Locally listed.

In a move that surprised some locals, Bexley Council have given Erith Town Hall locally listed status. Councillor Louie French signed the listing approval document, which states: - "Erith Town hall meets the criteria for inclusion on the Local List. The structure has historical and architectural significance and contribute to the townscape, for the reasons set out in this report. The inclusion of the properties on the list would make their preservation and enhancement as heritage assets a material consideration when determining relevant planning applications". Bexley maintains a Local List of buildings and structures that have been identified as positive elements within the local environment due to their local historic or architectural significance. Locally listed buildings are of local significance, as opposed to national significance. They are heritage assets that contribute to the understanding of the borough’s past and inform its present character. They add to the quality of the local environment. Buildings on the Local List are not subject to additional statutory controls, but their conservation and enhancement is an objective of national, London-wide, and local planning policy, and therefore is a material consideration when determining planning applications. Erith Town Hall opened on 2 June 1932 and is of historic importance locally in that it provided services for the locality as part of the Erith Borough Council (and formerly Erith Urban District Council). Erith Town Hall remains an attractive and prominent landmark building located within Erith Town Centre and retains the original Council Chamber. The design of the Town Hall building borrows features from the adjacent Carnegie library. ‘Italian Renaissance’ is quoted within the Erith Observer (published 10th June 1932) as the style in which the building has been constructed. The external surfaces feature red brick of attractive proportions and decorative stone features including window casements. The protruding front pediment exhibits the Coat of Arms of the Erith Urban District Council and is inscribed with the motto ‘labour overcomes all things’ (Erith Urban District Council was granted their own coat of arms by the College of Arms On 27 February 1906). There have been some unsympathetic alterations, namely the replacement of approximately 50 percent of the original metal-framed windows with that of UPVC. The metal railings to the perimeter walls (located to the front of the building) are also missing in places. The side access to the Council building (located along Bexley Road) has also been blocked-up and replaced with a UPVC window. The scale and ambition of the Erith Urban District Council was realised in the construction of the Town Hall as we know it today, which was part of a government scheme of public works to enable jobs (particularly for military veterans and the unemployed). The Town Hall was constructed almost entirely with local manpower and ninety per cent of the materials used for the construction were purchased in Erith. The building housed the Council’s administrative functions and thereby was an important point of contact for local people for a number of decades, until the formation of the London Borough of Bexley on 1st April 1965. To the present day, the building continues to operate some of the functions of the London Borough of Bexley, namely council tax and benefits, which were outsourced to Capita in 2011. The building is the only remaining purpose-built Town Hall within the borough. It is currently utilised for some of the statutory functions which are provided by Bexley Council. Personally I find it somewhat surprising that the building has been included in a local listing, as it is my understanding that one of the prime conditions for local listing is that the building in question should be substantially unchanged since it was constructed; this cannot be said of Erith Town Hall, which had an additional storey added (the raised roof level) in the early 1990's. I also am aware that the Council are looking to dispose of the building, now that its main function - as the centre for council tax and housing benefits has been merged with Bromley. Erith Town Hall is nowadays somewhat underused. It also makes me wonder that the cost of converting if for another use - for example as a hotel, might be greater than the cost of demolishing it and replacing it with an entirely new structure. As mentioned earlier, Electricity House, which is directly opposite, is of a similar vintage, and is already being targetted by Bexley Council in an attempt to buy out the leases prior to an expected compulsory purchase order being sought. What does the future hold for Erith Town Hall, now that it is covered by a local listing? Only time will tell. 

After a recent survey, more than half of Britons believe fireworks should be restricted to official and professionally managed displays only, and that the private use of fireworks should be banned. Since 2003, under 18’s have been prohibited from buying or using fireworks. The measures come under the Fireworks Act 2003, which also bars any member of the public from possessing high-powered "category four" fireworks of the kind used in professional displays. Now many activists, animal lovers and others have been campaigning for a further strengthening of the law, and as a result Police have been getting tougher with people using fireworks illegally. The clampdown is intended to tackle the problem of anti-social behaviour involving fireworks, Further hard line enforcement is due to come into force next year, including curfews on the setting off of fireworks, recognised training for display operators and the introduction of a tougher licensing system for suppliers. In a surprise move, giant supermarket brand Sainsbury's announced that they were no longer going to stock firework products as a result of negative feedback from pet owners, and also as a result of information from the Police about the use of fireworks in anti - social behaviour. I have since discovered that Canada, South Africa and Australia have limitations or bans on private firework displays, and the UK needs to seriously consider if it needs to follow suit. I was also made aware by a reader that an organised campaign to get heavy restrictions on the sale and use of fireworks is already under way. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The Association of Bexley Charities '78 - Autumn Fair 26 October 2019. An announcement from the group:- "We are holding our Autumn Fair at the United Reformed Church, Geddes Place, Bexleyheath DA6 7DJ (near the Broadway Shopping Centre) on Saturday 26th October 2019 from 9.45 am  - 1.00 pm. There will be a variety of charity stalls selling Christmas gifts and cards, CDs and DVDs, collectables, jewellery, chutneys, jams, cakes, books, children’s toys and games and model railway accessories. Refreshments will be available and the entrance fee is 50p (accompanied children FREE)".  

News reaches me that the beleaguered owners of the P2 Events Centre and the former children's nursery in the aforementioned Electricity House located at 33A Bexley Road, Erith have put both spaces up for rent. As I recently wrote, the temporary planning permission for the two areas of the building has been withdrawn by Bexley Council. Details of the former children's nursery space can be seen by clicking here. The proposed annual rent of £39,000 per year is in my opinion frankly eye watering. That is nothing in comparison to the P2 Events Centre, details of which can be seen by clicking here. The proposed rent for this shabby space is a staggering amount for what was formerly the Erith Snooker Centre - an incredible £95,000 a year - that is £7,916 a month. They will never get anything like this amount, especially as the future of the entire Electricity House is in some doubt. This is all under a background of Bexley Council negotiating with the individual leaseholders in order to buy out the leases in Electricity House prior to what I and many others believe to be a compulsory purchase order and then site redevelopment.

Erith is rightly known for its many engineering contributions to the world, and to the great inventions that have come from the small riverside town. The fire sprinkler, the sprung mousetrap and the first automatic machine gun were invented by Sir Hiram Maxim at his works in Fraser Road, and the first heavier than air flying machine - the Maxim Flyer. Maxim began his aerial experiments at Baldwyns Park, England, in the late 1880's, leading to the construction in 1893 of his enormous biplane Test-Rig, which weighed about 7,000 pounds. The machine's two steam engines each produced 180 h.p. and turned two pusher propellers each 17-1/2 feet in diameter. Since the device was intended to be a test vehicle it was held to a track, preventing it from rising more than a couple of feet. The Maxim Flyer took briefly to the air on its third test run, on July 31, 1894, with Maxim and a crew of three aboard, it lifted with such force that it broke the reinforced restraining track and careened for some 200 yards, at times reaching an altitude of 2 or 3 feet above the damaged track. It was believed that a lifting force of some 10,000 pounds had likely been generated. Maxim never took to the air again, and the flyer became a fairground ride, which to this day is still in use in Blackpool. You can read more about the Maxim Flyer by clicking here. Other local inventors of note include Edward Butler - who invented the Butler Petrol Cycle, which he tested along Manor Road in Erith in 1884 - two full years before Karl Benz built his first vehicle in Germany. Butler gave up on his invention, hence why Mercedes Benz are now credited with the invention of the car. I wrote at some length about this in the past, which you can read by clicking here. Apart from these big local engineering organisations, there have also been numerous smaller and less well - known enterprises, one of which I am featuring this week. The following information should be of particular interest to the significant number of my readers who are Radio Amateurs, but it should also be interesting to a general audience - or so I hope.  This is the story of a important, specialist electronic component supplier that for many years was based in a small industrial unit in Pier Road, Erith, opposite the spiral entrance to the old multi storey car park that used to be above the hideous brutalist concrete shopping centre. Thanks to local resident, regular reader and occasional contributor Miles, who brought this bit of local history to my attention, and who also sent me the price list scan above - click on it for a larger view. The company was called Quartslab, and it imported, manufactured and sold quartz oscillator crystals for the communications industry. A crystal oscillator is an electronic oscillator circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a vibrating crystal of piezoelectric material to create an electrical signal with a precise frequency. This frequency is often used to keep track of time, as in quartz wristwatches, to provide a stable clock signal for digital integrated circuits, and to stabilise frequencies for radio transmitters and receivers. The most common type of piezoelectric resonator used is the quartz crystal, so oscillator circuits incorporating them became known as crystal oscillators. You can read more about crystal oscillators by clicking here. Quartslab became the largest supplier of crystal oscillators for use in electronic devices. Their story started in the 1970's. Quatrslab founder Dave Court, G3SDL received a significant quantity of commercial land mobile radio equipment for conversion to the 144 MHz amateur radio band. Finding a supplier of the necessary crystals at a reasonable price proved rather difficult. This was in the pre-Internet age but nevertheless a new quartz crystal factory in Singapore with good prices and a reasonable delivery time was identified and the crystals duly arrived. During a discussion with Dave Collings, G8EOK the idea of importing crystals for commercial mobile radio equipment on popular 144 MHz channels was discussed and Quartslab's predecessor company C and C Electronics was born. This enterprise was started with £200 capital and operated from rental accommodation in South East London. C and C expanded rapidly, and moved into the supply of crystals for professional as well as hobby radio applications and imported quartz crystal from suppliers in Canada, Denmark, India and Japan as well as Singapore. In 1978 the two Dave Cs decided to form a limited company and QSL or Quartslab Marketing Limited was established. In 1979 a change of address was triggered when the two QSL directors embarked on married life. This was the period when Quartslab traded from PO Box 73, Summit House. In the early 1980s Dave Court resigned his position as Director of Quartslab Marketing Ltd, due to increasing responsibilities in his full time occupation. Thus the most successful period of Quartslab’s existence commenced with the company trading from Pier Road in Erith under the sole stewardship of Dave Collings (now G4YIB). Quartslab went from strength to strength and started to manufacture small quantities of crystals itself to meet the demand for very fast delivery times. A good friend of mine, Bob Mersh G8JNZ who unfortunately is now deceased, was very close to the two Daves, and also told me that Quartslab manufactured the transmitter crystals for a large number of London's AM and FM pirate radio stations - something that they understandably kept quiet about. The situation carried on in much the same way for two decades and into the 21st century. At Christmas 2006,  the two Daves met again; the conversation turned to crystals and the next phase of the story was decided. Dave Court (now EI3IO) had started a telecommunications consultancy, Connogue Limited as well as a number of other initiatives, following his career in radio communications and had settled in Ireland after living in Denmark during the 1990s. It was agreed that Quartslab should move to the Emerald Isle and become part of the Connogue group of companies. In 2009 some major changes took place in respect of Dave Court’s business activities, which involved a move to Bahrain. Luckily another Dave (G4AKY) agreed to take over the reins of one of the British Isles’ most successful crystal companies and QuartSLab has returned to South East England, where it started over 35 years ago. The company is still very much active, and is now based in Sevenoaks, Kent. The Quartslab industrial unit in Pier Road was located where the currently empty units at 66 - 68 Pier Road are - right next to the Energie Gym. The old industrial units were demolished during the redevelopment of Erith Riverside Shopping Centre.

