Mi Amigo.

Not only did the garden fence at Pewty Acres suffer in the recent storms. but local business The Royal Alfred Premier Store in Manor Road lost some roof tiles and some lead flashing was damaged by the gales. The former pub, on the corner of Appold Street is in a very exposed position, close to the River Thames, and thus quite vulnerable to wind damage. The scaffolding was erected to make access to the roof possible for the workers who carried out the repairs, which apparently only took  a day to complete. The former Royal Alfred pub was converted into a large Premier convenience store with luxury apartments above in 2017. You can see my photos of the interior of the apartments by clicking here. Comments to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The photo above (click on it for a larger view) was taken a few weeks ago at The Bookstore Cafe in Walnut Tree Road, Erith. It was the first Jazz Lunch to be held, and as you can see there was an excellent turnout. Unfortunately all events at The Old Library are on hold, as is now the case for a great many locations around the UK at present. The Bookstore Cafe is currently not open to visitors, but you can order freshly cooked food to be delivered to your home, as the kitchen is open and working for deliveries only.  The Bookstore cafe is now available on Deliveroo:- The Bookstore Cafe - Opens at 09:00 - £0.99 delivery - £5.00 minimum - The Old Library, Walnut Tree Rd, Erith, London, DA8 1RS. All food is made with fresh ingredients, working with and supporting local producers. All profits generated by The Bookstore Cafe go towards maintaining The Old Library and The Exchange community programme.

Fake news is often used to promote fears. These fears are then used as a means of obtaining access to personal information and money. Fake news and scams have the same root. Before you believe what you are reading and whether you will make a decision on what you have read, you need to consider a number of factors. This especially true in the present situation, with many so called "experts" on the Coronavirus situation holding forth on social media. For example, this week hoax social media messages have spread fears that Coronavirus is being spread at petrol pumps. Twitter posts and Whatsapp messages supposedly from NHS nurses have been shared warning people to wear gloves to prevent "rapid spreading". Public Health England have dispelled the notion that petrol pumps specifically are a worry. A spokesperson said: "Petrol pumps are no worse than other surfaces, although we do recommend people use gloves and wash their hands after using them." Many fake news spreaders have a personal agenda to promote. Sometimes interesting or gratifying or controversial facts, posts and memes are complete fabrications. The fact that tens of thousands of people have ‘Liked’ an article doesn’t prove that it’s true. (Though it doesn’t prove that it isn’t, either). The fact that one or more of your very intelligent and well-informed friends posted it isn’t conclusive proof that it’s accurate, either. Sometimes, very bright people fall for bogus messages because they want to believe them: for instance, because they fit with their political views, or offer some exciting gift, or refer to some threat that they don’t have the technical knowledge to recognise as improbable. Intelligence and omniscience are not synonyms. Sometimes, people just don’t care: they like the story the message tells too much to check it for factual accuracy.  The late scientist and philosopher Professor Carl Sagan produced what he called his “baloney detection kit” – a series of rules to employ when encountering any potential guile or manipulation. “1. Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the “facts.” 2. Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view. 3. Arguments from authority carry little weight — “authorities” have made mistakes in the past. They will do so again in the future. Perhaps a better way to say it is that in science there are no authorities; at most, there are experts. 4. Spin more than one hypothesis. If there’s something to be explained, think of all the different ways in which it could be explained. Then think of tests by which you might systematically disprove each of the alternatives. What survives, the hypothesis that resists disproof in this Darwinian selection among “multiple working hypotheses,” has a much better chance of being the right answer than if you had simply run with the first idea that caught your fancy. 5. Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it’s yours. It’s only a way station in the pursuit of knowledge. Ask yourself why you like the idea. Compare it fairly with the alternatives. See if you can find reasons for rejecting it. If you don’t, others will. 6. Quantify. If whatever it is you’re explaining has some measure, some numerical quantity attached to it, you’ll be much better able to discriminate among competing hypotheses. What is vague and qualitative is open to many explanations. Of course there are truths to be sought in the many qualitative issues we are obliged to confront, but finding them is more challenging. 7. If there’s a chain of argument, every link in the chain must work (including the premise) — not just most of them. 8. Occam’s Razor. This convenient rule-of-thumb urges us when faced with two hypotheses that explain the data equally well to choose the simpler. 9. Always ask whether the hypothesis can be, at least in principle, falsified. Propositions that are untestable, unfalsifiable are not worth much. Consider the grand idea that our Universe and everything in it is just an elementary particle — an electron, say — in a much bigger Cosmos. But if we can never acquire information from outside our Universe, is not the idea incapable of disproof? You must be able to check assertions out. Inveterate sceptics must be given the chance to follow your reasoning, to duplicate your experiments and see if they get the same result. Certainly some very thought provoking principles. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

