The queue.

The scene above will be familiar to most people now; I took the photo whilst queuing outside of Morrison's in Erith one evening last week. Whilst I have heard a few grumbles about the enforced isolation and social separation, most people seem to be taking the new rules and precautions well.  In my experience, the queue moves quite quickly, and only adds a few minutes to the shopping experience. The queue looks long, as people are spacing themselves two metres from each other, but it also moves quickly as a result. On one occasion whilst queuing, an individual jumped over the crowd control barrier and joined the queue in front of me. Before I could say anything, the store security guard intervened - the interloper was removed after some altercation and shouting. I think this was the exception; generally people in the queue are considerate and patient. What do you think? Share your personal experiences with me by Emailing me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

CB radio seems to be making a comeback, with people stuck at home, bored and looking at for them - new ways to communicate with others for free. It seems strange that in an era of online video conferencing with apps such as Skype, Zoom and FaceTime that a nowadays relatively little known hobby that had its roots in the pre - mobile phone era of the late 1970's and early 1980's could be returning to the scene. If you are not aware, CB radio - formally known as Citizen's Band radio is a licence free, relatively short range alternative to Amateur Radio. Citizens band radio (often shortened to CB radio) is a system of short-distance radio communications between individuals on a selection of 40 channels within the 27-MHz (11 metre) band. In the United Kingdom, CB radio was first legally introduced in 1981, but had been used illegally for some years prior. In December 2006, CB radio was deregulated by Ofcom and it is now licence-free. Although the use of CB radios in the UK has declined from its peak, it is still popular, especially with the farming community, Land Rover owners and Mini-Cab services. CB radio was first introduced into the United Kingdom around 1972. Early use was known around the airports in the UK, particularly Stansted in 1973. As citizens band radio has been advertised in the US since before 1962, it is possible that a number of these radios were brought into the UK and used illegally. In the period 1976–1978, CB radio in Britain was much popularised by novelty hit songs and its use in the film Convoy and the usage of illegal CB radio peaked in 1980. Companies in Britain sold US equipment quite openly, and equipment was readily available in car accessory shops. During this time, a great many CB clubs emerged in the UK and they became centres of protest in the march towards legalisation, in the hope that existing equipment could be used legally. In response to this, the government commissioned a white paper proposing a CB service called "Open Channel" around 860 MHz. The big problem for the UK was that the 27 MHz band was already licensed legally to radio control model aircraft users. They were paying for a licence to use the band, and interference resulted in loss of control of the aircraft. Many expensive models were written off, and the safety implications were obvious, but there was no practical way to police a separation, and the government did not rate the protection of model flying as an important issue. The UK Government eventually legalised CB radio, and on 2 November 1981 a CB service was introduced on a frequency band and offset that is incompatible with the imported American radios. At the same time the ownership of non-UK approved 27 MHz transceivers was made illegal except for those obtained by UK radio amateurs. The government initially proposed an FM system on a 928 MHz band with an RF Input power not exceeding 500 mW. This was unacceptable to the CB lobby partly because the low power would give a short range but mainly because the cost of equipment to operate in this band would be prohibitive. The more knowledgeable CB enthusiasts made a counter proposal to use a frequency around 220 MHz. This was immediately dismissed by the government who pointed out that it was a reserved military frequency band. It was subsequently discovered that the frequency had been unused since the Second World War. The government initially refused to relent and continued their insistence on legalising the 928 MHz band. The CB lobby continued to insist that any CB system had to use the 27 MHz band, be AM and a maximum output power of 4 watts (i.e. the US system). Ultimately, the government hinted that they were going to give in to the CB lobby but, as it turned out, only up to a point. CB was eventually legalised on a 27 MHz band but not the band used in the US. Whereas the US used a band occupying the range 26.965 to 27.405 MHz, the UK system was to operate on 27.60125 to 27.99125 MHz. These awkward frequencies would prevent illegal US sets from being modified outside of the type approval system, though it was possible to have existing A.M. radios modified to comply with the new F.M. standard. The choice of frequency would also give the UK electronics industry a head start in the production of unique UK only radios. The system was FM as expected, but one initial surprise was that the power limit was set at 4 watts. The surprise was short lived when it was realised that antenna restrictions would limit the real radiated power to little more than a 500 mW system. A further restriction on power applied if the antenna was elevated by more than 7 metres from the ground. The antenna restrictions were largely ignored and, in the main, un-policed. The government of the day had hoped that UK based manufacturers would be able to compete on a level playing field with foreign (notably Japanese) manufacturers for a share of the potential market. As it happened: the awkward choice of frequencies conspired against this ideal. The frequencies were such that, initially, only one manufacturer in Japan had the capability of producing the frequency synthesiser chips capable of producing the transmission frequencies and the local oscillator signals for use in receive mode. This manufacturer, not surprisingly, refused to supply any UK based manufacturer while it was attempting to keep Japanese manufacturers supplied. In the event, the UK market saturated within a few months and many Japanese manufacturers and UK importers were left with vast amounts of unwanted stock. Within a year of the introduction of CB to the UK, CB radio sets were being given away free with some purchase or other by many of the major retailers. After this, many UK CB radios were relegated to the backs of cupboards or into the loft. From the inception of legalised CB radio, there has been much abuse of the system, with frequent complaints that CB radio was not policed properly in spite of the licence revenues. CB channels still remained busy in many areas, despite mobile phones becoming increasingly common and feature rich. Many of the original advantages of mobile CB have been surpassed by the development of mobile internet access, satellite navigation systems, and the proliferation of other instant communication technologies such as text messaging. The introduction of a new licence free handheld PMR 446 radio service has provided much of the features of traditional C.B., in a small handheld format. This service is not directly comparable with C.B, as PMR446 was intended to provide a short range service. Changes to the UK's amateur radio licensing system mean that it is now possible for people under the age of 14, and anyone else, to gain legal access to most of the UK amateur frequency allocation with only basic technical knowledge.  A small but very active UK CB group still carried on, and several companies sell brand new CB in this country, as a quick Google search will show. It would seem that some of the old CB rigs are being dusted down and put back into use during this period of Covid - 19 lockdown, which to my mind can only be a good thing; a substantial number of CB radio operators "get the bug" and want to go onto other radio related activities - principally getting themselves licenced as an Amateur Radio operator. In many ways Citizen's Band is a gateway that leads on to Amateur Radio. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

