The Nuxley Navigator ends.

Recently I was talking to someone who was visiting Erith from Charlton. I showed her around the Erith Riverside Gardens, and the view of the River Thames. She remarked that it was amazing that more people were not aware of the gardens and the stunning horizon to horizon views that can be seen. I feel that the river is an under used asset locally. More on this subject further on in this weeks update. Who says I don't plan these things?

It has been brought to my attention by a reader that the long - ailing News Shopper local paper and website may be under new difficulties. The News Shopper is part of a larger media group called NewsQuest, which is in turn part of an American owned media corporation called Gannett. News has recently broken that Gannett is in talks with a rival media group called MNG Enterprises about a possible takeover. In a report in the Press Gazette, a spokesperson from the National Union of Journalists was quoted as stating that gannett was:- "being pursued by the most predatory of vulture capitalist corporate raiders who are far distant from the needs and responsibilities of a modern media company”. Gannett owns USA Today and hundreds of local newspapers in the US, as well as Newsquest, which is the UK’s second largest regional publisher and has been expanding its portfolio in the past year. Newsquest’s daily titles include the Herald titles and The National in Scotland, the News and Star in Cumbria, the Northern Echo, Bournemouth Daily Echo, Oxford Mail, and Isle of Wight County Press. It also owns a number of local weekly newspaper series in London, including the News Shopper and Bexley Times. MNG is owned by New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital. It publishes about 200 newspapers in the US including the Denver Post, Boston Herald and San Jose Mercury News. Federica Bedendo, of the National Union of journalists said:- "The the union is really concerned about what the potential acquisition would mean for local newspapers in the UK. Journalists within Newsquest already think this company has hit rock bottom and the prospect of being acquired by an organisation that’s renowned for cost cutting and job slashing isn’t going to do anything to benefit our titles or indeed our working conditions. We already operate on a shoe-string, morale is at an all-time low, stress levels are through the roof and we lose more and more talent each day due to the way that Newsquest operates. What angers us most is that Newsquest is financially in a very enviable position compared to other publishers, yet its top bosses seem to be prepared to do anything for profit. NUJ members are being driven away from the newspaper industry by these money-chasing operations.” What do you think? Do you have any insight into what is going on? Please feel free to Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com in complete confidence if you have some inside information. 

I have an apology to make to the person who sent me an Email on Friday afternoon with a follow - up query to the piece I wrote last week about the Violet Club nuclear weapons which were constructed at Woolwich Arsenal in the 1950's. I have accidentally deleted your Email - could you please resend it and I will get back to you? In my defence I get well in excess of 120 Emails each and every day, and on rare occasions mistakes such as inadvertently deleting a valued message can, and do occur.

