Desmond's.

Following my recent positive report on the success of the CCTV system installed at the council recycling centre in James Watt Way, behind the Erith Morrison's supermarket, and how this had reduced the level of criminal fly - tipping by roughly ninety percent, there has now been a development which may well lead to a "perfect storm" of further fly tipping in the North of the London Borough of Bexley. Some readers may be aware that Bexley Council is closing the The Thames Road Reuse and Recycling Centre from the 14th of January for essential maintenance. The closure will last approximately four weeks. The works have been scheduled to allow waste and recycling collections to return to normal following the Christmas period and for residents to be able to continue to use the Centre over the break. Temporary arrangements have been made to open Foots Cray on Wednesdays during the closure. The closure will not affect the borough’s collection services. The problem with this has been compounded by an issue that has been highlighted by a story in the News Shopper, which features some overflowing recycling bins located in Erith High Street. In the News Shopper article, local resident Adam Cox says:- "As a local resident, this is a disappointing sight when arriving and leaving my flat or being in the local area. "What is most disappointing is that I think it speaks to the fact that residents want to be proactive and recycle, but the council is not supporting this appropriately," The problem is compounded by the official Bexley Council policy that if residents take rubbish to recycling centres, and the centres are full, they are supposed to take their rubbish back home with them. In the same article, a council spokesperson was quoted as saying:- "Rubbish should not just be dumped by the side of recycling banks or litter bins if they are full but should either be taken to another mini recycling bank or bin or to one of the reuse and recycling centres at Thames Road or Foots Cray. Rubbish dumped by the side of already full bins in this way is fly-tipping. This will be investigated by our officers as a criminal offence and the site will be cleared". There are a couple of problems with this statement; firstly, the imminent closure for a month of the Thames Road recycling facility, and the fact that many residents who deposit rubbish for recycling in the Erith High Street mini facility do not own a car, and are unable to use the main recycling centres in Thames Road Crayford, or indeed the one on the far opposite side of the borough at Foots Cray - which might as well be on the moon for non - drivers . They have no option but to use the Erith High Street bins - something I suspect the council are fully aware of, but are choosing to ignore. On a more positive note, when it comes to recycling, I am pleased to discover that discount frozen food retailer Iceland - who have a significant presence in the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, are trialling a new system to recycle plastic bottles. Shoppers have earned more than £30,000 by recycling plastic bottles in the first supermarket trial of reverse vending machines. The scheme, piloted by Iceland, rewards people with a voucher worth 10p for every deposit of a bottle bought at the shop. It was rolled out to stores in Wolverhampton, Mold, Fulham and Musselburgh - as well as Iceland's head office, in Deeside. New figures show that 311,500 plastic bottles have been recycled so far. The deposit machine accepted plastic bottles of up to three litres, which needed a barcode showing that they were sold by the shop. Children were "particularly engaged" with the deposit machines and even educated and encouraged their parents to use them, the supermarket said in an article shown on Sky News last week. Iceland has promised to share the findings of its research with the government. At present it is not clear if Iceland intends to roll out the scheme to all of its UK stores, including the one in Erith (photo above - click on it for a larger version), but from the success of the pilot scheme, I would not be at all surprised if they did so sooner, rather than later. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively send me an Email to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Some time ago I wrote an article on "Smart" devices as part of the so - called "Internet of Things". Basically I said that these devices were mostly a solution looking for a problem, and that many of the smart devices would only work for a relatively limited time, due to mobile device operating system updates causing the smart device to lose network connectivity. It was also discovered that certain brands of internet enabled smart doorbells were possible to quite easily steal. This matter has indeed now happened in the real world, rather than just in the laboratories of IT security penetration testers - the theory has now become reality, and the result is now affecting local residents. In a report that I have separated from the usual weekly Neighbourhood Watch updates, Andrew Davis, from the Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association office makes the following observations:- "A number of Wards have reported that an increasing number of 'Ring' doorbells (and those of similar brands) are being stolen from front doors. A NW Bourne Road member (St Mary's and St James ward) recently advised us of the theft of their doorbell - as noted in last week's update. These premium doorbells which cost from around £100 have CCTV-type capability. Thieves are covering up so as not to be identifiable on the footage produced which is wirelessly transmitted and recorded on owners' smart phones. So, aside from descriptions of clothing, identifying the culprits proves pretty much impossible. If your doorbell is / has been stolen, please let us know as well as reporting on 101. Although this type of doorbell is of value in its own right, it could be that the thefts are in preparation for a greater crime, so please follow the usual advice when it comes to locking doors, removing valuables from cars and keeping car keys away and out of sight of the vicinity of your front door". Now, from the cutting edge of the internet, back to the very beginning - who says that I don't plan these things?

2019 marks an important anniversary, and one that many readers may be fully unaware of. Many people assume that the World Wide Web (often incorrectly referred to as "The Internet") sprung ready formed in the mid 1990's, and that it was an entirely new creation, when in fact this could not be very much  further from the truth. Prior to the creation of the World Wide Web (actually an abstraction layer which sits on top of The Internet) there was a previous network of computers, albeit far more limited in scope to what we experience today. This network was called ARPANET, and it is celebrating its fiftieth birthday this year, having been launched back in 1969. Nowadays computers all over the world can freely communicate with each other, but back in the 1960's this was yet to be made possible. This is possible because at the core of this worldwide infrastructure we call the Internet is a set of shared communication standards, procedures and formats called protocols. However, when in the early 1970s, the first four-nodes of the ARPANET became fully functional things were a bit more complicated. Exchanging data between different computers (let alone different computer networks) was not as easy as it is today. There was a reliable data packet-switching network to connect to, but no universal language to communicate through it. Each host, in fact, had a set of specific protocols and to login users were required to know the host’s own ‘language’. Using ARPANET was like being given a telephone and unlimited credit, only to find out that the only users we can call do not speak the same language. When a user sends or retrieve information across the Internet – e.g., access Web pages or upload files to a server - the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) on the sender’s machine breaks the message into packets of information and then sends them out. The IP (Internet Protocol) is instead the part of the protocol concerned with “the addressing and forwarding” of those individual packets. The IP is a critical part of our daily Internet experience: without it, it would be practically impossible to locate the information we are looking for among the billions of machines connected to the network today. On the receiving end, the TCP helps reassemble all the packets into the original messages, checking errors, and ensuring they are arranged in the correct sequence order. Thanks to TCP/IP the exchange of data packets between different and distant networks was finally possible. In the years that followed, the ARPANET consolidated and expanded, all while remaining virtually unknown to the general public. On July 1, 1975, the network was placed under the direct control of the Defense Communication Agency (DCA) in the USA. By then there were already 57 nodes in the network, mainly in the USA, but some in Europe, including the UK. The larger it grew, the more difficult it was to determine who was actually using it. There were, in fact, no tools to check the network users’ activity. The DCA began to worry. The mix of fast growth rate and lack of control could potentially become a serious issue for national security. The DCA, trying to control the situation, issued a series of warnings against any unauthorised access and use of the network. In his last newsletter before retiring to civilian life, the DCA’s appointed ARPANET Network Manager, Major Joseph Haughney wrote:- "Only military personnel or ARPANET sponsor-validated persons working on government contracts or grants may use the ARPANET. Files should not be [exchanged] by anyone unless they are files that have been announced as ARPANET-public or unless permission has been obtained from the owner. Public files on the ARPANET are not to be considered public files outside of the ARPANET, and should not be transferred, or their contents given or sold to the general public without permission of DCA or the ARPANET sponsors". However, these warnings were largely ignored as most of the networked nodes had, Haughney put it, “weak or nonexistent host access to the control mechanism”. By the early 1980s, the network was essentially an open access area for both authorised and non-authorised users. This situation was made worse by the drastic drop in computer prices, and the advent of the swiftly growing number of home computer hobbyists. With the potential number of machines capable of connecting to the network increasing constantly, the concern over its vulnerability rose to new heights. The 1983 hit film, War Games, about a young computer whiz who manages to connect to the super computer at NORAD and almost start World Word III from his bedroom, perfectly captured the mood of the militaries towards the network. By the end of that year, the United States Department of Defense ‘in its biggest step to date against illegal penetration of computers’ – as The New York Times reported – “split a global computer network into separate parts for military and civilian users, thereby limiting access by university- based researchers, trespassers and possibly spies”. The ARPANET was effectively divided in two distinct networks: one still called ARPANET, mainly dedicated to research, and the other called MILNET, a military operational network, protected by strong security measures like encryption and restricted access control. During its early stages, between the 60s and 70s, the communication galaxy spawned by the ARPANET was not only mostly uncharted space, but, compared to today’ standards, also mainly empty. It continued as such well into the 90s, before the technology pioneered with the ARPANET project became the backbone of the Internet. In 1992, during its first phase of popularisation, the global networks connected to the Internet exchanged about 100 Gigabytes (GB) of traffic per day. Since then, data traffic has grown exponentially along with the number of users and the network’s popularity. A couple of decades later, thanks to Sir Tim Berners Lee’s World Wide Web (1989), there is an ever increasing availability of cheap and powerful tools to navigate the galaxy, not to mention the explosion of social media from 2005 onwards. What hides beneath the dry technicality of computer to computer communication is a simple fact: the enduring impact of that first stuttered "hello" between two remotely located computers back in 1969 has dramatically transcended the apparent technical triviality of making two computers talk to each other. Nearly five decades after the first experiment in California, the Internet has arguably become a driving force in the daily routines of more than three billion people worldwide. For a growing number of users, a mere minute of life on the Internet is to be part, simultaneously, of an endless stream of shared experiences that include, among other things, watching over 165,000 hours of video, being exposed to 10 million adverts, playing nearly 32,000 hours of music and sending and receiving over 200 million emails.