It is rare that I ever celebrate a business going bust; as regular readers will be aware, I am keen to publicise and promote local independent businesses - indeed, more on that theme later in this update. I do not normally comment on stories that make the national news, as there are professional journalists who can report those stories far better than I. Also the Maggot Sandwich has a primary focus on local events and current affairs. I am making an exception in this case however, as I have commented on the subject before, and I feel that it is of interest to many readers. You may have seen in the press over the last week news that the store Brighthouse has called in accountancy firm Grant Thornton as official receivers after the company became insolvent. Whilst I feel sorry for the staff who are almost inevitably going to lost their jobs, I cannot say that I am sorry that the firm has gone bust. For those that may not be aware, here is some background to Brighthouse, their dubious business model, and the people they preyed on. To my mind, the definitive indicator that a town had gone to the dogs is when Brighthouse moved in. I was reading an article recently, in which Karl Dayson, an academic who specialises in the study of affordable finance said that “I can think of no better marker of social deprivation than having a Brighthouse store open in your area”.  Brighthouse were until last week a chain of retailers specialising in household goods such as furniture, washing machines, televisions and cookers. Their unique selling point was that you could purchase goods on credit with no deposit, and with very low weekly repayments. The stores were designed to appeal to young families – the aisles between goods on display were wide enough for a child’s buggy to be wheeled easily along them. Brighthouse offered credit to those who would otherwise be unable to qualify for it – mainly people on benefits. This all sounded great – helping those otherwise unable to afford the basics of a home to get what they need. The downside of it was the eye wateringly high interest rates that Brighthouse charged. Several debt charities expressed dismay at the high charges. A basic washing machine that cost £399 in Curry's would have cost £1,560 from Brighthouse, albeit broken down into “affordable” £10 weekly payments at an interest rate of 69.9% APR. Just like the notorious pay day lenders, the poorer you are, the more you pay for goods and services. Debt advisor Anne Young, who has advised many former Brighthouse customers said “These companies are preying on people who cannot afford to go anywhere else. I do think that they are robbing the poor, when you look at their prices. They are charging a ridiculous amount for goods you can buy on the high street for a third of the price”.  To give an example, a small television which costs £99.99 in Argos would cost a total of £606.84 paid over a total of 156 weeks. Brighthouse argued that their TV was covered against malfunction and accidental damage over the course of the repayment period, but this needed to be set against the fact that you could buy six similar televisions for that same amount of money elsewhere. Brighthouse claimed that if you could find an identical product anywhere on the high street, that they would match the price. This was actually quite difficult, as Brighthouse had a lot of “own name” brands, such as Baird; these were simply not available anywhere else; they also included a number of options that other retailers on the high street don’t, and the pricing structure was so bewilderingly complex that direct comparison was rather difficult.  The demographic for Brighthouse customers is fairly straightforward; a majority are women between 26 and 45 years of age; they earn less than £13,000 a year, and around fifty percent are receiving at least part of their income in the form of benefits. You can really view Brighthouse as a cross between somewhere like Argos and loan company – and its’ customers are overwhelmingly people who did not qualify for a credit card or scored too lowly for a conventional, lower interest loan. The kind of goods that the company sold (furniture / consumer electronics) did tend to depreciate over the course of the loan period, to the point that by the time the loan was fully paid off, the goods were essentially worthless. On top of this, Brighthouse had a policy of repossessing goods if payments were not met, even if the customer was only one or two payments away from completing the purchase.  Normally a court order is required to repossess goods when more than a third of the credit payments have already been met. Brighthouse had a nasty habit of sending round bailiffs without such legal niceties – exploiting the fact that many of their customers were ignorant of the law. All in all, Brighthouse succeeded because they could – their target customer did not qualify for a loan from a conventional source, and was not aware of low cost resources such as credit unions. They relied on the customer being sucked in to the colourful, brightly lit and shiny shop with the promise of low repayments, even if they do end up paying for what seemed like half a lifetime. Fortunately this has now come to an end. The failure of Brighthouse has come over a period of around three years. In 2017, Brighthouse was ordered to pay £14.8 million to 249,000 customers by the financial regulator, Financial Conduct Authority. This was in response to the retailer's inability to pay customers who had cancelled agreements after one down payment. The company at the time was told it had not been a responsible lender. Brighthouse had also been accused of charging excessive interest on lending. In April last year, the FCA introduced a cap on interest and fees companies like Brighthouse can charge. This put the company in a very fragile financial position; the compulsory closure of all of its 240 UK stores under the current Coronavirus regulations meant that Brighthouse cashflow was severely curtailed, and accountants Grant Thornton were called in to wind up the business. Brighthouse may have operated a legal business; whether they operated a moral one is open to debate. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Local businesses are working on ways to service their customers whilst they are on lock down. The excellent Bexley Brewery have just started a home delivery service. You can join their Email list by contacting shop@bexleybrewery.co.uk  They comment:- "We'll be sending out our new beer and cider list every Monday, so please look out for it. If you don't see an email from us in your in box, please check your junk/spam folder as your server/spam guard may be sensitive to attachments, if there's still nothing there, please drop me an email and let me know. As we did this week, we'll be taking orders on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, with last orders being Wednesday 12 midday (we have to be very prompt on this). We then start to workout delivery routes and organise the orders ready to deliver from Wednesday afternoon onwards". Another local organisation that is changing to accommodate the quarantine situation is The Bookstore Cafe, which has had to close to visitors. Instead they are also offering a delivery service. Their announcement reads:- "Get The Bookstore straight to your door with our Oven Ready Meal offer. Choose from a selection of meals including pies, curries and hot pots, all for £5 including delivery. Deliveries are made on Fridays. So please let us know what you are after by Thursday 9am. To place an order, follow this link, or give us a call on 01322 341144. We are offering Orbit residents our individual oven ready meals for £2.50, including delivery. Home cooked nutritious affordable ready meals made with the best ingredients by the best local chefs. To find out more, follow this link or give us a call on 01322 341144". Head Chef Louisa Budds is sharing some of her recipes. Download the recipe here, and watch the how-to video below.

