The Bookstore Cafe.

Early last week the News Shopper reported on a story that I predicted back in June 2017. The Europa Industrial Estate in Fraser Road, Erith, which has been struggling with many unoccupied industrial units for a considerable time, has applied for a change of use for part of the estate. A developer is trying again to get permission for an unusual development at the site – converting the warehouse / workshop units in Europa House into a new use facility made up of six workshops on the ground floor and 31 “live-work” units above. The live in units are designed for people to live in the same place that they work. Permission has already been sought, and granted for a similar development in the adjacent Fraser House – with developer Primeregal using that decision as backing for its own 31-bed plan. In a statement, published in the News Shopper last Monday the developer said of its scheme: “It makes the most efficient use of Bexley’s land, ensuring a balance between the needs of business and industry and other land uses that are integral to building sustainable communities, including housing. These revised proposals are commended to the council in an endeavour to overcome the council’s objection to the previous planning application and thus avoid the necessity of the programmed planning inquiry.” Several of the industrial units are already being used for creative purposes; internationally renown artist Gary Drostle has his main ceramics and mosaic design studio in the building, though I don't think he lives there. I predicted - pretty accurately, all things considered, that something of this nature would happen from some rumours that I heard in the summer of 2017; back then I wrote:- "The rumour (and it is only that at this stage) is that the owners of The Europa Industrial Estate in Fraser Road are having problems finding suitable tenants for much of the extensive site; the former Europa Gym is now converted into a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO), but many of the other industrial units lay empty. Consultation with an industrial estate agent suggests that around twenty units on the Europa Estate have been empty for some considerable time, with little interest from local businesses in occupying them. My information is that the owners of the Europa Estate are currently considering relocating the few businesses in the Eastern, Erith end of the estate into the Western end, nearer to the BATT Cables site; they would then sell the Eastern side of the estate to a property developer. I can see the thinking in this; the Erith Quarry site, only a couple of hundred metres further along Fraser Road is seeing exceedingly good business, with many units already sold "off plan". The owners of the Europa Estate may well wish to copy this - after all, if they can get the necessary planning permissions from Bexley Council (surely a formality with the track record of this local administration) then the land would be worth a king's ransom, situated as it is adjacent to Erith Station, Erith town centre and road links to the M25, the South Circular and the A2. I stress that what I have heard are merely rumours". It would now appear that the rumours were substantially correct. The Europa Industrial Estate has had its share of controversy over the years, including an audacious, illegal nightclub which was opened in one of the larger factory units. Back in November 2008 GC’s Nightclub opened in an old and abandoned industrial unit in The Europa Industrial Estate. The club had no fire certificate, insurance, drinks licence, or indeed any form of legal standing. The shady people behind it hid behind an obscure law which states that unlicensed premises can be used to hold entertainment events up to twelve times per year. The law was intended to allow youth clubs and scout / guide troops to hold cabarets and pantomimes in their village halls without needing to get council approval. Back in 2008, on the day the illegal nightclub opened I wrote of it:- "It is located on Fraser Road, in part of what is left of the run down Europa Industrial Estate. Not what I would consider the prime location for a venue, but no doubt the property was cheap. Reports suggest that building work was still going on an hour before the opening time. Apparently the club was playing "Happy Hardcore" when my spy walked past in the early hours of the morning. I think that is the kind of dance music that goes "whumpf whumpf" - not that I could really care much either way; I have serious doubts that the place will ever serve real ale or play Jethro Tull album tracks. I am not sure if the venue has a proper licence or permission, but at least it is away from a residential area, and stuck bang in the middle of a spectacularly grotty industrial estate that dominates eastern Erith. They are welcome to it". Unscrupulous operators pervert and misuse the law to set up "pop - up" nightclubs in old and often unsafe buildings; they set up the club, then just before opening to the public, they apply for planning permission and an entertainment licence. In most instances, this prevents the council from closing them immediately – they have to wait for the often lengthy legal process of licence approval / denial to go through. In the meantime the club operates with virtual impunity – usually over the Christmas period. The owners know that they have no realistic chance of getting their application approved, and this really is not the point – they get to open over the lucrative Christmas period, only to close up shop as soon as the licence application is thrown out. They then disappear without paying any bills. This is exactly the situation that nearly happened with GC’s Nightclub, but so much negative publicity was generated at the time via both the Maggot Sandwich, and the News Shopper that the venue only opened for three nights before the operators pulled out. It was just as well, as I understand the place was full of blue asbestos, the wiring was condemned and it had no fire escape. The operators disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving unpaid suppliers, and nothing has been heard of them since.

As regular readers will be aware, the old and much loved Carnegie Library, located in Walnut Tree Road, Erith has been undergoing a complete refurbishment over the last year or so, after the historic Edwardian building was left empty and abandoned for around ten years. It is shortly to reopen to the public as an arts, community and education centre run by an organisation known as The Exchange. The first part of the phased reopening of the Old Library is due to take place shortly, as Sarah Batten will now explain:- "The Exchange at Erith’s Old Library is set to launch its Bookstore Café on February 14th – a new gastronomic adventure for Erith run by talented local chef Marina Power. Marina trained and taught at the world-renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland, famed for its local, sustainable and zero-waste approach to cooking. Marina will be bringing this ethos and her experience to the much-loved Old Library building in Erith. Alongside, The Exchange will be running a fantastic and varied programme of events including film evenings, craft workshops and family seed planting activities. The Exchange is also providing space for other local talent to showcase what they do, including Pilates teacher Melissa Janneh, local artist Merissa Hylton, and arts social entrepreneur Jade Flannery who will be delivering musical theatre and drama for young people. The Exchange is also partnering closely with London South East Colleges who will be using the Old Library to exhibit their work and put on performances, as well as helping The Exchange to create a fantastic kitchen garden filled with herbs, edible flowers and maybe even chickens. To find out more, please visit The Exchange website: www.theexchangeerith.com". Bexley Council have published the following comments about the forthcoming opening of The Exchange in the old Erith Library:- "The first phase of refurbishment work on Erith’s iconic Carnegie Building is complete. Local company, The Exchange, is set to officially occupy the building from 1 February. Council officers have worked closely with Historic England and The Exchange to ensure that the refurbishment of the lower ground area has been carried out in a way that preserves the character of the building. The improvements which also include the restoration of the weathervane and full replacement of the roof of the building, have been funded by London Borough of Bexley and the Mayor of London as part of its partnership project, the ‘Greater Erith Programme’. Following its handover to The Exchange, the lower ground area of the building will be open to the public from 14 February. It will house ‘The Conversation Room’, an area for creativity and community events, as well as ‘The Bookstore Cafe’, a fantastic new space for freshly produced food and drink run by talented local chef Marina Power. Cllr Louie French, Bexley’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Growth said: “It’s wonderful to see this beautiful old building being brought back into use for the benefit of the local community. Erith is one of the main locations that will gain from our ambitious growth strategy for the borough. We want to make the area a thriving riverside town centre once again." Sarah Batten, Co-Director of The Exchange said: “We are so excited to launch our programme in February – there will be lots for people to do, including exhibitions, performances, kitchen garden planting, sewing and embroidery classes and film nights. We look forward to welcoming the community back into the building.” London Borough of Bexley and The Exchange have secured National Lottery Funding to continue the refurbishment of the Carnegie building. During 2019 they plan to apply for a full grant to fund the next phase of the work, which will focus on renovating the upper two floors". What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Since last week's shock announcement of the takeover of London's last major brewer - Fuller's, but Japanese brewing giant Asahi, there have been some developments. Two brewing industry insiders have independently contacted me regarding what they believe to be Asahi's plans for Fullers into the future, and it is somewhat worrying. I wrote in my piece last week that many commentators have expressed reservations as to whether the Asahi - who are well known for brewing gassy and bland lagers, will be able to maintain Fullers beer quality, and also worries that the large brewery location would be worth a fortune a potential property developer for the prestigious Chiswick site. Analysts speculated that the Fuller's Griffin site could be worth up to £100 million, so could be ripe for even partial redevelopment. On top of this there may well be an unexpected consequence. Currently Asahi beers are brewed in the UK under licence by Faversham, Kent based brewers Shepherd Neame. With Asahi taking over Fullers, there would be no need for Asahi to have their beers brewed by a third party. It turns out that my fears may have been somewhat incorrect; instead of the Asahi owned Fullers taking brewing back from Shepherd Neame, word reaches me from two sources that the opposite is more likely to be the case. I have been told that Asahi may well outsource all brewing of Fullers and Gales branded beers to Shepherd Neame on a permanent basis, then sell the Chiswick based Griffin brewery site to be redeveloped for high end housing. This would follow the model established by Young's when they sold off their Ram brewery for redevelopment back in 2006. The Chiswick site is said to be worth between £90 and £100 million to a large property developer. 