Recently I wrote that I did not want to describe Erith as one large building site; I am now of the opinion that to all intents and purposes it is. The entire town is undergoing a degree of regeneration not seen in a couple of generations. Not since the old and beloved Victorian town centre was demolished to make way for the brutalist concrete monstrosity that was the 1970’s era shopping centre (of which my enduring memory as a small child was the ever present smell of stale wee). Whatever issues or subjects Erith residents of a certain age disagree with, the unifying subject is that the heart of the town was ruined when the shopping centre was constructed. Only really in the last few years have things started improving, firstly by the fundamental re- engineering of the old shopping centre to form the current Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, which is a very pleasant place to be, and light years away from the gloomy and threatening old structure. Morrison’s have added a lot to Erith; in fact the Erith store was the first the then Northern based supermarket chain opened in the south, back in 1999. I recall being served by Sir Ken Morrison on the first day of opening (though I had to be told who he was, as I was clueless). Morrison’s employ well over five hundred local people, and put a lot of money back into the local economy. I would estimate that they are second to, or equal with ADM Oils as being the largest employer in the town. A new primary school will be opening next year on the Erith Quarry residential development, and the Riverside Baths development has now been fully occupied. On top of this, the Post Office building in Erith High Street is currently up for sale and possible redevelopment. If you have any information about other developments in the local area, please feel free to drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com in complete confidence.

Now for the weekly local safety and security reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Obviously this week's updates are overshadowed by the tragic incident that occurred on Sunday afternoon at Barnehurst Avenue junction with Merewood Road. At the moment enquiries are ongoing but residents can be reassured that this was a one off incident and there is absolutely no reason for residents to be concerned. Apart from this I am pleased to report no burglaries since the last update. However there have been sporadic incidents of vehicle crime. In Normandy Way at 5:45am a male was seen running away from a vehicle which he had tried to break into. There was visible damage left on the car door. In Birling Road on Sunday 13th October at 8:20pm there was a theft of a moped. Local cctv shows two males of medium build wearing black helmets and dark clothing taking the moped off the victim, driveway. The suspects arrived at the scene on their own motor bike. Overnight of Sunday 13th October in a residential parking bay of Badlow Close there was an incident where the victim's vehicle has had its front driver's side window smashed. An untidy search of the vehicle has then occurred. It appears nothing was taken. On Saturday12th October at 11pm in Beechcroft Avenue a vehicle parked on the roadside has had its windscreen and driver's side window smashed. All four tyres have also been slashed. Local cctv shows a blue BMW 3 series pull up. Two males leave the car and approach the victim's vehicle. One male is seen walking around the vehicle slashing the tyres while the other throws a brick through the windscreen. The male that slashed the tyres then throws a brick through the side window. The victim has no idea why this has happened. The next community contact session will be coffee with cops at Barnehurst Golf Course at 11am on 23rd October". Belvedere ward:- "On Friday 11th throughout the early hours of the morning, there was a brick thrown at the front window of number 51 Ripley Road. Damage was caused to the double glazed window as the first pane of glass smashed completely. Also on Friday 11th and into Saturday 12th there was a further burglary at 38 Elmbourne Drive in which the rear patio doors were damaged (glass smashed) in order to gain entry. On Sunday 13th there was a further attempt to gain entry to the stand alone garage at 14 Lower Park Road. Once again, this proved to be an unsuccessful attempt. There was a burglary at 16 Halifield Drive this week, on Monday 14th between midnight and 3:45 pm. It appears that a hall way window had been left slightly open allowing possible entry to the property. On Thursday 10th October, PCSO Worrall and PC Holmes discovered a silver Audi A5 after we were alerted by Councillor Hinkley to its whereabouts in Lower Road. The vehicle was taken to the Police car pound for further examination. PC Holmes then recovered a second stolen vehicle from Picardy Manorway an hour later. On Wednesday 16th , PCSO Worrall was also alerted to a motorcycle that was in St. Thomas Road. Subsequent checks showed that it had been stolen a few days earlier from a nearby street. The owner was then contacted and has been reunited with his vehicle". Bexleyheath ward:- "There was an attempted shed burglary in Heathfield Avenue overnight on the Saturday the 12th of October. No entry was gained to the shed and nothing was taken. Between Sunday the 13th and Monday the 14th of October there has been a residential burglary in Parkhill Road. Rear patio doors were smashed to gain entry to the property. Cash and jewellery was stolen. Between Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th of October a white Audi, registration GK13DPZ was stolen from Dale Road. It's unknown how the vehicle was taken as the owner has the keys. Stops and searches continue across the ward, including the war memorial, car parks for possession of cannabis. The team will be working several more late shifts than usual from now into November for Operation Autumn Nights, to tackle ASB that tends to increase at this time of the year. If you are aware of any issues in your local area please do get in contact with the team". Crayford ward:- "I am really pleased to say that there have been absolutely no catalytic convertor thefts this week. In fact, motor crime has been very much reduced this week other than one theft of motor vehicle which occurred between 22.00 on 10th October and 13.00 on 11th October when a white Audi Q5 S Line, number plate GK13 DPZ was stolen off a driveway in Dale Road without keys. There was an attempted burglary at Aldi on Monday 14th October at 4.15 am. Seen on CCTV, two male suspects aged between 15-18 years and on bicycles broke through a door and realising they could not continue in to the store then left. Four worn tyres were stolen from a business in Crayford Way surrounded by a six foot fence on Monday 7th October. There have been two distraction thefts this week in Crayford, please be very aware of this sort of crime. A blue I Phone XR was stolen from a shop in Crayford High St at 10.50am on 9th October, the suspect is seen on CCTV and is described as IC2, possibly Algerian. The other theft occurred at the Post Office on 12th October at 16.30. The suspect and his accomplice kept changing their minds about how they wanted their money resulting in a loss to the Post office. The main suspect is described as IC2, about 5'4”, medium build and was wearing a hat. (colour not given on report) His accomplice was described as having a beard, greasy hair and thin. Our next community contact session will be on Wednesday 23rd October at Crayford Library between 2-3pm". Erith ward:- "For residents that attend our ward panel meeting we have had to have a change of location this month, we are having it on the same day Wednesday 30th Oct, but the location has been moved to Erith Pier Road Police Station, Feel free to email me if you would like more info. We are having a free bike marking event outside Erith Pier Road Police Station on the Saturday 2nd November between 11am and 1pm this will be FREE so pop along with your bikes. Also we are carrying out a crime survey and are looking at getting 1000 of these completed in Erith, these are for you are residents to complete, Any of my NHW members across Erith who would like to deliver and collect these to the area they cover PLEASE get in contact with me. Crimes of note from the week, Theft from MV Wednesday 09/10/2019 11:00:00 14/10/2019 Friday Road, Theft from MV Monday 14/10/2019 09:00:00 Avenue Road, Theft of MV Wednesday 16/10/2019 18:40:00 James Watt Way, Theft Wednesday 16/10/2019 19:17:00 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, in James Watt Way". Northumberland Heath ward:- "There was an attempted burglary of the garage area opposite Thorne Close around 10pm on Thursday 10/10/2019. Suspects in 2 vehicles (a white van and a grey mini) were disturbed by a passer by. No garages were broken in to. Bolt cutters were left behind by the suspects and have been taken for forensic examination. There has been an increased amount of shop lifting reported in the last week at BP on Bexley Road. CCTV images are being looked at by the team to identify who may be involved. ASB has been reported in recent days outside BNN shop in Brook Street. The team will be patrolling the location to try and prevent this becoming a bigger issue. A dangerous dog warrant was executed by the team in Beechfield Road on Saturday 12/10/2019. A dog was removed from the premises after it had recently attacked another dog. One fine was issued to a male who was found with cannabis on him during a stop and search last week".