Now that a large majority of the UK are working from home, it has become apparent that some of the tools that many use to keep in touch with family and friends - and not to mention work, have come under scrutiny. I don't know if you saw Prime Minister Boris Johnson early last week, when on Tuesday when he shared a screenshot of “the first ever digital Cabinet” on his Twitter feed. It revealed the country’s most senior officials and ministers were using the popular video conferencing application Zoom to discuss critical issues facing the UK. The use of the Zoom software is likely to have infuriated the security services, while also raising questions about whether the UK government has its own secure video-conferencing facilities. The decision to use Zoom, as millions of others stuck at home during the Coronavirus outbreak are doing, comes as concerns are growing about the conferencing app's business model and security practices. Most notably, the company has been forced to admit that although it explicitly gives users the option to hold an “end-to-end encrypted” conversation and touts end-to-end encryption as a key feature of its service, in fact it offers no such thing. Specifically, it uses TLS, which underpins HTTPS (secure) website connections and is significantly better than nothing. But it most definitely is not end-to-end encryption (E2E). E2E ensures all communications are encrypted between devices so that not even the organisation hosting the service has access to the contents of the connection. With TLS, Zoom can intercept and decrypt video chats and other data. Whilst this might not matter for social calls between friends and family, when big corporations, or indeed governments become involved, it is a whole different issue. Despite Zoom offering a meeting host the option to “enable an end-to-end (E2E) encrypted meeting,” and providing a green padlock that claims “Zoom is using an end to end encrypted connection,” it appears that the company is able to access data in transit along that connection, and can also be compelled to provide it to governments. So, it's not E2E. While that is not something that will bother most Zoom users, whose conversations are not highly sensitive nor confidential, for something like a UK Cabinet meeting, the lack of true end-to-end encryption is dangerous. Personal information gathered by the company included, but was not limited to, names, addresses and any other identifying data, job titles and employers, Facebook profiles, and device specifications. It also included "the content contained in cloud recordings, and instant messages, files, whiteboards ... shared while using the service." In other words, it was, arguably, the Facebook of the video-conferencing world, sucking every piece of data it can from you and any device you install it on. Speaking of Facebook, Zoom's iOS app sent analytics data to Facebook even if you didn't use Facebook to sign into Zoom, due to the application's use of the social network's Graph application programming interface. In short, while Zoom’s ease of use, reliability and excellent user interface has made it a godsend for people stuck at home, the company continues to raise red flags about its honesty, its privacy policies and its business model. 