The photo above is a bit of a mind boggler to anyone with modern sensibilities. The picture was taken in 1910 (and thus most definitely in the public domain) and shows members of the 4th Erith Scout Troop (Vickers’ Own). The scout troop were sponsored by armaments manufacturer Vickers, who had factories in both Erith and Crayford. The boys were trained to fire the Vickers machine gun, by their supervisor Gunner Sergeant Budge, who can be seen sporting a magnificent moustache in the background. The team took the machine gun around the country to Boy Scout rallies, where they gave demonstrations of its’ firepower.  It makes me wonder how many of the boys in the photo were later killed in the First World War, which started only four years after the photo was taken, when they would all have been old enough to be eligible for call – up. Pseudo military organisations such as the Boy’s Brigade and the Scouts were fertile targets for recruiters at the outbreak of war, and in any case, many young men, who were ignorant of the horrors of the trenches, eagerly joined up “to be with their mates” – as the army allowed young men who lived in the same geographical area to sign up and serve together. Whole factories, clubs and churches were emptied of their menfolk in this manner – many of whom would never return.

As I have mentioned a couple of times in the past, The London Borough of Bexley shares a great deal of similarities with our neighbouring borough of Havering on the opposite bank of the River Thames. Havering has a similar geography, residential demographic and council budget, but they tend to do things rather differently to Bexley. Last week Havering Police carried out an experiment which sent alarm bells ringing with civil liberties groups, and also some members of the IT security community. The Metropolitan Police have been using automated facial recognition (AFR) technology since 2016, but its decision to do so in the absence of any legal framework or oversight has drawn criticism from privacy advocates, politicians and watchdogs. A van was parked outside Romford Station in East London from 10am to 6pm on Wednesday and Thursday – plenty of time to catch rush hour. The Metropolitan Police has consistently said that the technology will be used "overtly", but at the previous rollout in December the cameras were fitted to unmarked green vans. Campaign group Liberty, on the scene, said that this time there is Met Police branding on the blue van – although this doesn't say anything about AFR. Both cameras were focused on the entrance to the station. The group also noted that one of the two the public information notices were so positioned that anyone reading it would be caught on camera. In an interview with the science and technology news website, The Register, Liberty's advocacy and policy officer Hannah Couchman said:- "One of Liberty's key concerns is that this is supposed to be a trial, but by the time you're informed that it's happening you're probably already on camera. Underlying such concerns are question marks over the efficacy of the technology itself. A Freedom of Information request by Big Brother Watch found the Met's use of the technology had a 98 per cent false positive rate. An academic study also poked holes in its abilities in low light and crowds. Despite this, the police have continued to subject Londoners to this lawless and intrusive technology, ignoring and infringing their rights. The police's use of live facial recognition has been an expensive failure, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, and with a misidentification rate of almost 100 per cent". Whether the trials at Romford Station will be expanded locally is at present unknown. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Sadly we have a burglary to report this week in Parkside Avenue.The incident occurred overnight between 11.30pm on Sunday 27th January and 6am on Monday 28th January. Suspects have entered the property whilst the occupier was sleeping by forcing the front UPVC door which was NOT double locked, once inside they have taken car keys and using the keys have stolen a Silver Mercedes E class from the drive. Registration number J8BMY. On Friday 18th January the Barnehurst team assisted by Crayford and Bexleyheath SNT carried out a drugs warrant at Hampton House, Erith Road. This resulted in a quantity of drugs being seized with one suspect being charged to appear at court and another receiving a community resolution (cannabis warning). Since December we have had 9 confirmed residential burglaries across the ward in 8 of these entry was gained via UPVC doors which were NOT double locked. Some offences have occurred whilst the occupiers were at home sleeping. Insurance companies are refusing to pay out stating that your property was not correctly secured and therefore a breach of terms and conditions of any policy. We cannot stress enough how important it is to secure yours doors properly. If you have a UPVC door it must be locked with the key, just lifting the handle does not secure the locking mechanism.it will take the average person just seconds to open a door that has not been double locked. Remember lift the handle and lock with a key. A member of the team will be at Barnehurst Golf Course on Tuesday 5th February at 4pm, please pop along to discuss any local issues or concerns. If you have information but feel uneasy talking to the police. Please consider calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 This is completely anonymous and you do not have to give any personal details. Please follow us on twitter @MPSBarnehurst we can also be found on FaceBook under Barnehurst Police". Belvedere ward:- "There have been 3 reported burglaries this week. The first was on Wednesday 23rd January and occurred at around 6pm in Abbey Road. A male entered a property through the front door but is not thought to have left with any items as the resident was at home at this time. The second took place on Saturday 26th January in Fendyke Road between 4.30pm and midnight. Entry was gained to a property via the rear patio door which had a glass panel smashed in order to get into the house. Several items were then taken from the location including jewellery and cash. The third took place in Picardy Road between 8 am and 8.30 am on Tuesday 29th January. An unknown person forced entry to the property by damaging the front door (glass again smashed). A handbag was then taken from the property containing cash and personal items. We have been receiving reports of several groups gathering in Telford and Kelvin Houses in Picardy Street/ Dylan Road who are then causing disruption to residents and are also thought to be using drugs at these locations. Our efforts to patrol these areas have thus far been unsuccessful but will continue over this coming weekend as we are working late into the night. As mentioned last week, we have been carrying out searches of several locations on the ward in an effort to find items that may have been used in crime. We have visited Belvedere train station, Dryhill Road, Picardy Street and Monarch Road most recently and will be continuing this activity into February. The team are also going to be visiting a ‘street a week' to speak to as many residents as possible, to gain information should there be any issues related to crime or anti-social behaviour in a particular area. Should any issues arise from this, we will then work with our partner agencies to find a solution. We have visited Prospect Close recently and plan to visit Halt Robin Road this coming weekend. Further streets will be visited in the very near future". Bexleyheath ward:- "We have no reports of burglaries over the last week. We have had one report of a criminal damage to motor vehicle along Rydal Drive, this was on the Friday 25/01/2019 in the late evening; Tuesday 29/01/2019 – There was a report of a theft of purse taken from a handbag along the Broadway; Saturday 26/01/2019 – Report of theft of front & rear number plates that had happened along Pinnacle Hill Bexleyheath, this was in the evening time; Tuesday 22/01/2019 – There was a report of a theft of mobile phone from inside the Primark store Bexleyheath. The team are regularly conducting targeted patrols for burglary and anti-social behaviour. If you do wish to pass on information to Police then please contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111. Please do not hesitate to contact us via Twitter, Facebook, email and the ward phone. If you are after crime prevention advice, please look at the Met Police website which has lots of information that you may find useful. Remember in an emergency please dial 999 or 101 for non-urgent reporting". Crayford ward:- "Firstly lets have some good news. Crayford SNT had a good court result on Monday. A person who had been using his mobile phone whilst driving was given 6 points and a fine, including costs of £828.00, he will face a ban if he appears in front of the magistrate again. Sadly, we have had one burglary on our ward this week. It occurred on Monday 29th January between 08.00-16.00 hours. Entry was through a smashed window, it seems the burglar left via the rear door. An untidy search was made and a British and European currency was stolen as well as a large amount of Asian Gold. A rose gold iPhone 6 was stolen from an address in Medway Road on Tuesday 18th January between 13.00-16.00, the front door had been open as workmen had been present. A silver Ford Galaxy was stolen from an address in Woodside Road on Thursday 24th January. The owner still has the one set of keys for the vehicle. Local CCTV shows a white bald male go straight to the vehicle and enter by unknown means and drive it away. The vehicle was located by police after being seen driving erratically in Abbey Wood, abandoned and unlocked. It was found to be now on false plates and removed for forensic opportunities. A theft of number plates occurred from a Blue Volkswagon Caddy between Friday 18th and 27th January. The number plates, PL15 5HJ should be attached to a British Gas van. We intend to be at Crayford Library on Saturday 9th February between 11.00-12.00. If you would like to come along and speak with us about any concerns you may have". Erith ward:- "This week we have had a few burglaries (detailed below). Also there have been 2 reports of mugging / robbery one was at knife point – both in secluded places, Erith underpass and Birch Walk, at this time they do not seemed linked. Be on your guard if you are in these areas if you see anyone acting strangely, phone 999/101. We will be actively patrolling these areas, both in plain clothing and uniform".  Northumberland Heath ward:- "We held our ward panel meeting recently and we have agreed to focus more time on the following issues; 1) Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground – Tackling Anti-Social behaviour; 2) Becton Place – Tackling Anti-Social behaviour and Drugs misuse; 3) Charliville Road – Tackling motor vehicle crime such as Criminal Damage. We will keep you updated with any result we have here. Over the last week we have conducted a number weapons sweeps across the ward as part of the Met's Operation Sceptre. The idea of Operation Sceptre is to try and proactively reduce violent crime across the Met by searching hotspot areas for any weapons which may have been either discarded or stashed away. During the last week we recovered an old Machete in Avenue Road and a small claw hammer from Charliville Road. Please get in contact with us if you see anything of concern you need us to collect. We have had a burglary in Dalmeny Road, entry was forced via the rear bedroom window from the garden. Property which included money and vehicle key were stolen. There has also been a non-residential burglary in Sussex Road. An outbuilding was broken into and property including a black mountain bike was stolen. There has been a vehicle stolen from Hurst Road, a grey Peugeot van registration LM68YMO. The driver was delivering at the time and the suspect has stolen the vehicle whilst the driver was distracted. There was an attempted vehicle theft at Parsonage Manorway but the two suspect were seen by the owner and they ran off. Our next Police Surgery will be held at Mill Road, Library on Wednesday 6th February at 2pm. No appointment required if you wish to speak with us please pop in".

