HMS Menestheus.

Erith is growing at a rapid pace; Erith Park phase one is open, and phase two is well on the way; Tower Hill (the former Bexley College campus in Tower Road) is partially open, with more houses to come. The former Riverside Swimming Baths site in Erith High Street now has planning permission for a mix of town houses and apartments, and the giant Erith Quarry site is being cleared in advance of construction work getting under way. All in all, the area is witnessing a level of construction and expansion not seen since the old Erith Town Centre was demolished in 1966 (a move many, if not all regard as being an extremely bad thing). With all this influx of accommodation into the area, along with the new residents it will bring will mean a lot for the town – more customers for the shops in Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, and for the DIY outlets in the Fraser Road trading estate, and more consumers for local services such as plumbers and decorators. The worry is in my mind down to the basic infrastructure – the drains in and around Sandcliff Road have notoriously backed up on numerous occasions in the last few years whenever heavy rain was encountered. Other areas have experienced similar problems with foul water drainage. The problem would appear to be down to the original mainly Victorian infrastructure being overwhelmed. Any future housing developments will need to ensure that basic infrastructure is upgraded to cope with the large increase in demand. If the basic waste drainage, water, gas, electricity and internet access services have to be upgraded due to increased demand through new incomers to the local area, then it stands to reason that other services will also need to be increased pro rata. One would anticipate that the level of policing, ambulance and fire service provision would increase to protect the increasing local headcount. In fact, the level of fire coverage has already been effectively cut by fifty percent. The News Shopper have reported that one of the two fire engines based at Erith Fire Station is to be permanently removed from service, after having been suspended for the last two and a half years. One would have thought that an increase in the fire service provision would have been the order of the day, with the large increase in local population, but others think otherwise. Whilst it has been said that emergency response times have not suffered as a result, I find this hard to believe. I had cause to use the emergency services last year, and the response time for an ambulance was over ninety minutes, on what was judged a high priority case. I just hope that this reduction does not have serious repercussions in the long run.

The Slade Green Community Forum have launched the following appeal for information:- "St Augustine's Church Hall in Slade Green was a 'British Restaurant' during World War 2 (sometimes called a Community Restaurant).  It produced nutritious meals at low prices, for locals and workers, without the need for ration coupons, and also supplied meals to the local munitions factories and Slade Green School. Local people were employed to prepare the meals.  Among them were-
Chief cook - Mrs R.M. Lucas of 48 Ashburnham Road, Belvedere.
Assistant cook - Mrs A. Butler of 18 Mill Place Crayford.
Kitchen Assistant - Mrs F P Whitmore of 11 Hazel Drive, Slade Green.
Washer up - Mrs L.M. Taylor of 89 Whitehall Lane, Slade Green.
Assistant Cook Mrs Yates of Barnes Cray Road, Crayford.
Kitchen Assistant, Mrs Burnby of Hurst Road Northumberland Heath.
Greengrocery for the restaurant was provided by R. Shove of Howbury Farm, and the local vicar at the time was Reverend Richard Agg, who after the war became the vicar of Holy Trinity, Lamorbey (near Sidcup). There are no surviving details or photographs of the restaurant (noting that St Augustine’s Church lost a lot both when hit by a bomb in 1944 and in a fire in 1991). Do you have memories of the staff, or photographs to share? Were any of the above members of your family or people known to your family? We’d love to hear from you. Email info@sladegreen.org or leave us a message on 07968 288212."

Every so often, I have to endure the Northern Line tube and the London Midland overland rail line when I journey to my employers office in Watford. The journey from Erith to Watford normally takes around two and a half hours, door to door. When in the lift at the office, I have for a long time noticed a very distinctive odour. For ages I have thought little of it, but last week it finally struck me – the small was that of Johnson’s Baby Lotion. Mystified as to why the lifts would smell of baby lotion, I asked the Soft Services Manager what the reason for the smell was – and the answer really surprised me. It turns out that baby lotion is the ideal cleaning material for stainless steel. It removes smudges and fingerprints and does not leave marks or smears. It is cheaper that proprietary stainless steel cleaners, and generally produces better results. I know that there are many unconventional uses for household products, but this was one that genuinely surprised me. If you have heard of any unusual uses for household consumables, do let me know - hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I must admit that I was quite surprised when I discovered that the latest Jason Bourne thriller is being filmed on location in Woolwich. I know that some years ago the science fiction film “Children of Men” was largely filmed in Woolwich – but, bearing in mind that film was set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia, the choice of Woolwich was pretty much ideal; not much need for set dressing, as prior to the massive Tesco development, much of the area around Powis Street was very run down and scruffy. Things are somewhat improved nowadays – a lot of money was spent on the town just prior to the 2012 Olympic Games. Now Woolwich Arsenal Station has been re – dressed to represent Athens railway Station. Quite why a high budget thriller’s producers would want to use Woolwich, rather than flying the cast and crew to Greece to film on location is beyond me. Still, if the movie brings some money and outside attention into Woolwich, then that is all to the good.

A giant new warehouse, and a large number of much need jobs are heading to Erith in the not too distant future. The Bexley Times have reported that Ocado and Morrison’s are working on a joint venture to build a giant new warehouse and distribution centre.  The (cringingly named) Customer Fulfilment Centre will be the biggest facility of its type in the world when it opens next year, and will bring £185m of investment and 3,500 jobs to Erith. It is anticipated recruitment for roles including operational managers, warehouse operatives, LGV and delivery drivers, engineers and support staff will start this year at the centre which will handle around 200,000 orders per week. I understand that the jobs will be advertised in the local press, and via both the Job Centre and Resources Plus.  I am not sure how this will play with the deal that Morrison’s have recently signed with Amazon to deliver groceries and other goods directly to the home. It would seem to me that a degree of duplication may be the result. Erith makes an ideal location for a distribution centre; at present industrial land is relatively cheap, and Erith is located in close proximity to the South Circular via Bronze Age Way, is near the A2 and M25, and generally has excellent road communication links with other parts of the country. Siting a distribution centre on the outskirts of the town makes good business sense – as well as providing much needed jobs to the area. Good news all round, and a welcome addition to the town. 

A group of IT security researchers has proved that it is possible to break the encryption used by many mobile phone payment apps by simply measuring and analysing the electromagnetic radiation emanating from smartphones. “We show that modern cryptographic software on mobile phones, implementing the ECDSA digital signature algorithm, may inadvertently expose its secret keys through physical side channels: electromagnetic radiation and power consumption which fluctuate in a way that depends on secret information during the cryptographic computation. An attacker can non-invasively measure these physical effects using a $2 magnetic probe held in proximity to the device, or an improvised USB adapter connected to the phone’s USB cable, and a USB sound card. Using such measurements, we were able to fully extract secret signing keys from OpenSSL and CoreBitcoin running on iOS devices. We also showed partial key leakage from OpenSSL running on Android and from iOS’s CommonCrypto.” The attack can be performed easily and cheaply, the researchers noted. An encryption technique known as ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) is used in many popular apps such as Bitcoin wallets and Apple Pay, and that’s why the researchers wanted to see if such an attack was possible. The challenge they took on was particularly hard, as ECDSA signatures are randomised. As mentioned before, the attack can be performed cheaply as it doesn’t require any pricey and difficult-to-get equipment – quite the opposite, in fact. Small loops of wire acting as electromagnetic probes can be easily concealed inside various objects that come in proximity with mobile devices, such as phone cases. The phone’s power consumption can be easily monitored by augmenting an aftermarket charger, external battery or battery case with the requisite equipment. You can read a full account of how the exploit works by clicking here.  Be warned, it is somewhat technical! This kind of hack may be unusual and uncommon at present, but as with many of these kind of exploits, it is never long until the crooks find ways to make it easier, cheaper and quicker to undertake. You have been warned. 

