and it appears the airbag had been taken". Erith ward:- From Neighbourhood Watch Member - in Vickers Road:- "At 04:15 hrs on Friday 24th January what appears to be a male with a push bike was trying all the car doors. He was successful in one car as the owner had left the car unlocked". From Police SNT Team:- "This last week we carried out a warrant in Erith which involved Northumberland heath SNT and North End SNT a number of knives where recovered and 3 stolen mopeds, arrests were made. This was a good team effort from everyone involved – check out Erith SNT Twitter page for some images ( @MPSErith )On the Saturday 4th of February it is the Ward panel meeting in Erith invites will be sent out, if you are interested in attending and live in Erith please email us. We have been having ASB issues in Erith Park, we posted out letters (over 500) to all residents in the area, we are also working with Orbit housing and Bexley ASB team on ways to tackle this". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Attempted burglaries - Attempted garage burglary at Becton Place. Suspects were seen entering the garage and had stolen a bicycle . Between 1945 and 2025hrs on Tuesday 28th JAN an unknown suspect ripped off the side gate and gained access as a trespasser to a garden of Frinstead Road, Erith. From there, the suspect broke into the garden shed and may have used a tool taken from there to try and wrench open the back door to the house. Entry to the house was not gained but the door was scuffed. Tesco's on Bexley Road have also reported low level shoplifting. The suspect is known to police. Theft from motor vehicle on Detling Road. The CCTV camera has now been installed at Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground . The Local Policing have already received positive feedback from local residents. S.59 Warning has been issued to a driver of a moped witnessed by a member of the public driving dangerously along Sussex Road / Northumberland Heath. The next contact point will be on Wednesday Sunday 5th February at 4.30pm at Mill Road Library. Residents will be able to obtain a smart water kit".

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Between Friday 24/01 and Sunday 26/01 we had 4 overnight Theft from motor vehicles. They were in Hazel Drive, Cornwallis Close, Jenningtree Road and Appold Street. Not only were all 4 crimes committed during night time hours but all 4 also had valuables and personal belongings on show (sat navs, phones, expensive jacket etc). This reiterates our regular warning of not leaving any items in your vehicles at any time. Last week PC James assisted Erith SNT in executing a warrant on their ward. 3 stolen mopeds were found along with drugs resulting 2 arrests made at the scene. PCSO Mark along with other PCSO colleagues from North Heath, Erith and across the borough carried out high vis patrols of the Broadway last week after recent reports of several knife crimes in the area". Thamesmead East ward:- "Motor vehicle crimes - Mangold Way Sat 18/01/20 between 7pm – Mon 20/01/20 9am windscreen wipers completely snapped off by unknown suspect/s from victim's vehicle. Yarnton Way Monday 27/2/20 between 2:30 – 3:30pm Victim reports vehicle front passenger window smashed, glove box ripped open containing a pencil case with bank cards and house keys inside, removed by suspect/s unknown. Southmere Drive Monday 27/1/20 between 2pm – 7:30pm Victim reports vehicle broken into Dash Cam and loose change removed by suspect/s unknown. Pointer Close Monday 27/1/20 between midday – Tuesday 28/1/20 3pm victim reports front and rear registration plates removed by suspect/s unknown. It has since come to light the plates have been use on another vehicle which made off from a petrol station without paying for fuel. Criminal Damage - Glimpsing Green Monday 27/01/20 between 05:56 – 05:58 am Victim was in bed and was woken by the sound of banging coming from the living room. Victim went into the living room and saw suspect had broken the glass door and had their hand inside trying to reach for the door handle. Victim shouted “what are you doing”? and the suspect ran off towards the park. Theft - Sydney Road Friday 10/1/20 between 11pm – 11:10pm a property which is undergoing building works has had materials stolen from the drive. Good News - After complaints by residents in Glimpsing Green of youths causing antisocial behaviour and smoking cannabis, the team made several patrols of the area and found a suspect smoking in possession of cannabis. The suspect was subsequently interviewed and processed. The team are investigating a recent theft from Taris shop in Yarnton Way, involving a number of young people who have been identified via CCTV. All to be interviewed at a later date. Just to reiterate all crime will be investigated and taken seriously by the team". West Heath ward:- "One attempted garage burglary in Milford Close between Wednesday 20/01/20 09.00 – Tuesday 21/01/20 09.00. The padlock to the shed was broken off but nothing was taken. An attempted burglary took place in Bedonwell Road on Monday 27/1/20 at 00.40. A pane of glass was smashed on the inner front door, entry was not gained. A dark coloured BMV was seen making off towards King Harolds Way. One residential burglary in Brampton Road on Tuesday January 28/01/20 between the hours of 11.45 – 18.45. Entry was gained via the back door. A safe was stolen from the property. Theft on number plates from a vehicle parked in Woolwich between Thursday 23/01/20 19.30 – Friday 24/01/20 at 07.00 .Theft of a catalytic converter in Amberley Road on Tuesday 21/01/20 between the hours of 10.00 – 1500. Theft of catalytic converter in Gipsy Road also on Tuesday 21st January between 10.30 – 6.30. A number of personal items were stolen from a vehicle that was broken in to in Brabourne Crescent between 21.00 0n Tuesday 28/01/20 and Wednesday 29/01/20 at 07.45 when the victim discovered the car had been broken in to. One criminal to a van in Selsey Crescent between Sunday 26/01/20 0800 – Monday 27/01/20 at 07.30 when the owner discovered the vehicle had been covered in graffiti. The team have been busy conducting proactive patrols in and around the ward. Two arrests for domestic criminal damage and Domestic ABH. Following information received, three positive stop and searches were made in Powys Close and a male was issued with a penalty notice for the possession of cannabis".