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Six vehicle crimes have been reported in the last week. All of them took place overnight. 2 of them were thefts of number plates. The other 4 were Catalytic converter thefts. They all took place between the Monday 14th and Wednesday 16th of October. The number plates were stolen from Bilton Road and Alexandra Road. The Catalytic converters were taken from Boundary Street X2, Frobisher Road and Manor Road (these were both taken overnight between Monday 14 – Tuesday 15th). All of the catalytic converters were taken from Japanese made cars, Honda, Toyota etc. Please be aware that if you are the owner of one of these vehicles to try and park your vehicle in a well lit place or garage if possible. On Wednesday 16/10/2019 PCSO Mark attended the Slade Green Big Local Stakeholders conference where the last few years of The Local Plan were discussed as well as an update on activities in the last 6 months. Our next CCS is on Tuesday 22/10/2019 from 12 Midday at the Welcome Café in St Augustines Church. Please come along and say hello". Thamesmead East ward:- "No Burglaries this week. Haldane Road Wednesday 9/10/19 at 10;22pm a witness stated that they had seen someone pull up to the house and smash windows. On police arrival smashed windows were seen, the house appeared empty as there was no furniture to suggesting anyone lived there. Kale Road Thursday 10/10/19 between 10am - 2 pm passenger window smashed and vehicle broken into nothing taken. Yarnton Way Thursday 10/10/19 between 7:30pm – 9pm victims front number plate removed by suspect/s unknown an attempt to remove the rear plate was unsuccessful. Wolvercote Road between Thursday 10/10/19 11pm – 8am 11/10/19 side window smashed glasses and perfume taken by suspect unknown. Wolvercote Road Friday 11/10/19 at 4:30am Victim went down to his car, noticed that the car window had been smashed. In the distance a male in dark clothing was seen smashing the window of another vehicle. The victim chased the male down Wolvercote Road, towards Yartnton Way but lost sight of the suspect. Kale Road Friday 11/10/19 at 8:30pm victim could hear shouting and looking out of his flat window could see a group of males and females possibly arguing. One of the male suspects was seen by the victim to kick his car. Victim shouted out his window and the suspects ran off but not before kicking both wing mirrors off. Damage to rear nearside light also seen. Templar Drive Friday 11/10/19 between 3pm – 8:30am Sat 12/10/19 Victim has noticed the glove compartment was open and the driver door was unlocked. £25 in Euros and car key to work lorry taken. Templar Drive Friday 11/10/19 between 4pm – 1:45pm Sat 12/10/19 victim noticed that suspect/s had been in his vehicle and removed personal items as well as a brown pouch containing £50 without his permission. Yarnton Way Saturday 12/10/19 between 7pm – 7:30pm Victim reports the theft of his mobility scooter after leaving it unattended when it ran out of charge. Victim returned an hour later and it had been stolen". West Heath ward:- "We returned from rest days this week to find out we had one attempted burglary in Elmstead Crescent on Tuesday October 8th. At 11.15am the occupant was sitting in the lounge of their property when they heard the back door handle being tried. The suspect was disturbed and ran away slamming the outer door behind them. On Tuesday October 8th between 7am and 11.15am police were driving in Long Lane when they heard an alarm going off in Nicola Terrace. A side door to a property was smashed in and an untidy search of the property conducted but at this stage it is not known if anything was taken. In relation to motor vehicle crime, one theft of a BMW in Little Heath Road between Sunday October 13th 10.30pm – Monday October 14th 6.45am. Criminal damage to a vehicle in Preston Drive on Tuesday October 15th between 8.30am – 6.10pm. Last week we held our quarterly ward panel meeting which was well attended. Our promises for the next quarter remain unchanged focusing on Motor Vehicle crime, Burglary and ASB/Drugs. The next drop in police surgery will be held at the Bostall Library in King Harolds Way on Friday October 25th at 1pm".

The end video this week features highlights of local football team Erith Town FC, playing in a match with Welling Town for the Buildbase VA Vase.

The 3D turn - off.

I took the photo above in Erith Riverside Shopping Centre on Friday lunchtime. You can see some others that I took at around the same time on my Flickr site here. It is some time since I took any photos in the shopping centre, and many new shops have opened, and a couple have closed. I thought that it was high time to document the changes that have happened over the last couple of years. Whilst I was taking shots, a couple of Maggot Sandwich readers came over to say hello, which was very nice - it never ceases to amaze me as to how many people read my weekly ramblings. 

Well, just for once I can say that I told you so. Regular readers may recall that back in August 2013 I predicted the demise of 3D television - you can see my original article by clicking here. Well, only this week the BBC News technology website has been reporting that both LG and Sony have now stopped making 3D-enabled televisions. The firms follow Samsung - the world’s biggest TV maker - who confirmed the move last year. It means there are currently no major manufacturers making 3D TVs. Very few movies are now being shot in the format, and it is rumoured that the sequels to Avatar (the most financially successful film shot in 3D) will be shot in 2D and only converted to 3D in post production - mainly to save money, as it is not felt that a native 3D production would recoup its' increased production costs with the greatly reduced share of the potential audience being prepared to pay extra to see the movie in 3D in any form. Since the original Avatar was released in 2009, the numbers prepared to sit through what a significant proportion of people find to be a headache inducing, eye strain causing ordeal will be instructive to see. Personally I can get on with 3D for about twenty minutes at a time. I would most certainly not be able to sit through a full length movie without feeling distinctly unwell. I gather that the way that the 3D processing works relies on the viewer having perfect unassisted 20/20 vision – the overlapping dual images that are displayed on screen and filtered by the stroboscopic (in the case of active 3D) or polarising (in the case of the cheaper and less effective passive system) glasses are not interpreted correctly by the brains’ visual cortex if vision is anything less than perfect – this is why problems with watching 3D content are more common with people who wear prescription spectacles like myself. It would appear that consumers were buying the TV’s despite the 3D features, not because of them. My suspicions regarding this were confirmed recently when a while ago I had a detailed conversation with the senior A/V installation engineer from local electronics retailer Wellingtons and he confirmed my suspicions. He said that people buy smart TV’s mainly for applications such as BBC iPlayer and other streaming “catch up” services – the other smart functions are generally regarded as a novelty – as is 3D. This novelty soon wears off. 3D is a solution to a problem that you never knew that you had.

