Christmas 2016.

The photos above were taken at the private screening of the new Star Wars film "Rogue One" at the Cineworld cinema in Bexleyheath last Sunday afternoon - the reason that the Maggot Sandwich got published a little earlier last week. The private, invitation only screening was organised by all round good egg and Star Wars nut Nav Bhamra in what is becoming an annual highlight. The cinema was packed with adults and some very well behaved children; everyone had a really good time. As you can see, several Star Wars re - enactors appeared; they are members of the UK branch of the 501st Legion - a group of Star Wars fans who dress up in film accurate costumes and raise money for charitable causes, and who undertake a lot of "make a wish" visits for terminally ill children and adults. The 501st Legion was formed in America in 1997 by a chap called Albin Johnson. It initially began purely as a website for fans of Star Wars who had created their own costumes, but it soon grew beyond that. Within weeks of launching the sites, Johnson was fielding email requests from people across the country and around the world looking to be featured on his website in their own homemade Stormtrooper armour. What he started soon blossomed into a global phenomenon – a fan-based costuming club unlike any other. The Legion ranks swelled, and regional subdivisions called Garrisons, Squads, and Outposts were created to facilitate the organization of events and appearances on a local level. While the Legion was initially based only on the white-armoured Stormtroopers stationed aboard The Death Star, as the group expanded, it grew to encompass every other canon trooper variation, and other villains from the Star Wars saga, such as Sith Lords, and bounty hunters. All applicants are reviewed by their local units and Legion Membership Officers prior to approval into the member database. Lucasfilm / Disney have granted the Legion a limited use of their copyrighted characters, as long as members of the 501st Legion promised never to use their costumes for personal profit, and that they represent the Star Wars franchise in a positive and respectful manner. The Legion have now became a force for doing good works, expanding into a charitable organisation that has been likened to a Rotary or Lions Club for a modern generation.

You may recall that I have been following the government's plans to roll out smart energy meters to all UK households, and how this is actually a bad thing, as the programme is costing more money to run than it will actually save. According to the latest government figures, there are now 4.9 million smart meters operating across homes and businesses in Great Britain, by both large and small energy suppliers. That may sound like an impressive number, but it leaves the government just over three years to achieve its goal of 53 million smart meters by 2020. In its last quarter report, The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy said 4.2 million smart meters were live. At the current rate of 700,000 per quarter, or 2.8 million per year, it should only take another 19 years to complete the programme. That is, of course, leaving aside the concerns that the consumer benefits of the £11bn scheme appear to be negligible. A recent report found that the savings could amount to just £11 per household in 2020.

A reader who wishes to remain anonymous has raised his suspicions regarding an Email he recently received purporting to be from Bexley Council. The Email reads as follows:- With a view to reducing costs and saving natural resources we are encouraging customers to accept their Council Tax bill via electronic means. I note that you have contacted us in the past using the following email address (address redacted). This email is to notify you that your Council Tax account will switch to E billing in 28 days unless you advise me that you wish to continue to receive your bill by paper. This means when your bill is ready to view you will receive an email which will provide a link to the London Borough of Bexley website. You will need to create an online account so that you can view your bill at any time, day or night. You will also be able to apply to pay your account by direct debit, advise us if you move address, apply for a refund or a Council Tax discount. If you would prefer us to send your E bill notification to another email address will you please notify us via bexley.ctax@secure.capita.co.uk . You don’t have to wait to receive an email advising you that your bill is ready to view, why not log in now to create your online Council Tax account at: https://revenuesbenefits.bexley.gov.uk/publicaccessbexlive/selfservice/dashboard.htm. Please use the 9 digit reference number beginning with 8 on your Council Tax bill when asked for your Council Tax account number. The set up is quick and simple to complete. Thank you for helping to save our environment. Yours sincerely, Mrs R Keen. Bexley Council Tax Manager. I have checked out the message, and it is actually genuine, but it does not read that way - its' structure is very similar to a phishing Email - I suspect that many recipients may well delete the message as they think it is fraudulent. Bexley Council really don't have much of a clue when it comes to online services - their website is a dense and virtually impenetrable mess; it seems to me and others that Bexley make using their services as difficult as possible with the express intention of dissuading residents from using them. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Whilst that message was not a scam - despite appearances to the contrary, there is a most definite scam currently circulating by a relatively old - fashioned vector.  Email users are getting unexpected emails that claim the sender found their email address in an old book. The email asks the user if they are real and what kind of relationship they have with the book. An example can be seen here:- "Hi there;  My name is Jean Rafon, I’m from France. Last week I Bought an old book from street here in Paris and i found your email inside of it, i’m curious to know if this is a real person, and what relate you with this book! Looking forward to hearing from you! Thanks Jean". This is a hook for an online scam, since the same email has been sent en masse to a number of different users. This fake Email can be the precursor to one of the following 1) A Romance scam, where the scammer strikes a relationship with the victim using this email as a form of bait, and over time gains their trust. From there, victims are often instructed to send money to the scammer who then disappears (or asks for more money!) 2) A Malware scam, where the victim and scammer exchange an number of emails before the scammer convinces the victim to click a link to a malware infested website. 3) A Phishing scam, where the scammer sends the victim a link that is designed to steal the login information of the victim. Whatever the specifics of the scam, this is clearly not a genuine email, and thus it should be ignored. I do these things so that you don't have to.

You may recall that last week I published an appeal for further information on historical local figure "Robert the Devil", well, long - time Maggot Sandwich reader Brian Spurrell has kindly forwarded me the following piece:- "Here's what Tumbler Bell said about "Robert the Devil" in a letter to the Kentish Times published on 4 June 1943 - the date explains the reference at the bottom of the paragraph: Causeway Characters - The watersiders at the Causeway rails must not be forgotten, especially those natural comedians Bob Austin ("Robert the Devil") and Chris Cobb (“Odie").  Well helped by the barge boys, this company were continually providing entertainment and fun.  At the Regattas they provided much of the sport, while Bob and Chris indulged in mud fights and other items.  On one occasion two strollers appeared with hammer, strip of carpet and lumps of concrete. One lay on the spread carpet, and with hands underneath, balanced a piece of the concrete above his chest; the other gave it a sharp blow with the hammer and broke it in two.  Then the collection.  "We could do that," said Odie to Bob, and off they went to Stone's barge yard and reappeared with hammer and pieces of concrete.  Down went Odie, balanced a piece of the concrete on his chest, Bob gave it a crack with the hammer and the concrete split.  They knew the trick.  The strollers appealed to them and they went away.  The story goes that in one of their pranks Odie fell and injured his leg. Bob got a barrow, put Odie into it, and wheeled him to Greenwich Seamen's hospital for medical attention.  I liked them, and there were few that didn't like them.  They were the "water rats" of their period, the forerunners of the more recent waterside men and boys now spread over the seas and various fronts doing jobs of national and world importance".

