Ten years of the Maggot Sandwich.

Arthur Pewty's Maggot Sandwich started this way on a hot and humid Saturday evening back in July 2006. I was bored, and was playing around with various online publication tools when I came across Blogger - at the time a pretty basic content editing and management system that had one major advantage - it was free to use. Every Sunday afternoon for the last ten years I have published my blog, and for some happily unknown reason, a large number of people, both locally and around the world have chosen to read it. The Blog is almost unrecognisable when compared to the start; it has transformed from a rather annoying and shouty rant at life, the universe and everything into what I hope is an entertaining and informative journal with a focus on local events. I must admit that I had absolutely no intention of the Maggot Sandwich turning into what I suppose could be viewed as part of the local online landscape – I suppose that this is mainly due to its longevity – throw enough stuff at the wall, and eventually something will stick. As some have suspected, I feel that I am really a frustrated amateur journalist; since I cannot do the real thing, I play at it online. Some readers have accused me of being a “proper” author, but I hold no such illusions. What amazes me is that I have readers stretching from Tokyo to Hobart, Rio de Janeiro to Melbourne, Washington DC to Ho Chi Minh City. It seems that it is not just expats that read the Maggot Sandwich; for some inexplicable reason a number of people who have never visited Kent or indeed London log in week after week to check the postings relating to possibly the least glamorous and most under reported suburb of South East London - and I have absolutely no idea why. I am glad that readers seem to like what I publish. The blog originally started as a distraction - a way of having a whinge. It has developed into a (very minor) local news and information bureau. Here are a selection of comments from Maggot Sandwich readers:-

Long time reader Matt writes:- "Has it really been 10 years?  I vaguely remember Hugh sitting in my office (oh the days before open plan) sharing with me a germ of an idea to provide some semi-regular on-line comment, about the things that mattered to him and his local community.  At the time I thought he would be aiming at an extremely niche audience: that of real ale swigging, curry eating, amateur radio hams from North Kent . . . but I encouraged him to progress none the less.  Well, a decade on, how the Maggot Sandwich has blossomed and the content expanded. I think Hugh has covered everything from Tech to Tweed and most things in between and whilst not all content is relevant to me, I have lost count of the number of little pearls Hugh has brought to life over the years. I have moved counties several times since the blogs' humble beginnings but still I await the, regular as clockwork, ping from my inbox, advising that this weeks' fix of the goings on south of the River, has arrived to sate my need for a Sunday evening read.  Keep up the good work Capt Tweed, here's to you and the next 10 years".

PCSO Mark Piggott of the North End Safer Neighbourhood Police team writes:- "I was first made aware of the "Sandwich" around 7 years or so ago by a Police colleague. As the DWO PCSO for North End ward which covers part of Erith, it was interesting to find out about local events, news and any wrong doings that may not have necessarily been highlighted to the police for one reason or another. After being a fan for a while I finally met Hugh and realised how much we had in common with regards to outside interests. I soon signed him up to be a Neighbourhood Watch coordinator and not only did this include his own road, it now includes around 7 or 8 other streets nearby making Erith Watch the largest single Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the borough, possible in the Met. The recent award given to Hugh was 100 percent justified as I have seen first hand the newsletter produced by him and his deputy Mark and a lot of effort has been put in by both of them to keep local residents updated with any local news etc. This is as well as the email updates whenever any crime comes to their attention. Hugh himself has made me aware of many radio comedy shows that I was completely unaware of and one day Hugh, I may eventually get the time to listen to all of your recommendations rather than a few episodes here and there! I always look forward to seeing him if we are attending local events/fetes etc and his beer and curry knowledge as well as all things technical cannot be matched. By anyone. Ever. Well done Hugh on 10 years as a blogger and keep up the good work for another 10 years". More on the award mentioned above in a bit. I had not planned to cover that particular story, but it seems that my hand is being forced.

Bexley Brewery chief brewer Cliff Murphy writes:- "We began production in September 2014 and are very proud to be the borough's only brewery, but it was back in June of that year that we started kitting out our brewery. Within weeks Hugh from the Maggot Sandwich discovered our whereabouts and documented our brewery installation during August. Ever since then the Maggot Sandwich has been faithfully following our activities alongside so many other things that happen in and around the borough that just tend to go unnoticed. 10 years on, keep up the good work Hugh, the Maggot Sandwich is working hard and doing a great job at uncovering hidden treasures within Erith and the borough as well as highlighting important activities to the general public. Maybe we should reconsider your idea of laying a hosepipe from the brewery fermenters to Pewty Acres".

Orbit Housing Association Erith Park Project Manager Caroline Field writes:- "Happy Birthday Maggot Sandwich! We enjoy catching up with the Erith gossip every Monday.  We can rely on you to tell us what’s going on – usually before the local papers get a sniff of it. Even though we may not always agree with you, we love that you’re genuinely passionate about Erith and its future".

Reader Martha writes:- "Congratulations to The Maggot Sandwich on its tenth anniversary.  I first heard about the Blog in 2007 when Hugh and I became work colleagues and later good friends, we share many interests from real ale to technology, Star Wars, Star Trek and other TV programmes and films. What I enjoy about The Maggot Sandwich is its eclectic mix of local news and history of Erith with news of crime, development and events, pieces on anniversaries and milestones in technology such as the first Apple Mac, new technology such as the Raspberry Pi, sometimes TV and film reviews and the much loved by me, annual report on the Bexley Beer Festival, usually accompanied by ‘photos.  I find the history of Erith intriguing, especially the story of Maxim. I look forward to my weekly catch-up on all things Erith a place I visit regularly and the weekly musings, stories and technology predictions.  In its honour I will raise a pint of real ale on Sunday as I enjoy my weekly read.  Here’s to the next ten years".

