The 99.

Drivers who operate the 99 bus service between Bexleyheath and Woolwich, and back the other way are unhappy. In 2011, and then later in 2016 the very popular bus route was upgraded with brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 double decker buses such as the example that you can see in the photograph above, which was taken by me last summer. These were modern, comfortable, well designed and had a flywheel based energy conservation system installed, which enabled the bus engine to shut off at bus stops, or when halted in traffic. The system is called Gyrodrive. When the bus comes to a halt, the engine cuts out completely. When the bus subsequently pulls away from the bus stop, it travels for a few seconds in complete silence, before the diesel engine cuts back in. This saves fuel and cuts exhaust emissions. The 99 bus route covers quite a large area, and has a couple of fairly steep hills on the way, the most challenging of which is Bostall Hill where the road passes though Bostall Heath. The Enviro 400 buses equipped with the Gyrodrive system were more than capable of managing this journey with relative ease. Recently the bus company Arriva - which operates many of the routes in South East London and North Kent, decided to replace the Enviro 400 buses with another model. These were sourced second hand from the Midlands (I have heard that Wolverhampton was the original location for the second hand fleet - but if you know better, please let me know). The "new" second had buses are Wright Gemini 2 bodied VDL DB300's, which do not feature Gyrodrive. They are an older design than the Enviro 400 models that they now replace. I have spoken to several drivers on the 99 bus route, and they are very unhappy with the Wright Gemini buses. They are slow and under powered when compared to the previous Enviro 400's, and they have absolutely terrible suspension, with almost no damping. They bang and crash over the slightest road imperfection, and have a very bumpy, unrefined and uncomfortable ride. One driver commented to me that the buses were so underpowered that he almost felt like asking the passengers to get out and push when coming up Bostall Hill. On top of this, the second hand buses are extremely unreliable. Last week I personally saw two broken down Wright Gemini route 99 buses, one of which had stopped right on the junction with Bexley Road and the Fish Roundabout in the centre of Erith. One driver told me that the rate of breakdowns was so bad that the bus garage in Plumstead had no spare buses - the reserves were already in use, covering for the units that had already broken down. It seems to me that Arriva may have been guilty of some false economy when purchasing these used buses. I have no idea where the Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 buses have gone - whether Arriva have deployed them onto another route, or sold them on to another operator. If you have any information, please get in contact with me by emailing me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

After the non - story fiasco last week that featured Erith's KFC Drive Through being featured in a number of national tabloid newspapers, including the Sun, this week The Sun have featured a further non - story in respect of Erith McDonald's Drive Through, which is located directly opposite the KFC. on the corner of Manor Road and James Watt Way. The News Shopper ran a story which they apparently sold on to the Sun, which concerned claims that a fourteen year old girl and her friend had been to buy food at the McDonald's outlet, and that they had been told that they would have to eat outside, as they were wearing school uniform, and the Erith restaurant policy is to only allow two school children in the building at any one time - and two school children were already in the place. The reasoning behind this is that the Erith McDonald's apparently has had some severe problems with anti social behaviour, mainly caused by local school kids. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the case - and on Monday when the incident is alleged to have taken place, it was indeed very cold outside, but the news report contains one significant error; as you will see in the screen capture above - click on it to see a larger version - The Sun article clearly claims that the staff at the Erith McDonald's "forced a teenage schoolgirl to eat her food in the snow outside". The only thing is - it was cold last Monday, but there was no snow whatsoever - that did not arrive until late on Tuesday. Once again the Sun is not letting the facts get in the way of a good story. I am not covering the snow we have had recently, as more than enough has been written about it elsewhere already.

It comes as no surprise to me that The London Borough of Bexley did not win, or even come close to winning the London Borough of Culture award for 2019. Twenty two boroughs, including Bexley entered the competition, with Waltham Forest coming first, and with Barking and Dagenham coming second. The London Borough of Brent will take the prize in 2022. A prize of £1.35 million has been awarded to Waltham Forest; among the projects which will now get funding are a laser-light installation in Epping Forest, a two-day film festival in Leytonstone in honour of Sir Alfred Hitchcock — the local boy-turned-Hollywood director, and a 50 square metre solar-powered light show on Walthamstow Marshes. The borough has built a reputation for the arts in recent years as artists priced out of inner London have moved in. The Waltham Forest council-owned Grade II listed William Morris Gallery, which was home to the designer for almost 10 years, was named Museum of the Year in 2013 and the borough is also home to a regular art trail where residents transform their homes into galleries and open them up to visitors. Its bid was supported by names including choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne, who grew up in Walthamstow, and Blur front man Damon Albarn, who lived in Leytonstone. Against such strong competition Bexley did not stand much of a chance, though this may well change in the future. Bexley and the arts have until recently not exactly been great bed fellows. The council does little to support the arts, and most art related enterprise is undertaken by local residents in a voluntary capacity - Erith Playhouse being a prime example. It is fortunate that local arts group The Exchange have now been formed, and since the early summer of last year have been working to promote the arts and local involvement. The Exchange were the people behind the Erith Lighthouse pop - up restaurant (which received much praise from the London Evening Standard at the time) and the associated artwork that was featured in Erith Pier. They have now taken on a truly massive project to refurbish and repurpose the historic Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, and to convert it into an arts and community hub, with space for sole trader businesses to use. I am hopeful that in a few years, that The London Borough of Bexley will lead in creativity and the arts, and be in a position to win a future award.