Appliances and multiple fire fighters attended a house fire in Bridge Road in Slade Green and Northend ward on Wednesday.

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Only two relevant crimes this week to report. A vehicle was criminally damaged on Crescent Road on Friday 25th January and a victim was assaulted on Slade Green Road on Saturday 26th January at approximately 10:00 hours near to the newly re-opened railway foot bridge which connects Slade Green Road and Bridge Road. We believe that this assault was witnessed by a female who, thankfully, intervened. We would like to speak with this female witness and would like to appeal to her (or anyone who may know her) to come forward and make contact with the local police. On Monday 28th January a male was searched on Dale View and found in possession of herbal cannabis which was seized and given a warning. Finally, on Monday 28th January at 06:40 am a 43 year old male was arrested for a public order offence following a report of a disturbance at Slade Green Railway Station –Please contact the British Transport Police by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference number 45 of 28/01/19 if you witnessed this incident. Our next Community Contact Session is on Saturday 9th February at our office, please feel free to pop along".Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - No burglaries to report this week. However remain vigilant at all times. Theft from a motor vehicle - Between the hours of 07:45 of Wednesday 23/01/19 and 07:59am of Thursday 24/01/19 the number plates were stolen from a vehicle parked near Dexter House St John Fisher Road. A vehicle parked locked and secure in Mangold Way had both front and rear number plates taken overnight of Sunday 27/01/19 and Monday 28/01/19. In Glimpsing Green a vehicle believed to have been locked, secure and parked on the drive, had the Sat Nav stolen sometime between Friday 25/01/19 at 8:00pm and 10:00am on Sunday 27/01/19.Between the hours of 06:00pm on Tuesday 29/01/19 and 06:30am Wednesday 30/01/19 a vehicle parked in Holstein Way had the front and rear number plates stolen. Crime Prevention - Wallets, purses ,handbags ,credit cards and loose change should never be left in an unattended vehicle. Remove sat nav mounts, suction cup marks on windows and cables which may indicate electrical items in the vehicle. Good news - A male who lives locally, attended Woolwich Crown Court and was found guilty of supplying Class A / Cocaine, is now serving two and half years in prison". West Heath ward:- "From Wednesday 23rd January we have the following crimes to report: We have suffered three Theft from Motor Vehicles. On the 22nd January in New Road from 0630 hours the driver's window was smashed a suit and sunglasses were stolen. In Leckwith Avenue on the 25th January between 0615-1500 the front and rear number plates were taken from the vehicle. On the 2th January between 0700-midnight a front head light was stolen from a vehicle in Totnes Road. Theft of Motor Vehicle: Overnight on the 29th between 2100-0739 hours a person's mobility vehicle was stolen in Powys Close. The ward will be carrying out their next Community Contact Session on 9th February in Hurst Lane Estate, Hurst Lane between 1300-1400 hours. Please be aware If police in uniform or in civilian clothing call at your address unexpectedly call West Heath Team on 0208 721 2885, if there is no reply do not leave a message but call 999 immediately as we have been made aware of fake police ID cards. We have been made aware of drug activity in Hurlingham Avenue and we will be carrying out high visibility patrols around the area to address the issue. The team have carried out three weapon sweeps, one at Bostall Heath Park and two at West Heath Recreation ground which have resulted in a negative search".

The ed video this week gives a look into what the interiors of the new houses that form the Quarry development will look like. 

The Plumstead Ripper.

You may recall that back in July of last year I featured some CCTV footage showing some youths breaking into the Cross Keys Centre in Erith High Street. You can view the photos here. All six of the youths who broke into the building and burgled the place were captured on High Definition video. Incidentally, all six of the youths were subsequently identified and the Police took appropriate action against them. You would have thought that the message that the Cross Keys Centre has a very advanced security system would have got around, but apparently not; as you can see from the still images above, a thief recently stole a very expensive potted plant from outside of the building in broad daylight. The man, in his mid thirties is stockily built, and very distinctively dressed. If any Maggot Sandwich reader can identify him, you can contact me at the usual Email address and I can take things from there. Alternatively you can contact the Erith Safer Neighbourhood Police team by clicking here.

The tropical foods store in Pier Road has been in hot water recently. They were subject to a unannounced inspection by Bexley Trading Standards team, who during their visit discovered that a faulty band saw that was being used to cut up joints of meat; it was being used by a young employee who had not been properly trained. The company who own the shop, Zion Tropical Foods appeared last week in Bexley Magistrate’s Court where the company pleaded guilty to four health and safety charges relating to its system of work, risk assessments, and the training and protection of young people. They were fined £2,000 in respect of one charge, and £1,000 each in respect of three others. The court imposed a victim surcharge of £170 and awarded the council costs of £2,500. It would appear from comments made to the Bexley Times subsequent to the prosecution that the husband and wife team who run the shop have sacked the young employee and are now running the shop on their own. It seems pretty tough to get rid of an employee due to errors and omissions from the management. I suppose that customers are able to vote with their feet.

It seems to me that almost every week I am reporting another local construction project; housing in the area seems to be one of the most contentious subjects at present. It seems that there is both a large requirement for new housing, and also a level of resistance to new building from existing residents. Another new development has been announced, this time to be constructed in Bexleyheath. Some retirement apartments are being constructed – the development is to be called Cardamom Court, and it will be located on Albion Road, just behind Bexleyheath Broadway. The development is most definitely not going to be affordable housing – the retirement apartments start at £318,950 for a small one bedroom apartment, to a still not really very big two bedroom apartment costing £469, 950. The service charges which will come on top of this are really quite eye watering. A one bedroom flat will have a service charge of £47.06 a week (£188.24 a month), and charges for a two bedroom flat will come to £67.75 a week (£271 a month). According to the property developer’s website, they have already sold around sixty percent of the apartments “off – plan” – that is before they have even been built. Personally I would not want to live on a busy main road – Avenue Road is a busy, and noisy thoroughfare with 24/7 traffic, and the nearby pedestrianised Broadway gets lots of rowdy passers by at night. It would seem that Cardamom Court is going to be a success – but how many of the units are being bought by property speculators is currently unclear. You can see more about the future development by clicking here.