Radio Caroline Station Manager Peter Moore writes:- "Your Maggot Blogger Hugh and I have a long history from our mutual involvement in Radio Caroline, and it was on that subject that we made contact again, when we had an ambition to bring our ship to Erith Pier and Hugh was our man on the ground. It was then that I discovered the Maggot Sandwich and I find it compelling reading even though I live many miles away and so am not affected by the matters covered. In our attempts to get Caroline to Erith, or to Gravesend, we discovered the dead hand of bureaucracy in that nobody wants to make a decision, be in the firing line, or have the buck stop with them. The Port of London Authority blocked us with fears that our presence may harm the habitat of the Tentacled Lagoon Worm. Then they deep dredged a huge channel down river to accommodate even larger ships and decimated the spawning grounds of many species of fish. But the Sandwich continually highlights that Councils and agencies and commercial interests rarely, if ever, tell the unvarnished truth. Developers line their pockets, Councillors protect their positions while looking for advancement and considering their pensions, Police trumpet easy successes, while crime and anti social behaviour continues unchecked. Sometimes the things that Hugh reveals are farcical, but the status quo trundles on regardless. His observations concerning Erith are happening all over. Where I live, the local Supermarket sells alcohol to school kids who drink it and cause havoc at a nearby beauty spot, using aggression and force of numbers when challenged. The shop say that they are not responsible, the Headmaster is in denial saying that his pupils are not involved. The Council have a no tolerance policy for litter, beer cans, broken bottles and other more unsavoury things but that they do not go on to private land. The Police say that no incidents have been reported. The River Trust say that the area the kids use is not owned by them, but by a Farmer and the Farmer says they are mistaken. So in the early mornings when the kids are at home coming down from a high or nursing a vicious hangover and the girls are wondering if they may be pregnant, some locals quietly clear up the mess. It would be so easy to give up, but then the bad guys have triumphed and so I hope Hugh keeps identifying and reporting on the nonsense that surrounds us all.

Brian Silk, occasional Maggot Sandwich contributor, food critic and football pundit writes:-  "The Maggot Sandwich is probably the only way we all know everything that is happening in Erith of any significance. Hugh’s blog fills the gaps left by the local media and he adds his local insight into the town’s news and events. I like the way that Hugh is not afraid to tell things as he sees them, not simply portray a glowing image of Erith all the time (which he does mostly and is great PR for the town) - this gives Hugh’s commentary integrity and leads me trust what he says. I also like the way Hugh gives voice to others -I have appreciated how Hugh has allowed me talk about Bexley Invicta Football Club and my views on Charlton Athletic FC".

Reader Alan writes:- I was first introduced to Hugh's blog three or so years ago, sometime after my eldest son decided to emigrate. Why he looked in on Hugh's prose is anyone's guess. Maybe it helped him establish his own successful blog down under (250beers.com) maybe, I'm assuming here, that it helped with his bouts of homesickness? Whatever the reason, I'm glad my lad introduced me to "Arthur Pewty's Maggot Sandwich". It is refreshing reading, seeing, and noting that Hugh not only writes topical stuff about OUR Erith, he actively gets involved with things he sees going on. Where most of us just see the wool. I particularly like the nostalgic photo's that are included from time to time, seeing Erith, Bexleyheath, Abbeywood etc, how it used to look when I was a boy. There is very little left now, but Hugh's there fighting to keep what little we have left. I think we might be fortunate in keeping what old buildings we have, as it is very topical at the moment with Contractors tearing down listed buildings, only to be told they have got to rebuild, brick for brick. Hugh leaves me dumbfounded when he talks about his favourite electronic gadget The Mobile Phone, ha ha ha, only joking H! It's computers that are Hugh's passion, I think? That or CB radios, it doesn't matter though, there is content every week that I find interesting. Just before I finish, I would like to say that I have asked for Hugh's opinion on a couple of occasions in the past, & he has never let me down. I thank you for that Hugh! One of these days our paths will cross, until then Happy 10th Birthday! Keep up the good work and long may it continue".

Erith Ward Councillor Edward Boateng writes:- "I wish to extend my personal greetings and congratulations to Hugh Neal on the 10th Anniversary of Maggot Sandwich. Erith and the surrounding areas are lucky to have this blog which fills the vacuum created by few Local Newspapers. He has managed to cover stories which are of historical interest to Erith, and current ongoing issues of vast interest to the area. He has risked his personal life to unearth criminal activities and damages caused by individuals in the society. I have greatly benefited from issues he has raised which need the attention of Politicians and other Law Enforcement Agencies, and I wish the Maggot Sandwich a Happy Anniversary".

The Thamesmead Grump author Richard writes:- "The 10th anniversary of Arthur Pewty's Maggot Sandwich – it seems like only last week we were celebrating the 9th; how time flies. I'm trying to recall how I first came across this site and really can't remember. Trawling through my rapidly fading memory, desperately trying to fathom why I would have called up the unlikely names of either Arthur Pewty or Maggot Sandwich, I am at a total loss. Sadly, this is often the case now. It may well have been a link from another blog site but I'm only guessing. Whatever the reason, it was a happy happenstance as it has given me something to look forward to on an otherwise dull Sunday afternoon, providing, as it does, a generous mixture of interesting local tit-bits mixed in with its usual eclectic assortment of stories from whatever is on Arthur's mind at the time. His ability to come up with something new every week is a remarkable achievement and I can say this from personal experience. Arthur Pewty's Maggot Sandwich was the inspiration for me to start my own blog and I have found it next to impossible to find anything interesting to publish at the rate he manages to achieve; perhaps he is just more driven. Whatever the reason, I am looking forward to the next ten years of news and features. Long may Arthur reign.

Reader Christine writes:- "Congratulations Hugh on ten years of dedicated hard work, putting Erith out there, on the worldwide web for all to read.  I was introduced to your blog, perhaps 4 or 5 years ago, by my husband who was just randomly searching the internet for anything relating to Erith, and he came across your weekly blog.   From your photograph he recognised you as being someone he had seen on the train sometimes, when doing the daily commute from Erith to London, so he started to read it each week, and put me onto it too.  On occasions when you have reported on something which I thought would be of particular interest to certain friends and family members who have moved away, I have forwarded the link to them.  So I wouldn't be surprised if they tune in each week now too!   Well done Hugh and keep up the good work, which is much appreciated".

Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association Chairman Dana Whiffen writes:- "Well what can we say Maggot Sandwich is 10 years old, is it that long when we were first introduced to the Blog, how time flies and how much good has the blog done for Erith? I expect that it is not measurable in a similar way in that it is difficult to measure how much crime Neighbourhood Watch prevents, what the blog does do though is to increase the profile of Erith highlighting the positive areas and places and pointing out any negative areas such as fly tipping and other crime that can harm the lifestyles of its residents it is always on the case for Erith residents whether it’s to get onto SE trains about their poor service or to remind the Council or Police of their obligations if it is felt they are not being met . For us at NW it is a highlight offering constructive comments and also often including an historic item which is what I  often find really interesting. It’s superb support of NW is paramount to our work in Erith as we strive to increase our membership and work with police teams to reduce crime. Maggot Sandwich is definitely a name you cannot forget easily for all the right reasons and therefore from all of us at NW we send our wishes and support for all the good work done through the blog and hope it will continue for another 10 years".

