The raid.

The photos above were taken on Thursday evening at the third meeting of The Erith Think Tank, which was held in the conversation room of the Carnegie Library building in Walnut Tree Road, Erith. The event was held to confirm the group's manifesto, and to discuss future strategy.

The Erith Think Tank Manifesto reads as follows:-

1. The Erith Think Tank is a place where members of the community can meet, get to know one                 another, and discuss issues pertaining to Erith. 

2. We will meet regularly, and endeavour to understand each other. 

3. We are passionate about, and wish to celebrate Erith, our community and our members. 

4. We want to support positive change, and help Erith to realise its potential. 

5. We will use the groups expertise and work together to achieve our aims.

6. We will create a 'register of assets' that celebrates Erith, its community and its businesses. 

7. We aim to give Erith a co-ordinated and strong voice that engages with and represents all aspects         of the community.

8. We aim to inform, in plain language, about plans for Erith's present and future.

9. We will engage with and nurture a dialogue with decision-makers and the Council.

10. We will gain an understanding of how the Council works, how decisions are made, and by who,          and translate/explain this to the group and wider community, with a view to influence these                  decisions. 

11. We aim to understand, participate in and influence any regeneration.

12. We will propose ideas that improve Erith. 

13. We will identify problems, and propose solutions.

14. We will create group Ambassadors, responsible for different topics (ie youth engagement,                    environment, planning). 

15. We will create a support structure for 'projects'.

16. We acknowledge that trust and respect need to be built between us, the community and the                   Council, to create better dialogue. 

17. We will develop a plan to attract and involve the community (including youth) through effective           networking on a variety of platforms. 

18. We will prove that the group is an asset to the community and the Council. 

19. We aim to challenge and provide alternatives to the current consultation process.

20. We will scrutinise decisions, and agitate when our demands are not met. 

The Erith Think Tank aim to have a presence at the Erith Pier Festival on Saturday the 21st September 11am - 9pm. Erith Pier Festival is part of the Totally Thames 2019 that runs from 1st-30th September. Find out more by clicking here. 

