The Street Kitchen.

I took the photographs above on Friday evening - click on any one for a larger view. The event was the first Erith Street Kitchen Food Fair. I arrived not long after the event started, and people were beginning to turn up. There were a number of stalls selling a variety of foods and drinks, along with a chap with an acoustic guitar who was singing. I spoke to a number of the people who visited the event - they were pleasantly surprised by it, as they had been walking past and stumbled on it. There were a number of stalls selling everything from alcoholic ice cream, Italian Gnocchi, African food and even a candy floss stall, which proved very popular, especially with children. I have to admit that my only criticism of the food fair was the lack of publicity prior to the event. If I only just knew about it shortly before it took place, how would most local people get to find out? There was very little promotion or publicity, which was a shame. Fortunately the location of the event meant that it attracted a lot of passing attention, and also meant that people returning home after work, who had got the train from London would come across the fair on their way home, or on their way to Morrison's supermarket. I spoke to a lady from Bexley Council who was involved with the organisation of the event, and she told me that they had been leafletting commuters at Erith Station (more on the station shortly) for three days prior to the event, but it would have been nice to see a few posters in and around the town centre. She also told me that they plan to make a Street Kitchen Food Fair a regular occurrence - maybe once a month. I would heartily welcome such a move, as long as the council give the events the appropriate level of publicity and support. I was also told that the re - relaunch of Erith Market is now not likely to happen; the previous half hearted attempt only lasted a few weeks. Last September local arts, heritage and education group The Exchange carried out a public consultation regarding the future of Erith Market; the feedback that they gathered was summarised as:- "The Market needs to be on a weekend to ensure enough people are able to attend it; it needs a better location than the unsuccessful attempt in Morrisons car park; it should have a variety of stalls as it can’t compete with cheap shops in Erith on price alone; it should offer more than just shopping – e.g. music, workshops, activities for children, street food – a real day out. The Market could include opportunities/subsidised stalls for non established traders e.g. teenage market, free stalls for local entrepreneurs, car-boot stalls – maybe we trial it with a Christmas market. To compete with other markets it would be great to become a destination market – need something unique to do this". It would appear from what I was told that the council have now abandoned any attempt to restart the market, which, if it is true, is a real shame. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Bexley Police have started a crackdown on the users of Nitrous Oxide. The gas, which is inhaled, has become a popular recreational drug over the past few years. According to the latest Global Drug Survey, Nitrous Oxide – or laughing gas – is now the seventh most popular drug in the 50 countries surveyed. Just over half the UK respondents said they had tried the drug at some point, and 38 per cent said they had used it in the last year, making it more popular in the UK than any other country. Nitrous Oxide is a colourless, sweet tasting gas that has been used recreationally since the late 18th century, most notably by Sir Humphry Davy, former president of the Royal Society. Medical use was established in the early 20th century and Nitrous Oxide remains an important anaesthetic, tranquilliser and painkiller, used by dentists, obstetricians and sports doctors. Indeed, many members of the public will have experienced the effects of Nitrous Oxide themselves without realising it. The popularity of recreational use of Nitrous Oxide is unsurprising. It is legal in many parts of the world, it is cheap and it reliably produces a short-lasting euphoria as well as heightened senses and a slight feeling of disconnect from the body and is often used as a drug at concerts, nightclubs and festivals. As one can see, the desired effects would be a quick little “pick me up” but continued usage causes major damage. Physically, Nitrous Oxide is not considered an addictive drug; psychologically it is because it mimics other narcotics. It is a very quick high which usually causes intense repetitive behaviours in its users. Users of this drug will continue to try to get more and more high, which again, in turn, creates major issues. Purposely making the human body pass out or by cutting circulation of to the brain does not only kills brain cells but can creates numbness in extremities, vitamin B12 deficiencies, suffocation, and it can even lead to death. If a person is to stop breathing, even for a short period of time, it also affects the central nervous system which includes the brain, brain stem and spinal cord. Death typically occurs in people who highly abuse Nitrous Oxide. They continue to chase their first high and try to inhale more and more gas. If death does not occur from doing this, it can cause severe brain damage due to asphyxia. There have been statements made about how the effects on the body after going on a Nitrous Oxide binge and then not doing it for a while, can be similar to the withdrawals that someone may experience if they have not smoked marijuana in a while. There may be bouts of nausea, impulse to want to do Nitrous Oxide again, headaches accompanied by lethargy, and just an overall feeling of achy joints and weakness. Nitrous Oxide can be combined with other drugs to alter the effects. Availability is affected by national laws but, generally, where the drug is available it is either dispensed from large canisters or small bulbs (“whippets”), into balloons, which is then used to inhale. Because Nitrous Oxide has legitimate uses in the food industry (to make whipped cream, for example), it can easily be bought from online retailers such as catering companies. However, according to the Global Drug Survey, people are increasingly using the dark net to buy it. Long-term and heavy-use of Nitrous Oxide can lead to vitamin deficiency, amnesia and anaemia as a result of the inactivation of vitamin B12 in the body, although the incidence of this is unknown. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause tingling and extended periods of numbness in the fingers, toes and extremities which can last for hours or days. More severe cases can lead to numbness and difficulty walking, and the risks are heightened in people who are already vitamin B12 deficient. The misuse of Nitrous Oxide in and around the London Borough of Bexley is widespread - empty canisters and balloons can be seen strewn in the gutters of many local roads - as you can see in the photo above - click on it for a larger version. 

Work is about to begin to improve Erith Station, which until now has been largely overlooked in the refurbishment work to the stations on the North Kent Line. Whilst the work is welcomed, it still will not include a passenger lift for the London bound platform - something that has been requested and campaigned for nearly a decade, with no result. The announcement from Bexley Council says:- "Works to improve access to Erith station and to enhance the forecourt and building will begin on 23 July and last until early autumn. The improvement work will not affect passenger train use, and has been timed to coincide with the school summer holidays, to minimise inconvenience to residents. The majority of the work will take place in the station forecourt area with the public space opened up to increase pedestrian and vehicle access.  There will be new seating, trees and shrubbery plus more bicycle racks which will be more secure. The existing heritage lights which are a key feature on the station building, which is locally listed, will be restored and brought back into full use. Traffic and pedestrian access may at times need to be restricted to enable the works to take place.  Diversions will be fully signposted. The improvements at Erith station are being funded by London Borough of Bexley and the Mayor of London. The aim is to create an active town centre that can make the most of Erith’s unique setting by the River Thames". So when are we getting a lift? Bexleyheath Station has a lift which is not needed, as there is already step - free access to both the London and Kent bound platforms, something that is not available at Erith Station. 