This month marks the 35th anniversary of the first UK cellular telephones going on sale to the general public. The official launch was on the first of January 1985, but for the first few months, phones were almost exclusively sold to corporations and large businesses. It was only at the beginning of April 1985 that the general public could - for a price - buy a transportable phone, such as the model shown above - click on the image for a larger view. The companies we know as Vodafone and O2 today were Racal-Vodafone and Securicor-Cellnet back then; phones were the size of a small suitcase and only did voice calls - no text or apps, let alone any kind of camera or GPS. The two companies had spent the months up to the 1st January launch deadline fighting for cell sites and testing coverage, particularly in London. There was no hint of site-sharing. The services used analogue TACS (Total Access Control System), and later ETACS (Enhanced TACS), as more frequencies became necessary. The analogue calls could easily be monitored using a radio scanner - as in the infamous Princess Diana "Squidgygate" tapes. The cellular service was not actually the first mobile phone system available - there was a Carphone Radio service called Band 3, but that was push-to-talk and all calls had to go through an operator to be connected. Calls were limited as was the number of users. You had to go on a waiting list and wait for a subscriber to close an account before you could buy one. It was complex, limited in coverage and extremely expensive. The first modern, cellular call was undertaken by Vodafone's Michael Harrison, the son of former Vodafone Chairman Sir Ernest Harrison, who was the first to test the system, calling his father at midnight on 1st January, 1985. Michael Harrison secretly left his family’s New Year’s Eve party at their home in Surrey in the UK to surprise his father, calling him from London’s Parliament Square. Harrison made the historic call from one of the first mobile devices – a Transportable Vodafone VT1, which weighed 11lb (5kg) and had around 30 minutes of talk time - more on this groundbreaking device in a bit. Harrison recalls that the line was crystal clear, although the excited shouting of New Year’s Eve revellers in London created considerable background noise. As Sir Ernest Harrison answered the phone, Michael said: “Hi Dad. It’s Mike. This is the first-ever call made on a UK commercial mobile network”. Which isn't quite “one small step” but is better than, “Watson come here I want to see you". The official press launch was held days later at St Katherine’s Dock in London where Vodafone had hired comedian Ernie Wise make the first public mobile phone call. Wise brought the same transportable device to St Katherine’s Dock in London in a 19th century mail coach, using one of the oldest forms of communications – sending a letter – to highlight the speed and convenience of these new mobile phones. Ernie Wise’s call was received at the original Vodafone headquarters, where a handful of employees were based in an office above an Indian restaurant in Newbury, Berkshire. Heavy and cumbersome, the first generation of mobile phones were sold in the UK from 1984 – before the first products were even available and before the network was officially live. Such was the demand for a fully portable, cellular phone that more than two thousand orders had been taken by the Vodafone sales team before Michael Harrison made his call from Parliament Square. By the end of 1985, over twelve thousand devices had been sold. Very soon afterwards a good friend of mine got given a VT1 portable TACS phone by his then employer, British Telecom. The phone was so powerful that when he made trips to the Carrefour Hypermarket in Calais, he could call his Mum to find out what she wanted him to buy, connecting via the British mobile phone cell in Dover (there was no international mobile roaming back in those days).