Although not exactly local, this story strikes me as of being of interest to many readers. One of the most famous landmarks on the River Thames marks its 80th birthday in the next couple of weeks. HMS Belfast, now a floating museum on the River Thames next to Tower Bridge, was originally launched back on March 17th 1938. She was launched by Mrs Neville Chamberlain to the cheers of hundreds of spectators. Since then she has served in the Arctic Convoys, fought in the Korean War, travelled the world and, famously, played a key role at the D-Day landings. one of ten Town-class cruisers, began in December 1936. She was launched on St Patrick's Day 1938. Commissioned in early August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Belfast was initially part of the British naval blockade against Germany. In November 1939, Belfast struck a German mine and spent more than two years undergoing extensive repairs. Belfast returned to action in November 1942 with improved firepower, radar equipment, and armour. Belfast saw action escorting Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union during 1943 and in December 1943 played an important role in the Battle of North Cape, assisting in the destruction of the German warship Scharnhorst. In June 1944, Belfast took part in Operation Overlord supporting the Normandy landings. In June 1945, Belfast was redeployed to the Far East to join the British Pacific Fleet, arriving shortly before the end of the Second World War. Belfast saw further combat action in 1950–52 during the Korean War and underwent an extensive modernisation between 1956 and 1959. A number of further overseas commissions followed before Belfast entered reserve in 1963. In 1967, efforts were initiated to avert Belfast's expected scrapping and to preserve her as a museum ship. A joint committee of The Imperial War Museum, The National Maritime Museum, and The Ministry of Defence were established and then reported in June 1968 that preservation was practical. In 1971, the government decided against preservation, prompting the formation of the private HMS Belfast Trust to campaign for her preservation. The efforts of the Trust were successful, and the government transferred the ship to the Trust in July 1971. Brought to London, she was moored on the River Thames near Tower Bridge in the Pool of London. Opened to the public in October 1971, Belfast became a branch of The Imperial War Museum in 1978. A popular tourist attraction, Belfast receives over a quarter of a million visitors per year. As a branch of a national museum and part of the National Historic Fleet, Belfast is supported by The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, admissions income, and the museum's commercial activities. On 17th March, you can meet veterans from across HMS Belfast’s 80 year history and learn about what it was like to live and work at sea. A number of free events on board include the return of Signals at Sea, where families can learn how lights, radios, codes and flags were used to pass messages from ship to ship. You can also learn how to send your own name in Morse Code, as well as a new signal created specifically for the occasion. Amateur Radio group The Royal Navy Amateur Radio Society uses HMS Belfast as its' base, and operates out of the original ship's radio room. They are operating under a special event licence over the 80th birthday period, and they can often be heard on the 2 metre VHF band, calling on 145.500 - S20. The special callsign is GB8ØGGCN. You can discover more about HMS Belfast and her 80th birthday celebrations by clicking here.

