Bright Steps.

I was sitting in my office in Pewty Acres on Wednesday morning, when I heard the sound of multiple emergency service sirens, and then the distinctive whirring drone of a helicopter. The combination of the two sounds led me to conclude that something big and not very pleasant was taking place in the local area. I grabbed my camera and headed in the direction of the sound, which led me to the Erith Construction depot and offices in Manor Road, Erith. I stood on the pavement on the opposite side of the road to the depot, to ensure that I did not cause an obstruction to any emergency vehicle or personnel. I was able to observe activities and took the photos that you can see above - please click on any one to see a larger version. The G-EHMS air ambulance landed on the area of the depot furthest from the entrance - close to the banks of the River Thames. Shortly thereafter a land ambulance and a number of Police cars turned up with blue lights and sirens running. These joined the emergency vehicles that had been in the first response. A handful of workers from the nearby industrial estate, and a chap who was the boss of a local company joined me to observe what was going on. Ironically, one of them fell victim to what I understand the press refer to as "big camera syndrome" and asked if I was a reporter, as I was carrying a professional DSLR camera. I said no, but I did run a local news service. Ironically if you click this link, you can see the story on the News Shopper website, which includes my photos, which I sent them with full permission to reproduce. At the time I took the photos, I assumed that the incident was some kind of industrial accident, but after I contacted the News Shopper, it became apparent that the story was actually even more worrying. My assumption as to the nature of the emergency was incorrect - it had not been an accident, it had been a stabbing. A man in his fifties had been stabbed in the chest - which explained the proliferation of Police cars at the scene. Unconfirmed reports state that the victim was a lecturer running a construction training course on the site; it has been said that he was attacked and stabbed by one of his students after an argument. At the time of writing, the alleged perpetrator is still at large. The injury to the lecturer is thought not to be life threatening. 

As soon as one local planning issue is resolved - the refusal of a licence for the White Hart African restaurant to open from 10am until 5am the next morning, as covered by the Maggot Sandwich last week, another planning matter has come to my attention, thanks to an eagle eyed reader who alerted me to the situation early last week. An application has been submitted to Bexley Council to convert the former Club Extreme / Tease (prior to that T's) nightclub building in Erith town centre into a Day Centre, Youth Centre, Conference and Place of worship. The upper floor of the building that housed the former night club has been empty and unused for over a decade. The lower floor is home to discount supermarket Farm Foods, and the Erith Police office. Back in July 2009 a chap called Wayne Miles submitted an application to open a nightclub called the Double Deuce Club on the site of the former T's / Club Extreme. Controversially he wanted his new club to open from 10pm until 7am seven days of the week, including Sundays. For an unknown reason the submission was withdrawn, and to the best of my knowledge it never went before the Bexley Council Licensing Sub - Committee for examination. No subsequent applications have been made as far as I am aware. The new proposal makes for very interesting reading. The plans that have been submitted to Bexley Council are for a facility that will very closely mirror the controversial one already in operation in the former Erith Snooker Club site in the upper floor of Electricity House, less than one hundred metres from the proposed new facility. The P2 Event Centre in Pier Road offers precisely the same facilities as the proposed new one in the old Extreme / T's night club site. If you click on the link to the P2 Event Centre, please be aware that the photographs on the website do not represent the actual Pier Road location - they were taken elsewhere and do not represent the reality. The whole website is outright deceptive and misleading. From my research it would appear that a rival African church are hoping to take on the former T's / Extreme night club site and turn it into another praise and conference centre. Bearing in mind the many other African churches already in the local area, it begs the question - is there actually a further market for more of the same? It is good that a site that has been empty and unused for more than a decade will be put back into operation, but have the new tenants done any market research into the demand for something that already exists very close by?

One of the main observations made by the Bexley Council Licensing Sub Committee during its reasons for not permitting the extension of the licence for The White Hart to operate until 5am daily in last weeks' meeting was that officers from the council had observed traffic and pedestrian activity in and around Erith Town Centre overnight prior to the hearing, and they had noted that after 9pm, Erith is pretty much dead when it comes to activity of any type. The only traffic through the town centre is from single and double decker buses, and even these mostly cease at around 1am, with the exception of the occasional night buses. In essence, Erith has been a dormitory town for the last fifty years, since the original town centre was demolished to make way for the hideous brutalist 1970's bare concrete shopping centre which unsuccessfully replaced it. My principal recollection of the 70's shopping centre was its dark corners, bare staircases and the overwhelming stink of Jeyes Fluid and stale wee. Before this, when the old town still stood, there were plenty of pubs, cafes and social clubs where locals could spend their evening and weekend spare time. Nowadays that is no longer the case; the only nearby pub is the once great but now woeful Running Horses in Erith High Street. which back in the 80’s and early 90’s was so popular that you would often have to book the upstairs carvery in advance, especially on Sundays when it was always packed, is nowadays in what seems like a terminal decline. The place has been bravely slogging on with a hard-core of regular drinkers for a long while, but the food side of the business is nothing whatsoever like it used to be. The Running Horses is in a superb river front location, and is a lovely 1930’s era reproduction Tudor style building. To be honest it could be restored back to its heyday if a substantial financial investment was made in the place, which I don’t think the current landlord / manager is in a position to do. I have long suspected that the land The Running Horses is sitting on is now worth substantially more than the pub itself, and that it is quite possible that the building is currently being “land banked” waiting for a suitable developer to come along and build yet more flats. Land in Erith is about to skyrocket in value, and it seems to me that it is not a question of if, but when this will happen. I would love to see The Running Horses become the massive success that it used to be, but honestly, unless something dramatic happens, I don't see a bright future for it in the current guise. The only proper "sit down" restaurant in the town centre is the superb, but woefully under - used Riverside Fish and Steak Restaurant. I have had a couple of excellent meals in the place, and there are some wonderful reviews on TripAdvisor, but for much of the time the beautifully decorated eaterie stands empty - a photo of the restaurant is above - please click on it for a larger version. I know that the whole UK casual dining industry is currently in trouble - Matthew Richards, a director at accountancy firm Grant Thornton, said in a recent interview with the BBC that:- "The casual dining trading environment in the UK remains extremely challenging, driven by a change in dining behaviour, long-term consumer trends and increased competition". The Erith Riverside Fish and Steak Restaurant gets a few customers in the lunchtime period - it has to be said the customers mostly seem to consist of retired people. A few customers frequent the place in the early evening, prior to attending a show at the Erith Playhouse, in many cases, but after that the place is dead. I have passed the Riverside Fish and Steak Restaurant at 8pm earlier in the week - hardly the middle of the night, and the place was open, but bereft of customers. which is a real pity, as the place has a lot to offer local eaters. Its sister restaurant - Mambocino inside the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre does a roaring trade in the daytime, but is not able to open in the evening as it is inside the locked perimeter of the shopping centre. I suspect that profits from Mambocino are probably being used to financially prop  up the Riverside Fish and Steak Restaurant, as it cannot be viable on its own. If you want to see local businesses succeed, you need to use them. I think that the current "dormitory" image that Erith has does not help - if locals go out for the evening, they tend to go to Bexleyheath or Bluewater. It will take a few more brave souls to open up night time businesses in and around Erith if this attitude is to change. The opening in January of the first phase of the refurbishment of the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, and the launch of a bistro type restaurant, wine bar, arts display and meeting space will help in this respect. It would be nice to meet and socialise with other local residents - and in doing so, keep ones' well earned cash in local circulation. 