And now for some extremely bad news. What in the opinion of both myself and a great many other people what is easily the best pub in the whole of the London Borough of Bexley is up for sale after having been owned by the same family for the last thirty years. The superb Robin Hood and Little John in Lion Road, Bexleyheath is on the market for £750,000. The estate agents describe it thus:- "The property is a corner site at the junction of Lion Road and Robin Hood Lane. The pub is believed to date from the mid 19th Century and comprises a 2 storey detached building with painted, part rendered brick external elevations under a pitched slate roof with single storey extensions to the front and rear and a mixture of traditional multi pane and sash windows. There is a level forecourt providing outside customer seating for around 16 covers and an enclosed courtyard beer garden at the rear providing further customer seating for approximately 28 covers. There is a range of outbuildings including a garage and a private parking space with access via a roller shutter door. Having been in our client’s family ownership for over 30 years, the pub has built a consistent and enviable reputation as a traditional free house offering an extensive range of real ales and a popular food offer including authentic Italian dishes. The pub has been voted CAMRA London pub of the year on three occasions and won CAMRA local pub of the year on no less than 10 occasions. Further useful information will be found on the pub's website  Accounts for the financial year ending 14 May 2016 indicate a turnover of £298,421 net of VAT. Further financial information will be made available to genuinely interested parties following a formal viewing of the business. Two customer entrances at the front provide access to a traditionally decorated lounge bar with panelled walls, beamed ceiling and fitted floor carpet. Loose tables and chairs for approximately 45 covers. Centrally positioned U shaped bar servery with polished oak counter, painted panelled sides and displays behind. Rear entrance to the beer garden.  Trade Kitchen with non slip floor, mechanical extraction, range of catering equipment and stainless steel sink unit. Separate preparation and wash up area. Service yard with additional outside storage.  The property is in an area administered by London Borough of Bexley and we are advised that the current Rateable Value is £33,250. The domestic accommodation is within Band A for council tax purposes. Please note this property is locally listed and not situated in a conservation area". You can read the full details by clicking here. Bexley CAMRA are fully aware of the situation, and are applying for an award of an Asset of Community Value certification to the pub to provide some protection against it being sold to a property developer. The pub runs at a very healthy profit on a turnover of around £6,200 a week, and the business is extremely viable - there is absolutely no reason to close down this very popular, multiple award - winning pub. I know that local real ale fans have been up in arms this week, as news of the potential sale began to leak out. This story will run for some time. If you have any additional information or insight, please let me know. *UPDATE* The estate agent advert has just been taken down since the text above was written; whether this means the pub has been withdrawn from sale, or actually sold, I do not know. Hopefully I will have more information by this time next week. If you have any information, please drop me a line in confidence to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

In a very big and welcome turnaround, Bexley is now one of the safest places in London to eat out, according to new figures. The figures, which are produced nationally every year, indict 95 per cent of local food business have the top three hygiene ratings, putting the borough top of London’s food hygiene standards. It was only back in May of 2013 that a Which? Report featured the London Borough of Bexley as one of the worst places to eat out in Greater London, so low were many of the restaurant and takeaway hygiene scores. I am really pleased that in just over three years there has been a complete turnaround for very much the better. Back then I wrote "It does not happen very often, but right now I can honestly say that “I told you so”. As you may have seen in the national press over the last couple of days, Which? Magazine is reporting in its’ June issue the postcode areas of DA7 and DA8 in the London Borough of Bexley have been rated as having the worst food hygiene standards in its’ restaurants and takeaways of anywhere in the United Kingdom. Six out of the ten worst rated post codes for the entire country are in Bexley. This has been reported by the BBC, Sky News and a host of other news outlets. Regular readers of the Maggot Sandwich will recall that I have been  banging on about the issue of food hygiene standards, and the “Scores on the Doors” scheme for quite some time." I am now happy that my thoughts are now out of date - it seems that just for once, things are improving markedly, and a good thing too.

Further complaints have been made recently about the Dartford Crossing, and the ongoing problems with the automated toll system. You may recall that I predicted problems prior to the system going live. A camera system which can recognise number plates replaced toll booths at the busy crossing in 2014, and has so far generated 3.5 million penalty charge notices for drivers who have failed to pay. A series of complaints to The Observer newspaper recently has shown how the system is far from foolproof, however, with cameras misreading number plates and people being pursued for fines they are unaware of. This can in turn lead to a complaints system which can appear inflexible. Thousands of those incorrectly charged simply pay up to avoid the risk of an escalating fine, according to Auto Express. Last August the motoring magazine found that while the vast majority of appeals were upheld (80 percent), only one in 25 motorists actually appealed a fine. Many more motorists who do use the crossing, one of the UK’s busiest, fail to pay the charge because of confusing signs. The only warning of the levy is a large C which is identical to the symbol for the congestion charge, the £11.50 fee for vehicles entering central London. A recent poll by the AA found that 60 percent of drivers mistook it for the latter, an entirely different fee which is not payable on the Dartford crossing. Non-Londoners are likely to have no clue of the symbol’s meaning. When the booths were bulldozed to reduce congestion, it seems the levy went from being a toll to a “congestion charge” and was increased by 20 percent. This distinction was never explained, nor is the fee called a congestion charge on the website, but the new terminology gets round the fact that the levy, introduced to cover the costs of building the Dartford Bridge, is still in place 13 years after it was paid for - something that locals are still extremely angry about. Frequent users of the crossing can create either a pre-paid or a pay-as-you-go account to pay the charge automatically, but even this does not safeguard them from fines. Tina Mackenzie of Basildon, Essex, faced a bill of £1,397 for 13 crossings because her pre-paid account dropped below the £10 minimum last November. It should have been topped up automatically, but unbeknownst to her, her bank declined Dart Charge’s request for £10 due to insufficient funds, as reported in the Guardian newspaper. Nowhere on the Dartford Crossing road signs is the price of a crossing mentioned, and no payment details are given. Drivers are merely invited to “find us online” before midnight the following day, a problem for those without internet access and baffling for the thousands of overseas visitors who use the route to and from Stansted and Gatwick airports. For many of those who are erroneously fined and refuse to pay up, however, the system can prove inflexible. The Dartford Crossing is more or less a captive market since the nearest alternative river crossing is a congested 15 miles away, which means that a crucial route that was supposed to become toll free in 2003 is earning the government millions. The toll system is broken, but it is in the government's interest for it to remain that way - it is a cash cow that unfairly penalises users both local and from far away. One user recently said "A year ago I used the crossing for a return journey. When I got home I logged on and paid the charge. A month or so later I got a penalty notice for the northbound crossing and the next day a penalty notice for the southbound crossing. I replied, attaching my receipt for the crossings. Some weeks later I got a letter (I don't think it was in response to my reply, given the date on it, which was weeks before I received it) telling me that the notices had been issued in error. I avoid using the crossing whenever I can now, it's far more trouble than it's worth". In a case of what would appear to be identity theft, another annoyed person reported:- "Here's one for you. I live in Northern Ireland and up until 21st June 2015 I owned a silver Ford Galaxy reg. no EEZ3996. In October 2015 I received a penalty charge notice relating to an alleged offence on 6th June 2015. In the seven years I owned the car, it has never crossed the Irish Sea I.e. Has never been in England. I have never been on the Dartford Crossing. To make matters even worse, they have a photo of a silver Ford Galaxy reg EEZ3996 on the penalty notice! How do I defend this one! I have written to the ferry companies to seek confirmation that my car hasn't crossed the Irish Sea but I doubt they will provide me with the information. On the 6th June 2015, I was on a golfing break in County Donegal and my car was in my garage in Portstewart. My case is now going to a tribunal but I fear the worst". This disastrous state of affairs needs to be sorted out, and soon. 