Some of the feedback that I get from regular readers is related to technical content on the Maggot Sandwich. Some readers are not keen on it, and tend to skip the occasional technical subject that I write about, but a majority seem to like the technical articles. I am conscious that I cannot please everyone all of the time, and I try and mix and match technical articles with those of a more general and widespread appeal. I have had some positive feedback in the past regarding the articles I have written on technology failures and why they happened. Examples of this include the VHS versus Betamax war of the early 1980's and the well intentioned but ultimately doomed Capacitance Electronic Disk (CED) analogue video disk system. Another technology that emerged in the late 90's and early 2000's that was expected to revolutionise the way people rented and bought movies in the years before streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video were created, but ultimately it failed at the first hurdle, and nowadays very few people are even aware that the system existed. Back in the day when VHS was still the market leading video format, and DVD was a relatively new invention. The film companies were getting very concerned that their long established business model could be in danger. The VHS market was a known, reliable money-spinner for studios. They knew that, around six months after the cinema release of a film, they could release it on video to rent, charging video hire shops up to £90 for a tape. Then, a few months on, they could charge £10 - £13 for a version to buy, the key difference being generally fewer adverts (save for an infamous VHS release of RoboCop from Virgin Video, with half an hour of adverts before the feature), and a smaller box. It all extended the financial life span of a film, and was a golden goose that many were wary of slaying. A US based electronics retailer and a law firm got together to come up with a new rival to the DVD format that would allow them to control how a rental disk was watched. That format was DIVX. Not the digital video codec – that was DivX – rather an alternative, disc-based video rental system that was launching at the same time as DVD. The idea of DIVX was that a disc would cost around $4.50 in the US, against the $25-30 retail price of a DVD. Then, once you played it in your DIVX player – you needed one of those too, and not a standard DVD deck – you had 48 hours to watch it. Ironically, it is the same kind of idea that sits behind digital video rental stores now, such as Sky Store and Google Play or Netflix. The DIVX disc would work for 48 hours, and you could extend this for an extra fee to get another two days of use from it. If you wanted to keep the film, and remove the restriction, you could pay again to upgrade it to a DVD Silver. Retailers were also set to release DIVX Gold discs (basically, bog standard DVDs), but none ever appeared, nor did the DIVX format ever leave the US. For starters, an assortment of retailers backed DIVX, thinking this would maintain the idea of getting two payments for a home format release from consumers (this was before they hatched on the idea of multiple special edition releases of the same film on DVD). Disney, Paramount, Universal and Fox all released titles on DIVX, with around 300 films ultimately made available onto the format. Most were pan and scan releases, lacking a widescreen option, with barely any of the special features that DVDs were being stuffed with. DIVX was clearly being aimed at casual movie watchers, rather than film fans - yet film fans set alarm bells ringing. Fan resistance was vehement against DIVX, and this was a very early example of an internet campaign against a planned format. The quality of DIVX releases was questioned, whilst there were fears that having more than one disc format would lead to consumer confusion. Furthermore, the DIVX system technically had the ability to feed back information over your telephone line as to what you were watching, and some questioned the Big Brother nature of that. That said, Netflix, Amazon etc do that by default now, and barely anyone bats an eyelid. Times have changed. DIVX ultimately failed in 1999, with the ability to view DIVX discs switched off in the summer of 2001. DVD had won the battle. With DVD victorious, so the rental window system ended in the US pretty much on the spot. Stores still offered DVD rentals, but of discs you could buy at an affordable price. More and more people opted to simply buy a film outright on day one, especially as the advent of internet shopping had brought with it some hefty discounts on discs. In the UK, the move away from rentals was slightly slower, held back by one or two video hire companies such as Blockbuster, and some of the film distributors still keen to hold onto some form of window. But then there was a cultural difference. Whereas the American market had regularly seen big titles, even on VHS, go straight to sell-through, in Britain, it was a novelty. It is ironic that, in its own way, rental has made a comeback, albeit through online, on-demand services that let you instantly ‘rent’ a film for a two-day period. But the catalyst there too has been a format change. If video to DVD brought an end to traditional rental and a move to us buying more physical copies of films, the hard disk and broadband-driven era is taking things back a little the other way. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for this weeks local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Barnehurst Ward have suffered a burglary and an attempted burglary in the past week. The burglary took place in Holmesdale Grove on Friday 23rd February. At 05.31pm the victim received a notification from the door bell system informing the victim there was a male at the front door. The male is seen to walk away to join another male at the front of the drive. Both males proceed to walk down the side alley. Moments later at 05.37 a grey Mercedes with blacked out windows appears from the alley and parks in front of the property for a few minutes, it reverses into alley and drives off at speed. The rear door to the property was found damaged and the window had been smashed. Entry was gained and an untidy search was found in the bedroom with items of jewellery of little value strewn across the bed. Nothing had been taken. One male was described to be white, wearing a black baseball cap, black coat, blue jeans and a red scarf was worn across the face. The second male was also white, wearing a black coat with the hood up, black jeans and trainers with a white sole. Also on the 23rd February at 02.00pm victim was at home when a loud noise was heard coming from the rear of the property. As the victim entered the kitchen, an Asian male was seen crouched down holding a crow bar in the rear garden. On seeing the victim he fled with another person exiting through a side gate onto the drive, direction from there is unknown. The Asian male was described as wearing a dark blue jacket and a dark blue woolly hat and was about 30 years old. It is believed both suspects were male. There has also been one theft of a motor vehicle which occurred on Tuesday 27th February whereby a grey Volkswagon Golf, Registration number VX 15 DZB was stolen from Hall Place Crescent. Our next coffee with cops will be held on Wednesday 7th March at 11.00pm in Barnehurst Golf Club. Please come along for a chat with the team. In the meantime stay safe, keep warm and look out for your elderly neighbours who may feel stranded due to the dangerous icy conditions outside. I’m sure some would appreciate a helping hand". Belvedere ward:- "Over the last week, A/PS Green and PC Holmes have been involved in three arrests. The first was in relation to a wanted male who we were alerted to in Erith Town Centre. This male was wanted for 2 separate offences and was further arrested for possession of cannabis which was in his possession at the time of his initial arrest. The second male was arrested in Ambrooke Road as he was wanted for several offences. Subsequently, Daniel Mills, aged 33 of Picardy Street, Belvedere was found guilty at Bromley magistrates Court on 26th February 2018 of making off without payment x 2, motor vehicle interference, possession of cannabis and failing to attend a drugs intervention programme. He was sentenced to 42 days imprisonment, 14 days on license, fined £415.00 and further costs to be paid to victims within the next six months. The third was in relation to a male who had failed to appear at court for environmental offences. He was arrested at his home address in Lower Belvedere. Whilst on patrol in Lower Road, A/PS Green and PCSO Worrall observed a blue quad bike parked on the pavement. Checks were carried out on the vehicle, and the owner of the bike was spoken to at length. Details have been recorded by the team, should this vehicle come to notice in the future. PCSO Worrall assisted Northumberland Heath ward officers in visiting victims of burglary and attempted burglary in Parsonage Manor Way and Matfield Road respectively. Neighbouring addresses at both locations were also visited in order to raise awareness of both incidents within the community. Finally, the team – assisted by officers from Northumberland Heath SNT, Colyers SNT and North End SNT conducted a drugs warrant in Brigstock Road. There were a quantity of drugs seized from the address and also other items discovered within the property. This investigation is currently ongoing". Christchurch ward:- "We are pleased to mention that their have not been any burglaries over the past week . We believe this is as a result of a number of great arrests. But unfortunately we have had one report of an attempted burglary along Broomfield Road on the 16/02/2018. Suspects had walked along the front drive and tried to gain entry to the property. In relation to motor vehicle crime. On the 22/02/2018, we have had one report of a theft of motor vehicle that was taken from the driveway along Freta Road. Also a report of a theft from motor vehicle on the 19/02/2018 along Rochester Drive, number plates were removed from the vehicle. Two reports have been received over the last week where wallets have been stolen from the victims and we have one victim of pick pocketing, below is a brief summary of them: 26/02/2018 – Wallet was stolen from victim whilst they were shopping in TKMaxx 24/02/2018 – Wallet stolen along the Broadway area; 22/02/2018 – Victim was pick pocketed whilst shopping in Pound Land. There was also a report of property that was stolen from outside McDonalds on the 21/02/2018. The team has been conducted some outstanding work whilst also proactively patrolling on a regular basis. We have noticed youths are starting to congregate outside the Bowling Alley and around Methuen Road & Oakland’s Road, the team is engaging with them to reduce ASB. We have been receiving reports of youths on push bikes riding dangerously on busy main roads. We have been told that they slow traffic down by riding in the middle of the streets doing wheelies and also being verbally abusive towards motorists. We have stopped youths on the ward along Iris Road to advise them to be cautious whilst on their bikes and to think about their safety as well as for other members of public. Parental letters have been sent to some Parents. Following residents’ concerns of youth disorder on the Broadway, Police took positive action in implementing dispersal zones in which a number of people were arrested and subsequently we have had positive results at Court. Schools have been fully engaged and are committing in working in partnership with us. We have received complaints of drug dealing taking place along Hawthorn Road and Methuen Road. These streets are regularly patrolled to help tackle this problem. The team is conducting extensive enquiries with regards to the theft of purse from the 97 year old female outside the Conservative Club". Colyers ward:- "We are pleased to say another low crime week for Colyers Ward this week with no reported burglaries and just one theft from motor vehicle. A car window was smashed and a Satnav and purse were stolen from a car in Badlow Close overnight on Monday 26th Feb sometime between 7.30pm and 10am the following morning. Please remember to take everything with you, leaving nothing on view, before leaving and locking your car. Colyers and North End SNT held a joint Crime Prevention event in the Shell garage on North End road on Saturday 24th February. The ward officers have been busy assisting with patrols for the knife point robberies and yesterday (Wednesday 28th) Colyers SNT assisted Belvedere team with a drugs warrant on their ward. Cannabis , cash and other items were seized". Crayford ward:- "Not too many crimes of note this week. A secured moped was stolen from the driveway of a property in Mayplace Avenue sometime between 20.00 on the 25/02/18 and 11.00 on 26/02/18. On 22/02/18 at approx. 