The Bright Steps children's nursery located in Electricity House, adjacent to the De Luci fish statue in Erith is no more. After a series of interventions by Ofsted and Bexley Police, the nursery was closed down after a series of legal compliance and child welfare violations. During a series of  hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice during July, August and September, the proprietor of Bright Steps lodged a legal appeal against the withdrawal of the licence by Ofsted. The decision of the Judge -  Gillian Irving QC, was published on the 11th October. The case - Mr Saula Ogunkoya (Bright Steps Nursery and Day Care)  v Ofsted determined that:- "We find as a fact that:- (i) the Appellant failed to identify risks of harm, issues of health and safety, and to implement appropriate and safe child-handling practice; (ii) the Appellant repeatedly failed to manage children’s behaviour appropriately; (iii) the Appellant repeatedly failed to meet the requirements in relation to child protection procedures and safeguarding; his approach to the investigation into CO in 2016 and the allegation in 2018 is indicative of an inability and/or an unwillingness to learn from past mistakes and to prioritise the needs of the children in his care; (iv) the Appellant has historically and repeatedly failed to meet the learning and development requirements of the EYFS; (v) the Appellant failed to ensure the suitability of staff, specifically his sister CO in 2016; (vi) the Appellant failed to notify Ofsted of the police investigation into CO in 2016 and delayed suspending her; (vii) the history demonstrates that the Appellant is unable or unwilling to sustain compliance with requirements imposed by the regulations. (e) We find that the Appellant has been untruthful both to the Respondent, the Police, the Tribunal and all others involved in the investigation of the incident on 3/1/2018. His failure to co-operate mirrors his unwillingness to co-operate in November 2017. His lack of integrity and his failure to work openly and in collaboration with the Respondent results in the sad conclusion that he is not suitable to provide nursery provision. We therefore dismiss the appeal and there shall be no order as to costs". You can read the published full legal decision on the case by clicking here. From my reading of the court documentation, it would appear that the nursery had been under performing for several years, and had refused to obey a series of previous compliance orders by Ofsted. The final straw seems to have been when a member of the public observed a member of the Bright Steps nursery staff smacking a child under their care. It would appear that subsequent to this, the nursery managers deleted CCTV footage of the assault, and tried to cover up the event when Ofsted and the Police then carried out an investigation. The nursery has now been closed down for good. 

Now a question for any of you amateur ornithologists out there; On Thursday afternoon I was pottering around in the garden, when I came across the remains that you can see in the photo above. I have absolutely no idea what kind of bird it was, or indeed exactly what had attacked it, but there was very little remaining of it other than part of a wing, and what appeared to be a few tail feathers. Can anyone advise me of what it was? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Two crimes of note to report this week, the first being a criminal damage in the garage area in Cheviot Close. On the evening of Friday 19th October four suspects have entered the secluded garage area and smashed three CCTV cameras, we have several leads that are being progressed regarding this so I will not go into great details of the offence, only a message to the suspects which is, 'Do you not realise that CCTV cameras record? And you haven't been as clever in disguising yourself as you think'. The second is a theft which occurred on 21st October at 3.30PM where a suspect described as a white male aged about 25 years, wearing a dark baseball cap, dark jacket, and blue jeans entered a residential care home in Colyers Lane and stole a handbag from the staff area on the second floor. Our next contact session will be on Friday 9th November at 11am at Barnehurst Golf course. Join us for a chat about any local issues that may be of concern. Please be careful over the Halloween / firework period. The team will be out and about dealing with any anti-social behaviour over this period and will be adopting a zero tolerance approach to any offences". Belvedere ward:- "Males that appear to have been begging have been bought to the teams attention this week. Three males have been observed approaching various members of public/ shoppers in the car park of Asda in Lower Road. At this stage these males appear to be acting separately. The team are monitoring the location regularly in an effort to speak to the males involved. There was a burglary in Gideon Close on the evening of Thursday 18th October. Entry was gained to the rear of the property although it is believed that the suspect(s) used items at the front of the property to climb over a wall into the rear garden. Please remain vigilant when leaving or returning to your properties, if you see anything that you feel is suspicious or that makes you feel uncomfortable, call Police. When leaving your property, even for a short amount of time, please ensure that all windows and doors are securely locked with keys stored safely out of sight. If possible, do not leave valuable items on show and also consider leaving lights switched on within your home whilst you are away to give the impression that the property is occupied. Should you have concerns about your home security or would like to speak to the team about crime prevention, please do call us on 0208 721 2050 or email us at belvedere.SNT@met.police.uk. With Halloween fast approaching, we have visited local shops throughout the ward in an effort to ask for assistance in reducing possible Anti-Social behaviour over this period of the year. Many shops are restricting the sale of certain items (eggs/ flour and suchlike) to persons under the age of 18 as these may be used to commit various offences. We have also visited locations where elderly residents and more vulnerable members of the community may attend to distribute ‘No Trick or Treat' posters which can be displayed in the window of your home over the Halloween period. If you would like one of these, please contact the team using the contact information above". From Belvedere Neighbourhood Watch Member - Sylvia:- "Hi, I'd like to report the theft of a bicycle. It belonged to my 81 year old next door neighbour who is a keen cyclist. It was stolen from outside the Belvedere Asda store last week. He can't remember whether it was Wednesday 17th or Thursday 18th (due to his age). He only popped into Asda for a packet of biscuits so the bicycle wasn't left outside for long. He phoned the police who told him that there was nothing they can do as the bicycle parking area is not in view of the cctv camera and none of the Asda staff had seen anything. It had been chained with two chains which was all that was left when he returned from the shop.The bicycle is bright green with 27” wheels and cost him £1800. Unfortunately the bicycle wasn't marked". Bexleyheath ward:- "Bexleyheath & Crayford Wards: Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch and your Safer Neighbourhoods police team invite you to a joint a coordinators meeting on: TUESDAY 6TH NOVEMBER BETWEEN 7PM-8.30PM at BEXLEYHEATH POLICE STATION, 2 ARNSBERG WAY, BEXLEYHEATH, DA7 4QS. * PLEASE ARRIVE A LITTLE EARLIER TO CLEAR SECURITY *. This meeting will be attended by representatives from your Ward's Safer Neighbourhoods Team and a representative from Neighbourhood Watch. It is an opportunity for all the local coordinators to meet together and share good practice. There will be a short presentation which will reassure you that by working together you will be better prepared to confront the issues that affect your Ward. The Neighbourhood Watch scheme gives you the chance to play a vital role in your community and to make a difference. It lets you join the drive against crimes such as burglary and theft and to combat social nuisances like vandalism and graffiti. The result is something that we all want – ‘A better quality of life'. Points for discussion: • Police & Neighbourhood Watch activity in the Ward • Help and assistance to support your Watch – i.e. street signs/leaflets etc. • Questions & answers • Sharing good practice. If you have any items that you would like added to the Agenda please contact the NHW office well in advance of the meeting. Please register your attendance or send your apologies to the BBNWA office on 020 8284 5537 or bexwatch-office@btconnect.com". Crayford ward:- "This week has seen a sharp increase in burglary and theft of Samsung phones, the prevalent crimes for this week. On Friday 19th October a lady checked her phone before placing it in her bag as she entered Aldi at Crayford. When she left the store she realised that the phone was gone. On Saturday 20th October, Curry's at Tower Retail Park reported that five Samsung mobile phones had been stolen including models J6, A7, S8, S9, Note 9, there were three suspects. On Saturday 13th October at 20.54 a business at Kennet Road reported the theft of scrap metal from their premises, a white Ford Transit van was used for this offence. On Saturday 20th October at 20.00 a mobile phone was stolen whilst the victim was on a train, this crime has been transferred to the British Transport Police (BTP). On Monday 22nd October at about 09.30 a cash in transit robbery took place outside Sainsbury's. A cashbox containing a large amount of cash was taken, the suspects were driving a Silver Volkswagen Golf. A wing mirror was stolen from a vehicle parked in Iron Mill Lane between Saturday 20th October at 21.00 and 12.00 on Sunday 21st October, the wires were deliberately cut on the side closest to the pavement. An elderly, vulnerable resident was visited at their home address by a male described as white, greying hair, 50-60 years, stocky build who was carrying a clip board. The victim being rather deaf invited the person in to their home as the outside road was noisy, it appeared the male was collecting for charity. The victim left the suspect alone for a moment and later realised that a bank statement had been removed. It became apparent that someone had used the bank statement to fraudulently open another account and move funds. Please don't let this happen to you or someone that you know. Remember to put door chains on or use the spyhole before opening the door to unexpected visitors, don't give any personal details to cold callers no matter how plausible they seem. If you need to verify a person who says they need to enter your property, close your door properly and contact the company directly to verify. Do not use the contact details if offered at the door. A genuine caller will not mind and this may be a good time to set up an entry password. On Tuesday 23rd October there were three burglaries reported in Crayford. Between 17.15 - 20.30 entry was made by smashing a patio door at a property in Mayplace Road East, there was an untidy search and jewellery and a watch were stolen. At 19.25 a burglar was disturbed by the house alarm activation at Melrose Avenue, but still got away with jewellery and cash, entry was gained by smashing a rear door. Between 7.50-19.50 entry was made at a property in Bascombe Grove by smashing a patio door. At this stage it is not confirmed what has been stolen. The dark evenings are drawing in, please take a few minutes to reconsider your home security so that your home looks occupied even when you are out. Please see www.met.police.uk for further tips and advice on burglary prevention. On 23rd October at 15.32 a Samsung J6 plus was stolen from Currys. Between 18.00 on Sunday 21st October and 10.00 on Monday 22nd October a White Mercedes Sprinter LK64 XMC was stolen from Mayplace Avenue,. No broken glass and all keys accounted for. On Tuesday 23rd October between 09.00-12.00 there was a theft from a Silver Renault van whilst parked in Bexley Lane. It is believed the back doors may have been unlocked and power tools were taken. Three males were reported to have been acting suspiciously nearby, however they may not be linked. No community contact sessions have been arranged for the next two weeks as we will be concentrating on Halloween and Firework nights patrols". Erith Ward:- "First of all we had a really good number of people at the Erith ward panel meeting on the 17th. Thank you to those who turned up, to people who couldn't make the meeting for one reason or another, we hope to see you soon. We need a Vice Chairman, to cover/help Jerry out when needed, Please contact me if you fancy this role, I know there was definitely one person interested so far. Priorities for the next 3 months have been set as – ASB West street area and ASH up by the Pom Pom area. We are also going to be focusing on the new White Hart pub restaurant (opposite the Post Office). Date of the next meeting has been set for the Thursday 17th January 2019 Drop-in surgery, upcoming dates Erith Costa: 12:00PM - 1:00PM, Wed 31 October 2018; 2:00PM - 3:00PM Sat 10 November 2018 and 12:00PM - 1:00PM, Fri 16 November 2018". Northumberland Heath ward:- "No burglaries on the ward this week. Two reports of motor vehicle crime. Both took place overnight on Sunday 21st October. A company work van in Dickens close was damaged by entry was not gained. The other vehicle was parked overnight in Brook Street. A number of items were stolen to the value of £500. It is not clear at this stage if the vehicle was locked as entry was not forced. The team have been busy visiting local shops to deliver leaflets regarding the sale of eggs and flour over the Halloween period, and delivering Trick or treat posters to elderly residents to display in their windows to avoid them being disturbed. Small posters regarding Halloween are available in the Library in Mill Road for anyone who wishes to pick them up. We have been visiting our second hand retailers on the ward this week to check their books and to make sure that no stolen property is sold on, and as part of the reduction of violent crime campaign we have conducted weapon sweeps. Thankfully nothing was discovered. The next coffee with cops event will be held on Saturday November 3rd from Midday. All are welcome to attend".  