The end video this week is some unique aerial footage taken over Barnehurst - it gives a very unusual perspective on the area. Please feel free to send comments / stories to me via Email; my address is hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Casey Jones.

Work progresses on the White Hart in Erith High Street - the photo above was taken just before the scaffolding was erected to cocoon the building before the next phase of restoration and conversion work got underway earlier this week. The recreated frontage is definitely starting to come together, and to my mind should end up being almost indistinguishable from the original. 

The mystery of the tracked digger that I reported and photographed last week in the Erith Riverside Gardens has now been solved.  I was contacted earlier this week by FORGE (Friends Of Riverside Gardens Erith) who explained that the Council are carrying out work on the gardens.  They are digging up all the large bushes and re-planting with low growing shrubs.  This is to have a better view across the gardens to the river. This was agreed last year between the Council and FORGE. The large bushes were making a barrier between the pavement and the gardens and people were not encouraged to go into the gardens. The Council are also gradually re-vamping all the other beds on the gardens. This is very encouraging news - the gardens are the jewel in the crown of Erith, and the only place in the whole of the London Borough of Bexley where you can get direct access to the River Thames. It is a lovely place to sit and watch the ships go past on the river, and to watch the world in general go by. There has been long held distrust by many local residents that the council would try to sell off the land to a developer to build expensive riverside apartments, but that fear now seems to be unfounded. FORGE also reminded me to let readers know that FORGE and Thames 21 have arranged another Clean-Up Day along the Thames foreshore and gardens which will take place on SUNDAY 15th MAY from 9am to 12.30pm.  The Army Cadets (who love pulling trolleys out of the water!) will be volunteering on the day and anyone who would like to help would be welcome to come along. You can see a short video film about the work of environmental charity Thames 21 below. 