You may recall that back in November 2017, I wrote a piece about a new private bus service which was then about to commence. The service was aimed at residents of parts of Upper Belvedere, Northumberland Heath and Erith. The bus service was to operate on weekdays only, and run between Harrow Manorway outside of Abbey Wood Station, and Carlton Road in Northumberland Heath. The service was somewhat inappropriately called The Nuxley Navigator - as previously covered, "Nuxley Village" does not exist - it is properly named Belvedere Village, or Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere. The roads that the new private bus service covered were as follows:- Towards Abbey Wood Station (mornings only) - Carlton Road, Brook Street, Parsonage Manorway, Swaylands Road, Matfield Road, Stream Way, Bedonwell Road, Orchard Avenue, Bedonwell Road, Glenview, West Heath Road, Brampton Road, Knee Hill, Harrow Manorway. Towards Erith (afternoons only) - Harrow Manorway, Knee Hill, Brampton Road, West Heath Road, Glenview, Bedonwell Road, Orchard Avenue, Bedonwell Road, Stream Way Matfield Road, Swaylands Road, Parsonage Manorway, Brook Street, and Carlton Road. The Crossrail service which was meant to be opening at Abbey Wood Station at the end of 2018, and many of the roads covered by The Nuxley Navigator were not covered by any existing bus service. The Nuxley Navigator featured a reserved seat and, in London, standard rides were £2.40, though the introductory price was £1.60. A standard bus fare is £1.50. Chariot was supposed to work by being pre-bookable but with predetermined stops, similar to a bus route. The real reason for the service was to connect the Erith Quarry housing development with Abbey Wood Station. The developers of Erith Quarry are aiming the new development primarily at second or third time buyers who want larger, family sized houses - for people who intend to "put down roots" in the area. In order to attract middle class professional people into the local area, they needed so show that there were good commuting connections into London - something that The London Borough of Bexley has historically lacked. The fact that we have no DLR or Tube services in the Borough has been a factor that has discouraged some people from moving into the area. Providing a purpose built mini bus link between the Erith Quarry site and Abbey Wood Station was supposed do much to convince people that they should move into the area, as housing is significantly cheaper than in other parts of London, and the commuting issue was intended to be at least partially answered by The Nuxley Navigator - even if the name of the new bus service was inaccurate. Fellow local Blogger and "proper" journalist Darryl Chamberlain of the excellent 853 Blog has broken a story which I am using with his full permission. Darryl discovered that Chariot - the company behind both the Nuxley Navigator and the Shooters Hill Shot private bus services is to pull out of the market on Friday the 25th of January. Back in October I reported that:- "The problem has been that 1) Crossrail has been significantly delayed, 2) Erith Quarry has not yet opened, and 3) there is very little local awareness of the private bus service. On top of this, it is a bookable service, not a "hop on, hop off" service as per a normal bus ride. Lastly the service can only be booked via a mobile phone app, and one cannot use Oyster cards. The lack of passengers on the Nuxley Navigator is, I am led to believe, causing the operator, Chariot, and their sponsor, Ford to consider closing the service". My prediction turned out to be totally correct, and the service to to close before the end of the month. I have had reports from readers that The Nuxley Navigator was a very patchy service, with often only one mini bus on the entire route, and very few people used it - a local source (who wants to remain anonymous) told me that she had seen people trying to use their Oyster card on the service, and being annoyed when they could not. I feel that Chariot - and their sponsors car and van producers Ford - have really dropped the ball with this one. The announcement on the Chariot US website reads:- "Today, we have important news to share about Chariot services. Following significant consideration, we have decided to close the Chariot operation. Friday, January 25th is the last day we will offer service on commuter routes in the U.K., and Friday, February 1 will be the last day we will offer service on our commuter routes in the U.S. We will cease all operations across the US and in the UK by the end of March. In today’s mobility landscape, the wants and needs of customers and cities are changing rapidly. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause Chariot’s riders and our enterprise customers. We are committed to ensuring our customers are aware of the decision and have time to make alternative transportation arrangements. We are truly grateful to our commuters, enterprise customers, and partners for your support over the past five years. Chariot was built on a commitment to help reduce congestion, ease the commute and improve quality of life in cities, and since our start, we have provided our customers with more than 3 million rides. In addition, we helped Ford build their mobility business, and their experience with Chariot continues to inform their mobility efforts and design decisions for the future. In addition to our customers, our priority during this transition is to ensure we support our employees. We are thankful for their hard work and dedication to bringing Chariot to where it is today". No doubt once - eventually - Crossrail / The Elizabeth Line opens, and the Erith Quarry development is fully up and running with residents, some other transport operator will take over the route, when there is actually a chance of attracting paying customers to it. The whole Nuxley Navigator / Shooters Hill Shot project has been an utter shambles. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Another transport related story; work has begun to increase the number of Thames Clipper ferry terminals on the River Thames. A new terminal is being constructed at Silvertown, on the North banks of the Thames - by the end of this year a derelict jetty will be replaced by a 427ft public promenade stretching far out across the river, with a cantilevered timber roof and a public viewing deck, as well as docking stations for Thames Clipper boats offering services to Canary Wharf in 14 minutes. Journeys to London Bridge will take 26 minutes, while Waterloo will take 34 minutes. Silvertown is already served by Pontoon Dock DLR station, but for many commuters a short boat trip is a welcome alternative to starting the day on a packed train. What this will mean for the long proposed use of Erith Pier as a stop for the Thames Clipper service is currently unclear. Back in September 2017 MBNA Thames Clippers carried out series of test voyages into London from Gravesend and back. Public reaction to the experimental service was extremely positive, and the CEO of the Clipper company, Sean Collins said in an interview at that time:- "The trial has been a total success so far, passengers have been asking a lot of questions to find out when a permanent service could be up and running and how much it will cost. These questions are the reason we are running this trial, I set up this company 18 years ago, and two years later people were asking me about a Gravesend service, the only reason we haven’t done anything sooner is because we’ve been working on other projects across London. We need to set out a full business case, it could take up to two years to start up a service, it would be great to see it stop at other places, such as Erith, Greenhithe, Dagenham and Thurrock." Since September 2017 things have been very quiet, and no official announcements have been made. In the intervening period, some questions have been asked about the practicalities of running a service from Erith Pier. As previously mentioned Erith Pier does not project straight out into the river, in the way that for example Southend Pier juts out into the Thames Estuary. Instead a majority of its length is in a "dog leg` that runs parallel to the shore line. There is also a short spur that projects out to the left side of the main part of the pier. The spur is where I am of the opinion any free floating pontoon would need to be located. Whilst the central channel of the River Thames at Erith is more than sufficiently deep for large ocean going vessels to navigate, the sides of the river are actually rather shallow, and dry out at low tide. A free floating pontoon would enable a Thames Clipper ferry to dock despite a low tide. It would require some extensive alterations and re - engineering of the pier spur. I know that Morrison's supermarket - who own the pier, are not keen on it being used as a ferry terminal, as they don't want commuters using their supermarket car park, but if enough pressure comes to bear from local government, Transport For London, The Mayor of London's office and our local MP, Teresa Pearce (who has backed the use of Erith Pier for a ferry service for a very long time), then things may happen. Bearing in mind the growth of Erith as a residential area, and the relative paucity of public transport links into central London that currently exist, it would seem to me that a regular ferry service to and from London is a "no brainer". What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Local resident Doreen Ives has submitted the following story:- "Vet's Club Scrabble group. We had a very successful first meeting of our Scrabble group on Friday 11th January. Everyone who came along enjoyed the challenge of the games and the jovial company.  If you like playing this stimulating board game then you are very welcome to join us. The group meet at the Veterans Club in Park Crescent just behind Christ Church Hall. Parking is easy so no worries there. To be a member of the Veterans Club will cost you £20 a year and you then have access to participating in all the many leisure activities on offer there, for a charge of £1.50 per session. Alternatively you can participate in activities as a non-member at a charge of £2.50 per session. At the Scrabble group we have tea/coffee and biscuits halfway through the two hour session, all included in your fee.  The next session is on Friday 8th February 2pm-4pm". 