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Despite the lock down there have been two burglaries on the ward over the last week. Both of these occurred in Parkside Avenue. In both cases entry was gained by the front door. An Audi was taken on the first occasion. However on Sunday morning the suspect was confronted and made off empty handed in a blue Audi A3 or S3 in the direction of Parkside Cross. He was described as a white male in his late twenties with brown hair wearing dark clothing. There was also a theft of number plates in the car park in Badlow Close. Unfortunately since the lock down officers have had to move people on and give strong words of advice to people who continue to flout government advice. Please only leave your premises if absolutely essential e.g shopping for essentials daily exercise, work etc. Please keep safe". Belvedere ward:- "The team executed a drugs warrant at an address in lower Belvedere on Thursday. Cannabis was found at the address and the occupant is being dealt with for possession. Last week the team were extracted a lot from the ward due to the Corona situation. However when assisting Thamesmead Moorings Ward on Friday we stop and search a male for drugs, after a short chase that is. He was found in possession of a quantity of cannabis and lots of cash. Needless to say he is being dealt with for possession with intent to supply. Potentially a lengthy investigation is underway. On Thursday 26/03/20 we had an attempt garage burglary in Lower Park Road. Happened around 23:15. Nothing taken on this occasion but damage caused. Unfortunately this crime type is still happening so please be alert as much as possible while on lock down!" Bexleyheath ward:-"Wednesday 25/03/20 2000 – 2100 Criminal Damage Long Lane windows on vehicle smashed. Wednesday 25/03/20 1900 – 26/03/20 1040 Criminal Damage Long Lane windows on vehicle smashed. Wednesday 25/03/20 2200 – 26/03/20 1330 Criminal Damage Long Lane windows on vehicle smashed. Thursday 26/03/20 0001 – 26/03/20 1545 Number Plates Stolen Royal Oak Road. Friday 27/03/20 1740 Theft From Motor Vehicle Horsham Road. Between Wednesday 25/03/20 1400 and Saturday 28/03/20 1400 Theft From Motor Vehicle Freta Road. A few motor vehicle crimes this week, please continue to be vigilant around your homes and what items you are leaving on display". Crayford ward:-"A practically unheard of report for Crayford this week. At the time of reporting we have had one report of attempted burglary in Inglewood Road, between 22.00 on 29th March and 18.00 on 30 March, whereby the garage door was forced open but nothing appears to have been stolen. We have been actively patrolling the ward and engaging and encouraging our residents to adhere to Government direction. As ever, please call 999 in the event of an emergency, 101 for non-emergencies. You can contact our team directly on 020 8721 2584 or email at Crayford.SNT@met.police.uk Please stay safe". Erith ward:-"As a team we have been out on the ward on Foot and on Bikes patrolling every part of Erith, explaining to residents not to be out in groups and giving them advice which is in line with what the government are saying for us all to keep safe. We have a full team in Erith and are still doing the daily work we always do. Weapon sweeps are being carried out daily and we are now also twice daily visiting all shops in Erith checking everything is OK. Crime in Erith this last week has been low. Crimes of note from the last week Theft from Motor Vehicle Church Road. Theft from Motor Vehicle Maximfeldt Road." Northumberland Heath ward:-"There has been an Attempted Theft of a Motor Vehicle outside Belmont Road , Erith. Victim witnessed a male looking at his motor vehicle outside his home address. The suspect was seen taking photos of the lock placed on motor vehicle. Unfortunately there is no CCTV Evidence or further links for further investigation. Theft from a motor vehicle on Walsingham Walk, Erith .Victim had her rear cluster light and registration number plates stolen. Residential Burglary Northumberland Park ,Erith.Victim returned home and noticed her front door damaged and unlocked . Nothing was stolen from property. This report has been closed as there are no further lines of enquiries. Attempted theft of a delivery vehicle on 116 Hurst Road, Erith. Victim was a delivery driver delivering parcels on Hurst Road when he left the keys in the ignition while delivering the parcels. A witness alerted the victim of a white male trying to get into the victims vehicle. The driver then attempted to remove the male from the vehicle. Another 4-5 Males then approached the driver and ran towards Colyers Lane with the vehicle in situ. The victim had a cut to his head. This was reported by a third party as the victim left and didn't want to wait for police to attend. Police haven't been able to contact the victim for further investigation. SNT will be patrolling Hind Crescent as much as possible. The team are increasing their patrols around all four wards to provide reassurance patrols in the local area. There are no contact points organised for this month . You can always contact the local team on Twitter @MPSNorthHeath or on the ward phone 02087212502. Officers have been patrolling busy areas within the ward to prevent any anti social behaviour incidents while the outbreak of the coronavirus. As most of the shops are closed on Bexley Road we haven't had any ASB reports or theft reported to us recently." Slade Green and Northend ward:- "We had a burglary in Hollywood Way last Thursday between 0800 and 1500. Entry was made via the key in the keysafe and only specific items were taken. Please ensure nobody apart from those trusted have your keysafe code if you have one. Our team currently are patrolling and doing as much as we can to keep everyone safe and indoors. Please remember that anyone out in groups will be stopped and asked to go home if there is no valid reason to be out. This can result in a fine but we will only resort to this method if there are repeat offenders or anyone refusing to comply. We hope you are all keeping safe during these testing times and please let us know if there are any areas that groups are regularly seen congregating." Thamesmead East ward:-"Lensbury Way SE2 on Sat 28/3/20 between 10:40pm – 10:45pm Victim noticed vehicle alarm going off at 22:40pm, when victim went to check, it was found the vehicle had been entered. Items had been taken from the arm rest compartment by suspect/s unknown. Pointer Close SE28 on Sun 10pm – 1:45pm Victim reports motorcycle stolen from location by suspect/s unknown. Mangold Way DA18 on Mon 30/3/20 2:50pm Victim reports windscreen wipers have been removed from both victim's vehicles and left discarded on the ground. Criminal Damage Watersmeet Way SE28 on Wed 25/3/20 between 10pm – 7:45am Victim heard a noise at 10pm but disregarded it at the time, when victim went into the study the following morning the outer pane to the widow was seen to be smashed by suspect/s unknown. Carnoiste Close SE28 Tues 31/3/20 7:45pm – 10:30am victim returned from work to find kitchen window smashed by suspect/s unknown entry to property not gained nothing taken. Good News - A female who was circulated by PC Pruden for stealing a poppy charity box from Taris Shop Yarnton Way in October 2019 was found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court and sentenced to 14 weeks at her majesty's pleasure. On Sat 28/3/20 at 8pm a phone call was received from a relative worried about his elderly brother and sister in law who both have underlying health issues and are self-isolating for 12 weeks on the ward. The couple have not been able to go shopping for essentials and do not have internet or mobile phones so had been unable to organise shopping delivery. PCSO Buckley contacted the couple who gave her a shopping list which she delivered on Sunday. The couple thanked PCSO Buckley stating “it felt like Christmas”.  West Heath ward:-"Excellent news again this week, no burglaries or motor vehicle crime reported to us. Despite the current difficult climate, the team are continuing to conduct proactive burglary patrols on foot and in vehicles. We have conducted weapon sweeps jointly with our colleagues from Crook Log and East Wickham, as part of this weeks' focus on knife crime. We have carried out regular visits to local shops and businesses that are open to reassure both the public and shop shopkeepers that we are still a visible presence. Please remember to keep your distance when shopping, Keep calm and wash your hands!"

The end video this week may well be of particular interest to drinkers of bottled water. It features the story of the ill - fated Dasani brand of bottled water, which got the unfortunate nickname of "Sidcup Spring". Give it a watch and send any comments to hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

The end of the year.