As I have written in the past, Erith and Crayford were the historic home of Vickers Sons and Maxim Limited, who had factories in both locations which made a whole range of armaments and ammunition, principally the Vickers Machine Gun – which was an easier to produce, lighter and cheaper version of the original Maxim Gun, invented by Sir Hiram Maxim - the most famous local resident. What is less well known is that Vickers Vimy heavy bombers were also constructed on a limited basis. It is thought that the aeroplane which transported Alcock and Brown on the historic very first flight across the Atlantic was one of those produced locally. In the present the fact that both Erith and Crayford were major arms manufacturing towns is unknown to many residents; indeed the only relic of the Vickers Sons and Maxim factory in Erith is that the area of shops and houses located at the bend where Woolwich Road becomes Fraser Road is still known by older locals as “The Pom Pom” – due to the sound of guns being tested in the dedicated shooting range that was adjacent to the factory for many years. I think it sad that many people still call the area by the informal name, but very few seem to know the actual reason for it. Nowadays one could be forgiven for thinking that all of the changes that have happened over the years that arms manufacturing was no longer something that no longer happened locally. In matter of fact nothing could be further from the truth. Slade Green is home to Manroy Engineering, a company that specialises in the manufacture and refurbishment of machine guns and light cannon for the military. They also make all sorts of weapon mounts, gun turrets for armoured vehicles and assorted other military hardware such as specialised sniper rifles and vehicle armour packages. They keep a very low profile for security reasons, but they are actually located on the Power Works site on Slade Green Road. It is amazing what a little bit of searching on Google Street view can find! Anyway, the Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) calibre machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The machine gun typically required a six to eight-man team to operate: one fired, one fed the ammunition, the rest helped to carry the weapon, its ammunition and spare parts. It was in service from before the First World War until the 1960s, with air-cooled versions of it on many Allied World War I fighter aircraft. The weapon had a reputation for great solidity and reliability. Ian V. Hogg, in the book Weapons and War Machines, describes an action that took place in August 1916, during which the British 100th Company of the Machine Gun Corps fired their ten Vickers guns continuously for twelve hours. Using 100 barrels, they fired a million rounds without a failure. "It was this absolute fool proof reliability which endeared the Vickers to every British soldier who ever fired one.” The Vickers machine gun was based on the successful Maxim gun of the late 19th century. After purchasing the Maxim company outright in 1896, Vickers took the design of the Maxim gun and improved it, reducing its weight by lightening and simplifying the action and substituting components made with high strength alloys. A muzzle break was also added. The British Army formally adopted the Vickers gun as its standard machine gun on 26 November 1912, using it alongside their existing Maxims. There were still great shortages when the First World War began, and the British Expeditionary Force was still equipped with Maxims when sent to France in 1914. Vickers was, in fact, threatened with prosecution for war profiteering, due to the exorbitant price it was demanding for each gun. As a result, the price was slashed. As the war progressed, and numbers increased, it became the British Army's primary machine gun, and served on all fronts during the conflict. When the Lewis Gun was adopted as a light machine gun and issued to infantry units, the Vickers guns were redefined as heavy machine guns, withdrawn from infantry units, and grouped in the hands of the new Machine Gun Corps (when heavier 0.5 in/12.7 mm calibre machine guns appeared, the tripod-mounted, rifle-calibre machine guns like the Vickers became medium machine guns). After the First World War, the Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was disbanded and the Vickers returned to infantry units. Before the Second World War, there were plans to replace the Vickers gun. However, the Vickers remained in service with the British Army until 30 March 1968. Hundreds of thousands of these guns were manufactured in Erith and Crayford over several decades, and during both World Wars, this meant that the towns were legitimate wartime bombing targets. During both World Wars, the area economically benefited – for example in 1914, the number of trams run in Crayford and Erith was increased to transport the large number of munitions workers many of whom worked for Vickers making ammunition for use on the Western Front. With most of the young men volunteering for military service (conscription was yet to begin) many women entered paid employment for the first time, something that directly led to the start of female emancipation with the Representation of the People Act 1918. I have written at some length about inventor and businessman Hiram Maxim in the past; Maxim was American born but later naturalised British. He invented the sprung mouse trap, the first practical machine gun, the incandescent light bulb (though he famously failed to get the patent registered before Thomas Edison and Joseph Swan) and  the first heavier than air aircraft. After moving to England in 1881, Maxim began his aerial experiments at Baldwyns Park near Bexley Village, in the late 1880's, leading to the construction in 1893 of his enormous biplane Test-Rig, which weighed about three and a half tons. The machine's two steam engines each produced 180 horsepower. and turned two pusher propellers each 17-1/2 feet in diameter. Since the device was intended to be a test vehicle it was held to a track, preventing it from rising more than a couple of feet. On the Maxim Biplane Test-Rig's third test run, on July 31, 1894, with Maxim and a crew of three aboard, it lifted with such force that it broke the reinforced restraining track and careened for some two hundred yards, at times reaching an altitude of two or three feet above the damaged track. It was believed that a lifting force of some four and a half tons had been generated. After this, Maxim allowed his assistants to demonstrate the flying machine on a number of further occasions, but he took no further part in the development – he rightly realised that the machine was a design “dead end” as it lacked practical flight controls. It was not until 1903 that the Wright Brothers worked out their system of ailerons and rudders that made flying practical and controllable. The ending video this week is a detailed examination of the Vickers Mk 1 Heavy Machine Gun, the development of Maxim's original machine gun, which was made lighter, even more reliable, and most importantly cheaper for the British governemnt to purchase for the military. Historical weapons expert Ian McCullum demonstrates the machine gun and explains about its historical and engineering significance.  See what you think below. 

Cowboy builders.

The photo above shows the ground works that have been carried out to prepare the old Erith Riverside Swimming Baths site for redevelopment as a new residential site consisting of 12 mews houses and 55 apartments overlooking the River Thames. The workers clearing the site had a bit of a shock - their instructions were to level and grade the site ready for the foundations of the new structures to be dug. It had been assumed that the site was clear. It soon became apparent that this was actually far from the case. When the old swimming pool was demolished, the workers at the time were instructed to remove all construction materials from the site; it turns out that they did something far easier; in a giant equivalent of lifting a rug to sweep dust underneath it, the demolition workers just knocked down the building and used the rubble to fill the hole left by the drained and empty swimming pool itself. It would seem that something in the region of seventy percent of the construction material thought to have been carted away during the demolition process is still currently on site! This is going to add time and money to the site clearance programme. I wonder if any recourse or compensation can be sought from the historical demolition company for doing such a shoddy and half arsed job? It would seem that cowboy builders can affect large commercial developments as well as individuals.

Malcolm Knight of the excellent Bexley is Bonkers blog has been writing about the changes that Bexley Council have been making to the rules governing the use of Bexleyheath Broadway. A Public Spaces Protection Order has been imposed. This somewhat drastic measure is apparently designed to combat perceived anti-social behaviour. According to the Bexley council press release, the order prohibits “behaviour in a manner which causes, or, is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to another person. The  riding of pedal cycles, skateboards, roller blades, hover boards or other similar devices within the restricted area in a manner which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to another person, and the playing of any type of ball games in the designated area". According to the Council’s own documentation, Failure to comply with the PSPO without a reasonable reason for doing so is a breach of the order and a criminal offence. Significant and/or persistent breaches of the order could lead to a fixed penalty notice being issued or a summons to court. The charge for receiving a fixed penalty notice is £100, which would be reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. All individuals breaching the conditions of the order would be monitored by a range of agencies to provide other necessary support and interventions. Council staff will take action to try to manage the risk that any young people who receive a fixed penalty notice gain a criminal record without fully understanding the potential of their actions”. This all seems somewhat draconian, and rather reminiscent of the kind of social policies employed by Kim Jong Un in North Korea. Civil rights group Liberty say:- “Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) are broad powers which allow councils to criminalise particular, non-criminal, activities taking place within a specified area. Unfortunately, we have frequently seen them used against the most vulnerable in our society, the homeless.  PSPOs are also being used to limit freedom of speech and the right to protest. PSPOs simply fast-track vulnerable people into the criminal justice system – rather than divert them away from it”. I get the feeling that this is a direct response to the recent riot amongst gangs of school age children that took place in Northumberland Heath, and that made the national news. Whether such an order is actually required is another point entirely. It seems to me to be an over – reaction, and a case of “doing something because we can do” – not because they actually need to. It does rather seem to me that it is going down the path of the infamous “Not the Nine O’ Clock News” over zealous policeman sketch, where a dim, racist and vindictive copper is being hauled over the coals by his boss, for repeatedly arresting the same man for “offences” including – “walking on the cracks in the pavement, possession of an offensive wife, wearing a loud shirt in a built up area during the hours of darkness, urinating in a public convenience, and looking at me in a funny way ”. I understand that the PSPO concept is shortly to be tested in court. Liberty and other similar organisations are keen to challenge the legality of the sweeping conditions that PSPO’s can impose. I get the feeling that once again we may encounter the law of unintended consequences. Time will tell. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Maggot Sandwich readers of long standing may recall that quite some time ago I explained why I refused to take advertising on the blog. One of the reasons I cited was that I did not want to be at the thrall of an advertiser or sponsor, and thus be muzzled as to what content I wrote. It would seem that my feelings on the subject have now been crystallised after a report from The Advertising Standards Authority specifically targeting Vloggers (video bloggers) who have been promoting commercial products and using product placement in their videos, for which advertising agencies and public relations firms have been financially rewarding them for. Whether The Advertising Standards Authority actually have any power over Vloggers is debatable; many are based outside of the UK, and other may be based in the UK, but use platforms that are hosted outside of the UK. I suspect that the ASA are having a bit of a “fishing trip” to see who they can scare into submission. I think that in many cases their words may prove to be an empty threat. I get the feeling that the ASA don’t really have much of a clue as to exactly how video services such as YouTube actually operate. Whilst a file may be uploaded from an I.P address in the UK, it may end up being hosted on a server in the USA, Japan or a host of other locations, from which it is then “broadcast” to viewers via the World Wide Web. Which country is legally responsible for video content? The country from whence it was uploaded, or the country that hosts the video files? Users may upload files using a proxy, mirroring the upload to a third location anywhere in the world – The Advertising Standards Authority would need the resources of GCHQ to track activity of this nature, and I cannot see it ever happening. I think some clueless Whitehall Mandarin is blowing off steam over something that they really don't have a handle on. Let’s see what happens.