Radio station Laser Hot Hits DJ and 80's jazz funk and soul music expert Gary Drew writes:- "I think I first heard about the Maggot Sandwich blog in 2008. I remembered where the name came from after seeing repeats of Monty Python on BBC2 some years back. The things I like about the blog are the technical features mostly like old gadgets and computers and the radio  articles as I am a big radio enthusiast. I like to hear about both pirate and legitimate radio stations past and present. I have very little knowledge of Kent and I think I've only been there maybe 15 times in my life and the last time I was there was in the early 90's. It's good to read about a different local area and read some local news to learn about it. I always look for things that would interest me if I fancied a day trip to Erith one day and what I could do to spend my time there. Where could I eat, what type of food, what would entertain me. Are there any decent shops to browse around etc. It is still my intention to go there one day but in the meantime the blog keeps me in the loop with what's happening or what's new. I don't like everything on the blog and some of the local news is not relevant to me as an outsider but I think it does a good job at serving the community and promoting local issues whether good or bad. It also helps to highlight crime and awareness of crime.  It might be a good idea to incorporate an RSS feed for the blog when something really important happens or there's breaking news which really can't wait until the Sunday update. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS The usual weekly email could then be sent with more thorough updates. I appreciate Hugh may not have the time to publish more than the Sunday edition but it's an idea I wanted to share". 

Long time reader Deborah writes:- "All I can say is I look forward to receiving your blog. I read it over a cup of tea. Coming from a heritage background, I like the fact that you include so much about local and social history. It's very community focussed.‎ You give your own time and support to the Church and Neighbourhood Watch and the Carer's Network. You do a fantastic job Hugh. Don't stop! Keep up the good work!"

The photo above shows the small parcel of land that separates Erith Riverside Shopping Centre from Morrison’s car park. The space is currently being used every Wednesday as the location for the revised Erith Market. The lower photo shows the old Erith Market, which used to be based on the site of the current Pier Road car park. The photo dates back to 1980. Last week I visited the new Market, and was shocked to find that it consisted of a mere four stalls. There seemed to be as many stall holders as there were visitors at the time. When the market was restarted earlier this year, many readers who contacted me at the time were very keen for the newly relaunched market to succeed, but they felt that it was being “set up to fail”. The fact that the market is only being held on a Wednesday, and not also on Saturdays was raised as a major restriction on how successful it can be. One concerned reader wrote at the time:-“ 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. 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. There is some good news on the horizon though; I understand that Bexley council have submitted a planning application to expand the size of the market up to thirty two stalls. This would return the market to the kind of size it was in the late 1970’s / early 1980’s when it was located on the Pier Road car park, and held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It was always a very well attended event, and I can recall visiting many times as a child, before making my way across the road to TW Records, the split level shop with the amazing purple plaster stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The shop had most of the chart singles and albums on the lower tier, and the more obscure musical genres –  including punk, reggae and prog rock, along with a couple of slot machines and the cash desk were located  on the upper tier. The surreal purple stalactites could almost be touched when one was upstairs and closer to the ceiling. T.W Records also had a shop in Bexleyheath, near the clock tower, where the Furze Wren is now located, as well as a third in Plumstead High Street, though I never visited that particular branch. The Bexleyheath shop also housed a small café at the back, that constantly seemed busy, though I reckon some of their customers nursed a cup of tea and a bacon lettuce and tomato sarnie for hours. It was a much more conventional looking shop, but both the Erith and Bexleyheath stores had one thing in common – it was widely known that they were both chart return shops. They had special tills that monitored record sales that fed into the weekly record chart. It was meant to be secret, but pretty much everyone – including the record company sales reps knew which shops were chart return, and always made sure that rarities, picture disks and other items desirable to collectors would make their way to those outlets. I recall that the Erith branch would often have large promotional displays in the window, which were left lit up at night, the glow from these would reflect off the purple stalactites to give an eerie, otherworldly atmosphere – very surreal stuff. A pity that the shops are now long gone, and the Erith outlet is now a run of the mill mini cab office.

The News Shopper seems to be following the Daily Mail in their style of uncritical sensationalism in respect of any “supernatural” stories that they print. Only last week The news Shopper printed a story about a “ghost” that had been caught on a CCTV system. The story was identical in many ways to a story published by the Daily Mail back in 2012. A couple, concerned that their car was being vandalised on their driveway, installed CCTV cameras, and were then amazed when a "ghost child" appeared to walk over their vehicle. Do you recall the Father Ted episode where Ted was trying to explain to Dougal the difference between big things far away, and small things nearby? As anyone who has worked with CCTV will tell you, arachnids are attracted to the Infra Red LED's that many cameras use to film in the dark - to the extent that several manufacturers actually produce spider repellent sprays to keep the cameras free of the creatures. The so called "Ghost Boy" is nothing more than a spider crawling over the camera lens. Yet another piece of poorly researched sensationalism on the part of the Mail. The News Shopper have now followed suit with a very similar story; looking by the comments left by some readers, there really are people out there who believe what has been caught on video is something supernatural, rather than an easily explained and completely natural phenomenon. The News Shopper seems to be not letting the facts get in the way of a good story. Sadly it is nothing like the quality paper it was of yore. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Following my coverage of the public consultation regarding the potential regeneration of the Arthur Street Estate, off North End Road last week, Orbit Housing Association published the following announcement:- "Around 100 people attended a public consultation on the future of Arthur Street in Bexley, with a majority welcoming regeneration of the Erith estate. Over 90 per cent of residents from Arthur Street said they would like to leave the estate and welcomed change. Orbit, which owns and manages around 4,600 homes across the borough, held a public consultation event on Saturday 16 July at Peareswood School, Erith. The consultation was the first step in the process and an opportunity to gauge local appetite for possible regeneration. Caroline Field, regeneration project manager, said: “We would like to thank everyone who attended the consultation and shared their thoughts on Arthur Street with the team. The desire for change among the people who live on the estate was overwhelming. For anyone unable to attend the consultation event, all of the information is available on our Facebook page, Arthur Street Future. I encourage everyone to visit the page and join the discussion.” Caroline commented: “We will now take some time to consider all feedback and assess the options available to us, listening to the wants and needs of our residents. Orbit will continue to keep residents and the wider community informed as we now begin detailed discussions with London Borough of Bexley in how we may take this forward.” For further information and to view the feedback from the consultation event, please visit Arthur Street Future on Facebook or contact arthurstreet@orbit.org.uk 

As previously mentioned, I had not planned on featuring this story, but since Mark Piggott did in his guest piece, I suppose I should pass comment. As many of you will know, I am active in the Neighbourhood Watch movement. Last month was the Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association annual general meeting, which was held at the United Reformed Church in Geddes Place, Bexleyheath. I attended the packed meeting - the venue was literally standing room only - the first time I can recall in the time I have been active in the Neighbourhood Watch movement. I was presented with the inaugural Violette Therond award for outstanding contribution to Neighbourhood Watch by Dana Whiffen, Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association Chairman, and James Brokenshire (then Minister for Security and Immigration, now Minister for Northern Ireland and MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup). A lady from Thamesmead (who I am embarrassed to say I did not catch the name of) also received the award. It was all a bit overwhelming to be honest. I have a very strong idea of the reason I got the award - it all goes back to a particular incident last year, which is still ongoing, so I am unable to say any more at this point, though several of you will already know about this. Suffice to say I was very flattered to receive the award, which is now sitting on the window sill of my office at Pewty Acres, next to where I am typing this update. Thanks to everyone involved. 