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "There has unfortunately been several vehicle crimes in the last week. Overnight Friday / Saturday 19 / 20th October number plates were taken from a car in Hamilton Walk and a car in Sandpiper Drive. We have a small amount of anti-theft screws for number plates, please let us know if you would like some. On Weds 18th October between 5pm and 11pm a bike was stolen from Peareswood Road, PC Telfer found the bike in Frobisher Road and it has been recovered to the owner. A wallet was stolen from a car outside Lincoln Close around 12.50pm on Tuesday October the 24th and a handbag was taken from the back seat of a car between 10am and 1pm on Sunday October 21st. Please please do not leave any valuables on display at any time. We have some cctv footage that shows 2 supects at the scene for both thefts and enquiries are being made to ascertain a positive ID. PC Telfer stopped 3 males in Appold Street on Saturday afternoon. 2 were in possession of cannabis so one was issued with a PND and one was a juvenile due in for interview soon. Today (Weds 24th October) PCSO Mark worked with PCSO Adam from the Erith team and conducted weapons sweeps in Rainbow Road on our ward and Compton Place in Erith ward as part of the Met Police Op Sceptre which tackles violent crime, nothing found at either venue (photo above). Also today, PC Brookes-Smith and PC Telfer stopped a male in Newbery Road who was in possession of several bags of cannabis. He is due back for interview in the next couple of weeks. On Monday 29th October PCSO Mark will be attending the Slade Green Big Local Stakeholders conference meeting with all partner agencies and getting an update on all the work the Big Local are carrying out in the community".  Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - On Wednesday 13/10/18 an attempted burglary occurred in Haldane Road, between the hours of 06:00pm and 07:00pm the front porch door frame near the lock was damaged. No entry gained. Motor Vehicle Crimes - Between the hours of 03:55 am and 04:03 am on Friday 19/10/18 a victim left his vehicle running to warm up ,whilst he went to collect something from a property in Haldane Road. A wallet containing bank cards and cash was taken ,however a suspect was arrested at the scene by attending officers. Between the hours of 08:50 pm on Wednesday 17/10/18 and 08:40 am on Friday 19/10/18 a wheel and tyre was stolen from a parked in Hartslock Drive. The next Community Contact Session is Tuesday 30/10/18 between the hours of 1:00 pm and 2:00pm at The Lakeside Health Centre, Yarnton Way. An opportunity for members of the community who prefer face- to – face contact to speak with a Dedicated Ward Officer". West Heath ward:- "Unfortunately there was a robbery in King Harolds Way last Thursday 17th October. Two males with baseball bats accosted the victim in an alleyway stealing the victims bag, believed possibly drug related. There was another residential burglary in West Heath Road on Friday 19th October at about 8:30pm. Resident returned to their address through the rear patio doors and disturbed three males, one in a black balaclava and black clothing. Males were chased but lost in Amberley Road. Nothing was taken. We have had 2 thefts from motor vehicles, one in Mayfair Avenue overnight Friday 19th to 20th October and the second in New Road, daytime Monday 22nd October". 

I am not a great one for visiting the cinema; I like to see films on the big screen, but for me the experience is often marred by other people - talking, eating loudly, checking their mobile phones and generally acting as an annoyance and a distraction. Last night I did go out to CineWorld in Bexleyheath to see a film I had been anticipating for a long time. Bohemian Rhapsody, the biopic of Freddie Mercury and Queen is a film that had a very long and troubled development, as you can read on many websites. For many years the whole project was off, then on again; the choice of lead actor to play Freddie Mercury changed three times. and the films' director was replaced close to the end of principal photography. All this is well documented, as are the largely lukewarm reviews of the movie by professional critics. I am firmly of the opinion that this is going to be one of a very rare occurrence; the critic - proof movie. One only has to read the viewer feedback regarding Bohemian Rhapsody on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) which you can see here, to see that audiences absolutely love the film. I am not going to review the film here, as there are many already published online, and I would only be duplicating what others have written. Suffice to say that I loved the movie, and if you are any kind of music fan, I think you would too. Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Erith Fun Day 2017.