Last week the results of an extensive survey were published, and the results make for somewhat disturbing reading. Three quarters of US Facebook users unaware their online behaviour gets tracked; whilst the survey covers Facebook users in the US and not the UK, I think that the UK results would be very similar, if not almost identical. The US survey found that most Facebook users have no idea that the advertising business compiles data profiles of their online activities and interests, according to research conducted by the non-profit Pew Research Center. That is not altogether surprising given that Facebook appeals to people disinclined to concern themselves with the minutiae of digital technology, which is to say most people. It is worth recalling that a decade ago, Google representatives stopped people on the street in New York City to ask "What's a web browser?" and almost no one could answer correctly. The finding nonetheless underscores the privacy cost, unrecognised though it may be, of relying on an ad platform for media and messages rather than wrestling with the complexity of self-administered communications software. After surveying 963 US adults last year between September 4th to October 1st, Pew researchers found that 74 per cent of Facebook users said they were unaware the social advertising business tracks their traits and interests. Facebook makes such data available to users through the "Your ad preferences" page, but about half of the survey respondents didn't like what they saw once they were made aware of their data trail. Fifty-one per cent of those surveyed said they were not comfortable with Facebook compiling this information. It seems doubtful however such unease will translate into account cancellation. Expressing discomfort in a survey is easy and doesn't necessarily correlate with willingness to abandon Facebook. A study published late last year found "the average Facebook user would require more than $1,000 to deactivate their account for one year." The Pew survey says 88 per cent of Facebook users found data about themselves in their advertising preferences page. Of these individuals, 59 per cent said the data reflected actual interests while 27 per cent said the data either partially or fully misrepresents them. The disconnect between Facebook's categorisations of people and the way they see themselves is also evident in the context of the political designations and racial/ethnic "affinities" the social data business applies to users. About half of survey respondents had been assigned a political label by Facebook. Of those labeled liberal, conservative, or moderate, 73 per cent agreed with their designation while 27 per cent said assigned political classification was not accurate. Reports of misclassification came more frequently from self-described moderates (36 per cent) than they did from those calling themselves liberals (20 per cent) or conservatives (25 per cent). What the results would be in the UK are unclear, but I strongly suspect that they would be very similar. It seems that worldwide, many Facebook users either don't know about the fact that the giant corporation extracts information about them, or that they plain just don't care. 

An article by guest contributor and transport enthusiast Dana Wiffen. Dana writes:- "Here is short piece on the double decker train, with a good news update and 2 photos, some Erith commuters might remember seeing this train normally on platform 2 or 3 of Charing Cross Station at around 6pm. I travelled on it many times between 1970/71 when it was removed from service. This experimental EMU (electric double decker train) came into service in 1949 running on the Dartford to Charing Cross line mainly on the Bexleyheath Line. Two sets of 8 cars were built and their seating capacity was 552, really a split level train the half upper deck enabled additional passengers to sit but with no door and poor ventilation as the small upstairs windows did not open, there were not popular especially in the summer. Following an attack on a woman that was kept in the upper section by the attacker, a female only carriage was introduced on the service to reassure female travellers. With additional weight, height and poor cornering these handsome looking trains managed to be kept in service until 1971, sadly only 2 carriages survive today they seem to have been left and not restored by the owners as heritage railways are  reluctant to take them for use as passenger carriages because of the additional weight and height. The photos above show an old picture of the double decker train in service (courtesy of John Kennett) while the other photograph (courtesy of Keith Littlewood) shows one of the two remaining carriages no 13004  in poor condition at the Northampton and Lamport Railway in 1994, it has since been moved to the Northampton Ironside Railway. This is one of only the two cars that survive today the other 13003 is in sidings at Sellinge in Kent. Good News;-Bullied EMU Double Decker Train no: 13003 has recently been purchased by a group that want to restore the two remaining carriages, they are called The Bullied 4DD Group, and there aim is to start work on this train at Sellinge, Kent  as soon as possible, where it has been in a siding since 1999. They will continue to try and purchase 13004 from the owner, their attempts so far have been unsuccessful" Fascinating stuff; In addition, I gather that the ventilation of the upper deck was by constantly running electric fans, as the windows couldn't be opened. The train was higher than other trains so care had to be taken which routes to use it on. The Dartford routes were ideal and no alteration had to be made to the  track and bridges. Bearing in mind many people smoked on trains back then, the fug on the upper deck must have been terrible, especially in summer. The other problems with the double decker train was that the seats were cramped, hard and uncomfortable, and the time taken to get on and off the double decker carriages was significantly longer than with a conventional train. Other European countries successfully deploy double decker trains, but they are fully air conditioned, there is no smoking, and comfort is considerably better; they also tend to be deployed on longer distance routes, rather than suburban "start and stop" journeys. 