22.00, police received a call about suspicious behaviour near a vehicle in Dale Road. On arrival the main group had left leaving one male standing near some bushes. Police were made aware that items had been placed in those bushes. The male was searched and arrested for having drugs and intending to supply and having a police baton. He was further arrested as the motorcycle he had was not road legal as it had no MOT or insurance. We have been dealing with anti-social behaviour near the Europa Gym and Town Hall Square and have now identified some of the youths concerned in this behaviour. We will now liaise with other agencies to deal with them appropriately". Lesnes Abbey ward:- "Burglary - On Monday 26/02/18 between the hours of 03 :10 pm and 06:55 pm a burglary occurred in Wyfold house, Wolvercote Road. Entry was made via the front door. Nothing was taken. Between Friday 23/02/18 and Saturday 24/02/18 a burglary occurred in Manorside Close, the UPVC outer door had been kicked open. Attempted burglary occurred in Glenview between Thursday 22/02/18 and Saturday 24/02/18.Damge to the woodwork and the padlock hasps. Attempted burglary in Brampton Road occurred on Saturday 24/02/18 between the hours of 01 :00 pm and 07 :00 pm, no entry was gained but the outer front porch door had been bent by suspect/s using an implement. Motor Vehicle Crimes - During the early hours of Friday 23/02/18 a motor vehicle parked in Manorside Close was broken into and music sound systems stolen. Between 00:12 am and 00 :30 on Saturday 24/02/18 a motor vehicle parked in Coralline Walk was damaged resulting in the number plate hanging off. A set of anti tamper screws were supplied to the victim for carrying out the repair. On Saturday 24/02/18 a motor vehicle was stolen from outside of a property in Burchabro Road. Good news on the stolen vehicle, it was later found and is now in the police car pound. The owner has been informed. Date for your diary - Have a say day. Any motorists using the BP Connect petrol station on Harrow Manor Way, SE2 9TA on Wednesday 07/03/18 between the hours of 11:00 am and 12:00 midday, pick up some Motor Vehicle Crime prevention information from the Lesnes Abbey team". North End ward:- "Unfortunately 4 vehicle crimes have occurred in the last week. 2 were overnight on Sunday / Monday near each other. Both were Theft from Motor Vehicle, one in Betsham Road, window smashed, items taken from within and the same scenario in Frobisher Road. Paintball guns were the items taken from the vehicle in Betsham Road and ongoing enquiries are being made. On Sunday afternoon number plates were stolen from a car in Betsham Road although the rear one snapped as it was being removed. A motorbike was taken in the early hours Friday 23rd Feb from Hazel Drive, the padlock was cut off the BMW bike which has yet to be recovered. There was also and attempted burglary at Cobham House at some point during the last week, no exact day or time as the victim wasn’t there for a few days but on his return he noticed damage to his door frame. Neighbours have been spoken to but nobody has seen or heard anything at this time. PC James Telfer was working with the Belvedere team on Saturday and spotted a male he knew was wanted for numerous offences, he was promptly arrested by PC Telfer, remanded in custody and given a 42 day sentence on Monday. Excellent work by James. On Saturday evening PC Mark Brookes-Smith and PCSO Mark Pigott had a crime prevention table at the Shell Garage on Northend Road. This was a joint effort carried out with our Colyers SNT colleagues. There was a lot of interest from the garage customers and Crime Prevention advice and leaflets were given out to over 50 people. If you would like any crime prevention information, please let us know and we can arrange to get you leaflets, property marking pens etc and even have a one to one advice session with you if you require one. We have a Community Contact session on Tuesday March 6th from 1pm at Slade Green Library in Chrome Road, please come along and say hi if you are free". Thamesmead East ward:- "One burglary to report this week which occurred on Monday 26th Feb during the early hours of the morning (Harrow Manor Way). The front door was forced open, and electrical items were stolen, including laptops, and mobile phones. During the early hours of Friday 23 Feb, two motor vehicles were broken into, a bag and a wallet were stolen, Southmere Drive and Seacourt Road. Please don’t leave any valuable items on show in your vehicles, even for a short amount of time. A motor vehicle was stolen between 0100 and 0800 hours, at Thamesbank Place. On Monday 26th Feb, the team were out conducting arrest enquiries in relation to suspects wanted who live on our ward. Despite being unsuccessful, word quickly must have got round, because no more than an hour later, the suspect attended his local Police station, and handed himself in. He was subsequently arrested and sent to Court the following morning. If at first you don’t succeed, etc etc. Our base at Limestone Walk, opposite The Taris shop will be open this Saturday 3rd March. Any issues, please feel free to come along and let us know. On the 8th March, the team will be at the Link, Bazalgette Way, SE2 9BS, between 1630 and 1730 hours, again please come and say hello to us".