The photos above were taken by me yesterday at the 2017 Erith Fun Day, which took place on the large field that is located behind Erith Leisure Centre. The event was bigger than last year; I would estimate that it was approximately one third larger in terms of both the number of stalls and the number of attendees. The weather was overcast, and there were occasional showers of rain, but overall not too bad for a British Summer. Some people say that Erith has no sense of community; I would beg to differ - the Fun Day shows just how much a sense of community that the local area has. The event grows bigger by the year, and the number of voluntary groups represented carries on increasing, which can only be a good thing.

Following the recent problems with illegal bikers in the area, it is interesting to see that a precedent may now have been set in the way that criminal bikers and scooterists are dealt with under the law; On Tuesday you may have  seen that the BBC News website covered a story about a large group of over 100 illegal bikers, who on the 31st October last year, rode through Leeds town centre on pavements and through pedestrianised areas, causing alarm amongst local pedestrians. The organiser of the huge event was a scumbag called David Armitage, who was actually not one of the participants, but nevertheless due to his setting up of the event on social media and promoting the whole illegal enterprise, was sentenced to two years in jail for the offence. Another twelve riders who took place in the large scale disturbance were sentenced to between twelve and fourteen months in jail. The judge said their actions on 31 October could "not be tolerated". Armitage, 26, had been filmed on 31 October telling riders to "shut down" the city centre. Jailing him for two years, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said: "This is a case which calls for a deterrent sentence. Behaviour of this sort, having serious effects on this city, cannot be tolerated.". This kind of robust policing and subsequent sentencing is precisely what The London Borough of Bexley and other London boroughs really require. At present the “softly softly” approach has proved ineffective, and from the dialogue I had with the Borough Commander of Dagenham and Redbridge Police during the radio discussion programme I was a contributor to last week, it is clear that stronger measures are to be taken to combat illegal riders in and around London in future; it may well be where Leeds leads, London will follow. More on this issue in the weeks to come.

The leaflet shown above was distributed around parts of Slade Green and Erith at the beginning of last week; As you can see, it contains some very alarming and serious claims. Many people who were in receipt of the leaflet have been extremely worried about its contents. I have been in discussion with fellow local blogger Malcolm Knight of the excellent Bexley is Bonkers about the situation, and he posted his thoughts on Wednesday after I forwarded him scans of the leaflet. Malcolm has the freedom to post multiple times in the week, whereas the Maggot Sandwich has a set publication date of early on Sunday afternoons. Malcolm and I have both investigated the lurid claims made in the leaflet, and have jointly come to the conclusion that they are for the most part pretty far – fetched. I have had private words with a number of people involved with the Bexley Regeneration Consultation Project, and off the record it has been said that it is pretty much a “sticking a finger in the air” exercise at present, and that a lot of the suggestions included in the report will never see the light of day. The much touted extension to the Crossrail development that Bexley Council seem to regard as almost a done deal is actually very far from it. An extension would require a new Act of Parliament, and a very substantial fresh investment; since the whole Paramount London Theme Park is now very much in doubt due to the withdrawal of Paramount from the project in the last couple of weeks, the motivation to extend the line from Abbey Wood as far as the Swanscombe Peninsula is now no done deal. More on this issue below. The London Borough of Bexley does have ambitious and far reaching aspirations regarding their thirty year plan for the development of the borough, but the classic impediments of lack of money and inertia from local stakeholders usually mean that few long term projects ever seem to amount to anything. I note that a number of aspirational projects have been outlined, not least the proposed tram / trolley bus system which would purportedly run through Erith to Dartford via James Watt Way / Crescent Road and then on  through what was the historic industrial railway route which ran under the Appold Street Bridge, and then Eastwards, following the River Thames towards Dartford. If this was run using zero emissions transportation technology, it could be an interesting new travel system – and one of particular appeal to me, as it would run past the bottom of my garden. Having said that, I really would not hold your breath, as the chances of it actually happening are in my opinion vanishingly small. The situation regarding the development of the planned £3.2 billion entertainment resort on the Swanscombe Peninsula has taken an unexpected turn after Paramount recently pulled out of the development; it was anticipated by many observers that the development would be put on hold for a period whilst a new brand partner was sourced, but on Wednesday of last week, London Resort Company Holdings has announced a “Memorandum of Understanding” with Port of Tilbury London Limited to use the port and its facilities as a main location for storing and barge operations in the construction phase of the park. This signals that the development is to go ahead as originally planned, just without the involvement of Paramount. This may be for one of two specific reasons; either London Resort Company Holdings have as I suggested recently, already found a new theme partner in another studio, or, more worryingly they are now gambling on another partner coming along during the build phase, or they are now planning on “going it alone” without a theme partner at all. I feel that if the third option turns out to be the case, then it would be a recipe for disaster, as I have previously written. Nevertheless the developers seem to be optimistic; in an interview with the News Shopper, Charles Hammond, Group Chief Executive from Forth Ports, owners of the Port of Tilbury, said: “The Port of Tilbury is ideally located as a hub for LRCH’s proposed major construction project in Kent. At Tilbury we are committed to encouraging the increased use of the River Thames for major construction projects. By using the River Thames, there is not only a reduction in the road miles impact but it also helps to reduce congestion on the road network. At Tilbury, LRCH will benefit from our expertise in warehouse consolidation, handling services as well as water-borne transportation.” The £3.2 billion park is aiming to open doors in 2022 and submit for planning permission later this year. If planning is granted the project will create 33,000 jobs during construction and operation. The park expects to receive approximately 15 million visitors per year. Time will tell.

I took the photo above yesterday afternoon in Manor Road; it shows one of the newest Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 Series 2 double deck bus that operates on the 99 route between Woolwich and Bexleyheath. The bus in question had recently broken down; you can see the driver on his mobile phone, calling the depot for a repair engineer. The passengers had been picked up by a following 99 bus. I understand that some of these new buses have problems with their zero emission Stop / Start systems, which use a large flywheel to store energy whilst stationary. Whether this was the problem with the bus photographed, I really don't know. More on local buses a bit later on.