There are going to be  a couple of sad anniversaries tomorrow;  thirty years ago on Monday, the Thames river boat the Marchioness was hit by the marine dredger Bowbelle and sank with the loss of 51 lives.  I was actually in London and by the banks of the Thames when this tragic event unfolded, though I have to say I saw nothing, as I was about a mile away from the location of the accident. The reason for me being in London late on a Saturday night was nothing to do with a desire to be in the capital, but to do with the other event that took place on the same day – one which had severe implications to both British and European Union law, and also had a profound impact on the right to free speech in the pre World Wide Web era. On Saturday the 19th August 1989 representatives from the Dutch PTT and the British DTI travelled out into the international waters of the North Sea (where they had absolutely no legal jurisdiction, as was later proved in court) and unlawfully boarded the Ross Revenge, home of Radio Caroline, where they smashed the transmitters and damaged the generators and illegally removed all of the studio gear and records from the library. Several of the Dutch PTT officers were armed with revolvers and some uncooperative Caroline crew members were both physically and verbally threatened. Much of this raid was broadcast live on air to most of Europe, before the transmitter was put offline and the valves smashed. I was out in Bexleyheath doing some shopping when this happened, but when I returned to my parents house, my sister played me a cassette recording of the events. Ironically I was already involved with the station at this point, and had been on board only two weeks previously. My photos were some of the last taken prior to the raid, and copies were used in evidence in the later court case. Caroline’s shore based management were racing down from North London to get out to the Ross Revenge as quickly as possible – a light aircraft was chartered to fly over the ship, and a speedboat was commandeered to get Peter Moore, the station manager and a couple of engineering staff on site as quickly as possible. Meanwhile I met up with the staff of local land based pirate radio station Radio Lumberjack in the Fox pub in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere where we had a council of war. Friend Captain Colin brought along his giant Land Rover V8 station wagon (a vehicle fitted with two RSJ girders on the front in lieu of a conventional bumper bar – Colin believed in crumple zones, just as long as they only involved the other vehicle).  We decided we would head into town and try and get onto as many radio stations with the story as we could. Suffice to say that Radio Caroline was back on air in only a few weeks; in fact it should not have come on air when it did. I was one of the team that had arranged for a very large supply run of fuel, drinking water, food, replacement transmitter parts and new records to be sent out to the Ross Revenge from a secret port in Kent (the Gravesend Canal basin) on a ship called the M.V Galexy (not a typo) – a former Tyne ferry boat that was featured in the classic Michael Caine crime thriller “Get Carter”.  We were ready to go for a very quiet and stealthy “fishing” trip when Caroline came back on air, and the authorities were alerted that the station was not dead after all. Caroline management got into a furious row over the correct policy and course of action and the supply run had to be delayed, though it eventually went ahead. Some months later with the ship, transmitters and studios patched up, I chucked in my day job and went to work for Radio Caroline - you can see me on air in the photo above - click on it for a larger version. All a very long time ago now. Caroline may no longer be broadcasting from the North Sea, but they are still a very important streaming presence online, on DAB, and on 648 KHz on medium wave – you can read more about the station and also listen to their programmes by clicking here. The British Department of Trade and Industry had chartered a former Trinity House pilot boat, the M.V Landward. Some weeks after it was involved in the raid, we got word that it was moored in Gillingham Marina. A sympathiser had been speaking to the owner, who was smugly boasting of how much money the British government had paid him to take officials out to the Ross Revenge at its mooring fifteen miles off the North Foreland. A small team of Caroline shore staff paid the Landward a visit late one night after everyone had gone home. There had been some debate about whether we should pour a couple of bags of Lime into the bilges; this would quickly eat through the wooden hull and sink the ship. We decided that as Caroline preached a philosophy of peace and non - violence, known as Loving Awareness that this would be inappropriate. Instead when the owner came back on board the Landward the next day, he found a Radio Caroline car sticker neatly stuck on the wheelhouse window on the inside, with no sign of the door lock being forced, and no signs of any damage. We later found out that he had been incredibly rattled by this - as it sent the message "we know who you are, and what you did, and we are watching you". He was looking over his shoulder for months afterwards! He never discovered how we did it, which to be honest was a bit of a Happy Shopper "Mission: Impossible" project. Our informer was the owner of the yard, who was a big Caroline fan; the owner of the Landward left the keys to the ship in the yard office when he went home - we just borrowed them, opened the wheelhouse door, put up the sticker and locked the door back up. Simple but very effective. You can see more of my photos of my time on Radio Caroline by clicking here. Please leave a comment below, or alternatively contact me by Emailing hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Recently I have had a couple of conversations relating to Mobo Toys, and their part in the history of Erith. The following history has been compiled from a number of sources. The company had a very strong manufacturing presence in the town for many years. David Sebel had emigrated from Russia circa 1912 and set up in partnership as a Wheelwright in East London in 1921. In 1928 he moved the Company to Lant Street in Borough, London S.E.1 with the takeover of a firm, Hazeldine and Norton, of Wheelwright’s and Motor Body and Van Builders. Interestingly the house next to the premises had been the residence of Charles Dickens when his parents were in the Marshalsea Debtor’s Prison. In the 1930’s they expanded into Architectural metalwork and other engineering projects. Also producing street cleaning carts, milk churns and fronts for Cinemas. In 1931 Harry Sebel, David’s son, joined the firm starting from the bottom up. During the Second World War the Company turned over to war work and several local premises were used for their production of aircraft and tank components, bunks for air raid shelters, bailey bridge components and even a tower for an experimental radar station. In the early 1940’s Harry was looking to the future, and realised that there would be a need to expand the company and find work for the existing workforce and those which had been called up. After much research it was decided to go into metal furniture, under the Trade name Stak-a-Bye, and also into the toy business. But what to make which would be different from anyone else. Harry had the idea of a Rocking Horse which the rider could propel along themselves. Basic plans were drawn up and a full size horse mockup was made using bicycle gears. To get an idea of what the finished product would look like a Taxidermist in Piccadilly was approached for a horse hide, the only thing he had was from a Zebra so that was used. The prototype Zebra was still around at the Erith factory for several years. A Patent was taken out in 1942 for the basic mechanism. Later Charles Morewood, RA was commissioned to sculpt the clay body of what became the Mobo Bronco. The steel furniture business was set up in 1946 from the Weller Street side of the premises, a name which was used at the Erith factory to denote the furniture production building. The Lant Street premises were not going to be big enough for the toy and furniture business envisaged and so the former Vickers Gun Works at 177, West Street, Erith were purchased in February, 1947. As the intention was to produce everything in-house from the arrival of the raw material to the finished product, the full kitting out of the factory with large presses, dip tanks, spray booths, etc. took a while. Toy production did not start at Erith until September, 1947. However, some toys had been assembled at Lant Street SE1, produced by outside contractors, to enable a display at the British Industries Fair in May, 1947. The other toys on show were Merry Go Round, Rocker Swing, Chair Desk and Roll-a-Bye Skates. The name ‘Mobo’ came from a brainstorming session when ‘Mobile Toys’ had been rejected. The clown on the decal was due to an interest in the Circus by the David Sebel. The Circus theme was used in a lot of their Exhibition Stands and advertising. A tin clown was designed but never went into production. It would have been very similar to an early Action Man! Later advertising and instruction sheets used the Mobo title as two characters ‘Mr Mo’ and ‘Miss Bo’. The most well known toy is the Mobo Bronco, the ride-on horse. It works by the rider sitting on the horse and pushing down on the stirrups, then releasing them and then the horse moves along. From 1947 to 1950 the Bronco could only be steered in a straight line, but in February, 1950 Magic Steering was introduced. This enabled the rider by pushing on either stirrup to move the horse in that direction. The Bronco was so popular that it stayed in production until 1972. The body pressings were also used for a series of other toys; the Spring Horse, Night Rider (nothing to do with the David Hasselhoff TV show from the 1980's), Prairie Prancer, Range Rider - two different types produced, Rocking Horse, and the Bronco Merry Go Round. The toy colours came from ‘market research’ with the local school children at West Street School – yellow and red being the favourite. These children were also used for photo shoots for advertising and testing the toys, as was famously covered by a 1952 Pathe Newsreel which you can see by clicking here. In 1949, the Walking Snail was introduced at the New York Toy Fair, also at the same fair the ‘Pony’ was first shown. The ‘Pony’ pressings went on to be used on several different toys. 1948 also saw the introduction of the first small remote control walking toy – the Toy - Toise. This was a great success not just for children, but also adults, as they were used for Toy-Toise races at many parties. The American Market was an amazing success for the Mobo Company. In 1948 they exported to the USA - half of the total toy exports of all British Toy Companies. At this time Britain was recovering from the Second World War, and steel was rationed according to the amount of goods exported. Mobo never had any trouble obtaining supplies because of their excellent export record. A New York office had been opened in 1948 at the Breslin Building, Broadway, New York and an American subsidiary formed Sebel Products Inc. Other major markets were Australia and South Africa. A Showroom and Office had been opened at 39/41 New Oxford Street, London W.C.1 in September, 1945. Other toys produced included Prams, Bicycles, Desks, Wheelbarrows, Rockers, Swings, Scooters and, from 1956, Pedal Cars. In 1951 Harry and David emigrated to Australia and set up a factory at Bankstown, Sydney. Here they produced both Toys and Furniture. The components were shipped from Erith and assembled and painted at Bankstown. The Australian company decided in 1957 to concentrate on the furniture business and so toy production was stopped. The furniture business still goes on today as part of the GWA International Group, and they have recently opened a branch in the United Kingdom. In 1955 the Toy Boat business of Harold Flory Ltd., of Bromley, Kent was taken over. They produced the Snipe, and Swift  Motor Boats, the Sprite Yacht, and the Snort Submarine, also Toy Cars. The boats were continued in production by Mobo. Jetex, the Model Aircraft Engine business, was purchased in 1956. Besides a range of Jet propelled engines they also produced model kits for aircraft and a plastic boats and cars for the Jetex engine. The mid 1960’s saw an introduction of toys made from injection moulded plastic and the importation of a range of plastic Pedal cars from Pines of Italy. These included a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Pedal Car. A range of bicycles was also imported from Italy. By the late 1960s the British toy industry was having a difficult time due to cheap imports from the Far East. When John Bentley of Barclay Securities made an offer to purchase the Company in 1970 it was taken up. The Barclay Toy Group was formed to which Chad Valley, Charles Methuen and Tri-ang were added in 1971. Unfortunately the overheads of the Group meant that losses were still being made and a major reorganisation took place in 1972 with the Erith Works being closed and all production of all Mobo Toys ceasing. The site is now a large housing estate. Mobo toys now change hands for serious money on online auction sites like Ebay. Even today, Mobo toys are exceedingly popular and very collectible; in fact an Aberdeenshire museum recently had an exhibition featuring a wide range of Mobo toys - click here to see the details. If you have any memories that you would like to share about Mobo toys, or possibly having worked at the factory, do either leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Arts Council England announced last Thursday an investment of £1 million for the London Borough of Bexley as part of the Creative People and Places programme. The project, ‘Made in the Estuary’ is led by a collaborative partnership between Peabody, TACO! (local arts organisation), The Exchange (local community organisation) and Orbit Housing. The programme will focus on empowering individuals in the community to create their own work, gain confidence in taking part in the arts and celebrate their cultural voice. Participation in the arts project aims to increase the development of community run platforms such as radio stations, festivals and workshops through commissioning and co-production by the Bexley and Thamesmead communities. Across England, £17,472,604 National Lottery funding has been awarded to create arts and cultural experiences in areas where people tend to engage less with arts and culture.  These twelve projects, part of the Creative People and Places programme, will take place between 2019 - 2023 and will be co-created with their local communities. The projects will be developed and delivered by a consortium of diverse local partners, empowering people to shape the arts and cultural provision where they live.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Unfortunately Barnehurst ward has suffered five Incidents of vehicle crime and one burglary. On 08/08/2019 at 03.20am in Drummond Close suspects have broken through a front door damaging the safety chain and taken a set of house keys and a set of vehicle keys. On Wednesday 7/08/2019 overnight number plates were taken from a vehicle in Appledore Avenue. On Friday 9/08/2019 overnight in Barnehurst Avenue various items were taken from a vehicle. On Saturday 10/08/2019 in Hillingdon Road victim found the glove compartment and the centre console open. The contents was scattered over the front seats. In Heath Way on Monday 12/08/2019 between 09.00pm and 10.00pm victim found personal items had been taken from the vehicle. On Wednesday 14/08/2019 at 02.34am in Grassmere Road a silver Grande Coup 420d BMW registration number YK67ARP was taken from the drive way. CCTV footage has shown two white males. One male, approximately late thirties, F6.00 (6 foot tall) and wearing jeans, a dark coloured hooded top and carrying a man bag was seen scanning the property with an antenna. The other male standing by the vehicle had a broad build and was wearing a light coloured hooded top, jeans. If you have information with regards any of the Incidents mentioned please contact us. We will also be available on Thursday 29th August 2019 at 03.00pm in Barnehurst Golf Club should you wish to join us to discuss and concerns". Belvedere ward - no reports this week. Bexleyheath ward:- "Wed 7/8/19 – 2000 hours Attempted theft of Motor Vehicle from behind Iceland on Bexleyheath Broadway; Wed 7/8/19 – Between 1500 – 1630 an elderly lady has had a bank book and cash stolen from handbag on Bexleyheath Broadway – not known until after it had happened; Sun 11/8/19 – 0315 hours Theft from Motor Vehicle outside Marriott Hotel. There are currently issues with youths causing anti - social behaviour in Iris Avenue and Braeside Garages (behind Martens Avenue). If you witness anything please do get in touch using the contact details listed below. Please be vigilant when shopping on Bexleyheath Broadway especially with handbags being open or on trolleys, there are persons dipping in the area. The Town Centre team are onto this and continue to stop and deal as and when. The team regularly conduct patrols along drug hot spot areas and ASB areas on the ward and conduct regular stops & searches where necessary. If you do wish to pass on information to Police then please contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111 If you are after crime prevention advice, please look at the Met Police website which has lots of information that you may find useful. Remember in an emergency please dial 999 and 101 for non-urgent reporting". Crayford ward:- "Although I am really pleased to say there have been no burglaries in Crayford, I do have to tell you that we have had a surge in motor vehicle related crime. Number plates AU09FPP were stolen from a vehicle whilst parked in Kennett Road on 4th August, these should be on a silver Ford Focus. In the early hours of 3rd August a pair of Tiffany sunglasses in a light blue case and a pink H and M purse containing “parking money” were stolen from a vehicle parked in Alderman Close. On the same night documents were stolen from a vehicle parked in Galloway Drive. A white Ford Transit with a tail lift number plate NL57XSE which had been left locked and parked at Optima Park was stolen between 18.30 on Wednesday 7th August and 8am on Thursday 8th August. There have been a series of catalytic convertors stolen from Crayford. In the early hours of 9th August one was stolen from a vehicles parked on a driveway in Iron Mill Lane. One was stolen from a Subaru Forester outside Crayford BR Station on 9th August between 6.55 and 18.30. Another was stolen from a white SUV type vehicle whilst parked in Ridge Avenue on Friday 9th August at approx. 15.25. Anecdotally, we are hearing that there have been others that have not been reported at this time. Criminal damage was caused to five vehicles in Bourne Road, dents in bonnets and foot prints on Sunday 11th August at approx. 01.00. A vehicle parked at Bourne Mead was broken in to between Thursday 8th and Sunday 11th August, £10 stolen as well as a pair of sunglasses, there were no signs of forced entry. A person has broken in to a vehicle in London Road, the car door was damaged and bent back to gain entry, the seat was laid back and is believed that a homeless person sheltered there. Barbed wire fencing was deliberately cut by the horses field at Perry Street on 13th August at 16.00, the horses are safe and the site is now secure again. Between 01.00-02.00 on the Thursday 1st August access was made to a locked vehicle in Beech Walk and cash stolen. It may seem really inconvenient but it really is best to remove all valuables from your vehicle as you leave it. If possible park vehicles in well-lit places, in a garage if you have one and ensure gates are closed. Ring door bells are brilliant as not only do they capture the incident but they can also alert you that someone is on your property. We will be at Crayford Library on Friday 23rd August between 10.00-12.00 if you would like to come along to discuss any issues. The library has lots going on, especially on Friday mornings. Age Concern have a regular coffee morning there, there is a knit and natter group, a Met Police volunteer is there to assist with crime prevention advice, the library staff and post office staff are really helpful and attentive, there are lots of activities for young children regularly held here too". Erith ward:- "Fraud to be aware of – on both Northumberland heaths and Slade Greens ward there have been incidents of a male knocking on doors asking for a ‘drink of water' once the home owner gets them a drink of water. The male grabs their post and makes off. What we advise is if anyone asks for a drink of water or as such, say no close the door and report this to your local SNT or via 101. On one case the victim had 4 credit cards arrive for her that she didn't apply for, this is what the male more than likely tried to retrieve". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Unfortunately we have had one burglary and one attempted burglary this week. On Thursday 8th August at approximately 06.40hrs in the morning on Beechfield Road, Erith. The suspect entered through the front living room window and had taken £200 from the victim's living room bookshelf. Unfortunately the resident was a repeat victim and the incident happened again on the next following day. This is due to the victim not closing his windows during the day. On Tuesday 13th August 2019 at approximately 18:00hrs on Carlton Road, the suspect attempted to enter via the front door. The suspect first knocked onto the front door and then decided to use a tool to wedge the door open. The suspect was then distracted and made off. Nothing was stolen. You need to know: Most burglaries occur on weekdays between working hours. 1 in 5 burgled homes in London in the last year had been left unsecured. Once burgled the chances of further burglaries increases".

