Compulsory purchase?

The building in the above photos (click on either for a larger view) is one of the landmarks of Erith. It is the first thing many visitors see when they enter the town for the first time, but it is also one of the least memorable. The large and nowadays rather run down and scruffy brick building is called Electricity House – though many locals are unaware of this. It was built back in 1938 and opened in November 1939 as a showroom and offices for the local electricity company, which at the time was run by the council. Pre – war services such as gas, water and electricity supply were quite commonly managed and supplied by local councils; the idea of private companies being involved was something that did not happen until after the war had ended. Electricity House was also a place where new electrical customers could view domestic appliances which they could buy via hire purchase (it sounds like an early version of BrightHouse, but without the crippling interest rates). As well as the showroom, Electricity House was home to what contemporary accounts say was a very upmarket dance hall with a fully sprung Canadian Maple floor; there was also a small Pathe cinema. The local electricity business was astonishingly successful – probably much helped by the fact that it offered the cheapest metered electricity in the entire UK at the time – one penny per unit. Ten thousand local people signed up for electrification in the first month alone, attracted by the offer of free connection to the local power grid – unusual at the time – many suppliers would even charge for the copper cable to connect new customers. In 1939 the Erith electricity board made a (for then) massive profit of £13,000. The idea was that the money would be used to improve local services and amenities for all, but the advent of war meant that early in 1940 Electricity House was handed over for war work, and once peace was restored, the money intended to benefit local people was absorbed by the LEB during nationalisation, and nothing was ever seen of it. Much of Erith was still lit by gas until relatively recently. I believe that some houses in West Street did not get electricity until 1947 when the London Electricity Board was formed, and the local council control of power was nationalised. For the last six years I have been writing about how Bexley Council had plans to compulsorily purchase the building, and redevelop the large site as a new gateway development for Erith. I have had some inside information from a number of confidential sources on the project, but was asked to keep quiet on certain subjects - until now, when Bexley Council have made the following public announcement:- "At its meeting next week (25th February) the Council’s Cabinet will consider options to improve the top end of Pier Road near the Queens Road Roundabout to create a new welcoming gateway for Erith town centre. The Council has been buying properties on Pier Road since July 2017 as part of the Erith Regeneration Programme and wants to create a high quality, mixed use commercial and residential area that provides a more welcoming entrance to the town centre. Cllr Louie French, Bexley’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Growth said: “We want Erith to become a vibrant riverside town again and upgrading the gateway to the town centre at Pier Road is an important part of this. We have been working hard over the past few years to secure the site and are now at a stage where we need to make a decision about how best to move things forward.” One option that will be considered at the meeting is whether or not to use the Council’s compulsory purchase powers to buy properties and identify a development partner to help redevelop it. If it chooses this option, the Council will work closely with those affected and keep them informed at all stages of the process". I wonder what the reaction was of the owners of the newly refurbished kebab shop in the block - what used to be Town Kebab, which closed nearly two months ago after it was sold, and the new owners extensively (and expensively) gutted the old shop and refitted it with an impressive new interior and kitchen. It has been renamed Best Kebab and Chicken. I hope that Bexley Council will properly recompense them when the compulsory purchase goes through.

Last week I wrote a long piece on wartime SOE agent Violette Szabo. I got an Email from a somewhat unexpected source as a consequence. Caroline Field of Orbit Housing Association wrote the following, very surprising article:- "I was fascinated to read your piece on Violette Szabo. I have a very loose family relationship to her – through my in-laws by marriage.  This is how we discovered it….  Long ago my 12 yr old son was extremely disgruntled to be asked to ‘find a love poem and write about it’ as homework.  I’d recently read Leo Marks’ book and gave him the ‘The life that I have’ poem.  This went down very well, spies, ciphers  and sabotage helping to make the love poem theme  a lot more palatable. Ten years or so on my father-in-law had just died.  He was a lay minister and all through his terminal illness he carried on conducting funerals, taking great care to personalise each ceremony with the bereaved.  He died the day he conducted his last funeral, having left no indication of his preference for his own.  The order of service for his last one was on the table so we turned to it for inspiration.  It included the Violette poem and my mother-in-law suggested that she would like it. I told her the story behind the poem, which she hadn’t known. ‘Violette Szabo was related to us’ she said. Not surprisingly we then decided to use the poem for the funeral and memorial service. It transpired that Aunt Brenda (mother-in-law’s sister)  had long ago travelled to Australia by sea.  Someone discovered that distant relatives would be on the voyage and put them in touch with Brenda, who would be otherwise be travelling alone. These relatives were Violette’s parents and her daughter, Tania.  Tania and Brenda have stayed in touch ever since."