Now for a different angle on technology and the "real world" - and how a multinational software company can ride roughshod over a customer. This account comes from long time Maggot Sandwich reader who prefers to remain anonymous, who has had a long running problem with her computer anti virus software supplier.  She writes:- "I discovered in November that McAfee and Norton had been charging me on my credit card account for my husband's subscriptions to their services for 10 years - ever since he died and despite the fact that his credit card account was closed. We never shared the credit card and kept our finances completely separate, with our own bank accounts and credit cards. Somehow, they both switched the charges to my Visa account, though I had never consented and my husband never let them have my details. I had my own subscriptions however. You will be pleased to hear that, after a load of hassle and very lengthy phone calls and internet chats, I have now had a partial refund from Norton with two years' free subs (not worth anything really but I had spent so much time I called it a day and at least I had the satisfaction of taking up a great deal if their staff time). Today I finally had the promise of a full refund from McAfee despite initial refusals showing that you just have to keep pestering and threatening. They simply could not explain to me how they started charging me when John died and I made lots of noise about fraud etc! These American companies continue to take money from someone else's account when the account holder dies, so you should never assume that the death of a subscriber is the end of the contract! I have now ensured that nothing is automatically renewed. I am very glad that I do not do internet banking or who knows what might have happened! I also had no joy with the credit card provider. I should add that what was also worrying was that when I told McAfee my husband's email, they said it was not linked to my account but to my son - but my son has never had an account with McAfee! I shall not be subscribing to these people any more - I shall just let them run out and not renew. Finally, I have put in a request to the Information Commissioner to question the legitimacy of what these people are doing and have done". An interesting and instructive account. Let me know what you think; you can Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