The picture above may look familiar - and that is because I have used it before - I am recycling some second hand photons; it used to pretty much sum up Christmas in parts of Erith to a tee; the bus shelter even looks passingly similar to one almost opposite Pewty Acres. Nowadays the town is changing in such a rapid way that I feel that it is the very last time I will be credibly able to use the image, even in a satirical context. Erith is changing for the better in so many ways. As many readers may already know, I don't send Christmas cards, for a number of reasons, mainly as I think them redundant now that much of the world is now online, and via social networking, Email, Twitter and a host of other services, people keep in contact all year round, not just via a once a year bit of printed card. Cards use a huge amount of natural resources, both in their production and transportation, and generally get shredded or dumped after the annual festivities. I think we really need to move on from them. Think of this as my virtual season's greetings.

I know many regard me as a grumpy old curmudgeon when it comes to the Christmas festivities; and I suppose I am to an extent. I suppose having no children does mean that I don’t see the holiday from their perspective. For the most part it is a period for me to endure, rather than enjoy. I am not saying that the festival is a complete anathema, but it sometimes feels that way. One thing I really detest is the journey home from work on the couple of weeks’ before the Christmas break. One invariably encounters “amateur drinkers” who have been on a boozy Christmas lunch; not able to hold their drink (or to know when to stop before the effects impaired their actions) they generally make the lives of their fellow commuters insufferable, even if it is just by sitting close by and breathing alcohol fumes over their fellows; I have to say that when in the office, either in Canary Wharf or Watford, my habit is to start early and finish early. In doing this I avoid the worst excesses of those suffering from a Yuletide surfeit of Dizzyade. I feel sorry for fellow commuters that have to travel later in the evening – I have been there in years past, and it is not pretty!

You may have noticed that the Maggot Sandwich has been published rather earlier than normal this week; this is for a very good reason; This afternoon I will be attending a private screening Of the new Star Wars film “Rogue One”, and I won’t be around when I normally make the latest edition go live at around 1pm. In a tradition that stretches back as far as this time last year, mega Star Wars fan and all round good egg Nav Bhamra organises a private showing of the latest movie in the Star Wars franchise, with any profits being donated to worthy causes. I will feature photos taken at the event on the update next week.

The effects that the sudden and very unexpected closure of Northumberland Heath based double glazing company PJ Plastics continue to be felt. It would seem that there are a number of creditors who have lost money due to the failure of the company – individuals had given substantial deposits for windows and doors that will now not be delivered. One person, who wishes to remain anonymous wrote:- “We have just become a victim of PJ Plastics' demise. Having ordered a very large double-glazed window for our dining room at the end of September, and paid the deposit, we were looking forward to having the work done in the New Year. But, on a trip to North Heath post office, I noticed their shop across the road looked eerily empty. Closer investigation revealed the notice in the window advising of their closure. I feel particularly aggrieved because only six weeks had elapsed between them banking our deposit and then posting their notice of closure. Surely any financial difficulties they had must have been known to them when they accepted our order. Needless to say, we have received no communications from the company or the liquidators and I suspect they will have preferential creditors who will be given first options on any assets they have. This probably means we will lose our deposit and become a victim of fraud. My wife contacted the liquidators but they weren't particularly helpful. She also contacted her bank as she paid the deposit using her debit card. It is possible she may get her money back but they make it harder than it is for credit card payments. 'Twas ever thus! The silly thing is that if PJ progressed our order and built the window it will be of no use to anyone else. We put that to the liquidator suggesting the situation might be resolved but they did not get back to us”. This is a situation that I expect is quite widespread; if you have suffered as a result of the failure of PJ Plastics, do drop me a line – it can be in complete confidence, should you so wish. People should not have to suffer as a result the poor management and financial fragility of a vendor. Ironically as a previous customer of PJ Plastics myself, I am covered by my FENSA warranty – something not available to customers who have not had their goods delivered. The implications for a relatively small independent local company going bust can be far wider than many might imagine.

On a related subject, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Erith branch of Cash Generator has now closed for good; US-owned Cash Generator plans to close all but a handful of branches and make hundreds of staff redundant, according to a claim from company insiders. The Erith branch is one of the first of a total of 68 branch closures. It is the latest in a string of lenders to scale down after being criticised for charging sky-high interest rates. A Cash Generator worker said in a recent interview: “We have moved away from offering loans to people on benefits, which was regarded as irresponsible lending. Now we have been told that stores not making a profit will be going.” Sister company Cheque Centre pulled out of the payday lending market after criticism by financial regulators. Both firms are owned by American loan giant Axcess Financial. The Financial Conduct Authority brought in rules last year capping how much lenders can charge. Since then, the number of payday lending shops has fallen from 1,400 to under 500. Earlier this year Wonga, Britain’s biggest online lender, revealed losses of £80 million following the clampdown. Cash Generator were notorious for huge markups on second hand goods they bought from cash strapped people, then sold on to other customers on a tight budget. A fairly typical example of the kind of customer service can be read from a disgruntled customer who writes:- "The Guarantee they offer here means nothing as they will just accuse you of dropping the item or whatever they need to say to make it your fault not theirs!. The consumer rights act 2015 also means nothing it would seem as when I returned a not fit for purpose, #Lenovo PC (PC screen doesn't light up!) to them on 19th October less than 24 hours after leaving the shop with it, the staff member laughed at me, and refused to repair replace or give me a refund of my £119.99 payment.  We also rang the manager direct and she flat out refused too!, preferring instead to accuse us of dropping it when we haven't, and their is no evidence or marks on the product to warrant this.  Not only that but come to think of it the item had no CE markings, or PAT testing label on it, And was sold to me with a 2 pin foreign plug attached to a cheap looking, 3 pin UK adapter! I am sure that alone is a breach of some consumer law or other!.  I am very disappointed at this shops non - existent customer service, they are liars.  I hope to prove it in court too!, my home has CCTV which shows I never dropped it getting it from my car, and the street I walked down and car park are covered, I shall instruct my solicitor to obtain footage from the CCTV operator.  I hope they get a massive fine for breaching consumer rights and the manager and staff members involved get what they deserve (sacked).  They have let down the Cash Generator Brand, And damaged my customer confidence in them I shall never recommend or shop there again". Quite. I view the likes of Cash Generator and Cash Converters in exactly the same light as Brighthouse - organisations designed purely to exploit the least well off in our society. I am glad that Cash Generator have closed down in Erith, and hope that they all rot. No loss at all.

Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association have just issued the following warning to local residents:-  "We have been made aware that burglars are targeting Bexley in the run up to Christmas. We are asking our volunteers to be extra alert and to note any suspicious persons or vehicles in your areas and to report this activity to us straight away. These thieves are gaining entry by smashing in back doors which must create some noise. If you hear what could be a burglary in motion please report it to police on 999; if you see suspicious activity such as persons hanging around or vehicles parked that are not familiar, please report this with full details such as date/time/registration number of vehicle and description of person(s) directly to us at Neighbourhood Watch. We will ensure it goes directly to the appropriate police department. Police Patrols are going to target the A2 slip roads in an effort to combat this increase in theft, which is thought to be by persons from outside of the Borough".

The photo above shows Erith High Street in 1910. By the look of it, the photo was taken in the Spring / Summer and on a Saturday afternoon, due to the number of men one can see standing around chatting. Back in those days of large families and small houses, the men would be told to stay out of the house until meal times. Working hours were long, and it was quite normal to go to work on Saturday mornings - one of the reasons football matches usually kick off at 3pm or thereabouts nowadays - a historical hangover. The only building in the photo above that still exists is the Cross Keys Centre, which you can just see in the centre distance. Everything else was demolished back in 1966 when the town centre was redeveloped - a move that many locals regret to this day.

Newly opened Erith gym Fit4Less has got off to a very good start. Pre – opening member registrations were the highest of any gym in the franchise chain, and since then the number of members has reached full capacity. I understand that monthly renewal levels are very high, and word reaches me that the place is already so successful that Josh Waters, the owner is in negotiations with Bexley Council about expanding into the vacant industrial unit next door. Bearing in mind that until Josh and his team took the corner unit opposite Erith Health Centre, it had been unoccupied and ignored since the building was constructed. It is now interesting to hear rumours that a couple of other businesses are showing an interest in taking the unit next to Fit4Less, after they have seen the success that the gym has already experienced. I think that especially bearing in mind the financial investment (not to mention risk) that Josh has put into the building, he should most definitely have first option on the adjacent unit. Erith town centre is finally opening up at night – not only is the gym open until late, but also the newly opened Riverside Fish and Steak restaurant opens until 11pm in the week, and midnight at the weekend. The whole pattern if town centre usage is now changing as it no longer becomes empty and barren after 6pm, as was the case for many years. I suspect that this pattern will continue to change and evolve, as other businesses realise that there is both life and customers after the retail shops close for the evening.

I am trying to discover more about a very colourful and larger than life character who lived in Erith during Victorian times; his name was Robert Austen, but he was more popularly known as "Robert the Devil" - he was an exhibitionist and showman, and I understand he had a strong man act that sometimes toured around North Kent and beyond. He had a couple of party tricks. He often drank in the pubs on Erith river front, and was notorious for betting other drinkers a pint of ale if he could swim across the River Thames from Erith to Coldharbour Point in Havering, Essex and back - which he invariably did. As I have previously written, the currents and undertow in and around Anchor Bay make this one of the most lethal stretches of the Thames for swimmers, and why most people who enter the river end up getting fished out by the Police or RNLI as corpses. It would appear that Robert Austen was a very strong and confident swimmer who could repeatedly challenge this - (although I would hazard a guess that he timed his swims for slack tide). On top of swimming the river, Austen would permit a man to break a granite kerbstone over his chest with a sledge hammer - for the price of a gallon of beer! More information if you have it please.

Do you remember that back in 2004 Coca Cola released a bottled water product called Dasani? The UK launch of Dasani is now taught in business schools as to how not to launch a product, and when you have launched it, what not to do when the launch does not go as planned. The problem was that Dasani was actually filtered tap water from Sidcup, where Coca Cola then had a bottling plant. Close similarities were seen with the "Only Fools and Horses" episode "Mother Nature's Son" where Del and Rodney sell tap water as "Peckham Spring" bottled water.  Bearing in mind that Peckham and Sidcup are only a few miles apart, the press picked up on this with glee. The video below tells the whole story of how the American Coca Cola executives completely mishandled the situation and made things worse than they already were, mainly due to not understanding British culture and slang phrases - as you will see in the short explanatory video below. It makes for fascinating and quite amusing viewing. Please feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Robert the Devil.

Following last weeks’ appeal for more information about the notorious Victorian local character Robert Austin (not Austen, as I incorrectly wrote last week), better known as “Robert the Devil”, I have had an Email from local historian and author Ken Chamberlain, who tells me that “Robert William AUSTIN not EN was born in Crayford in 1874. Most of the stories you quote I heard as a child from my father who knew "Robert the Devil" most are probably true. I have never been happy with him swimming over to the Coldharbour Point, a quarter of a mile. UNLESS he managed it at the very top of the tide when it was slack.  He lived at 17 Maxim Road, Erith - the address no longer exists. He was for a time the master of the Sailing Barge "Chance". The subject of the mural on the side of the White Hart ( what is / was Potion bar; see the photo above – click for a larger view). He died on the 4th November 1944, and is buried in the Churchyard of St. Johns Church, West Street. His short obituary does not mention his nickname, but does tell of him being a strong swimmer” Thanks Ken, your observations on Austin probably only being able to manage to swim over from Erith to Coldharbour Point at slack tide; I must admit that I concur. As previously written, I found it very hard to believe that anyone could survive swimming across the Thames at Erith, as the tides and undercurrents are so incredibly powerful – even the strongest of swimmers would seriously struggle. Nearly all of the suicides on the lower Thames happen either by jumping from the Queen Elizabeth Bridge at Dartford, or from Erith foreshore or Pier. I think this says something about the deadly nature of the river in the area.

There very nearly was no Maggot Sandwich this Sunday. I am currently suffering from some kind of stomach bug. I am shivery and achey, very tired, and cannot go far from the loo. I know that there are a couple of gastric infections currently doing the rounds, and I guess that I must have picked up one of them. Not nice.

There has been a lot of activity and attention in the technical and IT security field over the festive break, and a number of lectures and presentations made, many of which are now readily available on YouTube; a lot of classified documents originating in the American National Security Agency (NSA) have been leaked and posted online, initially by Germany's Der Spiegel newspaper. They have been independently verified as genuine by a number of sources, and they make for fascinating reading. Basically, between the American NSA and the British GCHQ every form of electronic communication in the world can be monitored, recorded and decoded. This has been suspected for some time, but this is the first time that it has been backed up with documentary evidence. I was not surprised, by that, but I was astonished as to the level of commercialisation that is now not just government departments spying on other governments, but a lot of it is outsourced to commercial organisations. More on this later. A clanger of jumbo scale was made by British Intelligence when Julian Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. MI5 deployed a device called a Typhon HX; this is a device that mimics a mobile phone providers’ base station and collects phone calls, texts and web traffic – effectively tapping mobile phones. The spying was uncovered as people in the area around the embassy started getting “Welcome to Uganda Telecom” messages on their phones. It would appear that the spooks had not correctly reconfigured the Typhon HX from a previous spying mission in Uganda! I would imagine that the individual responsible would be given a rocket for exposing the whole operation in such an incompetent manner. On top of this, the leaked documents show that no computer, whether it be a server, desktop, laptop or tablet is safe from intrusion. The same is true of mobile phones. The security services are able to remotely control your mobile phone – they can switch on its’ camera and microphone to watch what you are doing, and listen to what you are saying. The phone appears in standby, and there is no way of easily telling it has been hijacked, other than the battery life is far shorter. The documents even detail an exploit for the iPhone code named DROPOUT JEEP which can take complete control of any phone running iOS and is “one hundred percent” reliable. There is some speculation that Apple may have actually helped the NSA to develop the exploit in a bid to assist in potential counter terrorism. A lot of the documentation is quite technical and in great depth, so I will not bore a general readership with it, but you can see more by clicking here, and here for the full repository of leaked documents.  Earlier I referred to the commercialisation of surveillance; the NSA actually manufacture a wide range of electronic spying equipment which they sell to friendly (and sometimes not so friendly) governments to spy on their citizens. There is even a catalogue complete with price list – almost like a parody of a Maplin catalogue. The trouble with all of this is that the security services are (nominally) controlled by politicians – who almost to a person don’t have a clue about the technology that has been developed – there is a real issue as to who is actually in charge when it comes to digital interception and decryption. On the subject of the commercialisation of the intelligence domain, the embedded promotional video below is of a software and hardware suite designed to hack and remotely monitor “targets” – a euphemism for people - the video also makes it clear that the software is capable of monitoring "up to hundreds of thousands of targets" - if you were genuinely monitoring even the largest of terrorist organisations, I would have thought a couple of hundred "targets" would have been all that was required. It sounds to me like they are enabling repressive governments to spy on substantial proportions of their citizens. The Italian company “Hacking Team” behind it are one of a handful that sell their products all over the world; I wish this was some paranoid fantasy, but it is all too real. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