This week marks the fortieth anniversary of an event that has largely been forgotten, but that had a major impact on radio broadcasting in the UK and Europe at the time. It is forty years since the Radio Caroline ship, the Mi Amigo sank in a North Sea storm. The rescue of the crew by the RNLI was so hazardous that the coxswain of the lifeboat was awarded the RNLI's highest honour. The story of the sinking, and the subsequent heroic rescue was told by one of those involved - the DJ Stevie Gordon, who related his memories to The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame. Stevie writes:- "During my time on board Radio Caroline, we worked around the clock in shifts. But little did I realise what was in store for me that March afternoon in 1980 as I headed for my cabin and my usual siesta. “Every man has his 15 minutes of fame” and mine were soon to begin. “You'd better get up, Stevie. We're off the anchor”. Tom Anderson didn't seem unduly worried and indeed our ship, the Mi Amigo, had lost its anchor before and been adrift on several occasions. Not when I was on board though! I was up in a flash and hurried upstairs to find out what was happening. There was a heavy sea but we were used to that and the radio station was broadcasting normally. However my first glance outside showed me that we were not at our usual location. There should have been seven or eight crew on board. The make-up tended to be three or four English DJs, two Dutchmen who read the news and presented a live breakfast show for the daytime service aimed at Holland and Belgium, a transmitter engineer, a cook and occasionally a sailor. However, due to a mix up, although all those who were due shore leave had been taken off, there was only one replacement. Hans Verlaan was on his first tour of duty and had only arrived a few hours earlier. That left just us three Brits who between us knew the ship inside out, and the ship's canary. Looking back, I can see that, with the usual complement, lives could very easily have been lost but at that early stage none of us had any idea how the affair would end. “We'd better get the emergency anchor down!” Tom Anderson again and, yes, he knew how to do it. He had been on board the previous time it was needed. There seemed to be no immediate danger so I told Tom I would, as a courtesy, notify the coastguard but not until the ship was once again at anchor. He made his way forward to the bows and my other English colleague, Nick Richards, went downstairs to see if there was any water in the bilges. There wasn't, but that was the only good news! Tom Anderson was in trouble. The reserve chain was not wound around a drum or stored in a locker but lay in an untidy heap in the forepeak. The anchor itself was mounted above the chain on a slide and secured in place by rope binding. Using a large knife Tom had slashed through the ropes but, instead of sliding into the sea, the anchor sat stubbornly fast on the slide. Watching from the bridge, that was the first time I became aware that this time things might not go as smoothly as before. I could see Tom struggling to get the anchor free and I knew just how easily he could get swept overboard with it. The weather was steadily deteriorating but, just for a moment, there seemed to be a chance. Slowly at first, the reserve anchor was beginning to move. Tom had time to get clear. There was a rush of the chain, the anchor went down and the ship was no longer adrift. Time to notify HM Coastguard. My call was immediately answered and, although at first the fact that we had moved was not known, our new position over a sandbank close to a busy shipping lane was soon confirmed. Then an unexpected question! “We've got a lifeboat out” the coastguard told me. “Do you want to come off?” Surprised, I gave him an assurance that all was well. The ship was back on anchor, I reported, and there was no need for anybody to leave. That information was accepted but I was again told that there was a lifeboat standing by in the area. The six hours since I had been called from my bunk had disappeared. The time was now 9pm, low water, and the Mi Amigo sat ever so gently down on the seabed. For the first time in nearly three days the ship was lying quietly, there was still no water in the bilges, and there was time for a cup of tea. We could now see the lifeboat about a mile away at the edge of of the sandbank and, although we didn't yet have any idea how quickly our situation would change, we would soon be very grateful that it was there. The tide turned, the sea began to rise and once again there was movement in the