I normally write about the positive aspects of living in the local area, along with pointing out where things could be done better; I have come across a story from the relatively recent past which a far darker side – it concerns an individual who the press at the time called “The Plumstead Ripper”. Robert Napper was the eldest child of Brian Napper, a driving instructor, and his wife Pauline. He was born in Erith in February 1966, Napper was brought up on the Abbey Road Estate in Plumstead. His background was troubled and dysfunctional. The marriage of his parents was violent and Napper witnessed violent attacks on his mother. His parents divorced when he was nine, and he and his siblings (two brothers and a sister) were placed in foster care and underwent psychiatric treatment. The psychiatric counselling Napper had at the Maudsley Hospital in Camberwell lasted for six years. At age of thirteen, Napper underwent a personality change after a family friend sexually assaulted him on a camping holiday. The offender was jailed, but Napper became introverted, obsessively tidy and reclusive, according to his mother. His Asperger's Syndrome was worsened by his experiences, and he began to develop Paranoid Schizophrenia. He attended Abbey Wood Comprehensive School, where classmates said he was “despised”. One said: “No one wanted to sit next to him in class. He did not have any friends and he was teased a lot about his spots. In a game of football once, when he headed the ball, the game stopped because no other boy would go near the boy after it had touched his forehead". Napper left school at 16 with qualifications in seven subjects, lived at home until the age of 21 and took a variety of manual jobs, including work as a warehouse man in the publications and forms store for the Ministry of Defence. His workmates considered him dull and boring: he turned up on time and did not speak much. But undetected by his colleagues and later, the police, his sexual deviancy became ever more extreme. It started with flashing and voyeurism, then it escalated into rape and finally into murder. Before he killed Rachel Nickell, Napper was suspected of four rapes, and he has since been convicted of three of them. Those rapes were part of a series of 106 sexual assaults known as the Green Chain rapes, in south London in the early 1990s near where he lived. While Napper has admitted his involvement in four of them (one never got to trial), it is suspected, although has never been proved, that he committed all of them. In 1986, Napper first came to police attention after being convicted of an offence with a loaded air gun in a public place. In October 1989, police had rejected information conveyed in a phone call from Napper's mother that her son had admitted to perpetrating a rape on Plumstead Common. No case apparently matched the evidence. However, a month earlier a man armed with a knife had attacked a 30-year-old mother of two young children at her house in Plumstead. Police now believe that man was Robert Napper. He let himself in through a rear door which had been opened to let out the family cat after watching the property for some time. He gagged and raped the woman before making his escape. The investigating officers had not looked very hard. Some eight weeks earlier, a 31-year-old mother reported to police that she had been raped in her home in front of her children. The intruder entered the house through the rear door, armed with a Stanley knife and wearing a mask. The woman's house backed on to Plumstead Common. Police had taken DNA from the woman, which had they bothered to interview Napper and take a blood test, they might well have matched to him. It was after this that Napper's mother broke off all contact with him, and she burned all of the photos she had of him. Still in his early twenties, he moved into a bedsit, holding down a string of menial jobs but using his spare time to stalk and choose his victims. A major inquiry was set up after the 1992 attacks. Officers were hunting a perpetrator who showed extreme violence towards his victims, using a knife, and on more than one occasion attacking a woman with her children present. Throughout the inquiry, 106 crimes were identified involving 86 women. And it was in the middle of this inquiry that Rachel Nickell was attacked. Despite similarities between the cases, no one appeared to be joining up the dots. Paul Britton – the well-known criminal profiler a leading influence on the Nickell murder inquiry, was also working on the Green Chain rapes case. Professor Laurence Alison, the chair of forensic psychology at Liverpool University and the author of a new book on Napper, told the Guardian: "Frenzied random motiveless knife attacks on women are rare. Even more unusual are frenzied, random knife attacks on women with their young children present. Here was Britton with two of them under his nose and no one noticed." If the police were not drawing the threads together, others were attempting to point them in the right direction and bring Napper out of the darkness. In August 1992, one of his neighbours in Plumstead rang the police to say he looked like the photo fit of the Green Chain rapist. Detectives went to his house, questioned him and asked him to give a blood sample at the local police station. He failed to turn up. On 15 July 1992 on Wimbledon Common, Napper had stabbed the young mother Rachel Nickell forty-nine times in front of her son Alex, then aged two, who clung on to his mother's body begging her to wake up. Napper was questioned about unsolved attacks on other women during the year, but was eliminated from inquiries, as his false alibi that he had been at work at the time of the murder was not sufficiently investigated by detectives. Officers asked him to visit to a police station on 2 September 1992 and give a DNA sample, but he never turned up. The following day, he was again identified as the man in the E-fit by a caller who identified him as "Bob Napper". Again police visited and asked him to attend a police station to give a sample. An appointment was scheduled for 8 September 1992, but again he failed to turn up. Despite his unwillingness to provide the police with DNA, knowing it would match samples found on the three rape victims, Napper was then ruled out of the rape inquiry simply because he was 6ft 2in and police believed the man they were looking for was 5ft 9in. Three months later in October 1992, Napper was flagged up to the police again when he was arrested over suggestions that he had been stalking a civilian employee at Plumstead police station. Officers searched his bedsit and found a .22 pistol, 244 rounds of ammunition, two knives, a crossbow and six crossbow bolts. Police files from the inquiry show they also found pocket diaries, hand-drawn maps, notes written on the borders of newspapers, and a London A-Z.  Part of his fixation appeared to be to target mothers while they were with their young children. He preyed particularly upon women in parks and commons, but would also stalk them at their homes, watching them for days before choosing his moment to attack. In his rented a room at a house on Plumstead High Street, detectives found a padlocked red toolbox, inside of which were his darkest secrets. They discovered a torch, a restraining cord, and medical notes on how to torture people. There was an illustration of the neck showing how the various human muscles work and interact. Another showed the anatomy of the human torso. One hand-written note said “Mengele’s way” – an apparent reference to the Nazi doctor who practised surgical and psychological experiments on living and dead victims. In the notes were references to methods of restraining someone, including the phrase "cling film on the legs". Another note named particular streets and gave map references for them on the A-Z. Pages had been marked with black dots highlighting certain areas; other locations were marked with dashes. They were concentrated in the Plumstead, Eltham and Woolwich areas of South-East London. Three days later he was arrested for possession of a firearm and sentenced to two months in prison.  Napper pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition. In court, references were made to his disturbed mental state and a psychiatric report was produced saying he was "without doubt an immediate threat to himself and the public". Napper was given an eight-week custodial sentence and no further inquiries were carried out into the disturbing evidence found at his flat. In April 1993, Napper's fingerprints were found on a tin box discovered buried on Winns Common, neighbouring Plumstead Common. Inside the box was a Mauser handgun. Despite the fingerprint link, Napper was never questioned about the find. In July of the same year, according to police files, Napper's name was logged on an intelligence report after a couple phoned the police to say they had seen a man spying on their neighbour, a young blonde woman who often walked in her flat semi-naked. The husband followed the man, and when police arrived they spoke to Napper, who gave his name and address. The officers' notes read: "Subject strange, abnormal, should be considered as a possible rapist, indecency type suspect." Shortly thereafter,  in November 1993, in a house in Plumstead, Napper stabbed 27-year-old Samantha Bisset in her neck and chest, killing her, and then sexually assaulted and smothered her four-year-old daughter, Jazmine Jemima Bisset.  In her sitting room, the 6' 2" Napper mutilated Samantha's body, taking away parts of her body as a trophy. The crime scene was reportedly so grisly that the police photographer assigned to the case was forced to take two years' leave after witnessing it. After a fingerprint belonging to Napper was recovered from Samantha's flat, he was arrested, and charged with the murders of Samantha and Jazmine Bisset, in May 1994. Napper was convicted at The Old Bailey in October 1995. He also admitted two rapes and two attempted rapes at this time. From the time of the first Old Bailey trial, he has been held at Broadmoor. In December 1995 he was questioned about Nickell's death but denied any involvement. Napper is also believed to be the "Green Chain Rapist", who carried out at least 70 savage attacks across south-east London over a four-year period ending in 1994. The earliest of the 'Green Chain' rapes have been linked to Napper, and were those he admitted to in 1995. Napper is known to have kept detailed records of the sites of potential and actual attacks on women. As if this was not bad enough, Colin Stagg, an entirely innocent man was initially charged with the murder of Rachel Nickell until, in 2004, advances in DNA profiling revealed Napper's connection to the case. On 18 December 2008, Napper was convicted of the manslaughter of Rachel Nickell on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He also admitted to four other attacks on women. Napper was to be held indefinitely at Broadmoor Hospital. At the same time, Colin Stagg received a public apology from the police, and an unprecedented compensation payment from the Home Office which exceeded £735,000. As he progressed from peeping tom to stalker, then to multiple rapist and finally serial killer, Napper came on to the police radar at least seven times, on at least two occasions displaying behaviour that marked him out as a danger to women. But he was never pursued. Had the links been investigated, the connections would have led detectives to Napper earlier, preventing Colin Stagg from being made a pariah and saving another young mother and her child from murder and depraved mutilation. Now Robert Napper is spending the rest of his life in Broadmoor Hospital; recent accounts state that he is still highly delusional;  he believes he has a Master’s degree in Maths, had won the Nobel Peace Prize, been awarded medals for fighting in Angola and had millions stashed in a bank in Sidcup. He also believes that his fingers had been blown off by an IRA parcel bomb but had miraculously grown back. The only good news to come out of this sad and disturbing tale is that Napper will never be released, and cannot further threaten the public. 

Following the story that Bexley Council have agreed outline planning permission on part of Old Farm Park in Sidcup, and the widely held public belief that Bexley Council are relentless in their desire to sell off as much public land for commercial development as housing, a strong rumour has been forwarded to me by two separate and respected sources. The rumour (and it is only that at this stage) is that the owners of The Europa Industrial Estate in Fraser Road are having problems finding suitable tenants for much of the extensive site; the former Europa Gym is now converted into a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO), but many of the other industrial units especially at the Eastern end of the site lay empty. Consultation with an industrial estate agent suggests that around twenty units on the Europa Estate have been empty for some considerable time, with little interest from local businesses in occupying them. My information is that the owners of the Europa Estate are currently considering relocating the few businesses in the Eastern, Erith end of the estate into the Western end, nearer to the BATT Cables site; they would then sell the Eastern side of the estate to a property developer. I can see the thinking in this; the Erith Quarry site, only a couple of hundred metres further along Fraser Road is seeing exceedingly good business, with many units already sold "off plan". The owners of the Europa Estate may well wish to copy this - after all, if they can get the necessary planning permissions from Bexley Council (surely a formality with the track record of this local administration) then the land would be worth a king's ransom, situated as it is adjacent to Erith Station, Erith town centre and road links to the M25, the South Circular and the A2. I stress that what I have heard are merely rumours; if you have any concrete information confirming or denying this story, please drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com in complete confidence.