The terrible weather has continued; this has had a knock – on effect with local drainage. Almost every day (including Christmas Day) a Thames Water pumping lorry has been parked by the foul water drainage pumping station in Appold Street, near the far corner of Morrison’s car park. I talked to one of the Thames Water operatives, and apparently the drains have been blocking up on an almost daily basis. The have rodded and jetted the pipes to remove the blockages, but they keep coming back. I recall this happened back in January 2012, when I wrote about how Morrison’s drainage contractors had to run a remote controlled robot equipped with a camera along a waste pipe that ran from Morrison’s to the waste pumping station. It would appear that the same thing is happening again, but from the opposite direction. On top of the holiday period meaning a lot more people were at home, and therefore visiting the loo more often, the huge amount of additional rainwater that has been dropped on the area has also made the problem worse.  I would not be at all surprised if Thames Water end up digging up Appold Street to replace the pipework underneath; one beneficial side effect of this would mean that for a short period it might discourage fly tippers from dumping stuff – for some reason the road is a favourite for them. Only a couple of days ago I found an old, stained and smelly mattress dumped in the street. It had been carefully rolled up and tied with a length of rope, so the person dumping it had clearly planned the operation. The problem in Appold Street, and as previously mentioned, the nearby Morrison’s recycling centre, is that they are relatively quiet and secluded; someone with a van full of old lorry tyres or worn out furniture can easily dump their load and be off with little chance of anyone actually seeing them do it. I have spoken at length to the Environmental Crimes Unit at Bexley Council, and they are acutely aware of the problem. The have told me that the area spanning Appold Street, James Watt Way and the recycling centre in Morrison’s car park has the worst incidence of illegal fly tipping of anywhere in the whole London Borough of Bexley.  There are some plans afoot to counter this, but at this point I don’t know the details – and even if I did, it would probably not be wise to publish them.

The photo above was taken by local resident and Maggot Sandwich reader Paul Thomas, who wrote "Thames Barrier closed today, Saturday 4th. Resultant extra high tide flooding William Cory Parade by Riverside Gardens". Wow! I had not realised the water had come so high; by the time I passed the Riverside Gardens on Saturday evening, it was dark, and the water had begun to recede. Striking stuff anyway. Click on the photo for a larger view. Thanks for the photo Paul.

As I mentioned last week, I was Emailed by a chap who runs a specialist website documenting the history of UK trolley buses. He was concerned that I had used a photo from his site, which was in breach of his copyright. I had published the photo of a trolley bus outside the Wheatley Hotel in Erith, taken some time in the 1950’s in good faith – it was sent to me a couple of weeks ago by a regular reader and occasional contributor. The photo did not contain any metadata or digital watermark indicating it was held under a copyright, so I published it. I apologised to the copyright owner, and he has permitted me to continue to use the image, which you can see here. This led me to some thought. Copyright law in the UK and elsewhere is a complex area; there are plenty of lawyers who make a very healthy living over intellectual property ownership disputes. The problem for anyone posting online content is that unless you produce one hundred percent of the content yourself, you are always at risk of inadvertently treading on someone’s toes.  The other issue is that just because someone says that they own the copyright to something, it does not always mean that they do – especially in the case of historical material – they may have scanned a photograph or postcard and uploaded it onto the web, but the copyright may actually be owned by a third party, or it may have expired altogether, and the content may have become public domain. I have done some reading up over UK copyright laws, and as the Maggot Sandwich is primarily concerned with reporting local news and current affairs, it is covered under the “Fair Use” clause – which permits the quoting of statements and use of content that illustrates a news story. In the case of historical photographs, my understanding is that copyright exists with the owner for 25 years, after which it falls into the public domain, where they can be freely used by anyone. Having said this, I am not a lawyer and may have misunderstood. If you have any thoughts or experience in the subject, please drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com  My policy is that whatever the circumstances, if someone objects to material they claim is their copyright, I will take down the offending item, or give them copyright credit as they see fit; I am not a legal expert,  and life is really too short to argue over such matters – especially as I make no money out of the Maggot Sandwich. Google have written to me a number of times, trying to encourage me to take targeted advertising, but this is something that I refuse to do. As soon as you monetise a website, you lose all semblance of impartiality. I know of a handful of bloggers who make good, full time – livings out of sites they run – because they have corporate sponsorship. If this is a path you wish to follow, that is fine – if it works for you. Personally, the Maggot Sandwich is an amateur online journal that is  researched, written and published by me in my spare time. I have  no desire to make money from it, and am proud of the fact I am independent and answerable to nobody (within the bounds of the law, and good taste, that is).

The photo above is a bit of a mind boggler to anyone with modern sensibilities. The picture was taken in 1910 (and thus most definitely in the public domain) and shows members of the 4^th Erith Scout Troop (Vickers’ Own). The scout troop were sponsored by armaments manufacturer Vickers, who had factories in both Erith and Crayford. The boys were trained to fire the Vickers machine gun, by their supervisor Gunner Budge, who can be seen sporting a magnificent moustache in the background. The team took the machine gun around the country to Boy Scout rallies, where they gave demonstrations of its’ firepower.  It makes me wonder how many of the boys in the photo were later killed in the First World War, which started only four years after the photo was taken, when they would all have been old enough to be eligible for call – up. Pseudo military organisations such as the Boy’s Brigade and the Scouts were fertile targets for recruiters at the outbreak of war, and in any case, many young men, who were ignorant of the horrors of the trenches, eagerly joined up “to be with their mates” – as the army allowed young men who lived in the same geographical area to sign up and serve together. Whole factories, clubs and churches were emptied of their menfolk in this manner – many of whom would never return. This year is the centenary of the start of World War One, which makes it all the more poignant.

The Bexley Times have been running a story this week that at first reading is both encouraging and inspiring, to some degree at least. Sidcup based Indian Restaurant Curry Mahal has been voted as having one of the best chefs in the UK by readers of Curry Life magazine. Magazine editor Syed Ahmed took a number of British based curry chefs to India, in a classic case of coals to Newcastle. Ahmed said that British curry chefs are more innovative and creative than their counterparts in India. He illustrates this point by explaining that the award winning  Curry Mahal chef Sayful Alom has a unique way of preparing Chicken Tikka Massala (which as most people already know has nothing whatsoever to do with traditional Asian cooking - it is an entirely British invention); instead of using powdered beetroot to achieve the signature orangey – red colour of the dish, the Curry Mahal used pureed strawberries. I have to say that personally that sounds utterly revolting, but I am sure that for many CTM (Chicken Tikka Massala) devotees it would be entirely to their liking – as it is famously a curry for people who don’t like curries, being very mild, sweet and luridly coloured. Some people start their Indian cuisine education with CTM, and never progress any further. This is a great pity, but as I always say “if it works for you”. I know of one steely eyed, snake eating, veteran of many conflicts army officer (who I am not going to name and shame – he knows who he is) who I had to work on for several years to wean him off either Chicken Korma or CTM every time we met for a meal and a couple of pints. Suffice to say I was eventually successful (if I recall correctly, he broke his culinary duck with a Chicken Korai – The smell of the meat, onions and peppers sizzling on the ultra hot iron skillet as it was brought to the table eventually prised him away from his beloved CTM).  I sometimes half wonder of I should offer a coaching service for diners who want to become more adventurous with their curries – what do you think? Right now, even plain boiled rice would be too much for me, due to my current exceedingly dodgy guts. Anyway, I have somewhat digressed. The fact is that the Curry Mahal and its’ award winning chef are being cited as both an example of a successful local business and an influence on curry chefs back in India. I have a major problem with this; when you look up the Curry Mahal on the “Scores on the Doors” website, you find out that the place only has a one out of five possible star rating for food hygiene. When broken down, the detail of the assessment reads thus:- Food hygiene and safety – Poor. Structural compliance – Poor. Confidence in management – Little. That is absolutely appalling. One of the fundamental tenets of being a successful chef is to ensure that the food that you and your team prepare is not only delicious, but safe to eat. It would seem that the Curry Mahal and chef Sayful Alom have feet of clay. I wonder just how many people reading the glowing report in the Bexley Times visit the restaurant, only to become ill? A worrying thought.