The end video this week is from the official Channel 4 promotional trailer for the Rio 2016 Paralympics - if you have not already seen this, I strongly urge you to watch it below. It is stunning stuff, and extremely well made. More on the 2016 Paralympics in the future. Feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Farewell to the Tower.

The photo above was taken by one of my confidential informants - it shows the final stages of demolition of the main tower building on the old Bexley College campus in Tower Road. The building has been one of the landmarks of the Erith skyline for many years. It was also used on several occasions as a setting for E4's sci fi show "Misfits" which featured a group of teenage young offenders with super powers. On one occasion filming on the roof of the tower had to be halted when the Police turned up - a neighbour had reported suspicious activity on the top of the tower, and dialled 999. The producers of "Misfits" had neglected to inform either the authorities, or local residents that they would be filming at the location! The photo below was taken by the same person a while later - as you can see the tower has now all but gone. The brutalist architecture of the tower may have led some to term it an eyesore, but countless students passed through it - myself included. I spent many hours in the building in 1996 / 1997 as I studied for my RAE examinations, enabling me to become a licensed Radio Amateur. I have fond memories of the place.

The anticipated crackdown on criminal gang activity in Thamesmead seems to have begun in earnest; now that a new dedicated ten officer Police unit has been established in the town. The News Shopper have reported that the Police have made twenty four gang related arrests, with individuals being charged with drug and weapon possession, animal cruelty and immigration offences. Gang members were also charged with  growing cannabis, as well as possession of cocaine, cannabis and methamphetamine. It would seem that the demand by Thamesmead residents for concrete action against the crooks that have been blighting their lives has begun to be answered, and not a minute too soon.

I was surprised that web search giant Google have just opened their very first bricks and mortar shop in London. It is quite discreetly located inside the Curry’s PC World in Tottenham Court Road, as a “shop within a shop”. Google admit that the store is a bit of a gamble, but they realise that many customers want to try out Google devices such as the Chromebook or a Nexus mobile phone. The aim is not high-pressure salesmanship but a fun, relaxing environment where there is no guilt in popping in just to mess around on the phones and the tablets. (Just like an Apple Store.) The shop will also be a place where Google device users can seek expert advice, even attend classes. (Again, just like an Apple Store). I hope to visit the place soon and do a comparison with the Apple Store in Regent Street. It will be instructive to see the two tech rivals and their wildly different approaches to the online world. A bit of high street rivalry would be good for consumers. More on this subject in the future.

The problems resulting from the massive rebuilding and refurbishment programme currently being undertaken at London Bridge station have got so bad that they have now made the national news. It would appear that insufficient planning for eventualities such as signalling failure or loss of power had been made. Basically there is no “slack” in the current temporary passenger arrangements. This means that as soon as anything goes wrong, passengers suffer and the kind of massively overcrowded station concourse with travellers having to climb over the ticket barriers is the result. Rail Minister Claire Perry has now waded into the situation; she has demanded that Network Rail (who are responsible for the project management and engineering of the London Bridge works) introduce new measures to improve the rush-hour situation. These include more rapid-response engineering teams, a central control point for all London stations like that which was used during the 2012 Olympics, more highly visible customer service staff, and having some trains stop at fewer outlying stations to help with punctuality. Last week the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union said station staff had been threatened, had hot coffee thrown over them and been spat at by passengers caught up in delays and overcrowding – something I find completely indefensible and abhorrent. I would not want to be working in such conditions; however frustrating it is as a commuter (and I confess that I am indeed one) there can be no justification for such behaviour. On top of all this, the weekend closures of the Cannon Street via Greenwich and Dartford line at weekends due to the ongoing construction works at Abbey Wood and Plumstead for the Crossrail terminal, along with shorter than promised trains are causing all sorts of grief for commuters. Southeastern have managed to annoy a great many people by publishing a “traffic light” comparison, showing travellers how likely (or not) they are to be getting a seat when they travel during rush hour. According to a report in the News Shopper, Southeastern Managing Director David Statham said "We want to give passengers an easy way to see how busy different services are at their station. Those able to catch an earlier or later train can now see which is likely to have more space." Quite. I get the feeling that Mr. Statham does not quite grasp the nature of the average commuter. We don't do it because we want to, we do it as we have no other choice. The times we travel are dictated by the hours of business our employers set; personally I am quite fortunate in that I can work quite flexibly – I don't have to go into the office every single day, and can easily work from my very comfortable and convenient office at home. I am in the minority though, most travellers have no choice in the matter, and have to commute at the same time each day.  The obvious fix for the problem is to increase the length of each train – many on the comparison chart above are only eight carriages, when ten would be preferable; as previously mentioned, it is not possible to run twelve carriage trains on the line due to the restrictions at Woolwich Dockyard station – which has a tunnel at each end of the platform, limiting train length to ten rather than the potential twelve carriages that the extended platforms at other stations would support. I understand that apart from a lack of rolling stock to make all trains ten carriages long, there are concerns about the amount of extra traction current the additional carriages would consume. As with any consideration, Southeastern are primarily concerned with the bottom line on the spreadsheet.

Bexley is Bonkers author Malcolm Knight wrote at length about the road and pavement works that took place in Bexleyheath a couple of years ago. He predicted that much would need to have significant repairs within a relatively short period. He was spot on the money. Last Monday work began in Arnsberg Way to replace the road surface, which had started to disintegrate, despite only being laid in 2013. I understand that Bexley Council are trying to get a refund from the contractors who undertook the work. Much dissatisfaction has been voiced over the whole concept of “shared space” which was rolled out in Bexleyheath, and has been insidiously rolled out in other Bexley towns since. The “shared space” concept is that the delineation between areas used by pedestrians, and areas used by vehicles is deliberately kept unclear; the thinking is that as neither party can tell where one finishes and the other begins, both vehicles and pedestrians will act more carefully, thus avoiding accidents. The brutal reality is however entirely different. The number of reported collisions and other accidents has increased since the changes were introduced, and many local residents are disgusted with the lack of clarity as to who goes where.