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Please be aware that a burglary occurred at 1215 on Thursday 08/08/2019 in Cloudesley Road. It happened in the form of letters being stolen by a male who posed asking for a glass of water. It seems that the victims ID has been cloned and the address was being used as a delivery point for various goods and credit cards in her name. The victim is elderly so please be mindful for any vulnerable residents who may be targeted this way. If you would like any advice in prevention and awareness for this sort of crime, please let us know. In the last week the team has recovered a stolen moped in Frobisher Road on Thursday 08/08, seized a van from Webber Close for not being insured on Monday 12/08 and on Tuesday 13/08 a male was found in possession of drugs in Frobisher Road resulting in a Community Resolution (official warning) plus in the same area a Section 59 warning was given to a male for riding an off road bike in an antisocial manner on the estate". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglary: Between the hours of 11:30 pm on Monday 12/08/19 and 06:00am on Tuesday 13/08/19 the front door of a property in Hinksey Path was forced open causing, damage the frame, entry gained and a 55”TV stolen. Burglary Business/Commercial: The vacant golf course building Fairway Drive ,Thamesmead, was broken into on Saturday 03/08/19 between the hours of 09:20pm and 10:45pm.the internal alarms where activated. Theft from Motor Vehicles: Overnight of Thursday 08/08/19 and Friday 09/08/19 a vehicle parked locked and secure in Wolvercote Road had the passenger side window smashed; Theft of an Red Audi occurred outside of Argalli House; Kale Road between the hours of 11:00pm on Thursday 08/08/19 and 04:50am Friday 09/08/19; A vehicle parked locked and secure in Lanridge Road, Abbey Wood, was broken into, however no signs of forced entry; The incident occurred again overnight of Thursday 08/08/19 and Friday 09/80/19.Friday 09/08/19 , between the hours of 10:20am and10:30am ,a wallet and sat nav were stolen from a vehicle parked in Northwood Place; Between the hours of 08;30pm on Thursday 08/08/19 and 09:00am Friday 09/08/19 a vehicle parked outside Wyfold House Wolvercote Road was broken into .searched through and under the compartment under the steering wheel was tampered with. Vehicle interference occurred of a vehicle parked in Sydney Road, an untidy search, nothing taken, this incident happened at about 03:45 pm on Friday 09/08/19. Good News: After numerous visits by PC Pruden to a wanted persons address, the male who had failed to appear at court was finally arrested by PC Pruden on Friday 09/08/19; Monday 12/08/19 whilst on foot patrol near the Wolvercote Road ball court cage, PC Pruden could smell cannabis. Further investigation lead to a 15 year old male ,who was found to be in possession of cannabis, he was escorted back to the Thamesmead East police office to await for an appropriate adult to attend prior to interview". West Heath ward:- "No burglaries have been reported to us over the last week. Unfortunately we have had several motor vehicle crimes again this week: Theft of a black BMW from Exmouth Road On Saturday August 10th between 14.30pm and 16.00pm; Theft of a BMW in Preston Drive Between Thursday August 8th 23.00 hours and 06.00am the following morning; Theft of a catalytic converter from a transit van parked in Hollingbourne Avenue on Tuesday August 13th between 13.30pm and 13.40pm; attempted theft of catalytic converter from an American Truck in Hollingbourne Avenue. (West Heath Ward). Neighbour heard angle grinder and looked out to see a van alongside a neighbours truck on approaching they sped off, the neighbour managed to get the number plate and called both 101 and SNT Team not getting a response from either. Please keep an eye out for a white transit type van Registration Number: FL05FLA, if you see it call 999 as it will probably be trying to steal the converters from vehicles in your road, this sort of theft has been borough wide and ends up costing the victim a lot of money and in this case even more as it's an American import vehicle. Theft of a wing mirror in Axminster Crescent on Saturday August 10th at 7pm. The team executed a warrant on the ward this week which resulted in two arrests, A substantial amount of cash and class A and B drugs were seized. The next drop in police surgeries will be held at the Bostall Library in King Harolds Way on Thursday August 22nd between 1pm – 2pm and Tuesday August 27th between 4pm – 5pm".