The end video this week is a short film about Bexleyheath; it is well worth a watch. See what you think and feel free to leave a comment below; alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Bonehill behind bars.

The photo above was taken by me on Tuesday evening; it shows a pile of illegally fly – tipped old and worn out lorry tyres that was dumped in Appold Street, off Manor Road by persons unknown. I spoke to a couple of the residents in the road, and none of them heard or saw anything suspicious. I suspect that the fly - tipping may have been carried out in the early hours of the morning, when most locals would have been asleep. I reported the matter to the Police and to Bexley Council Environmental Crimes Unit. To their credit, the unit got the tyres collected for proper recycling within twenty four hours. Appold Street has proved a favourite location for illegal tipping for many years – hardly a week goes by without some scumbag dropping a load there. I know that a number of Appold Street residents would like to see CCTV cameras installed to record such illegal activity. This is despite concerns about personal privacy – they feel that things have become so bad that the stopping of fly tipping is more important to them than any intrusion into personal privacy.

I don't know about you, but I get an almost incessant stream of junk mail through my letter box; much of which is delivered by the Royal Mail. Sometimes I feel that I would like to fit an electric paper shredder to the inside of the front door, and I am certain that I am not alone in that sentiment. The news that a scheme that would have allowed households to stop billions of items of junk mail has been secretly ditched by government ministers after a series of objections from Royal Mail and other delivery companies has leaked out. The Times reported earlier this week that after a freedom of information request was submitted on the subject, it became clear that the junk mail blocking proposal was quietly shelved after a row between the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Direct Marketing Association about which companies were joining. The scheme had the potential to cut thousands of tonnes of waste by letting households opt out of receiving both addressed and unaddressed junk mail. The current scheme only applies to addressed mail. Every year in the UK an estimated twelve billion items of unsolicited marketing mail drop onto doormats around the country; this is equivalent to roughly five million trees. In 2014 Royal Mail revenues from delivering junk mail increased to more than £500 million, with the company delivering over three billion items of unaddressed post. The deal with the Direct Marketing Association to stop sending junk mails to people who opted out soon broke down; The preference scheme was known as the Door Drop Preference Service was ready to launch in 2012. Unfortunately the arrangement soon fell through, as the Direct Marketing Association accused the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of not doing enough to sign up other organisations who send junk Email to the scheme. The trade body argued that if its members joined, advertisers would switch their junk mail to free newspapers. This analysis was rejected, and the deadlock was never broken. Earlier this year the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs finally admitted that the scheme would never materialise, but somewhere along the line a decision was made that no public announcement would be published. All in all the situation is a mess; there are two existing non – addressed junk mail opt – out schemes, but very few people know about them – one is run by Royal Mail, and the other by the Direct Marketing Association – both schemes have to be joined by post, and registration on both expires after two years, when households have to reapply. The figures suggest that less than one in fifty UK households is signed up to these schemes. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Last week I wrote about how local residents were losing confidence on the recently launched Dart Charge system at the Dartford River Crossing. It would seem that things are even worse than I described. This week MP for Dartford Gareth Johnson has called for the government to withhold payment to Sanef, the company that operate the Dart Charge system. In an interview in the News Shopper, Johnson said “Since the Dart Charge system was introduced it has been woefully inadequate. I have had hundreds of people contact me who are deeply frustrated with the system. I have already called on the Department of Transport to withhold payments to Sanef, the company which operates Dart Charge, and I urge them again to do so. I don't want to see any tolls on the crossing let alone a toll system that doesn’t work correctly. Motorists need to be able to trust the system and yet that is not currently the case." The number of complaints about poor service, incorrect charging and fines being sent to people who had actually not used the bridge or tunnel has increased markedly. These were initially explained as “teething troubles”, but it would appear that they have not improved since last November when the service was launched. On top of the MP for Dartford getting on the case, now Edmund King, the President of the Automobile Association has become involved. He recently said “It is particularly galling that any toll remains at Dartford. The tolls and charges were supposed to be lifted in 2003 when the cost of the scheme had been met.  The new scheme has undoubtedly eased the congestion at busy times but, for some, there is a new concern regarding the behind-the-scenes bureaucracy that accompanies this supposedly high-tech, non-stop tolling. We expect many drivers to incur penalties through not being aware of the scheme.  And those who seek help with problems they have experienced with the 'back office' may get frustrated when problems are not resolved quickly or easily enough.  We believe that, so far, only around 400 appeals have been considered by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal and thankfully, because of the teething problems, the vast majority of drivers are winning their cases.  We expect appeals to ramp up in the coming months and if the authority does not act quickly to reduce errors it could be embarrassing. With the scheme now into its seventh month, the AA calls for a transparent review of customer service standards and the performance of the electronic processes so any needed improvements can be made.  The AA also believes a complaints system and 'users group' should be established to ensure users have a voice. The AA welcomes Dart Charge’s decision to issue warnings not penalties to first-time non-payers and hopes that this continues until awareness of the scheme increases”. Quite. Now that both Gareth Johnson MP and Edmund King are backing travellers who use the Dartford River Crossing, hopefully the public attention the issue gets will increase. Back in November last year when the Dart Charge scheme was launched I predicted problems of exactly the type that have since been experienced. It is much to my regret that I have to say that I told you so. Not only does the Dart Charge system have trouble reading vehicle number plates, but it is clear that the number of cloned plates is higher than many had anticipated – this seems to be one of the contributing factors to the warning notices and fines being sent to entirely innocent people, so the blame for the failure of Dart Charge to work properly cannot be put solely at the feet of Sanef – your common or garden local crook also has a hand in this.

The photo above was taken in the summer of 1907 (click on it for a larger view), and shows how the residents of Edwardian Erith dealt with a heatwave similar to what we have experienced in the last week. The first public swimming baths in Erith was an outdoor one in Walnut Tree Road; the photo was taken during the opening ceremony on the 3rd of August 1907. The pool cost £700 to build and was sixty feet long by twenty five feet wide. The water was heated using the waste boiler heat from the adjacent Erith Power Station. Bearing in mind that in addition to the power station, the swimming baths were close to the livestock holding pens at Erith railway station - which you can clearly see in the period photograph below - I would imagine the smell must have been eye watering at certain times!

Over the last week or so, the popular press have been getting very excited about artificial intelligence, and the efforts made to progress research in this field by various organisations and academics. This is all very well, but unfortunately the enthusiasm of the journalists (and their lack of understanding of the hugely complex and technical field) has led to some rather inaccurate reporting. According to a Wall Street journal  article titled "Artificial Intelligence machine gets testy with programmer," a Google computer program using a database of movie scripts supposedly "lashed out" at a human researcher who was repeatedly asking it to explain morality. After several apparent attempts to politely fend off the researcher, the Artificial Intelligence ends the conversation with "I'm not in the mood for a philosophical debate." This, says the Wall Street Journal reporter, illustrates how Google scientists are "teaching computers to mimic some of the ways a human brain works." As any Artificial Intelligence researcher can tell you, this is utter nonsense. Humans currently have very little idea how the human, or any other brain, works, so they can hardly teach a machine how brains work. At best, Google is programming (not teaching) a computer to mimic the conversation of humans under highly constrained circumstances. The methods used have nothing to do with true cognition. Artificial Intelligence hype to the public has become progressively more strident in recent years, misleading lay people into believing researchers are much further along than they really are — by several orders of magnitude. We are decades away from anything remotely approaching a sentient computer, if it is at all possible. One researcher once said “If the human brain was simple enough for us to understand, we would be too stupid to be able to do so”. What software engineers at Google have been able to do is to create a synthetic environment in which their software can mimic the responses to questions placed by a human, in a manner which suggests to the human that they are interacting with another human being. They have succeeded in partially beating the Turing Test. The Turing Test is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. Alan Turing proposed that a human evaluator would judge natural language conversations between a human and a machine that is designed to generate human-like responses. The evaluator would be aware that one of the two partners in conversation is a machine, and all participants would be separated from one another. The conversation would be limited to a text-only channel such as a computer keyboard and screen so that the result would not be dependent on the machine's ability to render words as speech. If the evaluator cannot reliably tell the machine from the human (Turing originally suggested that the machine would convince a human 70% of the time after five minutes of conversation), the machine is said to have passed the test. The test does not check the ability to give correct answers to questions, only how closely answers resemble those a human would give. Google’s program convinced three out of seven humans that they were interacting with another human – somewhat short of Alan Turing’s own estimates of what constitutes a success. Computers are great at carrying out tasks where the rules are finite and established, however complex that they are; this is one reason why computers are now better than people at games like chess. In open – ended situations, such as a conversation with a person, they are far less successful, and though this will improve, actually creating a self-aware computer is still well in the realms of science fiction, and likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future, despite what certain journalists might have you believe.