I have been trying to find out what has happened to local eel fisherman Dave Pearce, who used to operate his eel fishing business out of a small boat which used to be moored on a buoy off Erith Jetty; I have heard nothing from him since his last posting online, which was in November 2013. It is been silent since then. I wonder if the last eel fisherman on the River Thames has now retired? Back in 1981 there were around thirty eel fishermen, over half of whom made a living from fishing in the river Thames off Erith. The irony is that eels have become rarer, and their price has subsequently risen to the point that nowadays very few traditional pie and mash shops sell jellied or stewed eels, as they have become too expensive for their main customers, who often are retired people on a budget. Several recent TV cooking shows have given the impression that eating eels is moving upmarket, and that smoking and barbecuing the fish is becoming increasingly popular. Bearing in mind how eel fishing has formed part of the historical culture of Erith, it is remarkable just how little the humble eel is celebrated locally. Perhaps something roughly analogous to the Whitstable Oyster Festival could be set up in Erith? After all, the Oyster Festival has been tremendously successful and brings visitors and business to Whitstable, to the point where it is now the commercial and social highlight of the year. Perhaps something like it could be established for an "Erith Eel Extravaganza" could be set up? What do you think? Over a decade ago, we had an Erith Multicultural Festival, which involved lots of food stalls along the high Street, and dragon boat races on the river, along with a big firework display in the evening. Perhaps an "Erith Eel Extravaganza" could be organised along similar lines? I concede that we might have a bit of an image problem; you think of oysters and you think of James Bond, whereas when you think of eels, you think of Alf Garnett. Eels have been a working class staple food since Roman times, and ironically until relatively recently, so were oysters, but overfishing of oysters caused them to become rare, and consequently they went up market – exactly the same thing is happening to the humble eel nowadays. Is the time right for an eel revival and a new image? Should Erith be nailing eels to the mast (poor analogy, but you see where this is going). Should we be celebrating the Erith eel, or is it just a sad footnote in history? What do you think? Do give me your feedback; you can comment below, or Email me to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association have published the following reports on local crime and community safety issues this week:- “Please be advised that the RSPCA will be going door to door within Bexley borough fundraising until 30th July. Always check charity collectors identification before passing on your contact details. If in doubt, contact the RSPCA directly rather than relying on a contact number that the collector may give you. Thanks to Senior Engineer Graham Wood at London Borough of Bexley for the advance notice of upcoming re-surfacing works on the North Cray Road starting 20th July. With the increase in motorbike and scooter theft in the Borough, the following link to the Met's website highlights the 'Be Safe' initiative to help combat such crime and help owners reduce the chance of becoming the next victim. From the Barnehurst Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team:- “Sadly we have had a burglary reported in Westfield Road, Barnehurst. Entry was gained to a house via the front UPVC door which was NOT double locked. Please make sure that you lift the handle to engage the locking system and lock with the key. If it’s not double locked then it’s NOT locked and will take a burglar just seconds to open the door. We welcomed the Barnehurst Beavers to the police station on Wednesday evening, they learnt about what the police do and got to examine some of our equipment as well as having a tour around our custody suite. The evening finished with the taking of fingerprints and an interesting question and answer session. A big Thank you to East Wickham and St Michaels SNT for their assistance. We now have 235 followers on our twitter account, thank you for your support, we would like more, please follow us @MPSBarnehurst for updates regarding what the team are up to and crime prevention advice”. From the Belvedere team:- “This week the team held a meeting at the Recycling Centre, Norman Road with representatives from Bexley Council Roads, ASB Team, local Councillor and the Roads Traffic Policing team. The issue of nuisance motorbikes using the road as a race track is causing major issues for the recycling centre. They gather en-masse and basically block the road. The purpose of the meeting was to try and come up with plans on how to deal with this issue jointly with Bexley Council, the Police and the Recycling Centre. Overall it was a productive meeting and we will be implementing the ideas in the coming weeks to try and put a stop to this problem. The team also had a meeting with the Bexley Council ASB officers with regards to the issue of street drinking on Picardy Street. As with the Norman Road issue, we will be working with the local council to try and curb the nuisance this is causing. We have recently received several neighbour dispute reports in various places on the ward. All we ask is that, if neighbours don’t like each other, just ignore and move on. A lot of people are becoming fixated with each other which is making the issues worse. Mediation is a good way forward, or just simply sitting down together and talking things through calmly. Unfortunately the latter is becoming a thing of the past. Our next Police surgery will be at ASDA, Lower Road on 18/07/17 at 17:00.” From the Erith Safer Neighbourhood Team:- "A female was arrested and charged for shoplifting goods worth £288.00 from Matalan Store, Riverside shopping Centre. A male was stopped and searched in Avenue Road and found to be in possession of Cannabis. Prolific shoplifter has been arrested, charged and sentenced to four months for stealing goods to the value of £100.00 from Argos, Riverside shopping Centre. PC Brown arrested a male wanted for failing to appear at court for Theft of a Motor Vehicle. The team have recruited four Ward Panel members and eleven potential Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators. Talks have been given by PC Couzens to the students at Christchurch School and the Rainbows. PCSO Winch has attended the summer fete at St Augustine Church along with Northend Ward. PC’s Brown and  Couzens have been conducting arrest enquiries at various addresses to trace wanted offenders. A female suffered a cardiac arrest while at the Riverside Shopping Centre. She was promptly and fortunately treated by an off duty nurse and cardiologist before PC Couzens assisted in transporting the patient to hospital where we understand that she is currently recovering. There have been two theft of number plates from motor vehicles, one in Bexley Road the other in Francis Road". The Thamesmead East Team report:- “Our Ward Panel meeting was held on Wednesday 5th July, Priorities agreed by the members are, Drug Abuse, Motor Vehicle are Anti- Social Behaviour. Promises agreed by the members are, Fly- Tipping, Engagement with youth/elderly and recruiting Neighbourhood Watch members. Local Ward Officers attended the Atrium Community Centre, Middle Way for the reopening of the Over 50s Hub. While on routine patrol, PC Nana and PC Pruden discovered a stolen motor vehicle parked up in Thamesbank Place. It had been reported stolen in March 2017 from the Lewisham area. The victim was updated, and the vehicle was recovered to Charlton Car Pound re forensics. Male arrested for a number of theft offences was sentenced to prison for 16 weeks. After the team conducted extensive CCTV enquiries regarding an assaulted that occurred in May 2017, a male has been charged with Actual Bodily Harm, and will appear at Court next month".

I have been sitting on a particular story for a while, as I was unable to get it properly verified by an independent source. It turns out that the story was true, and has now broken on several local news outlets. Extreme right wing group Britain First has been holding martial arts training sessions in the Erith Leisure Centre in Avenue Road. The racist, anti-pretty much everything group – who aspire to many of the same hateful ideologies as the jailed Joshua Bonehill (of whom I have written extensively in the past) have been using Erith Leisure Centre for “training” sessions for a while now. I am led to believe that the members of Britain First masqueraded as employees of a security company on a series of training days. The former leader of Britain First, a very unsavoury sounding chap called Paul Golding was jailed last year after he contravened a court order forbidding him from approaching every Mosque in England and Wales, when he organised a mass invasion of a mosque. As well as being banned from all mosques himself he was also prohibited from encouraging others to do so under the terms of the court order.  Nine days after the injunction - which prohibited entering any mosque in England and Wales without prior invitation – and was imposed in August last year, Golding drove four Britain First members to the Al-Manar Centre in Cardiff for a "mosque invasion". He ended up being sent to prison for a month as a result. The same group of bigoted individuals have been learning hand to hand combat locally in the sports centre; their publicity material states that disciplines taught include “Martial Arts, Krav Maga, close protection, knife defence and much more.” It was accompanied by fifteen  images showing mostly middle aged men, learning techniques as well as one posed shot with eight men standing arms crossed and looking at the camera.  Mr Golding, who was a Swanley town councillor for the British National Party from 2009 to 2011, appears to be among the men in the pictures. I understand that a member of the public alerted Parkwood Leisure, the company that operates Erith Leisure Centre on behalf of Bexley Council, and they then took action to prevent Britain First using the facility. I am not surprised that this ultra – right wing hate party chose to operate under the radar in the local area; I am sure that many would not wish Erith to be associated with such individuals.