Last week I was walking along Picardy Road in Upper Belvedere, as I passed the Conservative Club, an unusual car came along the road. For a few seconds I was unable to identify it. It was similar to the Jaguar XF model, but sleeker and a little lower. What immediately struck me was that it was completely silent as it moved. I then realised that it was a Tesla S – Type; a true electric luxury sports saloon. Tesla cars are pretty scarce, and doubly so in the UK. The American made vehicles are not cheap – the Tesla S has a base cost of nearly £70,000, and most buyers opt for the range – topping P85D model, which with optional extras comes to the thick end of £95,000. I have to admit that the Tesla S is a very good looking vehicle, and looks better in the flesh than it does on paper or screen. Tesla claim an endurance in excess of three hundred miles for the top of the range P85D model, but rumours abound that the company are about to release a software update for the power management computer of the car to make this claim closer to reality. I understand that some owners have been stranded after the power reserve meter on the dashboard indicated plenty of spare battery charge, but the car ran out of juice. The update is meant to resolve this important flaw, and reassure owners who get “range anxiety”. The Tesla S is the first really serious purely electric powered vehicle – I don’t consider the G-Whiz to be anything other than an electric golf cart with pretentions – you certainly could not take one on a motorway, whereas a Tesla S is at home in exactly the same places as a conventionally powered vehicle. At present the Tesla is pretty much a niche car – a combination of the price and powertrain dictate that. A lot of Tesla owners have the vehicle as their third or fourth car, alongside a high end Mercedes, Bentley and Ferrari. The Tesla enables them to be able to claim “green” credentials, whilst still running a stable of gas guzzlers. The problem as previously mentioned with any purely electric vehicle is range and endurance. The claimed three hundred mile range of the P85D model (which has the largest battery capacity of any Tesla S model in the range) is – even when the software fix installed, something that only a drive with the lightest of throttle use with no passengers and the windows and air conditioning off could even approach. The Lithium Ion battery technology that the Tesla uses has a finite capacity. At present no battery technology gives even close to the energy density of a petrol or diesel powered engine. On top of this, whereas at a petrol station you can refuel a conventional vehicle in a couple of minutes, a battery powered car will take many hours to recharge, effectively making it useless in the meantime. There is no real way around this using current technology. The only options are instead to use hybrid technology, where the batteries are supplemented by a smaller conventional engine, usually fitted with a turbocharger to increase efficiency. Another approach would be to use a hydrogen fuel cell – powered drivetrain, as is currently employed in some commercial vehicles; currently there are no commercially available fuel – cell powered cars; again there is a problem with low fuel density and also the storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen (rocket fuel to you and me). I feel that only a really game – changing emergent technology has a chance to really change the way electric vehicles are both used and perceived. The problem with any battery powered vehicle is that it is not truly green – the electricity stored in the batteries is often generated by burning fossil fuels – all you are doing is moving the source of the pollution further up the chain. If LENR technology (see the previous update for details) comes good, this may be an ideal source of truly clean, green electricity with none of the risks of stored liquid hydrogen, or the range limiting use of batteries. Time will tell. There are other, rather less savoury alternative fuels available – mainly in this case for public service vehicles. Bio methane combustion technology is one of these technical solutions. This uses methane generated from organic waste to power the vehicle. This has led a bus that is currently on test in the West Country in and around Bristol to be termed the “Poo Bus”. It takes excrement from 32,000 households in the area and converts it into methane to power the vehicle. Once again, the trouble is energy density; petrol and diesel have been used as the primary fuel source for automobiles for over a hundred years for a very good reason – both fuels are densely packed with energy so that a given volume of fuel will give a predictable amount of motive energy. Most other fuels don’t have this level of energy density – especially so of bio methane. The company running the experimental bus do have a sense of humour though – the “poo bus” is running on route number 2. You could not make it up.

We have another new African church in Erith – the Household of Faith Ministry, City of Truth church which you can see details of above. Personally I would have thought that the market would now be completely saturated, bearing in mind that we already have  the Gateway Chapel on Kennet Road, next to the Thames Road Industrial Estate, the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry in the Manford Industrial Estate off Manor Road, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, which occupies the “Praise Ministry” at 33, Bexley Road - the former tyre warehouse behind the kebab shop and close to the hideous fish roundabout. They tend to have very noisy services, and have been in trouble with the council over exceeding their permitted car parking quota. The Celestial Church of Christ shares the same building, though I am unsure of the precise mechanics of their co-operative arrangement, but it seems to work for them anyway. There is also a church apparently using one of the industrial units located just off Birch Walk, though details of it remain hazy – and their web domain seems to have a lapsed registration, so they may well have moved on. Nevertheless it would seem that Erith is extremely well provided for if you wish to visit an African church. I just wonder how they compete for parishioners? Do people visit more than one, or is there a degree of “brand loyalty”? I know if I walk around Erith on a Sunday morning you can hear the singing and drumming from the Redeemed Christian Church of God – they seem a very cheerful and enthusiastic lot. I have been told in the past by a close friend who knows about such things that in general, the more flowery and impressive sounding wording an African church has in its’ title, the smaller and less impressive it turns out to be in reality. Nevertheless, they all seem to fulfil a local need, and it definitely comes under my personal libertarian philosophy of “if it works for you”.

Mobile phone maker Blackberry are becoming less and less relevant with business as well as casual users. The days of the firm being able to tout their “end to end secure” Email infrastructure as a unique selling point are now just a distant memory. What Blackberry pioneered in their proprietary hardware back in the day is now done in software on all the major smartphone platforms. Blackberry are now looking for new niche markets to exploit – they are realistic enough to understand that they are no longer in a position to go head to head with the likes of Apple and Samsung. Their latest foray is into the tablet marketplace – somewhere they famously (and very publicly) exited a couple of years ago, when they abruptly discontinued it. Early reviews were mixed, saying that although the hardware was good, several features were missing. Shipments totalled approximately 500,000 units during the first quarter of sales and 200,000 in the following quarter. Many of the 700,000 units shipped to retailers allegedly remained on the shelves for months, prompting BlackBerry to introduce dramatic price reductions in November 2011 to increase sales. Sales rebounded following the price cuts, with BlackBerry shipping approximately 2.5 million BlackBerry PlayBooks by June 1, 2013. Now Blackberry are back in the marketplace with a tablet that is primarily aimed at government and businesses, rather than private individuals. The new tablet is actually a re – badged Samsung Galaxy S10 that has additional cryptographic features. Samsung’s Knox secure boot technology ensures that the OS on the tablet has not been tampered with, while IBM’s contribution to the security chain is to “wrap” certain apps in an additional layer of code that intercepts and encrypts key data flows using the Secusmart hardware. All this means that the tablet meets with the security standards mandated by the U.S Government – possibly a big customer for the Canadian company. Each tablet will retail at $2,300 – though I would estimate that government or corporate bulk orders would get s substantial discount. Whether this approach will be enough to enable Blackberry to survive, I personally doubt. The company has been struggling for the last couple of years, and I would not be surprised that in 2015 Blackberry goes the same way as Nokia, who were once the dominant force in mobile phone technology, but now no longer exist.