It is 76 years this month since the world's first stored program digital computer was first switched on. On the 5th of February 1944, the MK1 Colossus attacked its first cipher challenge. Contrary to some erroneous accounts, Colossus was not used to break the German Enigma code – that work was done on a separate set of electromechanical analogue computers called Bombes. What Colossus did was crack the daily key settings of an even more fiendishly complicated cipher system called Lorenz, which was exclusively used by the Nazi High Command to communicate with each other. Colossus was designed and built by a team headed by an amazing electronic engineer called Tommy Flowers, who was born and raised the son of a bricklayer in Poplar, East London. Flowers was ferociously intelligent, and whilst an  apprentice electrician at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, he undertook  evening classes at the University of London, where he was awarded a BSc in Electrical Engineering. He later became the head of the Post Office Research Station in Dollis Hill, where prior to the war he was instrumental in the design of the first automatic telephone exchange. I have a personal connection with this piece of history; my late Great Uncle Horace worked in the Dollis Hill Research Station during the war. We know very little of his wartime experiences, but we do know that as well as being exempted from military service, he was also exempted from Home Guard or fire watching duties, which was extremely unusual at the time. He never said anything about what he had been doing, but it remains very likely indeed he was part of Tommy Flowers’ Colossus design and construction team, which was the most secret allied project of the war, classified even higher than the Manhattan Project to create the first nuclear weapons. Uncle Horace’s full name was Horace Payne. After the war he became the chief telephone exchange engineer for the City of London, and was based at the old international telephone exchange in Upper Thames Street (or it may have been King William Street - my memory is hazy - I was very young, and it was a long time ago), which handled all phone lines to America. He was one of only two people who had the key to the international hotline that linked London, Moscow and Washington DC, which was in a room made to look like a store cupboard.  When I was seven or eight years old, during a school holiday I got to spend the day with him at work. He showed me the hotline room, and actually it was not very impressive - no flashing lights as you would see in a cold war thriller. Instead it was very plain, and painted with what appeared to be war surplus battleship grey. There were a few panels with unlit lights, and a patch panel with some cords attached to it. There was also a small table and a matching chair, and that was about that. Reality did not match the fictional “James Bond” image, which was very disappointing for a small boy. In his office Uncle Horace had a big Victorian roll - top desk, and propped against it was a very tatty and battered looking cricket bat. I recall I was sat with a carton of Kia Ora drink whilst he made some phone calls whilst smoking a horrid roll - up cigarette. For some unknown reason he smoked roll – ups at work, but at home he smoked conventional boxed cigarettes; he had a large collection of vintage cigarette cards, some in albums, and others in large piles which he kept on top the fireplace in his back room. I would imagine that nowadays they would be worth a small fortune. A junior engineer came in and said that there was a problem with a relay rack (the City exchange was the last one in London to be converted to digital, and at this time was still electro mechanical). Horace slowly got up, stubbed out his fag, then picked up the cricket bat, before winking at me as he said “come with me lad”. We went into the open relay floors, where tens of thousands of electro mechanical relays were clattering as they made automatic phone connections. The junior engineer pointed to a rack where the relays were not moving - they appeared to be frozen or jammed. Uncle Horace said “Stand Back!” to me over the din. He then took a great swing with the cricket bat at the relay frame. There was a loud bang, and the  frozen relays all jumped back into life!. He then fished around in the pocket of his waistcoat for a piece of chalk, and marked a cross on the side of the relay frame, before saying to his assistant “we’ll take this one out tonight - get it booked”. Now - this really impressed me! That was the only time I ever got to see what he did at work; he was extremely diffident about his past, and always managed to steer the conversation elsewhere if the subject came up. Ironically I am now sitting here typing this whilst wearing Horace’s Omega dress watch, which I inherited from him when he died. He was a real enigma, and a lovely man. Colossus was an amazing feat of engineering - It occupied the size of a living room (7 ft high by 17 ft wide and 11 ft deep), weighed five tonnes, and used 8kW of power. It incorporated 2,500 valves, 501 of which are thyraton switches, about 100 logic gates and 10,000 resistors connected by 7 km of wiring. Reading 5000 characters per second (faster than anything ever produced commercially), Colossus found the start wheel positions of Lorenz-encrypted messages to enable the decryption of 63 million characters. Typically, it took Colossus up to four hours to establish the start wheel positions of messages. It is often surmised that the Allies might have been reading some of the decrypted messages even before they reached Nazi High Command. By the end of the war, 63 million characters of high-grade German messages had been decrypted by the 550 people working on the ten functioning Colossi at Bletchley Park. After the war, some of the Colossi were destroyed, and the remaining ones moved to GCHQ, where it is said they were in operation until the mid 1970’s. By the early 1980’s the story of Bletchley Park and the Colossus computer was finally coming out, after over thirty years of total secrecy. Great Uncle Horace never said a word, and it is to my great regret that we only discovered after his death what almost certainly was his involvement with the astonishing feat which has gone on to change the world. Comment and feedback to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Uncle Horace's best friend was the highly acclaimed amateur astronomer, comic actor and film star Will Hay - a name largely forgotten today, but a comic actor whose best work influenced the likes of The Goon Show, and Monty Python, and his most famous film "Oh, Mister Porter!" was a direct influence on "Dad's Army" - in fact,  Jimmy Perry, in his autobiography, wrote that the trio of Captain Mainwaring, Corporal Jones and Private Pike in Dad's Army was inspired by watching Oh, Mr Porter!  Born in Stockton in 1888, Hay’s family moved him south to Suffolk before his first birthday. As his father became a jobbing engineer so the family’s mobility quickly increased – moving next to Hemel Hempstead then to London and finally to Manchester where Hay Senior established his own firm. Wanting independence, Will refused to join the family company and started instead as an apprentice engineer for Westinghouse. Yet Hay was no typical engineer and his humour hid by the fact that, by the age of 19, he had learnt German, French and Italian to such a high level that he was able to leave engineering and became an interpreter. His nineteenth year also saw him married to fellow teenager Gladys Perkins and when his daughter Gladys Elspeth was born some eighteen months later Hay decided he could make a better living for his new family in the pre-Great War music halls. Stealing some of his sister Eppie’s staff room reminiscences – she was a full time teacher – Hay began to develop his pompous, bumbling schoolmaster act. After working for over three years with the Fred Karno troupe, where Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin had developed their craft, Hay swiftly found himself the talk of the town: selling out Britain’s biggest music halls, playing sets for the Prince of Wales and successfully touring America, South Africa and Canada. Then came Boys Will Be Boys (1935) his first starring film role with a screenplay written by Hay himself. The story wasn't overly deep – a prison teacher cons his way into a boarding school job and helps stop a diamond theft – but it did have its moments. And it was the perfect frame for Hay’s idiot teacher routines…Then, in 1937,  Graham Moffatt joined Moore Marriott as Hay’s two sidekicks in the finest comic film any of them would ever be involved with, Oh, Mr Porter! wherein Hay discovers the (Northern) Irish railway station he’s been sent to run, Buggleskelly, is actually a run-down mess. Gun-runners, ghosts, secret windmills and missing trains – Hay and his two stooges come out on top in a film that is, even now, genuinely funny, at times hilarious. Oh, Mister Porter! (1937) was a deserved box office smash in its day, taking some £500,000 in British cinemas alone – the equivalent now would be over £15 million. In the immediate pre - war years, Will Hay was the second highest paid entertainer in Britain, earning a reputed £800 per week - narrowly pipped in the earnings stakes by George Formby. Outside of show business, Will Hay was a dedicated and respected amateur astronomer. He constructed a personal observatory in his garden in Mill Hill and built a glider in 1909. He became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1932 and is noted for having discovered a Great White Spot on the planet Saturn in 1933. The spot lasted for a few months and then faded away. He also measured the positions of comets with a micrometer he built himself, and designed and built a blink comparator. He wrote the book Through My Telescope in 1935, which had a foreword by Sir Richard Gregory, formerly Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at Queen's College, London. When Hay died, a few items of his equipment were bequeathed to the British Astronomical Association. Some years ago I came across a long out of print book on the life of Will Hay, and it had some photos taken of his garden and his private observatory; in one of the early shots, the construction of his observatory is shown; several people are helping with the digging of the observatory foundations. One chap is seen stripped to his string vest and leaning on a shovel - it was my late Great Uncle Horace on what must have been a very hot day for manual labour. I wish I had a copy of the book. In 1947, Hay suffered a stroke which left him physically disabled. He died at his flat in Chelsea, London after a further stroke in 1949, and is buried in Streatham Park Cemetery, London SW16.

Pac-Man, the biggest arcade game of all time, turned 40 years old last week. Released by the Japanese company Namco in February 1980, Pac-Man was like nothing else at the time. At a time when Space Invaders and Asteroids and other games with abstracted, monochrome graphics ruled the arcade, Pac-Man offered a striking, cartoonish design with an appealing central character. It revolved around eating, not shooting; and it was designed to appeal to young women and couples, not spotty nerks in anoraks (although they all played it too). The colourful design and unique collect-the-dots maze gameplay—plus the wonderful tension of running away from those ghosts, then scrambling to eat them once you got a power pellet—made Pac-Man almost instantly addictive, eating ten pence pieces as rapaciously as its protagonist swallowed pixels. By one count, Namco sold 400,000 Pac-Man machines, head and shoulders above anything that had come before, or since. And it is still highly playable and popular in a way its contemporaries are not—few people are paying for Asteroids or Space Invaders updates today, but Namco Bandai still makes and sells variations on Pac-Man on every platform imaginable. Pac-Man’s ubiquity was our first indication that games were about to become the dominant entertainment medium of the information age. (It also arguably marked the beginning of Japan’s impending pop-cultural invasion of the rest of the world, even if players at the time didn't know where it came from).