Many local residents commute into London to go to work; unfortunately the means of doing this for many people who live in the Northern parts of the London Borough of Bexley are somewhat limited - you either get the overland train via either the Dartford to London Via Greenwich line, or alternatively via the Bexleyheath line. Some lucky people such as myself have an alternative of getting a bus to Woolwich Arsenal and then joining the Docklands Light Railway into London - but for many this is not a practical option. This week travel was greatly disrupted by the derailment of a freight train on a section of line near to Lewisham station. The train was eighteen cars long and contained building materials - mainly sand and ballast, several tons of which got dumped onto the tracks during the accident. The derailed train also bent and broke a fairly long - around fifty metres - section of rail track which needed to be replaced. In an interview with the London Evening Standard on Wednesday, Andy Derbyshire, chief operating officer for Network Rail’s South East route, said: “We know that this incident is disrupting many peoples’ journeys and I’m sorry it will be a few days yet before services return to normal. We are doing everything we can to get the site clear and our repairs under way as quickly and safely as possible. We need to completely rebuild more than 50m of railway from the foundations up, just a few metres from one of the busiest railway lines in the south east. This is a significant job but we’ll be working round-the-clock until the work is done and trains are back up and running for passengers.” The last time a similar event happened was on the 3rd of June 2015, when a similar freight train derailed on the junction close to the Angerstein Wharf branch line, on the London bound track just past Charlton station - you can see a photo of that incident below. The 2015 incident took Network Rail engineers a week to clear and resolve; bearing in mind it is less than eighteen months since that serious incident, is one to assume that derailments are becoming a far more regular occurrence. I know that a substantial number of my regular readers are transport enthusiasts - I wonder if any of them can give me greater insight into the reasons for such derailments - does it have anything to do with the UK's rail network being almost unique in the world in allowing freight and passenger trains to share the same tracks, for example? I am concerned that whilst the last two derailments have involved freight trains and no people were injured, the next time may involve a passenger train on what is one of the busiest and most heavily used lines in the country. We may not be so lucky next time. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I recently had a most unpleasant shopping experience; last weekend I needed to work Friday night, then all day Saturday and Sunday and into the early evening - some vital IT infrastructure work that could only be performed out of hours in my "day job". This meant that I was unable to visit the shops during the daytime. I did get a chance to visit the large Morrison's supermarket in Erith with a mind to getting myself something for my dinner on Saturday evening. I spent less than ten minutes getting a few essentials and then headed to the tills in order to pay and go home after a long day working. When I got to the checkouts, I found that none of the regular ones were staffed, and only the self service tills were available. I politely asked the supervisor if any conventional tills were available, and was told "It is only self service now - the standard tills shut at 8.30". Please bear in mind that it was around 8.45pm, and the store stays open until 10pm, and there were still many shoppers with large trolleys full of goods in the store. I put down my hand basket and walked out of the store empty handed in protest. I am vehemently opposed to self service for a number of reasons; firstly it has been demonstrated that the average time to complete a supermarket self service transaction is up to three times as long as one carried out by a staffed till – and that is without allowing for system errors. Secondly, why would you have a dog and bark yourself? Quite often the checkout person adds to the whole retail experience, and can problem solve on the go. Elderly people, or customers with small children can also find self service stressful. On top of this, the supermarkets only introduce self service as they think it will reduce their staffing overheads. This has proved to be a false economy, as although the number of checkout staff is reduced, the number of supervisors and security operatives has to increase – who tend to be paid a higher rate than the checkout staff. This particular matter has caused Wilkinson’s to remove them, as they discovered that the self service tills actually cost more by the time all the overhead costs were factored in; they were also finding the incidence of thefts and under age purchasing were on the rise. Self-service counters cost about £9,000 each, including installation, and manufacturer NCR estimates that they pay for themselves in about 15 months. A third more tills can be squeezed into a store and checkout staff can be deployed elsewhere. But the devices — and their frequent complaint of “unexpected item in bagging area” — are disliked by many shoppers, who argue that retailers are asking customers to do their work for them and that it reduces interaction with staff. NCR argues that the counters cut prices. “Staff can be redeployed to the shop floor, so it can actually improve service,” A claim that has since found to be incorrect in  a very many cases. NCR believes that it is benefiting from modern social change, especially the growing convenience market. People are making more shopping trips, for fewer items — hence the spread of convenience outlets to meet demand — a phenomenon attributed by analysts to the breakdown in the nuclear family and traditional working patterns. NCR believes, moreover, that shoppers’ desire for healthy and fresh food and a growing desire to have cravings satisfied immediately have also driven the convenience boom. In my opinion, part of the whole shopping experience is the service and interaction with the staff - and as has been previously proved, the auto tills are not very secure. In fact, the whole chip and PIN security system is indeed threatened, as I have written about in the past. I refuse to do the supermarkets' work for them - and I detest these impersonal infringements on our shopping experience. Earlier last year a report was published by the Criminology Department of the University of Leicester on self service checkout tills. The report found that installing self-service checkouts raises lost revenue by 122 percent. Some of it is accidental – people forget to scan items, or get confused by instructions; other times shoppers get so frustrated with self-service kiosks that they feel justified in not paying. But the report  states that mostly people shoplift because the technology makes it so easy. Mobile phone scanning technology is just as vulnerable – the study found that at the end of a typical shopping trip, up to ten percent of items had not been scanned, leading to “shrinkage” (loss through wastage or theft) of about 3.9 percent of turnover. Unfortunately the technology makes it very difficult to prove that customers are deliberately stealing. One retailer admitted they almost never prosecute people. For that reason supermarkets are now introducing tagging systems so un-scanned items trigger alarms. Supermarkets such as Morrison’s in Erith have now expanded the number of self – service checkouts so that now half of all tills are of this type, as I found to my cost. Finding open, traditionally staffed checkouts are becoming a challenge to find. I have always wondered why you have to pay the same price for an item when it is purchased via a self – service till when compared to a traditional one – after all, you are doing work on behalf of the supermarket, and surely this should be reflected in a cheaper cost? If I wanted to operate a till, I would get a job at Morrison's. I have filed a complaint with the store management and am currently awaiting a response. More on this in the weeks that come. 

The photo above shows another “then and now” photo from local history enthusiast Martin Barnes, who has spent considerable time putting together a load of such shots from around the London Borough of Bexley. The “now” photo is actually from 2012, and it shows the Potion Bar still open, before it lost its’ licence and was forcibly shut by the authorities. The former White Hart pub is currently in a very sorry state indeed; the metal security shuttering which has covered the outside for the last couple of years has now been removed, and workers are currently stripping the interior. What is actually going on with the building seems currently to be shrouded in mystery. When any of the workers are asked what is happening to the building they claim to not know, and say that they are “just tidying it up”. This seems to be stretching a point as they have been hard at work for several weeks. I know that plans were submitted to Bexley Council to convert the upper floor into residential apartments , and for a low level block of flats to be built on what is currently the very large pub garden, which overlooks the River Thames. What I currently don’t know is if these plans got approved – and the Bexley planning website does not seem to be giving anything away. I do know that any redevelopment / refurbishment of the listed Victorian building which is located in the Erith High Street conservation zone will insist that a replica of the original acid etched glass and green glazed tile pub frontage will have to be installed. The original historic frontage was illegally demolished by the then owners of Potion Bar, who instead installed the hideous plate glass and metal “fish tank” exterior you can see in the 2012 photo above. The council took legal action against the owners of Potion, who did not turn up in court. When the court found in favour of Bexley Council, Potion was declared bankrupt – to avoid the punishing fine and requirement to enact the restoration of the historic frontage.  Now the building looks extremely shabby, unlike the nearby Cross Keys, which has been sympathetically and methodically restored inside and out at great expense by Anglo American management consultants, the Aleff Group. The whole of the Erith High Street Conservation Area looks amazing – with the exception of the shell of the White Hart / Potion Bar. I am concerned that the building may go the way of The Prince of Wales, which was closed and unused, and just before it was due to be listed by Bexley Council, it mysteriously burned down, caused by a fire which began in more than one location some years ago. The plot of land it once occupied is now the site of the Erith McDonald's Drive Through Restaurant.

Things have also gone very quiet regarding the £19.7 million pounds local regeneration grant due to be spent on Erith. It was announced last March, as you can see in the video clip here, but little has been heard since. Bearing in mind the very positive impact such a large investment will have on the town, it is a pity that this is not given greater prominence. What would you like to see the money spent on, and why? If you have any information as to what is happening regarding this large amount of regeneration cash, please let me know. Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.



The train service on the local train lines has been utterly appalling recently, especially after the early morning derailment that I mentioned earlier; I have given up on using it to travel to my company's office in Canary Wharf, and instead get the 99 bus from Erith to Woolwich Arsenal Station where I pick up the Docklands Light Railway. It may take a few minutes longer, but it is a far more reliable and less stressful method of travel in my opinion. One thing that the journey from Erith to Woolwich has done is given me a greater appreciation of the journey between local towns, and the often poor state of repair of so many key buildings on the journey. In my opinion the worst by far are some of those in Plumstead High Street, especially the former bed store at number 64, which has now been the subject of a local news story. The News Shopper have reported that Greenwich council have come under fire for neglecting Plumstead High Street and leaving old, dilapidated buildings unchallenged.The state of disrepair of 64 Plumstead High Street in particular has frustrated locals who want to know why the council haven’t acted sooner on the issue. A residents group called Plumstead and Abbey Wood Regeneration Committee (PARC), consisting of 25 members, to try get something done about the state of their high street. Johnny Beverton, a member of PARC, said: “Plumstead High Street has been neglected for some time now and one only needs to take to social media to see that locals and newcomers alike are becoming increasingly frustrated with the seeming lack of activity or dialogue from the council. The state of some of the buildings is an ongoing concern and has been for some time now, with blatant disregard by owners for the state of their properties contributing to a negative atmosphere and lack of civic pride. Plumstead has a thriving community of people who really care and PARC are looking forward to taking a proactive approach working with the council to secure ongoing progress." PARC members believe the council should be using their powers to force property owners to tidy their land up, citing the Section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act of 1990. The act gives local councils the power to force property owners to clean land when its condition adversely affects the amenity of the area.

Erith is still somewhat of a building site at present; many bus services are still on diversion due to the ongoing roadworks outside of the Fit4Less gym at the junction of Erith High Street and Pier Road, as you can see in the photo above - click on it for a larger view. Apparently the works are necessary to upgrade the gas pipes that run under the road - whatever, there has been a hole for over two weeks, with very little sign of an end in sight. If anyone has more information on the road works, I would love to hear from you - Email hugh.neal@gmail.com with your details.

Do you have an Apple Mac and a need to run a Windows only application? Well aside from dual booting, which involves buying a retail copy of Windows, there is an alternative that until very recently was only really the option for very technically minded people such as me. That is all changing with the arrival of Wine 2.0 which has been released following a year in development with support for Office 2013 among a list of 6,600 changes. Wine is an open-source compatibility layer first released in 2008 for Windows apps to run on Unix-like operating systems, such as Linux and Apple's OS X. Office 2013 is the latest in a line of Microsoft's productivity suite to work with Wine and therefore Linux. Other changes in Wine 2.0 include 64-bit support for Mac OS X. Gamers also get a boost, with more Direct3D 10 and 11 features implemented – including more resource formats – while the Wine 3D graphics card database recognises a broader number of GPUs. Wine 2.0 is free and open source - a much cheaper option that shelling out for a retail copy of Windows 10 Professional at £189.99 including VAT.