You may recall how last week I described an encounter that I had experienced with a gambling addict outside a Paddy Power bookmakers shop, and how bemused it left me feeling. Well, since then I have had an opportunity to carry out some research into gambling, and into Paddy Power in particular, and my studies have left me further alarmed - things are actually worse than I had previously surmised. I also encountered the same individual again yesterday, and I feel that you would find the details interesting. I was heading up to visit my mother on the 99 bus from Erith, which I was able to pick up from a stop not too far from Pewty Acres.  One thing that I deliberately omitted from my account of the gambling beggar last week was that the chap involved was in an electric wheelchair; I did not feel that his physical disability had any bearing on the story, but now I feel that perhaps it has. I was travelling on the 99 yesterday, as mentioned when I noticed a man in his mid 50's in an electric wheelchair in the pram / wheelchair area adjacent to the rear set of doors. I made sure that I did not obstruct him, and sat near to the back of the bus; at this stage I was in "auto pilot" mode, and did not connect the individual with the encounter of the previous week. When the bus arrived at my stop, I discovered that it was also the getting off point of the guy in the electric wheelchair. I stood to one side to allow him off the bus first, as the driver extended the bus ramp. Once he was successfully off, I followed him onto the pavement, then overtook him as I walked along the pavement; I then heard him call out to me, which was the point when I recalled our previous encounter - he asked me once again for money, which I once more ignored and carried on with my journey. Later I saw him in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere, successfully asking for cash from a number of passers by. He is genuinely disabled, but he does "milk" his condition as a means for gaining sympathy from passers by as he begs for money with which to feed his gambling addiction. I would strongly suggest not giving him any cash, as no good will ever come of it. This links into a piece I wrote earlier in the week, which now has added relevance. Last year, The Gambling Commission issued a report analysing ways in which Paddy Power exploited a man with gambling addiction to the extent that he lost five jobs, his home and access to his children. The company also failed to perform sufficient checks to ensure customers were not using its betting machines to launder the proceeds of crime. The betting regulator said Paddy Power would make a voluntary payment of £280,000 to a “socially responsible” cause following its findings. Paddy Power admitted that senior staff encouraged a man with a gambling problem to keep betting despite warnings by more junior employees. The man, referred to only as Customer A, was a frequent user of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs), which have been referred to as the “crack cocaine” of gambling. The machines allow customers to bet up to £100 every 20 seconds on games such as roulette and blackjack, for which the odds are fixed. I have previously written at some length about the dangers of these machines, which the government refused to ban, or limit both the stakes and the level of payout after pressure from the gambling industry.  In May 2014, Paddy Power staff became aware that Customer A was working five separate jobs to fund his gambling and “had no money”, The Gambling Commission said. Although he claimed to be comfortable with his level of gambling, shop staff passed their concerns up the chain to senior staff, who advised monitoring him. Later that month, the shop manager informed a more senior member of staff that Customer A would be visiting the shop less frequently. The senior employee responded by advising that “steps should be taken to try to increase Customer A’s visits and time spent in the gambling premises”. “This was grossly at odds with the licensing objective of preventing vulnerable people from being exploited by gambling,” said The Gambling Commission. The report went on to say that the shop manager “recorded some discomfort” about the senior employee’s advice, according to the commission, and staff later noticed that the customer was “spending heavily and looked unwell and as if he had not slept for a while”. He was only advised to seek help for gambling addiction in August 2014, when a staff member met him on the street and learned that he had lost all of his jobs, was homeless and had lost access to his children. The Gambling Commission also detailed two cases in which Paddy Power failed to apply money laundering controls designed to stop people using betting terminals to conceal the proceeds of crime. Criminals can use games such as roulette to launder money at a small cost, gambling experts said. For instance, someone with £100 in cash could place £48 on black, £48 on red and £2 on green, or 0. The maximum they could lose would be £4, at which point they could ask a bookmaker to put the remaining £96 on their debit card. The money would then appear as a legitimate payment from a bookmaker, hiding the fact that it could have been cash from a criminal enterprise. The Gambling Commission said that in August 2014, a shop manager suspected that Customer B, a longstanding user of Paddy Power shops, was using gambling facilities to launder Scottish bank notes. The manager related their suspicions to more senior members of staff on four occasions over six months. But senior staff “repeatedly overruled” the shop manager, saying that as the notes were British currency and were not stained or counterfeit, it was unlikely that the money was being laundered. None of the suspicions were reported to the company’s money laundering reporting officer. Paddy Power only barred the customer after police raised fears that Scottish banknotes that were the proceeds of crime were being laundered in London. it would seem that the News Shopper has picked up on my one man crusade against Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT's) in their latest edition, they describe some of the misery the terrible machines can inflict. The paper writes that:- "More than 230,000 gambling sessions a year where consumers lose more than £1,000, according to figures by the Gambling Commission, with 650 leading to losses of more than £5,000. One of the main reasons for these staggering individual losses is because FOBT machines have a much higher maximum allowable stake. The maximum is a £100, which marks them as a significant anomaly among high-street gaming machines. Unless you were to go to a specialist casino, every other widely available machine has a maximum £2 stake. Organisations are now stepping in to put pressure on the Government to help protect people with gambling addictions and to save them from throwing vast sums of money into these machines. John White, BACTA chief executive, has spearheaded the campaign to shine a light on the financial and social destruction gambling can cause. BACTA president Jason Frost said: “Fixed-odds betting terminals are a hardcore form of gambling, entirely unsuitable for everyday high-street venues. With stake limits at £100, 50 times that of any other widely available gaming machine, they allow consumers and at-risk gamblers to rack up huge losses.“As the Gambling Commission’s figures show, the vast majority of everyday punters who are making major losses are doing so at these addictive betting shop machines at higher stakes. They endanger consumers, foster a culture of violence and aggression, and undermine the whole amusement industry’s work to create a socially responsible environment for gaming that puts player protection first. We urge DCMS to do the right and necessary thing and order a substantial reduction in FOBT stakes.” In response the immoral and (to my mind, borderline illegal, and certainly immoral) Association of British Bookmakers (who strike me as little more than a front for organised crime) said in response that "This is a deeply flawed report, funded by vested interests who would directly benefit if its recommendations are ever implemented. The report is the view of a tiny group of anti-betting shop MP's . This group has been financed by those with interests in the casino, arcade and pub industries. This group of MPs has operated in secrecy, provided no transcripts of the evidence given to their meetings and operated throughout behind closed doors away from public scrutiny". Personally if I had any say in such things, I would seriously restrict the abilities of betting shops and online casinos, with no stake allowed to be greater than £2, and no payout to exceed £100. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I do wonder how much longer free daily London newspaper City AM can survive. The paper is given away by distributors outside of major train stations such as Woolwich Arsenal, but I have noticed that a vast majority of commuters ignore this and instead opt for picking up a copy of Metro. The readership figures for these two free morning papers seem to reflect this; according to Wikipedia, City AM gets around 94,000 readers each day, whereas Metro gets around 1.4 million. This figure is somewhat distorted by the fact that Metro is available in several other parts of the country, whereas City AM is only distributed in Greater London. Nevertheless, with advertising revenue tanking for many printed papers, even with City AM’s demographic (wealthy city workers, bankers and the like) it is unlikely to attract much in the way of advertising bearing in mind the very low readership numbers.