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "We are pleased to report there have been no burglaries for the past week however there have been three incidents of vehicle crime. On Friday 04th January 2019 there was a theft of motor vehicle in Eversley Avenue. This vehicle was stopped and recovered on the M25 after being followed by Police. Two occupants were detained, passenger was dealt with for possession of drugs and the driver dealt with for theft of motor vehicle and possession of drugs. On Friday 11th January 2019 victim returned to his vehicle to find the door ajar and a small amount of change taken. There was no damage to the vehicle. In Grassmere Road on Thursday 10th January 2019 between 10.00am and 01.00am a vehicle was broken into and photographic equipment taken. Barnehurst officers carried out a routine patrol to Cheviot Close on Wednesday 16th January 2019 and came across white Ford transit van parked and unattended in the garaged area. Police checks revealed this vehicle had been stolen from Sidcup and was therefore recovered. This area of Cheviot Close is highly patrolled by Police. The team met with the Barnehurst ward Councillor yesterday to discuss council related issues on the ward, one being the delay with the proposal from Orbit to install a bollard at the entry point to the garages in Cheviot Close, we hope this issue will be resolved soon as this will deter unwanted visitors from dumping rubbish and stolen vehicles. Barnehurst team will be at the Barnehurst Golf Club on Thursday 24th January 2019 at 11.00am. Please join us to discuss any matters of concern in and around the ward". Belvedere ward:- "We have had no burglaries reported on the ward over the past week. We had a theft of number plates from a Hyundai car on St Thomas Road overnight on the Sat 5th into the Sun 6th January. On Friday 11th, Monday 14th and Wednesday 16th the team visited St Augustine's Primary school and gave a road safety talk to years 1-5. The children were very engaging and seemed to take on board the safety message. A kitchen knife was found by the estate manager at Lesnes Abbey Woods on the 15th. The knife has been seized and will be destroyed". Bexleyheath ward:- "Below is a quick glance of the burglaries/attempted burglaries that have been reported: Sunday 13/01/2019 - Burglary at North Street Bexleyheath, garage was broken into and items taken as well as motorbikes. This was over a two day period; Monday 14/01/2019 – Burglary along Long Lane Bexleyheath. Access was via the kitchen door and entry was gained; Thursday 10/01/2019 – Attempted Burglary along Tudor Walk. Side window was smashed and the suspect was disturbed; Saturday 12/01/2019 – Rochester Drive, suspect tried to gain access to property by attacking lock. Seems to have happened overnight; Tuesday 15/01/2019 – There was a report of a theft of motor vehicle along Martin Dene; Thursday 10/01/2019 – Two suspects had tried to break a lock of a motorbike at the civic offices and they were disturbed; Wednesday 09/01/2019 – There was a report of criminal damage to motor vehicle along the Broadway; Friday 11/01/2019 – A theft from motor vehicle was reported along Rydal Drive Bexleyheath. There was a report of a theft of purse on the Broadway whilst the victim was walking along, this was on Wednesday 09/01/2019. Also in WH Smiths along the Broadway there was a report of suspects stealing money, cards and other personal items and cards being used. This was reported on the Monday 07/01/2019. A purse was also reported stolen from a bag in Primark Bexleyheath on the Wednesday 09.01/2019 at about midday; Thursday 10/01/2019 – A mobile phone was report stolen from the victims pocket whilst in the Broadway area. There was also a report of two cash machines on the Broadway at Barclays Bank, where skimming devices were used. So please be careful when using the machines, if the there is anything unusual please do not use the machine and advise others not to use and inform the bank or the Police as soon as possible. Please be careful who is around when using the machines and always shield what you type on the keypad. The team are regularly conducting targeted patrols for burglary and anti-social behaviour. Also there was stops made in the ASDA car park in Bexleyheath, this was in relation to vehicles with drives causing anti-social behaviour. The team have been delivering free smart water kits to areas of the ward that have been identified that are at a higher risk of being burgled. So far last weekend they have delivered 115 kits on the ward and more shall be delivered soon. Also it seems that youths are re-appearing along Iris Avenue causing ASB. If there is any issues, please call Police on 101 or 999 where appropriate. If you do wish to pass on information to Police then please contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111. Please do not hesitate to contact us via Twitter, Facebook, email and the ward phone". Crayford ward:- "On Monday 9th January between 21.00 - 21.30 a coke can was thrown at an address in Swale Road causing the glass in the door and to the side to be smashed. The can was retained for forensics. On Wednesday 9th January between 01.00-7.00 an iPod was stolen from within a white Citroen van whilst parked near to 160 Maiden Lane, this is the junction to Beech Walk. Between 15.40 on Tuesday 8th January and 20.10 on Wednesday 9th January a front number plate GK57 OSF was stolen from a vehicle parked at the top end of Iron Mill Lane, this plate should be on a silver Toyota Yaris. A theft from a blue Ford Transit occurred overnight between 18.00 on Wednesday 9th and 06.00 on Thursday 10th January whilst parked in Maiden Lane junction with Barnes Cray Road, the items stolen included power tools, it is not known how the vehicle was entered as no damage was done. There have been multiple incidents of shoplifting from the smaller shops in Crayford Road recently, always the same suspect, believed to be aged between 30-40 years, white male, medium build. Although small items are stolen it is having an impact on the local businesses. If you know who this person may be please let us know. Between 18.00 on Sunday 13th January and 8.30 on Monday 14th January, three tyres were deliberately slashed on a silver C180 Mercedes whilst parked in Iron Mill Lane towards Thames Road. Between Saturday 12th and Monday 14th January three large batteries were stolen from vehicles parked on the Acorn Industrial Estate. Incidentally, 32 batteries used to light up traffic lights were stolen from the rear of a white Fiat van whilst parked close to McDonalds in Crayford on Tuesday 15th January between 20.00-20.15. The suspects would have needed a vehicle to remove these items as they are the size and weight as car batteries. We will be at the Ellenor Hospice shop in Crayford Road on Wednesday 23rd January between 12.00 and 13.00 if you would like to come along to say hello or for crime prevention advice". Erith ward:- "We have our ward panel meeting this week, I will give a rundown update in next week's update. No burglaries over the last week, but a theft of and from motor vehicles is still on the rise. I have been out trying to sign up some more NHW members, at this time it looks as if I have 7 new people that are interested, their info will be passed to the NHW office as they all would like a little bit more information regarding the role". Northumberland Heath ward:- "A fairly quiet week on the ward in relation to crime. We are pleased to say that we have had no burglaries reported to us. One theft from two vehicles belonging to the same person in Beechfield Road. This took place overnight on the evening of Sunday January 13th between 11pm and 6.20am on Monday January 14th.Vehicle one was on the road outside the house, a window was forced open entry was gained but nothing was taken. The second vehicle was parked on the driveway and the rear bar was pulled off with the lock. Seats were pulled down and the plastic cowling under the steering wheel was pulled off and wires were left exposed. A child's scooter was stolen from the boot but was later found in the porch of a neighbour's house. One theft from motor vehicle in Nurstead Road again on Monday January 14th between 6.45pm and 6.40am the following morning. Some loose change was taken, and the glove compartment emptied. Last Friday the team executed a search warrant for drugs in Northumberland Heath and have continued to stop and search individuals either seen, or believed to be using drugs. Several cannabis seizures have been made over the past week. The next drop in Police surgery will be held in the Library in Mill Road next Wednesday 23rd of January at 2pm".  Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Sadly there was an aggravated burglary at 1.30pm on Wednesday 16/01 in Slade Green Road. 3 men in balaclavas and with a large knife have forced entry into an address and demanded that something was handed over. The 'something' was unknown to the scared victims and after a quick search the suspects fled into Rainbow Road. Fortunately there were no injuries. Response officers arrived quickly but an area search proved to be negative. The investigation is ongoing as to who may be involved and reassurance patrols and visits will be carried out by ourselves this week. If you have any concerns, please let us know so we can give any necessary reassurance wherever needed. Only one other crime of note to report in the last week. Criminal damage to motor vehicle occurred around 1230pm on Sunday 13/01/2019 in Canada Road whereby the victim's car was scratched and damaged. Good news: After good intelligence received from a resident, 3 stolen vehicles have been found and recovered in and around Hollywood Way in the last week. One of the vehicles had a large sword inside among other items. Investigations are underway in regards who is involved in this suspicious activity and we are working with the relevant Housing Association to get these issues stopped. Extra patrols will be ongoing on the estate and it will be flagged as a ward promise at our residents panel meeting next week. Our new watch is now up and running in Larkswood Close. We will let everyone know when any future watches are set up". Thamesmead East ward:- "Distraction Burglary - Parkway Sunday 13/1/19 between 9:10pm – 9:20pm two males have presented themselves as plain clothes police officers to gain access into the property taking a number of items; Theft - The Link Bazalgette Way Thursday 10/01/19 between 5:45pm – 6:30pm Suspect/s have entered unlocked changing room and stolen 3 mobile phones; Criminal Damage to Motor Vehicle Lensburt Way Sunday 13/1/19 between 10pm – 10:45pm. Suspect/s have snapped of both wing mirrors and bent windscreen wipers; Theft from Motor Vehicle - Parkway Thursday 10/01/19 between 6am – 615am Suspect has stolen victims vehicle registration plates; Good News - What started off as a low level noise complaint between neighbours turned into a challenging situation for the team. After conducting extensive research working with multi-safeguarding agencies the male is being given the appropriate medical help and support needed". West Heath ward:- "This week the ward has had no reported burglaries. There has been theft from motor vehicles in Gipsy Road and Lansdowne Avenue both overnight on Fri 11th - Sat12th January. The team took part in a Burglary reduction initiative with other teams from Bexleyheath delivering free Smartwater kits to residents. Smartwater is a solution used to mark property. Each bottle has a unique chemical make- up that is registered to a specific address making any stolen items traceable. The kit comes with Smartwater stickers for your windows. Smartwater is available through your Neighbourhood watch at a discounted rate and we encourage you to contact the NW office for details. We had a successful ward panel meeting on Saturday 12th January which was well attended. The new Promises for the next three months are Burglary, Motor vehicle crime and ASB around drugs. Remember you can follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates. Our next Community contact session will be on Tuesday 22nd January in Hadlow Road Welling at noon followed by Plymstock Road on 30th January at 2pm".