Further to my earlier writing about Mobo toys, and their factory located in West Street, Erith for many years; below is a short piece from Pathe News featuring a Mobo Bronco toy horse - a toy so rugged and popular that it remained in continuous production from 1947 until 1972, when the company finally closed. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The Liberty Ship legacy.

The photo above shows the recently completed affordable housing development by Moat Housing Association which is located in James Watt Way, between Morrison's petrol station and the KFC drive through. The site used to be the location of Erith Trades and Social Club. It consists of a total of forty apartments for affordable rent; understandably interest in the apartments has been very high. The scheme has been finished well over a year later than planned, due mainly to the original building contractor going bust, and it taking a long time to source a replacement builder. The task was completed by Salford based Bowsall Ltd, and the flats are now occupied. In news this week, The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, plans to scrap viability assessments, which private developers use to determine how much affordable housing they can allocate to a site. Under his plans, announced in Estates Gazette, there will be a set rate of 35 per cent of affordable housing on every new housing development.

As reported a couple of weeks ago, Orbit Housing Association carried out a survey of the residents of the Arthur Street Estate, off North End Road, and opposite the newly built stage one of the Erith Park development. The current Arthur Street Estate is very old and shabby, and has an unfortunate reputation as a sink estate. Orbit Housing Association have carried out an in - depth consultation with residents, and the results have been pretty astonishing. Ninety percent of the hundred or so residents that attended the open day voted for the existing tower blocks and low level housing to be demolished and replaced with new housing stock, similar to that which Orbit have been constructing across the road in Erith Park since 2014. I cannot say that I am in any way surprised - the new Erith Park development is fantastic - well designed and constructed, thoughtfully laid out and much more energy efficient and wheelchair / buggy friendly than what stood there before. Understandably their neighbours on the other side of North End Road have seen this and would like the same themselves. I will be covering more on both the ongoing Erith Park and now the Arthur Street Estate redevelopment in future. It looks like being an interesting and fulfilling time for the residents of both estates. Lots of practical problems will have to be solved, such as where the existing Arthur Street Estate residents will live whilst their homes are torn down and rebuilt. I hope to be covering these kind of questions in the months to come. If you have any information or thoughts on the new redevelopment, leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Last Sunday saw the re - launch of a TV show that has been off the air for around thirteen years. Robot Wars is now showing each Sunday in the 8-9pm slot on BBC 2 previously occupied by the disastrous, pointless and little watched reboot of Top Gear. The Robot Wars reboot seems very similar to the original 1998 version, just with a much bigger budget and far slicker presentation. Motor, material and most importantly battery technology has come a very long way in eighteen years, and the new robots are far heavier, more powerful and better armoured than the old ones. Whilst the technology inside the competition robots has moved on, the kind of amateur engineers who enter their robots into the show have changed very little. Robot Wars is sport for the non - sporty. Back when the show originally ran, I had a friend, Adam Harper (see the photo above - click for a larger view); he used to run a small, independent bicycle shop in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere (NOT Nuxley Village – there is no such place – that name is an invention of Estate Agents). Adam’s bread and butter was selling and repairing conventional bikes, but he had an unusual and quite lucrative sideline. When Sinclair vehicles went bust after the commercial failure of their Sinclair C5 electric trike in the late 1980’s, Adam Harper bought up the entire unsold stock, which he then warehoused at a secret location in Bexleyheath. Harper correctly guessed that the C5 would become a cult item, and its value would rise accordingly. He was correct. When new, a C5 retailed at £399. Nowadays, an unused, crated C5 with all its accessories will sell for around £5000! Harper also sold nearly all of the electric motors used by the competing robots in the original series of “Robot Wars” – because of his expertise with electric motors, the producers of the show hired him as one of the three competition judges. Back in the day, the C5 motor was one of the most compact, efficient and powerful available - which made it a prime choice for robot builders. Now electric motor technology has moved far ahead, and there are far superior alternatives available for the budding combat robot engineer to utilise. But I digress. I accompanied Adam Harper on a number of occasions to the studio to watch the Robot Wars being filmed. Back in those days it was presented by Craig Charles and Philippa Forrester, and was filmed in an old warehouse building next to the Excel Centre in Custom House, East London. I would imagine that it has long been demolished and replaced with an office building or hotel by now. The programme production was all quite amateurish and cobbled together - unlike the rebooted show which has far higher production values - even if the kind of person who took part, whether as a competitor, or in the audience has stayed exactly the same. Back in the middle to late 90's, Anyone who initially met him would think Adam Harper was an open, friendly guy – which indeed he was. It was only when you got to know him well that you realised he was someone very unusual – he had a very strong drive and ambition, accompanied by an almost non – existent sense of self preservation. As a by product of selling C5’s, Adam used to take quite a lot of flak from sceptics, who thought the little vehicle somewhat ridiculous. Harper decided to counter this by modifying a Sinclair C5 to attempt to beat the then world land speed record for an electric three wheeled vehicle, and thus give the C5 an image boost. I spent a considerable amount of time helping him design and build the world record machine in the back room of his bicycle shop. The souped up C5 had special, high power motors, fed by a custom electronic power control unit. The batteries were extremely high powered (for the time) gel units for military use – he had to get special permission to get a licence to use them – I recall a meeting at Exide I attended with him – his considerable charisma and power of persuasion were tested to the limit before Exide relented, and not only granted him a licence, but became of his principal sponsors . The front wheel of the racing C5 was from a Harrier jump jet, and the rears from a Lynx attack helicopter. The front wheel had a small parking brake, but the main method of bringing the tiny vehicle to a halt was a parachute built by Irvin – the people who built the parachutes for the Space Shuttle. The underside of the C5 was fitted with an aerodynamic under tray of Harper’s own design, as was the aluminium nose cone – which was tested in the wind tunnel at MIRA - you can see this is the photo above. This might all sound like a bit of a diversion, but bear with me. Adam Harper realised once he had built the super C5 that he would need publicity before the world land speed record itself. Harper had been invited to join the Dangerous Sports Club, and considered what even by his own standards to be an absolutely hare – brained stunt. In the months before the Dartford river crossing bridge (now known as the QE2 Bridge) was completed, there was a large gap in the middle, before the North and South side roadways were joined up. Adam wanted to jump the gap in the super C5! He went as far as contacting the contractors, and both Thurrock and Dartford councils. Understandably, all parties immediately said no. Adam parted company with Robot Wars after he disagreed with the producer over the direction the show was heading in. The Producer wanted to introduce (scripted) feuds between the competing robot teams, and have the team shouting threats at each other to mimic the manufactured rows between rivals in WWE wrestling. Adam disagreed with this, as he felt it gave out the wrong message to young viewers; he was of the opinion that the robot fighting was merely a means to an end - in getting young people interested in science, technology and engineering through constructing robots for use in combat. He called it "education by the back door". Needless to say the producer got his way, and Robot Wars and Adam Harper and the show parted their ways. Unfortunately I lost contact with him not long thereafter. A real character and a pleasure to know.