I took the photo above from the footpath along the Thames that runs behind Morrison's in Erith; many people in Bexley don't realise what a strong maritime connection that Erith has - the fact that it is the only town in the whole London Borough of Bexley that has direct access to the River Thames is unknown to many. Until relatively recently many locals were employed on or near the river. Nowadays it is pleasant to walk along the bank of the river and watch the passing shipping. More on river based activities later. 

2014 has been a mixed year for the local area; there have been many beneficial things, but these have to some extent been balanced by a number of negative outcomes – many of which can be laid at the feet of Bexley Council. More on them later. Back in March some concerted action by a group of residents, along with Erith Town Forum were able to stop the franchise holders of the KFC Drive Through in Manor Road Erith from opening 24/7. The fast food outlet is surrounded by residential properties on all four sides, one of which is a residential care home for the elderly. I think the council planning department, and KFC themselves were stunned by the massive and vociferous protests at the application; it was heartening to see the application get very swiftly withdrawn by the franchising company. There have been persistent rumours that the KFC is operating on a “hand to mouth” basis. Customers have repeatedly reported that they were unable to be served Pepsi, or that no napkins or ketchup were available. The drive through is usually busy from around 5 – 6.30pm on weekdays, and a little later at weekends, but during the daytime the restaurant is often close to empty. It will be instructive to see what happens over the next year, as I feel that the application to extend opening hours was an attempt to increase trade which the place so seems to lack at anything outside of dinner time. Whether it will be able to survive is something that only time will tell. On a more positive note, 2014 was most definitely the year of the Micro Pub. Welling’s Door Hinge won CAMRA Regional Pub of the Year, whilst the Penny Farthing opened to great acclaim on Crayford Riverside, and plans continue for the Broken Drum to open in Blackfen. The return of the “back to basics” style of micro pub – where no jukeboxes or televisions are permitted, and conversation is wholly encouraged. Real ale and cider is served, along with a couple of wines; generally spirits are not available. It would be great if some enterprising aspiring publican would open a Micro Pub in Erith or Northumberland Heath, as the area is sorely lacking in decent watering holes – Erith town centre now has only the Running Horses, which as I recently wrote is nowadays only a sad shadow of its’ former self. A Micro Pub would be a very welcome addition. Another great benefit to the town this year has been the opening of the Bexley Brewery in the Manford Industrial Estate. Only three months from opening the brewery is already nominated for two business awards, and is gaining new customers on an almost daily basis. The first hints that the first production brewery in the London Borough of Bexley since Reffells closed in 1956 came about in May; the 2014 Bexley CAMRA beer festival announced a new brew from a local producer was to be premiered. Bexley Brewery Red House Bitter was the first beer to run out at the festival, and it was voted third best beer of the eighty brews on tap – not bad for a very first attempt! Things then went quiet as far as the public were concerned – though head brewer Cliff, his wife Jane and a team of helpers were extremely busy getting the new brewery up and running in the dedicated premises located on the small, well-kept and very pleasant industrial estate next door to the Erith Yacht Club at the Eastern end of Manor Road. I was fortunate to visit the brewery on several occasions before it officially opened, though I was sworn to secrecy over the plans for the place. Since it opened in September, the Bexley Brewery has gone from strength to strength, and 2015 promises to be an excellent year for them. Less popular with the public have been the actions of certain members of Bexley Council who, in their usual manner do as much as possible to alienate and inconvenience residents who live in the North of the borough in order to keep services and resources available for their voters in the prosperous South of the Borough. Following the closure of the Belvedere Splash Park, amongst a huge and vociferous protest, Bexley council have now announced that they are about to relinquish control of a number of public libraries, so that if they are to remain open at all, they will have to be run by volunteers. The libraries affected are Blackfen, Bostall, Northumberland Heath and Upper Belvedere. This effectively means that Bexley Council are shutting these libraries by the back door; volunteer – run libraries rarely succeed, due to a lack of volunteers to run the operation to enable it to operate the opening hours that the users are used to – you may notice the same thing often happens with charity shops – one can often find a charity shop closed during the normal shopping day, merely as no volunteers were available to staff it at that particular time. The same thing is true of pretty much any organisation that relies on unpaid volunteers. This all seems to play into the hands of the Council – there are widespread rumours that Bexley Council want to sell off the parcel of land that contains Upper Belvedere Library, along with the recreation park next door; this could be undertaken by moving the swings and play area across Woolwich Road and onto what has been the Belvedere Splash Park site for the last nine years. A large parcel of prime development land would then be free for the Council to sell off to the highest bidder. No doubt a lot of tiny “shoe box” flats would end up on the site, generating a healthy income for the Council. Cynical? Maybe, but from previous experience this is just the kind of thing they get up to. For more on the misdemeanours and shady dealings that occur locally, I would refer you to Malcolm Knight’s excellent Bexley is Bonkers blog.