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:-

"This knife was recovered by an alert resident of Northumberland Way whilst out walking his dog in Castleton Avenue on the evening of 18th February. He saw a vehicle pull up next to a BT green box, saw a woman get out and then heard something metal drop behind the box. When the vehicle drove off he looked and found a 12' knife. The knife is now in possession of the police. Good news again for Barnehurst as we did not have many crimes. The Barnehurst team have been visiting residents this week and have been offering crime prevention advice. We are more than happy to come to your home and offer you crime prevention advice, so please give us a call on 02087212577. We have noticed that there has been 3 Theft from Motor Vehicles around the Colyers Lane area as we are urging residents to make sure that their vehicles are locked. We have had one burglary on Castleton Avenue, whereby entry was gained via the ground floor front door. The team also arrested a male for GBH and are continuing to provide proactive patrols across the ward. Please join us for our community contact day on TUESDAY 3rd MARCH at 11:00 hours 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:- "Overnight on the Saturday 15/02/2020 to Sunday 16/02/2020 at Jutland House, little Brights Road several of the mailboxes were broken into and contents thrown on the floor. Unknown who did this at present but enquiries are ongoing with the estate management regarding CCTV enquiries. On Sunday 16/02/2020 a burglary occurred on Orchard Road in the early hours. Someone had gained entry via the kitchen window. Documents were taken. On the Friday 14/02/2020 there was a commotion on Picardy Street whereby a male started arguing with another and a fight took place. The dental surgery also suffered damage in this affair. Investigation ongoing. Officers conducted a weapon sweep around Picardy Street on Sunday 16/02/2020 after the incident the day before and a chisel was found dumped in the bushes opposite the shops. Blade was rusty but could still cause damage if used for a nefarious purpose". Bexleyheath ward:-"Tuesday 11/02/20 1720 Robbery Air Pods Broadway. Wednesday 12/2/20 2100 – 13/2/20 0600 Theft From Motor Vehicle Martens Avenue - change stolen. Between Wednesday 12/2/20 2200 and Thursday 13/2/20 0630 Theft From Motor Vehicle Sterling Road car broken into nothing stolen. Between Friday 7/02/20 and Wednesday 12/02/20 Theft From Parking Meters Cineworld Car Park coins taken. Between Saturday 8/02/20 1500 and Sunday 9/02/20 1400 Criminal Damage Henfield Close rear gate damaged, no entry gained to property. Thursday 13/02/20 1900 Burglary Broomfield Road suspects have forced door, resident has been alerted to noise and shouted at suspects who have left scene. Friday 14/02/20 1545 Purse dropped on BROADWAY went back and found it however money and travel card were missing. Friday 14/02/20 1755 Robbery Air Pod case stolen by youths near Subway on Broadway. Saturday 15/02/20 0030 – 0600 Theft of Motor Vehicle Land Rover Latham Road. Saturday 15/02/20 1225 Robbery Russell Park. 3 suspects arrested Sunday". Crayford ward:- "We are happy to report that Crayford hasn't suffered any burglaries this week. We have managed to locate two stolen vehicles this week one was a motorcycle that was dumped by the thieves in a quiet cul de sac and car that was too badly damaged to be returned to its owner . The team have made a couple of arrest over the last few days, one for ABH after a male had assaulted an ex-partner at their home address and another male was arrested for a breach of a court order. ASB around the ward has improved lately, although we are still getting reports of youths causing issues in and around the Town Hall Square area. During evening patrols around the Dale Road area of Crayford, officers witnessed what they believed to be a drug deal in a dimly lit alley way, as they approached the two males they ran off towards Dale Close where unfortunately they were lost. However, officers retraced their steps after seeing objects fall out of the pockets of one of the males which was discovered to be a quantity of cash (notes) We have also conducted six stop and searches with some positive results". Erith ward:- "One burglary from the last week, Rear door forced open, and items of jewellery taken. We have a few sets of Smart Water left so if you would require one please email us and we will do our best to get one to you. 3 theft of motor vehicles and 2 thefts from motor vehicles. Vehicle crime is by far the largest crime across Erith. If you park your car on a drive way or outside your house it might be a good idea to invest in a camera, CCTV cameras are getting cheaper all the time, just a suggestion worth thinking about. Crimes of note from the last week: Theft of Motor vehicle Wednesday 12/02/2020 Queen Street, Residential burglary Wednesday 12/02/2020 Bramble Croft - Entry through locked rear window. Untidy search. Watch and jewellery taken". Northumberland Heath ward:- "No burglaries in the last week. 2 vehicles broken in to overnight on Thursday 13/02/2020. A log book and other paperwork were stolen from a vehicle in Camrose Avenue. A mobile phone was stolen from a vehicle in Belmont Road. Please do not leave any valuables in your vehicles at any time or any important papers etc. Due to staffing levels there will be no Community Contact Session until early in March. PCSO Lorraine is continuing ASB patrols in the park, Sussex Road and Becton Place whenever possible". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "A burglary took place between 10am and 3pm in Sun Court on Friday 14/02/2020. Items taken included a tv, car keys and jewellery. Entry was made via the kitchen window (situated at the rear of the property. Please ensure all doors and windows are locked each time you go out. We have had 3 vehicles damaged in 3 separate roads in the past week, all on different nights. A windscreen was smashed in Bridge Road, all windows smashed in Duriun Way and a wing mirror ripped off along with scratches on the car door in Hazel Road. It is unclear if these are all linked but if you happen to see anyone loitering around during night time hours, please call 101. Due to the weather we had to cancel our Smart Water event in Egerton Place last Saturday. A new date will be sent out in due course. Our next Community Contact Session is from 2.30pm on Thursday 27/02/2020 at Slade Green library". Thamesmead East ward:- "No burglaries this week Motor Vehicle Crime Kale Road Wednesday 12/2/20 between 1:00am -5:am an unknown person ,managed to gain entry to a vehicle without causing any damage, steal trainers, an iPad and a wallet containing £20.00. Hartslock Drive Saturday 15/2/20 between 12:55pm and 1:05pm the catalytic converter was stolen from a parked vehicle. Criminal Damage Glimpsing Green Between Tuesday 11/2/20 6:00pm and 7:30am on Wednesday 12/2/20 a resident reported that her post box had been damaged. Walsham Green Wednesday 12/2/20 between the hours of 3:50pm and 11:20pm ,eggs, flour and tomato ketchup had been thrown at the front of the residents property, hitting the door and windows. Good News PC's John and Nana, over the weekend, the group of youths who had been involved in shoplifting attended the Thamesmead East police office were given strong words of advice as to their future conduct and had to write letters of apology. The youths attended with their parents or an appropriate adult". West Heath ward:- "Excellent news this week no burglaries and no vehicle crimes have been reported on West Heath Ward. The Ward officers have been working collaboratively with East Wickham and Crook Log officers on proactive burglaries and motor vehicle crime patrols. On Monday 17th February 5 males were stopped and searched for drugs at various locations on the wards, one stop resulting in an investigation for possession of cannabis with the intent to supply. On Tuesday 18th West Heath officers took part in a Knife Arch Operation at Slade Green BR where three arrests were made for various offences including a suspect carrying a knife".

To celebrate the ascension to the throne of King George V, Bexley Urban District Council commissioned Walter Maxted Epps to design a clock tower for Bexleyheath town centre. Early professional cinematographer Harry Pease shot this film of the inauguration of the clock tower in July 1912. It is part of the archive film collection at Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre. Look out for the firemen standing on their horse-drawn engine. Please feel free to Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Street Watch.

Another application has been made to use the former and controversial Bright Steps nursery in Electricity House as a new nursery. The building has a long and fascinating history. The building in the upper photo is one of the landmarks of Erith. It is the first thing many visitors see when they enter the town for the first time, but it is also one of the least memorable. The large and nowadays rather run down and scruffy looking brick building is called Electricity House – though many locals are unaware of this. It was built back in 1938 and opened in November 1939 as a showroom and offices for the local electricity company, which at the time was run by the council. Pre – war services such as gas, water and electricity supply were quite commonly managed and supplied by local councils; the idea of private companies being involved was something that did not happen until after the war had ended. Electricity House was also a place where new electrical customers could view domestic appliances which they could buy via hire purchase (it sounds like an early version of BrightHouse, but without the crippling interest rates). As well as the showroom, Electricity House was home to what contemporary accounts say was a very upmarket dance hall with a fully sprung Canadian Maple floor; there was also a small Pathe cinema. The local electricity business was astonishingly successful – probably much helped by the fact that it offered the cheapest metered electricity in the entire UK at the time – one penny per unit. Ten thousand local people signed up for electrification in the first month alone, attracted by the offer of free connection to the local power grid – unusual at the time – many suppliers would even charge for the copper cable to connect new customers. In 1939 the Erith electricity board made a (for then) massive profit of £13,000. The idea was that the money would be used to improve local services and amenities for all, but the advent of war meant that early in 1940 Electricity House was handed over for war work, and once peace was restored, the money intended to benefit local people was absorbed by the LEB during nationalisation, and nothing was ever seen of the money. Much of Erith was still lit by gas until relatively recently. I believe that some houses in West Street did not get electricity until 1948 when the London Electricity Board was formed, and the local council control of power was nationalised. In the recent past, the building has courted controversy; A nursery called Bright Steps operated on the site for a number of years. It would appear that the nursery had been under performing for several years, and had refused to obey a series of previous compliance orders by Ofsted. The final straw seems to have been when a member of the public observed a member of the Bright Steps nursery staff smacking a child under their care. Subsequent to this, the nursery managers deleted CCTV footage of the assault, and tried to cover up the event when Ofsted and the Police then carried out an investigation. After a court case and an appeal, Ofsted removed Bright Steps licence to operate. Subsequent to this forced closure, the nursery part of the building was advertised for rent. A number of organisations looked into taking on the nursery space, but until now the nursery part of Electricity House has been empty. An application has just been granted by Bexley Council to a new nursery group called Violet Day Care Ltd. Their proposal states that:- "The proposal is to accommodate 50 Children of the following: 10 Babies – 0 year to 2 years of age. 11 Toddlers – 2 to 3 years of age. 29 Pre-School Infants – 3 to 5 years of age There is sufficient in-house toilets for adults and children, Main Kitchen to carter for the Nursery, Staff rest area, Baby changing facilities, Baby’s Milk kitchen, Children sleeping area and Outdoor play area. There are 4 parking spaces available for the Nursery’s use with sufficient turning space for vehicles to enter and leave in a forward motion. There will be no parking allowed on the public footpath. On-site parking will be for staff only. The majority of the children will arrive by public transport however, there is a bus stop with numbers of bus routes outside the Nursery. 2 minutes’ walk from Erith train station and a numbers of car parks nearby for parents use. The Nursery is to have 13 Full –Time Employees. Opening Hours : Mon to Friday – 07.00 till 19.00 Bank Holidays and Weekends - Closed. The proposal is to propose a Day Nursery to appease the need within the community and create some additional employment within Bexley Council. We have done some extensive works to the proposed property to bring it up to the standard for our children, however, we are willing to work with the council should there be any area that may need attending to now or in the future". The floor layout drawing in the lower of the two images above - click on either for a larger view - give an idea as to how the new nursery will be laid out. I am not sure if Violet Day Care Ltd are aware of the medium / long term plans to redevelop the entirety of Electricity House by Bexley Council. It may be that they are only looking to occupy the space until such time as the building is closed for demolition; at the time of writing I have not contacted the nursery operators. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