For those local residents living in and around Fraser Road, Alford Road and Pembroke Road (the area often better known as the "Pom Pom") you may well have noticed that after quite a few months of preparation work, construction has finally started on the Erith Quarry site. I understand that building work to create an initial forty seven new homes on the eastern boundary, by Birch Walk is now under way. It would seem that the main access point for the site is the land which once housed a petrol station on Fraser Road. I would imagine that the owners of the piece of vacant land on the corner of Pembroke Road and Fraser Road, opposite the site entrance must be rubbing their hands in glee; I am pretty certain the property departments of the big supermarket chains such as Tesco and Sainsbury's must be looking to build and open a large convenience store so close to the new housing development. I reckon the existing Londis store will also do well out of it too.

News reaches me this week that something that has been locally rumoured for years actually turns out to have a basis in truth. The Driving Test Centre in Woolwich Road, Upper Belvedere (based in what was once Belvedere Police Station) is the second hardest place to pass a driving test in the whole of the UK. It is only beaten by the test centre in Wanstead, East London. In 2013/ 2014 The Belvedere test centre was the toughest in the entire UK - and was even featured on the BBC News website at the time, which you can read here. Currently if you take your driving test at the Belvedere test centre, you have a sixty seven percent chance of failing. The reasons for the high failure rate are not clear; it may be a combination of factors.

Now that Boris Johnson is now longer Mayor of London, and has been carted off to the relative obscurity of the Foreign Office, it may well be that his high concept “Boris Island” airport scheme gets quietly dropped. The plan had all sorts of problems, many of which could not easily be resolved. As I wrote extensively back in January 2012, not least of these is the ever worsening threat posed to the lower Thames and estuary by the abandoned wreck of the wartime cargo ship the SS Richard Montgomery. As you may recall, back in the day I almost had a too close encounter with the infamous shipwreck – more on this later. In case you are not aware, the remains of the SS Richard Montgomery are one of the most contentious and controversial wrecks in the World. The American Liberty Ship, loaded with bombs and ammunition, sank in a storm in 1944, and broke in half in the Thames Estuary, between Sheerness on the Kent side of the river, and Southend on the Essex side. Contemporary accounts say that  on 20th August 1944, she started dragging her anchor, and despite warning sirens from surrounding ships ran aground on a sandbank around 270 yards from the main Medway Approach Channel, in a depth of 33 feet of water. Normally a Liberty Ship has an average draught of 28ft but the Montgomery, at this time, actually drew 31ft. Her overloaded, shoddily built and early welded construction made her vulnerable to the severe stress of grounding, and several serious cracks appeared in her hull, she eventually broke her back on the sand banks near the Isle of Sheppey about 1.5 miles from Sheerness and 5 miles from Southend. As the tide ebbed the ships plates snapped with a sharp crack heard over a mile away and the crew, mindful of its hazardous cargo, abandoned ship at 0300hrs using floats and lifeboats. A Rochester-based Master Stevedore T.P.Adams of Watson and Gill, was given the urgent and highly hazardous job of removing the cargo, which began on 23rd August 1944 at 1000hrs, using the ship's own cargo handling equipment, driven by a venerable, old (and expendable) steam ship the “Empire Nutfield” moored alongside. By the next day, the ship's hull had cracked open further, causing several cargo holds at the bow end to flood. The salvage operation continued until 25th September, when due to a severe gale they were forced to finally abandon the ship before all the cargo had been recovered. Subsequently, the ship broke into two separate parts, roughly at the midsection. During the enquiry following the shipwreck it was revealed that several ships moored nearby had noticed the Montgomery drifting towards the sandbank. They had attempted to signal an alert by sounding their sirens but without response, as Captain Willkie of the Montgomery was asleep. The ship's chief officer was unable to explain why he had not alerted the captain or carry out any remedial action. A Board of Inquiry held aboard the ship during the initial unloading, concluded that the ship’s crew had acted in accordance with their instructions and that the anchorage the harbour master assigned had possibly placed the ship in jeopardy, and returned the Montgomery's captain to full duty. The salvage of the SS Richard Montgomery was abandoned shortly thereafter, and the vessel was declared a hazard to shipping and marked by several warning buoys. It has stayed in position ever since. According to a 2008 survey, the wreck is at a depth of 49ft, on average, and leaning to starboard. At all states of the tide, its three masts are visible above the water. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency nevertheless still believe that the risk of a major explosion is remote. The UK government's Receiver of Wrecks commissioned a risk assessment in 1999, but this risk assessment has never been published. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency convened with local and port authorities to discuss the report in 2001 and concluded that "doing nothing was not an option for much longer." The New Scientist magazine carried out an investigation concluded in 2004, based partly on government documents released in that year, that the cargo was still deadly, and could be detonated by a collision, an attack, or even the shifting of the cargo in the tide. The bad condition of many of the bombs is such that they could explode spontaneously. Documents declassified shortly before, revealed that the wreck was not dealt with immediately after it happened, or in the intervening 60 years, due solely to the expense. According to a survey conducted in 2000 by the United Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency, it was confirmed the wreck still held munitions totalling approximately 1,400 tons. This is thought to consist of:- "13,064 general purpose 250lb bombs, 9,022 cases of fragmenting bombs (these would produce massive amounts of shrapnel.), 7,739 semi-armour piercing bombs, 1,522 cases of fuses, 1,429 cases of phosphorous bombs, 1,427 cases of 100lb demolition bombs, and 817 cases of small arms ammunition". However, because the emergency unloading was carried out in great haste and under less than ideal conditions, no check or tally was made of exactly what was unloaded. Due to this, estimates of explosives remaining in the holds vary between the official figures of approx. 1400 tons and 3600 tons which was the unofficial estimate made by the stevedores and confirmed by the SS Richard Montgomery’s First Officer back in 1944 when the abortive salvage attempt was made. Although the published breakdown of cargo carried appears to be comprehensive, a ship's manifest exists which indicates, that in addition, she was carrying 240 Mustard Gas bombs and other unidentified munitions. Although chemical weapons were not used by either the Allies or Axis powers during WWII, both sides did stockpile such weapons for potential use. A BBC news report in 1970, speculated that if the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery exploded, it would throw a 1,000-foot-wide column of water and debris nearly 10,000 feet into the air and generate a wave 16 feet high. Almost every window in Sheerness (population 37,852 (2011 census)) would be broken and buildings would be structurally damaged by the blast. This, however, is a very conservative view based on 1400 tons of explosive detonating in a chain explosion rather than one single detonation. The opinion was sought in October 1964 of retired Royal Engineer Major A. B. Hartley, MBE, GM., Britain's then most famous bomb disposal expert. His initial analysis said that "Some sixteen different basic combinations of explosives were used in American fragmentation bombs during the war. Those that were filled with TNT might remain comparatively safe for a long time provided, of course, the TNT hadn't crystallized (crystalline TNT is so unstable that the tip of a penknife blade scraped across its surface may cause it to detonate). And provided that the TNT was pure to begin with. But the production standards of all explosives made by the warring nations Allied and Axis became less rigid toward the end of the war. And by 1944 manufacturers were required only to produce explosive fillings with sufficient 'shelf life' to get them through the war. Those bombs inside your ship have existed long past their intended shelf life." His conservative forecast would be for windows to be shattered in Southend-on-Sea, Westcliff-on-Sea, Leigh-on-Sea, Shoeburyness, all some 6.5 miles away in Essex, and a number of smaller communities with a population totalling at least 375,000. In addition all these places might also suffer a heavy fall of shrapnel. The ship and cargo are closer still to the town of Sheerness, Kent and it is estimated that that damage and casualties might well be severe. A tidal wave would inevitably follow the huge explosion, which could  wash away sea walls and flood defences. The bombs also happen to lie alongside the Thames main fairway used by thousands of the world's merchant ships including LPG Gas tankers feeding a huge gas terminal and storage, also seriously at risk and countless amateur yachtsmen at various marinas. There is no doubt that any ships, however large or small, in the vicinity of the explosion would go down. A tidal wave could sweep up the River Medway to cause havoc in Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and a dozen or more outlying places in Kent. If Mustard Gas bombs are indeed also on board as has been claimed, the results of any detonation could potentially involve widespread chemical contamination on top of any blast and tidal wave damage. In the late 1980’s when I was working for Radio Caroline, we would often make tender runs from Strood on the River Medway, out into the Southern North Sea, and the South Falls Head, where the Radio Caroline ship, the Ross Revenge was moored, outside British territorial waters, and thus outside of the law. These trips were invariably made at the dead of night, navigating by radar and from navigational buoy to navigational buoy using good old fashioned charts and a compass. On one occasion I was at the wheel of the thirty foot fishing cruiser we were using as a covert supply vessel; we had to time our trips precisely; at that time, the Olau Line ferry company operated a couple of very large passenger ferries out of Sheerness. The skipper of the Olau Britannia was a great friend to Radio Caroline, and would often go out of his way to help us. One way he gave us practical help was by allowing us to exit the Thames Estuary in the huge vessels’ radar shadow, thus hiding our activities from the authorities. I was concentrating on staying in formation with the giant car ferry, when I suddenly noticed a series of warning buoys dead ahead – I was steering the vessel straight into the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery! Needless to say, I came around hard to Starboard, to the consternation of the skipper and the rest of the crew, who were thrown around by my sudden course changes, and we narrowly avoided a collision. I reckon if we had have hit the wreck, we would probably have been the first fishing cruiser in orbit! 