The mystery of the halt in construction works to the new affordable rented flats being built in James Watt Way has been solved by some detective work by Erith Councillor Abena Oppong Asare. She has found out that the contractor being used to build the flats has got into financial difficulty, and the developer is currently looking for a new form of builders to complete the outstanding work. The good news is that this will only be a temporary delay to the construction of the much needed flats for affordable rent. Hopefully I will be able to report a re-start in the work very soon. 

I mentioned in the last update that I had recently paid a visit to one of the UK’s top advertising agencies – Grey London in Hatton Garden. The agency handle accounts from pretty much every high street brand, and are seen as one of the prime “go to” creative companies in the business. One advert that they are particularly famous for is the Vinny Jones mobster character doing CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) to the Bee Gees “Staying Alive” which the agency created for the British Heart Foundation a couple of years ago - you can see the advert below.  The very successful advertising campaign led to forty six lives being saved by people who carried out the lifesaving procedure on people who had collapsed. Now local MP Teresa Pearce is campaigning for CPR to be taught in schools. This, in conjunction with the provision of defibrillators in public places (they are already installed on larger railway stations) should hopefully cut the number of deaths due to heart attacks in the UK. Personally I was surprised that CPR is not currently taught in schools. I can recall lessons in basic first aid when I was at school, and I was surprised to learn that this is not something that all schools have on their curriculum. Teresa Pearce MP took part in a debate with the Department of Education in Westminster Hall; she said in the debate: “There is currently no mandatory requirement of teaching about CPR—first aid—or public access defibrillators in the national curriculum in England. That is denying generations of young people the opportunity to develop life-saving skills that would benefit everyone. Many people say that even if it was for a loved one, they would be reluctant to get involved because they would not know what to do. Teaching people CPR and defibrillator awareness in secondary schools would alleviate that fear. Young people would leave school with knowledge that could save a friend, a loved one or a stranger. I urge the Minister to take on board all the comments that have been made today and to take affirmative action to ensure that CPR and defibrillator awareness are a mandatory part of the national curriculum for the benefit of us all.”

Another local MP has been given a new responsibility; MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, David Evennett has been promoted to the Privy Council. This is apparently a highly prestigious position usually given to senior politicians. The Privy Council give advice to the Queen on matters of state. Somehow I guess that the Queen is more likely to be the one giving advice to her councillors, given her years of diplomatic experience. The Sovereign may appoint anyone to become a Privy Counsellor, but in practice appointments are made only on the advice of the Government, and generally consist only of senior members of parliament, the church and judiciary. There is no limit to the numbers sworn in as members. As of January 2012 there were about six hundred members. However, the members have no right to attend all meetings of the Privy Council, and only some are summoned to each meeting (in practice at the Prime Minister's discretion). David Evennett is not a senior MP, but he has been around for a while, and has the additional role of Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nicola Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education. All in all he’s done well; Evennett has not got caught with his fingers in the till, or bed hopping, so I guess that the Privy Council appointment is a reward for good behaviour. It certainly gives him more clout in his role as a local MP, which can only be a good thing for his constituents. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com

The end video this week is charming - an excerpt from a new episode of The Clangers. As a small child I used to absolutely love The Clangers. I was quite concerned when I heard that the BBC were making a new series of the classic show for small (and not so small) children, and was worried that they would "modernise" it and make it with sterile CGI. I should not have worried - the programme is still made with real models and stop - motion animation. Michael Palin narrates, and it is an utter joy to watch. This clip shows the Clanger family preparing to watch a solar eclipse. At least they can see what is going on, unlike the real thing that happened on Friday morning - the skies around Erith were so cloudy and overcast that almost no indication that an eclipse was taking place was evident - I noticed a few cars switching on their headlights for a few minutes, but that was about that. 

A closed door to open house.

The photo above shows the view from Erith looking West towards Lower Belvedere. You can see the bulk freighter the M.V Arklow Viking unloading a cargo of vegetable seeds ready to be converted into vegetable oil or low fat spread at the ADM Oils factory, which is the largest producer of cooking oils in Europe, and a very significant local employer. Most locals (unless they work there) are unaware of the giant production facility, only wondering about it on the occasions its' giant fume filters fail and a disgusting smell fills the air. To ADM's credit, this is a pretty rare event nowadays, and generally they do contribute a great deal to the local economy. 

I had a rather surreal and mildly worrying experience whilst queuing to pay for some groceries in Morrison’s earlier this week. There was a chap in front of me, and a couple behind. It turned out that they knew each other, and started up a friendly conversation. The individual in front of me said “I did not know that you two knew each other” to which, one of the couple responded “oh that’s easy – we share the same probation officer”. I must admit that this caused me to inwardly wince, but it got worse. “How are the family”? The guy in front of me asked. “Oh, young Martin has got himself into trouble again. He’s on remand in Belmarsh – he murdered his girlfriend. He says she had a fit and died, but he’s always beaten up his birds”. I could not make it up. What was more astonishing was the casual and matter of fact way that it was said. Names have been changed for obvious reasons.

Bexley Council are once again doing all that they possibly can to court unpopularity. Not only have they permanently cancelled the annual Danson Festival, but now they have also decided to withdraw from the London Open House Programme. This programme opens up some buildings that are not normally open to the public, for them to view for free; it also means that for one day public buildings such as Danson House and Hall Place that have an entrance fee are opened for nothing. One of my most reliable confidential informants tells me that the reason for the decision is straightforward. The council have tacitly admitted that both Danson House and Hall Place are normally so expensive to get into that on previous open house days, over five hundred visitors have toured both venues when it was free. The council does not want to host open house events, as it reckons it loses money. They seem to be ignorant to the fact that most if not all of the visitors on the free day would not pay to visit either of the sites due to the exorbitant entrance fees. Bexley is only one of three London boroughs that is not taking part in London Open House scheme. It strikes me as mean spirited and lacking in any form of creative vision. What do you think? Submit a comment below, or Email hugh.neal@gmail.com