Readers may recall that in my update entitled "The Jetty" on the 8th of January, I was extremely worried about the proposed compulsory purchase of Millwall FC's football ground, and the possible precedent that it could set for local councils to similarly compulsorily purchase other leisure spaces and then sell them off to property developers in order to raise cash - bearing in mind Bexley Council's absolutely horrifying reputation for doing exactly this at the slightest opportunity. Well, it would appear that common sense has finally prevailed. It was reported on Wednesday afternoon that the plan to evict Millwall football club from its land around the Den by compulsory purchase has been abandoned after months of fierce public pressure. In a statement Lewisham council’s elected mayor, Sir Steve Bullock, said that the CPO on Millwall’s land “should not proceed”, pulling the plug on the plan that could have threatened the club’s future existence in its historical South East London home. Residents threatened with eviction by the £1bn regeneration scheme will also be celebrating as a concerted campaign to expose the plans to the light of scrutiny has finally borne fruit. In a statement Bullock wrote: “I have always been clear that Millwall must be at the heart of the development and it is my view that these concerns need to be thoroughly addressed, the CPO should not proceed and that all parties concerned should enter discussions to identify an agreed way to achieve the regeneration of this area while resolving these concerns.” Under the proposed scheme Lewisham council planned to seize Millwall’s land, evict the club’s prized community trust and sell the land on to an offshore-registered developer called Renewal. Renewal was founded by two former Lewisham council officers, one of them the previous Labour mayor. The developers are ultimately owned and administered behind the veil of secrecy in the British Virgin Islands and the Isle of Man.

Regular reader and occasional Maggot Sandwich contributor Brian Silk was in contact with me earlier this week; he had spotted something that had completely passed me by. He had discovered that part of a BBC comedy show called “Revolting” was filmed in Erith. You can watch the episode in question on BBC iPlayer here - if you fast forward to the 13 minutes and 50 seconds point, you will see the footage shot in and around Erith. To be honest I am not impressed with the piece. It begins with “In Erith always have a Nigerian phrase book to hand” – advice that is both inaccurate and offensive. Yes, Erith does have a significant proportion of residents whose predecessors came from Africa; not all are of Nigerian origin, and in any case there is no such language as “Nigerian” - I do get the point that they are trying to parody the extreme right wing views of former Erith resident and former BNP and Britain First member Paul Golding, who appears earlier in the episode, but it is very poorly done in my opinion. According to a number of reliable sources, historically something in excess of 520 languages have been spoken in Nigeria. The official language of Nigeria, English, the former colonial language, was chosen to facilitate the cultural and linguistic unity of the country. Communication in the English language is much more popular in the country's urban communities than it is in the rural areas (comprising about three quarters of the country's population).The other major languages are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Ibibio, Edo, Fulfulde, and Kanuri. Nigeria's linguistic diversity is a microcosm of Africa as a whole, encompassing three major African languages families: Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, and Niger–Congo. Nigeria also has several as-yet unclassified languages, such as Cen Tuum, which may represent a relic of an even greater diversity prior to the spread of the current language families. Calling an African language “Nigerian” is like calling the English language “European”. To be honest, the piece was pretty crass and personally I found it offensive and clumsily executed. I felt that it also painted Erith in a negative light. I wonder what made the producers pick Erith as a destination? Was it purely that racist bigot Paul Golding originates from here? The town does not exactly have a high profile, and I can think of other places that they might have selected instead. It is unfortunate that Erith does have a negative image when it comes to comedy; I can still remember the late comedienne Linda Smith, a former Erith resident who once joked “Erith is not twinned with anywhere, but it does have a mutual suicide pact with Dagenham” – a comment which has taken years to overcome since.

The ending video this week is a short piece from the excellent website The Londonist. It features a concise history of London telephone dialling codes - a lot more interesting than you might expect.

Sodcasting.

The photo above shows a somewhat unusual view of Erith; it was taken from the window of one of the apartments in the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre. The view is Eastwards, down river. You can see the roof of Morrison's Supermarket, and in the distance the blades of the Erith Wind Turbine, which is almost directly next to Bexley Brewery.  More on the shopping centre, and a forthcoming new occupant a little later.

In a shocking report which was published last week, the Child Poverty Action Group have identified The London Borough of Bexley as the borough that is most likely to appoint bailiffs to collect unpaid council tax. This is the first year Bexley has used bailiffs and charged costs for households that are unable to pay their council tax charges. In the year, Bexley has referred 3,741 low-income residents to bailiffs following an increase in minimum council tax charges - more than any other London borough. Council tax arrears have risen since the localisation of council tax support to London boroughs in 2013, and the capital has seen a 45 per cent hike in the use of bailiffs to chase down the debts from the capital’s poorest households. In Bexley, the minimum payment in 2016-17 is now 20 per cent, up from just five per cent in 2013-14. Before the changes, council tax benefit covered claimants’ council tax bills in full, but under the new scheme councils are free to set a minimum payment from claimants of between five and 30 per cent. Although a hardship fund was set up by the borough to help the most vulnerable, its budget was halved from £100,000 to £50,000 in 2015-16. The report calls on central government to reinstate council tax support as a national benefit, providing up to 100 per cent support for people not in work. The chances of this actually happening are minimal at best. in an interview with the Bexley Times, Chief Executive of Z2K (a charity addressing poverty caused by unfairness or incompetence in the legal, welfare benefits and housing systems) .Joanna Kennedy said: “Over the past year Bexley has sent bailiffs after 3,741 of its poorest unemployed, low-paid, sick and disabled residents – the most of any London borough. What’s all the more shocking is in previous years the council exempted claimants from bailiff action as they were deemed too vulnerable, why the sudden change in policy? The real reason these people can’t afford to pay is that the amount they are charged has quadrupled over the past three years from five per cent to 20 per cent. For those Bexley residents struggling to get by on insufficient incomes these charges are simply too much.” Until 2013, those on small or no incomes had some protection from paying the full tax under a national support scheme. Since then, councils in England have had to administer their own, locally devised schemes, with reduced funding from the government. The result has been mass failure to pay council tax by those who would previously have been exempt, and a surge in cases where benefits are docked to make good on arrears. Data released under the Freedom of Information Act from 133 local authorities reveals that 190,198 households currently have money deducted from their benefits in this way. Given the number of councils that did not provide figures, it is likely that around 360,000 households could be facing this form of sanction, which requires an order from a magistrate. Many of them would not have had to pay any council tax prior to the government’s reform of the system. The bottom line is that many of the local residents who have not paid council tax simply don't have the money to do so. Yes, there will always be those who plead poverty just because they don't want to pay the tax, but these are very much in the minority. It is ironic that Bexley have cracked down so hard, when they have a long standing reputation for doing very little of public benefit with the collected council tax, except pay their senior executives very well indeed.

The photo above (click on it for a larger view) shows the vacant corner unit at the entrance to Erith Riverside Shopping Centre. It is located outside of the centre gates, which are closed between 6pm and 6am daily - this was a stipulation from before the refurbished centre opened - the gates stop vandalism and crime at night. This means that any business operating out of this unit has the unique ability to stay open later than 6pm. The windows of the unity are currently obscured, and shop fitters are working to fit out the interior ready for opening. I passed by the unit recently and stopped off to ask the workers what the new shop was going to be. I was told that it is going to be a "sit in" fish and chip restaurant. Another source has told me that the place will also have an alcoholic drinks licence - although this has yet to be confirmed. This is in my opinion excellent news for the town, as whilst there are a number of fast food outlets, there is nowhere that you can go to sit down for a meal and use a knife and fork, unless you count the cafeteria in Morrison's supermarket, which for the purposes of this piece, I don't.  If the information I have been given is correct, then it is a great boost for Erith. The location of the restaurant is in a prime site, very close to bus and rail public transport; there is car parking very close by, and it is easily reached by foot. I predict that it will be a great success, and I will certainly be visiting it once it opens. If anyone has any further information about the new restaurant, then please let me know by Emailing me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

As I have previously written, I am deeply cynical in respect of the current government programme to roll out smart utility meters around the UK. The reason is that the technology each supplier employs is different in each case, and is not compatible between suppliers - if you choose to change utility supplier, you will need to change to the new suppliers smart meter system - at additional expense to yourself. The meters also communicate with their companies by the means of an unencrypted 3G mobile phone signal - something that is extremely vulnerable to hacking and exploitation. As always, it is the law of unintended consequences that comes into play.  Some 53 million smart meters are due to be installed in residences and small businesses by the end of 2020, at an estimated cost of £11bn. So far only 3.5 million have been installed. The government has said it expects the scheme will save £17bn. However, the technical delivery of the national platform behind smart meters – which is the responsibility of the Capita-run Data Communications Company (DCC) – has been subject to heavy criticism. The DCC in particular has been accused of mishandling the delivery of the communications infrastructure for smart meters’ readings linked to energy suppliers. That IT system was supposed to go live last month but has been delayed until the late autumn. Smart meters are being touted as a means of allowing consumers to switch providers and help people to reduce their energy consumption and switch their usage away from peak times. However, a report by the World Energy Council earlier this year said there are questions "about whether all locations will have the necessary wireless signal, and whether the price of the smart meters can be recouped by consumers through modified energy use.” It named a number of countries where similar schemes have failed to work. Last September the Major Projects Authority downgraded the risk of the project from amber/red to amber, suggesting some progress has been made on the DCC scheme. Time will tell.