You may recall that last week I published part one of an article by guest writer Miles on the subject of electric vehicles, their practicality, and the the proposed creation of an electric vehicle charging infrastructure within the London Borough of Bexley. Here is part two of the article, and it makes for fascinating and thought provoking reading. Miles writes:- "The media have performed an excellent job casting the electric vehicle as nothing more than an inconvenience yet this couldn't be further from the truth, modern EVs are almost indistinguishable from normal cars bar several key differences, torque, charging, maintenance and finally, Silence (with a capital S). There’s nothing comparable to an EV accelerating off the line, unlike internal combustion cars (ICE) torque is immediately available at all rev ranges, this translates into show stopping, almost supercar like acceleration, overtaking manoeuvres become far safer and is always guaranteed to put a smile on your face. With no gears you can creep along in traffic, stop and start with no noisy engine ignitions, and when it is time to put the pedal to the metal, pure and constant acceleration is delivered thanks to the gearless drivetrain. Let's look at charging, as that's always a hot topic. If you own an EV you've got to know your ABCs - Always Be Charging. When you have an opportunity to charge, whether that be at home, work, shopping etc - plug in. Depending on your car, and charger type you'll get anywhere from 100-350 miles off range in an hour.  What's more, a significant number are free to use - I write to you now sitting in the Lidl parking lot in Bexleyheath not having paid a penny…. OK, ok I had to buy a pint of milk. One huge benefit of EVs is you can leave your car charging overnight meaning you wake up to a full tank of petrol, well electricity, but you get my meaning; In fact there’s a significant population of EV drivers who simply never use public chargers. Statistically speaking in the US the average daily distance driven is less than 30 Miles. If your battery range is 2-300 miles, it’ll only be on rare occasions you need to use the public charge network. Whilst this may not suite the travelling salesmen of old, for the majority of us it's ideal. Now it's not all sunshine and roses, whilst there are tens of thousands of chargers around the country we will need vastly more - it's not much fun waiting for a charger to free up! EV owners can even be their own worst enemy by overstaying at a charge bay despite a fully battery; Thankfully the community have come up with two solutions, charge sharing by allowing other drivers to unplug your car, and at more disputed locations, an idle charge to encourage a prompt return for the car. It's also becoming increasingly common to see drivers prioritise the cars with the least range to charge first which is great to see in action. Another frustrating aspect of charging is the sheer number of different providers, each with their own phone apps, cards and subscriptions. Thankfully the tide is quickly changing as the government are pushing for simple contactless payments - already offered at many stations. Faulty chargers and ICEing bring this section to a neat close. Unfortunately it is not uncommon to find a faulty charger - thankfully the excellent EV community built ZapMap, a crowd-sourced website & mobile app that gives you the real-time status of all EV charges throughout the UK. With a bit of forethought you can generally avoid wasting time at faulty or busy chargers. ICEing - the deliberate action of parking in an EV charger by a normal car - is a particularly irritating event, akin to parking your car at a petrol pump and going off to do the weekly shop.  Often this appears to be out of malice, or some sort of entitlement but thankfully it is reasonable rare. Most chargers tend to be placed with ANPR systems which will automatically issue a ticket if the vehicle is not parked in the correct location. With that out of the way, let’s talk maintenance or more precisely, there lack of! An EV has vastly less moving parts than a typically car which drastically reduces the number of components that need maintenance or can fail. Your yearly service involves topping up the washer fluid, wiper blades, maybe a coolant check if you’re a high miler and a quick check of the 12v battery - annual service intervals become almost pointless. Brake pads tend to last significantly longer as regenerative braking - braking that is provided by the motor and simultaneously recharges the battery - means it’s entirely possible to drive without using the brake at all! Simply put, the majority of service requirements can be carried out at home saving you a small fortune each year". Some very thought provoking issues covered by Miles; part three of his essay on electric vehicles and the practicality of using them will be published next week; please feel free to leave any comments or other feedback below. Alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The photo above was sent to me by a reader a couple of weeks ago; due to pressure from other content it is only now that I have been able to publish it. The photo (click on it for a larger version) shows a large freighter ship coming in to moor at Erith Pier. It was apparently taken in around 1968. As I have written in the past, one of the most underused and overlooked assets that Erith has is the pier. Erith Pier is the longest pier on the River Thames. It was originally constructed for commercial use for the unloading of goods from cargo ships that used to moor at the pier. Most of the cargo were large reels of blank newsprint from Scandinavian paper mills for what was then Fleet Street and the newspaper printers. Erith Deep Water Wharf provided many local jobs for years, but as container ports such as Tilbury took over, the wharf became less popular with shipping companies, and it was closed down – it remained empty for a number of years. Back in 1998 work started to convert the former wharf into what is now Morrison’s supermarket and the aforementioned pleasure pier, which opened to the public in 1999. Nowadays it is a pleasure pier, and somewhere well worth a visit in the warm weather. In my opinion it is one of the little known gems of the River Thames. 

I have commented on several occasions as to how the feedback function on the News Shopper website seems to be either somewhat broken, or more likely, unmoderated. The sheer number of facile, ill considered and downright rude comments that appear under many of the news items is of concern to me. Not only do the authors of some of the comments seem to leave their opinions on most if not all of the stories that have comments enabled, but it appears that they try to appear "funny" when in reality all they do is annoy the reader. Regular comment contributors include "Gypo Joe" and "I think you will find I am correct" - all they do is grandstand and try and annoy other contributors in a completely pointless way. There is also a strong subtext of racism in some of the comments - one regular contributor repeatedly writes "hit them with a stick, then deport them" about any issue he or she comments upon. I fully realise that the News Shopper has very limited resources nowadays, and that the reporting staff do not know the area well, as they are not locally based. You may notice that screen captures from Google Street View are widely used to illustrate stories, as the paper no longer has a staff photographer. 