The vintage Pathe News clip below shows events from back in 1952. It features children "testing" some toys for the newsreel cameras. The toys were manufactured by D. Sebel and Co., trading as the Mobo Toy Company, whose factory and offices were located in West Street, Erith in part of the works originally occupied by the Vickers armaments factory. Mobo toys were a premium brand that were sold all over the world, and were particularly popular in the USA. The company eventually disappeared in the early 1970's with the import of cheaper (and less well made) rivals from the Far East. Mobo toys are now highly collectible. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The "No Phone" zone.

The photo above shows the Erith Mural. It is located next to the Kassiopi Cove children's soft play centre (what used to be the Blockbuster video hire store) in Erith Riverside Shopping Centre in Colebrook Street. The mural has nine panels depicting scenes inspired by the history of Erith, including the murder of Thomas A Beckett and the reign of Henry the VIII. The mural was designed and built by the artist William Mitchell between 1966 and 1970. The mural is constructed using an artistic technique called "Cloisonne" - which is similar to the production of stained glass windows. The mural was originally located on the side wall of the old Riverside Swimming Pool in Erith High Street, but was moved to its current location in the centre of the town just before the old pool site was demolished. 

Sky have launched their Ultra High Definition 4K satellite receiver, as I previewed a few weeks ago. The Sky Q service costs a not inconsiderable £54 a month for a new subscriber, plus a one – off setup cost of £299. On top of this, if you want Sky Sports there is an additional monthly fee of £27.50, and yet another £17 a month if you want Sky Movies. Totting this all up, it means an initial expenditure of £397.50, followed by a contractually obligated minimum of eighteen months payments of £98.50, which equates to £1773.00 over the duration of the contract.  I think that Sky may well be over – reaching themselves this time. If you were to use Freeview, along with subscriptions to Netflix (£7.49 a month) and Amazon Prime (£79 a year - £6.58 a month), the bill over eighteen months would come to £253.26, a saving of £1818.74 over the cost of Sky Q plus subscription, and the one off joining fee. I know that the content offered will not be quite equivalent – dumping Sky would lose a lot of live sport, but conversely the range of shows available on Amazon Prime and Netflix far outstrips Sky in every way, and on top of this there are no adverts – something that endlessly annoys me with Sky – why pay for a premium service, and still have adverts? Currently the two streaming services don’t offer 4K resolution, but many channels on Sky Q will still be in either HD or SD resolution, so it would not be the loss it might initially appear. I understand that Sky is already losing customers to their standard HD service due to viewers switching to the cheaper and better content services offered by both Amazon Prime and Netflix. I think that this will only accelerate over time. When Sky launched their original analogue satellite based service back in February 1989, there was no broadband infrastructure in the UK (or anywhere for that matter), as the World Wide Web had yet to be invented by Tim Berners – Lee. Satellites were the only economic method of broadcasting to large areas of the planet. Now the use of satellites for broadcasting is soon to go the way of using hot air balloons for air travel – yes you can still do it, but why would you bother? Fibre optic broadband is the way forward. Mark my words, the age of Sky using hugely expensive satellites to broadcast will soon be at an end; they will either change their operating model and switch to online, or they will slowly die. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

After the very unusual publishing of the last Maggot Sandwich update on Saturday, rather than Sunday last week, a couple of readers have asked me how I go about writing each update. The process normally begins as soon as the last edition “goes to press” at around 1pm on each Sunday afternoon. I keep notes of stories that may have relevance or interest to readers, and I keep a list of ideas written on a notepad; the actual content gets written gradually over the course of the week. I get the impression that some readers think I sit down and write the whole thing on Sunday morning, but nothing could be further from the case. What happens on Sunday morning is that I edit together all of the little scraps I have written during the week into what I hope is a readable and entertaining form. I add the active web links (a chore which takes well over an hour in itself), and I also run some final sense checks, including checking that any submitted content from a third party or guest writer does not break any rules of taste or copyright. Last week I had a rare failure in this respect – partly I think because of the rush to get the update “out of the door” on Saturday. I would like to apologise to Andy Doran as it is clear that I inadvertently used text from what I later found out was on his website. I get sent stories from all number of sources – P.R companies (more on them later) volunteer organisations, Maggot Sandwich readers and a number of trusted sources that wish to be anonymous. I had been sent a Word document with a well – written piece on the history of Mobo Toys from someone who has sent me stories before;  they declined to be a guest author, so I just grabbed the text from the file and uploaded it into Blogger. It turned out my source, or someone who passed it to her had scraped the text almost word for word from the D and S pedal car restoration website. My error was in not checking this before publication; my only defence is that I was in a hurry to get the update published a day early, and in doing so I skipped the “due diligence” I normally carry out.  I know what it is like to be plagiarised; a certain local paper (now no longer in publication) used to semi regularly nick not only my stories, but my photos too. So I can well understand the feeling this generates.

The photo above was taken by Richard of the Thamesmead Grump blog, when we met at the Bexley History Fair at Hall Place last Sunday. I am seated in the photo, talking to a visitor about the Friends of Christ Church Erith, of which I am a committee member. The event went well, but it has to be said that Hall Place was bitterly cold; even though the Friends stand was located next to a very underpowered radiator, which felt like it was possibly the only (barely) working one in the building. Thanks to the number of Maggot Sandwich readers who came over to say "hello" and to introduce themselves. If you would like to learn more about the Friends of Christ Church Erith, click here, and to learn more about our forthcoming "Our Erith" art exhibition, you should click here.