The News Shopper have reported that an Erith based independent film maker by the name of Koby Adom of Maynards Close, who has made a public plea to Bexley Council for funding for the arts. Mr. Adom must have only been living in the area for a relatively short time, or possibly he’s never had any prior dealing with Bexley Council until recently. Either way, he’s found out the hard way that Bexley Council collect money, not spend it. Koby Adom has made a short film, which he shot on location in Accra, Ghana on a tiny budget of around £15,000. The film is about the life of a household servant in Ghana. In an interview with the News Shopper, Mr. Adom said:- “We had a lot of challenges making the film. We had challenges when we landed. We had challenges on day one, day two, day, three, we had challenges on all the days and all the way through. I was passionate about the film but it was so stressful. Bexley needs to do more,” he said, “I emailed Bexley and didn’t get any response, they weren’t interested. You get to a film office and they charge you for it. There are really talented people in this borough but the council needs to do more for the young people, it’s the next generation and it doesn’t make sense. I do not feel there is anything in Bexley where there is the support. I’m not going to be shouting about where I’m from - it’s really bad. Even if it wasn’t money it could have been something else. My advice for young people, you have to make things happen for yourself. It’s not good to rely on anyone, you have to keep going.” To be honest, I am surprised that he was surprised at the lack of response from Bexley Council. The chances of them coming up with any funding for what they would classify as “frivolous” enterprise were always next to non – existent. Indeed, the response published by the News Shopper from Bexley Council only goes to bear this out. A spokesperson from the council was quoted as saying “Bexley residents expect to see their council tax spent on providing council services, from caring for vulnerable children and adults, to collecting waste and keeping roads in a good condition”. In other words “sod off – you are a waste of time”. Initially many reader may think “well the council has to make priorities, and financing a film is pretty low down the list”. On the other hand, some London boroughs make considerable sums of money from film location hire, licencing and consultancy. It does not seem that Bexley takes a holistic view of this. It does occur to me that perhaps Koby Adom could have approached Accra Municipal Assembly for funding, especially as his film was shot in location in that city. 

You may recall that last week I did a photo feature on the second birthday party for Bexley Brewery. The food provider for the event was local BBQ specialist Steve's Kitchen. I have been in contact with Steve since the event; here he describes how the barbecue business started:- "Over the last two years I've been cooking up a storm in the garden at the Belvedere Hotel on Picardy Road. I use charcoal and chunks of real wood, to slowly roast and smoke good quality cuts of meat and local veg for the pub’s customers. I guess you could call what I do, at "pop-up" restaurant. I'm not too sure how I feel about that, because it feels a little too much like Shoreditch to me! But Steve's Kitchen does fit the mould :) (especially with my beard and glasses!) It all started because I love to BBQ, and wanted to share the taste of good food cooked with fire.  So after many years of compliments on my fire skills I popped into my local pub and asked them if I could put on a grill.  I was really lucky that Shaun and Jackie at the Belvedere let me use their kitchen and garden.  They were a little weary at first – because it’s not everyday someone asks you to cook in their pub, but once I brought down some ribs to try – they were sold! And the first BBQ went really well.  Me and my red and green BBQs sold out before the evening was finished.   Over the last 18 months I've built a bit of a local fan base, with a bunch of regulars who come to the pub just to eat my food.  And that is really neat.  As well as the usual compliments on my food, I also get people telling they're just chuffed that there is something like this happening in their neighbourhood.  Something local, run by local people and that is different.  I’m a big fan of local food and try really hard to buy British meat and vegetables from Kent.  The pork ribs are free range and specially cut so they are thick and meaty.  I cook them slow and low for about 5 hours and then give them a bit fire at the end to give that great BBQ flavour. And then there is my speciality – bacon sushi.  As you probably saw down at the Brewery - it’s not raw bacon! And it doesn’t have fish in it either! It’s cooked and tastes a lot like a smoky bacon cheese burger.  I wrap cheese in minced beef and then wrap that in bacon – it’s delicious.  Most of the afternoons I've been BBQing have also coincided with one of the many local bands that play at the Belvedere.  The combination of music and BBQ are a winner with the local punters. The next BBQ, and the last one of the year, is at the Belvedere on 24 September.  At the last event at the Belvedere we sold out - and we did the same at the Bexley Brewery party on Saturday.  So if you do want to come along, be there early to make sure you get something to eat!" You can read more about Steve's Kitchen on his website here.

There has been much press coverage of the release of the Apple iPhone 7 in the press over the last few days. For some reason Apple products seem to get a lot more press attention than that given to manufacturers of rival products. I for one am not about to state an opinion on the new iPhone – as many readers will know, I don’t own a mobile phone, and personally I cannot stand them. I appreciate that they are a cornerstone of life for many people, even if I cannot really understand why. My only real comment on the new device is to note that whilst most commentators have made much of the removal of the traditional 3.5 mm phono socket, and the adoption of wireless Bluetooth ear bug headphones, this is not the feature that has most concerned me. One new facility incorporated in the new iPhone 7 are stereo speakers, which are reported to be twice as loud as an iPhone 6S. For me this is terrible news. Personally I think playing music on mobile phones in public should be a criminal offence. It is nearly always someone who looks like they would stab you if you complained to them. Why people do this rather than using headphones / ear buds is completely beyond me. The issue has even been discussed in the House of Lords. In 2006, The Piped Music and Showing of Television Programmes Bill was presented to Parliament, calling for "the wearing of headphones by persons listening to music in the public areas of hospitals and on public transport" to be made compulsory, although it never made it into law. The phenomenon has even been given a name – it is called “Sodcasting”. "Sodcast [noun]: Music, on a crowded bus, coming from the speaker on a mobile phone. Sodcasters are terrified of not being noticed, so they spray their audio wee around the place like tomcats." To say there is a backlash against "sodcasting", that it is felt to be antisocial, is a massive understatement. The fact that the music played is usually hip-hop or other forms of urban music, often seen as threatening by those who don't listen to that music,  exacerbates the sense, felt by many, that the very practice of sodcasting carries an implicit threat: "You don't want to mess with me." Indeed, in 2006 a couple of thirtysomethings from London launched a Music Free Buses campaign and a petition asking TfL (Transport for London) to ban the practice. "People think they can sit on a bus and blast music out, and when you ask them to turn it down you get abuse, especially from teenagers," they told their local newspaper. Around 4,500 people signed the petition, and in a poll carried out by the campaigners, 84 percent said under-18s caught playing music out loud should have their free travel revoked. Only 2 percent of respondents said they found the playing of music in public acceptable; the same proportion of those polled who were 18 or under. The message was clear: youngsters are the ones sodcasting, and adults despise it. TfL declined to ban it, though. Apple, by fitting stereo speakers to the iPhone 7 are playing into the hands of sodcasters everywhere. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Local resident and Maggot Sandwich reader Derek took several photographs recently of the illegal fly tipping that is happening at the Council recycling facility in the car park at the rear of Morrison's supermarket in James Watt Way - you can see one of his shots above. After a period of relative good use, the criminal fly tippers have returned in force. The authorities have been made aware of the increased illegal activity on the site. The facility is designed purely for the proper collection of glass, plastic, cardboard and metal cans and tins, along with the donation of old shoes and clothing for charity. The problem is that some dodgy builders and other trades people use the site for the dumping of building waste, old worn out mattresses, empty tins of paint and varnish, and even dirty babies nappies! I was hoping after the successful prosecutions that took place in 2014 and 2015, the crooks might have got the message. Local Neighbourhood Watch group Erith Watch were instrumental in providing evidence that led to two sets of prosecutions - Mr Stefan Boros, 38, of Gregory Crescent, Eltham and Mrs Rodica Ghiurca, 29, of Elm Grove, Erith, both pleaded guilty to charges that they fly-tipped on the ground by the recycling banks at Morrisons car park, James Watt Way, Erith. There were two separate incidents. The first was on 29 March 2014, where a fridge, two large bags of rubbish and a bag of refuse was fly tipped. The second incident was on 31 March 2014, when a large fridge freezer and a small fridge containing refuse was fly-tipped. Boros also pleaded guilty to two further charges of failing to produce a waste carrier's licence authorising him to transport refuse and of scrap metal dealing without a scrap metal dealer's licence on the above dates. In mitigation the defence said that there had been a lack of forethought and that the offences were negligent rather than pre-planned. They apologised for all the offences committed. Both defendants were given fines of £350 for each of the two fly-tipping charges and each must pay a £101.33 compensation order, £500 costs and a £35 victim surcharge. In addition, Boros was fined £100 for each of the remaining two charges concerning failure to produce a waste carrier's licence and scrap metal dealing without a scrap metal dealer's licence.

The most successful prosecution for fly tipping at the Morrison's recycling facility was back in January of 2015 when a repeat criminal called Anton Munteau was found guilty by Bexley Magistrates in respect of two offences of failing to have a Waste Carriers Licence and one of Collecting Scrap Metal without being licensed. He had dumped pallets containing two tonnes of rotten bananas at the Morrison's facility, which you can see in the photo above - click on the photo for a larger view.  He was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment (6 months) on all the fly tipping offences to run concurrently. No separate penalty was awarded for the Waste Carriers Licence offences or the offence under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013. He was ordered to pay £1000 in clear up costs which was broken down to £800 to the London Borough of Bexley and £200 to Dartford Borough Council. He was also in Breach of a previous 12 week suspended prison sentence, The court decided to activate 6 weeks of that sentence and he was given a further 6 Weeks imprisonment to run consecutive to the 26 weeks making a total of 32 weeks - a full eight months inside with no remission due to his having already broken a suspended sentence. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the vehicle concerned in all of the offences, which was a white Mercedes panel van worth around £4,500. I am hopeful that more of the local fly tippers get caught and prosecuted in the same way as in the two cases outlined above. As many of you are aware, I am the Erith Watch leader, and webmaster of the Erith Watch website and Email distribution list. You can see our website here. The unfortunate news is that the current website will be going offline at the beginning of October. The company that both provides the website platform, and acts as the web host is ending support for small, not for profit organisations, and as such is pulling the plug on thousands of community websites that it has hosted for the last few years. If I was to keep with the current platform on the new structure, the cost would rise from approximately £12.50 a year, to nearly £50 a MONTH. The additional features the new structure offers are negligible, and I just cannot justify the huge increase in cost for what is a small, local volunteer run organisation. I am currently looking at alternative hosting options using different (and actually quite a lot more modern) technology. More in the coming weeks on this subject.