As regular readers will be aware, I am a keen student of the law of unintended consequences. This can be loosely defined as when someone makes a decision, or takes an action with one intent, only for an unexpected and different outcome to happen. Quite often this results in something being undertaken for a worthwhile and good reason, but in the end the outcome is bad. I feel that a new example of this is potentially about to happen. Last week, local Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators were sent an Email which read:- "We are looking at the implementation of  Street Watch on Bexley borough, which  will be run in collaboration with Matt Roberts from the local council with the aim of extending this to Greenwich and Lewisham in the future.We had our first meeting on the 10/12/19 and we are now proceeding to the next stage .I am therefore looking to recruit enthusiastic members of the public ( 3 from each ward to start with ) who are willing to join this programme. They will be provided with appropriate training and equipment and we were hoping to  start with a decent group by the end of next January 2020. The volunteers will be given hi-viz jackets with street watch logo printed on and notebooks, They will be mainly on foot patrol and they will reporting any issues/incidents they come across  to the control room if urgent or otherwise to their ward officers . They will not be given MET radios but will be using the 101 and 999 service via their own mobile phones". My personal reaction to this appeal was that I am not convinced this is a good idea. To me it smacks of "Policing on the cheap". Putting relatively untrained (when compared to Police officers) members of the public on the streets and easily identifiable to the bad guys will leave them vulnerable and unprotected - an easy target, especially as they will have no backup - no Police radio, just a personal mobile phone. Bearing in mind many Neighbourhood Watch members are retired, and some do not have a mobile phone, this seems to me to be an assumption on the part of the proposers.  I don't feel that this has been thought through properly. What will the Met / Home Office liability be when a volunteer gets stabbed to death? The whole strength of Neighbourhood Watch is that they are a covert intelligence gathering organisation. Many in the public incorrectly think that Neighbourhood Watch is about volunteers patrolling the street - which (until now) it has never been. It is actually about passing on observations, and the identification of unusual activity reports to the local Safer Neighbourhood Police teams for investigation, and possible remedial action. The criminals do not know (for the most part) who Neighbourhood Watch members are. What will happen when a criminal follows a hi viz jacketed volunteer home, then later targets the house as a form of punishment? Back in September of 2015, Bexley Police requested that a certain Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator try to get covert photographs of members of a local motorbike gang who were suspected of carrying out a number of crimes. Due to Police cutbacks at that time, the Police did not have sufficient resources to undertake the work themselves, and thus reached out to Neighbourhood Watch. The co-ordinator managed to take photos of the gang members whilst they were engaged in illegal activity, but unfortunately he was seen by the gang, and was seriously assaulted, which let to a hospital visit. Due to various failings in the subsequent investigation, no prosecution of the perpetrators was made. I can foresee similar or worse issues coming to pass if Street Watch goes ahead in the form described above. What do you think? Email me privately using the Email address hugh.neal@gmail.com. There will be more on this controversial story in the weeks to come.

An arts group that performed at The Old Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith last year have been nominated for a major award. The Performing Places Bexley project has been shortlisted for one of the National Campaign for the Arts' (NCA) Hearts For The Arts Awards 2020, in the ‘Community Cohesion’ category. The awards are designed to celebrate local authorities who are championing the arts. The short-listed ‘Performing Places’ programme was developed between the London Borough of Bexley and Professor Sally Mackey of The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and was funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Performing Places used drama to create an exciting and emotional story aimed at encouraging those that live in or visit a place to see it in its best light and to understand each other better.  Performing Places used the story of a parallel universe, Par-Bexia, whose young Par-Bexians came down to Bexleyheath, unplanned and unexpectedly. The project was developed in the borough over two years, working with primary schools, secondary schools and community groups using drama. The second year of the project saw the introduction of the use of augmented reality (AR). The project ended in July last year with a fantastic week of events and a special finale when visitors to the Broadway were able to meet Par Bexians of all ages before they headed back to their home universe. The project was made possible by the support and collaboration of a range of local partners, including Emergency Exit Arts who developed costumes, props and scenery, practitioners from Little Fish Theatre who delivered several community engagement events, Rose Bruford College and Bird College, whose students performed alongside Royal Central School of Speech and Drama students in the Broadway, and Bexleyheath BID who supported the delivery of the project in Bexleyheath Town Centre.

Pradas bar and grill - the large restaurant at 198 - 200 Bexleyheath Broadway, next to the Job Centre has now closed. It is currently being refitted and refurbished. Prior to being Pradas it was The Laughing Buddha - a Chinese restaurant, and before that it was a large Indian restaurant - where back in the 1980's I had my first ever restaurant curry. Once the refit is completed, it is going to be a Thai restaurant. Bearing in mind the nearest other Thai restaurants are in Dartford or Welling, this may well be a good business move on the part of the new owners. Thai cuisine is rather under represented in the local area. Another change to a local trader is that Roman Crops - the barbers shop in Pier Road, Erith is closing. The owner, Marco has been cutting local residents hair since the early 1990's; I understand that he has commuted daily to the shop from his Maidstone home. The shop will shut in February. As I have previously written at some length, leases for the shop units in Electricity House are not being renewed, and Bexley Council are actively seeking to buy out existing leases from the shop operators. The intent is in due course to compulsorily purchase Electricity House for redevelopment. The land is now worth more than the building - the only profitable part of the building is the mobile phone cell transceivers and the associated antennas on the roof, which I understand bring in a rental income of around £100,000 a year. An alternative gents barbers called Sav's is located very close by,  at no.4 Cross Street.

Drain cleaning products containing up to 95 percent sulphuric acid, which are intended for professional use only, have been taken off sale to the public at 4 discount stores by Bexley Trading Standards Officers. The move was made following a trawl of 54 retail premises across the borough. A further 4 suppliers who legitimately deal in ‘trade only’ sales were also found to be willing to sell to the public illegally. High strength sulphuric acid products have been connected to criminal acid attacks on people. In order to buy the industrial strength products, a purchaser must either be registered with The Home Office or registered in the Trade. At the initial visit by a Trading Standards Officer, the 8 suppliers were reminded of their responsibilities. A test purchase exercise was later carried out on all 8 suppliers to make sure that they were no longer supplying members of the public who do not have a legitimate trade use for the products. As a result, one supplier has received a formal written warning for not making the required checks and could face prosecution if they continue to flout the rules around supplying high strength sulphuric acid products to the general public.