Two of my regular readers, and occasional contributors, Paul and Rosemary sent me the photos above - click on either for a closer view; here is a short description from them:- "Both my wife Rosemary, who took the attached photos, and I took a stroll along the river walk heading upstream towards London yesterday morning. The attached photos show where the silos are being installed. The site is just past the Fords factory on the opposite bank in Dagenham. Looking at the area it appears that Erith Pier is the safest point to moor the barge whilst the work is taking place". Excellent stuff, and very helpful as to what is actually going on. The mystery of the barge with the giant silos moored on Erith Pier has now been going on for nearly a month; the sooner they project is completed the better for all concerned.

German IT researchers have discovered security flaws that could let hackers, spies and criminals listen to private phone calls and intercept text messages on a potentially massive scale – even when mobile phone networks are using the most advanced encryption algorithms now available. The flaws, to be reported at a hacker conference in Hamburg this month, are the latest evidence of widespread insecurity on SS7, the global network that allows the world’s mobile phone carriers to route calls, texts and other services to each other. Experts say it is increasingly clear that SS7 (sometimes also referred to as C7), first designed in the 1980s, is riddled with serious vulnerabilities that undermine the privacy of the world’s billions of mobile phone customers. The flaws discovered by the German researchers are actually functions built into SS7 for other purposes – such as keeping calls connected as users speed down highways, switching from cell tower to cell tower – that hackers can repurpose for surveillance because of the lax security on the network. The weakness of global mobile phone networks is that it is immaterial as to what security each network uses, as all networks in the world have to employ SS7 to communicate between networks – hackers don't need to crack the encryption, because weaknesses in SS7 means that they can get around the encryption without actually having to break it. These vulnerabilities continue to exist even as mobile phone carriers invest billions of dollars to upgrade to advanced 3G / 4G technology aimed, in part, at securing communications against unauthorised eavesdropping. But even as individual carriers harden their systems, they still must communicate with each other over SS7, leaving them open to any of thousands of companies worldwide with access to the network. That means that a single carrier in Congo or Kazakhstan, for example, could be used to hack into mobile phone networks in the United States, Europe or anywhere else. It is thought that security services such as the NSA and GCHQ have been exploiting these vulnerabilities for many years, but the information has only recently been available in the public domain. The German researchers found two distinct ways to eavesdrop on calls using SS7 technology. In the first, commands sent over SS7 could be used to hijack a cell phone’s “forwarding” function -- a service offered by many carriers. Hackers would redirect calls to themselves, for listening or recording, and then onward to the intended recipient of a call. Once that system was in place, the hackers could eavesdrop on all incoming and outgoing calls indefinitely, from anywhere in the world. The second technique requires physical proximity but could be deployed on a much wider scale. Hackers would use radio antennas to collect all the calls and texts passing through the airwaves in an area. For calls or texts transmitted using strong encryption, such as is commonly used for advanced 3G and 4G connections, hackers could request through SS7 that each caller’s carrier release a temporary encryption key to unlock the communication after it has been recorded. The German senator who cooperated in the security researchers demonstration of the technology, Thomas Jarzombek of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party, said that while many in that nation have been deeply angered by revelations about NSA spying, few are surprised that such intrusions are possible. “After all the NSA and Snowden things we've heard, I guess nobody believes it’s possible to have a truly private conversation on a mobile phone,” he said. “When I really need a confidential conversation, I use a fixed-line phone”. I think the senator has rather missed the point; fixed land line phone conversations are sent unencrypted, and are very easy to intercept. The only really secure method is by having a face to face conversation – something that Osama Bin Laden was acutely aware of, but in the end it still did him no good. To be honest, after the doom and gloom of the news about mobile telephony and privacy, I would like to point out that back in the late 1980’s / early 1990’s when the original analogue ETACS mobile phone technology was in use, voice calls made by the system were sent “in the clear” with no encryption whatsoever. Anyone with a radio scanner that was capable of receiving narrow band FM signals between 890 and 950 MHz could listen in to phone conversations, though it would be a one sided listen, unless the scanner had dual watch and could re – tune to the frequency the base station was using to transmit to the phone handset. I think some local residents would be extremely embarrassed if the contents of their mobile phone conversations had ever been made public back in the day - I have been informed by a reliable source that a a couple of analogue mobile phone owners in Erith used to hire "ladies of negotiable virtue" on a regular basis, unaware that their phone calls were being monitored. Nevertheless the ability to monitor confidential phone traffic was available to anyone able to purchase a scanner. At least nowadays the bad guys have to work a little bit harder when they wish to eavesdrop a phone conversation.

Last week I was heading home from work on the train when a chap sitting diagonally opposite me asked if I could help him; he was unfamiliar with the area, and needed to meet someone outside of Woolwich Arsenal railway station. His mobile phone battery had run out of power and he wanted me to look up the area around Woolwich Arsenal on my mobile phone. As many of you know, I don’t own or use a mobile phone – not only am I deeply concerned by the potential long – term health risks posed by low energy microwave radiation absorbed by the human body, but I also have issues with privacy and tracking which I won't bore you with here and now. The chap was gobsmacked when I told him I did not have a mobile phone – he genuinely could not understand how anyone could function without one. I told him that Woolwich Arsenal station was on the East side of General Gordon Square, and that anyone looking for him would have no difficulty in seeing him waiting there. The chap was unconvinced – it seemed that he trusted his mobile phone more than advice from someone familiar with the area. This is one of the most insidious and worrying aspects of the use of smart phones – the user becomes dependent on them, and does not know what to do when the device runs out of power, is lost or develops a fault. Common sense, ingenuity, and the ability to” think on one’s feet” seem to have been eroded in a substantial number of people in only a few short years of smartphone ownership. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for part two of the story of Chic Mackie, the Erith based piper, following on from the previous episode of his story last week. 