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Good news again for Barnehurst as we did not have many crimes. Due to a local resident being in possession of cannabis they were issued with a Penalty Notice for £90. The Barnehurst ward officers did a ward patrol with Mayor Bishop and Councillor Jackson, which was very successful as local issues were discussed. Please join us for our community contact day on Wednesday 25th July at 11am at Barnehurst Golf Course. We will discuss any ward issues that you have and we will also provide residents with crime prevention advice". Belvedere ward:- "There was a report that a gun was discharged on 03/07/2018 in Victoria Street and then subsequently in Grosvenor Road, around 23:00. No one was hurt as far as we know. However, we are conducting a fresh appeal for any witnesses. The immediate surrounding area was canvassed with leaflets but if anyone has any information please can you contact the Crime Team on 0208 247 4602. Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously. We have received reports of youths hanging around the undercover area of The Chestnuts, Bedwell Road. They are reportedly being noisy, leaving litter and using cannabis. We have patrolled this area more, searched some of them and moved the youths out. We will continue to patrol. If they do not take heed of the warnings other actions will be looked into to curb this nuisance. There is a persistent beggar in Nuxley Road, white male, white hair, white beard, 50-55 years old. He is causing a nuisance with his behaviour. We have spoken to this male and moved him off. We will continue to do so and, same as the youths above, will look to a long term solution if he doesn’t leave off. There was a burglary at the new builds on Caldy Road, 13th into the 14th July. Building materials including copper piping were stolen. If anyone has any information please contact the team on 0208 721 2050 or belvedere.snt@met.police.uk. Or Crimestoppers as above. Our next drop in surgery will be on 27th July between 11:00 and 12:00 at Asda Café". A member of the public in Upper Belvedere made the following rather disturbing report:- "I wanted to make people aware of a group of beggars that are targeting the area of Nuxley Road primarily from the bench outside the Co-Op, and occasionally although less often from the bench outside Sainsbury's, or the bench across the road from there, outside the Estate Agents. This has been going on for approximately two weeks, with usually (until yesterday) one person present, being one of two individuals who appear to work in 'shifts' from between three or four o'clock in the afternoon until 11 o'clock when the shop closes. One is very well turned out, with white hair and a white beard, approximate age mid-fifties to early sixties, slim-ish build, the other bald and more scruffy-looking, although not exceptionally scruffy, sometimes having a black or dark-blue haversack with him. Last night however, it was all a bit more sinister than usual. The white-haired man was there and as I approached the door of the Co-Op he directly moved to block my way and asked 'for a spare few pounds'. There were also three others with him, younger men, whom I had not seen before, and who moved to form a semi-circle behind me. I found this highly intimidating and changed direction to pass the white-haired man and hurry toward Sainsbury's intending to enter and ask for help if they followed. When I looked back they were all looking at me but not following, so I hurried up Albert Road and returned home via a long route avoiding Nuxley Road. I did not do my intended shopping as I could not have emerged from either shop without being seen by these men and I was concerned about them approaching me when I was encumbered by shopping bags". Bexleyheath ward:-"14/07/2018 - Criminal damage to motor vehicle reported at Gravel Hill Bexleyheath. Car window smashed; 13/07/18 – 15/07/18 – Criminal damage to motor vehicle along Palmer Crescent Bexleyheath. Drilled hole in lock to gain access, but access not gained; 15/07/2018 – Theft of mobile phone at ASDA Bexleyheath; 16/07/2018 – Theft of motor vehicle by means unknown at Albion Road Bexleyheath; 14/07/2017 – Criminal Damage to motor vehicle at Watling Street; 14/07/2018 – Theft from person at Broadway Bexleyheath. We are holding our next contact session on the 25th July between 10 & 11am at Café Nero along The Broadway Bexleyheath. We have had a theft of moped, however it was fitted with a tracker and because it had been reported so promptly to police it was found and returned to its owner. Please be careful of your property when out and about in public, do not leave phones, purses, wallets on tables as these are easy for thieves to take. Be aware of bogus callers and people dropping cards/leaflets through the door, if you need gardening/building work doing please do seek references from neighbours or friends. Yesterday 18/07/2018 – The team had helped with a knife arch operation by McDonalds Bexleyheath. This was to target knife crime and also as part of the stay safe during summer campaign. If you do want to pass on information to Police then please feel free to contact Crime stoppers on 0800 555111. Other means of contacting us are Twitter, Facebook, email and the ward phone as per above. For crime prevention advice, please look at the Met Police website which has the information that you may find useful. Remember, in an emergency please dial 999 and 101 for non-urgent reporting". Crayford ward:- "We are pleased to report that there have been no burglaries during the last week. The team have conducted several mini traffic operations around Crayford at different sites during which the following offences were dealt with: 1/One vehicles for no insurance (which was seized and taken to our police pound); 2/Driving without a test certificate; 3/Driving not in accordance with a licence; 4/Driving whilst using a mobile phone; 5/The team discovered a suspicious vehicle yesterday that had been parked in a residential parking space in Buckley Close, it later transpired that had been stolen locally three days before. The happy owner was contacted at the scene and will be able to collected it from our car pound shortly. We have also carried out foot patrols covering the open space areas of our ward (Biggs Hill), this has resulted in a lot of drug paraphernalia being found, many stop and accounts and one male being searched under section 23 Misuse of Drugs Act after trying to avoid police officers in this area". Erith ward:- "Erith has a new DWO added to the ward being PC Kidson. Pleased to announce that no burglaries have been reported. Most crimes reported are those involving motor vehicles/bikes: Theft of motor vehicle – Alford Road on the 11th July 2018 – Black Yamaha stolen from outside home address; Theft of motor vehicle – Lowry Close on the 11th July 2018 AJS Sorvio Stolen overnight outside home address; Vehicle interference – Larner Road – on the 12th July 2018 – Citroen C4 Car broken into and searched no damage caused to motor vehicle – Chandler Drive – on the 14th July 2018 – Merc. Chevrolet – Young boys in street damaging vehicle; Theft of motor vehicle – Alford Road – On the 16th July 2018. Overnight outside home address; Theft of Motor vehicle – Lower Road – On the 18th July 2018 – Direct Bikes – 3 boys stole bike from front garden; Theft of motor vehicle – West Street – On the 18th July 2018 – Honda – Stolen outside home address overnight . All those were Moped/ Motor bikes. All shifts for the week have been changed to late shift to battle ASB in St Fidelis and West Street. Coffee with cops shall be taking place on the 25th July at Costa Coffee at 12pm – come alone for a chat and crime prevention advice". Northumberland Heath ward:- "The team are delighted to report that over the last week no burglaries have taken place on our ward. Sadly, one report of motor vehicle theft in Parsonage Manorway which took place on The evening of Thursday July 12th. The vehicle sustained damage to the driver’s side and the barrel lock was damaged. A Sat Nav and a number of high value electrical power tools were stolen. PC Dan Young conducted a school talk regarding violent crime to year five and Six pupils at Northumberland Heath Primary School . Following a stop and search conducted by PC Tom Smith a male is to be issued with a £90 fine for possession of cannabis. The next Coffee With Cops event will be held at Noon on Tuesday July 24th at the Sunshine Café in Parsonage Manorway. All are welcome to attend". Slade Green and North End ward:- "We have unfortunately had 3 reported theft of motor vehicles in the last week within 2 day. On Weds 11 July at 11pm a car was stolen from outside Grange House, on Thursday 12 July in the afternoon vehicles were stolen from Canada Road and Duriun Way. No broken glass was found at any of the thefts but please be aware that although this is unusual to be so close together, we cannot be complacent. If you would like any vehicle crime prevention leaflet, please let us know. On Wednesday last week 2 positive stop and searches were made by Mark and James with cannabis found, confiscated and warnings given. PC Mark and PCSO Mark attended the Slade Green Big Local community fun day in Whitehall Lane on Saturday. Although it was very hot we had a good time speaking with many residents and speaking with stall holders etc. Dana from Neighbourhood Watch managed to get quite a few people signed up for new watches and Hound Watch. He basically used dog biscuits to bribe anyone he saw with a dog and got them signed up that way, a great way to do it! Towards the end of the event, Mark and Mark delivered letters to residents of Whitehall Lane as their new watch is now all set up and running. We have a CCS (Community Contact Session) on Weds July 25th from 11am at Slade Green Library. PLEASE NOTE that this weeks CCS on Thursday is at Forest Road café NOT the library as stated in last week’s update although you may see this too late. Apologies in advance if you go to the library and we aren't there". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - No burglaries this week. Motor Vehicle Crimes - 10/07/18 A motor vehicle parked outside of Oakenholt House, Hartslock Drive, was damaged between 630pm-1pm Thursday 12/07/18; 12/07/18 A motor cycle parked on a driveway Redbourne Drive was stolen between 3pm-4pm. The motor cycle which had a tracker fitted had been activated; 12/07/18 Number plates were stolen from two vehicles which belonged to the same owner in Fleming Way between 11am-2pm on Friday 13/07/18; 14/07/18 Vehicle parked in Leatherbottle Green between 10pm-11am damage caused by scratches made to driver and rear passenger door by persons unknown; 15/07/18 Theft from Motor vehicle Maran Way between 4pm-830am vehicle broken into wallet stolen from inside. Good News - The team attended two events over the week-end, celebrating the 50th Birthday of Thamesmead which took place in Southmere Park and Emmanuel Baptist Church, Yarnton Way hosted a family funday, which included a BBQ. PC Pruden assisted Belvedere DWO officers when he was called to a female who was self-harming in Picardy Road, on arrival the female was seen running in and out of traffic screaming she wanted to harm herself while making cuts to both her arms with a broken bottle. Eventually the female was calmed down and taken to QE Hospital for her injuries and left in the care of doctors". West Heath ward:- "There was 1 reported burglary on West Heath between 11/07/18 and 18/07/18. On 12/07/18 the victim on Cumberland Avenue Welling left the porch door opened and coats were taken from inside the porch door. The coats were then discarded at a nearby location and reunited with the victim. There were no reported motor vehicle crimes during the same period. There was however a reported robbery in Elmstead Crescent Welling where the victim's necklace was taken by a known suspect. Investigation is ongoing. West Heath Ward had their first ward panel meeting and we continue to recruit Ward Panel members as well as Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators".

The end video is a very nice piece of high definition aerial drone footage taken over Erith Yacht Club - do give it a watch - leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

The P2 Centre.