After my coverage of the Bexley Brewery serving their excellent BOB ale in the Strangers Bar in the Houses of Parliament last week, it prompted me to do a little historical research. A few years ago I visited the Chatham Royal Dockyard Museum, and I recalled seeing mention of a rather unusual wartime ship. I did some research online, where I discovered the World’s first floating brewery, which was constructed in World War II. The story of the ship was told in the Beer Drinker’s Companion, published back in 1993:- “Towards the end of the Second World War, the supply lines to the Far East were dangerously stretched. For the forces engaged in the fighting against the Japanese, certain supplies, such as beer were a rare luxury. In order to maintain morale, and at the instigation of Winston Churchill himself, in late 1944 the Board of the Admiralty decided to convert two mine-laying vessels into Amenity Ships, to include cinemas, dance-halls, shops, bars, and on board breweries. These ships — the HMS Menetheus and HMS Agamemnon — were sent to Vancouver in early 1945 to be refitted. Distilled seawater was to be used for brewing purposes, and malt extract and hop concentrate would be shipped from the U.K. to bases in the Far East where the vessels would call. A 55-barrel capacity brewing copper was to be installed in the forward hold of the ships and heated by steam coils from the ship's boilers. Six glass-lined fermenting vessels were also installed, and the capacity was an estimated 250 barrels per week. Only one beer was to be produced, a chilled and carbonated 3.8 percent ABV Mild Ale, which at the time was sold at 9d per pint".  Besides being sold in the ships’ bars, this was also be made available in 5 gallon stainless steel kegs Some of the brewing equipment was lost on the way to Canada so only HMS Menestheus ended up brewing, the first test batch made on the last day of 1945. Although the war in the Far East was over troops remained. The ship visited Yokohama, Kure, Shanghai and Hong Kong (“with the latter proving a conspicuous success”). Brewing took place at sea between ports of call. The head brewer was a naval officer -  Lieutenant Commander George Brown RNVR. The brewery staff were largely locally recruited Chinese labourers. After service in the Far East, the ship was returned to its pre – war owners, the Blue Funnel Line in 1946 and she resumed service as a passenger liner. 

The local Police have been busy recently. The News Shopper are reporting that two youths have been arrested and charged in relation to 28 offences over the theft of motorbikes across Plumstead, Erith, Abbey Wood and Dartford. Billy Amos, 19, and Connor Money, 18, who are both from Erith, were arrested on Wednesday March 16th by officers from Metropolitan Police. Billy Amos is charged with 12 offences - four counts of theft of motorbikes, one count of burglary, one count of attempted burglary, two counts of driving without a licence, two counts of driving without insurance, and two counts of riding a bike without protective headgear. Connor Money is charged with 16 offences - five counts of theft of a motorbike, one count of burglary, one count of attempted burglary, two counts of driving without a licence, two counts of driving without insurance, two counts of riding a bike without protective headgear and three counts of breaching a criminal behaviour order. This is merely the tip of an iceberg - the problem of illegal riders in the area is a big one; I have personal experience in this respect which I am unable to recount at present, but suffice to say that it is one of the most pressing issues relating to local law and order.  What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. The arrests followed an investigation by Bexley Police into bike theft in Kent and south-east London. The local Safer Neighbourhood Police teams have also been busy recently; here are some excerpts from their most recent report:- "Erith SNT - Throughout February the team have been conducting late night motor vehicle crime patrols across the ward to combat the increase in reported offences. This is having a positive impact as offences have dropped significantly over the past few weeks. One male has been issued with a harassment warning letter and a banning order preventing him from attending the Riverside Shopping Centre after he had been found harassing staff members. He has since been arrested for returning in breach of this warning letter. A second male who regularly frequents Erith town centre has been arrested inside the Erith food bank for racially aggravated public order. He was charged and sent to court. A male was also arrested for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle after being stopped and found over the legal limit. Northumberland Heath SNT - The team continues with its focus on Anti-Social Behaviour on the Ward targeting the areas around Bexley Road, Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground and the shops around Parsonage Manorway. The team are working with local residents and business owners to identify those involved. They are also working in conjunction with neighbouring Safer Neighbourhoods Teams and schools in the area to provide a presence at the peak times when Anti-Social Behaviour is being reported. A new CCTV camera is being installed in Lawrence Road to catch offenders, also in Steele Walk (and the associated garage area) and the entrance to Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground. The team have also been creating closer links with Erith Rugby Club. A pair of prolific shoplifters who were committing offences in the area have been identified from CCTV footage and their whereabouts are now being sought across South East London for arrest. The team had received a number of reports about a female begging on Bexley Road. She has been spoken to by Police and action taken. If you have further complaints about this issue please contact the team. Colyers SNT - Throughout February the team has continued to focus on the ward promises of Anti-Social Behaviour of nuisance bikes, theft from motor vehicles and speeding in Colyers Lane. There has been a significant reduction in nuisance bikes with only one report in the last three months. If you see any nuisance bikes please contact the team of call 101. There was one theft from motor vehicle in February where tools were stolen from a van and this seems to be a trend across various parts of Bexley. We have raised awareness at every opportunity by speaking to van owners. We have embarked on a crime prevention campaign on all aspects of vehicle crime sending out advice via our Neighbourhood Link Messaging Service. We continue our speed gun operations to tackle the reported speeding issues in Colyers Lane and the surrounding roads. In response to the issues, Bexley Council has upgraded the road markings and a ‘Smiley Face’ warning sign in Colyers Lane.  In other news on the ward there were five thefts of motor vehicles in February, three vans and two motorbikes at different locations. Three of the motor vehicles were recovered and have been restored to their owners. Northend SNT - During February the team has continued to focus on their ward promises which are Traffic Issues, block patrols and general patrols across the ward.  In response to a rise in motor vehicle crime which is a ward promise, a traffic operation was executed. This proved to be a great success with 3 vehicles being stopped and seized for no insurance and one male arrested for Possession of drugs, failing to stop for police and Theft of motor vehicle. Further operations are to be continued in the future. Thamesmead & Lesnes Abbey SNT - Your team continues to work hard to deal with crime across both wards. Several search warrants have recently been executed with some excellent results. Of note, a warrant was executed in Mangold Way and a large amount of Class A drugs, a sophisticated cannabis factory and a loaded firearm were found. A Male was arrested for those offences and the incident is currently under investigation. There has also been a substantial amount of work carried out to tackle the issues of the motor cycle related Anti-Social Behaviour in Bazalgette Way (formally known as Belvedere Road). An operation was carried out on 28th February utilising approximately 40 officers from various specialist units across the Metropolitan Police Service. This included officers from the Roads and Transport Policing Command, the Territorial Support Group and local officers from Bexley.  A group of 20 motor cycles were identified early by unmarked Police vehicles travelling to the area. The group were stopped dealt with by Police resulting in a large number of vehicle seizures for offences such as no insurance and no MOT. A large number of fixed penalty notices were also issued and several riders were reported and summonsed for court for various traffic offences. 4 arrests were also made for offences such as Burglary, Possession of drugs and driving under the influence of drugs.  Of note one of the main organisers of the activity, who was disqualified from driving, had been identified as being involved in activity the previous week on Sunday 21st February. He was arrested early on the Sunday morning and later charged and remanded to court the next morning. He appeared at Bexley Magistrates Court on Monday 29th February and received a 12 week custodial sentence. Police have continued with the same plans for the past two weeks deploying large numbers of officers to the area. We are pleased to report that there have been no incidents involving motor cycle related Anti-Social behaviour for three weeks running. The tactics will continue moving forward and robust action taken against anyone found engaging in such activity in the future. In other news the team were called to an address on Kale Road where a male, in a state of drug induced paranoia, called the police in the mistaken belief that somebody was in his property. When Police spoke to the male they found that he had a wrap of heroin in his mouth. The male was arrested, charged and sent to court where he was subsequently given a 6 week custodial sentence".