I know that a fair number of Maggot Sandwich readers are Radio Amateurs, or radio enthusiasts of one kind or another; the next story is pretty much aimed at this audience. As I have mentioned in the past, I am in the market for a new H.F transceiver and I have been looking around at the various options available to me - currently the Icom IC 7300 is looking as a likely winner. Historically there have been two main amateur radio dealers in the South East; Martin Lynch and Sons in West London, and Waters and Stanton in Hockley in Essex - as you can see in the photo above - click on it for a larger view. I would say that they are the two biggest, longest established and best stocked dealers in the country, and they both advertise heavily both online and in the amateur radio press. I have used both companies in the past, and have had very good service from both. Now it seems that a very undignified war has broken out between the two retailers, after close to forty years of a relatively peaceful coexistence. News recently broke that Waters and Stanton were merging with Nevada (a ham radio retailer / wholesaler based in Portsmouth), and InnovAntennas (an antenna supply firm) to form a new company called IHSG. The result of this is that the long established Waters and Stanton shop in Hockley, Essex closed last Friday and the entire enterprise relocated down to Nevada’s HQ in Portsmouth. Peter Waters G30JV, CEO of the former Waters and Stanton recently wrote:- "Yes it is now official. IHSG is the largest retail outlet for Ham Radio and Hobby Electronics. So what does it mean for the ham radio enthusiast? This new Group has more active radio hams than any other retail outlet. That in itself is very important. Whether deciding what to buy or wanting some technical advice, you need to talk with a fellow enthusiast who is sympathetic to your needs and understands your questions. IHSG are not box shifters whose only concern is to take your money and move onto the next customer. We offer the kind of service that we ourselves would expect, and hope for, if we were buying ham radio gear. More and more customers are now buying mail order, either by telephone or via our web site. This makes sense because it usually means that you receive your order the next working day and don’t waste time in traffic jams or spend money on fuel. Of course we welcome customers into our showroom with free car parking outside and a warm drink inside. The Group’s size also means that you will get the best Casey Jonespossible deal because of our buying power. And as we have more agencies than any other retail outlet, we are able to match or beat prices. This is of course good news. We also operate the largest part exchange and buy back service in the UK. And if you wish, we can arrange to pick up your used equipment”. The bad blood between Martin Lynch and Sons and (now) IHSG is unpleasant; I understand that there have been claims from IHSG that certain Martin Lynch and Sons employees have been telling their customers that Waters and Stanton have gone out of business (technically this may be true in a sense – that they have merged to form a new organisation, but the intent was apparently to convey the message that they had gone bust, which is not the case). IHSG have threatened legal action, and have also published a warning that certain Yaesu equipment purchased from an unnamed amateur radio retailer was old stock that has been sitting in a warehouse for a year or so. Whilst the company is not named, the guilty party is implied. I can understand that Martin Lynch being rattled by the company merger – they have gone from being roughly equal in size to Nevada and Waters and Stanton to being the smaller retailer – and thus likely to lose market share. Personally, I have no axe to grind with any of the organisations mentioned, but it does concern me that undignified bickering between market leaders in the amateur radio field can only bring the technical hobby into disrepute. I have always been of the opinion that when in business, if you have nothing good to say about your competitors, say nothing. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