I gather that things are proving difficult for the operators of the events hall located in what used to be the snooker centre in Electricity House, opposite the fish roundabout at 5 Pier Road in Erith. The African church, which illegally changed the use of the building, are in hot water over a number of issues, and not just in relation to several planning violations which are currently ongoing. The attached playgroup / nursery also run by the same people still has no planning permission in place after 4 years, and that the latest application remains undecided by committee members. The events space has regularly been in breach of its licence - the London Fire Brigade prohibition notice only permits a maximum of 60 people to use it at any one time; last Saturday evening, well over 100 people attended a birthday party in the premises which went on until past 1.30 am in the morning - this directly violated the notice. In addition, if one looks at the venue website - which I have to say is a very slick and impressive looking thing, even if the information and photographs contained therein are very misleading indeed. If one navigates to the Our Event Spaces page, you can see a list of options; these include setups for events holding 350 - 450 people, which directly contravenes the terms of the London Fire Brigade prohibition notice limiting any events to a maximum of 60 people. Later the mention of a capacity of up to 600 guests is made - more on this shortly. The owners of the P2 Events Center (they mainly use the US spelling on their website, though occasionally the English spelling is used) also mislead by mostly using photographs of other events centres to illustrate their own, far smaller, shabby and amateurish looking offering. Quite what any visitor to the P2 Center thinks when they see the reality of the location compared to the glamorous presentation on the website is anyone's guess. On their website, the proprietors of the P2 Events Center use flowery language and a stretch of the truth that would make even the most shameless estate agent blush; for example they describe the venue thus:- "The Main Hall was designed in the 1930s and has a unique Deco charm. The property is situated in a prominent retail position within the town centre at the junction of Pier Road and Queens Road (A206) and opposite a large car park. With a Mezzanine level that looks out over Erith Town Centre, the space is flexible and can be adapted to accommodate your needs – whether for a dinner, standing reception, birthday celebration, wedding banquet, seminars, conference or exhibition. Accommodating groups ranging from 80 to 600 in exceptional glamour, our chefs offer exquisite menus to accompany this exceptional event venue. Our dedicated events team is well versed in delivering high-end, unique events and will work with you to create an exceptional experience for your guests". I know that the planning department at Bexley Council, and several local councillors are very much aware as to what has been going on in Electricity House over the last few years, and as I have previously reported, I have been led to understand that their medium to long term plan is to eventually compulsorily purchase the site for subsequent redevelopment. What do you think? Please feel free to leave a comment below, or alternatively, Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Here is a bit of home computing history that I had a direct involvement with; it was 33 years ago last week that the revolutionary Atari ST range of computers was launched in the UK. As you may know, in my youth, I worked for what was then the largest stockist and distributor of Atari products in Europe, the Hatherley Road, Sidcup based Silica Shop. The Atari 520ST had been available from February in the U.S, but their by far biggest market was in Europe - specifically in the UK, France and Germany. It was the first true 16 bit computer designed for home use to be put in sale in the UK, some time before the soon to become incredibly popular Commodore Amiga was put on sale. Incidentally the rivalry between Commodore and Atari was set to turn into a series of legal actions over various patents and intellectual property rights. It all started when the boss of Commodore - a man called Jack Tramiel (whom I met twice - he was not a nice man in my personal experience) got fired by the Commodore board of Directors. In revenge, he decided to set up a rival organisation. Instead he managed to purchase part of Atari, who were in a real financial state, due to the 1983 video game crash in the USA, which left them very much out of pocket. Atari’s owner, Warner Communications, was looking to shed what it saw was “dead weight” in the form of Atari’s consumer products division. Tramiel saw an opportunity to leverage Atari’s manufacturing infrastructure and made a deal to acquire the division in exchange for stock in his new company. Jack Tramiel renamed Tramiel Technology to Atari Corporation, shut down most of Atari’s offices, liquidated its existing stock and fired its staff, replacing them with former Commodore employees. Surviving on its remaining video-game inventory, the new company went to work developing Tramiel’s new 16-bit computer. Based on the same Motorola 68000 processor used in the Apple Macintosh, the Atari ST (the ST apparently standing for “sixteen/thirty-two” - a reference to the 68000 processor address bus configuration, although some have speculated it stood for “Sam Tramiel” after Jack’s son), was designed to be attractive to a wide variety of computer users. Like the Commodore 64, the ST could be plugged into a television for casual video-gaming (initially via an add - on TV modulator, which was built in to later models) , but additionally it could use a colour or monochrome monitor – the latter of which featuring a higher resolution than the Macintosh, an appeal to those in the then-emerging world of desktop publishing. It also came standard with MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) ports for controlling synthesisers, making it attractive to musicians. Meanwhile, Atari and Commodore were suing and counter-suing each other: Commodore alleged Tramiel had stolen the technology behind the ST, and Tramiel moved to prevent Commodore from acquiring the Amiga, which had been originally promised to Atari. In the end, neither amounted to much, and Atari announced the 520 ST at the 1985 Consumer Electronics Show. It was soon nicknamed the “Jackintosh”. I was present at a question and answer session for Silica Shop staff on the evening prior to the London based Computer and Video Games show at Olympia, where the UK launch of the Atari 520 ST took place. Staff were able to ask questions of Jack Tramiel, and I mentioned the unofficial name of "Jackintosh" and asked what he though of it; in hindsight this was a very bad move indeed - if looks could kill.... Unfortunately I bumped into him in the gents toilets at the show the very next day - but he either chose to ignore me, or had forgotten the interaction the day before. Either way I was very relieved - in both senses. While the Atari ST’s specifications were impressive for the time, what really stole the show was its graphical user interface, GEM. Jack Tramiel licensed GEM (short for Graphics Environment Manager) from Digital Research, who had initially developed it for their CP/M operating system and later ported it to MS-DOS. Tramiel wanted to give his new computer a user-interface layer similar to the Macintosh, but for a much lower price, and GEM fit the bill nicely, especially since Digital Research had no interest in 68000-based computers, it being fully focussed on the Intel 80286 processor. Like the Macintosh, the ST used a mouse for much of its user interaction. It had icons that represented disk drives (represented as drawers from filing cabinets), applications (although not customisable as they were on the Macintosh), documents and the Trash (a particularly egregious theft from Apple’s Finder.) GEM had a menu at the top of the screen, a “Desk” menu extremely similar to the Macintosh’s “Apple” menu – it’s no surprise Apple was unimpressed with GEM. Apple sued Digital Research, but not because they were concerned about competition from Atari – the ST appealed to a much different market than the Macintosh. No, Apple was afraid of GEM becoming widely available on the PC, which was beginning to approach the Macintosh in terms of hardware capabilities, and could become a serious threat if combined with decent graphical operating system. Digital Research ended up agreeing to change many elements of GEM on the PC in order to satisfy Apple (and Microsoft would be made wary not to borrow too much from the Macintosh for their Windows software), but the Atari version would remain untouched, allowing Atari to continue to unofficially market the ST as a “budget Macintosh”. The ST would save Atari – close to bankruptcy by the time of its launch – and go on to commercial success, sharing the home computer market with the Commodore Amiga for a number of years. A large amount of the ST’s success can be attributed to business software developers, who very quickly recognised the computers potential for productivity applications, including WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) word processing and desktop publishing. Indeed, paired with its companion high-resolution monochrome monitor, the ST would become popular with small business owners and not-for-profit organisations who could not justify the cost of a Macintosh, but wanted to create more professional-looking documents than what could be produced on an older and less powerful 8-bit computer system. As part of my research for this article, I was perusing the Wikipedia entry on the Atari ST range of computers during the week, and I noticed a couple of things that prompted my attention. The entry refers to the Computers' advertising tag line "Power without the price" and infers that this was a central Atari theme; I can say for certain that this was not the case. The slogan was dreamed up by Silica Shop in Sidcup, not Atari. The second, and to me the most telling point is the mention of the fix recommended in the official Atari engineering manual as to how to remedy an ST that when fired up, did not come to life as expected, but instead showed a brown screen of death. Wikipedia terms it thus:- "Early 520ST owners became accustomed to the "Atari Twist" and the "Atari Drop" service procedures. "Atari Twist" seemed to help discharge built-up static electricity (Atari soldered-down the metal shielding to fix the problem) while the "Atari Drop" appeared to help re-seat chips which may have become partially unseated over time, due to vibration and other external factors. Actually, the Atari Drop was a procedure that more often than not fixed the brown screen of death issue - which was caused by a couple of ROM chips coming loose in their housings. The short drop of the computer onto a hard surface would knock them back into position, fixing the problem". I know, as it was me that (accidentally) came up with the fix. I had a number of customers with brand new 520 ST machines that would not start up on first boot. On one occasion I turned the computer over to check the serial number, ready to fill in a warranty return form. On turning it back over, I accidentally dropped it onto the wooden counter top, at which point the computer burst into life. I tried this with several other machines that were exhibiting the same problem, and all but one of them was similarly fixed. After talking to Atari Engineering UK, based in Slough, the "Atari drop" became an official remedy, and described in the engineering service manual. One of my minor and very anorakky claims to fame. It is ironic that I never actually owned an ST myself; they were always far too expensive for my pocket, even allowing for a substantial staff discount at the time.