On my way to work on Thursday morning, I saw a total of four, three piece suites dumped by the roadside – all of which were in Erith. One of the three was dumped by a post box, and the other three were left adjacent to the Sikh temple at the Pom Pom. The level of fly tipping seems to be increasing at an exponential rate. I know that this is a UK wide problem, and I have been doing some research into what may be the causes. Six of the ten worst hot spots for fly tipping in the UK are within the boundaries of Greater London. Haringey in North London tops the list, with about 25,000 cases of fly-tipping reported in the last year – the equivalent of one offence for every ten people who live there. Westminster comes in second, while Greenwich, Croydon, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea also appear in the top 10. Brent, also in Nhorth London, saw the biggest year-on-year rise in fly-tipping incidents – an 84 per cent hike between 2014/15 and 2016/17. A number of councils have mounted campaigns to discourage people from fly-tipping, and to encourage residents to report it. The London Borough of Bexley appears very low down on the list, something which surprises me greatly. How accurately the statistics have been compiled is not clear. As regular readers may be aware, I have been involved in a couple of successful prosecutions for fly tipping in the past, one of which led to the perpetrator getting an eight month prison sentence, on top of a heavy fine and the confiscation of his van. These however seem to be the exception rather than the rule – most fly tippers do so safe in the knowledge their chances of being caught and subsequently prosecuted are vanishingly slim.

The Penny Farthing micro pub in Crayford has done astonishingly well for itself; since it opened in September 2014. The Bexley Times have reported that the Penny Farthing sold its one thousandth cask of real ale on Thursday evening. The micro pub is located in the riverside at Crayford, cleverly located right next door to the Crayford Tandoori – a match made in heaven. In a very nice touch, the 1000th cask was of a locally produced  Motueka Pale Ale from the Bexley Brewery, which is located only up  the road in Erith. The Penny Farthing is a great success – when you hear of so many pubs closing and often being converted into flats, or just being demolished completely, it is a very good feeling that Micro Pubs are very much bucking this trend.

Radio Caroline will broadcast on the former BBC World Service medium wave frequency of 648 kHz, after being awarded a community radio licence for East Anglia. The station was given the go-ahead by Ofcom last month, and now says the regulator has also agreed to its request for a 1000-watt ERP (Effective Radiated Power). In a statement on the Radio Caroline website, the station said: “We can now announce that our AM frequency will be 648 kHz with a power of 1000 watts. This is ERP or simply the power radiated by the aerial. A transmitter was imported from the Continent a few days ago and is now being modified to suit the frequency. There are further hurdles, but as you can see progress is being made. Watch this space.” The new Radio Caroline will play album tracks and had proposed a coverage area from Ipswich to Diss and Bury St Edmunds to Saxmundham. Some programmes will be broadcast from studios in Kent, and others via a link to the Ross Revenge ship. The station has previously said that, if practical, it aims to get on air in time for the 50th anniversary of the Marine Offences Act on 14th August. Caroline already runs a service online and via a number of DAB multiplexes around the country. What is both surprising and welcome is the choice of frequency 648 kHz is the old BBC World Service channel that was in use by that station until March 2011. 648 kHz is what is known as a “clear channel” – one that is shared with no others in the transmission area. The nearest other broadcasters using 648 kHz are Murski Val located in Northern Slovenia, and RNE Radio Nacional in Bajadoz in Spain. Both of those stations use a transmission power of 10 kW – which should hopefully not interfere with the 1kW signal from Radio Caroline to the Eastern parts of the UK. I actually suspect that the forthcoming Caroline radio transmissions will be a big target for Medium Wave DXers (the radio equivalent of train spotters) – I think it will be only hours from launch before the first long range reception reports start coming in from parts of Scandinavia and well beyond.  There will be plenty of people getting their anoraks dry cleaned just waiting for the day. The amount of power granted by Ofcom to Radio Caroline is a bit of an eye opener; an ERP of a kilowatt is a lot of power for a local station. Good news all round.

I think everyone who uses the web has come across all sorts of pop ups and warning pages that tell you that your computer has been infected by malware and all sorts of nasties. Most people realise that these are scams; fraudulent pages trying to get you to part you with your money. The enterprising chap in the short video below has taken it upon himself to investigate exactly who is behind one range of these fraudulent web page pop ups. It makes for very enlightening, not to mention entertaining viewing. Have a look and see what you think. Feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at  hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Canary Wars.

The photo above shows the tug, the GPS Avenger moored recently on Erith Pier. As you may already know, Erith Pier is the longest pier on the entire length of the River Thames (Southend Pier does not count, as it is judged to be on the Estuary, rather than on the Thames itself). The pier is of a rather unusual design, being of a “Dog – Leg” arrangement, with the longest part of the pier running parallel with the shore. The reason for this was that historically the pier was used for industrial purposes when the area now occupied by the large Morrison’s supermarket was a large deep water shipping wharf.  One of the main products handled by the pier and the wharf was the unloading and trans-shipment of giant rolls of newsprint paper from the paper mills in Sweden to a warehouse on the Europa Industrial Estate in Fraser Road, before finally being taken by lorry up to what was then the giant newspaper print presses in Holborn and Fleet Street. I recall, back in the early 1980’s, not very long before the deep water wharf finally closed down that the warehouse that stored the giant rolls of newsprint in Fraser Road caught fire. Once the paper was alight, it proved impossible for the fire brigade to put out. Fraser Road was blocked for nearly two weeks, as the emergency services contained the blaze, but left it to burn itself out. I can recall standing in the back garden of my parents’ house in  Upper Belvedere on a bright and sunny day, and being amazed by what appeared to be snowflakes falling from a cloudless sky. The flakes were actually specks of ash from the raging paper warehouse blaze a couple of miles away. The smell of burning pervaded the area for nearly a month, well after the fire burned itself out naturally – and left the warehouse building a burned out shell. From my recollections of the fire, nobody was seriously hurt, and there was a substantial insurance settlement to the owners of the Europa Industrial Estate. If you can recall the warehouse fire, and have any more information / memories regarding it, then please get in contact with me by either leaving a comment below, or by dropping me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The Apple Watch was released on April the 24th, 2015. Nearly a year later, it has become apparent that there really is not much of a need to get one. The smartwatch was the first entirely new product that Apple had released in five years, the first launched under CEO Tim Cook’s oversight—as well the first product in decades launched by Apple without the direction of Steve Jobs behind it. Some argued that it was the product that would give us insight into the future of Apple. A year later, that direction appears to be very boring. The short-term roadmap seems to be focused on iterations of existing products, and selling accessories, like new watchbands, for those products. But the Apple Watch is in itself an accessory, entirely tied to a person’s iPhone, and hasn’t shown that it can perform enough useful functions to make the average person think, yes, this is something that’s worth a few hundred pounds as it’s exciting and will help me in my life. Every Apple product in the last fifteen years or so has been two things: desirable and useful. They’ve made it easier for people to be creative, listen to a lot of music on the go, communicate with anyone in the world or find out any piece of information wherever they are. The Apple Watch looks good, but from a desirability perspective, some argue that the most interesting thing about it has been the collaborations it has had with Hermès, rather than the watch itself. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, in a recent Reddit question-and-answer session, was inclined to agree:- “I worry a little bit about – I mean I love my Apple Watch, but – it’s taken us into a jewellery market where you’re going to buy a watch between $500 or $1100 based on how important you think you are as a person. The only difference is the band in all those watches. Twenty watches from $500 to $1100. The band’s the only difference? Well this isn’t the company that Apple was originally, or the company that really changed the world a lot”. In terms of usability, the watch has proven a tough sell. US presidential hopeful and die-hard Apple fan Jeb Bush didn’t even know his Apple Watch could make and receive calls. The tiny screen doesn’t lend itself to complicated interactions, and third-party and native apps have struggled to show that they’re more useful than, say, just looking at the full-fledged apps on your phone. Apple has always prided itself on ‘thinking different’, and has stood out by creating differentiating products. But different in the case of the Apple Watch right now just means “weird.” Apple probably doesn’t want a product where using one gets you referred to as “that guy.” In an article for the New York Times this week, technology journalist Kit Eaton showed off some of his favourite apps for the Watch. There was a decent grocery-list-making app, a nice text-based game, and a sleep-tracking app. This was, presumably, the best he could find for a device that you have to charge every 18 hours or so, and costs about ten times more than a functional watch that does a better, quicker job of telling you the time. The best iPad costs about £900 (including the keyboard and stylus), and the best iPhone starts at £650. But iPhone and iPad sales are either stagnating or declining. This may well change with the new iPad Pro, a potential laptop-killer for the average person, and whatever new iPhone Apple launches later this year. Apple really needs a new, cheaper device to grow beyond the cycle of iPhone replacements. That was supposed to be the Apple Watch. I predicted as much when I wrote about the Apple Watch last year, hoping to be proved wrong. It looks like I was correct. My conclusion that it was a solution in need of a problem seems to have proved to be true. 