A story that may well affect a lot of local people is currently proving to be controversial. The News Shopper have reported that Southeastern  trains on the Dartford to London via Greenwich line may in future only call at Cannon Street, and not at London Bridge, Waterloo East or  Charing Cross. This may also prove to be the case on the Bexleyheath line. Reaction to this unwelcome news has been swift. Teresa Pearce, MP for Erith and Thamesmead, said that the proposals significantly underestimate the number of new homes being built in south-east London.  “This flawed consultation on the future of the service is based on incorrect information and massively underestimates the number of new homes to come in the local area and the number of people who will be using the service in the future. Failing to assess the service level needed accurately will only exacerbate the problems and leave rail users paying more and more for less and less.” Fellow MP David Evennett said Southeastern have “Let my constituents down. The train services from Bexleyheath and Crayford into central London have been extremely bad. There are constant delays, cancellations, overcrowding, and a severe lack of information from staff.  Southeastern and Network Rail have let my constituents down, and there have been too many excuses.  I raise the issues with the Rail Minister, Southeastern, and Network Rail regularly yet things do not improve so I welcome the consultation on a new franchise.  There must be greater cooperation between the operator and Network Rail to deliver more rolling stock and better reliability, and I therefore support the proposals to ensure they work together as one team with a focus on performance.  However, I strongly oppose the suggestion to reduce the number of terminals that can be reached from Bexley, and believe the services to Charing Cross and Victoria are essential”. On top of this, it would appear that the new housing figures that Southeastern have used in their calculations of the reduced service are wildly inaccurate. They used a figure of 38,000 new homes over the next five years, yet when Teresa Pearce questioned the figure with the Department of Transport they revised the number of new houses upwards to 68,400. Teresa then commented “I am not confident that the future demand for rail services in South East London is being fully considered and consulted on, and if they have made mistakes on this, what else have they made mistakes on? This proposal would drastically limit the choice and options for rail users in my constituency and across the South-East. It would significantly increase journey times, and would lead to major problems of overcrowding and further pressure on already busy interchange stations like Lewisham”. It does seem to me that we as commuters are being charged more and given less in return. No wonder the calls for Southeastern to lose the local rail franchise are now so loud.