On Wednesday morning I was standing on the London – bound platform of Erith station when the automated announcement heralding the arrival of the next train stated “this service will comprise of four carriages”. For a moment I thought that I had heard incorrectly , but when the train turned up it was indeed composed of only four carriages – half the normal length. I got on, and when the train arrived at Belvedere, the driver came on the public address system, and announced that the trains was now going to travel non – stop to London Bridge station. About two thirds of the passengers, myself included then got off and waited on the platform at Belvedere Station. An announcement which had many passengers scratching their heads in disbelief “The next London bound train is cancelled due to greater than normal passenger numbers”. Eventually a very crowded train turned up, and I was then able to travel to Greenwich to pick up my connection via the DLR to Canary Wharf and the office. If this was not bad enough, on Thursday afternoon I had to wait over forty minutes for a train from Greenwich back to Erith, when there is meant to be one every ten minutes. There were a fairly large number of very inconvenienced and annoyed people. Southeastern Trains and Network Rail need to share the blame. The News Shopper has been giving them a hard time, as have several local MP's - with very good cause in my opinion. Teresa Pearce said "I have just one train line running through my constituency, two tracks, three stations, one train rail line, what could go wrong? Well, Southeastern could go wrong. Before Southeastern we had Connex and Connex was terrible and we thought Southeastern would be better and we were wrong. I have a real appreciation of the frustration of the what it’s like to stand on a platform in the certain knowledge of the uncertainty of the train service.” In the same News Shopper interview, Jim Dowd, MP for Lewisham West and Penge, said: “I join in the general wailing and gnashing of teeth about the service that is is allegedly provided by Southeastern, it’s not unreasonable to expect a reasonable service particularly in light of the amount of money they pay. I wish though Southeastern would put as much effort into running the trains on time as they do into providing some of the excuses for why they don’t.” Well said that man! More on Southeastern and their continual delays and cancellations later. 

There has been extensive coverage in the press this week as to how the major betting companies, and Paddy Power in particular have been exploiting vulnerable “high stakes” gamblers. Much of the problem with these high spending, big losers is not down to traditional bets placed on horses, dogs or football, but is instead due to an addiction to fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT), these are a kind of electronic gambling machine, with far higher odds than the traditional “one armed bandit”. A recent report makes for extremely troubling reading; it reveals that in the 55 most deprived boroughs in the UK – overwhelmingly located in Northern cities and urban Greater London have a  total of 2,691 bookmakers shops, in which £13 billion was gambled on FOBT machines, and £470 million lost by gamblers in the last year alone. In the same time period, there were 1,258 bookmakers shops in the 115 wealthiest areas, adjusted to cover the same volume of population, within which players gambled a total of £6.5 billion, losing £231 million.  The report was commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, and shows that the large betting companies have targeted the poorest areas that have the highest unemployment, lowest per capita income and higher crime rates. The last year has also seen a large increase in the number of high street betting shops, mainly due to the leap in the total number of FOBT machines, such as digital roulette in use. In December 2013 there was a total of 9,343 active betting shop licences in the entire United Kingdom, which was an increase of 280 since 2012. The most deprived town council in the UK was identified as being Liverpool. A total of £118 million was gambled in 570 machines, and £23 million was siphoned off by bookmakers in the process. In the same time scale, the place voted as the most desirable place to live in the UK – the Hart district of Hampshire there are just seven betting shops with a total of 24 Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. Liverpool council have understandably got very worried by the figures, and are now keen to place strong control measures on the betting shop operators. The problem with FOBT machines is that large amounts of money can be spent on the machines very quickly, and losses can mount up almost before the gambler realises. A hundred pounds can be lost in no more than thirty seconds. Nick Small, of Liverpool City Council said of the situation “millions of pounds that should be used for paying for food and rent was being sucked into the FOBT machines. Bookies are arriving all the time into prime retail locations. This is all driven for FOBTs. I have no doubt of it. We are seeing horrific reports of family breakdown caused by gambling debts, problems with loan sharks. We are pretty sure organised crime is using the machines to launder money. It's out of control in a city like ours, where there are a lot of poorer people”.  The same situation exists all around the UK, with poorer areas – just like Erith, being hit far harder than wealthier regions. Industry observers have commented that one way to reduce the problem specific to FOBT machines would be to limit the maximum stake gambled to £2 – like ordinary one armed bandit machines, and to limit the maximum pay out to £100. The gambling industry is not keen on this approach, for obvious reasons. To add to this, the Government are now showing an interest, as the subject is gaining column inches in the press now - despite the Government deciding not to place limits on the payouts of FOBT machines when it debated the issue last Summer. The issue has been ongoing for a number of years now, with little interest from the press. This would now appear to be changing, mainly due to a shocking story that was widely reported earlier this week. Bookmaker Paddy Power encouraged a problem gambler to keep betting until he lost five jobs, his home and access to his children, according to a report by the Gambling Commission. The company also failed to perform sufficient checks to ensure customers were not using its betting machines to launder the proceeds of crime. The betting regulators said that Paddy Power would make a voluntary payment of £310,000 to a “socially responsible” cause following its findings. Paddy Power will also be forced to review procedures designed to prevent money laundering and problem gambling and agree to share details of its own failings with the rest of the industry. In one case, Paddy Power admitted that senior staff encouraged a man with a gambling problem to keep betting despite warnings by more junior employees. The man  was a frequent user of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs), which have been referred to as the “crack cocaine” of gambling. The machines allow customers to bet up to £100 every 20 seconds on games such as roulette and blackjack, for which the odds are fixed. In May 2014, Paddy Power staff became aware that the anonymous man was working at five separate jobs to fund his gambling and “had no money”, the Gambling Commission said. Although he claimed to be comfortable with his level of gambling, shop staff passed their concerns up the chain to senior staff, who advised monitoring him. Later that month, the shop manager informed a more senior member of staff that the man would be visiting the shop less frequently. The senior employee responded by advising that “steps should be taken to try to increase the customer visits and time spent in the gambling premises”. All of the large gambling chains have signed up to responsible gambling initiatives, and it would appear that in many cases, shop staff have indeed reported customers who seemed to be gambling larger amounts than they could afford, or coming into the betting shop more frequently than normal, but it would seem that senior management have been culturally inclined to ignore these reports in order to keep their profits up. It has also recently come to light that fixed odds betting terminals are being used by criminals to launder illegally acquired cash. Criminals can use games such as roulette to launder money at a small cost. For instance, someone with £100 in cash could place £48 on black, £48 on red and £2 on green, or 0. The maximum they could lose would be £4, at which point they could ask a bookmaker to put the remaining £96 on their debit card. The money would then appear as a legitimate payment from a bookmaker, hiding the fact that it could have been cash from a criminal enterprise. The Gambling Commission said that in August 2014, a shop manager suspected that a woman they called Customer B, a longstanding user of Paddy Power shops, was using gambling facilities to launder Scottish bank notes. The manager related their suspicions to more senior members of staff on four occasions over six months. But senior staff “repeatedly overruled” the shop manager, saying that as the notes were British currency and were not stained or counterfeit, it was unlikely that the money was being laundered. None of the suspicions were reported to the company’s money laundering reporting officer. Paddy Power only barred the customer after police raised fears that Scottish banknotes that were the proceeds of crime were being laundered in London. Subsequent checks revealed the customer could not validate ownership of a business she claimed to belong to her. The company initially told the Gambling Commission it had followed its money laundering policy but later admitted it had not dealt with its staff members’ suspicions properly. Now that this information is in the public domain, attitudes towards the big betting companies may now begin to change. At least they are very visible on many high streets, whereas online gambling is far less high profile and anonymous. Personally I have no interest in any form of gambling, but it would appear to be a large number of people do, and the line between “fun” betting and addiction would seem to be a very fine one. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