According to recent reports, a new bureau de change is to open in Erith Town Centre shortly; a job advertisement for a role as a sales assistant has recently been published online - you can read it, and apply for the job if you so wish by clicking here. The shop will be owned and operated by an Irish company called Fexco Group, who are apparently a UK leader in foreign currency exchange. The company are also looking for a store manager for the forthcoming Erith outlet - you can see details of that job by clicking here.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. No report from Barnehurst ward this week, so we instead open with the report from Belvedere ward:- "There has been an attempted burglary in Elmbourne Drive, at the home of an elderly male who resides alone. It is apparent that someone has approached the property from the rear (having climbed over gardens) and caused damage to the frame of a lower ground window. Entry was not gained to the property. There appears to have been a series of damage caused to motor vehicles in and around Upper Park Road, Lower Park Road and the streets adjacent – windows of several vehicles were smashed to gain access. A male was seen with a tool of some kind (possibly a spade) at one of the incidents. There is no further information at this stage – if anyone witnessed this or has information, please contact the team. There has also been a burglary at the Co-Op in Nuxley Road in which a male is reported to have entered the shop storeroom from and stolen over £3000.00 worth of goods. CCTV images have been obtained and investigation continues. There are three homeless people who have taken up residence at the disused Belvedere Police station – the team have been in constant contact with the two males and one female who appear to be sleeping rough in Nuxley Road, we have requested assistance from both Bexley Council and Thames Reach workers, a great deal of work is taking place involving all agencies to assist these people. Our next community contact session is due to take place on the 16th of January from 4pm at Belvedere library. Lastly, we would like to wish you all a belated happy New Year". Bexleyheath ward:- "We had had two burglaries reported on the ward. One was on Monday 31st December along Belvedere Road, access was via rear door. The other was Sunday 30th December along Lyndhurst Road Bexleyheath, access was via rear patio window using a hammer. We have had three reports of theft from motor vehicles and two of them had been reported on the 20th December. One along Martin Dene Bexleyheath and the other along Rochester Drive Bexleyheath. The other was reported on the 29th December along Silverdale Road Bexleyheath. On the 29th December along Rydal Drive there was a report of a car broken into but nothing taken but damaged was caused. On the 31st December a report was made for criminal damage to motor vehicle along Mayplace Road East. On Monday 31st December there was a report of a bag that was taken from inside the Bella Italia restaurant in Bexleyheath. There was an arrest made recently over the Christmas period for possession of cannabis.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. If you do wish to pass on information to Police then please contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111. Please do not hesitate to contact us via Twitter, Facebook, email and the ward phone". Crayford ward:- "Thankfully, no burglaries to report to you this week. Most crimes of note this week are criminal damage related. In Ridgeway a shed door and lock were damaged, no entry and nothing stolen. Between Tuesday 24th and Thursday 26th December at Creganford Court at Perry Street, suspect keyed Merry Christmas on the roof of the victim's car. In Green Walk on Friday 28th December at approx. 17.30 it is believed the same suspect committed two offences, one by throwing a bottle and smashing a pane of glass, the other by throwing a bottle at a car parked on the driveway causing a dent. The bottle was retained for forensic testing. On Friday 28th December between 10.30-21.30 the wing mirror was kicked/pushed off a vehicle parked in Maiden Lane. On Saturday 29th December a theft from motor vehicle occurred in Crayford Road. The white Kia Creed was parked on a driveway, the dash cam was ripped out, black Ralph Lauren sunglasses with gold rims were stolen as well as the log book and service history. The fuse box cover was open leading the victim to believe that the intention was to steal the vehicle. Once again a reminder that the Crayford Ward Panel meeting will take place at the Europa Gym at Vimy Way this Saturday 5th January at 10.30 am, you would be more than welcome to come along and become a member. Crayford officers processed two people this week for driving offences. One was stopped due to a minor defect on their vehicle but was found to be driving without insurance and not having a full driving licence, also known for crime. Another vehicle was seized at Crayford Road as the driver had no insurance. At Roman Way a driver was processed for using a mobile phone whilst driving, this person was also breathalysed and blew just under the limit". Erith ward:- "First of all Happy New Year 2019 from everyone on Erith SNT. The next ward panel meeting is Thursday 17th January 2019 – 7pm at the moment this will still be held at Erith Pier road police station, BUT I have been speaking to the owners of The Carnegie Building, in Walnut Tree Road and they seem more than happy for us to have meetings there, I just need to give them a list of dates, hopefully we can get these dates sorted on the 17th. I hope you all have a wonderful start to 2019. I have been contacted by a few residents regarding marking push bikes that they have received or given as presents. I am more than happy to do this and even visit you at your home address. It costs around £20 a bike – TOTALLY FREE TO ERITH RESIDENTS, as I have managed to get hold of some sets a while back when I did the training on this. I will only mark bikes in ERITH. If you live on another ward please contact you own team. We did not have any Burglaries in Erith over the festive period". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Over the last week or so we have had a spate of motor vehicle crime. A white transit van was stolen from Carlton Road between 6pm on Wednesday December 19th and 7am on the morning of Thursday 20th when the owner discovered it missing, despite being in possession of the key. Theft of a moped in Brook Street overnight on Thursday December 20th, the victim was also still in possession of the keys when the bike was stolen. Thankfully the bike was found near to the victim's house on December 21st although it had sustained some damage to it. One report of criminal damage to a motor vehicle in Brook Street. This took place overnight on December 27th. The owner returned to the vehicle the following morning to discover the rear windows had been smashed. Theft of a motor vehicle in Belmont Road Between Boxing Day evening at 11pm when the victim last saw the vehicle on the drive, and Thursday 27th at 5am when it was discovered missing. Once again the victim was still in possession of the key and it is unknown how the vehicle was stolen. One report of criminal damage to a motor vehicle in Oakdene Avenue between Saturday 29th December between 9pm and Sunday 30th December at 1pm when the owner discovered the vehicle's bodywork had scratches all over it. Unfortunately there has been a burglary in Brook Street which took place between Saturday 29th December 4pm to Sunday 30th December at 10pm when the victim, having returned to the property realised they had been burgled. It is believed that entry was gained to the property via a small bathroom window. An untidy search was conducted, the suspect put the latch up on the front door to prevent anyone from entering before stealing a quantity of jewellery and leaving via a rear window. The next drop in Police surgery will be held in the Northumberland Heath Library in Mill Road Erith on Friday January 4th 2019 at 3pm. All are welcome to attend. he team have been conducting ASB patrols over the last week, Although ASB is very low at the moment, we are conducting priority patrols at the following locations and surrounding areas : Bexley Road, Walsingham Walk, North Heath recreation ground and Mill Road car park. We have unfortunately had a few incidents of note reported this last week: Attempted/burglary in Northumberland Park on 01/01/2019 between 03:30am – 03:50am. An unknown person has gained entry into the property, however they were disturbed by the occupier who was woken by the noise, nothing was stolen; Attempted burglary in Dickens Close on the 01/01/2019 between 17:30 – 18:00. The occupier heard a smash and upon investigation found that a pane of glass in the front door was on the floor, no entry had been gained on this occasion. Ongoing CCTV enquiries continue. If you have any information in relation to any of these incidents please report this to the police and continue to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour or activity you see".  Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Firstly we would like to wish all our N Watch coordinators a Happy New Year. There have been four number plate thefts over the last 2 weeks, all during evening hours or overnight. They occurred at Bridge Road, Hazel Drive, Crescent Road and Forest Road. If you would like any anti-theft screws for your number plates, please let us know, or keep an eye out for any crime prevention stands we set up in the ward. Late night patrols happened across the ward in the days between Christmas and New Year with nothing major to report. 2 males with an off road bike were removed from the marshes close to Erith Yacht club last week. They were asked how they gained access to the site and images of how they did it have been sent to the council in the hope of improving the current gate onto the Thames Path to prevent further access". Thamesmead East ward:- "Thamesmead East has been hit with car crime this week. Don't leave your valuables in plain sight Remove all Sat Nav mounts along with suction cup marks on windscreen. Cables left on show alert criminals to possible property left inside the vehicle. Burglary - Crowden Way Friday 7/12/18 between 1:10 – 1:25pm Males seen breaking into two garages and taking property from within. Criminal damage to a motor vehicle - Manordene Road Sunday 23/12/18 between 8pm - 9:50 pm Unknown suspect/s have slashed all four tyres on victims vehicle; St Katherines Road Tuesday 25/12/18 between 7:33 – 7:39 am window smashed nothing taken as no property left in vehicle; Aspen Green Monday 31/12/18 between 7:50 – 7:55 pm Suspect(s) have walked along the road and kicked off the Nearside and Offside wing mirrors of two vehicles before making off. Theft from a motor vehicle Crowden Way on Tuesday 25/12/18 between 1am – 8am suspect unknown has broken into the vehicle via the front passenger window PDR stolen from central console; Kale Road on Tuesday 25/12/18 between 6pm – 1045am passenger side window smashed, vehicle entered and items taken from inside; Ormsby Close Tuesday 25/12/18 between 8am - 12:25pm front and rear number plates taken from the vehicle by suspects unknown; KALE ROAD Friday 28/12/18 between 11pm – 7am 29/12/18 Viw1's vehicle broken into and cash and ID stolen. Next Community Contact session Tuesday 3/1/19 at Lakeside Medical Centre Yarnton Way between 1-2pm and Tuesday 15/01/19 at The Link Bazelgette Way between 5-7pm". No report this week from West Heath ward.

This weekend marks the thirtieth anniversary of the transmission of the first episode of a groundbreaking sitcom, which was to become the longest running comedy show on Channel 4. Desmond's was a sitcom set in a Peckham barber's shop, and featured a mostly black cast. Desmond’s showed the lives of the Ambrose family, who all longed to improve their lot. Desmond, played by the late Norman Beaton, who dreams of retiring and returning to Guyana; Shirley, his wife, enrols in a French evening class in the opening episode; yuppie eldest son Michael aims to run the local bank; middle child Gloria wants to be a fashion writer; and youngest son Sean is on course to go to university. Desmond’s was not the first black sitcom on British TV – that would be The Fosters, which ran from 1976 to 1977, featuring Norman Beaton and Carmen Munroe (who then went on to play Desmond and Shirley Ambrose) and a young Lenny Henry. That show, however, was not an original creation, adapted from US sitcom Good Times. Like most great sitcoms, Desmond’s thrived on its running gags and side characters: the frequent jubilant cry “Yeah, mon” of Desmond’s best friend Porkpie; Matthew, the perennial student from the Gambia with a penchant for “old African sayings” such as “the respectful goat doesn’t fart in front of the chief”; and gossiping hypochondriac Beverley. Filmed in front of a raucous live audience, Desmond’s, at its best, was an exultant celebration of family and friendship in the face of adversity. Desmond's was shown extensively in many countries throughout Africa and beyond, and many of Matthew's "old African sayings" which were actually all penned by Desmond's creator and sole script writer Trix Worrell, have apparently passed into the popular vernacular in many of those countries, and have in a way become a self fulfilling prophesy. At its core, Desmond’s ­­­was a family show, said veteran character actor Ram John Holder, who played Porkpie, its warmth transcending racial fault lines. “It didn’t matter if you were black or brown or white,” he says in a recent interview in the Guardian. “It was the story of every family.” I loved Desmond's - it was warm, decent and above all, very funny. It used to get ratings in excess of five million viewers when it was originally shown - very strong figures for Channel 4, which in those days was very much a minority channel. Check out the episode below. 

Plastic.