The Bexley Times is reporting that the Broken Drum, the Micropub in Blackfen is celebrating its first birthday. We now have three Micropubs in the London Borough of Bexley; the first was the Door Hinge in Welling, and the second the Penny Farthing in Crayford - thoughtfully located next to an Indian restaurant. The landlord of the Broken Drum is a chap called Andy Wheeler. When interviewed by the paper he said "We’ve offered 200 different ales, I don’t have one constant beer, I’m always changing, looking for local and national beers. Each cask holds 70 pints so it's just a case of simple maths - that’s not including the real ciders that we sell. It’s a breakaway from the noise of pubs or the restaurant-type pubs that just have a bar to drink at. We don’t sell lager, we don’t sell spirits and we don’t play loud music. People come in, enjoy a chat with each other and talk to people they don’t know. People can come in, chat and make friends, we have run three quiz nights and raised around £1,000 for the British Heart Foundation. We also donate to Alzheimer's UK, as the pub is named after a pub in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld book series". Micro - pubs seem to have been a modern success story; they are cheaper to open than full pubs, and the licensing terms are less onerous. I am really pleased to see that they are all doing so well - and long may they continue.

We are now getting emergency service call – outs to people threatening to throw themselves into the River Thames either from Erith Riverside Gardens or the Pier on an almost weekly basis. I am not sure if it is a number of troubled people, or one or two disturbed individuals who are making repeated attempts to jump into the river. Another incident occurred this week, as has been reported in the News Shopper. The emergency services – Police, Ambulance and RNLI have responded to each call – out with admirable speed, but as previously highlighted, the RNLI especially have a distance to travel, as their two bases on the River Thames are at London Bridge and Gravesend; Erith is roughly equidistant from either base. Whilst the RNLI do operate river patrols, the chances of them being in the vicinity of Erith when an emergency call is raised are slim, to say the least. Even at top speed, their vessels may take twenty minutes or more to reach the site of the emergency. A few prominent local residents have expressed their support for an RNLI substation at Erith. I am a supporter of the RNLI, and am a member of their “Shoreline” supporters organisation. I will be asking them if there are any plans to open a substation at Erith. As previously noted, there is what appears to be an ideal location for a small substation in the former Port of London Authority building adjacent to the Riverside Gardens and very close to the wooden jetty. I understand that the currently empty hut has water and drainage, along with mains electricity. It is large enough to house a crew of up to four people overnight if required. I have asked the RNLI if they have any plans in this respect, and I will report back accordingly when I get a response.

As a (relatively) well known Blogger, I have managed to get onto the radar of a number of public relations companies. As such I get almost daily Emails inviting me to all sorts of events, product launches and offers of freebies. I almost never take up these offers, as there are usually strings attached. The clients of these PR companies want bloggers to write favourable reviews of their products or services. I am not an advertising agency, despite Google (the owners and operators of the Blogger platform that the Maggot Sandwich uses) repeatedly trying to get me to take advertising, which I refuse to do. Despite this, having experience with the kind of approach that PR companies use when composing press releases. Local papers are currently reporting that Demand for Bexley property is higher than anywhere else in the country, according to figures released on the 6th April. Nearly three quarters, or 72 per cent, of flats and houses on the market in the borough are already listed as sold, research by online estate agents eMoov reveals. This story has almost certainly been seeded to the papers by a PR company; the story is really a hook to raise the profile of the online estate agent, rather than to highlight the situation in respect of property availability in the borough. What seems to have escaped much in the way of publicity is the sell – off of public open spaces in Bexley; the council are rubber – stamping the disposal of four sites, three of which are in the North of the borough. It has been well documented that Bexley Council wanted to rid themselves of the park in West Street, Erith – and I have to admit that of any of the parks in the area, it probably would be the hardest to defend, as the only people I ever see using the small grassed area are the local winos who occupy one or more of the park benches, and generally make the place look unwelcoming for any other potential users. The park should stay, but realistically I don’t see the level of opposition to it being sold off when compared to one of the other threatened sites – the Eastern half of Old Farm Park in Sidcup. The other local site is the two part park on opposite sides of Wilde Road in Northumberland Heath – a park unknown to all but very local residents - you can see it on Google Street View above. It is so tiny and cut in half by the road; by the looks of it the site would probably make way for four houses, two on each side of Wilde Road. Small as the park is, it is absolutely ideal for families with small children, some of whom will not have a garden of their own. Bexley Council seem content to sell off the family silver - especially in the North of the borough, in order to keep their supporters (who are mainly located in the wealthier South of Bexley) placated. 

Recently released figures show that London road users received more than £4 million in compensation last year following accidents and damage caused by deteriorating roads. It comes as the capital’s local authorities say they now face an £86.7 million shortfall in their annual carriageway maintenance budget received from Government, double the £39.9 million shortfall reported the year before. The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey 2016, which excludes the main Red Route roads run by Transport for London, estimates it would need £706 million to bring the capital’s roads up to scratch in a one-time “catch up” cost, with an average bill of £22.1 million per borough. It estimates clearing the maintenance backlog in London would take 16 years, at current rates of repair. Local authorities in London filled in 131,151 potholes last year, costing an average £80 per pothole as part of a planned programme, compared with £47 in the rest of England, says the survey. “Emergency” potholes cost an average of £94 to repair in London. Overall, London authorities (excluding TfL) spent £11.4 million filling in potholes last year. Paying out the £4.1 million in compensation cost an additional £2.4 million in staff time, bringing total claim costs to £6.5 million.

A research team led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health has unearthed more evidence that casts doubt on the traditional "heart healthy" practice of replacing butter and other saturated fats with corn oil and other vegetable oils high in linoleic acid. The findings, reported last week in the British Medical Journal, suggest that using vegetable oils high in linoleic acid might be worse than using butter when it comes to preventing heart disease, though more research needs to be done on that front. This latest evidence comes from an analysis of previously unpublished data of a large controlled trial conducted in Minnesota, USA nearly fifty years ago, as well as a broader analysis of published data from all similar trials of this dietary intervention. The analyses show that interventions using linoleic acid-rich oils failed to reduce heart disease and overall mortality even though the intervention reduced cholesterol levels. In the Minnesota study, participants who had greater reduction in serum cholesterol had higher rather than lower risk of death. Once again received wisdom seems to be counter to scientific findings. It will be interesting to see if other studies find the same result. It seems that whatever you eat or don't eat, some research project will find fault with it. I must admit to finding all of this contradictory advice very confusing. 

I have had a couple of emails from long – time readers this week; they both express concern about the recently started trial of Erith Market. The feeling I get from the messages is that the writers are very keen for the newly relaunched market to succeed, but they feel that it is being “set up to fail”. The fact that the market is only being held on a Wednesday, and not also on Saturdays is being raised as a major restriction on how successful it can be. One concerned reader wrote:-“ I hear are giving Erith Market a trial go. When they know it will fail before they start. They only seem to be catering for the unemployed and the elderly. Because they are the only one that can go to the market. The market should have been bigger and on Wednesdays and Saturdays like it used to be. Saturdays for the people that go to work all week”.  I think the sentiment is to be applauded – the market needs to be accessible to as many people as possible – not just those who are able to attend on what for many people is a working day. Personally I have missed the market on the last three weeks – the traders are in the process of packing up their stalls and loading stock into their vans when I get there just after 5pm on my way home from the office. Opening on Saturdays would be a bonus for all parties in my opinion, and would also benefit the Riverside Shopping Centre, as shoppers attracted to the market from Morrison’s would quite likely also visit the shopping centre. What do you think? Have you visited the market? Was it any good? Would it be better in your opinion to also have it running on Saturdays as well as Wednesdays? Do let me know, either by commenting below, or by Emailing me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

As you may know, in my "day job" I work for a very large multinational company with offices in Canary Wharf. I recall that last August Canary Wharf tube station was closed for a couple of days, with no real explanation as to why. A number of very large lorries were seen parked up near the back entrance to the station, and some people speculated that the security services may have been carrying out some kind of anti terrorist drill. It has only now become clear exactly what was going on. You may have seen the trailer for the forthcoming "Rogue One - A Star Wars story" online, and very impressive it looks too. If you are not aware, Disney are releasing a Star Wars film every year in December; they are alternating the new Episodes 7,8 and 9 trilogy "main story" with "side story" films, and Rogue One is the first side story film. It is a prequel to the original Star Wars - A New Hope (Plain "Star Wars" to those old enough to remember when it originally came out), and will cover the story of how the Rebel Alliance stole the construction plans of the Death Star, which later enabled Luke Skywalker to destroy it in The Battle of Yavin. Last August principal photography of several key scenes in the new movie were actually shot in Canary Wharf tube station. The screen capture from the trailer I have shown above makes it abundantly clear as to where it was filmed - anyone who has visited the very architecturally impressive station will be struck at what a great location the place makes for what I take to be part of the interior of the Death Star.