I was passed the photo of an advertising flyer that is currently being circulated in the local area by a reader earlier in the week; since then the story has been reported by the News Shopper - one of the hazards of the Maggot Sandwich publishing every week on a Sunday. The flyer is fraudulent - the tree surgeon company is a con - the physical address exists - it a a block of flats - but the land line phone number redirects to a mobile phone. Please do not use this company, as you will almost certainly be ripped off.

Two weeks ago I wrote in some length how Bexley Council have launched a public consultation regarding the possible installation of charging points around the borough for electric vehicles. One reader - Miles - has not only responded to the council with his own feedback in respect of what he believes would be best for local residents regarding the provision of electric vehicle charging points, but he has also written a fascinating guest piece for the Maggot Sandwich this week; Miles writes:- "Electric Vehicles are a genuinely controversial and equally fascinating topic, over the last twenty years there has been countless headlines, everything from Top Gear staging an apparent Tesla Roadster supercar breakdown to Elon Musk blasting it's successor into space! For reasons I still to this day can't understand EVs attract highly polarising opinions, On one hand they are supposedly going to cause a country wide black outs whilst barely getting you to the shops and back, right through to the unicorn farting panacea that is perfectly green, vegan, tree-hugging motoring -  both of which are basically nonsense. Whilst EVs may seem new, this couldn't be further from the truth. The very first electric car can be traced all the way back to the late 1800's where France & the UK battled it out to build several prototypes demonstrating the new technology - a legacy we still use today, the London Underground. Early EVs, like today's mainstream cars had vastly more torque and power than their counterpart gasoline vehicles, yet they simply couldn't compete on energy density - simply put Petrol and Diesel were plentiful, cheaper and global warming wasn't a thing. Let's fast forward, if you think Tesla or Nissan are bleeding edge technology what if I told you we're over 20 years behind the curve! Back in the late 90's General Motors in the US produced the very first viable consumer EV - the aptly named GM EV1. This vehicle is fast by today's standards 0-60 was under 8 seconds, the range around 100 miles with a fully digital display!  Who Killed the Electric Car, a film produced in the mid 2000's, paints a tantalising picture of a motor industry that not only had produced a viable electric car, but also wanted to destroy it. GM, despite building a car far beyond it's time, did everything to stop it succeeding - they intentionally dissuaded customers from purchasing the car, remove it from forecourts and wouldn't even allow you to buy it, lease only. The forced lease is the pivot point in the story, GM, having seen how successful the EV1 had become was terrified it would detract from their main profit centres - which not long after required a HUGE bailout from the US gov - they recalled ALL EV1 cars to be crushed. To this day only a handful exist, deactivated, in museums. An extraordinarily sad tale that has pushed back the industry by decades. All was not doom and gloom, a very small footnote can be added - a small startup called Tesla was founded. When I was a child my friends and I would do nothing but talk about the latest super car, the Jaguar XJ220, McLaren F1 - we'd play Top Trumps learning every intimate detail of the Ford Cosworth.  Today is a far different story, insanely expensive fuel, insurance and rampant breeding of speed cameras have significantly doused the excitement of our kids, what's the point one kid told me? How sad I thought to myself, particularly as a motorcyclist - another dying breed (bloody corners). Last week a friend electrified (I'm sorry) my inner 5 year old. After taking his young daughter to school they were absolutely fascinated about the car, his daughter suddenly became the cool kid. A little bird tells me they are busy googling all the latest Jaguars/Teslas/Nissans and they know all the stats - how fantastic". What do you think? Do you have any additional or alternative ideas to these suggested by Miles? Part two of Miles's thoughts will be published next week. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Some news that currently has not been communicated to very many local people. Network Rail have written to some neighbours in Slade Green to say the footbridge over the railway at Peareswood Road will be closed for at least three months. In school times this is used daily by many parents. I have been informed that two primary schools and the Slade Green and Howbury community centre and a nursery will be affected by this closure. A very long walk will be needed to go around via Bridge Road and Newbury Road.

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly an update from Barnehurst ward:- "Another excellent week for the ward again this week with very little crime reported. Sadly though we have had two motor vehicle related offences in Badlow Close DA8. The first being on Wednesday 4th July between 10am and 1.30 pm where a Black Citroen C4 was broken into by unknown suspects smashing the driver side front window and searching the vehicle, nothing was taken on this occasion. The second offence occurred on Monday 9th July between 12.50pm and 1pm, suspects have smashed the passenger side window of a Ford Transit van parked at the location and stolen an iPhone from within. Don’t make it easy for the criminal - Please make sure that any valuables left in your vehicle are not visible. The best advice is to remove any item completely. If you have any information about these or other crimes please call the team in strictest confidence or alternatively call Crime Stopper free and anonymously on 0800 555 111. The team paid a visit to some of our local allotments on Tuesday and offered some crime prevention advice to plot holders. Despite the lack of rain recently most are expecting a good crop of various fruit and veg this year. The team will be at Barnehurst Golf Course on Wednesday 18th July at 1pm. Please pop along to say hi and discuss any local issues that may be of concern". Belvedere ward:- "On Friday 6th July A/PS Ash Green organised four warrants across Bexley, all of which were drug related. The four address were all connected. Ash conducted lots of research before the warrants were executed. Several drugs were seized and at least two people are going to be prosecuted for drug offences. The team conducted school talks to Year 5 pupils at Lesness Heath Primary School on Monday 9th July. We spoke about ASB, public order offences, respect and responsibility. All the classes that we spoke to engaged with us and appeared to take on board what we were saying. All in all a good day. PCSO Jay Worrall has been investigating egg throwing ASB in Albert Road. He has managed to identify the three youths involved. Two have been spoken to with their parents, the third is due a visit shortly. We will be holding our next drop in session on Wednesday 18th July at Belvedere Library, Woolwich Road from 16:00 till 17:00". Bexleyheath ward:- "Below is or brief summary of what has been going on our ward: 01/07/2018 – A push bike was stolen from a secure bike room in a block of flats in Watling Street Bexleyheath 07/07/2018 – A report of a theft from motor vehicle. Suspect had used a van to take property from another van 07/07/2018 – A pushbike was stolen outside shops along the Broadway Bexleyheath 09/07/2018 – Premiere Inn Albion Road A report of criminal damage to property. 10/07/2018 – Mobile phone stolen from behind the shop counter alt Bella Italia Broadway Bexleyheath We are holding our next contact session tomorrow on the 12th July between 10 and 11am at Café Nero along The Broadway Bexleyheath, you are all welcome to attend if you’re free. We are also continuing high visibility patrols around Martens Grove and surrounding areas including the garages between Grove Road and Braeside Crescent as this is becoming an area for youths to congregate and misbehave. The team had arrested a violent offender who had breached their home detention curfew. Two warrants were executed in relation to the misuse of drugs. Last weekend we had organised along with the Town Centre Management a car show that took place along the Broadway which was a great success. We also had the opportunity to do more bike marking using bike register". Crayford ward:- "Thankfully, not so many crimes reported in the last week in Crayford. On Tuesday 3rd July it was reported that a gully cover had been stolen from Hillside Road. Between 22.30 on 4th July and 5am on 5th July a Nissan Qashqai was broken into at Station Road, a purse containing bank cards and an assortment of gift cards were stolen. The victim was alerted by her bank that there had been a fraudulent use of her card but here was no sign of the vehicle being broken in to. Please do not leave valuables in your vehicle if you can help it. There have been shoplifting offences reported at Tower Retail Park. There have also been a number of domestic incidents reported. Two Ford Transits were stopped in Crayford on 6th July. One had two completely bald tyres, the other was uninsured and the driver did not have a licence. Both drivers were dealt with for the offences. We have been out and about patrolling your local area, especially Dale Road and Ridgeway where there have been several reports of anti-social behaviour and use of nitrous oxide and the associated mess". Northumberland Heath ward:- "We are pleased to announce that we have had no burglaries or motor vehicle crime reported to us over the last week which is excellent news and No new reports of anti-social behaviour. Last Friday morning the team assisted with the execution of several drug warrants. One address was in Northumberland Heath. A male was stopped this week in possession of cannabis and is awaiting prosecution for this offence. The team have attended St. Fidelis school this week to talk to pupils about the dangers of violent crime". Slade Green and North End ward:-