The photo above shows the recycling centre in James Watt Way Erith, just behind the large Morrison's supermarket. The centre is well used and popular with many local people. You may notice a large gap between the green and blue recycling containers in the photo above - click on it for a larger view. This gap used to contain two additional recycling hoppers - one for empty drinks cartons, and one for plastic items such as packaging. On the 14th November the two containers disappeared;  the two hoppers had not been emptied for a very long time, and were extremely over - full. Initially I thought that the two missing hoppers would be returned, but nothing happened. As a result of this, I contacted Calum Boyd, who is the Waste Management Officer (Reuse and Recycling Centres and Bring Banks) for Bexley Council - to give him his full title. Calum responded with:- "Thank you for contacting use regarding the household plastic packaging and beverage cartons recycling banks at Morrisons Erith. Please accept our apologies regarding the difficulties you have experienced using this facility.  Due to the relatively high cost to service these banks and ongoing issues we have been experiencing with severe contamination at a number of the mini recycling sites we had to make the difficult decision to remove these banks borough wide. This commenced on Tuesday 14th November after emptying on Monday 13th November. Prior to the removal of the banks collections were suspended which led to issues at a number of sites with full banks. Household plastic packaging and beverage cartons can continue to be recycled through the kerbside recycling collection in the maroon box for houses or silver bins for flats". I am strongly of the opinion that this is a really bad move; it will increase the already high level of fly tipping in the borough, and it also sends precisely the wrong message to the residents of The London Borough of Bexley in respect to the commitment to recycling which the borough has previously and very publicly made.  The timing of this short - sighted decision also coincides with the increase in awareness of the very long term polluting effects of plastic on nature - highlighted by the recent episode of the BBC's Blue Planet 2. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

For some unknown reason, the activities of the illegal moped and quad bike riders seems to have curtailed over the last couple of weeks. Whether this is due to the actions of the Police, or whether it is due to the wintry cold and wet weather conditions, I do not know. The good news is that they have been keeping a low profile, which is very much to be welcomed. I suspect it may just be that they are staying in their bedrooms in front of their PlayStations waiting for the winter to pass so that they can step up their criminal activities once again. I do know that the local Police have had a number of successes in intercepting and detaining members of local bike gangs recently. How effective this will prove to be in the long term, nobody knows.

The graphic above was sent to me by fellow local Blogger Malcolm Knight of the excellent "Bexley is Bonkers" Blog. It shows the other local bus services that have proposed re - routings to cater for the Crossrail service at Abbey Wood, and the forthcoming Erith Quarry development. I mentioned the new private bus service, quite inaccurately named the Nuxley Navigator last week, but I neglected to also write about the existing bus services that have plans to re - route to take into account commuters from the new up - market housing estate that will need to travel to Abbey Wood Station to travel on to destinations including the City and Canary Wharf. Travel links are one of the key factors in attracting people from outside of the area to move locally. Historically the London Borough of Bexley has fared poorly in relation to public transport; it is one of the few London boroughs with no tube stations and there is little chance of the DLR being expanded into Bexley in the next few years. We are however getting Crossrail (which will only be renamed the Elizabeth Line when it actually opens) and the bus extensions, both public and private are a move to capitalise on this new connectivity. This however will not help with one major problem with transport links locally, and that is the real elephant in the corner; the situation regarding road traffic. As many will be aware, even dual carriageways such as Bronze Age Way tend to become blocked with stationary traffic for extended periods; the reason for this is that the road is a feeder towards the M25 and the Dartford River Crossing. It was stated that back when the toll booths were removed and ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras were installed, that the major benefit would be a quicker transit time for users of the crossing. In reality the opposite has happened. In the last weeks, it has taken in some cases up to ninety minutes for travellers to get across the River Thames. This has been exacerbated by the very unreliable Woolwich Ferry service, which on occasions has been completely unavailable, or running on one ferry only. Larger lorries are unable to go through the Blackwall Tunnel (which was originally designed and constructed for horse and cart traffic) - so when the Woolwich Ferry is out of service, vehicles have to go all of the way to Dartford in order to cross the River Thames, worsening an already very congested situation. The situation has now become so bad that on Monday the 27th November, the radio presenter Steve Allen, who hosts the afternoon music and chat show on the excellent, Romford based Time 107.5 FM ended up presenting the first hour of his show live from his car, stuck in a traffic jam at the Dartford Crossing. Whilst this actually made for very entertaining listening, it was indicative of just how serious the congestion has now got. What experiences have you had regarding trying to cross the River Thames? Do let me know.

Early last week, I received the following Email from a resident who lives in Erith Town Centre, who wishes to remain anonymous. The person wrote:- "Living in the town centre, with a view of the White Hart, I've been following the work on the building closely and, like many locals, have been looking forward to finding out what's going into the old pub on the ground floor. So, I'm sure you'll understand the disappointment I felt about the project when I was awoken at 4:30 am on Monday morning (November 27th) to the sound of very loud music emanating from the pub (my husband later told me he'd first heard the noise around 4 am). Looking out our window, we could see that the lights were on in the pub, the doors were shut and there was red paper over the windows. A few people were outside and there were some cars parked at the side and out front too. I phoned 101 around 4:45 to report the noise disturbance and the woman I spoke with commented that mine was the second complaint the police had received. A unit had gone out around 3 am to deal with the disturbance but, whatever the outcome of that was, the noisemakers were back at it an hour later. The police arrived shortly after 5 am, and the noise stopped. Hopefully for good! While the previous owners of Potion were certainly problematic, out-of-hours noise was not an issue that I remember ever having to put up with. Considering the building is still a construction site, I worry about what's going to happen once it is open!" I have passed the local resident's comments onto the Police, and am currently awaiting their response. If you know anything about the party, or indeed anything else to do with the building, then please let me know.

We hear so much about pubs closing to be converted into flats, and other bad news issues, that it is nice to report that a local pub is thriving - proving to be a centre of the community, cooking great food and really being a great place to visit. The Royal Standard in Belvedere Village has recently had an extensive refurbishment - which incidentally looks absolutely magnificent. I went there for lunch with my Mother on Monday, and I was really impressed at what they have done with some substantial investment in the business. The decor has been completely redone, making the place feel lighter and more spacious; the furniture has all been renewed at some considerable expense, and the food menu completely redesigned from scratch, using very high quality ingredients - the meat now comes from Picketts, the up - market independent butcher in Bexleyheath. Even on a Monday lunchtime the place was buzzing. I was really impressed with the pub, and can highly recommend it. 