The coverage of the potential changes and reductions in the number of London railway stations that may be serviced by Southeastern Trains reminds me of a horror that used to exist at several London stations. There was a period in the 1980's when British Rail ran a series of fast food outlets called Casey Jones Burgers. The restaurants were located at the major rail stations such as London Bridge and Charing Cross. The burgers were quite indescribably vile; they certainly bore absolutely no resemblance to the paragon of great burger - ness featured in the advert above. They were actually composed of greasy, gristly, zombie flesh - like cold grey meat on the outside, and lava hot in the middle so that molten cheese scalded the roof of your mouth like dairy based napalm (I think they microwaved the burgers). Rumours abounded when the Casey Jones opened at Charing Cross, all of the feral pigeons that plagued the station concourse suddenly disappeared. It was all very coincidental. Fortunately Casey Jones did not last too long, and eventually Burger King took over their station locations. they are now nothing other than a distant memory. If you have any recollections of Casey Jones Burgers, please get in contact and let me know.

The staff cuts to the News Shopper are now very obvious; what used to be a well – written and intelligently edited local paper has now sadly declined into a shoddily assembled set of cut and pasted press releases that covers an area from Twickenham and Richmond down to well past Gravesend – hardly local – more regional. I don’t blame the staff – what is left of them. They have been cut to the bone, and have little choice in the stories they run – anything that can be posted without needing to visit a site or interview a witness will be done. Instead of taking photos of locations on site, they now use screen captures from Google Street View. The amount of advertising and tracking software on the News Shopper website is astounding; even with a very fast fibre broadband connection and a fast computer, the website is extremely sluggish and off-putting. Popular items such as the PubSpy reviews were dropped in September of last year, as this requires a reporter to physically visit a location to undertake the review. I fear for the future of the once mighty local newspaper.

I ought to add that this next story is not some kind of late April Fool's piece, just in cast it reads that way. You may have noticed that a number of domestic appliance manufacturers are adding the capability to be web enabled to some of their high end devices. This has proved to be more of a liability than a benefit in many cases. Upmarket German domestic appliance maker Miele have been identified as producing a dishwasher that has a serious and unpatched vulnerability that could leave it open to hackers. Yes, you read it correctly - a dishwasher that connects to the Internet. The dishwasher has a fully featured web server installed on it, and the web server has a number of pretty basic vulnerabilities that have not been patched. The upshot of this is that the dishwasher is vulnerable to what is known as a Directory Traversal Attack. These attacks let miscreants access directories other than those needed by a web server. Once they are in those directories, it is party time, because they can insert their own programming code and tell the web server to execute it - thus completely taking over the dishwasher, and potentially any other devices in the home and beyond that the dishwasher is able to communicate with. It is unclear which libraries Miele used to craft the Web server, which means without a fix from the vendor – for a dishwasher – the best option is to make sure the appliance isn't exposed to the Internet. Because Miele is an appliance company and not a pure-play IT company, it doesn't have a process for reporting or fixing bugs. Aside from this consideration, I think we should look at the bigger picture. Until we have self loading dishwashers, how can they need internet access? We don't run them until they are loaded. Humans load them. Once they are full, we set them off. If we don't want them to clean the dishes straight away, they have a "delay" feature so we can run them when the Economy 7 has kicked in / while the sun's up and our solar panels are providing the electricity. Humans put the salt, detergent tablets and rinse-aid in. Needing internet access to order more rinse-aid etc when it is running low is (until the manufacturers can be trusted with anything sharper than a crayon or warmer than a cushion) a decidedly sub-optimal path. So why on earth do we need internet enabled dishwashers? "Because we can" is a valid human argument for scaling Everest (for those humans so inclined/capable) but letting household appliances loose on the internet "because we can" (rather than "because we need to") is lazy, foolish and to my mind pointless.

The following announcement has been made by the North End Safer Neighbourhood Police Team:- "If you would like to become involved with Neighbourhood Watch and set up a scheme for your road (if you do not have one), please let us know. If you are unsure if you do have a scheme in your road, again, email us and we can let you know. Surgery and Street Briefing dates and times for Northend Ward in APRIL 2017 are listed below.