I have been evangelising about Chromebooks for the last year; I was an early adopter, having bought a Samsung Chromebook the October before last. I have been surprisingly satisfied with it. If you have not heard about Chromebooks, they are a cut down laptop that runs Googles’ Chrome operating system (basically a customised version of Linux) and the Chrome web browser. Chromebooks don’t directly run any software other than the browser, which might make them sound rather restricted. Nowadays however, most people spend a vast majority of their time using a computer on the web – Email, social networking, video watching etc, so a browser only machine is not as stupid an approach as initially thought. The upsides of a Chromebook are 1) very fast start time (my £229 Chromebook starts from cold in seven seconds; half the time of my custom build, very high end iMac, which cost well over ten times as much). 2) They have a very long battery life – eight hours between charges, even with WiFi on and showing HD video. 3) They integrate seamlessly with Gmail, Google Docs and other online services (they should  - that is what they were designed for). 4) They are pretty secure – all updates occur automatically in the background. I suppose I have to reboot the machine once a month – that’s it. 5) Unlike a tablet, you don’t need to tether a Bluetooth keyboard to it in order to do some serious typing – and the keyboard (on the Samsung model, anyway) is actually rather good – something that is very important to someone like me who writes around 6,000 words a week online, over half of that on the blog). 6) They are cheap – you can get some models for under two hundred quid, brand new on Amazon and elsewhere. Chromebooks won’t replace the full computer, but they are great as a second machine on which to surf the web, catch up on Emails and generally keep up with the online world.

The ending video this week is a short rant by the Australian stand up comedian Steve Hughes; he's venting his spleen regarding the X-Factor. I have to admit I concur with his views 100%. Watch and leave a comment below.

The Royal Alfred.

It is nice to be able to report some positive and encouraging news about Erith for once. As I have written in the past, I am opposed to companies and property developers selling off profitable, viable community pubs to be converted into housing, and I still strongly of this view. What I am not against is developers buying up "no hope" pubs that are laying semi derelict and converting them into new housing. I have found out in the last few days that the former Royal Alfred pub, which has stood empty and apparently unloved in Manor Road, since it closed its' doors back in 2008 is shortly about to get a much needed makeover and major refurbishment. The downstairs bar area will be converted into a class A1 shop, the the upper floors will be converted into accommodation in the form of five one bedroomed apartments and two double bedroomed apartments. As you can see both above and below, the transformation of the pub from what it is now, to what the architect intends is pretty dramatic and impressive. The building has been boarded up and unused since it closed, and I reckon with some large injection of money and construction skill, it could be turned into a landmark building for the East side of Erith. Click on the photo above, or the two drawings below for a larger version. 

Normally the Maggot Sandwich gets written over the course of the preceding week; little bits get done in my lunch break at work, or in the evenings when I am at home. Back when I started the blog in 2006, I used to sit down on a Sunday afternoon and write the whole thing in one sitting. In those days it was much shorter and far less elaborate. This week I am almost back to the old method of compiling the update, as Christmas week has been very busy, and I have struggled very hard to find the time to sit down and bash out some prose. My apologies if as a result this weeks' update is not up to the normal standard; it has been a bit of a "rush job".

I had a conversation on Friday afternoon with one of the assistant managers in Morrison's in Erith; I was very surprised to discover that their most popular food item sold in the period between Christmas and the New Year is sliced bread and bread rolls. It was explained to me that many people have leftover turkey, beef and gammon from their Christmas meal, and rather than eat anything very elaborate, they buy bread in order to turn the leftovers into sandwiches. I suppose that it makes sense, though it had never occurred to me before. I do know that the bakery in Northumberland Heath has been working overtime - it bakes bread under contract for a number of retailers, including Marks and Spencer, so maybe the Christmas / New Year sandwich tradition is something common to the wider country, and not just the local area.

I am trying to discover more about a very colourful and larger than life character who lived in Erith during Victorian times; his name was Robert Austen, but he was more popularly known as "Robert the Devil" - he was an exhibitionist and showman, and I understand he had a strong man act that sometimes toured around North Kent and beyond. He had a couple of party tricks. He often drank in the pubs on Erith river front, and was notorious for betting other drinkers a pint of ale if he could swim across the River Thames from Erith to Coldharbour Point in Havering, Essex and back - which he invariably did. As I have previously written, the currents and undertow in and around Anchor Bay make this one of the most lethal stretches of the Thames for swimmers, and why most people who enter the river end up getting fished out by the Police or RNLI as corpses. It would appear that Robert Austen was a very strong and confident swimmer who could repeatedly challenge this. On top of swimming the river, Austen would permit a man to break a granite kerbstone over his chest with a sledge hammer - for the price of a gallon of beer! More information if you have it please. 

Following my open question last week as to when the photograph of the trolley bus was taken outside of the Wheatley Hotel, on what is now the site of the hideous fish sculpture, I have had the following message from Richard Spink, who has strong memories of the 698 trolley bus service:- "The 698 trolley bus was withdrawn in 1959. It used to run from Woolwich along Plumstead High Street and down to Abbey Wood Village then on to Erith, North Heath and Bexleyheath. I remember catching it from the bus stop at the bottom of Wickham Lane when my parents were visiting Mum's Sister in Gravesend. We would get the train from Abbey Wood. I seem to remember it only going as far as Abbey Wood where it would turn round and come back to Woolwich again. Perhaps by then, the route to Bexleyheath had already been closed. The route was eventually replaced by the 229 bus service. We also had the 696 trolley bus which ran from Woolwich all the way to Dartford and was supposed to be the longest in the country. This was replaced by the No.96 bus. I believe your picture must date from the later half of the 1950's going by the clothes worn by the people at the crossing. Also, the tram lines have been removed which must have happened after the war. The ones in Woolwich Market Square were still there in the 1980's along with the original cobbled road surface. Shame it never had a preservation order. While looking for information on this, I came across this website. Looking at the pictures on the corner of Wickham Lane really brought back some memories as I lived in Wickham Lane as a child and remember the shops in the background of the pictures. I remember the trolley bus as well. The Off Licence on the corner of Camrose Street was where I used to go and try and buy bottles of cider aged about 16 and try and convince the shopkeeper I was older. The trouble was that he had known me from a small child (my Dad used to take me in there when he was buying his cigarettes) and knew exactly how old I was." Thanks Richard - I am sure many readers will find your recollections fascinating. Local historic transport links continue below.