The photo above was sent to me by a very long - term reader. He found the individual photos online, and digitally stitched them together to produce the panorama image that you can see above - click on the photo in order to see a larger version. It shows Erith High Street at some point during World War 2; going from left to right, you can see the old Erith Police Station - which is still in existence, but it is now converted into apartments. Next there is a hut on stilts over the river - I cannot determine what it was used for - if any reader knows, please drop me a line with the details. The next structure would appear to be an air raid shelter. The next area would appear to be a piece of land probably cleared for growing vegetables in the "Dig for Victory!" campaign. The road with the two women with the baby carriage crossing it is now known as Saltford Close - I am unsure of what it was called back then. The Running Horses pub can be seen on the right of the compound photograph; it was opened in 1938, but seriously damaged in an air raid in 1940. A contemporary account of the incident from  a local resident called Graham Jansen reads:- "My Grandfather, Thomas Arthur House (b. 12/11/1896, Westminster) was killed at The Running Horses at 1930 hrs on 29/11/1940 during a bombing raid. He was an ARP Ambulance Driver, aged 44 yrs. He was killed with a Henry George Frederick Parry, aged 19 yrs, an ARP Stretcher Bearer and an Albert Sydney Humphreys, aged 50 yrs, a Fireman, AFS. They are commemorated in perpetuity by The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The licensee of the pub, William Zachariah Coles, aged 49 yrs, was also killed in the blast. I have been told that The Crown public House, which stood on the opposite corner to The Running Horses, was so severely damaged it was never used again and was later demolished. The landlord's wife, Mary Louisa Witherdon, aged 73 yrs was also killed along with a Joseph Lancelot Addison, aged 76 yrs. A local researcher remembers his father telling him "the Crown had got it" when he returned home from fire watching. Mr. Coles had been standing at the front door of the newly completed Running Horses and was killed instantly. Apart from the deaths of my Grandfather and his colleagues there were no less than twenty people injured. One of the wardens, a Henry Sims was slightly injured and reported that the victims in the pub were still seated at the table and had no visible injuries, they were typical blast victims. The landlord's wife, Annie Elizabeth Coles is understood to have continued to serve drinks out of the back of the pub after her husband was killed. My Grandfather's widow, Flora McAlister Campbell House (McGregor) went on to marry Leslie James Holloway (16/05/1916 Erith d. Jul 1989 Dartford) Dec 1942. He became the landlord of the Kings Head public house in Erith and lived there for 42 years having moved there at the age of two. The pub used to belong to his uncle, Arthur Hewett, who lived next door. He had a club foot and used a crutch to get around the bar. Because of his uncle's disability, the pub was run by his parents, James William Holloway (b. Dec 1885 Dartford) and Emma Matilda Holloway (Hewett). Les remembered beer being 4d a pint and tobacco fourpence ha'penny a packet. He was a popular figure in Erith having run the Kings Head for over 10 yrs. He was once described as Erith's answer to Fanny Waldren - the famous Tottenham Hotspurs winger of the 1920's".

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; firstly from Barnehurst ward, where a Neighbourhood Watch member has made the following comment:- "I am being bombarded by incoming phone calls from callers who claim to be BT Openreach. They are telling me that my internet connection is slow due to errors being created by my computer. I kept him on the line by pretending to be ignorant of what he was asking and saying my computer was off. He asked for me to turn it on but again I kept delaying. I asked where he was based. He said BT HQ, 81 Newgate Street London. He said he had worked there for three years. So I asked him for the post code of 81 Newgate street. He didn’t know and hung up. I managed to keep him online for about 5 mins wasting his time. I had the same call yesterday and also twice today. So please circulate this information. It is NOT BT ringing. BT don’t usually base engineering staff at their HQ 81 Newgate Street. Please be aware of these scammers but by all means keep them on the line as long as possible but don’t give them any information and definitely DO NOT follow any of their instructions with your computer. They hate you wasting their time". The Barnehurst report continues:- "Barnehurst has suffered one burglary in the last week. This happened in Holmesdale Grove which is in near proximity to other recent burglaries on the ward. On 22/11/17 between 02.00am and 0630am in Holmesdale Grove victim got up to find the front door open and the Audi taken from the driveway. A number of other items were taken from within the property. The house alarm had not been set and the door had not been double locked. A vehicle was broken into in Hall Place car park on 23/11/17 between 07.30pm and 10.20pm, personal items were taken from the vehicle. Concentrated patrols are being carried out to the Martens Avenue following complaints from residents relating to anti-social behaviour in this area. The areas of concern are the alley ways and the garaged area to Braeside Crescent. The last incident of property’s being hit by golf balls in Taunton Close was on 10/11/17 at 10.20pm. We will continue to pay attention to this area to prevent further incidents happening. Barnehurst Golf Club have also put in measures to prevent further damage to properties. If you wish to discuss any matters please join us for coffee with cops at 1.00pm at Barnehurst Golf Club on Tuesday 05/12/2017. Please follow us on Twitter @MPSBarnehurst or email us at Barnehurst.snt@met.police.uk. or phone us on 020 8721 2577". Now a report from Belvedere ward:- "PC Green and PC Holmes have been working with officers from neighbouring wards to combat burglary in the lead up to the Christmas period. This work involves targeting known offenders throughout the North of the borough and regular patrols of possible vulnerable locations. In response to a recent robbery in Upper Belvedere, the team have also been completing patrols of Erith Road and the roads nearby leading onto Brook Street over the last two days – this has led to a male being stopped and searched by officers in an alleyway in this area. Our next surgery date is the 4th of December 2017 at Asda in Lower Belvedere". Brampton ward:- "Overall it has been a good week for the ward 1 x shoplift at Pickford Lane 1 x criminal damage to a wall in Belvedere road , bricks taken from the wall found in a nearby road 1 x criminal damage of tyres slashed in Normanhurst Avenue , the victim was awoken by a screaming sound when they looked out their bedroom window it was found that foxes were outside near the vehicle , in the morning the victim found puncture marks and slashing marks on 2 tyres, no suspects seen. 1 x residential Burglary in Long Lane , the address is unsecured and in the process of renovation. As the property has no windows this is the access of the suspects who stole tools and copper piping. Investigation ongoing . This is the first Burglary on Brampton ward since 13th November and is not believed to be linked to family gold Burglaries. Brampton attended a Family Gold meeting along with DS Yilmaz, NHW Dana Wiffen and Bobby Van Kate Frail on the 25th and met with over 30 residents from across the Borough. This is the first of many meetings arranged and will expand over time. The meeting was successful for all parties. Please keep sending in your email addresses for the ward so that I can let you know direct of any crimes happening on your road and follow us on Twitter @MPSBrampton". Colyers ward:- "During the evening of 23rd/early hours of 24th November there was an attempted theft from a BT van in Appledore Avenue. Fortunately, nothing was taken". From Police SNT Team - PC Mike Cuell:-"Hello, I am PC Mike Cuell and I am the newest member of the Colyers Ward Team. The good news this week is that we have had no thefts in relation to motor vehicles of any kind. The only thing we have to report is a Burglary in Twigg Close, on the 26th November, in which the door was kicked open and a quantity of clothes were stolen. We have a surgery today at 6pm in the Blackberry Patch in Badlow Close. Next week’s Surgery will be on Monday 4th December at 1pm in Cupacakes on Colyers Lane. With the festive season upon us, please be extra vigilant in keeping your houses locked and secure, with so many goodies on offer under the Christmas Tree". Crayford ward:- "Number plates were stolen from a vehicle parked in Green Walk overnight between 21.00 on 25/11/2017 and 08.00 on 26/11/2017. On Friday 24/11/2017 at 22.00 close to the Doctor’s surgery in Crayford Road an 18 year old Male was robbed by a Male claiming to be homeless, his wallet was snatched, money taken and the wallet discarded. On that same evening at 22.14 a local business in Crayford Road had their window smashed and males entered. They stole items of high value and a safe. The safe was later recovered intact and one person was detained and arrested. A burglary occurred between 18/11/2017 and 23/11/2017 in Manor Road whilst the owners were on holiday, jewellery was stolen after an untidy search of the upstairs of the property. A vehicle was stolen from Mill Place without keys on 20/11/2017 between 14.00-17.19. It was later recovered by Kent Police locally. In the lead up to Christmas be aware that the town centre will be much busier with people out and about doing Christmas shopping. Remember to keep your possessions safe, put purses/wallets away and secure bags before leaving the tills and keep everything out of sight in locked vehicles, please don’t give thieves a chance". Erith ward:- "Weekly update from Erith SNT - PC Gill visited Trinity School to speak about Stop and Search. Extra patrols around the Battle Rd area. Due to concerns raised from local residents, we had a meeting with residents of Compton Place of which Erith councillors and Orbit attended. PCs Gill and Tom joined the Dog team in searching for drugs in Compton Place. Some of the crimes from the week: One attempted Burglary which was a brake in to a garage nothing was taken just be aware and make sure they are looked and secure. A few drive offs from Morrison’s – CCTV being viewed. We are still having theft of and from motor vehicles, please make sure you leave nothing on show in your vehicles". Lesnes Abbey ward:- " Burglary : On Wednesday 22/11/17 between the hours of 00:01 pm and 05 :30 am Thursday 23/11/17 a garage burglary occurred in Lesness Avenue. Motor Vehicle Crimes: Between the dates of 13/11/17 and 23/11/17 Criminal Damage to a vehicle in Lenham Road; Theft of Vehicle on Thursday 23/11/17 from Sydney Road. Following a tracker activated on the motor cycle from the above incident, police officers attended a garage in Kale Road and recovered four motorcycles. The owner of the above vehicle was notified. Good work resulting in an positive outcome. When out shopping, beware of pickpockets. Stay alert and keep your bags close to you. At home, empty boxes outside your home advertises what has been purchased for Christmas. Note frame numbers of bicycles and serial numbers of electrical goods. When going out, use an automatic timer for lights. Close your blinds or curtains at night. Take extra care and make sure you have locked windows and doors. If you are going away, ask a neighbour to keep an eye on your house".