Now for the weekly local safety and security reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the update from Barnehurst ward:- "Unfortunately Barnehurst suffered a burglary in Northall Road on Saturday 11/01/2020 just after midnight. Suspects managed to force the porch and the main front door open however due to being disturbed the suspect had only entered the porch and grabbed a hand bag containing personal belongings as they left. Nearby CCTV shows suspects pulling up in an unknown vehicle. Four tall males got out of the vehicle and approached the property. Due to the footage being of poor quality suspects and the vehicle could not be identified. On Thursday Saturday 11/01/2020 In Hillingdon Road three tyres were found punctured. Due to no CCTV footage it is not known how or who caused the damage. PCSO's John and Cathy have made a start rolling out Smart Water in Holmsdale Grove. We welcome a new Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator for Badlow Close. The next coffee with cops will be on Tuesday 21st January 2020 at 04.00pm in Barnehurst Golf Club, hope to see you there". Belvedere ward:- Update from a NW coordinator:- "It was noticed by one of our neighbours who has external CCTV that the lads that have previously broken into our cars were at it again last night (Sat 12th/Sun13th Jan) at about 4am trying their neighbours car boots. If anyone knows of anybody that was broken into can they please pass it on to their Coordinator the NW Office and the police. Also, on Saturday a stolen white transit van that had been taken from Mangold Way over the Railway, was found at the east end of Fendyke Rd by its owner. The door lock and ignition lock had been removed and rear padlock cut off. All his personal building tools had been stolen. The police were informed". Bexleyheath ward:- "Thursday 9/1/20 1340 Marriott Hotel car park - theft of handbag from unlocked vehicle. Friday 10/1/20 2350 Theft of Motor Vehicle Oaklands Road. Friday 10/1/20 1200 Theft of Motor Vehicle Marriott car park. Saturday 11/1/20 1620 – 1715 Burglary Broom Mead Jewellery Stolen door handle lifted but key not turned. Saturday 11/1/20 1645 Theft of Mobile Phone from work place on Broadway. Sunday 12/1/20 1330 – 1430 Theft of Motor Bike Albion Road car park. Sunday 12/1/120 1900 – 2000 Theft of Mobile Phone from table in McDonalds. Sunday 12/1/20 1630 – 1700 Disabled Badge Stolen from unlocked parked vehicle in ASDA. Monday 13/1/20 1500 Purse Stolen from handbag whilst shopping on Broadway – unknown shop of incident. Tuesday 14/1/20 1000 – 1200 Mobile Phone Stolen from handbag whilst shopping on Broadway. Tuesday 14/1/20 1715 Theft of Pushbike from outside The Mall by Burger King. Tuesday 14/1/20 1600 – Wednesday 15/1/20 0120 Theft of Motor Vehicle Long Lane. Tuesday 14/1/20 0730 – 0930 Theft of Catalytic Convertor from vehicle Erith Road. Wednesday 15/1/20 0000 – 1500 Garage broken into Midhurst Hill nothing taken". Crayford ward:- "Over night on 12th/13th January garage break in took place in Lea Vale. Power tools and rolls of lead belonging to a roofer were taken". Erith ward, from NW coordinator:- "Just to inform you all we have had a burglary at the single numbered end of Vickers Road on Wednesday 9th January, whilst the occupant was carrying out the afternoon school run . It appears that entry was gained via the front bay window which was broken at the time or not lockable and then exited through the front door. Contents stolen appear to be small personal items and as such I am not aware of the full details . NW NOTICE Please be aware that the school run time is an ideal time for burglars to target your property, please ensure you lock all doors and windows not forgetting that handles pushed up do not secure lobby or conservatory doors from criminals. Try to get into the habit of following your own course of action when you lock up your home. This will ensure that you don't forget anything. Here's what we recommend you do before you go out: •close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you're only going out for a few minutes •double-lock any door •make sure that any valuables are out of sight •keep handbags away from the letterbox or cat flap and hide all keys including car keys, as a thief could hook keys or valuables through even a small opening •never leave car documents or ID in obvious places such as kitchens or hallways •in the evening, shut the curtains and leave lights on •if you're out all day, then it's advisable to use a timer device to automatically turn lights and a radio on at night •set your burglar alarm •make sure the side gate is locked •lock your shed or garage •lock your bike inside a secure shed or garage, to a robust fitting bolted to the ground or wall, like a ground anchor No crime update from the week we apologise I have had been issues bringing up the crimes for the last week, people has been reported and should be back to normal next week. Motor Vehicle crime is still high in Erith keep checking you leave nothing in your motor overnight". Northumberland Heath ward:- "This week has been a busy week for the team. We have completed 2 multi agency meetings with regards to individuals whose properties have been at the centre of ASB. The team has issued a section 59 warning to a male causing ASB with his vehicle. The team alongside Orbit Housing have issued a breach of tenancy warning. We had a very good turn out to our recent contact session on Monday, we were able to give burglary prevention advice. Unfortunately we have had 2 burglaries this week, the first was on Swanton Road and the second was on Parsonage Manor Way. Again we have had a number of thefts from motor vehicle. Our next community contact session is on Wednesday 29th January at 10am in the Mill Road Library, please do come along and meet a member of the team and discuss any issues or concerns you have, or just pop in and say hello".

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "No crimes of any note to report this week. Please be aware that this does not mean we can be complacent. Keep all valuables out of your vehicles and always ensure you lift the handle and turn the key if you have a UPVC door. Last Sunday PCSO Mark attended Rainbow Road to give out Smart Water property marking kits and was assisted PCSO Adam from Erith SNT (photo above - click on it for a larger version). Over 60 kits were given out to local residents. Please keep an eye out for another event very soon. Our next CCS is on Saturday 25/01/2020 from 6pm at the Pier Road SNT base in Erith. There are some issues around parking and driving at Chrome Road by the Community Centre car park on a daily basis during morning and afternoon school drop off and pick up times. Please please ensure you do not block any driveways or mount the path as you drive around. Yes space is very limited etc but there have been a couple of near misses with some children going to school. If you do drive to Haberdashers, please be careful and if necessary, park further round the estate. We will be carrying our patrols as and when we can to identify any repeat offenders". Thamesmead East ward:- "Attempted Burglary/Business - In Lensbury Way between the hours of 9:30pm and 10:30 pm on Monday 13/01/20 unknown person/s gained entry via an unsecure door to the laundry room and gone into the medical bins. The laundry door has now been made secure. Nothing of value stolen. Motor vehicle crimes - The catalytic converter was stolen from a Toyota parked in Mangold Way between the hours of 00:01am on Wednesday 01/01/20 and 3; 15pm Tuesday 07/01/20. A van containing power tools also parked in Mangold Way was stolen between the hours of 5; 00pm on 07/01/20 and 06:55am on the 08/01/20. A vehicle parked in Wolvercote Road locked, secure had the front passenger window smashed, and the car radio stolen, the theft happened between the hours of 9:00pm on Tuesday 14/01/20 and 5:20am on Wednesday 15/01/20. Criminal Damage Motor Vehicles – On Thursday 09/01/20 suspects were seen jumping on the roof of a vehicle parked in Seacourt Road causing extensive damage. GOOD NEWS - Following a joint operation with another agency, PC's Pruden and Quarshie-Awuah arrested two persons involved in theft of goods from a local pharmacy. A substantive amount of goods are involved Investigation into the theft is ongoing". West Heath ward:- "Our Coordinator for Lodge Hill has reported- that his son's moped was stolen off our drive on Saturday 12th afternoon at around 3pm from Lodge Hill, DA16, we have reported to the police and received a CR number. The bike was locked but they managed to get the lock off. Vehicle details: Black Honda PCX 125 with L plates displayed Reg: KD19NKF NW - If you see this vehicle please let either the police or our office know and we will pass on information to owner. A burglary took place in Madison Crescent on Wednesday January 8th between the hours of 16.20 and 18.30. The rear back door to the property was smashed and cash and jewellery were stolen. Unfortunately another burglary took place in Lenham Road on Tuesday January 14th sometime before 6pm. It is believed entry was gained via the rear door. A laptop and jewellery were stolen. An attempted burglary in Brampton Road took place on Monday January 13th between 01.10 and 01.25. Damage was caused to the rear door but entry was not gained. We have also been hit by motor vehicle crime over the last week. On Friday January 10th at 20.45 two vehicles in Canberra Road suffered substantial damage by an unknown suspect. All the windows to the vehicle were smashed.  Two males were arrested in Harvel Crescent in the early hours on Friday morning January 10th having been seen tampering with vehicles in Woolwich Road. A catalytic converter was stolen from a vehicle parked in Heath Avenue on Tuesday January 7th between 11.40 – 11.55am. A moped was stolen from a driveway in Lodge hill on Saturday January 11th between the hours of midday and 20.10pm. A red Nissan was stolen from outside the victim's address in Hartley Road between midnight on Tuesday January 14th - 7.26am on Wednesday January 15th".

The end video this week features a quick virtual tour around London Southeast College, Bexley Campus - what was formerly called Bexley College. The building is located in Walnut Tree Road, Erith - directly opposite The Old Carnegie Library. 

The Grotto Bar.

The photos above were taken on Friday night at the final evening of the pop - up grotto bar and cinema event organised by The Exchange in the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith. Over forty guests drank Champagne, mulled cider, white and red wine and Anchor Bay Pale Ale from the Bexley Brewery. The final film of the short season was "It's a Wonderful Life" which was a sell - out. Guided tours of the whole library building were given for those people who had not been able to go one one of the recent open days. Feedback from the visitors was uniformly positive. The pop - up cinema and grotto bar were a "soft opening" for the former Carnegie Library, which is due to open to the public officially during February, as long as building and conservation work on phase one of the restoration is completed on time. You can keep up with the latest developments on this ambitious project via The Exchange website,  their Twitter feed here, and also their FaceBook page here. 