I remember, not very long after I first moved to Erith back in 1996, I attended a lecture at the old Carnegie gifted Erith Library in Walnut Tree Road. The lecture was on the history and traditions of the Thames Watermen, which was given by a retired Thames Waterman, whose name now escapes me. In the past, many Watermen lived and worked in and around Erith, which was an important Thames port until relatively recently. All Watermen underwent an apprenticeship, until 2007 when a new EU licensing regime came into effect, the Company of Watermen and Lightermen now run a five-year Thames specific apprenticeship programme. Now the ancient company manages training schemes in conjunction with the National Maritime Training Centre at Gravesend, with bespoke modules for the River Thames. The skilled crews have a deep-rooted understanding of the vagaries of the Thames, its bridges, its currents, its reaches, its tide, which can vary the height by 7m. They navigate using technology and rule of thumb, for instance four steps showing above the waterline on the bank at Wandsworth suggests the tide is low enough to pass under the fourth arch of the Battersea road bridge. In recent years, there has been a growth in freight as well as a concerted effort to get more people using the river for leisure and commuting, which has given a waterway quiet, since the death of the docks, a new lease of life. The PLA (Port of London Authority) wants to train a new generation of workers equipped to work on the river, driven by the demands of the Thames Tideway project, a multi-billion-pound tunnel to protect the river from sewer pollution. Historically the job of a Thames Waterman was a specifically male career; things have now changed, and the role is open to all. Do watch the short video below, which shows how even children can have picked up opinions on gender roles from a very young age, and how these assumptions can be successfully challenged. See what you think and leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

A windfall.

The photo above was taken by me on Monday; it shows some of the key people behind "Our Erith" - the art exhibition that was launched at Christ Church Erith this week. You can find out more about "Our Erith" and the Friends of Christ Church Erith by clicking here. From left to right the people in the photo are:- Paul O’Neill (Friends of Christ Church Erith Committee), Jim Bennett (Chair, Friends of Christ Church Erith), Revd. Julie Conalty (Christ Church, Erith), Leeni Lear (Chair of Governors, Bexley College), Teresa Pearce MP (MP for Erith and Thamesmead) and Ken Chamberlain (local historian). 

Even though he is now locked up behind bars in prison, Joshua Bonehill, the self described racist, misogynist homophobic anti Semitic Neo Nazi bigot is still making waves. He targeted me with a threatening Email two years ago, which I published in full here. In December 2015 he got sentenced to three years and four months in jail for Inciting Racial Hatred. He's currently serving his sentence in Wandsworth Prison where he does not have web access; instead he has been writing a series of deranged letters to a number of people. One letter was enclosed within an envelope covered in perplexing cartoon drawings of Hitler, aliens beneath a spaceship and the 'Harold Shipman seal of authenticity'. His letters, sent to correspondents on the outside, show his expectation that he will be released from HMP Wandsworth within the next year, or possibly even sooner depending on whether he is granted Home Detention Curfew. The Prison Service has said it is investigating the "unacceptable" incident and he is facing disciplinary action. In his letters, Bonehill also expresses his desire to stand as an MP five years after his release, by which time he will be legally allowed to do so. Bonehill writes:- "I intend to stand for election when I am out of here. I am thinking perhaps about taking a seat in Bradford. You can stand for Parliament five years after time served in prison, there are many MPs with criminal records. I will never again put myself in the situation of being grassed up by snitches. Every move I make will be fully legitimate and legal. There are several books in the works about prison, ideology and life. I will write them over the next year. When I get out I intend to continue from where I left off, albeit from a legal perspective. Prison is easy, albeit for somebody of strong character. Prison has not been too bad to me at all. I've made many new connections and have learnt so much that I wouldn't have otherwise known on the out. I have found it to be a land of opportunity and a haven of respite. Most people I have met are fully supportive and will be friends for life. For me, I take the ultimate victory in all of this. I know that those left wing parasites are still spending all of their time on Twitter and the internet, imprisoned in a tomb of ignorance. I however am out here living life, earning valuable new skills and experience that these people couldn't begin to contemplate. For my trial, there has indeed been a victim: the British taxpayer will pay £120,000 for the nearly two years I am here drinking tea, smoking, eating and watching TV every day until they finally release me. Effectively this is like a really gross hotel for free board to stay. I do miss G n Ts though." It would seem, as I and others speculated, that prison is doing nothing to reform Bonehill, and instead is merely reinforcing his (suspected) megalomania and feelings of grossly inflated self worth. The prison authorities are investigating Bonehill's letter writing campaign; A Prison Service spokesperson said when questioned by The Western Gazette said that "We are investigating this unacceptable incident and have put measures in place to ensure this offender's mail is monitored by prison staff. Additionally, we will also take disciplinary action against the prisoner, which could see him being stripped of his privileges and being referred to the police for investigation." The first thing you should do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging. It would appear that Joshua Bonehill is doing the polar opposite. Hopefully it will end up with his prison sentence being extended.

Some excellent news broke on Thursday afternoon; nearly four million pounds worth of new investment will be made in Erith over the next couple of years. Half of the money is coming from The Mayor of London’s Office, and the rest is being matched by Bexley Council. The idea is to promote regeneration and growth in the town. The funds are set to create major improvements to key areas of the town - particularly between the old town hall and the post office the area shown in the photo above - click on it for a larger view), though at the time of writing, no specific details have been published. In an interview in the News Shopper, Councillor Linda Bailey, cabinet member for Regeneration and Growth said: “The success of our bid is great news for the town.  Erith has huge potential and our aim is to ensure it is developed in a sustainable way, with well-designed improvements that deliver the results local people need. We have also made complementary bids to two further funds managed by the mayor of London and hope to be able to say more on that in the next few weeks.” I am looking forward to receiving details of the proposals for development and improvement in the town - this certainly very good news indeed.

One of the most iconic and successful civil airliners may be going out of production shortly, after an active life span of forty seven years. Boeing will reduce the number of 747s it makes to just one every two months, citing a collapse in demand for even the cargo version of the aircraft. The company previously announced plans to slow production from 1.3 planes a month to just one a month, with the new and lower capability expected to kick in from March 2016. The newest 747 model, the 747-8, arrived in 2012 complete with plenty of the advanced manufacturing techniques employed in the 787 and other, newer, lighter and cheaper-to-operate aircraft. But the new plane hasn't sold well: just 121 have been ordered and of those, only 51 were passenger jets. The original 747 is credited with pioneering affordable long-haul travel and therefore making a massive contribution to global tourism. The 747-400 arguably pulled off the same trick, making twelve hour hopes like Europe to major Asian cities possible without a tiresome and time-consuming touchdown for more fuel. However, improvements in the reliability and power of jet engines means it is now possible to build twin-engine planes that rival the Jumbo Jet's capacity and range. That makes the four-engined 747s more expensive to operate and therefore a less attractive purchase for both passenger and cargo operators. Boeing cashes in on this trend with its own 777, an aircraft that in some configurations can carry over 450 passengers. Passenger carriers ordered no new 747s in 2015. Cargo operators, Boeing says, aren't buying much of anything at the moment as demand for air freight falls, which is worrying economic indicator for a host of other reasons. The end of an era looks to be on the horizon for the famous Jumbo Jet.

Bexley residents have been urged to have their say over the proposed removal of an engine at Erith fire station. Erith Councillor Abena Oppong-Asare attended the London Fire Brigade Consultation for the 2016/17 Budget for the South East Area, last Monday night - 18th January 2016. The consultation was launched over proposals to meet £6.4m of budget cuts demanded by the Mayor. Residents have been asked to choose from two options, one which will see the permanent removal of 13 fire engines, and the other which will focus on back office efficiencies, allowing the 13 engines to be returned. Residents and local Erith Councillor Abena Oppong-Asare questioned a panel made up of London Assembly Members, Area Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ian Hughes and the Fire Commissioner, Ron Dobson about the two options laid out in the consultation on the LFB’s budget for 2016 and 2017 – one being the axing of 13 engines, which could potentially see the removal of an engine at Erith fire station. However, Councillor Abena Oppong-Asare along with her colleagues Councillor Edward Boateng and Councillor Joe Ferreira are concerned that more fire engines could exacerbate a recent rise in response times across the capital. Thirteen wards in Bexley saw a rise in response times in 2014/15, when compared with the previous year, before Boris Johnson’s closure of 10 fire stations and scrapping of 14 engines. Alternative proposals set out by Andrew Dismore AM, Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority’s Resource Committee, would meet the savings target through back office efficiencies and changing working patterns, enabling the 13 engines to be returned. Following, the public consultation meeting, Erith Ward Councillor Abena Oppong-Asare, said: “I am concerned about the removal of an engine at Erith fire station. Erith is undergoing many regeneration changes at a very fast pace. I am not convinced that a removal has taken into consideration the growing population in Erith. I know that the Fire Commissioner mentioned in the public meeting that emergency calls received have dropped and that there has been lots of preventative work carried out to reduce fire deaths, but we currently have 12 wards in Bexley not meeting those 6 minute targets. I urge all residents to respond to the consultation on the future of London’s fire service.”