I love Maplin electronics stores. I find it difficult to resist the temptation to pop in whenever I go past a shop. I invariably end up buying something too – even if it is only a small widget for a couple of quid. I have heard Maplin referred to as “a crèche for blokes”, and I have to say that I would not argue. Over the last year or so they have started selling 3D printers suitable for home and educational use. If you are not aware of what a 3D printer is, read on.  Unlike a conventional printer, which prints ink onto paper in two dimensions, a 3D printer uses a printing medium such as a coloured thermoplastic to slowly build up a solid object from tiny filaments which are extruded from a nozzle. The technical press have been very enthusiastic about 3D printing for a couple of years. Huge claims have been made as to what problems 3D printing can solve, and 3D printers are now cheap enough (entry level models are around a thousand pounds) that home users are now buying and using them. One area that 3D printing is well suited for is the production of small mechanical components, such as engine spares or plumbing parts. The problem with 3D printing is that it does not scale well. 3D printing speed is a cube function; a printer may be able to make a one inch cube in an hour. To make a cube that is in every way identical save that each cube face was two inches in size would take the same printer eight hours, and a four inch cube sixty four hours. Basically going from one inch in an hour to four inches in nearly three days is practically unworkable using current 3D printing technology. Unlike computers, where Moore’s Law dictates that computer processor power will double approximately every two years, the rate of 3D printer development is currently far slower. It is unlikely that 3D printing will become anything other than a novelty in anything other than very specialist sectors such as prototype engineering, where they have already proved to be invaluable. Unfortunately for general everyday use, 3D printing has yet to live up to the hype.

Above you can see a copy of the letter that has been delivered to all residents of Manor Road, concerning the complete closure to all through traffic for a period of ten weeks, whilst major re – engineering of the road is undertaken. It would appear that the council and engineering contractors have taken account of the large number of businesses that are located at the Eastern end of the road; fears that businesses would be unable to get their vehicles in and out would appear (at this point at least) to be unfounded. At no point is the entire road going to be closed as had been feared by many, as the closure is being broken down into a number of phases which will keep vehicular access open, albeit from a rather circuitous route.  Details on the letter – click for a larger view. You can also view more details on the Council's website by clicking here. How the whole project will work in reality is another question which only time will tell. Be assured I will be keeping a close eye on this story, and reporting accordingly.

Transport for London have taken a bit of a step backwards. Recently they have been running audio announcements, as well as a poster campaign the Underground, warning passengers to be careful of “card clash” when swiping in and out of the gate line barriers with an Oyster card. This is contrary to some of the statements made when Oyster was first rolled out, where TfL said that clashes between Oyster and other contactless card systems were simply not possible. I doubted this at the time, and my fears have proved to be grounded in reality.  The fact is that many people are getting penalty fares as they own more than one Oyster card, and keep them in the same wallet or purse – and they swipe the wallet or purse over the reader, rather than taking the specific card out. In these cases, one card gets debited on swipe in, and the other on swipe out – one could end up in a situation where one was penalised £8.50 for the card that swiped in but not out, and another £8.50 for the card that swiped out but not in. On top of this if one presents the wrong Oyster card when questioned by a revenue protection officer, you can be fined up to £80 for travelling without a ticket. This is all about to get even more complex, as Transport for London are heavily promoting “bonk n’ pay” –  the use of contactless bank debit cards to swipe into stations. They would rather passengers used their contactless debit cards, as it saves 2p per transaction in Oyster processing charges. Contactless debit card transaction costs are borne by the relevant bank. Back in February 2012, my bank sent me a new contactless debit card, which I returned to them in person. As I have written in the past, the whole contactless payment system is riddled with security holes and undocumented features. With hardware and software freely available online, it is possible to remotely interrogate a contactless card and to read certain data from it. The range is only about ten feet, but it is close enough for a crook with a card reader and a smart phone running illicit software. You only need to be standing in the same queue, or sharing a lift for the stealing of your card information to happen. Scary but true. One practical way to prevent this happening is to keep all of your cards in a specially RF shielded wallet or purse. Incidentally, London buses will stop accepting cash for fares on the 6th of July; they will only accept Oyster, contactless debit card and good, old fashioned paper travel cards (which I use, as they are the only non – hackable payment solution – sometimes the old ways are still the best). If you thought this apparent paranoia was taking things all a bit far, well, think again. More than a thousand “swipe and pay” and point of sale terminals worldwide have been compromised by a new strain of malware, results of a March 2014 probe have revealed. During a survey of compromised point of sale terminals, accounting systems and grocery management platforms, the Nemanja botnet was fingered as one of the biggest of the lot. After infiltrating various small businesses and grocery stores, the botnet then sets up a means to lift credit card and other sensitive data from compromised systems. Cyber-intelligence firm IntelCrawler said it had detected 1,478 hosts infected by Nemanja in countries as far apart as Australia, Israel and Zambia. Various systems in the UK, US and Germany have also been infected by the key logging malware. The latest malware is part of a larger trend of cybercrooks using it to target retailers’ office systems and cash registers. This malware is then used to lift sensitive information from compromised systems. For example, a variant of the BlackPOS was reportedly used in the final phase of the multi-stage attack against US retail giant Target. The estimated 40 million credit card records from the Target breach have subsequently been offered up for sale through underground hacking forums and the sheer volume of information has had the effect of pushing down the price of compromised details – a classic case of supply and demand. I have had practical, personal experience of malware infecting cashless payment systems; unfortunately I cannot detail the story here and now, as it could potentially help the bad guys. Suffice to say that they can be very difficult to detect, and even harder to successfully eradicate. 