A U.S government-appointed panel concluded in a recent report that Americans should eat less red meat and processed meat, and to avoid all fatty processed meats such as Salami in particular. A more plant-focused diet is better for health and the environment, it found. Not exactly a surprise – similar recommendations have been made in the UK for many years.  One problem with telling people to limit total fat is that people end up eating fewer monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats – the kind found in nuts, vegetable oils and fish – which are really healthy, and are precisely what dieticians recommend people to eat. In a recent interview, Penny Kris-Etherton, the Professor of Nutrition at Penn State University, and the chair of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee, says she thinks it's unlikely that lifting limits on total fat intake will be much of a sticking point. "There is a pretty solid consensus now that it's the type of fat that's really important”. Both the British and American Heart Association still recommend "selecting fat-free, 1 percent fat and low-fat dairy products" on their respective websites, but this information is now out of date. Professor Kris-Etherton says that in practice, the association isn't defending the low-fat position anymore. The AHA's new lifestyle guideline implies that it is best to substitute polyunsaturated fats — found in things like almonds and avocados — for saturated fats. "A lot of people still look at how much fat is in foods, and we're now saying don't focus on that: Look at the quality of fat you're consuming”. Another interesting point is that many low fat products (such as low fat yoghurts) tend to have much higher levels of added sugar in them – what is apparently a healthy diet choice can actually end up being worse for you. A classic case of unintended consequences. One possible side – effect of the promotion of awareness of healthier eating options may be hitting high street eating habits.  Fast food giant McDonald's is set to close more stores than it open for the first time in forty years. In a sign of changing consumer habits, as more and more consumers reject fast food chains for more niche eating establishments, the company has been forced to shrink. The global dominance of McDonald's, once taken for granted, has tumbled in recent years. The company announced in April that around seven hundred stores worldwide would close after underperforming. The closures are nothing new, but in the past the number of new stores opening had outweighed those closing. The figures reported may actually be far worse than they seem; the seven hundred stores mentioned only include those directly owned and run by the company. A majority of McDonald's stores are actually franchises owned and operated by private companies or individuals – the numbers don't include these at all. McDonald's has also announced that it will no longer publicly announce its sales figures each month, as it focuses on improving the 'small things' – such as how long it toasts its burger buns. The fast food giant is currently experiencing one of the worst periods of its sixty year history, as US workers hit out over pay and customers turn to competitors such as Subway. The firm's British-born boss, Steve Easterbrook, unveiled an overhaul of McDonald's divisions, including cost-cutting measures, earlier this month - and has now also confirmed that the chain will no longer reveal its monthly takings to its investors. Instead, backers will have to wait for a quarterly report to see if plans to revive the chain have been successful. Whilst local McDonald's such as the one in James Watt Way, Erith seem to be doing decent business, I have heard (unsubstantiated) rumours that the large 24 hour drive through in Plumstead has been struggling for some time. The need for two permanent security guards in the restaurant due to continual problems with violence and drug dealing, plus the less than ideal location near the junction of Pettman Crescent and Nathan Way, mean that it gets little passing footfall – the area is not very pedestrian – friendly. I have heard that a percentage of their business comes from bus station staff from the large garage opposite, and post office workers from the sorting office right next door. Most of the rest of the trade comes from visitors by car. I don't know if any reader has a better insight into this matter – please feel free to contact me at hugh.neal@gmail.com with any related information.