The end video this week features vintage photographs and film footage taken in and around Erith, Crayford, Welling and Bexleyheath, mainly in the 1950's, and is of some considerable historical interest. do give the video a look. 

.

The first birthday of Bexley Brewery.

The photo above shows the main entrance to Erith Town Hall in Walnut Tree Road. The building was completed in 1931, and housed The Municipal Borough of Erith - which was defined as a local government district in North West Kent from 1876 to 1965 around the town of Erith. It also included the generally suburban areas of Northumberland Heath, Belvedere, and parts of Barnehurst, Bexleyheath, Crayford and the SE2 London Postal District of Abbey Wood. The district was formed when the Local Government Act 1858 was adopted by the parish of Erith, and a Local Board was formed to govern the town. Under the Local Government Act 1894 it became an urban district. The district ran its own tram services as Erith Urban District Council Tramways until they became the responsibility of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933. In 1938 it gained the status of municipal borough. In 1965 it was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and its former area transferred to Greater London from the administrative county of Kent. Its former area was combined with that of other districts to form the present-day London Borough of Bexley. Shortly after this point much of the work carried out in Erith Town Hall was centralised in Bexleyheath, in what was intended to be "temporary" accomodation in Bexleyheath Broadway, but which actually housed many Bexley Council departments for around thirty five years, until the former Woolwich Equitable Headquarters building was purchased and converted for council use at great expense. 