The BBC is shortly to launch a reboot of the popular late 1990’s / early 2000’s TV show “Robot Wars”. As some veteran readers may be aware, I used to have some involvement in the original show, as one of the three judges was Adam Harper, one time owner of Harper Cycles in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere, who was holder of the Guinness Book of Records title as being the fastest person on an electric three wheeled vehicle, with his custom built, souped up 150 mph Sinclair C5. He was a friend of mine, and used to invite me along to filming sessions of the show, which at that time was based in an old warehouse next door to the Excel Centre in East London. Now, years later the BBC is bringing the show back. The broadcaster has commissioned six one hour episodes of the new series from independent production company Mentorn Scotland, which it reckons will exploit “a raft of technological devices since the show first aired” and will lead to “more innovative fighting machines as teams of amateur roboteers battle it out to win the coveted Robot Wars title.” Kim Shillinglaw, controller of BBC Two and BBC Four, said in a statement: “With new technological advances making for an even more exciting and immersive experience this is a fantastic example of the kind of content-rich factual entertainment that BBC Two excels at.” The overall reception the news has brought has been very good. The feedback seems to be that the programme was more than due for a revival, especially as in the thirteen years since the very last episode aired, many technological and material advances have been made, which should lead to even more exciting machines in the competition. I will be watching with interest – perhaps Robot Wars could become a new Olympic sport?

The photo above is another historic local train photograph supplied by Tom Burnham. It shows the old Pembroke Road Level Crossing back in 1970, along with a London - bound train which has just passed over the level crossing. I can recall walking over this crossing with my Mum when I was very small, and remember looking into the gate operators little hut, to see him drinking tea. The level crossing was replaced with a metal footbridge back in the late 70's / early 80's. The road in the background has not changed very much, though the building on the left of the photograph is now a private house. I think back then it was a women's hair dressers, though I am not certain. Can anyone who has better knowledge please let me know? Comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The petition to remove the rail franchise from Southeastern seems to be gaining momentum, but at the same time seems to have been somewhat overtaken by events; at the time of writing over fifteen thousand local people have signed up to the online campaign. When petitions reach ten thousand signatures, the government’s own rules mean that they will have to give a written response. That point has now been passed.  What opinion will come from the Department of Transport I do not know – but it is clear that public opinion is strongly against the current franchise holder of the North Kent and other local rail lines. Whilst I deplore Southeastern (and have already signed the petition) not all of the blame can be directly attributed to them. The Crossrail engineering work between Abbey Wood and Plumstead, and the rebuilding work going on at London Bridge have caused massive disruption, especially over the Christmas and New Year period. At least that disruption was well publicised and anticipated. What has been far less well communicated is the long period of weekend train disruption that is about to begin.  Darryl of the Charlton Champion blog has published a detailed and comprehensive list of works to be undertaken on the North Kent line between now and after Easter – basically there will be no weekend rail services running between Dartford and Plumstead from now until Monday the 28th March, which is Easter Monday. From what I can gather, replacement bus services will run from Erith to Plumstead (and from my limited experience of them, they are slow, unreliable and generally a pain in the backside to use). Many locals fully appreciate that some short term pain will (hopefully) result in a long term gain, but the problem is that Network Rail / Southeastern / Transport for London have done very little to publicise the removal of service at weekends, and it would seem that a majority of local residents are completely unaware of the arrangements. I have seen people turning up at Erith Station, expecting a normal service, only to find the place locked and deserted with a handwritten sign on a white board stuck in front of the doors to the ticket hall. The sign directs people to the rail replacement bus pickup point in Erith High Street – the trouble is, quite a few did not know where that was, and there was nobody around to ask. Having a customer service assistant on site would have made things far clearer for occasional travellers, and might have  provided some public relations for the general public. The story last week / earlier in this update that a petition has been started to convince the Department of Transport and Transport for London to strip Southeastern of the contract to provide trains for the North Kent area may well have had an unintended consequence. This week Transport for London has unveiled a landmark agreement to take over the capital’s suburban rail network, reaching into the Home Counties. TfL is promising more frequent and reliable train services and more comfortable conditions for passengers by bringing the services under the umbrella of the popular Overground network. Its reach would go beyond London and reach into places such as Sevenoaks, Croydon, Dartford, Hertford and Chessington, working in tandem with the Department for Transport bringing to them metro-style frequencies and greater strategic and coordinated transport planning. The government believes the creation of a London Suburban Metro service has the potential for more than 80 per cent of stations to have a train every 15 minutes, up from 67 per cent today, as well as more regular services through south-east London and Kent. Mayor of London Boris Johnson told the London Evening Standard : “By working closely together and taking on these new services, we’re going to emulate the success of the London Overground and give the entire capital and surrounding areas the services they truly deserve.” Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “We are committed to making journeys better across London and the south east, and this new partnership represents a huge opportunity to transform travel by putting passengers where they should be – at the heart of the rail network.”  Commuter services running from Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Moorgate, Victoria, Waterloo and London Bridge would all be transferred under the plans. The move will come as a good news to passengers in south London who have endured a poor service since upgrade work on London Bridge began – although the transfer will take some years to complete. The routes will gradually be taken over as the franchises of the rail operators come to an end which means the first routes will be Southeastern’s in 2018, followed by Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern services in 2021. If South West Trains “break” clause is invoked, the target date would be 2019. The various London Mayoral candidates are pitching the story in various ways, but all seem to be behind the transfer of control, which seems to be a good thing as far as they are concerned. Green Party mayoral candidate Sian Berry said: "For far too long, suburban rail passengers have endured overcrowding, frequent cancellations and massive disruption to services at holiday periods, while the companies who run those trains make fat profits. It’s an obvious improvement to bring those routes under the control of TfL, which doesn’t need to make a profit and will focus on reinvestment not rewarding shareholders." The online petition has been gaining a lot of column inches in the press, and at the time of writing had gained just over fifteen thousand signatures,  but it may for once be the case that events may well have overtaken the wishes of the petitioners.

The campaign to protect green spaces in the London Borough of Bexley grinds ever onwards. The battle over the Upper Belvedere Splash Park has gone very quiet of late. Personally I think the chances of rescuing this valuable local facility are fading by the day unless some miracle rescue is enabled. Now the fight against the rapacious Bexley Council (who seem to know the price of everything, but the value of nothing) has moved onto the green spaces in and around Erith. The piece of land that separates Fraser Road and Alford Road down at the Pom Pom is shortly to be offered up for sale. The parcel of land contains a number of mature trees, bushes and a small electricity substation of indeterminate age, that is almost completely submerged in foliage. It acts as a very effective sound barrier for those people living in Alford Road from the constant traffic noise from the ever busy Fraser Road.  I would anticipate that one particular organisation will be interested in acquiring it – the developers of the Erith Quarry site, directly opposite. The main entrance to the proposed new high – end development is what was the site of the petrol station on Fraser Road. I would not be at all surprised if the developer bought the spur of land opposite in an effort to ensure that access to the Quarry site was as easy as possible – and I would expect that a roundabout or other form of traffic – controlling construction would be built on the site. Whilst I feel that the Erith news to grow and incorporate new infrastructure, I would not like this to be at the expense of the environment and our existing green spaces. Perhaps some of the £3.9 million local grant could go towards preserving these green spaces, that also insulate local residents against traffic and environmental noise. What do you think?

I use the Docklands Light Railway on a regular basis, and in general I find it to be a reliable and comfortable service. The short video below shows some of the secrets and quirks of this public transport service, and some of the things that you may not have known about it. Please feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The "Wear it Pink" Campaign.