One thing I have always been very keen on in respect of the Maggot Sandwich, is the promotion of independent local companies. I am happy to say that I have some good experiences to share with you. As I recently mentioned, Pewty Acres has been undergoing a bit of a makeover, which has included the back garden, which has been looking a state for far longer than I care to admit. I decided late last years that I would be undertaking a “year zero” approach to the garden, and start it again from scratch. This has included killing off the old moss and weed infested lawn, having the top couple of inches containing the remaining turf stripped and prepared for a new surface. The biggest challenge has been to have a large fir tree removed. When I moved in, the tree was tiny – I think it was an ex Christmas tree that had been planted by the previous owners. Over the intervening years it grew until it was substantially taller than the house. The down side to this was that not only did it block much of the sunlight from the back of the house, especially affecting the kitchen, which could be very dingy in the winter. Not only that, but the other problem was something that also affected my neighbours – the tree shed prodigious quantities of needles, which were very good at clogging up guttering. I decided that enough was enough, and the tree had to go. I contacted Keven Watt Quality Tree Care (no it is not a typo, that’s how his name is spelled). Keven came round, took a careful look at the giant fir that was completely dominating my garden, took some measurements and gave me a very reasonable quotation. A couple of weeks later, a massive, purpose built lorry towing a large wood shredding machine appeared in the access road at the bottom of my garden. Three burly looking blokes got out and very quickly started work. One donned climbing gear and soon was tied to the top of the tree, where he started very scientifically removing the branches with a small but powerful chainsaw, which he then passed down to his two colleagues on the ground. They then put the branches into the shredder, which then sprayed the resulting wood chips into the back of the van. Their work was precisely choreographed and it was evident that they had all done this innumerable times before. Soon all that was left was the main trunk. The climber got down and made a couple of cuts in the base, then the trunk was carefully pulled down. Once it was on the ground, the trunk was chopped into manageable segments and loaded into the van. The team then spent quite some time cleaning up and making good.  A week later, another chap turned up with a second large van towing a stump grinding machine – something that looks like a cross between a rotavator and an oil rig drill. The chap put some steel spikes into the ground around the stump and exposed roots, then attached a flexible vinyl guard panel, to stop flying debris. Twenty minutes later, and the trunk base and roots were completely gone, leaving only the pleasant pine smell behind. Again the chap was assiduous in the way he cleaned up.  He told me that nothing goes to waste. The huge quantity of wood chippings that had been generated when the tree branches were shredded were recycled as biodiesel, and the large wooden logs from the trunk went to a mushroom farm (mushrooms usually grow on dead wood). Everything the company do is keyed to recycling and re – use, which was very reassuring to hear. All the staff at Keven Watt Quality Tree Care were polite, efficient and obviously well versed in the technicalities of their jobs. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone requiring work done on their trees. It is nice to be able to report on a local company who excel in their field, and rightly deserve recognition for their work.

The photo above was sent to me by local historian Ken Chamberlain. It was taken in the early 1960's and shows both the Vox and Elizabethan Electronics factories, side by side, just off West Street. I am pretty certain the shot was taken prior to 1965, as Elizabethan moved their production facility to Romford then, and also in 1965, the research and development department of Vox, which was located on the top floor of their building was severely damaged by a fire. Fortunately the fire was extinguished before it could spread to the rest of the building. Whilst Vox still exist as a brand (now owned and operated by Japanese musical instrument maker Korg), Elizabethan Electronics have long ceased trading. There is still is a tenuous link to the Elizabethan brand in Erith. A commercial vehicle servicing and repair company called Elizabethan Motor Services, a small independent motor garage specialising in the maintenance and repair of cars and light commercial vehicles. They are located in the small industrial estate in Wheatley Terrace Road, almost opposite the excellent Abbey Car Breakers. I have no idea if there is any kind of connection between the two, if anyone knows, please inform me.

Here is a bit of a scoop. The first brewery in the London Borough of Bexley since Reffells was bought and closed down by Courage and Barclay Ltd in 1956 will shortly be going into production. Bexley Brewery, which is run by a chap called Cliff Murphy is currently in preparation for a late summer opening. You can see their website by clicking here. He’s secured an industrial unit in Erith which will house the brewery. The brewing equipment is due to be installed during the month of August, and the first brew is scheduled for September. I have been in Email contact with Cliff, and hope to have an exclusive feature, including photographs of the Bexley Brewery once brewing has got under way. Watch this space.

I am not quite sure what to make of the following piece; it will be interesting to see what kind of feedback I get from you, dear reader. A campaign has started in America to discourage hand shaking as a form of greeting. The campaign organisers have a logically argued set of reasons. In essence, eighty percent of all infectious diseases are passed from person to person by hand contact, and according to the American Centre for Disease Control, the single greatest threat to human health is the transmission of harmful bacteria by human touch. The Mayo Clinic recently wrote “Why are most people offended when you don’t want to shake their hand? You are not rejecting them or calling their personal hygiene into question. You are simply reducing your exposure to germs that they unknowingly carry. Germs live everywhere. You can find germs in the air, on food, plants and animals, in the soil, in the water, and on just about every other surface — including your own body. Most germs won’t harm you. Your immune system protects you against a multitude of infectious agents. However, some germs are formidable adversaries because they’re constantly mutating to breach your immune system’s defences”. This has been scientifically supported by research carried out by the American Society for Microbiology “While 92% of adults say they wash their hands in public restrooms observational studies say otherwise. In an observational study of 6,076 adults, sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), only 66% of men actually washed their hands in public restrooms. The women did much better with 88% taking to the sinks. The study was conducted in 2005, but before you think times are different because of H1N1 flu scares, think again. A more recent survey conducted July 28 – 31, 2009 by the Bradley Corporation said a full 54% of the 1,020 respondents “wash their hands no more or less frequently” in a public toilet as a result of the H1N1 virus. The ASM found similar results in 2003, despite public concerns of the SARS virus”. According to the Centre for Disease Control “scientists estimate that people who are not washing their hands often or well enough may transmit up to 80% of all infections by their hands. From doorknobs to animals to food, harmful germs can live on almost everything. Hand washing may be your single most important act to help stop the spread of infection and stay healthy. As a reminder, hand hygiene requires soap and water or alcohol-based hand rubs. Antibacterial soaps provide no advantage”. The practical result of this is that you cannot rely on the person you shake hands with as having clean hands. I can appreciate this from my own recent personal experience. You may recall that I suffered a terrible bout of Gastroenteritis a couple of months ago as the direct result of forgetting to wash my hands after a supermarket trip, then eating a packet of crisps. I was out of action for nearly two weeks as a result. The stop hand shaking campaign may well have a valid point, though my own opinion is that the risk of unintentionally offending someone is probably currently greater than the risk of catching something nasty. Personally I am fastidious about hand hygiene, but unsure how well others observe it. Your thoughts would be welcomed. You can either leave a comment below, or Email hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I make an apology to Darryl Chamberlain of the excellent 853 blog, who was the original person to post the video below. Whilst I know quite a number of Maggot Sandwich readers also follow the 853 blog (link to the right hand side of the screen), some may not. Darryl uncovered the video, which shows a short public information film describing the work to rebuild London Bridge Station back in 1974 / 75. The station is now being rebuilt again. One of the changes made in 2015 will be that passengers on the Dartford to London via Greenwich line (that includes travellers from Slade Green, Erith, Belvedere and Abbey Wood) will no longer be able to get off at London Bridge or Charing Cross. All trains on our line will not stop at London Bridge, but will go straight through to Cannon Street only. This may be OK in the week, as most commuters on the line end up in the city anyway, but at evenings and weekends it will be a real pain, as Cannon Street and the City are pretty much dead then. If you want to go to the West End, you will need to use the tube from Cannon Street station. You can read more about the changes, along with a schedule of when they will be taking place by clicking here. I don't know how many local people will be aware exactly how far reaching the changes will actually be.