Changes are being proposed to the bus services in parts of The London Borough of Bexley; Transport for London (TfL) have made the following announcement:- "The Elizabeth line serves Abbey Wood and Woolwich from December 2018. We have reviewed bus routes serving Abbey Wood and Woolwich, looking at how the introduction of the Elizabeth line will impact travel habits, the overall bus demand in the area as well as and other factors such as new developments. As a result, we are proposing to introduce a new bus route – numbered route 301 – and make some changes to routes 129, 161, 178, 180, 244, 291, 469, 472 and B11. Our proposals range in scale depending on the route to help us better match future demand with space available on the bus.  Our review of bus services in Abbey Wood, Woolwich and the surrounding areas has identified places where demand is likely to change following the introduction of the Elizabeth line, as well as areas that have no direct bus link to the new Elizabeth line stations at present. We are proposing to make the changes outlined above in response to this. The current bus links between Bexleyheath and Abbey Wood on routes B11 and 229 follow an indirect routing. The introduction of route 301 would provide a high frequency, direct route, saving 10 minutes journey time compared to route 229 and seven minutes compared to route B11. In addition, it would create new bus links from the south-eastern section of Long Lane where there is currently no direct bus service to Abbey Wood – an estimated 1200 households would gain a direct connection. Although we would be reducing the frequency of route B11, by introducing route 301 there would be an extra 4 buses an hour to the south of Abbey Wood on Brampton Road and Long Lane, while maintaining sufficient capacity elsewhere on route B11 such as the Hillsgrove Estate. With extra capacity between Abbey Wood and Thamesmead via Bentham Road provided by route 301 and the conversion of route 244 to double deck buses, it would no longer be necessary for route B11 to serve Thamesmead town centre. Shortening route B11 so that it terminates at Yarnton Way should help to improve the reliability of the route over the remaining section. However this change would mean that customers who use route B11 to travel from Harrow Manor Way and Thamesmead to areas to the south and east of Abbey Wood would need to change buses to complete their journey. Route 472 currently provides the main connection between Thamesmead, Woolwich and North Greenwich. Once the Elizabeth line is running, we expect less people to travel by bus across Woolwich from Thamesmead to North Greenwich. The proposed frequency reduction of the 472 reflects this. Even with this reduction of frequency, the introduction of route 301 would mean that the number of buses between Thamesmead and Woolwich would stay about the same as they are now. Similarly, the proposed diversion of route 180 to North Greenwich would mean that the total number of buses travelling between Woolwich and North Greenwich would remain broadly the same. Diverting route 472 to run via Western Way would shorten journey times between Thamesmead and Woolwich by around two minutes compared to the current routing via Nathan Way, which would served by route 301 instead. Extending route 472 to Abbey Wood station would create new links to North Greenwich from Abbey Wood and South Thamesmead. It would also provide an increase in capacity between the eastern side of Thamesmead and Abbey Wood, which would help to relieve crowding on route 229. South east of Abbey Wood on the Woolwich Road corridor, route 99 would provide a link to the Elizabeth line at Woolwich. Diverting route 469 so that it serves Woolwich Road would create a more convenient connection to the Elizabeth line at Abbey Wood station, and at the same time free up capacity on route 99. Customers who currently use the 469 to travel from Abbey Road to areas west of Abbey Wood each day would need to use route 229 instead and change at Abbey Wood. Extending route 180 to The Quarry, Erith would mean there are three bus routes running on the Erith, West Street – Abbey Wood corridor which would help to ensure there would be no capacity issues on Abbey Road or Woolwich Road. It would provide new links from the industrial areas on Church Manor Way and the new Quarry development to the Elizabeth line. These changes would mean that route 180 would no longer serve Fisher’s Way. At the other end of route 180, diverting the route to North Greenwich would mean that some passengers would have to change buses to complete their current journey. Most of these journeys are travelling to and from Lewisham and Greenwich town centres, where there are interchange options with other high frequency bus services". What do you think of the proposed changes? Do they affect you in a positive or negative way? Leave your comments below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The Riverside Fish and Steak restaurant in the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre continues to get rave reviews from diners; Comments left on review site Trip Advisor include:- “This must have been the fifth or sixth time we have eaten in this restaurant since it opened. The restaurant and toilets are always spotless and the service which may not be the fastest is always good and attentive. The menu is varied, tasty and good value for money. This restaurant is just consistently good with the standards set across the board in the beginning never wavering or faltering”. Another satisfied customer wrote:- “Visited this great little eatery with my wife. Had rib eye with rice and the missus had the same with cheesy chips. Great menu choices for fish, meat and other options. Very well priced. Very attentive young lady who happily would pour your drinks at the table or leave you to your own if wished. Really diverse choice of drinks for the size of establishment and reasonably priced. Food quality was outstanding. Thoroughly recommend and will be back. Long overdue in the area. Well done”. A third commented:- “A much needed local eatery. New and very clean. This unit is both a restaurant and a takeaway, but don't be misled, the restaurant is not just a few tables in a takeaway. The menu is not extensive but is very focus see on simple whether you order fried fish, grilled fish or grilled steaks they are always good. Just like the food there is a simple wine list. Since opening in late in 2016 we now go there at least once a fortnight. Whilst I have the superb grilled fish my wife often has the lunchtime menu in the evening (nothing seems to be too much trouble)”. It is great to see a new and innovative restaurant making such a favourable impression on local diners. For too many years, Erith has been a “ dormitory town” – local residents have had to travel to Upper Belvedere, Northumberland Heath or Bexleyheath if they wanted to go out for an evening meal that did not involve McDonald’s or KFC. The team behind Erith Riverside Fish and Steak have certainly made a destination venue; we just need several more such eateries and a decent pub in the town (I don’t count The Running Horses, as it is a sad shadow of its former self, and desperately needs to be taken over by a new owner with money to invest in the place). What would you like to see in the area and why? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The end video this week shows further work on the Crossrail development, specifically the final journey of the Plumstead based tunnel concreting machine, now that it has completed its work. Do give the short video a watch and let me know what you think.

Casey Jones.

Work progresses on the White Hart in Erith High Street - the photo above was taken just before the scaffolding was erected to cocoon the building before the next phase of restoration and conversion work got underway earlier this week. The recreated frontage is definitely starting to come together, and to my mind should end up being almost indistinguishable from the original. 

The mystery of the tracked digger that I reported and photographed last week in the Erith Riverside Gardens has now been solved.  I was contacted earlier this week by FORGE (Friends Of Riverside Gardens Erith) who explained that the Council are carrying out work on the gardens.  They are digging up all the large bushes and re-planting with low growing shrubs.  This is to have a better view across the gardens to the river. This was agreed last year between the Council and FORGE. The large bushes were making a barrier between the pavement and the gardens and people were not encouraged to go into the gardens. The Council are also gradually re-vamping all the other beds on the gardens. This is very encouraging news - the gardens are the jewel in the crown of Erith, and the only place in the whole of the London Borough of Bexley where you can get direct access to the River Thames. It is a lovely place to sit and watch the ships go past on the river, and to watch the world in general go by. There has been long held distrust by many local residents that the council would try to sell off the land to a developer to build expensive riverside apartments, but that fear now seems to be unfounded. FORGE also reminded me to let readers know that FORGE and Thames 21 have arranged another Clean-Up Day along the Thames foreshore and gardens which will take place on SUNDAY 15th MAY from 9am to 12.30pm.  The Army Cadets (who love pulling trolleys out of the water!) will be volunteering on the day and anyone who would like to help would be welcome to come along. You can see a short video film about the work of environmental charity Thames 21 below. 