This weekend marks the first anniversary of the opening of Bexley Brewery, which is based in Unit 18 of the Manford Industrial Estate, at the Slade Green end of Manor Road, right at the foot of the Erith Wind Turbine. Brewers Cliff and Jane Murphy are helped by various friends and family, and in their first year of operation have already won multiple awards for their high quality real ales. They have also won the 2015 award for Best New Business from Bexley Council. The virtual birthday card shown above (click on it for a larger version) was created by local musician / artist and man about town The rEV. The Bexley Brewery is the first brewery to operate in the borough since Reffells Brewery ceased independent trading in July 1956, after being sold to what eventually became Courage. Bexley Brewery held an open day and tasting bar yesterday, to celebrate their official first birthday. Unfortunately I was unable to attend, as I had to go to work (I work in I.T and quite regularly have to work during evenings and weekends - system upgrades and maintenance cannot often be done during office hours). Below shows a wide angle photo of the birthday event; I just wish I could have been there to share the experience.

I have been writing about Erith and the surrounding areas for over nine years now. One former local resident who looms large in the public perception of the town is the late comedian Linda Smith. Smith was born in Erith  in 1958 and was educated at Erith College of Technology (now Bexley College) and at the University of Sheffield where she graduated in English and Drama. She joined a professional theatre company before turning to comedy. In 1987, she won the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year, then known as the New London Comic Award, and performed on the Edinburgh Fringe before breaking into radio comedy. Many of her early stand-up appearances were benefit concerts staged in solidarity with the British miners during the Miners' Strike in the 1980s. She was a lifelong socialist. Her first appearances on national radio were on Radio 5's The Treatment in 1997. She was subsequently a regular panellist on The News Quiz and Just a Minute and appeared frequently on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (from June 2001 onwards), Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week, Countdown and QI. She wrote and starred in her own Radio 4 sitcom, Linda Smith's A Brief History of Timewasting. After appearing on Radio 4's Devout Sceptics to discuss her beliefs she was asked by the British Humanist Association (BHA) to become president of the society – a role that she occupied with commitment from 2004 until her death. In 2002, she was voted 'Wittiest Living Person' by listeners to BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth. On 17 November 2003, Smith appeared on the BBC television show Room 101, where she successfully managed to put in "adults who read Harry Potter books", Tim Henman, "Back to School signs that appear in shops" and "posh people". However, she failed to put in Bow ties after host Paul Merton pointed out that Stan Laurel regularly wore a bow tie. On 27 February 2006, Smith died as a consequence of ovarian cancer at the age of 48. She had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer three and a half years earlier but, not wanting to be thought of as a patient or a victim, she did not want people to know. Before she died she chose that her funeral be humanist, and her memorial at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, on 10 March, was dedicated to the BHA. Her life and work were honoured at the British Academy Television Awards in 2006. The first episode of Dawn French's Girls Who Do: Comedy was dedicated to the memory of Linda Smith. Two tribute gigs were held in her memory. The first took place on 14 May 2006 at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, In Praise of an English Radical, the second on 4 June 2006 at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London entitled Tippy Top: An Evening of Linda Smith's Favourite Things. In August 2006, Andy Hamilton presented a BBC Radio 4 tribute entitled Linda Smith: A Modern Radio Star. An anthology on CD, entitled I Think the Nurses Are Stealing My Clothes: The Very Best of Linda Smith, was released in November 2006 as was a book with the same name. A tribute show of the same name was aired on BBC Radio 4 on 10 November 2006. Linda Smith was an amazing entertainer and observer of the human condition; unfortunately her most famous one - liner has come to haunt the local area, and to (in my mind, anyway) give an unfair impression. She said "Erith isn't twinned with anywhere, but it does have a mutual suicide pact with Dagenham". More on Linda Smith and her impact on the local area next week.

The aerial photo above was taken back in 1938; it shows what Erith looked like just prior to World War 2. The only readily recognisable building that is still in existence today is Erith Town Hall, in the bottom left of the photograph, which apart from having a third storey fitted to the building in the 1990's, looks remarkably unchanged. The building to the right of the Town Hall is the original Erith Fire Station, which was destroyed on the night of 21st/22nd January 1944. Local historian Ken Chamberlain wrote about it, saying: "the Bexley Road station suffered a direct hit by a delayed action bomb. Several years ago I spoke to a survivor of the incident he recounted how they were in the engine room when they heard a loud crash and debris started falling about them. They ran out to see where the bomb had fallen. This action undoubtedly saved their lives as at that moment the bomb exploded. He claimed not to have heard a bang, but was stone deaf for six weeks afterwards. He did however suffer injuries. He was taken to Erith Hospital, treated and was back on duty in two hours. There were no fatalities. The 1907 building was demolished and a temporary structure was put in its place. The wartime control room remains as does a part of the entrance doorway. The temporary station remained until 12th July 1961 when it was replaced by the station that is now located in Erith Road, Belvedere".

When I was at school my tastes in music were very rigidly defined; I liked certain bands and detested pretty much everything else. If it had been on “Top of the Pops” I would automatically detest it without consideration; I liked album rock from bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen and early Genesis and to hell with anything else. To be fair, when you were a kid in the 80’s, music was very compartmented and tribal – the heavy metal fans hated the new romantics, the indie fans hated pop fans, and everybody hated the Goths. Nowadays my musical tastes are far more diverse; I listen to pretty much every genre of music, with one notable exception. I, like many others, utterly detest Country and Western music. I find it maudlin, sentimental, clichéd and treacly. Its followers appear to consist mainly of the under educated and over fed. Anyway, I have found myself on the horns of a dilemma with the news that Erith based singer / songwriter Wayne Jacobs whose music has been played on BBC Radio Kent and Essex, was delighted to be awarded the ukcountryradio.com’s Listeners song Club award with his 9/11 tribute song, "May We Never Forget". This is now the fourth year in a row that Wayne Jacobs has won this award. I really don’t want to promote Country and Western music – on the grounds that if we ignore it for long enough, it might go away, but at the same time, with my personal libertarian philosophy of “if it works for you” I feel that I should offer Wayne my full support – after all, he’s out, making a new career in show business – and Erith’s only other showbiz personality of note was the late comedienne Linda Smith, as previously mentioned. Who says I don't plan these things?

The rules over smoking in public are just about to get a whole lot more complex. From October 1st, 2015, it will be illegal for retailers to sell e-cigarettes or e-liquids to someone under 18, for adults to buy (or attempt to buy) tobacco or e-cigarettes for someone under 18 and to smoke in a car or other vehicle when someone under the age of 18 is present. All private vehicles (including hire cars) must be smoke free if they are enclosed, there is more than one person present and one of them is under 18. It will be an offence for a person of any age to smoke in a car (or other private vehicle) with anyone under 18 present. And for a driver - including those aged 17 and people with a provisional licence -not to stop someone smoking in these circumstances.The fixed penalty notice fine for both offences is £50 and both the driver and the smoker could be fined, whatever their age. Somebody who commits both offences could get two fines. All this sounds fine and laudable, but if it is enforced in a similar way to the rules on the use of mobile phones when driving, it will be yet another toothless law.

Citizen Smith, the 1977 to 1980 sitcom starring Robert Lindsay, is the subject of revival rumours - several national newspapers have been printing stories that the programme is shortly to be remade with many members of the original cast. The classic BBC comedy followed the adventures of 'Wolfie' Smith, a young Marxist "urban guerrilla" living in Tooting, south London. With his slogan "Power to the People", Wolfie attempted to emulate his hero Che Guevara through his own Tooting Popular Front - with little success due to disorganisation, laziness, and general fecklessness. Citizen Smith was written by John Sullivan, the writer of Only Fools And Horses, who died in 2011.Jim Sullivan, one of John's sons who wrote for Only Fools And Horses sequel The Green Green Grass with his father, appears to have put an end to the proposals. Jim said: "The stories are news to us - and we own the rights to the series. It's not the first time that people have suggested bringing the series back but that is not something we would want to do. Every episode of Citizen Smith was written by Dad - all the lines, ideas and plots were his. As we have said about Only Fools And Horses, the show only ever had one writer and it is going to stay that way."