Local resident Dana Whiffen wrote the following piece on the restoration of a number of classic GS buses from the early 1950's, which is being carried out at the Brooklands Motor Museum; the buses have a local link which will be come clear shortly. "In 1952 London Transport ordered 84 of these wonderful 26 seater single decker buses (see the photo above - click for a larger view) from GUY to be run on London Transport Country routes. The distinctive front with the 'Indian Head' motor buses started coming into service in October 1953 with the rest of the order being completed by January the following year. Remarkably today there are a total 30 of these buses preserved although only 12 of these are actually on the road, with three of these standing together at Brooklands for this anniversary celebration in October 2013. This bus ran in various rural counties around London including Kent where they ran on routes from Northfleet Garage between 1954-1969 covering routes towards Gravesend and Dartford, from 1953-1966 from Dunton Green Garage covering routes for Orpington, Westerham and Sevenoaks, from Swanley Garage between 1955-1959 covering Farningham, from Chelsham Garage between 1953-1962 covering routes for Edenbridge, Oxted and Tatsfield. The link to Erith was that GS50 was based at AbbeyWood Bus Garage  for severeral years after being removed from normal service in the late sixties; this bus was often seen around the area taking drivers to skid training at the Chiswick driver education centre, often picking up staff from Bexleyheath, Sidcup and Plumstead garages".

The weather over the last couple of weeks has been notoriously atrocious. Much has already been written about the subject, and I don't want to repeat what has already been said. One thing that it has highlighted is something I have mentioned in the past, but I feel that needs to be restated. People who put their feet on the seats on public transport is something that winds me up no end; not only is it antisocial, but it is extremely unhygienic. Even if the culprit has not directly stood in a dog turd, the harmful bacteria from excrement is washed all over every pavement when it rains and everybody gets fecal bacteria on their footwear, whether they know it or not. It is only after a period of bright sunshine that the Ultra Violet light from the sun kills the micro organisms, but for much of the time in winter the footpaths and streets of Britain are literally awash with harmful bacteria, mainly from dog droppings. When someone puts their feet onto a bus or train seat, they transfer some of this bacteria onto the fabric of the seat, where it can live quite happily for several days. In that time, multiple bottoms will have sat on the invisible bacteria colony, transferring some of them for another ride on an unwitting hosts' clothes. The person has only to touch the invisibly infected area to pass harmful bugs onto their hands, and from there, virtually anywhere. This is one of the main reasons that when you visit a hospital or nursing care home, you are strongly encouraged to use antibacterial hand gel, which is normally supplied in a dispenser by the entrance. A good wash with soap and hot water will do pretty much the same, if like me you are sensitive to the gel. I have been told by a couple of medical professionals that about a third of infections blamed on MRSA in hospitals and nursing homes are actually caused by canine fecal bacteria transferred from visitors' clothing. Think on this next time you see someone putting their feet on a seat. 

South Eastern Trains have run a shambolic service over the holiday period; some of it was their fault, some not. The terrible high winds and deluge of rain has certainly not helped matters. On Friday, a normal working day for many people, South Eastern initially said that no trains would be running until around midday. As lunchtime approached, this was changed to state that it would be unlikely that trains would be running at all, due to "Major disruption". The problems would appear to be directly related to the way that the Dartford to London Bridge, Cannon Street and Charing Cross via Greenwich railway line was originally created; for much of its' length it runs through a series of cuttings of varying depths. These cuttings are lined by trees and bushes, which just out of the steep earthen banks. As soon as any great storm happens, mud gets washed from the banks, weakening the tree and bush roots' hold in the ground. Combining this with the accompanying extremely high wind speeds, and the railway tracks get blocked by fallen trees and uprooted bushes. I know that there have been some half - hearted attempts to permanently remove the foliage alongside the track in the past, but this has not really worked. The trouble is that South Eastern Trains blame Railtrack, who run and operate the infrastructure. Nobody wants to take responsibility for anything - they just point fingers at each other. This is one instance when an overall umbrella organisation that would be responsible for the railway from end to end would be preferable. It's not going to happen, as there are too many vested interests - and too many fingers in the pie. The commuter comes very much at the bottom of the list of priorities - as in South East London / North Kent there is no alternative to using the train to get into London on a daily basis.  Commuters cannot "vote with their feet" as is the case in some other parts of the country - and the railway companies know it. 

I came across the advert above in an old map of Erith that I have had for absolutely ages. It was old when I was given it. Hedley Mitchell was the largest and by far the most important shop in the old Victorian Erith town centre. It was the towns' department store, and as large and grand as Hides in Bexleyheath. Many older local residents recall Hedley Mitchell with great affection. The store had a very high reputation for formal service. It was the first building to be demolished when work began to create the new (and subsequently much hated) brutalist concrete shopping centre in 1966. In fact the first act of demolition was carried out by the then Deputy Mayor, Councillor Mrs M Barron, ceremoniously smashed the window of Hedley Mitchell's store to mark the commencement of the demolition of Erith Town Centre to make way for redevelopment. As a consequence, all the existing Victorian buildings were lost. With hindsight, this was a terrible mistake - the existing town centre should have been sympathetically restored. I gather that this was considered, but would have cost too much money; instead they built a relatively cheap but undeniably ugly replacement out of bare concrete. I don't know anyone who had a good word to say about it. Consequently a lot of businesses upped sticks and moved to Bexleyheath or Northumberland Heath, and it is only now, nearly fifty years later that much of the social and economic damage is being put right. The current Erith Riverside Shopping Centre is actually a very clever redesign of the much hated sixties structure, rather than a ground up new build, but it has been done with taste and sensitivity - something entirely missing in the original, which was a smelly and soulless concrete monstrosity, detested by all.

I feel that 2014 will see the end of BlackBerry; the phone handset maker has lost its' way and is now haemorrhaging cash in an unprecedented way. This week the company announced losses that in practical terms amount to $4.4 billion. There is no way that they can keep this up for very long. The basic problem is that RIM (Research In Motion) - the old name for BlackBerry came up with a very clever idea for a very secure, encrypted smart phone infrastructure, which was ideal for business. This was all well and good a few years ago, but the company has sat on its' laurels, and not really gone anywhere since. Nowadays modern smart phones are powerful enough to do in software what that BlackBerry does in dedicated hardware, and the whole BlackBerry advantage has now gone. They have nowhere technologically left to go, and have not brought in any innovation. They will either go under, or be bought out by a competitor.

2014 will mark the sad 100th anniversary if the start of the First World War. Erith had a major contribution to this pointless and wasteful conflict; much of the ammunition and small arms used by the allies were manufactured in Erith and Crayford at the factories of Vickers. It is unfortunate to say that the area profited greatly from the Great War; it is debated that the relatively short lived tram system would have shut down earlier, had it not been for the influx of trade due to the large number of workers using it to travel to and from the arms factories. This week, English Heritage announced that they had finally identified a German WW1 era submarine that has been laid up on the Kentish coast for almost a century. Marine archaeologists have conducted research into the wreck of the submarine, which is located on a small creek off the River Medway - a place called Humble Bee Creek, near to the Isle of Grain. It is visible at low tide, and it is possible to visit, though one would need to use caution, as well as a good pair of wellies! The boat (only submarines are referred to as boats, all other navy vessels are ships) was originally called UB-122, and was commanded by Oberleutnant zue see Alexander Magnus, and was formally surrendered at the end of WW1, where it was towed by the Royal Navy to Halling in Kent, where the submarines' diesel engines were removed and installed in a local cement works. The rest of the vessel was then towed further downriver, towards a yard where it was to be further broken up. During the towing process, the lines connecting the submarine to the tug parted, and the submarine went adrift, eventually coming to rest at the aforementioned Humble Bee Creek, where it remains to this day. The submarine was one of the most advanced of its' day - a type UBIII coastal patrol vessel which was launched in February 1918 from a shipyard in Bremen. It carried a crew of 34 sailors and a total of ten torpedoes, and had a cruising range of just under nine thousand miles. Nowadays it is just a rusting skeleton, but part of the regions' maritime heritage.

The ending video this week is something special; it is a web only mini episode of "Sherlock". It is a prequel to the start of series three, which begins on New Year's Day. It shows what Sherlock was up to in the two years between him faking his death and then re - appearing in London. When you watch it, please don't let the fact that Germany does not use the jury system for deciding court cases put you off - as the foreman says, the case was held under exceptional circumstances. It provides a fascinating preview for the new series, which promises to have huge viewing figures. See what you think below, and feel free to leave a comment, or Email me directly to hugh.neal@gmail.com.