The photo above was taken by me in Park Crescent, Erith; it shows a dumped box of empty Nitrous Oxide canisters. Not really something one would expect to find in the quiet, leafy and prosperous "Beverly Hills of Erith". The gas, which is inhaled, has become a popular recreational drug over the past few years. According to the latest Global Drug Survey, Nitrous Oxide – or laughing gas – is now the seventh most popular drug in the 50 countries surveyed. Just over half the UK respondents said they had tried the drug at some point, and 38 per cent said they had used it in the last year, making it more popular in the UK than any other country. Nitrous Oxide is a colourless, sweet tasting gas that has been used recreationally since the late 18th century, most notably by Sir Humphry Davy, former president of The Royal Society. Medical use was established in the early 20th century and Nitrous Oxide remains an important anaesthetic, tranquilliser and painkiller, used by dentists, obstetricians and sports doctors. Indeed, many members of the public will have experienced the effects of Nitrous Oxide themselves without realising it. The popularity of recreational use of Nitrous Oxide is unsurprising. It is legal in many parts of the world, it is cheap and it reliably produces a short-lasting euphoria as well as heightened senses and a slight feeling of disconnect from the body and is often used as a drug at concerts, nightclubs and festivals. As one can see, the desired effects would be a quick little “pick me up” but continued usage causes major damage. Physically, Nitrous Oxide is not considered an addictive drug; psychologically it is because it mimics other narcotics. It is a very quick high which usually causes intense repetitive behaviours in its users. Users of this drug will continue to try to get more and more high, which again, in turn, creates major issues. In the last week a report on the long term effects of Nitrous Oxide abuse has been published, and it makes for very worrying reading. The drug, also known as “noz” and “hippy crack”, is very popular with teenagers and young adults, including clubbers and those attending music festivals. It is the same substance that is given to women during childbirth and patients undergoing dental treatment to control pain. Those using it illicitly often breathe it in after it has been transferred from silver vials into balloons. It is the second most commonly used drug among 16- to 24-year-olds in England after cannabis. Half a million of them have used it in the last year – one in 11 of that age group. Many more males than females that age turn to it in their search for a euphoric high, the latest Home Office figures show. Purposely making the human body pass out or by cutting circulation of to the brain does not only kills brain cells but can creates numbness in extremities, Vitamin B12 deficiencies, suffocation, and it can even lead to death. If a person is to stop breathing, even for a short period of time, it also affects the central nervous system which includes the brain, brain stem and spinal cord. Death typically occurs in people who highly abuse Nitrous Oxide. They continue to chase their first high and try to inhale more and more gas. If death does not occur from doing this, it can cause severe brain damage due to asphyxia. There have been statements made about how the effects on the body after going on a Nitrous Oxide binge and then not doing it for a while, can be similar to the withdrawals that someone may experience if they have not smoked marijuana in a while. There may be bouts of nausea, impulse to want to do Nitrous Oxide again, headaches accompanied by lethargy, and just an overall feeling of achy joints and weakness. The government tried to ban the misuse of Nitrous Oxide when it introduced The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, which was designed to provide a blanket ban on new psychoactive substances (popularly, although erroneously, known as “legal highs”), as the existing legislation was considered too slow in responding to the emergence of what are potentially harmful drugs. A substance is defined as psychoactive if “by stimulating or depressing the person’s central nervous system, it affects the person’s mental functioning or emotional state”. So all psychoactive drugs are, by default, controlled under the 2016 ban. A number of substances were exempted from the act, including caffeine, nicotine, tobacco products, alcohol, EU approved foodstuffs, medicinal products, and drugs already controlled under The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The exemptions were deemed necessary to avoid restricting access to medically useful and socially tolerated products. These exemptions played a key role in two recent trials involving the supply of Nitrous Oxide (“laughing gas”), where the judges advised the juries to reach not guilty verdicts. The defence teams successfully argued that Nitrous Oxide – despite being a popular recreational drug, and assumed to be controlled under the 2016 act – is covered by the medicinal product exemption. These court decisions came as a surprise to many observers: while Nitrous Oxide is clearly a medicinal product under supervised use as an anaesthetic, there is unlikely to be much legitimate need for it in recreational settings. Nevertheless, at the time of writing, Nitrous Oxide is not actually illegal, despite the very serious effect misusing it can have. Nitrous Oxide is particularly hard to prohibit, given its widespread uses in catering, medicine, and motoring – and its rising use demonstrates that attempts to ban it have failed. The problem is country - wide, but especially bad locally. What do you think? Please leave a message below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.