You may have heard a number of adverts on various commercial radio stations promoting digital radio over the last few weeks. The current version is read by TV presenter Suzie Perry.  The fact is that DAB digital radio - in the UK at least - has been a bit of a disaster. There are some great stations broadcasting on DAB (one of my personal favourites is the excellent Radio 4 Extra). There are some pretty horrible problems with the way that digital radio has been deployed in this country however; the real challenge isn't coverage, even if that does need improving. That is a well understood issue and the solution is obvious enough. The main problem is bandwidth. And it's an issue that came up once again today because Norway has recently announced plans to kill FM broadcasting and switch everything to digital by 2017. Did you know, for instance, that many DAB radio stations in the UK are broadcast at just 64 kbps mono using the venerable MP2 codec?  That really is mono not stereo. That really is MP2 and not MP3. To put that into context, MP2 is a less efficient codec than MP3, so that 64 kbps figure is more like equivalent to 48 kbps in MP3. Opinions vary on what makes for decent music quality in the MP3 codec. That's especially true if the context is in-car radio where background noise is prevalent. the tolerable minimum for most people who remotely care about sound quality tends to be in the 128 to 192 kbps range for the MP3 codec. In other words, far, far more than many current DAB stations. Actual bit rates will vary depending on where you are in the country. But stations that broadcast at 64kbps - at least from some transmitters - include Absolute Radio 80s, Amazing Radio, BBC Radio 5 Live, Jazz FM, Rainbow Radio and many more. All the rest broadcast at 80 kbps to 128 kbps with a single, solitary exception, namely BBC Radio 3 which is 160 kbps to 190 kbps. Those are all MP2 bit rates. Even Radio 3 is scraping the barrel for tolerable sound quality. The problem is bandwidth. The best way to think about DAB is as a single data stream carrying all available stations. And the single data stream has a fixed data rate. For the sake of argument, imagine that data rate in 1Mbps. All your radio stations have to fit inside that 1Mbps budget. With, say, four stations, you have a healthy 256 kbps per channel. Every time you add a station, something somewhere has to give. Immediately, you realise DAB is fundamentally at conflict with itself. It is supposed to offer better quality and more stations, but the more it does the latter, the less it can deliver the former. There is limited bandwidth available - the more stations, the lower the audio quality becomes. Early DAB adopters may even remember how good the technology was at launch. Some stations were broadcast at 256 kbps back when it was essentially a test technology for the BBC. But as stations were added, bit rates fell off and quality worsened. Essentially the UK has paid the price in being one of the first countries in the world to roll out digital radio. The DAB technology is now very old and no longer up to the job - and it shows. As for what is to be done, part of the answer is simple. Switch the UK to the newer and far more bandwidth efficient DAB+. That is the follow up to DAB that supports the AAC codec which is more efficient even than MP3. Most recent DAB radios either already support DAB+ or can with a firmware upgrade. It will be somewhat painful for owners of older DAB radios that are not capable of receiving DAB+. The simple fact is the UK jumped too fast into DAB. The fundamental idea is sound, it is just that the current implementation is not now fit for purpose. Other broadcast technologies such as internet streaming via 3G or 4G do not have the country - wide coverage to rival DAB+ (yet), but it may well be that rolling out DAB+ may be too little, too late. What do you think? Drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com with your thoughts.

MP for Erith and Thamesmead Teresa Pearce has been promoting the charity Breast Cancer Now, and their "Wear it Pink" campaign which is asking people to wear something pink on Friday the 23rd of October. Teresa is encouraging people in the constituency to get involved and raise money for research into the disease. She said: “Breast cancer affects so many people’s lives. Sadly, nearly 12,000 women a year still lose their lives to the disease. Breast Cancer Now wants to ensure that no-one dies from the disease by 2050. We need to make sure that they receive the funding to carry out the cutting-edge research necessary to make this goal a reality.” This is excellent stuff; I think however that there is a wasted opportunity here. Men can and do get breast cancer too - though the numbers are far smaller than women, but it is actually a condition that can affect both sexes - and very few people appear to realise this.  In men, breast cancer is very rare. There are between 350 and 400 men diagnosed each year in the UK, compared with around 50,000 cases of breast cancer in women. Because so many cases of breast cancer occur in women and it is very rare in men, a lot of the information is directed specifically towards women, but much of the information that men with breast cancer need is the same.  The symptoms, diagnosis and treatment are all very similar to women with breast cancer. The risks and causes do vary slightly. There are some areas where men need different information to women, such as types of breast surgery. The most common symptom for men with breast cancer is a lump in the breast area. This is nearly always painless. Other symptoms can include:-

Oozing from the nipple (a discharge) that may be blood stained

Swelling of the breast

A sore (ulcer) in the skin of the breast

A nipple that is pulled into the breast (called nipple retraction)

Lumps under the arm

If you have any of these symptoms it is important to go to your GP straight away. Finding a cancer early gives the best chance of successful treatment. Because breast cancer is relatively rare in men, getting an accurate diagnosis as early as possible is imperative. The outlook for breast cancer is not as good in men as in women. This is because there is a reduced awareness of the condition and it may take longer to diagnose. The survival rates for breast cancer in men largely depend on how far the cancer has spread before it is diagnosed. Breast cancer diagnosed at an early stage can often be treated successfully, but effective treatment is more difficult if the cancer has spread beyond the breast tissue. Unfortunately, many cases are diagnosed after the cancer has already started to spread. It may be rare in men, but it can and does occur, and more men need to be aware of this.

A story that utterly astounded me has been reported on ITV News this week; Ebbsfleet Academy’s principal Alison Colwell. when interviewed for the news programme said that "mobile phones are the nightmare of our time and should be banned in classrooms". Mrs Colwell told ITV News the school’s ban, and the threat of confiscating a phone for a month or half a term, has been a successful deterrent and has stopped mobiles going off in class. The school is now a phone-free zone, with all mobiles switched off and in the bottom of pupils' bags – meaning teachers hardly ever have to make the dreaded confiscations. "The success of the ban is it’s a very rare occasion we have to confiscate a phone. It’s a very clear rule that we enforce. The students know that if their phone is seen, if their phone goes off, they will lose it. So they are cautious and they are wise. I can’t see the place for phones in the classroom - to me they are a distraction." Mrs Colwell said she is teaching the kids "not to be phone dependent, and to communicate better with their peers". What astonished me was that this story made both the national and local news. Surely all schools ban the use of mobile phones during teaching time? If so why not? Why have school pupils ever been allowed to use a mobile phone during school time?

Back in May I wrote about how Bexley Council were debating converting the former Homeleigh Care Home into temporary accommodation for homeless people. Bearing in mind that Avenue Road and the adjacent Park Crescent are the two roads in the town with the best addresses, I have already heard some concern from residents about the plan. Worries regarding possible criminal activity and drug taking / dealing have been the principal concerns. Bexley Council have now gone forward with the plans, and after refurbishment, the building will be able to provide accommodation for up to fifteen families and ten individuals. The council has stressed using Homeleigh for temporary housing is not a permanent use for the currently empty building, and the use will last a maximum of two years. My personal view is that nobody chooses to be homeless, and a vast majority of those likely to be housed in the former nursing home will be “nice” people who are down on their luck. Being homeless does not make you a criminal. The fact that Bexley Council are (uncharacteristically in my opinion) acting in a pragmatic and practical way to address the serious problem of a local lack of affordable housing by recycling a currently empty building seems eminently sensible and, dare I say it, a very good idea. As with anything of this nature, the devil is in the detail; if the Homeleigh centre was used as a halfway house for a large number of people with dependency problems, then I could see a good deal of reason for local concern. I can also appreciate worries about the effect such a centre could have on house prices (for non - local readers, Avenue Road and Park Crescent are the two “upmarket” roads in Erith, with some lovely 1930’s era detached and semi-detached houses in quiet, tree – lined surroundings, making a very desirable and quite expensive environment).