"On Friday July 6th at 9.30pm a knifepoint robbery was made at Affishionado’s fish and chip shop in Bridge Road. A male suspect had his face covered in a balaclava under a cycling helmet and took cash from the till while holding a knife". See the image above. "He rode off towards the Shell Garage on Northend Road. Staff were naturally shaken up but fortunately nobody was hurt. Enquiries are ongoing. Our next Surgery is on Thursday July 19th from 11am at Slade Green library where will be sitting and waiting for anyone who wants a chat or to report any local incidents etc. On the 6th July the team found and recovered a stolen white transit van which was found abandoned in Barnett Close Erith, the vehicle had been stolen a few weeks earlier from the Dartford area, the van was full to capacity of wood and waste which may have ended up being fly tipped locally, the vehicle was recovered and the owner was extremely happy to get his van back, enquiry’s continue. Has a vehicle appeared on your road which looks put of place? Has the ignition been damaged? Is it insecure? or is something just not right? If so contact us we can have a look. Your team continue to patrol hot spot areas used by illegal bikers, we’ve received a number of reports of bikers using the rainbow road estate, pulling wheelies, driving on footpath’s and generally causing a nuisance for residents, pedestrians and road users, can you help us identify riders that are concerned in bike ASB, the bikes used are stored somewhere, we need your help to identify where and those responsible, if you have any information please contact your local team or call crime stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - A burglary occurred in a flat in Wolvercote Road, between Wednesday 04/07/18 and Sunday 08/07/18 whilst the resident was away. No signs of forced entry, property to the value of £462.00 was taken. If you’re off on holiday and wish to post anything on social media, make sure your posts aren’t public and that they’re only seen by your friends. Motor Vehicle Crimes - Overnight Saturday 07/07/18 and Sunday 08/07/18 a vehicle locked and secure outside of Oakenholt House Hartslock Drive had the drivers window smashed. Between Friday evening of the 06/07/18 and 8:00 am of Monday 09/07/18 a motor cycle which only had the steering lock engaged was stolen from Lensbury Way; driver’s window of a van securely locked and parked in Sydney Road was smashed, nothing was taken as the vehicle alarm was activated. On Sunday 08/07/18 a vehicle parked in Kale Road had the driver’s window smashed and money taken from the central console. Crime prevention in motor vehicles - Coins for the car park, sunglasses or other items should be put out of sight. Wallets, Handbags, Purses and Credit Cards should never be left in any vehicle over night or otherwise. Have a Say event (Community Contact Session) Friday 20th July between the hours of 1:00pm and 2:00pm. The team will be attending Lakeside Health Centre, Yarnton Way. An opportunity for members of the community who prefer face-to - face contact, to speak with your Dedicated Ward Officer. Good News - While on patrol PC Pruden saw a male riding a jet-ski on Southmere lake, the male seemed to have difficulty trying to get back on the jet ski after falling off. A friend swam to his aid helping him to the shore. Once returned to shore the male was seen in a slumped position against a brick wall. PC Pruden repositioned the male more comfortably. On talking to friends nearby PC Pruden was informed the male had a heart condition for which he was taking medication. The male started having a tingling sensation on his right side, PC Pruden requested for the London Ambulance Service to attend. On examination by paramedics the male was taken to hospital. Partnership working - PC Pruden was informed by a Peabody staff member she had found a large knife, which she disposed of safely. The knife had been purposely hidden in Coralline Walk. PC Pruden completed a crime and intelligence report".

The end video this week is an old promotional film about the then very new Thamesmead development, which has just had its 50th anniversary. I think it is appropriate to say that the great housing experiment did not quite turn out in the way that the developers intended. Please leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Mother Monica.

I took the upper of the two photos above a couple of weeks ago; it shows the general bulk cargo vessel the Elka W heading down river, past Erith. Many people forget that Erith has been a maritime port town since the Bronze Age, and it is really only in the last couple of decades that the reliance on shipping has reduced. Now that Erith Pier is a centre for leisure, and less used as a mooring point for ships, the emphasis has mainly moved away from shipping as a commercial venture, and more towards it as a leisure activity - with organisations such as Erith Rowing Club and Erith Yacht Club being preeminent in this respect. Commercial shipping such as the Elka W does still play a part in the local economy - as workers at the ADM edible oil refinery in Church Manor Way will attest. ADM are very heavily dependant on commercial shipping traffic, as most of their raw materials arrive by sea and river, as can be seen in the lower of the two photos above. The company originally started up in 1908, when it was known as Erith Oil Works – the business then was similar to now; they crush and process all kinds of seeds, to extract their natural oils, which are used in foodstuffs, cooking oils and animal feeds. The seeds, then as now are brought upriver in large bulk freighter ships. The distinctive huge concrete silos that are still present on the ADM Oil site were constructed in 1916, where they are some of the earliest surviving examples of reinforced concrete construction in the UK. They were constructed by Danish structural engineering company Christiani and Nielsen, who invented reinforced concrete construction techniques. ADM Oils have in the past been guilty of causing the terrible smells that we have experienced in the local area. The reason for this was that the filters on the oil seed boiler chimneys used to not be changed as often as they were supposed to be. Lately ADM's plant engineers seem to have been a lot more conscientious in this respect, and the sickly and pervasive smell has now been largely absent, thankfully.

There are a number of scams and fraudulent operations being targetted at the Bexley area at present, two in particular are potentially very frightening for the innocent recipients - these have been confirmed as genuine by Bexley Trading Standards and Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association, and are featured separately from the usual weekly ward safety and security updates. The first scam operates as follows - this message is courtesy of Bexley Trading Standards:- "Trading Standards would like to share with you a call they took from a Bexley resident: I received a phone call at approximately 10:20am from a man who reported he was from the Tax Office. He told me he had an arrest warrant for me, he knew my name address and date of birth. He told me I owed £900.00 and 2 letters had been sent to my address but have been returned to the Tax Office. The man told me the arrest warrant will become active unless I pay £900.00 now over the phone, if I don't pay he is going to send a Police Car over with a warrant for my arrest in half an hour. I told the man I am not going to pay you any money, so the man said you can pay now or fight the case in court. I said I will fight the case in court and the man put down the phone. The caller said officers would come from Bexleyheath Police Station". BBNWA say that the HMRC will never telephone you. Never give your bank details over the phone or by email. An arrest warrant would never be issued.  The second scam that is currently being operated locally is in the form of a malicious blackmail Email. The details are as follows:- "'This is a scam, delete the message immediately: Yṍu don't know me and you are most likely thinking why yȫu're getting this email, right? Let me tell you, I installed à malwäre on the adult video clips (pᴏrnography) web-site and guess what, you visited this site to experience fun (you know what I mean). While you were watching videṑs, your web browser started out functioning as ã RDP (Remote cȫntrṓl Desktop) having a key logger which provided me with âccess to yȫur display screen and web camerã. Just after thàt, my software program gathered every ōne ᴏf yṓur contâcts from messenger, social netwŏrks, as well as email. Whát did I do? I created a double-screen video. 1st pârt shows the videȯ you were viewing (you hãve ã fine taste hähà), and next part displays the recording of your cam. What shṍuld yоu do? Well, in my opinion, $300 is a reasŏnable price for our little secret. Yᴏu'll make the pâyment by Bitcoin (if you do not know this, seàrch hоw tȫ buy bitcoin, it's extremely easy). My bitcoin áddress is: 1G1MnBr5iPJSRwZwQwmYGEKkJk5Rq1jcit. Important: You nōw have just one dáy in order to mâke the payment. (I have ã speciàl pixel in this e-mail, and at this mȫment I know that yṑu häve read this e mail). If I dоn't get the BitCoins, I definitely will send out your videṍ tо all of your cȫntacts including members ṍf yȫur family, coworkers, and many others. However, if I receive the páyment, I will destroy the video immidiately. If you wánt proof, reply with Yes! and I definitely will send ŏut your videṍ to your 6 contacts.' " The text above is a verbatim copy of the original, complete with typos, weird fonts and control characters - so don't Email me complaining about the typography. The message is complete rubbish designed to scare the recipient into paying up - there is no malware downloaded onto the target computer - it is all just scaremongering tosh. If you receive an Email of this nature, just flag it as Spam and then delete it.