The £73 million redevelopment of the Arthur Street Estate has now begun, even though the final green - lighting of the ambitious new housing scheme has not yet been given by Bexley Council. The upper of the two photos above shows the current estate, whilst the lower picture gives an idea of what the redevelopment will look like once it is completed - click on either photo for a larger version. The estate, which is located on the opposite side of Northend Road to the Erith Park Development, which, incidentally won London Regeneration Project of the year at the London Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Awards (RICS) in 2017, and was shortlisted for a National Housing Award for Best Regeneration Project. The Arthur Street Estate consists of three high rise blocks of flats – Cranbrook House, Cobham House and Canterbury House, and some low level accommodation – Challock House, Charing House, and The Nursery. Orbit Housing Association have managed the estate since February 1998. Historically the Arthur Street Estate has been regarded by many as somewhat of a problem, this is principally because historically there has been a large proportion of prolific offenders, people with a criminal background, and people with high support needs - particularly with drug and alcohol dependency living on the estate. Figures from a police report for the 12 months to 30 September 2011 (the only data I could find) showed 56 suspects of crime in Bexley living within the postcodes for Arthur Street Estate. Of the 56 crimes, only 1 was a motoring offence and 3 public order offences, the remaining 52 more high level crimes. The effect on community sustainability has been huge, with law abiding residents seeing this as short term housing, a means to an end. They have often been subjected to incidents of Anti - Social Behaviour. This led to those residents requesting transfers, moving out from the properties and increasing turnover of residents. Orbit have been working with Bexley Council and various authorities to address these issues, and much good work has now been done, in a similar way to how Orbit were able to filter out the real trouble makers from the old Larner Road Estate, and not permit them into the new Erith Park Development, and since the start of the programme the situation has markedly improved. Now Orbit are about to start a new project in relation to the estate. In an interview published in the News Shopper and elsewhere, a representative of Orbit Housing Association said:- "This estate regeneration project will significantly improve the site, both visually and in terms of how it will function. A substantial number of new homes will be provided, with an uplift in affordable homes and affordable floorspace achieved as part of the overall provision. The proposal will help foster a more balanced and mixed community due to an approach that re-provides affordable housing tenures on site in a more diverse way. An injection of market housing also works towards the diversification of the overall offer, representing 20 per cent of the units provided. The proposal will provide a total of 320 homes of which 80 per cent will be “affordable housing”, comprised of of 121 affordable rented homes, 77 shared ownership homes and 58 homes for London Living Rent". One outcome of the various redevelopment and new build housing schemes in the local area will be a fairly dramatic increase in the local population; this will increase the need for improved infrastructure, including power, water, drainage, schools and medical facilities. On top of this, I was contacted by sometime reviewer of Erith’s food outlets, Brian Silk, about something tangentially related to food. Brian wanted to point out that Erith station is the only one in Bexley that doesn’t have a convenient shop to pick up a pint of milk or loaf of bread despite there being an obvious vacant space for it nearby. Brian, who lives in the West Street area, said, “People who commute by train from Erith don’t have a shop close to the station to get those bits and pieces on their way home, such as a pint of milk, loaf of bread or other basic provisions.” Brian suggests that the shop should go on the unused land opposite the main entrance to the South East London College campus, less than a minute’s walk from the station. A small convenience store in that location would not only be used by commuters and people coming to work or study in the town but would probably be used by people who live in Stonewood Road / Cricketers Close, West Street, the new Erith Baths residential development and around Christ Church. Brian believes it would have plenty of customers at all times. Brian understands that the land is owned by the Council and that at least one well-known supermarket has shown an interest in the site. Bexley Council have said, in their recent Town Centres Consultation, that they want to make Erith an attractive destination for people. For Brian, a shop just outside the station would help with that. If you agree with the idea of a shop for Erith station, you can let Bexley Council know by emailing towncentres@bexley.gov.uk or call 020 8303 7777 and ask for the Town Centres Team. You can also speak to your local councillor or contact the Chairman of Bexley’s Planning Committee, Peter Reader.