The ending video this week takes a look behind the scenes at the old Eurostar rail terminal at Waterloo, and explains how it is being re - engineered for a new purpose. It certainly looks promising to me. Don't forget, you can leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The Angerstein Wharf branch line.

I took the photo above a couple of months ago; it shows the ongoing work to construct an affordable rented apartment block in James Watt Way, between Morrison's supermarket, and the KFC Drive Through in Manor Road. I regularly pass the site, but it is unusual to see any building work going on , as when I pass it is either before the start of the construction day, or after the builders would have packed up and gone home. Word reaches me from a couple of sources that there has been no activity on site for several weeks. At this point I don't have any idea why no further work is being undertaken. Local Councillor Abena Oppong - Asare is on the case and investigating. Hopefully by next week the situation will have become clear. More news as it happens.

The Erith Riverside Shopping Centre still has empty and un-let retail units available. Bearing in mind how long it has now been open, this is something of concern. I understand that the original aim was to have small local shops in the centre, alongside the larger national chains. With the exception of the wildly successful Mambocino (which is technically part of a small chain, but seems to operate to a very different business model to other branches, it being far more concerned with serving “sit down meals” than just serving coffee). Pretty much all of the other shops in the centre are branches of large chains. I predict that this may well change as the profile and demographic of Erith changes with the influx of new residents over the next few years; not only will phase two of Erith Park come on stream, but the Erith Quarry development, the housing being built on the old Bexley College site in Tower Road, and the affordable housing apartments in James Watt Way as previously mentioned, and the proposed development on the old Erith Riverside Swimming Baths site will all attract new local residents. More people will by default mean more shops of a greater diversity to supply their needs. If what I have been told is true, and Erith’s demographic does begin to become more prosperous, then the kind of shops will reflect that increase in disposable income. The arrival of Crossrail to Abbey Wood in 2018, and the opening of the Paramount theme park in Swanscombe at Easter 2020 will also do much to raise the popularity of the whole region – things are now looking cautiously optimistic.

Longer term readers may recall that back in last February I wrote a piece about Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) – a process that used to be known as Cold Fusion. Back in 1989 Martin Fleischmann (then one of the world's leading electrochemists) and Stanley Pons reported that their experimental cold fusion apparatus had produced anomalous heat ("excess heat"), of a magnitude they asserted would defy explanation except in terms of nuclear processes. They further reported measuring small amounts of nuclear reaction by products, including neutrons and tritium. The small table top experiment involved electrolysis of heavy water on the surface of a metallic palladium electrode. The reported results received world - wide media attention, and raised hopes of a cheap and abundant source of energy. Many scientists tried to replicate the experiment with the few details available. Hopes fell with the large number of negative replications, the withdrawal of many positive replications, the discovery of flaws and sources of experimental error in the original experiment, and finally the discovery that Fleischmann and Pons had not actually detected nuclear reaction by products.  By late 1989, most scientists considered cold fusion claims dead, and the popular press rained derision on the two scientists. At this point pretty much all third party experimentation and external funding ceased, and the whole thing was deemed to be little more than a hopeless quest for a perpetual motion machine.  A few independent scientists and engineers did continue with research and for many years this was considered to be a “garden shed” business, with little hope of anything concrete resulting from it. The tinkerers continued their experiments, away from press attention, and the general public forgot all about the subject. Nowadays there is renewed interest in what has been re – branded as Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (the proponents are aware that the term “cold fusion” may not only be technically inaccurate, but that the term is now poisoned). LENR is a phenomenon where unexplained amounts of heat are created in specific conditions when certain metals (for example, nickel and palladium) interact with hydrogen or deuterium, and an external stimulus such as heat or an electric current is applied. During these reactions it has also been observed that the atomic mass is altered as energy is released. These reactions can take place at relatively low temperatures, and in many cases far more energy is produced in LENR reactions than is input into reactors. At the moment the most promising forms of LENR are those that are able to operate using nickel and hydrogen — both plentiful and inexpensive natural resources. In LENR reactions no pollutants or emissions are produced, neither are harmful radiation or radioactive waste. This makes LENR a clean and sustainable form of energy. We are in the very early days of research and development in this field, and much about this phenomenon is poorly understood. There are competing theories proposed that try to describe the exact mechanism by which this anomalous heat is generated, but none has as yet been accepted as authoritative. There are many researchers and companies studying LENR at the moment, many of whom are competing to patent a viable commercial power plant based on this little understood phenomenon. Understandably many in the established scientific community are intensely sceptical about LENR, and view it as being a gigantic scam. Personally I think it is certainly not a con – too many respectable scientists and engineers have been able to successfully replicate the reaction under controlled laboratory conditions. Indeed, only last month Professor Alexander Parkhomov of Lomonosov Moscow State University has published a paper describing his successful replication of the experiments, and was able to generate an output of 2.78 times the energy input. In a recent visit to Italy, billionaire Bill Gates said that for several years he has been a believer in the idea of LENR, and is a sponsor of companies developing the technology. Gates is not only the Chairman of TerraPower, a company developing a “new class of nuclear reactors using innovative core physics.” He is also a member of the American Energy Innovation Council and supporter of new technologies through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which he founded in 2000. Other mega corporations such as Mitsubishi, Sony and Hitachi are investing heavily in LENR research, but they are keeping very quiet indeed about it. This is not surprising, if the technology does indeed work as described, and can be up – scaled to commercially viable levels, it could be a breakthrough in clean, cheap and renewable energy production. Potentially there are fortunes to be made and lost. It will be interesting to watch this story develop. You heard it here first.

The future of Britain’s small, independent cider makers is under threat;  Last week the European Commission demanded that the British government do away with a duty exemption worth £2,500 to small-scale producers of Cider and Perry. Under the exemption, introduced in 1976, cider-makers who produce fewer than 70 hectolitres a year – about 12,000 pints – do not have to pay duty. The National Association of Cider Makers calculates that this accounts for about 80% of the UK’s 480 cider-makers. Some small cider producers believe the intervention by the EU came about because of sour grapes from their counterparts in the wine trade who are not exempt from the duty. Others have blamed “big cider”, the industrial-scale makers who account for the bulk of the 130 million gallons of cider produced in the UK each year. Either way, the UK Government needs to make a stand soon, or risk many of the small, craft producers closing their businesses. There is a far greater variety of ciders produced by smaller makers than by the industrial giants. With the loss of smaller producers, the range of choice and diversity of cider would be sadly diminished, with the market even more dominated by corporate brands; this cannot be good for consumer choice. Talking of consumer choice, earlier this week I was sent the following press release:- "There's gold in Eltham!  Gold from two of Eltham's gardens.  To be precise Eltham Gold, strong cider!  Now, you may have thought that cider making was the province of Somerset and Cornwall, and that the last place you would expect it to be made is in Eltham in S. E. London, but it is and it has been recognised by aficionados. The person behind Eltham Gold is Eltham resident Mike Allen, who lives very near to where the old farmhouse was when it was a farm. It is made primarily from apples from two Eltham gardens. It is thought that some of the apple trees used for the cider were part of the original orchard and so Eltham Gold truly is a produce with a firm local connection. Eltham Gold has had recognition, including being cider of the festival at both South East London and Bromley Beer festivals last year.  But unfortunately it is only made in small quantities and so truly is cider gold.  On the other hand it is 7.8% strong and so a little goes a long way. Should you wish to sample this delight, the good news is that it will feature at this year's Bexley Beer Festival along with a staggering range of real ales. This year's Bexley Beer Fest, 23rd – 25th April, is itself a milestone celebration being the 10th such Festival, and which in turn marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of the Bexley Branch of CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) which was founded in 1975. The Bexley Beer Festival regularly sees visitors from outside Bexley, and even from beyond London.  Eltham folk will be most welcome, and if they come to sample some of their community's cider then so much the better: what better way to celebrate local heritage than imbibing it. The beer fest will be held at the Old Dartfordians Sports Club, War Memorial Club House, Bourne Road, Bexley, DA5 1LW.  This is not far from Bexley rail station and is on the 132, 229, 492 and B12 bus routes. See http://www.camrabexleybranch.org.uk. All welcome. Cheers".