I see that the News Shopper has picked up on a story I originally featured back in May 2013. It concerns the “Scores on the Doors” health ratings of restaurants, takeaways and food outlets in the London Borough of Bexley. When I originally featured the issue, it was to show that at the time Bexley came at the bottom of the league when it came to restaurant hygiene ratings, and that West Street in Erith was the worst of the worst, with a total of seven food outlets getting zero out of five possible stars for food hygiene. Things have now changed very much for the better, with much improved ratings – none of the previously zero rated outlets still have a zero, and nearly all are 3, 4 or 5  star rated now. What has happened in the most recent hygiene surveys is that shops that serve very limited food items are now being rated, unlike before. One shop that has suffered because of this is Sam’s 99p shop in Erith Riverside Shopping Centre. I cannot understand why the store has had to be inspected, as a vast majority of its business is in retailing small domestic items. It does sell cans of soft drink and other pre - packed food items on a limited basis, but it does not prepare hot food or even sell sandwiches. Why it needs to be hygeine tested is beyond me. If you have any insight into this, then please let me know. 

As I predicted a couple of years ago, the vinyl album comeback shows no signs of slowing down. According to UK industry body BPI, vinyl sales for the first three months of 2016 were up 62 percent over the same period last year, with 637,056 LP albums sold. Vinyl now holds a 3.9 percent share of the UK album market, up from 2.1 percent in Q1 2015—not bad for a format that many thought was long dead and buried thanks to CDs and downloads. This is the highest vinyl sales have been for the last 20 years (the Official Charts Company began monitoring sales in 1994) and, if the last eight years of uninterrupted growth continue, could see vinyl sales climb as high as they did back in the early 1980s. The BPI estimates annual sales in 2016 could be as much as 3.5 million. Indeed, while music subscription services like Spotify and Tidal are extremely convenient, according to a recent report by the BBC, they're not hindering physical vinyl sales, but are in fact boosting them. Half of consumers said they listened to an album online before buying a vinyl copy, according to an ICM poll shared with the BBC, with those using advert - funded services being even more likely to head down to a record shop. Amusingly, despite audiophiles and vinyl fans arguing that the format sounds better, a full 48 percent of those who bought vinyl records admitted they had yet to actually play them. Seven percent said they didn't even own a turntable, instead picking up vinyl for its collectability, to support bands, or to use as decoration around the home.

Finally a new video showing some of the less well - known aspects of Amateur Radio. Do give the short film a watch, and feel free to leave a comment below. 

Erith versus the Australians.

Bank Holiday Monday certainly brought the strongest storm winds to Erith that I can recall for several years. Many local residents lost garden fence panels and many trees were damaged; I noticed that the green panted security shuttering around the entrance to Morrison’s was buckled and seriously damaged by the high winds. The proximity of the wide open expanse of the River Thames right next to the supermarket means that the wind is effectively funnelled – amplifying the potential damage that very strong gusts can cause. There were also several calls made for the assistance of the RNLI. Gravesend's inshore rescue team were called to Erith Pier at 10.20pm on Saturday night (March 26th), and assisted shore-side police with their search for the person. No one appeared to be in need of help, and the lifeboat was stood down and returned to station. I am pretty sure I know the reason for this call – and of several recent “false alarms” to the RNLI over the last few months. Regular readers will have seen the aerial drone footage of Grey Seals basking on the muddy river foreshore by the Slade Green Marshes. The seals swim in the River Thames and often into the River Darent; they often float in  the water with their heads above the surface in and around Anchor Bay, and well-meaning passers by on the shore mistake the Seals for swimmers who appear to be in trouble in the water. Indeed, the average survival time for a person in the water is estimated to be eleven minutes, due to the extreme currents and undertow in the river in and around Erith Pier. Obviously the situation is somewhat different for Seals – the water is their natural habitat, to which they are perfectly evolved. There was a genuine additional incident involving a human this week - Gravesend's RNLI crew were called at 9.55am on March 30th to reports of a "person in distress" on Erith Pier, and concerns about the person's safety. The Met Police were also called, and the person was rescued and taken into the care of shore-side officers away from the River Thames. As I have mentioned before, the RNLI had to travel all the way from their base in Gravesend, which even at top speed must have taken quite some time. The nearest other RNLI station is at London Bridge, meaning that Erith is about equidistant between the two, and thus the furthest point from an RNLI boat and crew.  With the level of river activity increasing, and the number of incidents revolving around Erith Pier, it again strikes me that we could really do with an RNLI substation in the area. The number and seriousness of incidents should surely justify this? As I have previously mentioned, the former Port of London Authority office next to the wooden jetty and Erith Riverside Gardens would seem to be an ideal location (click on the photo above for a larger version) – it has electricity, running water and a loo / wash basin, and sufficient space for three or four volunteers to stay whilst on call. The adjacent wooden jetty would also provide an ideal place to launch an inshore rescue boat. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The photo above shows Christ Church Erith, which forms one of the most noticeable landmarks in the town. It is actually quite a modern construction – the cornerstone was laid back in 1872; the land the church is built on was donated by Colonel Wheatley – initially church services had been held in a temporary building made of corrugated iron. The consecration service took place on the 6th June 1874 by Archbishop Tait of Canterbury. The church is built mainly of brick, in the Early English style that many Victorian architects favoured. The building cost around £8,000 – a sizable fortune at the time. A few years later the interior of the church was “Beautified” with a series of frescoes being added; representations of the resurrection, Christ with Angels, four historic Bishops of Rochester, and scenes from English history. These painted wall panels make the church interior look Medieval – certainly far older than it actually is, and make the interior one of the most stunning of any church in the area. I would strongly recommend that you pay the place a visit – the place may look fairly unremarkable from the outside, but the interior is something else altogether. The church bell tower and spire was added forty years after the main building was completed; the first stone on the 13th of June 1914, and was completed and dedicated on the 5th June 1915.

The News Shopper have reported that Bexley is the only London borough where property is on the market for less than £100,000, and buyers need to be looking for an Erith studio flat. The one-room apartments are selling for £94,995 in Frobisher Road, and £95,000 in St Johns Road, with Able Estates in Northumberland Heath. Online estate agent HouseSimple has ranked London’s 32 boroughs by the cheapest one-bed or studio flat available. The next cheapest to Bexley are the boroughs of Newham where studios are priced from £100,000, Lambeth where buyers can bag a flat for £105,000, and Croydon where residents can get on the property ladder for just £119,950.

Historically, Erith has made quite a large contribution to the world of sport. Did you know that Erith was once one of the centres of English cricketing excellence? What is now The Europa Industrial Estate was once a cricket pitch and recreation ground? On Saturday 20th September 1884 a local team of sixteen played an eleven raised By a Mr. H.H Hyslop - a local businessman, from the Australian touring side of that year. Hyslop's Australian team won. A similar match took place between another scratch Australian team again put together by Mr. Hyslop on the 3rd May 1890. The Erith local team was composed of eighteen local men, pitted against a visitors team which included nine members of the Australian test side. This match resulted in a draw. Hopes for a rematch were dashed when the cricket ground was sold and a heavy engineering factory built on the site. Nevertheless, local historians refer to the matches as "when Erith took on the Australians". As many of you know, I am not a sports fan, but it is fascinating to discover, as I have done during my research for this week's entry, that Erith and the surrounding have been pivotal in the development of several now major sports. Football had much of its' origins in Erith in the early 1880's. Prior to 1885-1886, only Rugby Union was played in Erith - there were three clubs in the area; Star Rovers RFC played on Lessness Heath, near the Eardley Arms pub. Erith Raven RFC played on the recreation ground adjacent to the aforementioned cricket ground, and lastly, Erith Anglo - Normans RFC played on Faulkner's Meadow. This club had to be disbanded when the meadow was purchased, and the Nordenfeldt gun works was built on the site; no suitable alternative playing ground could be found for the club and it was wound up. In April 1885 Association Football was introduced to Erith by a gentleman called Bernard Beard, who came to Easton and Anderson's engineering works as manager of the boiler shop. A club was formed, called Erith F.C which played on an area then called Hartley's Meadow - which was located on the banks of the River Thames, just of what is now Lower Road. As a result of a personal dispute between club members, a rival club was established called Erith Avenue F.C. At first, as they had no ground, they were forced to play all of their games away, but they later were successful in securing a ground in what is now Avenue Road. Meanwhile, Erith F.C relocated from Hartley's Meadow to Lower Belvedere. Several members of the team subsequently played for Woolwich Arsenal F.C, what was later to become the current Premier League Arsenal club. The present Erith and Belvedere football club was founded in 1922 and had its' ground adjacent to Belvedere railway station for many years, until arsonists destroyed their main clubhouse and Park View stand in 1997. The club soldiered on for two years, using portakabins on the site, until they entered into a ground sharing arrangement with Welling United in 1999, which is still in place to this day.