An update on upcoming events at The Bookstore Cafe in the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith. The Exchange have announced:- "The Melting Pot is a new recipe book made up with local people's family recipes and stories, exploring the cultures of Erith and Bexley through food. If you have a recipe that you think should be included, please come to our event on Monday 27th (12-2pm) with the prepared dish and your story. If you can't make it, get in touch with us as there will be other events and opportunities to share. Or if you are just interesting in the eating please do come along and sample the areas culinary expertise! This book will be published and available from The Bookstore Cafe and Bar. Every recipe and story will be fully credited. We look forward to tasting your food!" Also, a new feature has been launched at The Bookstore Cafe - "Cafe Nights at The Bookstore - Thursdays - Saturdays, 6-10pm. Cafe Nights are taking off! Each week we will be preparing a different hot dish to add to our evening Bookstore offer. We have so far had Tagines and Spaghetti weeks; this week we are celebrating the beautiful gooey camembert! Toppings available = Toffee apple and blue cheese | smoked pancetta | garlic and rosemary | or red onion marmalade". You can read more about, and book your place at forthcoming events at the former Carnegie Library by clicking here.
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 the one we experienced last year. 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 coal fired power station, the swimming baths were close to the livestock holding pens at Erith railway station. I would imagine the smell must have been eye watering at certain times!
Over the last few months, the popular press has been getting very excited by machine intelligence, otherwise known as artificial intelligence, or AI. 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 and overhyped 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 percent 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. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.
Slade Green and Northend ward:- "In the last week, number plates have been stolen from vehicles in Alderney Road, Aveley Close, Frobisher Road and Sandpiper Drive. All of these offences occurred through the night. If you would like some anti-theft screws, please let us know. Off road bikes have become very prominent over by Erith Yacht club due to the pinch gate proving not to be efficient in stopping access to the location. Over the course of last weekend 5 bikes and 15 individuals were removed by our team and all the relevant warnings, letters and words of advice were given. All of them tried to claim they hand the landowners permission (which is not true) and contact has been made with the landowner making him aware. The pinch gate has now also been damaged, this has been reported to Bexley Council for repair and hopefully a better gate. Over 10 stop and searches made across the ward in the last week some drugs seized and all the necessary action taken regarding the individuals found in possession. We have 2 new Watches in our ward at Cook Square and one half of the Rainbow Road estate from Crimson Road down to just past Budgens. Plus our Alderney Road watch is also back up and running after several months lapsed". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries: No burglaries this week. Please remain vigilant at all times. Crime Prevention: Close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you're going out for a few minutes. Photograph and keep a detailed inventory of each item of jewellery and keep it in a separate place. Motor vehicle crimes: On Wednesday 15/05/19 between the hours of 9:00am and 11:30am a vehicle parked in Seacourt Road had the rear passenger window smashed, nothing taken. Between the hours of 05:30pm of Thursday 16/05/19 and 09:30 am of Friday 17/05/19 a vehicle parked in the underground car park Staplehurst Court, Southmere Drive had the rear quarter window on the passenger side smashed ,nothing taken. Also at the same location of Staplehurst Court underground car park an attempted theft of a motor scooter occurred on Friday 17/05/19 between the hours of 08:40 am and 10:00 am. An unknown suspect stole a motor scooter from Bledlow Court between the hours of 10:30pm on Thursday 16/05/19 and 05:00pm of Friday 17/05/19.A car battery was stolen from a vehicle parked in Glimpsing Green between the hours of 06:00am and 06:10am on Monday 20/05/19. Between the hours of 3:30pm and 09:320pm Monday 20/05/19 the front and rear number plates were stolen from a vehicle outside Shire Court, Redpoll Way. Criminal Damage: Between the hours of 1:00pm and 1:30pm on Wednesday 15/05/19 a property in Lime Row had the kitchen window smashed". West Heath ward:- "This week has been all about car crime. Overnight Wednesday 15 - Thursday 16th May there were three thefts from motor vehicles in Little Heath Road where a satnav was stolen, Hurlingham Road where a purse was stolen and lastly Cranbrook Road. There was also a fourth theft from a vehicle in Leckwith Avenue over the weekend Friday 17th-Sunday 19th . There was one possible attempted burglary in Brampton Road in the early hours of Sunday 12th May where the victim saw two shadowy figures at their bathroom window who then made off, entry was not gained. The team have conducted MV tasking patrols on our hotspots with the assistance of…. Two male stopped and searched in Mayfair Ave resulting in one male arrested who it turns out wanted theft of motor in Bromley. Another male stopped for possession cannabis in Chessington Avenue. The team assisted our partners in DWP and Organised Crime Unit around some concerns for modern slavery. The street briefing in Brixham Rd on 20th May raised a few issues mostly around antisocial behaviour from quad bikes, dog fouling and fly tipping. Our next Street briefing will be in Orchard Avenue on 30th May at 7pm".
The end video below shows an excerpt from a football match featuring the youth team from Erith Town FC playing a local game.