That hate filled and bigoted individual Joshua Bonehill has been in the national press yet again. You may recall that I wrote about him back in February this year, after he sent me a threatening Email. I ignored his threats and published his message in full. If you are new to the Maggot Sandwich and are not aware of the activities of extreme right wing racist Joshua Bonehill, you can read about him here. Now, on top of everything he has done in the past,  he’s been arrested and is now on remand in prison until he appears in court on the 13th July for inciting racial hatred, after announcing plans to "destroy" Israeli flags and burn Jewish holy books.  Bonehill made a series of posts on his blog about an anti-Jewish rally which took place in North London yesterday. Only around twenty of his followers actually turned up, opposed by a far larger crowd of anti racists.  In the online postings, he encouraged people to destroy Israeli flags by hand at the demonstration in Golders Green, which has one of the capital’s largest Jewish communities. He also said a "private ceremony" would take place at a secret location just before the rally, where extremists would set fire to Jewish holy texts. He even had the temerity to create a particularly offensive leaflet with an image showing the walls of Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau and a can of weed-killer. It carried the words: “Liberate Golders Green: An anti-Jewification event. We've become complacent and allowed for weeds to grow in the cracks of London. It’s time to clear them out with roundup and liberate Golders Green for future generations of white people. Join us on July 4 for what promises to be an absolute gas!” I need say no more other than it was high time Bonehill saw the inside of a jail cell. As I have previously written, I have been told by someone qualified, that it is highly likely that Joshua Bonehill is suffering from mental illness, but it has got to the point where he is causing suffering to so many people that he needed to be locked up – ironically prison is the one place where he could potentially get effective treatment for his delusions. We will see what happens when his case comes to court on the 13th. Watch this space. 

The new anti-gang Police team set up in Thamesmead / Abbey Wood has a number of serious challenges to deal with. Not least of which is a worrying problem with unlicensed warehouse raves, the most recent of which ended with a murder. A young man called Renea Campbell aged 26, died following a triple stabbing outside the unlicensed London Igloo party in Abbey Wood's Lyndean Industrial Estate in the early hours of June 20^th. A group called Igloo organise illegal parties which they advertise via their website. The parties run all night, and usually finish at about 6am. This is despite Greenwich Council going to court to get an injunction preventing such events back in May. That did not stop the £20 a ticket London Igloo event - billed online as "the only party where you can bring your own bottles" - taking place with hundreds of revellers involved, according to concerned local residents fed up with the noise and disruption. I wonder that now that a young man has needlessly lost his life that the problem of the unlicensed events will finally be dealt with once and for all? Currently it seems that whenever a story gets into the local news about Abbey Wood and Thamesmead, it has negative connotations. There have been a number of stabbings, mostly relating to gang territories and the related “rights” to sell drugs. Unlicensed raves tend to encourage gang members to meet where they normally would not – whether they intend visiting the event for fun, or merely seeking new customers for their illegal recreational pharmaceuticals; the mix of gang loyalty, illicit money and knife culture never makes for a good result. I also wonder why the owners of the building where the rave has taken place do not do more to prevent such activities? Surely any insurance covering the building would be null and void if something happened during a period of illegal use?

Malcolm Knight of the “Bexley is Bonkers” blog was the first outlet to break the good news story that Bexley Council’s plan to sell off the Old Manor Way playground in Barnehurst has been dropped after intense public protest. The story is now all over the local press. Whilst this is extremely good news for the parents and children who use the playground, and it paints Bexley Council in a somewhat favourable light, I think that it is probably another nail in the coffin of the campaign to save Belvedere Splash Park. The extremely hot weather that we have been suffering with this week really went to show how much the Splash Park means to local people. I was on the 99 bus from Woolwich on Wednesday afternoon, right at the hottest part of the heatwave. When the bus stopped outside of the closed Splash Park, I saw a mother and a small group of children visibly upset that the park was closed – they obviously did not know about the closure, or the concerted campaign to get the place refurbished and re – opened. Consequently you had a bunch of upset kids and a Mum who did not know what to do with her hot and bothered kids on the warmest day of the year. As Malcolm Knight has also highlighted, the recent arson attack at the play area in Abbey Wood is going to cost the council’s recreation budget a pile of money – although I am not aware of what insurance provision (if any) the council has for damage of that type. Any possible remedial work and possible re – opening  of the Belvedere Splash Park may well fall victim to the non – closure of the Old Manor Way playground, and the fire damage in Abbey ruins. My understanding is that the possible financial grant from Cory Environmental to refurbish and reopen the Splash Park is in grave doubt, as Cory are currently up for sale, and actively looking for a buyer for the business. Cory has long had a somewhat tarnished reputation in Belvedere and Erith, mainly due to the way in which they forced through the creation of the plant in 2007, against the opposition of many local people, and the then London Mayor, Ken Livingstone. Opposition centred round the possibility of emissions from the incinerator, which add to the local concerns about existing industrial risks in Lower Belvedere. There has been a long standing dispute with Thames Water about the smell from the Crossness sewage works, and the ineffectiveness of attempts to force an end to these added to local concerns regarding fumes. A further concern raised is that while Bexley Borough has one of the best recycling records in London, this is offset by the fact that other boroughs evade recycling quotas by having their refuse incinerated in Bexley. Cory have no doubt hoped to create some better P.R for themselves by sponsoring a number of local community projects. This may now be over – hopefully there will be a new incumbent running the incinerator, who will have a strong and active corporate social responsibility programme to which the Belvedere Splash Park can benefit. Time will tell. 

The end video this week is something I came across on YouTube. It has been put together by local resident Lee Ricketts - you can see his Youtube channel by clicking here. This short film shows the demolition of the old Erith Town Centre back in 1969, and also records the construction of the first phase of the hideous concrete monstrosity of the replacement shopping centre that was to blight the town for several decades. Only in the last ten years have things improved. See what you think.