From Black Watch to Erith a long …..long….. march.

As much as I would love to continue writing about my Black Watch Service I am afraid this is my concluding story. Oh well …….12 years service with the Black Watch regiment learned me self discipline, social skills, respect for others and how to survive, believe you-me as I marched through my life I had to rely on the fore said! On leaving the Army I joined British Rail. The only question they asked me was I scared of heights? I wondered why they would ask such a question….it did not make sense after all my days of playing with helicopters and climbing mountains or indeed abseiling from any of the above were finished! Wrong!  My offer of employment from BR (prior to privatization) revealed that I was to be given the job of Lamp Boy eh? So before long I was climbing the old semaphore signals servicing the oil lamps. Wonderful job nobody bothered me as long as all the lamps were alight. I spent many hours wandering the track in all weathers just me and my little oil lamps. I did get promoted during my varied Railway career and ended up in a management position involved with Total Quality Management. However privatization ensured redundancy so to move on to pastures new. I moved to London to search for work. I decided to have a little leave and visit some of the landmarks of London. As such I found myself in Harrods (as one does you understand). Then out of the blue I was approached by two rather large Security Officers who invited me to follow them down to the Security Control Centre. Having done nothing I immediately refused! They then informed me that if I refuse I would be arrested! So I had a quick change of mind, they then escorted me through a maze of dark underground tunnels and took me to an interview room. On arrival I was asked to wait to be interviewed by the Security Manager. “Why” I asked they replied “that I had been spotted on the Security Cameras, and was of interest to them” As time passed ever so slowly I began to think, what had I done, this is surely a mistake, I know I paid for the coffee and cake I had the receipt somewhere. The door burst open, “Chic I am so sorry to keep you waiting, I shall come straight to the point would you like to play the Bagpipes for Mohamed Al Fayed and we need you to start on Monday!” “You were spotted in the control room on CCTV by one of your old Army colleagues Andy Coulter” (who was himself to follow the route of a professional piper with all success) “Yes please”, I was to stay with the Harrods Pipe Band for a number of years, had a great time….another chapter in itself!  Time marched on all too quickly. Next Her Majesty’s Tower Of London as a Senior Warden. Civilian Warden not Beefeater. Yes! locked in the Tower for 16 years working in The White Tower and HM Crown Jewels. Playing bagpipes on the more formal occasions. Oh dear that was hard work 7 days a week 16 hour shifts, great staff, some wonderful people at that time I loved it. However things change and as a supervisor and giving my all, I could not give anymore. More and more pressure from the company. God! do I need to move please. I even met my wife Pamela at the Tower and had our wonderful wedding reception there in the Tower Club. Got home one evening, the phone rings Chic how would you like to teach the Bagpipes in Qatar, excellent salary, your reputation goes before you and can you fly out in three weeks time? Pam and I had only been married a few months, however she knew that my days at the Tower were numbered (along with other long standing and dedicated staff) she gave me her instant full support, saying Chic you have got to do this! So a year out in Qatar. Wonderful culture, sunny every day, short working days and doing what I love playing the Bagpipes! Pam came out twice for holidays which was great. Learning Arabic and Arabic Pipe Tunes was a challenge in itself! I will not even mention playing bagpipes on a Camel. But that may be for another time! My year in Qatar soon came to an end, I have been invited back, however another year away from Pam, no thank you.  So here I am back in Erith pursuing my career as a Professional Bagpiper and still marching on! Fascinating stuff, and thanks very much to Chic for sharing it with us. You can see Chic's Facebook page here.

What happens socially in the USA usually ends up being replicated in the UK, so when  a report stating that American teenagers are staying away from cigarettes in greater numbers than they have in generations. That is amongst the good news in a new survey of more than 41,000 students published on Tuesday. But for the first time in a U.S national survey, teens reported puffing on electronic cigarettes more than smoking conventional tobacco. Cigarette smoking among American high school students has been declining since the late 1990s, and the drop got sharper in the last few years. Today just 6.7 percent of high school seniors light up daily, less than half as many as a decade ago. A similar pattern has been noted in Britain – with many school kids preferring to spend their money on credit for their “pay as you go” mobile phones. The level of electronic cigarette use may also have increased due to the relative affordability when compared to conventional tobacco cigarettes. Either way I feel that all forms of smoking should be discouraged - though electronic fags may be a lot less damaging that their "real world" equivalents.

The ending video this week is a bit of a conundrum. It was posted on YouTube some time ago, when I originally came across it. It is a slideshow of photographs of Erith over recent years. I contacted the young lady who put it together, as a large number of the still images had been lifted without permission from my Flickr photo site; to her credit she was mortified (she had not heard of copyright law, and was still at school). I let it go, as she had put the presentation together with the best of intentions, and I did not want to discourage her obvious creativity. See what you think below - you can Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.