WEDNESDAY 12/APRIL/2017  1200hrs  SLADE GREEN LIBRARY
TUESDAY 18/APRIL/2017  1030hrs  FOREST ROAD CAFE
THURSDAY 27/APRIL/2017  1500hrs  OUTSIDE PEARESWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL, PEARESWOOD ROAD
FRIDAY 28/APRIL/2017  1500hrs  OUTSIDE SLADE GREEN PRIMARY AND HABERDASHERS SCHOOL, SLADE GREEN ROAD

If there are any issues that affect you or you have any information you feel we may need to know, please come and see us. All information is dealt with in the strictest confidence".

Something that I have observed and written about in the past has been independently confirmed. Bexley is officially one of the most improved boroughs when it comes to restaurant and takeaway food hygiene in the country. You may recall that I originally bemoaned the awful state of food hygiene, not only in the borough, but specifically in West Street, Erith, which at one point had the lowest overall "Scores on the Doors" ratings of anywhere in the whole of the UK. Now that has all changed - very much for the better.  Which? magazine found that the chance of a consumer buying from a food business that is not meeting hygiene standards is as high as one in three in 20 local authorities. The consumer group analysed data submitted to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) by 386 UK local authorities and ranked those local authority areas, focusing on those considered high risk such as hospitals, care homes and schools, and medium-risk businesses such as a local restaurant or takeaway. Four London local authority areas - Newham, Ealing, Lewisham and Camden - were all ranked in the bottom 10. The five most-improved local authority areas since Which? last carried out its analysis two years ago are Bexley, Sunderland, Stockport, South Cambridgeshire and Barrow-in Furness. Erith's very own "proper" restaurant - the Riverside Fish and Steak has just got its very first "Scores on the Doors" rating, and to nobody's surprise it passed with flying colours and scored an outstanding 5 stars out of 5. 

The ending video is a time lapse recording of the Woolwich Ferry, from early in a winter morning until around midday. See what you think. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

New life for Erith Woolworths?

Above is a photo I took of three tugs moored off Erith Pier a few weeks ago. It was taken using my 18-200mm Nikon zoom lens, and the wide angle view makes quite a dramatic image. It was taken very early on a Sunday morning, hence the slightly unusual light.

The Maggot Sandwich has received a record number of hits in the last week; this is almost certainly due to the publicity I received from last weeks' Online Unconference, and the coverage I received from Sarah Hartley of the Guardian. Suffice to say that my Flickr photo site also has been taking quite a hammering. Some of the photos have appeared (under licence) on a few other websites, which is nice. I don't charge for their use, just require that I get a credit for their use. Check out my photos by clicking here.

Other local information websites are Erith Town and Barnehurst Online - do have a look. There is also a very rich source of information of hyper local community websites available at the Openly Local web resource - click here to see more. You can also view the newly created Erith Watch neighbourhood watch website whilst you are at it.

News just in - the old Woolworth's shop site in Erith Town Centre is about to re - open as a carpet warehouse. Nice Floor Ltd have been granted a ten year lease on the building, and the change of business use has been granted by Bexley Council planning department - you can read the details if you click here.

Back when the Woolworth's chain closed after going bankrupt in January 2009, stand up comic musician Mitch Benn recorded a song, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4's topical comedy programme "The Now Show". Some bright spark put some visuals to the audio track and then posted it on YouTube - you can see the results below:

One thing that seems to plague the whole local area, which so far no - one seems to have mentioned is the huge number of unlicenced and illegal scrap dealers that prowl the highways and scavenge for metals. Don't get me wrong - I think the concept of recycling used and surplus to requirement materials is an excellent endeavour that is to be applauded; it is the execution that leaves a lot to be desired. When my new central heating was installed, the existing radiators were the only part of the system not to be replaced with new hardware. The radiators were surveyed and found to be in a good condition, so instead they were refurbished and power cleaned. This meant that the radiator at the lowest level in the house had to be removed from the heating circuit, whilst the connecting pipes were attached to a power flush pump and filter which cleaned out the plumbing and removed several kilos of metal oxides and accumulated grot. The missing radiator was also cleaned and treated with corrosion inhibitor. It was then placed on a large dust sheet under the lounge window in the front garden. Within a period of a little under two hours, SEVEN scrap dealers had tried to take the radiator away, despite the fact is was on private land, and it was patently obvious that heating engineers were working on site. One even got quite shirty when I told him he could not have it. The engineers from Swale Heating told me this was quite a common occurrence - they even said that on occasion, illegal scrap dealers will follow their marked van around, like bluebottles buzzing around a particularly juicy turd. 