Some great news to report; the CCTV camera that was installed on a lamp post overlooking the popular recycling centre located in the car park to the rear of Erith Morrison's supermarket has proved to be an incredible success. Before the camera and numerous warning signs were installed earlier in the year, the recycling centre was one of the worst sites in the whole of the London Borough of Bexley for illegal fly tipping. As long term readers will be aware, I have written in some detail about the problems of illegal waste dumping at this particular site, and how the council and Police have been working to resolve them. I discovered on Tuesday morning that the CCTV camera on the site, which originally was only going to be a temporary installation for a few months, is now going to be a permanent fixture. The CCTV and warning signs have made a dramatic improvement, with, in my estimation a reduction in illegal fly tipping of around ninety percent since the camera was installed. Tipping by vehicles such as contractor vans and estate cars has pretty much ended; the only illegal tipping that still happens seems to be mainly by people on foot who dump domestic waste in bags on the ground around the recycling hoppers. These are the most difficult group to catch. The area around the Morrison's recycling site still has a lot of issues with fly tipping; on Monday night I saw a white van illegally tipping rubble bags in Appold Street. I made note of the vehicle registration number and the company from which the van had come. I then reported my findings to both Slade Green and Northend Safer Neighbourhood Police Team, and to the Bexley Council Environmental Crimes Team. As I suspected, the registration number plates on the van were false. Local CCTV footage showed the van, but details which could potentially lead to a positive identification were not available. Bexley sent an operative to check the fly tipping the next morning, and I arranged to meet him on site. Mysteriously the fly tipped rubbish had disappeared. Whether Serco - Bexley Council's rubbish and fly tipping removal contractor had already removed the sacks, I do not know. I also wonder if the bloke who fly tipped the rubbish realised that he had been watched, and later came back to remove the evidence himself. A woman also saw the illegal fly tipping and loudly commented at the time; I suspect this may have put the crook off. Either way, at least one load of illegally dumped rubbish is off the street, though no doubt it got illegally tipped somewhere else.

When standing in a supermarket queue, or waiting to pay for my paper in my local corner shop, I am struck by the large number of women’s scandal magazines that are on sale. I am thinking of titles like “Take a Break”, "That's Life!", "Love It!","Pick Me Up!", "Full House!" and a handful of others. Apart from having an almost compulsory exclamation mark in their titles, the other thing that all of these publications have in common is that they sell stories about personal tragedy in the same way that other magazines aimed at an almost exclusively female audience sell celebrity gossip and slimming tips. These magazines are marketed as light reading, something to be absorbed whilst lingering over a cup of tea, yet they are filled with disturbing, harrowing stories that would only be covered after the 9pm watershed if they were a television show. The design, format and colour scheme of all of these magazines are rather formulaic; They generally have a young, smiling woman on the cover, a sort of "girl next door" type. The rest of the cover is filled with boxes and banners in primary colours - a means of grabbing the attention of a potential buyer. The trouble is that the content of the banners is horrifying - life changing events such as murder, incest, acid attacks, crimes of violence and personal tragedy. The irony is that many of the stories involve crimes of violence against women, yet they are read by mainly women as light entertainment. They seem to be the printed equivalent of the Jeremy Kyle show; I worry about the people who purchase these magazines. It strikes me that anyone who enjoys reading about the misfortunes of others probably has some issues themselves. I would be interested in what you think.

Some changes are being planned for the river front at Erith. Back in 1998 / 1999, when work to construct the large Morrison's supermarket on the site of what was once Erith Deep Water Wharf was under way, works were also being undertaken to revitalise and convert the old commercial pier - the longest on the River Thames - for leisure use. A good job was done for the most part - the pier is a really nice place to visit on a warm and sunny day, and the local fishing community seem to use it all year round, day and night - you can often see tents on the pier when people are night fishing. The gardens at the entrance to the pier were somewhat less of a success, consisting mainly of a flag pole which mounted some tatty flags, and some fake concrete cannon balls acting as bollards. A few metal park benches completed the scene. Now, Bexley Council are poised to refurbish and update the area, as you can see from the design proposal above - the upper image shows exactly where the pier square is located in relation to the town, and the lower image shows the new design of the square once it is completed - click on either image for a larger view. I am currently unsure of where the money is coming from for this update - it may well be a part of the money granted by The Mayor of London's Office for the general improvement of public areas in Erith - more on this at the end of this week's update. The kind reader who informed me of the proposal did not have the information - so if you have any clue, then please Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Regular readers will be aware that there have been some serious goings on in Erith's Electricity House - the large 1930's brick building opposite the De Luci fish roundabout and Pier Road. The building contains a number of businesses and other organisations. Electricity House was built back in 1938 and opened in November 1939 as a showroom and offices for the local electricity company, which at the time was run by the council. Pre – war services such as gas, water and electricity supply were quite commonly managed and supplied by local councils; the idea of private companies being involved was something that did not happen until after the war had ended. Electricity House was also a place where new electrical customers could view domestic appliances which they could buy via hire purchase (it sounds like an early version of BrightHouse, but without the crippling interest rates). As well as the showroom,  Electricity House was home to what contemporary accounts say was a very upmarket dance hall with a fully sprung Canadian Maple floor; there was also a small Pathe cinema. The local electricity business was astonishingly successful – probably much helped by the fact that it offered the cheapest metered electricity in the entire UK at the time – one penny per unit. Ten thousand local people signed up for electrification in the first month alone, attracted by the offer of free connection to the local power grid – unusual at the time – many suppliers would even charge for the copper cable to connect new customers. In 1939 the Erith electricity board made a (for then) massive profit of £13,000. The idea was that the money would be used to improve local services and amenities for all, but the advent of war meant that early in 1940 Electricity House was handed over for war work, and once peace was restored, the money intended to benefit local people was absorbed by the LEB during nationalisation, and nothing was ever seen of it. Much of Erith was still lit by gas until relatively recently. I believe that some houses in West Street did not get electricity until 1947 when the London Electricity Board was formed, and the local council control of power was nationalised. I digress; in recent times the building has had a somewhat rocky time. Part of the building was home to the Bright Steps children's nursery, until it was shut down by the Police and officers from Ofsted after a member of nursery staff was seen hitting a child. After an unsuccessful court appeal against the ban, the owners of the nursery have put it up for rent. This is all under a background of Bexley Council negotiating with the individual leaseholders in order to buy out the leases in Electricity House prior to what I and many others believe to be a compulsory purchase order and then site redevelopment. With this in mind, I was somewhat surprised a few weeks ago when a new proposal for a replacement nursery came to my attention. The proposed new nursery has been mooted by a lady called Sarah Carnegie. Initially I was somewhat sceptical as the name seemed to very coincidental to the nearby Carnegie Library, run by The Exchange. I emailed the contact address on the Carnegie Playhouse website, but heard nothing for quite some time. Out of the blue I was Emailed earlier this week by chap who is Sarah Carnegie's business advisor, I subsequently spoke to him by phone. Whilst there is still some confusion regarding the whole nursery project, which has suddenly changed name from The Carnegie Playhouse (website now closed) to The Bexley Road Nursery, it would seem that Sarah Carnegie is indeed a real person. She has been in contact with me via Email, and writes:- "Sarah Carnegie is a loving young lady who is passionate about the work she has done for children. She has worked in various schools and built up a great knowledge base and mastered her skill with children. Carnegie Playhouse is the first business of Sarah Carnegie. Sarah has informed me that she is a qualified social worker with a passion for working with children, she has 2 of her own. Sarah is currently working in safeguarding with the local authority before she dedicates herself to her new business of which she is the sole owner and has no connection whatsoever with the owners of the previous nursery at Bexley Road, This nursery will be a new adventure for her, she is eagerly looking forward to the challenges ahead but most importantly creating a loving and safe environment for children to be in. This is something that she loves doing and cannot wait to get stuck in". I have made her and her business advisor aware of the situation with the entirety of Electricity House. It will be instructive to see how events play out over the next few months. I will provide an update in due course.