The photo above (click on it for a larger view) was taken back in 1880 of a very grand property which was called Walnut Tree House. It was owned by the Parish family, who by the looks of it were not short of a bob or two – the place looks lovely. The patriarch, John Parish owned the ballast wharf in West Street, and the ballast pit in what is now the Europa Industrial Estate in Fraser Road. The very fine quality loam dug from the pit was taken to the wharf to be loaded onto freighter ships for transportation up to the great iron and steel forges on Tyneside, where it was used to make moulds for metal castings. Unfortunately Walnut Tree House does not exist today; it was demolished to make way for Erith Town Hall in 1931, as previously mentioned. I don't know what the Parish family would have made of the location nowadays, with 24 hour motor traffic using the hideous fish sculpture roundabout, it would definitely be very different from when the house was occupied. Still, the needs of the council had to be satisfied then, and again today. It is distinctly possible that the site of both Walnut Tree House and Erith Council Offices may soon once again come up for some form of redevelopment. As I have recently written, it is thought that Bexley Council are negotiating a break point in their contract with Capita, the commercial outsourcing company that run the Council Tax collection operations and the housing and council tax benefits functions on behalf of the council. The word is that Bexley are looking to terminate the contract at a break point this year, and to instead merge their Council Tax operations with Bromley Council on a single site. This should substantially reduce the overhead costs of the operation for both boroughs, due to economies of scale. Capita are the only operation currently undertaken in Erith Town Hall, as most other functions have been centralised to Bexleyheath, again in a bid to save money. I have concerns about the fate of Erith Town Hall; it is located in a prime position for being sold off to be redeveloped, possibly as up - market apartments - and we all know Bexley Council's appalling record for selling off the family silver - just look at the situation with Belvedere Splash Park. If one thinks about it, the Town Hall site is located within two minutes walk of Erith Station, it is also very close to Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, and overlooks Erith Riverside Gardens. I get the feeling that developers may be already looking at the site with envious eyes. As Crossrail comes to Abbey Wood, and will almost certainly be extended down to the forthcoming Paramount London Theme Park on the Swanscombe Peninsula. This will make Erith even more attractive to property developers, and to people looking to move into the area because of the employment opportunities that the Theme Park and allied businesses will bring into the region as a whole.

This week marks the 30th birthday of a distinctly low technology, unglamorous, yet hugely important and influential computer which most people who were around at the time will have forgotten about. The Amstrad PCW 8256 - in eighteen months it did for the typewriter what the car took thirty years to do for the pony and trap. Amstrad boss Alan Sugar’s specification was simple – “A word processor so simple Joyce could use it”. Joyce Caley was his formidable personal assistant, and "Joyce" became the codename for the project – and the product name in Germany. The PCW 8256 rode on the coat-tails of the previous Amstrad computers, which had been huge successes: The CPC 464 and 664 computers that I have written about in the past - two excellently engineered and very good value machines in themselves. While the PCW 8256 is often derided as being a low-tech device – Z80-based, running CP/M when not word-processing and with a monochrome display – it’s key to being cheap lay in using a single chip which controlled the CPU, display and, crucially, the printer. What customers thought was a separate external printer was in fact just a printing mechanism with the electronics mounted inside the main unit. The PCW 8256 predated the widespread use of graphical interfaces and the computer mouse. Macs existed, but only in rarefied circles and its Motorola 68000 processor cost more than a whole PCW. Just being able to highlight text you wanted to cut and paste was revolutionary when most PC programs wanted a combination of control, secondary and tertiary keys for each step to mark the start of a block, the end of the block and the copy or cut. The PCW 8256 operating system / word processing program called LocoScript reduced nine key presses to three and made the whole process a lot more obvious. Whilst it could also play games - and indeed many Sinclair ZX Spectrum titles were ported onto the PCW 8256, word processing and spreadsheets were what it really did best. It was actually a superb bit of kit that was well engineered (down to a price) and very well thought out. Most of all, the long lasting effect of the PCW 8256 was to get people writing. If everyone back then had a book in them, it was often the PCW 8256 which got it out. Significant businesses can trace their roots back to early work on the machine. Many writers got their first books published after typing it out on a PCW 8256. Back in 1985, only a small, intrepid minority of writers used word processors. The pioneers tended to be sci-fi writers such as Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke, who were perhaps naturally disposed to new technology, and authors of densely plotted thrillers and historical fiction who needed to incorporate lots of research and move material around without having to hold everything in their short-term memories. The Amstrad changed all this, for the simple reason that it cost £399, word-processing program and dot-matrix printer included, while an Apple Mac or IBM system cost four times as much or more. The PCW 8256 price lured in those writers who were beginning to realise that, on their Smith Coronas and Olivetti typewriters, they were spending as much time retyping as typing. A critical mass formed. any single piece of hardware can have been said to have introduced a computer to an audience it might well otherwise have bypassed, the Amstrad PCW 8256 is the machine - in the thirteen years it was in production in various guises, it sold a staggering eight million units. I suspect that in attics and the backs of cupboards all over the UK, some of these ground breaking computers still exist. Let's hope that they get preserved. 