There has been so much media hype over the new range of Apple smart watches this week; anyone would think that the whole smartwatch concept was brand new, when in fact they have been available for Android devices for over a year – albeit in a slightly different form factor. I have a theory as to why the launch of any new product by Apple gets the press in a feeding frenzy. Journalists have always used Apple Macs since the brand was first launched – mainly because back in the day, desktop publishing and page layout software tended to be written primarily for the Mac, rather than the PC in the pre – Windows 3.1 era. The Mac habit stuck, and even today you will be hard pressed to see a PC in the offices of any media organisation. I can cite an example – a few weeks ago I visited the large advertising agency Grey London in Hatton Garden as part of my “day job”. The place was pretty much as you would expect – a converted warehouse with bare brick walls and a floor covered by zinc plates (it looked very stylish and trendy, but was very noisy and echoey). The place was staffed by bearded hipsters, and pretty much every advertising cliché was present – including every member of staff was equipped with a Mac. This is par for the course, and thus when journalists see a new device by Apple, they go mad over it, assuming that everyone is like them. The fact remains that the Apple Watch is going to sell well, especially after the free publicity so many magazines and online commentators have given the range of devices. There has also been a lot of online comment and opinion about the wide price range the Apple Watch covers. In the UK the entry level models will undoubtedly prove popular with many; the £299 to £349 models will be the main sellers. I don’t think that the stainless steel “mid-range” models at £479 to £949 will fare as well, and the ones that have really grabbed the headlines – the top end 18 carat gold models which start at £13,500 will be something that Premiership footballers and others with more money than taste will opt for. Bearing in mind that all models will incorporate the same internal hardware, and all models are being built on the same automated production line, there seems  to me to be very little to differentiate the model ranges, except the materials being employed. In the world of premium mechanical watches, the value added is not so much of the exotic and expensive materials of which they are made, but of the hours of hand – built craftsmanship which goes into their production. On top of this, whereas a premium mechanical watch will, with regular servicing and maintenance last for several generations, a smart watch will be out of date almost as soon as it is purchased. Additional to their famously short period between charges, the battery will have a finite life (usually around five hundred charge and discharge cycles). No information has yet been forthcoming concerning battery replacement on the Apple Watch, but I advise against buying one for now. You can be utterly sure that a new, thinner and more powerful model will be out within a year – a fact borne out by the history of the iPad and the MacBook Air. I am still of the opinion that the whole smart watch thing is a solution looking for a problem, but obviously as I always say – “if it works for you”. Personally I will stick with my vintage 1969 Longines and 1976 Omega mechanical dress watches – no charging required every eighteen hours – just a quick wind up every couple of days. They keep good time, look great, and will never be replaced with a better model. The choice as ever is yours.

Earlier this week I had an Email from regular Maggot Sandwich reader and local resident Tony Fairbairn. He's not keen on the concept of a road crossing that has been proposed to connect Rainham in Essex with Lower Belvedere. I am always keen to reflect all sides of local arguments, and so I asked Tony if he would like to be the guest contributor this week. Tony has written the following piece, which certainly makes food for thought:- "As Blog readers you will know that TFL supported by Bexley Council are proposing to construct two road bridges across the river at Thamesmead and Belvedere. These are not going to be Tower Bridge lookalikes, but built on a massive scale as per the Dartford Bridge, each with a potential carrying capacity of up to 3000 vehicles per hour i.e. c60k vehicle movements per day. A few other facts: 90 percent of the Dartford and Blackwell Tunnel traffic continues south on reaching Kent. The A13 in Essex has five times the volume of traffic than the A2016. Bexley Council are proposing to build 15,000 new homes within one mile of the bridges; this is equivalent to 22,500 additional cars each needing two parking spaces one at home and one somewhere else, probably in North Bexley. Surprisingly the AA recommended route south from the Belvedere Bridge and the majority of new houses towards the A2 (Black Prince and Blackfen) is via Erith and the Bexley Road. History tells us from the construction of Tower Bridge in 1880, through to Rotherhithe, Blackwell, and the crossings at Dartford that the traffic congestion problem has not been solved, and there is no real evidence to prove that two new road bridges will do the same. The log jam will simply move elsewhere, and now it is our turn. From 8000 survey responses with a population base of 1.5m (0.05 percent) TFL claim that the crossings are necessary to enhance jobs growth, attract new businesses to the area and to construct new houses. Extracts from the TFL and other reports; 83 percent of businesses say they have no recruiting problems, the remaining 17 percent cite poor quality of applicants. around 75 percent of employees either lives locally or commutes by public transport. Jobs growth in the Thames Gateway Boroughs is almost twice the national average, and 54 percent higher than West London which has 15 River crossings. ASDA, Lidl, Tesco, Iron Mountain among other major distributors operate successfully and now Ocado are bringing 1200 new jobs to Erith despite the lack of river crossings. Large scale housing is moving ahead at Abbey Wood, Belvedere Park, Tower Road, Erith Quarry and the Larner Estate etc. There is continuing demand for these new properties without the promise of river crossings. Reading from a Quote by a leading estate agent in the Bexley Times 25 Jan 2015. “Bexley enjoys high levels of demand for houses. It offers good transport links into the city centre.” Road crossings may be wanted by some, but there is no proven need. It is true that the journey time between Belvedere and Dagenham can be improved, but that implies one needs to make such a journey between those two particular points in the first place. A further argument is that the crossings will be for local users only, this is nonsense because once a bridge is installed traffic ceases to be local in nature. It is noted that from the Bexley and TFL questionnaires options were not offered for cycle or train crossings and TFL have dismissed the ferry options including Woolwich. Now new pressure groups are promoting viable alternatives in train and cycle crossings:  TFL are looking at an extension of The Overground to Barkingside; from there it is only a short distance to Thamesmead and a link to Crossrail and the North Kent Line at Abbey Wood. The Fenchurch Street to Southend Line comes closest to the North Kent Line between Belvedere and Erith; there is no reason why the two could not be linked. This opens up the possibility of connections to Southend Airport, Lakeside and the Channel Tunnel line as well as supplementary routes towards East and Central London. Either or both of the above offer links to the Outer Orbital Railway proposed by Boris Johnson with extensions via the Loop lines to Bexleyheath and Sidcup, therefore embracing much of Bexley’s Strategy For Growth. This effective and environmentally friendly alternative is surely more attractive than the road crossings offered by TFL. Wake up Erith, Belvedere, Bexley Road and Northumberland Heath; under the present plans massive traffic jams and environmental problems are coming your way. If you need further detail please contact me by Email at: tonyfairbairn@btinternet.com" - Thanks Tony; if you agree with him, or have an alternative viewpoint, you can either leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. I am keen to reflect and expand on topics of local importance.

Some rather surprising news this week; almost exactly twenty years to the day when it was discontinued, Burger King are bringing back the Mushroom Swiss burger. This beef burger, topped with mushrooms and melted cheese is the sandwich that is most often requested by customers though not available. Many other Burger King franchises outside of the UK returned the burger to their menu some years ago - once again the UK lags behind countries in Europe. I am not a fast food eater; the last time I had a burger must have been at least a couple of years ago - maybe even longer. I live around five minutes walk from the Erith McDonald's drive through, but I have been there precisely three times in eighteen or so years. Even so, I do have a soft spot for the Mushroom Swiss burger, though I don't think it will be very likely I will be availing myself of one nowadays. I know that there are many out there who will be delighted by the news the long gone specialist sandwich is due back.

The council seem to have attracted the ire of News Shopper readers this week; at a recent council meeting the Conservative councillors voted to reject a bid to reduce their remuneration package by thirty percent, and also voted to impose a £33 per year charge for the collection and disposal of garden waste. I will leave the arguments about the excessive pay of certain senior council members to Malcolm Knight of Bexley is Bonkers (he does a far better job than I on such subjects) and will concentrate instead on the issue of the charge for garden waste. Anyone who lives or works in the London Borough of Bexley, or who has spent any length of time reading this blog will be fully aware of the endemic problem the area has with fly – tipping. Any money saved by charging for garden waste collection will be more than offset by the increase in fly tipping, and the need to clear up afterwards. I have been told by someone directly involved with monitoring and controlling environmental crime, that it costs Bexley Council something like £300 to clear up a van load of dumped waste for proper disposal. One thing also strikes me – garden waste is a valuable commodity. It can be sold on to companies that produce compost for further garden use. If the council were more business – savvy they would be able to engineer a cost – neutral solution to waste disposal, but once again the councillors involved choose the easy option that not only penalises people who need to get rid of garden waste. No doubt much will end up dumped by residents who don’t want to pay the charge, or by rogue waste disposal companies that offer to dispose of the waste on the sly for a consideration. Once more I suspect that the cheap option will actually end up being the most expensive in the long run. What do you think? Leave a message below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The end video this week is a bit of a curiosity; I was notified of it by fellow blogger Darryl of the 853 Blog, which covers the Charlton and Greenwich area. If you, like me, commute on the North Kent line on the trains that run from Dartford to Cannon Street via Greenwich line, you may have noticed that when heading in the London - bound direction, just after your train passes Charlton, the line divides just before it passes over the Blackwall Tunnel approach road bridge. One of the lines appears never to get used. This little known rail line is called the Angerstein Wharf branch line. It was built and opened by Russian born Charlton landowner John Angerstein in 1852 in order to get rail access to the to Angerstein Wharf on the River Thames; it also ran deep into the old East Greenwich gas works. Nowadays it is purely used for freight. Many of the ballast and gravel trains one sees passing along the North Kent line divert onto the Angerstein Wharf branch line. In a very special event on the 8th of November last year, a passenger train service ran on the line. It was a first class service in all carriages, with hot food being served, including a full English breakfast and a hearty dinner served with plenty of wine and beer. The passengers were pretty much all transport enthusiasts. You can see a video of part of the journey below. You certainly get a very different perspective on what you may well have thought you were familiar with. Fascinating stuff indeed.