In March I wrote about the Apple iWatch, and why it was a really bad idea to buy one then. You may recall that I said that Apple would have a new, improved model out within a scant few months. In fact version two of the iWatch was due out this Wednesday, but it has been unexpectedly delayed due to a bug in the operating system. Apple has not let slip anything further about the nature of that bug or just when it will be able to deliver the update to Apple Watch owners. The watchOS 2 release has been touted by Apple as a major overhaul to its smartwatch firmware. The update will bring the first support for native watchOS applications, rather than those built through iOS. The addition of native applications promises to give developers greater access to the hardware components in the Apple Watch (such as the microphone and speaker) and can interact with Apple's HealthKit and HomeKit application programming interfaces. Apple has also added a number of its own new features, including a "Time Travel" option to view upcoming appointments and the addition of customization options to set the default screen to a watch face, photo, or one of several time-lapse photo collections. Personally I feel that smart watches of all types - the iWatch included - are a solution in need of a problem. What do you think? Drop me an Email to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The ending video this week is quite relaxing; it shows a bicycle journey from Dartford to Erith via Crayford Ness and the Slade Green Marshes, which are an ancient wetland and an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is very peaceful and relaxing to watch when the rider gets onto the marshes - somewhere that even many local people are completely unaware of.

The fire station and the Luftwaffe.

The photo above shows the progress of the construction work on the main building of the new Bexley College in Walnut Tree Road, opposite Erith Town Hall and the currently empty old Erith Library building. The new college is going up at a veritable rate of knots. I pass the building site twice a day on my way to and from work, and the speed at which the site changes is astonishing. I wonder if anyone thought to set up a time lapse camera to record the activity? It would certainly make fascinating viewing if played back at high speed.  I can think of no down side to the relocation of the college into the centre of Erith. The old college buildings in Tower Road are well past their sell – by date. I have spent quite a time in the old college in the past – I studied construction technology there once on day release, and in 1997 I studied for my Amateur Radio licence there too. My tutor was Colin Turner, callsign G3VTT – an excellent teacher, and a former Radio Caroline transmitter engineer as well. I was pleased to pass the City and Guilds exam on the first attempt – albeit after tens of hours of personal study. I was awarded the unique radio callsign M1CXN which will be for me for life. I recall that the old college was either very hot and stuffy, or chilly as hell – the place had little or no insulation, and the windows were both single glazed and with solid metal frames. On top of this, the second, slightly smaller tower does not have a lift – which is no good if you have mobility problems of any type, as the stairs are a nightmare for the able bodied as it is. All this will be a distant memory when the new campus opens in September, just in time for the new academic year. Not only will students get a shiny new environment with the latest in technology, but the location of the new campus on the edge of Erith town centre will mean that students and lecturers alike will have a far better choice of public transport options open to them, as Erith operates as a major transport hub for the entire borough. Erith Riverside Shopping Centre will benefit from a large influx of new customers to the shops (I predict that the biggest beneficiary, at least initially will be Domino’s Pizza, but that any food outlet will have an upturn in customers, as I have previously outlined, when discussing the long and hotly debated “Scores on the Doors” rating system).  What I am particularly interested in from a personal viewpoint is what evening and weekend courses the college will be offering. I think there is a strong demand for practical and social courses – personally, I would love to learn to weld, but that is another story. I think the area will benefit from an influx of new people, many of whom with a disposable income, and I think the students will benefit from not only the new educational facilities, but exposure to the fact that Erith is not the out of the way place they had assumed it to be – it will be instructive to see how long it takes out of town students to discover the Riverside Gardens and the pier. I think they will be quite a draw when the weather is good. I have been contacted by the college, and once the building work is completed, and the place ready for business, I have been offered a guided tour around the campus. I anticipate that there will then be a Maggot Sandwich special on the college, complete with photos. It is a while off yet, but expect such a special towards the end of the summer, all things being equal.

Here is a bit of a personal request; does anyone know of a reliable and reasonably priced landscape gardener that they could recommend to me? The back garden of Pewty Acres is looking terrible, and I want to start it again from scratch. Last year the lawn was so full of moss and weeds that I had little choice but to weed killer the entire thing, ready to start again once the weather improved this spring. The time is now here, and I am looking for a person who can remove the rockeries at both the top and bottom of the garden, and dig up and remove the first inch or so of topsoil from the entire garden area. I have a number of ideas as to how I wish to rebuild the garden from scratch, including replacement of a fence that was victim to the recent storms. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

The problem of the proliferation of betting shops springing up in empty shop units around the country is getting worse; as I wrote about Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) back in January of this year; the main reason that the large betting companies want to open more outlets is that the law limits the number of FOBT’s in any specific betting shop, but it says nothing about the number of betting shops in any location. To increase the number of very lucrative FOBT units in a town, the bookmakers just open additional shops. Many local councils have been reluctant to block this, due to the fact that during the recession, many shop units have stood empty, and the betting shops offer a steady council tax income, which the council otherwise would not get. A recent report makes for extremely troubling reading; it reveals that in the 55 most deprived boroughs in the UK – overwhelmingly located in Northern cities and urban Greater London have a  total of 2,691 bookmakers shops, in which £13 billion was gambled on FOBT machines, and £470 million lost by gamblers in the last year alone. In the same time period, there were 1,258 bookmakers shops in the 115 wealthiest areas, adjusted to cover the same volume of population, within which players gambled a total of £6.5 billion, losing £231 million.  The report was commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, and shows that the large betting companies have targeted the poorest areas that have the highest unemployment, lowest per capita income and higher crime rates. The last year has also seen a large increase in the number of high street betting shops, mainly due to the leap in the total number of FOBT machines, such as digital roulette in use. In December 2013 there was a total of 9,343 active betting shop licences in the entire United Kingdom, which was an increase of 280 since 2012. The most deprived town council in the UK was identified as being Liverpool. A total of £118 million was gambled in 570 machines, and £23 million was siphoned off by bookmakers in the process. In the same time scale, the place voted as the most desirable place to live in the UK – the Hart district of Hampshire there are just seven betting shops with a total of 24 Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. Liverpool council have understandably got very worried by the figures, and are now keen to place strong control measures on the betting shop operators. The problem with FOBT machines is that large amounts of money can be spent on the machines very quickly, and losses can mount up almost before the gambler realises. A hundred pounds can be lost in no more than thirty seconds. Nick Small, of Liverpool City Council said of the situation “millions of pounds that should be used for paying for food and rent was being sucked into the FOBT machines”, and that “Bookies are arriving all the time into prime retail locations. This is all driven for FOBTs. I have no doubt of it. We are seeing horrific reports of family breakdown caused by gambling debts, problems with loan sharks. We are pretty sure organised crime is using the machines to launder money. It's out of control in a city like ours, where there are a lot of poorer people”.  The same situation exists all around the UK, with poorer areas – just like Erith, being hit far harder than wealthier regions. Industry observers have commented that one way to reduce the problem specific to FOBT machines would be to limit the maximum stake gambled to £2 – like ordinary one armed bandit machines, and to limit the maximum payout to £100. The gambling industry is not keen on this approach, for obvious reasons. To add to this, the Government are now showing an interest, as the subject is gaining column inches in the press now. The government have taken a very weak stance, saying that they will wait for the findings of the (gambling industry sponsored) research before any decision will be taken; at the rate things are progressing, it will be the end of the year before any changes come into force, if at all. The problem is that the gambling industry is wealthy and powerful, and has a strong lobby in parliament – last year the five big gambling firms, which between them account for 92% of all bookmakers shops on the high street made an estimated total gross profit of £1.6 billion on FOBT machines alone – and this does not take into account the additional cash they generate through conventional stakes based gambling; still a very lucrative market, if now being overshadowed by the rise of the electronic gambling machine, and also it ignores the vast amounts of cash spent during online gambling – a somewhat shady and overlooked area of an industry that already has a somewhat tarnished image. Personally I feel that the UK gambling industry needs a massive shake up. It has been allowed far too free a rein for years, and has exploited the market to the point where it is more powerful than some banks. People rightly get annoyed by the activities of certain banks and bankers, whilst seemingly overlooking the scourge of the high street and nowadays also the web, the big five bookies. If all this was not bad enough, the web based casinos and poker sites that operate on the periphery of some country’s laws are proving increasingly aggressive in trying to separate people from their hard earned cash. I have noticed that sites such as 888 Casino and 888 Poker use software resistant pop – ups and pop unders, which are embedded into legitimate web sites, usually without the owner’s consent. The fact that a large organisation would willfully contravene the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to try and promote its dubious services to me says a lot about their intentions.