For over a year I have been hearing all sort of rumours about the large Morrison's supermarket in Erith, which provides jobs for over five hundred local people - one of the largest employers in the town, though relatively small when compared to ADM Oils, who operate the largest edible oils and fats processing plant in Europe from their facility in Church Manorway, Erith, where they employ around four thousand people, and process one million tonnes of rapeseed each year. The plant crushes the seeds and refines the crude oil into about 385,000 tonnes of refined oil that is used in a variety of food ingredients and in biofuels throughout Europe. The meal from these crushing operations is used as feed by livestock producers in the U.K., France and Ireland. I digress. Whilst not the largest local employer, Morrison's are an exceedingly significant one, and any loss of jobs from the shop would have significant social and economic impact on the area. The current Managing Director of Morrison's is a guy called David Potts, who is slashing nine hundred jobs from eleven stores across the country, while warning that the impending national living wage could hit the company for tens of millions of pounds. It means the new boss of the struggling supermarket has shown the door to nearly four thousand staff in just six months, with seven hundred gone at head office and two thousand three hundred from its convenience-store M Local business, which was sold yesterday, although the jobs will be saved by the new owners. A further four hundred Morrisons jobs went in January when another ten stores were closed under Potts’s predecessor, Dalton Philips. Potts refused to rule out more store closures, explaining he is still reviewing the company’s portfolio of five hundred stores, although there are currently no plans to shut more. Some time ago I had contact with a regular reader, and occasional Maggot Sandwich contributor who had been asking questions about the future for Erith Morrisons. They were told in unequivocal terms that the store was not shutting, and it most certainly  not being taken over by Aldi, despite some persistent rumours that had been circulating. Whilst Erith Morrisons has taken a bit of a hit from the competition in the form of Asda at Lower Belvedere, it is still an important store to the company, and to the town. I will be keeping my ear to the ground for any news which contradicts the official company line. If you hear anything, can you please let me know by Emailing hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Earlier in the week, I received the following Email from a local chap called Tony Fairburn:- "I support what you say about river ferries, the Thames is an underused resource that should be developed as in Sydney, Venice, Amsterdam and on the River Rhine. A couple of events that may offer some hope: The Campaign for Better Transport is hosting an event at the Abbey Wood Community Hall on Tuesday 15 September at 18.30. I am sure the subject of ferries will come up. Just turn up on the night. I am working with a group of like minded people to draw attention of the problems associated with road crossings; you already know my thoughts on this. We have a new Facebook page (needs sorting out) at Bexley Against Road Crossings, and we are developing a web site which includes a recommendation for the promotion of ferries. We are having a meeting at 19.15 at Bexley Community Library, Bourne Road on Tuesday 29 September. If you or your readers are interested in joining us please get them to contact me".

The following announcement has been made by the team behind Erith Park, the huge housing development that has replaced the notorious and unloved Larner Road Estate. "From Neanderthal communities to philanthropists, our flagship regeneration scheme Erith Park has a rich history to celebrate. Join us on Saturday 26 September for our community event, which will tell the stories of Erith’s communities past and present. The day will include: The geology of Erith Park – learn about the Neanderthal humans, animals and geological wonderment of Erith Park. Walk the Talk tour – find out about Erith Park’s historic roots when we launch our new interactive tour. Our Story premier – attend the first screening of ‘Our Story’, a short film about life at Erith Park told through the eyes of residents. Street naming – we have chosen to name the new streets after families and residents who have given a lot to the local communities and we will be joined by their relatives. Entertainment – guests including cavemen in their Stone Age car and two Victorian characters telling stories about Erith in the past.

Date: Saturday, September 26, 2015

Time:

12:30 onwards – Entertainment and film showings

13:00 – Unveiling of the geology board, Walk the Talk and street naming

14:30 – Close

Please feel free to drop-in for as long or as little as you would like. Location: Erith Park, Callender Road, Erith, DA8 3DD. Parking for relatives will be available at our Sales and Marketing Suite car park. To find out more about Erith Park and our plans for phase two in 2015, click here". 

Rail companies around the UK, and especially in London are currently investigating ways to increase passenger capacity. This comes at a time when they are under an increasingly large amount of scrutiny from both the public and politicians. Earlier this week there was meeting called by the rail minister Claire Perry. The summit was attended various MPs and special interest groups, as well as Network Rail, Southeastern and rail user group Passenger Focus at London Bridge. During the meeting, both local MP's Teresa Pearce (Labour) and David Evennett (Conservative) voiced concerns over Southeastern’s rail service, stating there were serious issues the operator needed to address. David Evennett said: “My constituents do not believe rail services have improved with particular problems on peak time trains. Southeastern not are listening to the genuine concerns being expressed by their customers about quality and punctuality. I will continue to hold them to account for their failures, and I shall be making strong representations when the new franchise is put out to tender". David Evennett also raised complaints on behalf of his constituents on issues such as overcrowding, delays and customer satisfaction as well as challenging several statistics presented about the company’s performance. Teresa Pearce said "I am regularly contacted by constituents who have concerns with Southeastern rail services. The improvement works at London Bridge have caused disruption to many commuters across the South East through overcrowding, cancellations and delays". Last year, Southeastern was ranked joint-bottom as the worst train company in Britain in a survey by consumer group Which? The company blamed the result on its customers in comments made to the press, saying it took “people somewhere they don’t want to be with money they don’t want to pay.” The capacity issues with the existing rail infrastructure are also a great worry. There are all sorts of physical restrictions and limitations - the width of the rail track gauge, the height of the station platforms, the height of any bridges and the dimensions of tunnels that the train and accompanying carriages have to pass through. The restrictions that especially apply on the Dartford to Cannon Street via Greenwich line has are mainly dictated by the length of platform at Woolwich Dockyard station, which is bounded by a tunnel at each end of the platform. A maximum length of ten carriages can be accommodated - any more and they would be left in the tunnel at one end or another. In some parts of Europe they have come to a novel and rather clever solution - they use double decker trains. The use of double-decker carriages, where feasible, can resolve capacity problems on a railway, avoiding other options which have an associated infrastructure cost such as longer trains (which require longer station platforms), more trains per hour (which the signalling or safety requirements may not allow) or adding extra tracks besides the existing line. Double decker (sometimes referred to as bilevel) trains are claimed to be more energy efficient, and may have a lower operating cost per passenger. A bilevel car may carry about twice as many as a normal car, without requiring double the weight to pull or material to build. However, a bilevel train may take longer to exchange passengers at each station, since more people will enter and exit from each car, and they are accordingly most popular on long-distance routes which make few stops (and may be popular with passengers for offering a better view). It may surprise you to know that double decker trains actually ran locally for quite some time - between November 1949 and October 1971 on the Dartford via Bexleyheath to Cannon Street line. Each of the four coach units carried twenty two high level and twenty four low level seats, a total of 508, with additional tip up seats at the ends of the upper level. This was a total of 1,104 seats on the train, normal trains had 772 seats. Access to the upper deck was via a short staircase. Ventilation of the upper deck was by constantly running electric fans, as the windows couldn't be opened. The train was higher than other trains so care had to be taken which routes to use it on. The Dartford routes were ideal and no alteration had to be made to the  track and bridges. Bearing in mind many people smoked on trains back then, the fug on the upper deck must have been terrible, especially in summer. The other problems with the double decker train was that the seats were cramped, hard and uncomfortable, and the time taken to get on and off the double decker carriages was significantly longer than with a conventional train. The double decker train was finally taken out of service on the 1st October 1971, and was scrapped. You can learn more about the Kent double decker train by clicking here.