The photo above shows PCSO Mark "Val" Pigott dressed as Father Christmas at the Slade Green Big Local Christmas party and fete last Saturday. The lady accompanying him is Chloe Philips the Slade Green Big Local coordinator. Click on the photo for a larger version. North End ward:- "We had a burglary last week in Rainbow Road, entry was gained through the front door and Christmas presents along with cash taken. Please remember to lift the handle and turn the key on your UPVC doors. 6 vehicle crimes have been reported in the ward, Criminal damage to vehicle in Appold Street and Barnett Close, 2 thefts from vehicle in Frobisher Road, 1 theft from vehicle in Slade Green Road and 1 in Reddy Road. All of these crimes took place overnight with valuables still being left in cars making them easy targets. We had an attempted burglary of a garage in Festival Close but fortunately entry wasn’t gained. We also had an attempted robbery in Manor Road in the early hours of Sunday morning, luckily the victim managed to get away unharmed but was very scared, please keep all valuables out of sight especially being aware of your surroundings when walking along using a mobile phone at any time of day or night". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Unfortunately we have had two burglaries on the ward this week. The first was in Camrose Avenue on Thursday 23rd November and took place between 6.30pm and 9.30pm. The resident returned from an evening out to find his sensor light had been ripped off and entry to the property was gained via a small bathroom window being forced open. £170 in cash was stolen. The second burglary took place in Swanton Road on Friday 24th November between 6pm and 10.30pm and again entry was forced via a rear window leading to the dining room. Unfortunately a large amount of cash and jewellery was stolen. There has been a robbery in Horsa Road on Thursday 23rd November at approximately 10.50pm where a lady was pushed from behind and had her handbag stolen. The lady was fortunately unhurt but very shaken. I have spoken to her and she has remained very positive and determined to put the incident behind her. The suspect was believed to be approximately eighteen years old wearing a grey hooded top. There have been two reports of criminal damage in Bedonwell Road over last weekend where two neighbours had their front walls kicked down in the early hours of the morning. Apparently the suspect was dressed in dark clothing and was singing! On Friday 24th November an elderly lady in Penshurst Road reported a bogus caller. The male stated her guttering needed repairing and took £150 in cash from the victim stating he needed to get some tools and would return in a few minutes. The male did not return. The male was reported as White, 30 – 40 years of age, stocky build with auburn hair and a moustache wearing a navy tee shirt. As the Christmas season is fast approaching please be vigilant of any suspicious callers and do not hesitate to call Police. If it doesn’t feel right it usually isn’t! The team will be holding future drop in surgeries which will be advertised in due course". Thamesmead East ward:- " Unfortunately we have had two burglaries during the last week. The first occurred on Saturday 25th November at around 7pm, Harrow Manor Way. The victim was at home when the suspect entered the house. No items taken, suspect disturbed. The second happened between 1700 and 2300 hours on Tuesday 28th November, Surlingham Close. The victim returned home to find their rear window smashed, and a computer/cash stolen. A black Vauxhall Astra was stolen from Alsike Road on Thursday 23rd November between 0700 and 1800 hours. Between Sunday 26th and Monday 27th November a motor bike was taken from an address in Templar Drive. An off road motor vehicle was stolen from Parkway, on Tuesday 28th November, between 0600 and 1700 hours. Good news - On Thursday 23rd November, Officers discovered a garage in Kale Road, which contained four stolen motor bikes. Owners have been updated, and the bikes were taken to Charlton car pound for possible forensic opportunities. On Tuesday 28th November, Officers stopped a vehicle in Maran Way. During the search a substantial amount of money and jewellery were found. Three males were arrested for Proceeds of Crime offences, enquiries are ongoing. We are always interested in recruiting new Neighbourhood watch co-ordinators for the ward. Please ask your family and friends if they would like to set up a Neighbourhood watch in their road. Please spread the word to any family and friends in the Borough - they can contact us on 020 8721 2049 or Thamesmead.SNT@met.police.uk  for more information".

I don't normally make a habit of repeating local information that has been published by other bloggers, but I am making an exception this week. Malcolm Knight of "Bexley is Bonkers" featured the video below recently; whilst I know many people read both blogs, there are plenty of those who do not. The video shows how Bexley Council and their contractors have completely ruined Bexleyheath Town Centre for pedestrians and vehicle users alike. Give it a watch, and please feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Undertaking.

The photo above was taken only a few minutes before this week's blog update was published; it shows volunteers from environmental clean up charity Thames21 and 108 Detachment Army Cadet Force using a couple of grappling hooks to pull a dumped shopping trolley out of the River Thames mud in front of the Erith Riverside Gardens. A clean up of this type is organised every May,  and there is always plenty of stuff to pull out of the river - idiocy never seems to go out of fashion - local scumbags chuck trolleys and stolen bikes into the river when they have grown tired of abusing them on the land. It is great to see that responsible youngsters are more than happy to help clear up the mess made by their peers - and they seemed to be having a lot of fun whilst doing it. They got a free lunch courtesy of local sponsor Morrison's (whose trolleys were being pulled out of the river). 

Despite the unseasonably cold and windy weather over last weekend, the 12th Bexley Beer Festival was the most successful yet. The festival was drunk dry by the end of the Saturday session - and this despite Bexley Brewery supplying an additional eight casks of "emergency top - up" ale. Reported attendance was up by a little over three hundred people over last year, making total numbers who visited the event in excess of 1,600 visitors - a record. eighty five different real ales and around fifteen ciders and perries were on sale. The event was organised by volunteers from Bexley CAMRA, who did an amazing job. The festival was held in The Old Dartfordians Rugby Club in Bexley Village; normally, when the weather is warmer, many visitors to the festival sit outside, watching a cricket match, but due to the wintry conditions, nearly all of the visitors were in the main club building, or in the large marquee tent where the beer was on sale. It was very crowded, and quite a tight fit, and very noisy as people were having to shout at each other to be heard over the noise. Nevertheless it was a well organised and enjoyable event - let us just hope that the weather is better next year. In an associated story, work on the forthcoming "The Kentish Belle" micropub in Avenue Road, Bexleyheath, next to the Co-Op mini supermarket, and close to Bexleyheath Station has begun. Until a couple of of weeks ago, the building housed a hardware and home goods shop; that has now closed and the builders have moved in - the whole structure is currently covered in scaffolding, and it looks like the building is being at least partially re - roofed. According to The Kentish Belle's Twitter feed, the micro pub owners are getting the keys to the retail unit on the 18th of May; it would seem that the building freeholder is using the gap in the tenancy to carry out some structural repairs before the conversion work begins on the interior of the retail unit to transform it into a micro pub. In my opinion The Kentish Belle could not be better placed - almost right next door to Bexleyheath Station and located in a relatively wealthy residential location that is also home to a number of decent restaurants. Speaking of which, the other empty retail unit in Avenue Road, directly opposite the William Camden pub that I initially incorrectly identified as the location of The Kentish Belle is now being converted from a tyre wholesaler and into an Italian restaurant that will be called The Glass House. It will have eighty covers, and has applied for a licence to have live music performed. No date has been given for opening, but when I checked on Tuesday afternoon, there was still extensive building work to be done - by the looks of it the place will not be ready to open for a couple of months yet. Nevertheless the addition of both The Kentish Belle and the Glass House will make the Avenue Road area of Bexleyheath an increasingly attractive location for an enjoyable evening out. 