You may recall I recently covered the story concerning the very sudden closure of the Paper Moon in Dartford, and the (unsuccessful) campaign to keep the popular venue open. Pub owner Wetherspoon’s are undergoing a campaign to close down unprofitable pubs, and then open new pubs in areas where new business is thought to be located. Generally I am pretty ambivalent when discussions turn to Wetherspoon’s pubs – in general I find them a bit formulaic and samey, albeit with a good selection of reasonably priced real ales and not bad food. I very much prefer traditional pubs, but I can understand the attraction of a chain where reliability and predictability are key. I visited the newly refurbished New Cross Turnpike in Bellegrove Road, Welling last Saturday. The place has not long been reopened following an extensive refurbishment after being gutted by an accidental fire last August. I have to say that I was very impressed by the place. The refurbishment included some architectural redesigns within the building, as well as the use of higher quality materials than before. The pub is still on two levels (something that the serving staff must hate, as meals have to be taken upstairs to customers on the upper level by hand). I am very surprised that the designers / architects did not think to include a “dumb waiter”. The place is light and airy, with lots of glass, but the pub does suffer the problem so very common with Wetherspoon’s in general – the toilets are a very long way from the public areas, involving somewhat of a route march. I get the feeling that after a couple of shandies, by the time you make it back to the bar from the bogs, it would be time to go to the loo again. Having said that, I was very impressed – the place is clean and well run, with well – trained, helpful and attentive staff; the food was very good, and reasonably priced, and this obviously reflects well with the customers. By 12.30 on Saturday lunchtime, both the upper and lower floors were heaving with people, many of whom were ordering food as well as drinks. It may have helped that Welling United were playing at home later in the afternoon, but the diversity of the crowd suggested that many of the visitors were not there for a pre – match drink. It was certainly busy. I think that Wetherspoon’s have a lot they could teach Marston’s – the pub company / brewer who own and operate the Morgan in Clydesdale Road, Lower Belvedere. The Morgan is a pub / restaurant in a similar vein to Wetherspoon’s, and has been open for roughly a year. I have visited the place three times recently, and had cause to complain on two of the visits. I recently wrote to the manager saying “I thought it best to bring  a few observations concerning staff training and service levels to your attention in respect of a visit this lunchtime. A group of five people including myself visited the Morgan at 12.30pm this afternoon; we were seated at table 24. My friend ordered a pot of tea - when it was delivered, it was evident that the cup had not been properly washed up. The lady who served the tea had to sort through three other cups in order to find one that was acceptably clean. When this was delivered it too was found to be dirty, and a fourth replacement had to be sourced. This is unacceptable. Cleaning standards need to be improved.  Secondly, when the same friend went to the bar to place a drinks order, she was acknowledged by the server (a lady with a badge name of "Aeron") but when further customers approached the bar, my friend was ignored in preference of the new customers. The fact that my good friend is a British African lady made the situation look racist. At the very least it was an extremely unprofessional way to treat a paying guest. On top of this, "Aeron" opened a bottle of blackcurrant cordial, dropped the lid on the floor, then immediately replaced it on the bottle, in contravention of Health and Safety regulations.  Two of my group of five opted for the carvery meal - it was evident that the meat had been reheated and was dry and tough , and the mashed potato was made from an instant potato mix - again not acceptable at a Marston's restaurant  - you have a reputation for quality which was not met on this occasion. It is apparent that there are insufficient staff available for main service at the location - most of the staff are helpful, if not very well trained - as you may recall, I contacted you three months ago, after being double charged for a meal, which you agreed was an error, but have not still not refunded. The Morgan could be very good and a real asset to the local community, but a lack of training, and some poor quality staff do not help matters”. I got a very vague and slopey shouldered reply from the Morgan Management, which I won’t publish here, but suffice to say it did little to allay my concerns. It shows that two very similar enterprises, only separated by a few miles can have completely different approaches to customer service, and in my eyes Wetherspoon’s is easily the winner. Have you experienced something similar, or have you had excellent service in the Morgan? I would love to revisit and give it a glowing report, as it could be excellent with a few changes to the way it is run. At present however, it barely scrapes a three out of five, whereas the New Cross Turnpike gets a solid four and a half out of five. The benchmark for pub hospitality and service is set by the family run freehouse The Robin Hood and Little John in Lion Road Bexleyheath. It is the only hostelry in the borough to get the Arthur Pewty five stars of excellence award.

As I mentioned last week, I get all sorts of promotional junk sent to me by public relations companies, most of which gets read and binned by me. On Tuesday I received a message which I thought might well be of interest to some readers, especially bearing in mind that today is Mothering Sunday, and my previous experiences above relating to pub eating that I have just recounted. On top of this it mirrors my very own well - publicised antipathy towards mobile phones. See what you think:- "The introduction of the smoking ban saw an end to restaurants being split into smoking and non-smoking areas but this Sunday, Beefeater are introducing a new kind of dining segregation - a 'No Phone Zone'. Launched to coincide with Mother's Day, Britain's best-known steak restaurant has taken the bold step to create 'phone free' areas in response to research that outlines behaviour that can ruin family outings. Top of the table on the list of family outing-ruiners was 'constantly checking phones at the table', which 54 percent listed as the single most likely occurrence to cause an argument. The second and third most likely argument starters were a family member being underdressed or scruffy for the occasion (28 percent) and family members having earphones constantly plugged in (18 percent). Conversely, 'family conversation' is rated as the single most beneficial aspect of a good day out, with nearly two-thirds of respondents suggesting that just having a nice chat is the best bit of a family outing. Beefeater guests will be able to book a 'No Phone Zone' table for Sunday 6th March and those in the zone will have to hand their mobile phones to staff 'as a deposit' when they arrive. Hawk-eyed Beefeater staff will patrol the 'No Phone Zone' for mobiles and have the right to move guests who do not comply with the new rule. The 'No Phone Zone' will be trialled across sites this weekend, with a view to make the areas permanent if well received by diners. Sarah Tinsley, Head of Marketing for Beefeater said; "There's no denying the huge benefits our smartphones provide us, but there is a time and a place for their use and, especially on Mother's Day, we think we can do without them for an hour or two. Mums don't ask much of us and rarely even let us spend any money on them – so the least we can do is give Mums our undivided attention. "We hope this small adjustment to our setup enables a few more families to add some seasoned conversation to their meal." Beefeater is a British brand that first fired up the grill in 1974 and now has over 140 restaurants nationwide. The combination of great steak, friendly service and relaxed surroundings made Beefeater a big hit in Britain in the 70s, 80s and 90s and today is no different. For bookings please contact your local Beefeater or visit www.beefeater.co.uk". This could turn into quite a popular move, though I don't for one minute think it is anything other than a publicity stunt for Beefeater, thought up by the P.R company. We already have "quiet" carriages on some long distance train routes - I wonder if "quiet" areas in restaurants will take off in the same way?

The ending video this week is an update from Crossrail, showing the latest construction works being undertaken at Abbey Wood Station. If you watch carefully, during the interview with Nigel Fenn of Crossrail Engineering Management, which seem to have been held over the space of an hour or so on the London bound platform, and then edited together, you can see on the digital display board behind the interviewee that every single train heading towards London is delayed. Not that this has anything to do with Crossrail - it is the responsibility of Southeastern and Network rail, but it does reinforce the impression that Southeastern are a bunch of incompetents.