You may recall how last week I described an encounter that I had experienced with a gambling addict outside a Paddy Power bookmakers shop, and how bemused it left me feeling. Well, since then I have had an opportunity to carry out some research into gambling, and into Paddy Power in particular, and my studies have left me further alarmed - things are actually worse than I had previously surmised. I also encountered the same individual again yesterday, and I feel that you would find the details interesting. I was heading up to visit my mother on the 99 bus from Erith, which I was able to pick up from a stop not too far from Pewty Acres.  One thing that I deliberately omitted from my account of the gambling beggar last week was that the chap involved was in an electric wheelchair; I did not feel that his physical disability had any bearing on the story, but now I feel that perhaps it has. I was travelling on the 99 yesterday, as mentioned when I noticed a man in his mid 50's in an electric wheelchair in the pram / wheelchair area adjacent to the rear set of doors. I made sure that I did not obstruct him, and sat near to the back of the bus; at this stage I was in "auto pilot" mode, and did not connect the individual with the encounter of the previous week. When the bus arrived at my stop, I discovered that it was also the getting off point of the guy in the electric wheelchair. I stood to one side to allow him off the bus first, as the driver extended the bus ramp. Once he was successfully off, I followed him onto the pavement, then overtook him as I walked along the pavement; I then heard him call out to me, which was the point when I recalled our previous encounter - he asked me once again for money, which I once more ignored and carried on with my journey. Later I saw him in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere, successfully asking for cash from a number of passers by. He is genuinely disabled, but he does "milk" his condition as a means for gaining sympathy from passers by as he begs for money with which to feed his gambling addiction. I would strongly suggest not giving him any cash, as no good will ever come of it. This links into a piece I wrote earlier in the week, which now has added relevance. Last year, The Gambling Commission issued a report analysing ways in which Paddy Power exploited a man with gambling addiction to the extent that he lost five jobs, his home and access to his children. 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 regulator said Paddy Power would make a voluntary payment of £280,000 to a “socially responsible” cause following its findings. Paddy Power admitted that senior staff encouraged a man with a gambling problem to keep betting despite warnings by more junior employees. The man, referred to only as Customer A, 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. I have previously written at some length about the dangers of these machines, which the government refused to ban, or limit both the stakes and the level of payout after pressure from the gambling industry.  In May 2014, Paddy Power staff became aware that Customer A was working 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 Customer A would be visiting the shop less frequently. The senior employee responded by advising that “steps should be taken to try to increase Customer A’s visits and time spent in the gambling premises”. “This was grossly at odds with the licensing objective of preventing vulnerable people from being exploited by gambling,” said The Gambling Commission. The report went on to say that the shop manager “recorded some discomfort” about the senior employee’s advice, according to the commission, and staff later noticed that the customer was “spending heavily and looked unwell and as if he had not slept for a while”. He was only advised to seek help for gambling addiction in August 2014, when a staff member met him on the street and learned that he had lost all of his jobs, was homeless and had lost access to his children. The Gambling Commission also detailed two cases in which Paddy Power failed to apply money laundering controls designed to stop people using betting terminals to conceal the proceeds of crime. Criminals can use games such as roulette to launder money at a small cost, gambling experts said. 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 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. it would seem that the News Shopper has picked up on my one man crusade against Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT's) in their latest edition, they describe some of the misery the terrible machines can inflict. The paper writes that:- "More than 230,000 gambling sessions a year where consumers lose more than £1,000, according to figures by the Gambling Commission, with 650 leading to losses of more than £5,000. One of the main reasons for these staggering individual losses is because FOBT machines have a much higher maximum allowable stake. The maximum is a £100, which marks them as a significant anomaly among high-street gaming machines. Unless you were to go to a specialist casino, every other widely available machine has a maximum £2 stake. Organisations are now stepping in to put pressure on the Government to help protect people with gambling addictions and to save them from throwing vast sums of money into these machines. John White, BACTA chief executive, has spearheaded the campaign to shine a light on the financial and social destruction gambling can cause. BACTA president Jason Frost said: “Fixed-odds betting terminals are a hardcore form of gambling, entirely unsuitable for everyday high-street venues. With stake limits at £100, 50 times that of any other widely available gaming machine, they allow consumers and at-risk gamblers to rack up huge losses.“As the Gambling Commission’s figures show, the vast majority of everyday punters who are making major losses are doing so at these addictive betting shop machines at higher stakes. They endanger consumers, foster a culture of violence and aggression, and undermine the whole amusement industry’s work to create a socially responsible environment for gaming that puts player protection first. We urge DCMS to do the right and necessary thing and order a substantial reduction in FOBT stakes.” In response the immoral and (to my mind, borderline illegal, and certainly immoral) Association of British Bookmakers (who strike me as little more than a front for organised crime) said in response that "This is a deeply flawed report, funded by vested interests who would directly benefit if its recommendations are ever implemented. The report is the view of a tiny group of anti-betting shop MP's . This group has been financed by those with interests in the casino, arcade and pub industries. This group of MPs has operated in secrecy, provided no transcripts of the evidence given to their meetings and operated throughout behind closed doors away from public scrutiny". Personally if I had any say in such things, I would seriously restrict the abilities of betting shops and online casinos, with no stake allowed to be greater than £2, and no payout to exceed £100. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I do wonder how much longer free daily London newspaper City AM can survive. The paper is given away by distributors outside of major train stations such as Woolwich Arsenal, but I have noticed that a vast majority of commuters ignore this and instead opt for picking up a copy of Metro. The readership figures for these two free morning papers seem to reflect this; according to Wikipedia, City AM gets around 94,000 readers each day, whereas Metro gets around 1.4 million. This figure is somewhat distorted by the fact that Metro is available in several other parts of the country, whereas City AM is only distributed in Greater London. Nevertheless, with advertising revenue tanking for many printed papers, even with City AM’s demographic (wealthy city workers, bankers and the like) it is unlikely to attract much in the way of advertising bearing in mind the very low readership numbers.

I know that a fair number of Maggot Sandwich readers are Radio Amateurs, or radio enthusiasts of one kind or another; the next story is pretty much aimed at this audience. As I have mentioned in the past, I am in the market for a new H.F transceiver and I have been looking around at the various options available to me - currently the Icom IC 7300 is looking as a likely winner. Historically there have been two main amateur radio dealers in the South East; Martin Lynch and Sons in West London, and Waters and Stanton in Hockley in Essex - as you can see in the photo above - click on it for a larger view. I would say that they are the two biggest, longest established and best stocked dealers in the country, and they both advertise heavily both online and in the amateur radio press. I have used both companies in the past, and have had very good service from both. Now it seems that a very undignified war has broken out between the two retailers, after close to forty years of a relatively peaceful coexistence. News recently broke that Waters and Stanton were merging with Nevada (a ham radio retailer / wholesaler based in Portsmouth), and InnovAntennas (an antenna supply firm) to form a new company called IHSG. The result of this is that the long established Waters and Stanton shop in Hockley, Essex closed last Friday and the entire enterprise relocated down to Nevada’s HQ in Portsmouth. Peter Waters G30JV, CEO of the former Waters and Stanton recently wrote:- "Yes it is now official. IHSG is the largest retail outlet for Ham Radio and Hobby Electronics. So what does it mean for the ham radio enthusiast? This new Group has more active radio hams than any other retail outlet. That in itself is very important. Whether deciding what to buy or wanting some technical advice, you need to talk with a fellow enthusiast who is sympathetic to your needs and understands your questions. IHSG are not box shifters whose only concern is to take your money and move onto the next customer. We offer the kind of service that we ourselves would expect, and hope for, if we were buying ham radio gear. More and more customers are now buying mail order, either by telephone or via our web site. This makes sense because it usually means that you receive your order the next working day and don’t waste time in traffic jams or spend money on fuel. Of course we welcome customers into our showroom with free car parking outside and a warm drink inside. The Group’s size also means that you will get the best Casey Jonespossible deal because of our buying power. And as we have more agencies than any other retail outlet, we are able to match or beat prices. This is of course good news. We also operate the largest part exchange and buy back service in the UK. And if you wish, we can arrange to pick up your used equipment”. The bad blood between Martin Lynch and Sons and (now) IHSG is unpleasant; I understand that there have been claims from IHSG that certain Martin Lynch and Sons employees have been telling their customers that Waters and Stanton have gone out of business (technically this may be true in a sense – that they have merged to form a new organisation, but the intent was apparently to convey the message that they had gone bust, which is not the case). IHSG have threatened legal action, and have also published a warning that certain Yaesu equipment purchased from an unnamed amateur radio retailer was old stock that has been sitting in a warehouse for a year or so. Whilst the company is not named, the guilty party is implied. I can understand that Martin Lynch being rattled by the company merger – they have gone from being roughly equal in size to Nevada and Waters and Stanton to being the smaller retailer – and thus likely to lose market share. Personally, I have no axe to grind with any of the organisations mentioned, but it does concern me that undignified bickering between market leaders in the amateur radio field can only bring the technical hobby into disrepute. I have always been of the opinion that when in business, if you have nothing good to say about your competitors, say nothing. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