Word reaches me that over the last couple of weeks, Google Maps Street View photographic cars have been re - photographing the roads in the local area; they do this periodically to keep the first person views of the roads up to date and concurrent with their latest maps. Coincidentally, did you know that Google Street View is ten years old this month? The project started as research at Stanford University, and then was transferred in early prototype form into Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page’s car. Taking photos of every part of the planet so that people could virtually travel the world from the comfort of their own homes or mobile devices is the hallmark of Google’s approach to the world around it and the evolution of technology. Starting out as a camera strapped to Page’s car, Street View technology has been added to vans, cars, tripods, backpacks, bikes and even a snowmobile. It has become the eyes of all of Google’s vision for how we view the world after launching on May 25th, 2007. From Larry Page’s car, the very early Street View team, which was comprised of a few volunteers from Google staff, threw some cameras into a van with a GPS and some lasers. The lasers were to grab data so that the team could know what the distance was between the camera and the facades of the buildings. That spacial recognition is what helps Google patch all of its images together and give it that 3D feel. The camera took a lot of pictures, the devices, hooked up to a bank of computers in the back of the van, and then this very unique dataset that is what makes Street View was amassed. Street View collects quite a bit of data. the Google Street View project team had to work out a way to scale these original vans to grab as much of it as possible so that they wouldn’t have to drive the same routes more than once. The team installed lasers onto the vans – four on each side – to get distance information, more GPS, collected wind velocity and everything in between.  How was this going to work outside of the original San Francisco test area though? There is now Street View data from more than 3,000 cities and 47 countries all over the world, so there was a lot of work ahead before this project ever saw the light of day. The GPS, laser and photographic data was collected by drivers who would fill up hard drives and ship them back to Google. The drivers wouldn’t send them in until they had five disks completely full. The disks would get shipped to a data centre, the information uploaded and then everything would get fed into its core database and go through a few processing steps. One of those processing steps was the blurring of people’s faces and car registration plates. These are seemingly obvious privacy issues that nobody thought of before the product existed, so Google had to invent the technology to do it systematically. Additionally, there are fifteen images taken for each finished shot and angle that you see on Street View today, and Google’s software takes all of these images and combines them together, adjusts the exposure for sun, shadows, colour differences and brightness. That’s the processing that goes into making “perfect” panoramic images. All the while, Google is detecting and extracting information from objects like street signs to feed back into the main Google Maps product. Google Street View launched officially in 2007 and was only available for San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Denver in the USA, and nowhere else. The cameras at that time were 5 megapixels, which is barely what most people have on mobile phones today. Now the cameras have a resolution of 75 megapixels. When you look up a street on Google Maps and click on the Street View option in future, you will have a better idea of the huge amount of work and financial investment that went into what you then are able to see and navigate around. Happy birthday Google Street View!

There has been a lot of press hype about the release of the latest film in the Alien franchise this week, with the opening of Alien: Covenant, which has been directed by original Alien director Ridley Scott. As anyone who knows me will realise, the first Alien, and its' sequel Aliens are both in my top five favourite films of all time. Ironically my worst film of all time is by the same director; the prequel to Alien - the film Prometheus, which I utterly hated. Let me explain why. Back in 2012 when Prometheus was released, I was expecting much - after all, Ridley Scott had set the bar so high with his 1979 low budget sci fi horror movie; he virtually reinvented the genre. I had heard some rather mixed reviews of the new movie, but I watched it with an open mind. To be blunt, "Prometheus" was a total mess. The story made little sense, the cast telephoned in their performances (with one exception - which I will leave for you to discover) and the characters act in a completely illogical manner. Without giving out any spoilers if you still have not seen the film (hint: - don't bother), the film is a confusing and sometimes contradictory experience. The crew of the Prometheus are at the centre of the story, in a similar manner to the original "Alien" movie. Unlike in Alien, where the crew were basically a group of working class manual labourers - space truckers, if you will, who were forced by circumstance to work together to defeat a common foe; in Prometheus they are a hand picked elite group of scientists and engineers - the best of the best. The problem is that the crew of the Prometheus act like a group of unruly teenagers - they disobey orders, smoke dope, drink copious quantities of booze, and generally act in a shambolic and irresponsible manner. None of this helps the suspension of disbelief; much of the time you are left wondering "just why did that character do that? It makes no sense". It is not like there is a reveal, making the uncharacteristic actions clear. Another thing, when the crew come out of hyper sleep, the ship has just made orbit around the alien world. You would have thought that the first thing they would do would be to survey and map the surface, and check the atmosphere - either directly, or by using robotic drones. But no, they just pile in to land, and guess what? They come up directly on the destination they wanted - the alien base facility. The coincidence is laughable - they had an entire planet to choose from, and they picked the right spot first time. All it would have taken was a crew member to say something like "The survey drones have located some kind of artificial structure - we are going down to take a look". Later, when the crew enter the structure, it becomes clear that they do indeed have semi intelligent mapping drones - why do the humans have to go inside what is clearly a dangerous structure, when the drones can do it all for them? Weak plotting. I could go on, but I don't want to give away what little plot there is even if you have not seen the movie after five years since it was released. I feel that there is a good film in there somewhere, but it needs some drastic re-editing; still, Scott is renowned for issuing cut after cut of his movies, and I gather that Alien: Covenant does go some way to recovering from the disaster that was Prometheus, but as far as I am concerned, I will wait until it is released by Netflix or Amazon Prime (of which I have membership of both) before I will watch it. Press reviews have been mixed to say the least.

Upper Belvedere featured in the London Evening Standard on Thursday this week. A driver was in the process of taking his driving test (as I have previously featured, Belvedere is the hardest driving test centre in the UK in which to pass your driving test). The young driver was driving down Nuxley Road towards the roundabout that leads to Bedonwell Road and King Harold's Way at a speed that was appropriate for the road and traffic conditions. All of a sudden the dashboard camera in the test car picked up a car illegally, and very dangerously undertaking along the pavement - as you can see in the screen capture above. You can see a full recording of the criminal offence by clicking here. The undertaking car came very close to hitting a young mother with a child in a buggy. Fortunately nobody was hurt, and the learner driver passed his test. The offending cars registration number is clearly seen in the dashcam video footage; I am certain that the driver will have now been visited by the traffic Police. 