Here is a hypothetical question for you, somewhat in the same field as BBC Radio 4's “Moral Maze” programme. I would be interested in your personal thoughts  on the matter:-  You are at a council waste tip to deposit some stuff for recycling. Whilst there you notice a group of young children who have been playing amidst the rubbish, apparently unaccompanied or supervised by an adult or older sibling. One of the children, all of whom are no more than seven or eight years of age approaches you to say that his little brother (aged around five) has climbed up on to the top of a storage hopper and he cannot get down. He asks if you would lift the child down. It is evident the small child is in distress. What would you do? Do you ignore the children, drop off your rubbish and go on your way, or do you lift the child down and risk a potential allegation of child abuse for touching a minor? I think that women might find this thought exercise more easy to respond to than most men. You can either leave your comment below, or Email me directly to hugh.neal@gmail.com Either way I would be interested in what you think. I will possibly explain the reason for my posing the question next week.

Last week, whilst enjoying a rare break in the windy and rainy weather, I took a walk around Erith with my camera; one of the results was the photo of the progress of construction work  on the new Bexley College campus that you can see at the top of the page. I also took the photo of the small green plaque that commemorates the old Erith Fire Station that you can see above (click the photo for a larger version). Nowadays, all that is left of the original fire station is a very small brick built structure with a wooden door, that to my mind rather resembles an old fashioned outside privy. The building is located to the right of the entrance to the staff car park behind Erith Council Offices. I doubt that many people even realise the plaque is there. I have been conscious that there is a lot of history to the local fire service, so I have once again been in contact with local history guru Ken Chamberlain for his take on matters. Ken wrote a pamphlet on the history of the fire service in Erith, and almost certainly has more knowledge on the subject that anyone else. "At the outbreak of the second World War in 1939 there were only 9 regular firemen. However there were no less than 112 full time Auxiliaries, and 160 part time AFS recruited. Properties in Cross Street and the High Street were taken over to house them. Some of course served at satellite stations set up at the Royal Oak Garage in Bexley Road, the Sanatorium in Belmont Road (Now Belmont school) Bedwell School in Albert Road, Belvedere, “Elmhurst” Borstall and St. Marys Hall, Abbey Wood. During that time twenty four lorries, eight high powered cars were acquired. As well as a barge that was converted to a fire float. On the 7th September 1940 local units attended the London dock area assisting the overstretched Local units. They finally returned to Erith after a sixteen hour shift minus a pump that had been blown into the dock. On the night of 21st/22nd January 1944 the Bexley Road station suffered a direct hit by a delayed action bomb. Several years ago I spoke to a survivor of the incident he recounted how they were in the engine room when they heard a loud crash and debris started falling about them. They ran out to see where the bomb had fallen. This action undoubtedly saved their lives as at that moment the bomb exploded. He claimed not to have heard a bang, but was stone deaf for six weeks afterwards. He did however suffer injuries. He was taken to Erith Hospital, treated and was back on duty in two hours. There were no fatalities. The 1907 building was demolished and a temporary structure was put in its place. The wartime control room remains as does a part of the entrance doorway. The temporary station remained until 12th July 1961 when it was replaced by the station that is now located in Erith Road, Belvedere". Thanks for the information Ken - I always get favourable feedback when either I, or more usually a guest writer have an account of historical Erith. You can see a couple of Ken's photos from his extensive collection below - the first one shows Erith Fire Station just as it had received the first motorised fire engines in the 1930's. Strange to think that only a handful of years later the station would be flattened by the Luftwaffe, as you can see in the second shot, taken on the 22nd January 1944, the morning after the fire station received the direct hit. At least Hitler missed the White Hart - more of this later. 

As pretty much everyone who lives in, or spends any time in London will be aware, the Old Bailey (more properly named the Central Criminal Court) is an imposing building topped by a famous bronze statue of the “Lady of Justice” who holds the scales of justice in her left hand, and a sword in her right hand. Interestingly, although the statue is meant to represent blind justice, the statue is not blindfolded, as is commonly thought. Lady Justice has a “maidenly form” which is supposed to symbolise her impartiality. The symbolism of the statue atop Britain’s most famous criminal court is clear – you will get a fair and impartial trial with a supposition of innocence until proven otherwise and decided on by a jury of your peers. I would say that this is still broadly true for the most serious and onerous of crimes, but the situation in respect of the more mundane issues of law such as unfair dismissal, property disputes, workplace bullying, or the breakup of a marriage or civil partnership, there is now little recourse to the law unless you earn a substantial amount of money. The ministry of Justice has cut the grants it used to give to legal advisors so that they could give free advice on points of law to people on low incomes. The end result of this on a local level is the closure of the Erith based Law Centre in Cross Street, which is shutting permanently this month. The centre opened in 2006 and has been offering free legal advice to around 1,500 clients on low incomes every year since. That is a lot of advice to a lot of local people that is now no longer going to happen. The Citizen’s Advice Bureau may be able to take up some of the work, but they don’t have the specialist legal knowledge that the Cross Street Law Centre has until now provided. It is not just people on benefits that will be losing out; all people on anything other than a very respectable income will potentially suffer. Engaging a solicitor privately can be an eye wateringly expensive experience. How the loss of free legal advice will affect courts will have to be seen, but it should be noted that for the first time in decades the most vulnerable in society will not have proper legal representation and advice. Recently, I attended a meeting at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Whitehall as part of my day job. Once I had got through the incredibly tight security at the entrance, I was able to make my way across an inner courtyard and over to the office where I was due to meet with a couple of real life Sir Humphrey Appleby types. In the courtyard, lined up like a parade, were ten, brand new Daimler Jaguar long wheelbase luxury saloon cars, all fitted with what looked like antennas for encrypted communications, plus a few other modifications from the factory standard. The cars all had consecutive number plates, so had been ordered as a job lot all at the same time. I would estimate that each car must have cost in excess of £100,000, even allowing for a substantial bulk discount. Bearing in mind that the Government has been banging on for several years about the need for austerity measures, and to reduce spending wherever possible, it does strike me as conspicuous consumption. I understand that in the greater scheme of things the amount of money expended on the vehicles is negligible (the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has an annual budget of £1.5 billion) but it does send out a very mixed message; on the one hand, public services such as hospitals and fire stations are being shut down to save money, but the Whitehall Mandarins can still splash out on a fleet of swish new limousines. It is not only what you do, but what you are seen to be doing that counts. Again – the cost of just one of the luxury Daimler Jaguars would keep the Cross Street Law Centre open for a whole year. I am pretty certain this kind of major impact for a relatively minor cash saving is being mirrored in towns and villages all around the country. I think it is short sighted, and is going to cost the country more than it saves in the long run.

Earlier I mentioned how the Luftwaffe missed the old White Hart pub when it managed to flatten the old Erith Fire Station; well, as regular readers will know, the White Hart was subject to corporate vandalism back in 2008, when it was converted into the ill - fated Potion bar. The historic frontage was ripped out of the listed building and the character of the place ruined. Now the place has gone bust and the operators ousted by the freeholders of the building. A long time Maggot Sandwich reader who prefers to remain anonymous has made the following observations and suggestions:- "Perhaps we should get as many signatures as possible and lobby Bexley council for their incompetence in the matter regarding Potion. Thus taking the onus off the free holder. I also think Bexley council should get three estimates from from companies competent of carrying out such work and the owners of Potion bar should be made to reinstate the building to its original state. Bexley council would come after anyone else with a bailiff's order". An interesting idea; I am unsure how legally sound it would be, but I think it would be worth a very good try. Do you have an opinion on the subject? Either leave a comment below, or Email me directly to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The ending video this week has rather been dictated by something I mentioned earlier; namely my trip to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Whitehall. I mentioned in passing my meeting with some senior civil servants. The epitome of the Whitehall Mandarin is Sir Humphrey Appleby, never seen in better action than in this classic clip from "Yes, Prime Minister". Incidentally, some years ago I attended a meeting which included a senior advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron. The chap said to me in all seriousness that Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister should be watched, not as an entertaining and well written sitcom, but as a gritty, fly on the wall documentary. It certainly made me think...