A story that may well affect a lot of local people is currently proving to be controversial. The News Shopper have reported that Southeastern  trains on the Dartford to London via Greenwich line may in future only call at Cannon Street, and not at London Bridge, Waterloo East or  Charing Cross. This may also prove to be the case on the Bexleyheath line. Reaction to this unwelcome news has been swift. Teresa Pearce, MP for Erith and Thamesmead, said that the proposals significantly underestimate the number of new homes being built in south-east London.  “This flawed consultation on the future of the service is based on incorrect information and massively underestimates the number of new homes to come in the local area and the number of people who will be using the service in the future. Failing to assess the service level needed accurately will only exacerbate the problems and leave rail users paying more and more for less and less.” Fellow MP David Evennett said Southeastern have “Let my constituents down. The train services from Bexleyheath and Crayford into central London have been extremely bad. There are constant delays, cancellations, overcrowding, and a severe lack of information from staff.  Southeastern and Network Rail have let my constituents down, and there have been too many excuses.  I raise the issues with the Rail Minister, Southeastern, and Network Rail regularly yet things do not improve so I welcome the consultation on a new franchise.  There must be greater cooperation between the operator and Network Rail to deliver more rolling stock and better reliability, and I therefore support the proposals to ensure they work together as one team with a focus on performance.  However, I strongly oppose the suggestion to reduce the number of terminals that can be reached from Bexley, and believe the services to Charing Cross and Victoria are essential”. On top of this, it would appear that the new housing figures that Southeastern have used in their calculations of the reduced service are wildly inaccurate. They used a figure of 38,000 new homes over the next five years, yet when Teresa Pearce questioned the figure with the Department of Transport they revised the number of new houses upwards to 68,400. Teresa then commented “I am not confident that the future demand for rail services in South East London is being fully considered and consulted on, and if they have made mistakes on this, what else have they made mistakes on? This proposal would drastically limit the choice and options for rail users in my constituency and across the South-East. It would significantly increase journey times, and would lead to major problems of overcrowding and further pressure on already busy interchange stations like Lewisham”. It does seem to me that we as commuters are being charged more and given less in return. No wonder the calls for Southeastern to lose the local rail franchise are now so loud.

The coverage of the potential changes and reductions in the number of London railway stations that may be serviced by Southeastern Trains reminds me of a horror that used to exist at several London stations. There was a period in the 1980's when British Rail ran a series of fast food outlets called Casey Jones Burgers. The restaurants were located at the major rail stations such as London Bridge and Charing Cross. The burgers were quite indescribably vile; they certainly bore absolutely no resemblance to the paragon of great burger - ness featured in the advert above. They were actually composed of greasy, gristly, zombie flesh - like cold grey meat on the outside, and lava hot in the middle so that molten cheese scalded the roof of your mouth like dairy based napalm (I think they microwaved the burgers). Rumours abounded when the Casey Jones opened at Charing Cross, all of the feral pigeons that plagued the station concourse suddenly disappeared. It was all very coincidental. Fortunately Casey Jones did not last too long, and eventually Burger King took over their station locations. they are now nothing other than a distant memory. If you have any recollections of Casey Jones Burgers, please get in contact and let me know.

The staff cuts to the News Shopper are now very obvious; what used to be a well – written and intelligently edited local paper has now sadly declined into a shoddily assembled set of cut and pasted press releases that covers an area from Twickenham and Richmond down to well past Gravesend – hardly local – more regional. I don’t blame the staff – what is left of them. They have been cut to the bone, and have little choice in the stories they run – anything that can be posted without needing to visit a site or interview a witness will be done. Instead of taking photos of locations on site, they now use screen captures from Google Street View. The amount of advertising and tracking software on the News Shopper website is astounding; even with a very fast fibre broadband connection and a fast computer, the website is extremely sluggish and off-putting. Popular items such as the PubSpy reviews were dropped in September of last year, as this requires a reporter to physically visit a location to undertake the review. I fear for the future of the once mighty local newspaper.

I ought to add that this next story is not some kind of late April Fool's piece, just in cast it reads that way. You may have noticed that a number of domestic appliance manufacturers are adding the capability to be web enabled to some of their high end devices. This has proved to be more of a liability than a benefit in many cases. Upmarket German domestic appliance maker Miele have been identified as producing a dishwasher that has a serious and unpatched vulnerability that could leave it open to hackers. Yes, you read it correctly - a dishwasher that connects to the Internet. The dishwasher has a fully featured web server installed on it, and the web server has a number of pretty basic vulnerabilities that have not been patched. The upshot of this is that the dishwasher is vulnerable to what is known as a Directory Traversal Attack. These attacks let miscreants access directories other than those needed by a web server. Once they are in those directories, it is party time, because they can insert their own programming code and tell the web server to execute it - thus completely taking over the dishwasher, and potentially any other devices in the home and beyond that the dishwasher is able to communicate with. It is unclear which libraries Miele used to craft the Web server, which means without a fix from the vendor – for a dishwasher – the best option is to make sure the appliance isn't exposed to the Internet. Because Miele is an appliance company and not a pure-play IT company, it doesn't have a process for reporting or fixing bugs. Aside from this consideration, I think we should look at the bigger picture. Until we have self loading dishwashers, how can they need internet access? We don't run them until they are loaded. Humans load them. Once they are full, we set them off. If we don't want them to clean the dishes straight away, they have a "delay" feature so we can run them when the Economy 7 has kicked in / while the sun's up and our solar panels are providing the electricity. Humans put the salt, detergent tablets and rinse-aid in. Needing internet access to order more rinse-aid etc when it is running low is (until the manufacturers can be trusted with anything sharper than a crayon or warmer than a cushion) a decidedly sub-optimal path. So why on earth do we need internet enabled dishwashers? "Because we can" is a valid human argument for scaling Everest (for those humans so inclined/capable) but letting household appliances loose on the internet "because we can" (rather than "because we need to") is lazy, foolish and to my mind pointless.

The following announcement has been made by the North End Safer Neighbourhood Police Team:- "If you would like to become involved with Neighbourhood Watch and set up a scheme for your road (if you do not have one), please let us know. If you are unsure if you do have a scheme in your road, again, email us and we can let you know. Surgery and Street Briefing dates and times for Northend Ward in APRIL 2017 are listed below.

WEDNESDAY 12/APRIL/2017  1200hrs  SLADE GREEN LIBRARY
TUESDAY 18/APRIL/2017  1030hrs  FOREST ROAD CAFE
THURSDAY 27/APRIL/2017  1500hrs  OUTSIDE PEARESWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL, PEARESWOOD ROAD
FRIDAY 28/APRIL/2017  1500hrs  OUTSIDE SLADE GREEN PRIMARY AND HABERDASHERS SCHOOL, SLADE GREEN ROAD

If there are any issues that affect you or you have any information you feel we may need to know, please come and see us. All information is dealt with in the strictest confidence".

Something that I have observed and written about in the past has been independently confirmed. Bexley is officially one of the most improved boroughs when it comes to restaurant and takeaway food hygiene in the country. You may recall that I originally bemoaned the awful state of food hygiene, not only in the borough, but specifically in West Street, Erith, which at one point had the lowest overall "Scores on the Doors" ratings of anywhere in the whole of the UK. Now that has all changed - very much for the better.  Which? magazine found that the chance of a consumer buying from a food business that is not meeting hygiene standards is as high as one in three in 20 local authorities. The consumer group analysed data submitted to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) by 386 UK local authorities and ranked those local authority areas, focusing on those considered high risk such as hospitals, care homes and schools, and medium-risk businesses such as a local restaurant or takeaway. Four London local authority areas - Newham, Ealing, Lewisham and Camden - were all ranked in the bottom 10. The five most-improved local authority areas since Which? last carried out its analysis two years ago are Bexley, Sunderland, Stockport, South Cambridgeshire and Barrow-in Furness. Erith's very own "proper" restaurant - the Riverside Fish and Steak has just got its very first "Scores on the Doors" rating, and to nobody's surprise it passed with flying colours and scored an outstanding 5 stars out of 5. 

The ending video is a time lapse recording of the Woolwich Ferry, from early in a winter morning until around midday. See what you think. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.