You may recall that some time ago I wrote a piece about the life of pioneering engineering genius Richard Trevithick, who spent the final years of his life living in the Royal Victoria and Bull pub in Dartford. Since then, further details of his extraordinary life have come to my attention. In 1801 Richard Trevithick invented the first full sized steam locomotive; physically Trevithick was an imposing man – he was tall and almost superhumanly strong. Over the course of his life, he hold something like 1,700 patents for a variety of devices – including steam dredgers, various forms of steam propulsion for ocean going ships, floating iron docks, the marine screw propeller, hot air heaters, and a very early  ice making machine. Whilst Richard Trevithick was an amazing inventor and engineer, he was a very poor businessman. He did not renew his patents when they expired after thirty years, and when this happened, Stephenson and other engineers copied, and in many cases improved on Trevithick’s designs - and thus the commercial railway industry was developed. Trevithick had his income dramatically cut when the royalties from his patents ended, and he found himself extremely short of money. In 1816 Trevithick took up an invitation from the government of Peru to migrate there in order to build steam engines to pump floodwater from the country’s silver mines – silver was one of Peru’s main exports. So important was this to the Peruvian government that they paid Trevithick a salary of £100,000 a year – equivalent to roughly thirty times as much nowadays. Over the next five years Trevithick built up a second fortune of around half a million pounds, making him one of the richest people in society at that time. He was then met with a second tragedy; in 1831 a revolution started in Peru, and Trevithick backed the government side, who then lost. His money was lost to the revolution, and Trevithick was lucky to escape Peru with his life. Making his way back to England in little more than the clothes he stood up in, he ended up taking lodgings in the Royal Victoria and Bull pub. Never discouraged, Trevithick started work on a completely new form of engine. He manufactured several prototypes, but these all succumbed to mechanical failure and exploded. His new engine design was what we would call nowadays a gas turbine – a jet engine. The reason that Trevithick’s engines failed was nothing down to the design; it was actually because of the lack of high tensile strength and low weight complex alloys meant that Trevithick’s designs were bound to fail. Materials technology was not developed at anything like the level it would need to be for such an engine design to work. Shortly thereafter Richard Trevithick died and was buried in Dartford. His gas turbine engine designs were given to the public records office, where in 1927 they were put on display. Engineering student and trainee RAF pilot officer Frank Whittle saw the drawings and realised their significance. He took Trevithick’s design, modified it and used it as the basis for his revolutionary jet engine. The power source for nearly all modern aircraft in essence dates back to a series of engineering drawings made by Richard Trevithick whilst staying in the Victoria and Bull pub in Dartford, where he lived in his penniless final years. 

The News Shopper have reported that a stabbing recently took place close to the Eardley Arms in Woolwich Road, Upper Belvedere and that four men, a 20-year-old man, two 22-year old men and a 54-year-old man were subsequently arrested. The victim was a 43-year-old man suffering from stab injuries, which were not life threatening. It is not the first time that The Eardley Arms has been mentioned in the same breath as other types of criminality. A very long time Maggot Sandwich reader recently reported to me that he was watching a friend's band who were playing in the pub. He went into the gents to find a group of men engaged in selling what appeared to be drugs, and others snorting a white powder. Apparently they were so casual about it that it would appear to have been a regular activity. I make no other claims about The Eardley Arms, but it does have a very poor local reputation. 

As can be seen from the screen capture above, Scooter and moped related crime committed by young men in Greater London is very much on the increase. The photos above were taken in Belsize Park last Thursday - admittedly a very long way outside of the Maggot Sandwich coverage area, but it serves to illustrate how the serious problem is now spreading. In an article earlier this week in the London Evening Standard, a serving Police officer who wished to remain anonymous for obvious reasons was quoted as saying:- “Frontline officers are all as frustrated about this as the public are, believe me. We don’t like these kids having one over on us.” A spokesman for the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Community called for the police to be given greater powers to pursue offenders on mopeds more easily and without fear of prosecution. Mike Butler, co-founder of the pressure group We Ride London, said police were hampered by budget cuts, bureaucracy and fear of prosecution by the police watchdog if they were deemed to have used “disproportionate force” in an arrest. he also warned that young thieves consider themselves untouchable because of lenient sentences and Scotland Yard’s unwritten policy of “no helmet, no pursuit”.  In the last few days Kent Police have reported a series of very worrying incidents - Moped riders are reported to have been terrorising pedestrians with fire extinguishers in Greenhithe. Kent police received two separate reports of moped riders spraying fire extinguishers into the street over the last month. Personally I would have thought any force that was used to arrest and detain these scooter riding, thieving. violent scumbags would be proportionate. Fortunately another recent case shows that the Police can triumph against such criminals. It would appear that at least two local moped and scooter thieves have been caught in a fairly spectacular manner. In the early hours of Monday morning, a large section of Wickham Lane in Plumstead was closed to traffic and Police and other emergency services as two youths had climbed onto the roof of a house and refused to come down for over three hours. A spokesman for Scotland Yard said they were initially called to the area on Sunday night after reports four men on mopeds punched a 15-year-old girl in the face after trying to steal a mobile phone. In the early hours of Monday morning, police spotted two rider, both accompanied by pillion passengers, in Wickham Lane. The four suspects abandoned their vehicles and ran away on foot; After a search of the area, which included help from police helicopters, two men were seen on a nearby roof at about 12.30am. Almost three hours after the stand-off began, the two men, aged 17 and 20, came down from the roof and were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. From the photographs of the incident, the Fire Brigade were on hand; why they could not have blown the two criminals from the roof with high pressure water from their fire hoses, I do not know. What the whole operation cost is mind boggling, but I am pleased to see that the scumbags got caught. my only hope is that they get a suitable penal sentence. 

The historic photo above (click on the photo for a larger view) was taken in Erith High Street in July 1969, very shortly before the old high street shops were demolished to make way for the much hated brutalist concrete shopping centre. The bus in the photo was operated by the coach and transport company Margo's, whose head office was located at 45, the Broadway, Bexleyheath. The pictured bus is an ex Southdown Leyland Titan PD2/12 with Northern Counties bodywork built in 1955 and acquired by Margo's in 1969. the photo is used with the kind permission of photographer John King - you can see more of his excellent transport, nature and historical photos by clicking here. It is great to see an unusual shot of old Erith; I know that I am far from the only local resident who regrets the passing of the old town centre - though I was too young to remember it; my only terms of reference are historic photographs such as John's above. My own feeling is that if the planners had sympathetically restored the old town centre instead of demolishing it, we could now have a tourist attraction similar to Whitstable, but located on the banks of the River Thames. One only has to look at the excellent work that international management consultancy the Aleff Group have done to conserve and restore the Cross Keys to imagine what it would be like if the whole of the old town had been so sympathetically curated. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Crossrail construction at Abbey Wood station has reached an important milestone as all platforms and new tracks have now been built. Building work is expected to finish this autumn, when the new station will open to Southeastern trains. As well as that, Transport for London has confirmed a £1.1 million contribution for a scheme that will redevelop Abbey Wood for the coming of Crossrail. Work began in March on the project in areas around Abbey Wood Station and the Harrow Manorway Flyover. In a News Shopper interview earlier this week, Sam Monck, Head of Borough Projects and Programmes at TfL, said: “We’re committed to making London’s streets more attractive, accessible and people-friendly and by working closely with Bexley and Greenwich Councils we’re about to see real improvements around Abbey Wood station and the Harrow Manorway flyover. This will include better walking and cycling access to the new station, improved lighting and more seating and trees, which will transform the area in time for the Elizabeth line launching in December 2018.” From December 2018, the new Elizabeth line service is due to run through the station and halve journey times into central London. As well as finishing the two new platforms and new tracks, Network Rail have finished building the structure of a new ticket hall, with work on the internal hall underway. Work is still continuing to install overhead electrical equipment and signalling, seating, customer information screens and CCTV. The new station will also include an open concourse leading onto a forecourt to connect the station to the Harrow Manorway flyover and six lifts to provide step free access to every platform. In an online interview, Surface director at Crossrail, Matthew White, said: “Construction of the new station at Abbey Wood will complete later this year. The new station will provide an improved experience for the thousands of people who use the station every day.” The Elizabeth line will stretch 60 miles from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through tunnels under central London and across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the South East. Trains will stop at forty stations, including Canary Wharf and Stratford, and ten of which are being newly built. According to Transport for London , it is expected the line will carry over half a million passengers every day, and around 200 million every year. Below you can see a recently released time lapse video showing the latest phase of construction work on the new station. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.