Bexley Council are launching a public consultation regarding the possible installation of charging points around the borough for electric vehicles. In an announcement released on Friday, they said that:- "Local residents and businesses are being asked to have their say on the introduction of electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the borough and to help shape the Council’s plans for creating a network of publicly accessible charge points across Bexley. Electric cars are not only kind to the environment but can also save you money on fuel costs as well as providing access to a range of other financial benefits such as government grants for new plug-in vehicles, 100% discount on the congestion charge, no vehicle tax (VED) or a reduced rate depending on their CO2 emissions. If you’ve already got an electric vehicle or are may be thinking about purchasing one in the near future or perhaps you just have something else positive to contribute to the debate, please email your comments and your reason for your interest to electric.vehicles@bexley.gov.uk.  Please let us know if you are willing to be contacted for further discussion and if so, we might be calling on you to help us plan for creating the cleaner and greener Bexley of tomorrow". I am fully supportive of the move towards electric vehicles, as long as the electricity that they are powered by comes from renewable, non - polluting sources; if you are using electricity from, for example a coal - fired power station to propel your electric car, all you are doing is shifting the point of pollution. I suspect that the proposed location of any car charging points will be located in Bexleyheath, Sidcup and other points in the South of the borough, rather than in Abbey Wood, Erith or Slade Green in the North. What do you think? Please leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the launch of Windows 98. Back in the day, Windows was not an operating system as we know it today; it was a graphical user interface which sat on top of the actual operating system - DOS - which stood for Disk Operating System. From Windows version 1 through various incarnations up to and including the appallingly unreliable Windows ME, all Windows did was act as an easy to use interface on the top of the then already ancient and outdated DOS, which actually did all of the work. DOS was actually an almost like for like copy of an even older command line interface operating system called CP/M. This was deemed acceptable for home use, but not for office and professional use, Microsoft created a second operating system called Windows NT - which stood for New Technology - which was a completely different beast. It was written from the ground up, and was much superior to the DOS based home versions, but had far higher hardware requirements, which were often out of reach for home users - at that time Windows NT in its various guises also had little support for peripherals outside of a tightly controlled list, and it also did not support much in the way of games, the first few versions also ran older 16 bit applications much more slowly than the home versions of Windows. Microsoft had plans to integrate the two operating system versions into a single product, but it proved exceedingly difficult to do, and for many years the two operating systems were sold side by side. Windows 98 was an update to the hugely successful Windows 95. While Windows NT 4.0 pointed to a future free from DOS, the majority of the Windows user base simply did not have the computer hardware to run much more than a souped-up version of Windows 95. Thus Windows 98 appeared to bridge the gap. Codenamed Memphis, the first beta of Windows 98 arrived in 1996 with the final Release To Manufacturing version appearing two years later. USB support came as standard, along with a range of functions intended as a nod to the then new World Wide Web. Applications such as Outlook Express, FrontPage Express and a personal web server appeared as part of the installation. Windows 98 customers were also treated to the joy that was Internet Explorer 4, along with the Active Desktop, which allowed HTML content (such as streaming news headlines) to be shown on the user's desktop at the cost of prodigious amounts of processor power and memory. Windows 98 is regarded as the pinnacle of the Windows 9x era, with an update shipping the following year in the form of Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) including a number of minor enhancements such as the inclusion of Internet Explorer 5. The final iteration, the much derided and incredibly flaky Windows ME, arrived in 2000. With Windows 98, Microsoft cemented its position as the dominant player in the personal computing industry. However, in the midst of its self-congratulatory antics and self-inflicted legal troubles, it entirely failed to notice something else happen in 1998. A company, initially operating out of a garage in California, was incorporated. Its name was Google.

Erith is about to get a new Vicar. The position has been vacant at Christ Church Erith for a little under a year, since the previous incumbent, The Reverend Julie Conalty was promoted, and moved on to a new role as the Archdeacon of Tonbridge. Her replacement will be The Reverend Monica Eunice Cameron, who you can see in the photograph above - click on it for a larger view. Christ Church Erith will be Monica's first role as Vicar - she was Curate in the Parish of St Mary the Virgin Great Shelford, Cambridge, in The Ely Diocese. Prior to joining the priesthood, Monica had a career as a teacher, and also as a solicitor, which should stand her in good stead in Erith. Monica is a widow, and has three daughters, two of whom are adult, whilst the third will be living with her in the vicarage. Monica, who will be using the name of "Mother Monica" whilst in ministry, will be moving into the Vicarage on 14th August 2018 and she will be appointed as the Vicar of Christ Church on 22nd September at 6pm. Monica hopes to grow vegetables in the vicarage garden. I hope to be running a more detailed article on her in the near future.