Although I have previously explained where the rather unusual name of my blog originated, I feel that it was long enough ago, and I have picked up many recent readers, so that the story bears repeating; indeed several new readers have recently asked for an explanation of the name, so here goes. Back in 1987 I was working for a small but very influential Bexleyheath based pirate radio station called Radio Lumberjack (photo above - click on it for a larger version), which broadcast live every Saturday on 92.4 FM from 9am until midnight or later from a house off Bedonwell Road. The station played an eclectic mix of music and humour; much of the comedy material was written by the station staff. There were many spoof adverts, with commercials for fictional companies such as “Bethlehem Motors – car faith healers – save money and save your soul! With one simple low cost prayer, we can have your vehicle back on the road”. “Tacky’s Nightclub, with your host, Bland Groover”. Also, “Gaskets motor spares – suppliers of neo Georgian suspension, arc brake lights and stained glass windows”. Best of all, a commercial for the Thamesmead Tourist Board, with a cod salsa song:- “It’s the place for fun, it’s the place for sun, come to Thamesmead – go on day trips to all the popular holiday destinations like the Belvedere Rift Valley – home of the world famous earwig farm; enquire at the Thamesmead Tourist Board office – the little green hut behind the bike shed in Thamesmead High Street!” It was all very slick and professional; the chap that ran the station was a big fan of Monty Python and Kenny Everett, but had his own unique style. Each presenter had their own introductory jingle – mine started with an incredulous voice – “Oh no.... It’s Arthur Pewty!” followed by the sound of Stuka dive bombers, explosions and collapsing buildings, accompanied by a massed band of Daleks screaming “Arthur Pewty, Arthur Pewty!” It was all very over the top and surreal. My pseudonym came from the meek and mild insurance salesman Arthur Pewty from the famous Monty Python sketch about the marriage guidance counsellor. When I first started my evening show, I racked my brains to think of a suitably surreal and silly name for it. I had already got my nickname, and recently I had read a history of 1960’s offshore station Radio London, where John Peel got his big break into radio. John Peel had a show called “The Perfumed Garden” where he played a lot of hippy music and recited poetry sent in by listeners (some of it toe curlingly bad, but I digress). I thought that my show needed a really surreal title, so, as a play on “John Peel’s Perfumed Garden”, “Arthur Pewty’s Maggot Sandwich” was born. And the rest, as they say is history. Back in 2006, when I started this blog, I resurrected the long disused name of my one time radio show; my thoughts were that whilst it was no longer on the radio, it was a newer form of interacting with an audience that could be anywhere in the world. This proved to be correct. Today the Maggot Sandwich has readers all over the planet – from Australia, Japan and India to the USA and mainland Europe, along with people closer to home. It might be a silly name for a blog, but I can guarantee that nobody ever forgets it! Please do feel free to comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Despite its reputation as one of the cleanest rivers in a major city, The River Thames does have its share of problems. Many people are not aware that at certain times of the year, raw sewage is still being pumped into the river. Somewhere in the region of thirty-nine million tonnes of raw sewage are pumped into the Thames each year because of London’s outdated sewer system. Built in the 1860s, the existing infrastructure still works perfectly but it cannot keep up with London’s huge (and growing) population. Engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette - the man behind Crossness Sewage Works, designed the sewers with population growth in mind; he anticipated the two million residents doubling to four million – but that number has since doubled again, and is constantly rising. The Crossness Sewage Works were constructed between 1859 and 1865 as part of his redevelopment of the London sewerage system. The pumping station was an essential part of the clean up of London’s water system, and led directly to the elimination of many water borne diseases, notably Cholera, which prior to this time was a significant killer. If you have not visited the pumping station, it is an industrial cathedral in cast and wrought iron. Because it deals with both sewage and drains, the Victorian water system was designed to release overflows (usually of storm water) into the Thames, instead of flooding roads and people’s homes. This initially happened twice a year, but now overflows happen on average once a week – about 750,000 tonnes each time. The Thames Tideway Tunnel is a £4.2 billion project to build a system of huge pipes, dubbed a “super sewer”, underneath London with the aim of modernising the capital’s sewage system and making the river cleaner. The extra capacity from the 25km (15 miles) of tunnels, running from Acton in West London to Abbey Mills in the east, should mean the system only discharges four times a year. This will make the Thames much cleaner, which would be better for wildlife and the environment, with Tideway bosses hopeful the work could bring the river back into greater use by Londoners. The tunnels will be between 35m and 65m below ground – 35m is the minimum height of a “high-rise” building. At 25km long, the main tunnel would take a car nearly 30 minutes to drive down at 40mph. The tunnel will be 7.5m wide, about the same as a standard single-carriageway road. Currently, the amount of untreated sewage that spills into the Thames each year is the equivalent of eight billion toilets flushing.  Sir Joseph Bazalgette was asked to design the existing sewers after The Great Stink – the summer of 1858 when exceptionally hot weather made the stench from the Thames unbearable. Even before then, three cholera outbreaks were blamed on the disgusting pollution in the river, and Bazalgette’s work is thought to have saved more lives than that of any other Victorian official. What is both interesting and ironic is that Sir Joseph Bazalgette is the great – great grandfather of TV producer Sir Peter Bazalgette, the person who brought us programmes such as Ground Force, Ready, Steady Cook and Big Brother. There is a running joke in the media industry that whilst Sir Joseph Bazalgette was responsible for removing excrement from the home, Peter is now responsible for introducing it!