The Co-Operative Society also has strong roots in the Erith area. A co-operative shop was opened in Erith in 1868 by Sir William Anderson of Easton and Anderson engineering. The shop unfortunately soon failed, as it refused to give credit, and was patronised mainly by the emerging middle classes, for whom it was not intended.  1868 also saw a much more successful launch of the Royal Arsenal Co-Operative Society at Woolwich. By 1881 they had extended the delivery of bread and groceries into Erith. On the 30th March 1882, a co-op branch store, costing £1,225 was opened on the corner of Manor Road and what is now James Watt Way. A reading room was provided on the first floor by the society's education committee, and supplied newspapers and periodicals for public use. In 1887 this was extended to form a purpose built district library, with a budget of a whole £30 to purchase books. Over the years the trade increased with the surge in growth of the local population, to the point came where the building was not large enough, and new premises were constructed in 1893. It was not very long until this co-operative library fell into disuse, when the Andrew Carnegie sponsored public library in Walnut Tree Road opened in 1906. Records show that the co-operative library had some strange rules in respect of their employees. The first manager of the Manor Road based library was a Mr. James Hall, who had left school at the age of eleven. He was soon promoted to General Manager on the condition that he got married within three months of the appointment! He eventually got spliced four months after his appointment, but this was deemed to be near enough for his employers. Hall eventually rose to become General Manager of the RACS from 1902 until his retirement in 1918.

A new kind of fraud has been uncovered in the USA, and there are indications that UK based criminals are now copying the practice. As is often the case, what starts in America, soon gets exported elsewhere. This week the U.S Federal Courts warned of swindles involving people posing as federal court officials and U.S. Marshals targeting citizens, threatening them with arrest unless they pay some fake fine for failing to show up for jury duty. In an interview with Network World magazine, Melissa Muir, Director of Administrative Services for the U.S. District Court of Western Washington said in a statement “This year’s scams are more aggressive and sophisticated than we’ve seen in years past; Scammers are setting up call centres, establishing call-back protocols and using specific names and designated court hearing times. The bottom line is this: A federal court will never threaten an individual or demand the immediate payment —either over the telephone or money wire service— for fines or for not responding to a jury summons.” The court has warned in the past of e-mails scams from people claiming they have been selected for jury service and demanding that they return a form with such information as Social Security and driver’s licence numbers, date of birth, mobile phone number, and mother’s maiden name. According to the e-mail, anyone who failed to provide the information would be ordered to court to explain their failure, and could face fines and jail time. The e-mail also falsely claimed that it was affiliated with eJuror, an online registration programme. The email is fraudulent and has no connection to either the federal courts or to eJuror, the court system said in a statement. The Administrative Office noted that eJuror never requests that personal identification information be sent directly in an email response. Requests by courts to complete a qualification questionnaire would be initiated by formal written correspondence. Such letters tell jury participants how to access an authenticated, secure online connection. The court has also in the past warned of scammers using the threat of arrest unless of course you pay them off. Specifically the US Court statement said: "You've received a warrant by fax or email saying a federal law enforcement officer or an attorney for the government wants to arrest you. Charges may be for money laundering or bank fraud, or missed jury duty. To avoid arrest, the warrant says, send money. Again, it’s a scam. Be warned – it is very likely this practice has already made it across the Atlantic, and pretty much all of what applies in the USA will hold true over here.

The photo above was sent to me by fellow local blogger, Malcolm Knight of Bexley is Bonkers. It shows London Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith visiting the first session of the reinvented Erith Market on Wednesday. I was unable to make the event, as I was at work. I am sure that many other locals were in a similar position; I am extremely happy that the market has been revitalised, for a trial run at least. I would like to see it to also take place on Saturdays when more people could potentially attend - holding it midweek excludes a lot of potential customers, which is to nobody's advantage.

Former Conservative cabinet minister Michael Heseltine, now Lord Heseltine could be spending much of his time in and around North Kent over the next few years. He has been appointed to lead and establish a commission for growth in the Thames Estuary and surrounding areas. The Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission is expected to bring new infrastructure to help develop housing in areas of North Kent, South Essex and East London. Areas he will be responsible for include the forthcoming London Paramount Theme Park, the North Kent innovation zone and Ebbsfleet Garden City. In an interview with the Bexley Times, the acting chair of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, George Kieffer said: “There is nobody better qualified in the context of both the Thames Gateway and regeneration than Lord Heseltine. The economy of the Thames estuary is integral to the long-term prosperity of the UK, thanks to its ports and trade links to mainland Europe. The timing of the commission’s announcement sends a positive message to everybody in the area that the government is committed to ensuring communities east of London realise their full economic and social potential.” On top of this, the Thames Gateway Partnership said “In the north Kent part of the gateway alone we estimate there is scope to deliver an additional 58,000 homes and 59,000 jobs. But for those new homes and jobs to be provided we need to find ways of securing new investment, especially in transport infrastructure. As the commission is established, it will report back at Autumn Statement 2017 with an outline for planned developments”.



This week I have a guest writer, who is a Maggot Sandwich reader of long standing, but has not made a contribution until now. My confidential informant has put together the following very well - written and informative piece regarding a local landmark, and their concerns about its future.

Redevelopment of the Leather Bottle Pub on Heron Hill

The Leather Bottle has closed a few times over the past few years but new owners have always come in and it always opened back up again. It became obvious it had closed for good when over a weekend last year a JCB excavator arrived and started to flatten the site. Everything including trees and shrubs were removed and tons of soil taken away, as the site is at the bottom of the hill its neighbouring house’s foundations were looking precarious, the owners of the Leather Bottle site obviously thought so too as they hastily piled soil back to shore up the danger, tamping it down with the bucket of the JCB. My neighbours opposite started to notice things happening when previously their houses looked out on to trees, and greenery, these were now gone and the privacy that they enjoyed disappeared as well, now they felt exposed, they were now overlooked by the flats in Hattersfield Close. A quick search of the councils planning portal revealed no planning had been applied for, and people start calling the council panicking that they were going to start construction of buildings that would look directly into their properties. The council arrived in their own time at the site, they explained that the owners of the Leather Bottle were within their rights to clear the site but they were not within their rights to block the right of way / footpath that runs across what used to be the car park and garden area, the council also discovered that they'd cleared into council land (the woods). The owners of the site informed to council that they intended to build flats on the site and that in due course they would apply for planning permission. Everything went quiet for months at the Leather Bottle apart from the comings and goings of people now living in the pub. Fast forward until the Easter weekend just gone, another JCB turns up and starts to excavate tons more soils, the fence to the neighbouring house has fallen down and its replaced by plastic sheeting in an attempt at safety, its curious that these works seem to happen over a weekend and this latest major works happened over a the long Easter weekend when the council enforcement officers are not around. Tuesday morning came and I opened the children’s bedroom blinds to be greeted with the sight of a huge mobile crane, then what seems like an influx of building machinery and equipment starts to arrive. We are then treated to days of noise of sheet piling being installed. The Leather Bottle had appeared to have become a full on construction site with contractors turning up constantly.  Another check of the Councils planning portal reveals still no planning permission on the site. My neighbours and I are furiously trying to contact the council by phone and email, the former being pointless because there’s nobody available to take your call. Finally after three emails I get a response from the council which curiously is exactly the same as the one received by my neighbour. I am informed that ‘The current works are to stabilise the grounds’, well, I'm sure this wasn't helped by the removal of tons more soil over the Easter weekend, I'm told building control will visit the site once the installation of the pilings is complete to ‘check the integrity of the boundary fence and if necessary get this fully replaced’. They have received an application for the ‘pub itself to used as accommodation until they are in a position to submit an application for the redevelopment of the entire site’, its been used as accommodation since the cleared the site last year. Apparently planning has been submitted but currently there is a backlog on the planning portal. For a site that has no planning permission in place or the guarantee of it ever being so (unless they know something we don’t) they are spending thousands and thousands of pounds readying this site for major construction. House prices in the area have taken a leap in the last couple of years with the arrival of Crossrail, in my road alone we've seen increases in the region of 187 percent, ridiculous levels some may say. Major investment in the area has taken place with the building of the new Sainsbury’s by Abbey Wood station, the lottery funded redevelopment of the Lesnes Abbey area, and the council sinking money into the children's park with the addition of parkour and BMX/skateboard facilities. Are the council onboard with the development of the Leather Bottle site? You have to wonder, they've not been too perturbed by the level of work that been happening there and the would-be developers seem at ease pouring money into ground works for a site with no planning. I know that Malcolm Knight of Bexley is Bonkers shares my guest writers concerns; it will be instructive to see what comes of the case. If you have similar concerns, or some insight into what is going on with the former Leather Bottle and what was the garden area, please feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Earlier I mentioned candidate for London Mayor Zac Goldsmith did a meet and greet at Erith Market on Wednesday (there are other Mayoral candidates - your mileage may vary) one of the biggest challenges to whichever person wins the race to be the next Mayor of London will be dealing with the massive housing crisis which London and the entire South East of the UK is suffering. A short explanatory video is shown below.