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Good news again for Barnehurst as we did not have many crimes. The team have carried out various weapon sweeps on the ward in relation to the Mets initiative to reduce violent crime, as several locations have been searched across the ward. If you have any information around knife crime or wish to discuss anything else with the team than please get in contact with us. However if there is an imminent threat or a serious incident than please do not hesitate to call 999. The team have noticed that a black off road motorcycle has been seen riding around Hurstwood Avenue and is being ridden by younger youths. If you happen to have any more information about this than please contact the team. Unfortunately the team will have to cancel our community contact session on Wednesday 4th July at Barnehurst Golf Club. Please join us for our community contact day on Tuesday 10th July at 11am at Barnehurst Golf Course. We will discuss any ward issues that you have and we will also provide residents with crime prevention advice. We will attempt to arrange another contact session before the next one, so please look on the website".  Belvedere ward:- "A resident in Fendyke Rd had her car door opened and cash stolen at approximately 4.30 am on Monday 25th June . The car was not locked. They have got it all on camera. The guy who carried out the theft was white with grey jogging bottoms with a light blue hoodie top. He had a rucksack on his back". Bexleyheath ward:- "We are going to hold our next contact session on Friday 6th July between 1pm and 2pm at the Conservative Club, feel free to pop along if you can. There was a report of criminal damage to two cash machines outside Halifax Bank on the Broadway. This was reported between 23/06/2018 & 25/06/2018. Also there was a report of Theft from person that was reported along The Broadway on the 22/06/2018. We have had no reports of any burglaries or attempted burglaries on the ward which is good news. The team are continuing the World cup patrols and working with local alcohol establishments on our ward to help reduce any ASB. We are also continuing high visibility patrols around Martens Grove and surrounding areas including the garages between Grove Road and Braeside Crescent as this is becoming an area for youths to congregate and misbehave. The team is also conducting regular weapons sweeps on the ward mainly around in car park areas, this is help keep weapons of the streets. A licenced premises on our ward had their licence suspended and another licenced premises had new conditions refused which wanted their licence to be extended until 2am. The team are also dealing with a GBH and Criminal damage as suspects have been identified and is currently being investigated. This had taken place at Goals in the car park area". Crayford ward:- "On Thursday 21 June at 21.30 criminal damage was committed at Grazeley Close. Suspect kicked at door smashing window and damaging a panel. At around the same time a robbery had taken place nearby on open ground close to Hall Place, the suspects were chased and later detained and arrested. It is believed that these incidents are linked. On Thursday 16th at 03.00 a black Ford KA was broken in to at Bourne Mead. The steering column was broken and the log book and car radio was taken. Between 16th and 19th June the river keeper’s area (Crayford Way) by the River Cray was broken in to and a wheelie bin containing aluminium cans were stolen. On Friday 22nd June between 03.30 and 09.00 a white Ford Transit was stolen from outside 10 Mayplace Avenue, number plate NJ62 OPF, the victim still has the keys. On Sunday 17th June between 22.00-22.30 a motorcycle was interfered with at Burgate Close. On Monday 25th June at 21.00 there was a ram raid at HSS, Acorn Industrial Estate. Anti-ram posts were removed and the van reversed hard in to the shutters causing them to buckle and entry to be gained, power tools worth approx £10,000 were stolen. On Monday 25/06/2018 a Male was arrested for offensive weapons after being reported for behaving erratically. A public order offence was committed at Iron Mill Lane on Monday 25th June at 9.15, abuse was shouted in the street. Four tickets were given to people who had been using their mobile phones whilst driving. Our team assisted with the civic parade on Sunday to ensure that all the people taking place were able to parade safely. We have also completed weapons sweeps and foot and mobile patrols around the ward to ensure that Crayford is a safe place to be and to provide reassurance to our residents". Erith ward:- "We will be at the Erith Fun day this year on the 7th July offering free bike marking; be sure to pop along if you need any further advice. I will send an update of the local crimes in Erith later in the week as currently there are a few issues with the system". Northumberland Heath ward:- "We are pleased to announce another week without any reported burglaries on the ward. Reported crime as a whole has been minimal this week with only two of theft of motor vehicle and one of criminal damage. The team were busy over the weekend being called to assist with Borough wide patrols for the World Cup and also conducting plain clothed patrols of the area. During these patrols we conducted one stop and search which started with a male using nitrous oxide canisters and ended up with him being arrested for Possession With Intent To Supply Cannabis and Psychoactive Substances and after a search of his home address being further arrested for Possession of Class A Drugs. We have been in touch with several residents about this potential rise in ASB on the ward and will be out conducting proactive patrols in these areas over the weekend to identify the youths involved, search them wherever the grounds allow and to intervene in the group to disperse them. Our next Contact Session is on Friday 6th July at noon at North Heath Library, Mill Road. Feel free to drop in". Slade Green and North End ward:- "Over the last few years the team has been working closely with L and Q housing association to evict a family well known for causing ASB and involved in vehicle crime. After initially obtaining a suspended possession order, the family continued to breach the order. Yesterday the family of 4 male adults were evicted sending out a very strong message that the police and authorities work together in partnership to evict problem tenants who continue to offend and cause issues in the local community. PC Mark Brookes-Smith has committed a lot of work with L and Q during this time and it is a great result that his hard work has paid off. The only crime of note this week is the theft of a mobility scooter from the car park in Bushey Court. CCTV is being viewed to try and identify the offender(s). The team has completed weapons sweeps in Forest Road, Orchard House and Craydene Open space in the last week as part of Operation Spectre which is set around knife crime. All the sweeps had a negative return. 6 positive stop and searches were carried out by PC Mark and James with several cannabis seizures as a result. PC James arrested a male last week who was wanted for domestic malicious communications. We await to see the outcome of the investigation. PCSO Mark attended the annual Rainbow Road street party on Saturday evening and had a nice time engaging with residents and eating the home made fare on offer. Several residents expressed an interest in taking over the recently vacated Neighbourhood Watch scheme on the estate, watch this space for updates on this". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - An attempted burglary occurred in Redbourne Drive between 03:00pm on Thursday 21/06/18 and 05:15pm on Friday 22/06/18. Good News - Following an arrest for Cannabis by officers on mobile patrol in Fairway Drive, investigations by PC Nana Quarshie-Awuah are ongoing. Cannabis warning was issued to a male in Yarnton Way by PC Pruden who was accompanied by PCSO Buckley who noticed a small bag of cannabis nearby, which will be destroyed. Future Contact Date - On Thursday 5th July, a Community Contact Session will be held at The Lakeside Health Centre, Yarnton Way between 1 – 2 pm. An opportunity for members of the community to speak with a Dedicated Ward Officer".

As I predicted a while ago, the good weather has seen an increase in the number of illegal moped gangs seen in the local area - the photo above is a screen capture of a video shot in North End Road at the Crayford end recently - it speaks for itself. On Thursday afternoon as I headed towards Morrison's from Erith Station, a scrote wearing a bandanna but no crash helmet hurtled on a motor bike with no number plate through Erith town centre, along Pier Road and down into the High Street - an area that is paved and for the exclusive use of pedestrians. This is fairly typical of the anti social behaviour these scumbags exhibit. There was a report in the London Evening Standard this week which said that a recently leaked Home Office report revealed that an ‘excess supply’ of cocaine following a bumper coca harvest in Colombia has played a role, as moped gangs vie for control of a lucrative drugs market. Furthermore, the document stated that changes in policy to keep young people out of the prison system by handing them community sentences instead of jail time may have allowed violent crime to thrive. Added to this toxic cocktail of factors is anecdotal evidence from police which indicates that the decrease in stop and search since 2009 has meant young people are now more inclined to carry knives because of growing confidence that they will not be stopped. As a response to the rising knife crime rate, targeted, intelligence-led stop and search has ‘significantly increased’ since January, according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, although total searches remain lower. Professor Simon Harding, a criminologist at The University of West London stated that "‘It’s well-documented that there’s a correlation between increased temperature and elevated crime levels.One theory is that adrenaline and testosterone levels rise in warmer weather, and people are spending more time outside, particularly teenagers on summer holidays. Ways for gang members to gain status and respect are becoming more extreme, which is why we’re seeing hyper-violent acts such as acid attacks and zombie knives. Tension in London is so high at the moment that if we get a spell of good weather it could well kick off into public disorder". Harding points out that it is important to notice the connection between multinational criminal networks involved in large-scale importation of drugs and human trafficking, street gangs dealing drugs and running ‘county lines’ (using younger gang members to shift narcotics business outside of London) and small-scale moped crime such as is prevalent in Bexley. ‘In recent years we’ve seen drugs distributed by moped in what’s become a 24-hour “dial-a-dealer” operation,’ he explained in the article. ‘It tends to be young men, aged between 15 and 22 — the pillion rider can be even younger — and as they drive around dropping off drugs they’re noticing all these “phone zombies” not paying attention to their surroundings. They snatch their gadgets and sell them to Africa or Pakistan in bulk. Each boy is carrying knives, drugs and money, so they become a target for rival gangs.’ Home Secretary Sajid Javid has vowed to ban zombie knives with his new Offensive Weapons Bill, and since October the Metropolitan Police have been employing creative tactics against moped-riding criminals, including buying slimline Scrambler bikes that can drive down narrow streets and ProSpike — a remote-controlled bed of spikes which pop up in the road to puncture the tyres of the illegal moped and motorbike riders. Under the current law, officers can be prosecuted for dangerous driving if there is an accident, leading to moped muggers removing their helmets in the belief that police won’t pursue them. But new pursuit rules, which would make suspects responsible for their own driving, are under review. Some London boroughs such as Havering on the other side of the River Thames have already changed their rules of engagement to become much more aggressive and tenacious when combatting these young criminals. In the embedded video clip below, you can see how Greater Manchester Police are now dealing with moped riding thieves / muggers / drug dealers. The Police have definitely changed tactics for the better, as you will see in the video - the known criminal scumbags did not know what hit them! What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.