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly a couple of announcements from Dana Wiffen, Chairman, Neighbourhood Watch Office:-"PLEASE ensure you double lock front and back doors and don't leave your property looking empty during the dark evenings, use light timers if you are not in too late and let your neighbours know if you are away so they can keep an eye on your property. We can report that over the previous two weeks reported burglaries w/e 6th December had 20 Burglaries and 6 attempted break ins, while the 13th December saw a massive increase to 28 burglaries and 8 attempted break-ins. For anyone who has had a break in we can refer them to Victim Support and The Bobby Van. Someone from Victim Support can visit you if you require support as a result of a burglary and The Booby Van can call to offer security advise and repair / replace broken locks. These are free to Bexley's Residents. Contact us if you would like their details. If you have had any burglaries in and around your area please keep us informed by either copying us in on emails to the police or emailing us directly and we will pass on. We are of course kept up to date by ward DWOs but occasionally some slip through the system. Finally, we would like to wish all our volunteers a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. We thank you for all your hard work in 2018 in helping to keep Bexley Borough one of the safest in London. OFFICE VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED Moving forward into 2019 we are looking to upgrade our IT systems and improve our website as well as having a more robust office system to combat the growing workload. We are looking to appoint a volunteer Webmaster, a System Support Officer and possibly an Office Workload Manager to come into the office at least once a week to cover these positions. WEBMASTER - We would like to hear from anyone who has website update experience who has perhaps recently stopped working and would like to keep the expertise up to date by becoming our Webmaster. This would involve updating our current website and, going forward, help maintain the new site that's in the pipeline. Basic HTML knowledge would be an advantage and experience of running a Facebook page and Twitter account would be useful although not essential. Accuracy and attention to detail is, of course, a must with content representing the organisation being posted publicly. SYSTEM SUPPORT OFFICER - We would like to hear from anybody who has good computer skills and who could be trained to transfer data / information and photos onto our Mail Chimp crime reporting service which goes out weekly on a Thursday to all our members and to ensure our computer system is running efficiently for our office staff. OFFICE MANAGER - Due to the part-time hours of the office and volume of work, we are looking to have a more structured and efficient approach to the administrative and processing side of the organisation. Combining our newly-upgraded system with a candidate that has a hands-on approach to the smooth and tidy running of an office would be ideal to achieve this. We have a good and friendly office atmosphere and would only expect you to work on days that suit both yourself and that fit in with the working hours in our small office. Anyone who is interested in any of these part time voluntary positions and would like to come in for a chat in the new year, please contact us and we will arrange a mutually-convenient time to meet. We look forward to hearing from you". Now for the weekly reports from the local wards. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Barnehurst Ward has had one burglary in the past week. This burglary occurred in Fairford Avenue overnight on Saturday 15th December 2018. Suspects gained entry by forcing the front door, possibly with a screwdriver or something similar. Various items were taken from the property. The resident was alerted the next morning after a neighbour noticed the front door open. This property was equipped with a ring door bell and footage of the suspects have been viewed therefore the investigation is ongoing at present. There have been two thefts of motor vehicles on the ward. A Grey Ford, registration number N145 XTT was taken from Barnehurst Avenue on Saturday 15th December 2018 and on Monday 17th December 2018 a Vauxhall Mokka, registration number VX18 OGF was stolen from Northumberland Heath." No report this week from Belvedere ward. Bexleyheath ward:- "We have had a burglary reported on Monday 17th December along Belvedere Road Bexleyheath. Entry was via the kitchen window / back door and vehicle was also stolen. The team regularly conduct hi-visibility patrols on the ward which would include car park areas including ASDA car park and the Broadway to reduce anti-social behaviour. Youths have been stopped and advised not to hang around in car parks and the team have noticed graffiti in the CineWorld car park. On Saturday 15/12/2018 there was a report of a theft from motor vehicle in Oakland's Close, personal items were taken from inside. There was also a theft of motorbike along Upton Road Bexleyheath on Tuesday 11th December. A report was made on Wednesday 12/12/2018, £20 was stolen from a purse in The Golden Lion pub. Also on the 13/12/2018, a purse was stolen from a handbag in Market Place Bexleyheath. The team did also help escort young children along Upton Road Bexleyheath for their Carol Service. If you do wish to pass on information to Police then please contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111. Please do not hesitate to contact us via Twitter, Facebook, email and the ward phone. If you are after crime prevention advice, please look at the Met Police website which has lots of information that you may find useful. Remember in an emergency please dial 999 and 101 for non-urgent reporting". Crayford ward:- "On Friday 14th at approx. 22.00 a resident at Dale End heard a noise in their garden and went to investigate. He chased off two people who had broken the padlock off his garden shed, no further descriptions could be given as it was too dark. At 03.00 on Saturday 15th December there was an attempted burglary in Oakwood Drive in Barnehurst. The resident heard a sound and opened the front door and two people ran off. It is believed they were after the car, the door was properly locked and entry was not gained although some minor damage to the frame did occur. Police were on scene very quickly but the suspects could not be located. On Thursday 13th at about 6am, an amount of money was stolen from a resident at their home address in Crayford Way. On Monday 17th December between 16.30-17.00 a burglary occurred at a property in Green Walk. Entry was gained through an unlocked front door whilst the victim was at home and a handbag with a purse containing cash and cards was taken, the cards have since been cancelled causing inconvenience to the victim. Front and rear number plates were stolen from a black Ford Fiesta between Wednesday 12th and Monday 17th December from near Shelley House in London Road. Front and rear number plates were also stolen from a vehicle parked in Gasgoyne Drive overnight Sunday 16th December in to Monday 17th December. The number plate W70SEW should be on a White Audi A5. Whilst wishing you all the very best compliments of the season we would also like to give you some reminders on keeping your home and valuables safe. As pretty as it looks, please don't let Christmas presents be seen under the tree through windows or doors, dispose of boxes by cutting or folding them up, you don't want to show burglars what you now have brand new in your home. Please note model and serial numbers of new electrical items and take photos of you wearing your new jewellery so that in the unlikely event that these items should be taken you have a much better chance of being reunited. Stay safe and enjoy Christmas, welcome Santa but not burglars by lifting the handle on your front door and locking it securely with the key. When going to bed or leaving your home, take a few moments to check that all is as secure as possible. As ever, please make your home look occupied". Erith ward:- "First of all, all of us at Erith SNT wish you all a Merry Christmas. We have been patrolling Erith High Street a lot over this week, Due to the increase in shoppers. Crime-wise there has been a few Burglaries and Vehicle crime more details are below. This time of year be mindful when you leave your rubbish outside for the bin collections. If you are advertising large boxes, game boxes tv boxes etc you are showing people what items you have inside your house. Best rule is brake up these boxes small and cover over the labels – or take them to the recycling centre yourself. Theft from MV Monday 10/12/2018 Park Crescent – Items taken from car; Criminal Damage Vehicle U500 Wednesday 28/11/2018 Coral Heights, Chichester Wharf. Damage to car; Shoplift >£199 Sunday 16/12/2018 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, James Watt Way; Shoplift <£200 Sunday 16/12/2018 James Watt Way; Criminal Damage Vehicle U500 Sunday 16/12/2018 Cricketers Close – damage to car; Burglary Residential Saturday 15/12/2018, Rutland Gate – Door forced opened items taken including money; Theft of Motor Vehicle Sunday 16/12/2018 Park Crescent; Theft of Motor Vehicle Friday14/12/2018 Rutland Gate; Theft from Motor Vehicle Sunday 16/12/2018 Victoria Road – Items taken from car; Making off Tuesday 18/12/2018 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, James Watt Way". No report this week from Northumberland Heath ward.

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "We had a nasty aggravated burglary in the early hours of Friday morning (14th December). At around 1.30am a group of males wearing balaclavas gained entry to a property in Lincoln Road and attacked a man in his family home. He received an injury which thankfully wasn't life changing or threatening and he is recovering well in hospital. The investigation into this attack is ongoing and reassurance patrols have been made by SNT officers. Please be aware that this sort of crime is NOT a common occurrence in our ward or indeed in any part of Bexley and we will do our best to give reassurance wherever necessary. If you would like any further reassurance patrols for your roads etc, please let us know. There was a burglary at some time during the evening of Monday 17/12/2018 in Beacon Road. Access was gained through the front room window with an Xbox and some cash taken. Please ensure all windows are secure and doors locked at this time of year. Inform neighbours if you are going out and lift the handle of your UPVC door (if you have one) and then turn the key. Lifting the handle does NOT lock the door. PC James searched a male in Boundary Street Monday afternoon who was found in possession of a small amount of drugs. The necessary warnings were given. PC James and PC Mark recovered a stolen moped in the Cinder Path on Wednesday afternoon. 2 males on 2 mopeds were riding towards them, unfortunately the males got away on one of the mopeds leaving behind the stolen bike. The owner, who lives local, has been notified. A bit of good news - we have had a new Neighbourhood Watch just started for Larkswood Close. On Tuesday 18/12/2018 PCSO Mark assisted by Adam from the Erith team, escorted the Peareswood School Choir to Erith Shopping Centre for a Christmas Carol performance (photo above - Mark watching on). All the shoppers and public enjoyed the excellent singing. Well done to all. Our next Community Contact Session is at 6pm in our SNT base in Erith (next to farm Foods) on Sunday 30/12/2018". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglary - Glimpsing Green Tuesday 17/12/18 between 11pm-6am Unknown suspect/s have broken into the house via the front kitchen window, stealing van keys and van from outside property. Criminal damage to a motor vehicle on Monday 10/12/18 between 7pm-6:30am Passenger side window smashed nothing stolen as victim removed all possessions; Seacourt Road Thursday 15/12/18 between midnight-3:45pm By unknown suspect/s damaging the motor vehicle by scratching paintwork on the bonnet; Kale Road Monday 17/12/18 between 1am-9:45am Driver's side window smashed. Theft from / of a motor vehicle in Curlew Road on Tuesday 11/12/18 between 23:59 -10:45am By person unknown making off with the victim's unattended motorcycle from the venue by means unknown; Parkway Thursday 13/12/18 between 5:15am-8pm Unknown suspect/s stolen both front and rear number plates from vehicle; Kale Road Friday 14/12/18 between 5:15pm - 9:45am Unknown suspect/s stole rear number plate and damaged front number plate; Alder Close Monday 17/12/18 between 4:10-4:15pm By suspect/s stealing victims motorcycle from location; Wolvercote Close on Monday 17/12/18 between 5pm-6am Entry gained to victims vehicle an untidy search carried out within. Satnav and change stolen. The Thamesmead East team would like to take this opportunity to thank our Neighbourhood Watch for your continued support throughout 2018 and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. The next meeting will be Thursday 3rd January 2019 at Lakeside Health Centre Yarnton Way, 1-2pm". West Heath ward:- "This week an unknown person or persons entered an insecure porch and damaged items within on the 13th December between 3pm-5pm in Mayfair Road. Please remember to lock your porches. A car was stolen overnight 17th-18th December from Chessington Ave without the keys and two cars were broken into in Brabourne Court the same evening. Another car was also stolen from Longleigh Lane at around midnight on the 16th December. The team have been carrying out high visibility burglary patrols over the last week and we are pleased to say there have been no reported burglaries for this period. Our next Community Contact Sessions will be on the 29th December by Thomas More Church from 12noon to 1pm followed by the 4th January. 2019 at St Andrew's Church in Abbotts Walk from 5pm-6pm. We would like to wish you all a happy holiday".

The end video this week is a news report on the £19.7 million grant given to Bexley Council to put towards the regeneration of Erith town centre. The video is a few months old, and some of the works described in the video are already well under way - specifically those related to the Carnegie Library, as outlined at the beginning of this update. Other works are due to begin early in the New Year, including as I understand it, the buying out of the leaseholders in Electricity House and the closure of the building prior to redevelopment. The Bexley Road bridge over the railway is apparently also scheduled for a much overdue widening - something that has been on the cards for over ten years. The old foot tunnel from the Western end of the town centre to Erith Station is also due to go, to be replaced with a ground level alternative which is more wheelchair and buggy friendly, not to mention less attractive to graffiti and muggers. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.