As some of you will know, I have not been very well this week; my sincere thanks to the many well - wishers who have been in contact with me over the period; suffice to say that I am now on the mend. The story as to what happened will have to wait for another time I am afraid. 

It is somewhat surprising to note that the first birthday of the Bexley Brewery is upon us. Here is a note from husband and wife team Cliff and Jane on the events of the last year. "Bexley Brewery - It all began with those seven words… “I think we should start a brewery…” Bexley Brewery came about partly from a need to change careers but also from a desire to start a family business from something that was a very successful hobby. Cliff was a software designer and I was a Bexley Primary school teacher, so the brewing industry was a big departure from both of our comfort zones. We looked all over Bexley for possible premises, even drifting in Dartford and other surrounding areas.  That was actually the hardest part, finding premises and we quickly discovered a shortage of smaller industrial units within the borough. However, good fortune was not far away, and we eventually found our current location through a contact at our rugby club (Dartfordians) and could immediately see the potential for a brewery site. After the usual speedy work was completed by solicitors, we got the keys on May 29th and immediately started work preparing the unit. Brewing vessels were ordered, a conditioning room was built and the essential drainage put in place. The necessary permits were applied for and everything was planned to be ready for the first brew by the beginning of August. However, the weather cannot be predicted and our container was delayed somewhere in the Pacific. This did give us an opportunity to brew final test batches and settle on our first beers – BOB and Redhouse. Our first brew was a Redhouse. Everything went well thanks to the help the assistance from the master brewer in the installation team. The second brew was another matter - we were on our own. We needn’t have worried too much as the beer got brewed ok, but there was plenty of pressure, in particular what to do if things went wrong and things have gone wrong at different times. Initial casks were ready for sale around the end of September and our first customers included the Robin and Hood and Little John, The Penny Farthing, Lamorbey Wines and Darfordians Rugby Club, all of whom are still customers and great supporters of their local brewery. As well as cask ales we also wanted to produce bottled conditioned ales. ‘Bottle conditioned’ means that the beer is still alive and still fermenting in the bottle, just like cask beer. This does mean that there is sediment at the bottom of the bottles, which can put people off buying our beer. Most supermarket beers are filtered, pasteurised and carbonated, and so will appear crystal clear. They will also taste exactly the same from the moment of bottling to the time of drinking; whereas our beers’ flavour continues to develop and mature, so the taste from bottling to drinking will change (for the better). Our logo is the red necked parakeet. So “why the parakeet” is a question we often get asked. We’ve discovered that the ring necked parakeet, seen much around the borough, is either loved or loathed! We’ve even been heckled at farmers markets by people who genuinely dislike the bird… We always come to their defence, they are survivors and after all that’s what nature is about. They brighten up the skies and can be very comical, although not when they are eating the apples on our tree in the garden! Our particular bird is also happy to dress up for special occasions as can bee seen on our Facebook and Twitter pages. With costumes and disguises including a knight, a Jedi, a penny farthing cyclist and even sporting a moustache. Although our main business is brewing for pubs, clubs and bottle shops, it is important for us to keep in contact with the people actually drinking our ales. So in November last year we opened the brewery shop for the first time and people could come and buy directly from us and have a peek at the brewery as well. The brewery team also grows on shop/event days as we have Lisa & Vanessa, who help out behind the counter. We’ve opened monthly since then and have just started to open every Friday afternoon. We also run a tour & tasting bi-monthly, which is a chance for people to meet the brewer, learn more about the brewing process and try some of our beers as well.  These are very popular and we always get great positive feedback from them. Farmers Markets are also a great way to sell our produce as well as meet people and tell them about the local brewery. Currently we attend three farmers markets, on three consecutive weekends at Hall Place Bexley, Spadework in Offham & Chislehurst. We really enjoy these markets, meeting people and making friends with other stallholders. People often ask if Cliff the brewer is in fact BOB. We run the business as a team, which when you’re also married can and does spread into our lives outside the brewery. With evenings often spent making our tea lights – those of you who buy directly from us should have quite a collection by now, as well as working out new recipe ideas, at times it’s 24/7". Excellent stuff; I am a great fan of the Bexley Brewery. I am fortunate in living very close to their facility, though thus far I have yet to persuade them to run a hose pipe from the brewery into Pewty Acres so that I could have a pint by pint beer meter fitted in the kitchen. Oh well...

The end video this week shows the Caterham Seven 620R super lightweight sports car. This is the fastest and most powerful vehicle produced in the Caterham factory, which is located in Kennet Road, Crayford, not far from the Thames Road Recycling Centre. It is amazing that a vehicle that can beat many Ferraris and Lamborghinis on a race track is actually built in a giant shed near the the local council tip! I occasionally see a Caterham being road tested locally; if you keep your eyes open they are sometimes to be seen, but they are very low and small, and move astonishingly quickly. Jeremy Clarkson once described a Caterham as "An Exocet powered shopping trolley". Quite.