The problem with the unlicenced dealers is also that they often are also guilty of fly tipping - a particular problem locally; Appold Street in Erith is a frequent victim; I have seen all manner of builders' rubble, old fridges and worn out car tyres (see the photo above for evidence) dumped there in the past. This is despite a very prominent sign warning of up to £50,000 in fines for anyone caught carrying out this very act. I have been told by a contact in the local Police that it is nigh on impossible to secure a conviction for fly tipping, and the perpetrators know it, hence why they are so bold.

The area is now the home to a really top class professional graphic design and consultancy practice. You would expect such a company to be holed up in some loft conversion in Southwark, or in one of the whizzy office complexes in Soho, but instead they have chosen to set up in the rather less rarified atmosphere of Erith. You can contact Smallcorn Associates by clicking here.

I read recently that classic mid 80's U.S TV series The Equaliser is about to be remade as a big budget Hollywood movie, starring Russell Crowe as former secret agent Robert McCall, who now works as a private eye / vigilante in down town New York city. Did you know that the original series music was written and performed by Stewart Copeland, the former drummer of the Police? He was an appropriate choice, as his father was a former CIA Director, and his Mother worked for British Intelligence during the war. Here is a YouTube video of the opening and closing credits for the show. I think this is one of the best pieces of theme music allied to great visuals for any programme from the period. It is claustrophobic, threatening and very dark. Actor Edward Woodward as the central character Robert McCall was inspired casting - a real hard customer you would not want to meet in a dark alley if you were a bad guy. And he drove a Jaguar XJ-6 Mark III - class.



I see that the Yacht pub in Long Lane, Bexleyheath gets a very good review from the News Shopper's Pub Spy. You can read the review by clicking here. I will hopefully be giving it a try in the not too distant future and will report back accordingly. The Yacht used to be a great barn of a place, serving little but over chilled lager and nothing but toasted sandwiches and chips by the way of food. By the sound of things, this has now completely changed - there is an extensive menu of hot food and a number of cask conditioned real ales. I do these things so that you don't have to.

On another pub related note; the Cross Keys in Erith High Street is still closed after losing its' licence recently. I have passed the place on a number of occasions, and the building would still seem to be occupied; at least, lights have been on in the ground floor bar area, though the doors appeared closed and bolted. I surmise that it may be some time before the owners of the building regain possession in order to breathe some new life into what could potentially be a great venue.

I notice that drink and snack dispensing machines are now appearing on the platforms of all the railway stations on the Dartford - Greenwich - London Bridge line. At places like Erith or Plumstead station, where the passengers are either heading to work from home, or vice versa; I really don't see the point. People don't spend time hanging around, changing between trains as part of some longer overall journey. I predict that this small money making enterprise may well bite the operators on the bum. I spend a lot of time at railway stations on this line, and I have yet to see anyone using one of these machines. It is somewhat redolent of a period in the 1980's when British Rail ran a series of fast food outlets called Casey Jones Burgers. The restaurants were located at the major rail stations such as London Bridge and Charing Cross. The burgers were quite indescribably vile; they certainly bore absolutely no resemblance to the paragon of great burger - ness featured in the advert above. They were actually greasy, gristly, cold on the outside, and lava hot in the middle so that molten cheese scalded the roof of your mouth like dairy based napalm (I think they microwaved the burgers). Rumours abounded when the Casey Jones opened at Charing Cross, all of the feral pigeons that plagued the station concourse suddenly disappeared. It was all very coincidental. Fortunately Casey Jones did not last too long, and eventually Burger King took over their station locations.

The closing video is of great interest; it illustrates the blurred line between security and the loss of personal privacy in a novel manner, involving an 8 - foot alien, some city centre CCTV cameras, and some rather bemused Police officers. See what you think, and as always please feel free to post a comment below.