ship. But what on earth was that awful banging? As the ship rose and fell with the tide, it was banging loudly on something which caused a series of shudders right through the vessel. (Probably what was left of the first chain was trapped between the hull and the seabed.) “There's water in the bilges. We'll need the pump running”. Nick Richards was as confident with the engine room as Tom had been with the anchor. Well, let's hope everything goes alright this time, as well. But the water continued to force its way in to the bottom of the ship. Nick had three very fast pumps running and the water was soon over the bilge plates, which meant the ship had taken in about two feet of water stem to stern. Watching from my station on the bridge I saw Nick making his way along the deck towards the engine room door suddenly waist deep in a breaking wave. I knew then that we would have to abandon ship. Neither of my English colleagues disagreed with my decision but, before we left, the radio station had to be closed down. None of us thought that the ship might be lost forever. We were more concerned about what could happen to the radio equipment if it got wet. Especially if it was still turned on! We were leaving because that was the sensible thing to do. Tom and I made our way to the studio, and Nick went to the transmitter hold to switch off there. We left our new Dutchman in the mess room out of his depth in every way. In a brief final message I told our listeners what had happened and why we were leaving the ship “... hoping that the pumps can take it” added Tom. And my final words: “from all of us for the moment, goodbye and God bless.“And then the four of us were upstairs at the door opening out onto the deck. The time to go had arrived. However there seemed to be no chance of the lifeboat coming alongside. The sea was much too rough. As the Mi Amigo rose on a wave, the lifeboat seemed to disappear in an adjacent trough, and then vice versa. Every time he tried to approach us only the extraordinary skill of the coxswain prevented his lifeboat from smashing into the Mi Amigo. A first attempt to leave from the stern was quickly found to be impossible. If we were to get off, it had to the usual way over the side! Coxswain Charlie Bowry brought his lifeboat up as close as he dared. For a brief moment the two ships stood quietly side by side and Tom and I bundled Hans Verlaan into the arms of the waiting rescuers. After his shaky start in the business, Ton Lathouwers (these days he prefers his given name) went on to become president of Sky Radio and a billionaire! However moments after we had passed him over to the lifeboat the raging sea had pushed the two ships one hundred yards apart. Nobody else was getting off just yet. We looked at each other and then, with a guilty start, Nick asked “What about Wilson?” The ship's canary was named after an earlier Prime Minister and we couldn't just leave him to his fate. Nick flew back into the mess room to get him. Then, once again, the lifeboat managed to close in but this time Wilson in his cage was first across followed immediately afterwards by Nick Richards. That left Tom and myself, and the weather was still getting worse. Quite a few minutes passed before the lifeboat managed to fight its way in and then there it was and it looked good! We couldn't both go. In case of an accident, one of us had to remain behind. Everything happened very quickly! The lifeboat was coming alongside. Tom and I turned to look at each other. “Go on then!” I told him and helped him on his way. No heroics on my part. It just seemed the thing to do. After all, I was the senior announcer even if he had worked for Caroline longer than I. But now I was alone. Too late to wonder if I had done the right thing. I was standing on the top of the deck rail, hanging on for dear life to a stay attached to the broadcasting mast. And there I remained until finally the lifeboat managed one last time to struggle alongside. Charlie Bowry had of course been making numerous attempts, but the storm was too severe and kept pushing him away. But, some twenty minutes after Tom had been snatched to safety, there they were again. Still grasping the stay, I reached out my other arm. Strong hands clamped around it like a vice. I was safe, and my few minutes of fame generated by the attention of the world's press and other media were about to begin". Footnote: daylight revealed that the Mi Amigo had sunk on the edge of a sandbank but part of the antenna was still above water. RNLI Coxswain Charlie Bowry received the RNLI's highest award for bravery for the rescue. Many at the time thought that this was the end for Radio Caroline, but this proved to be very far from the truth. The next chapter in Caroline's history was about to begin.

Radio Caroline returned to the air in 1983 with a huge and very impressive ship - the former side trawler and ice breaker the Ross Revenge, which between 1983 and the hurricane of 1987 boasted a three hundred foot tall antenna mast, which was the highest free floating marine structure in the World. The Ross Revenge remained at sea until November 1991.  My time on board was towards the end of the station's time based at sea. You can see a photo of a very young me above - click on the photo for a larger view. Any semi clandestine organisation tends to attract eccentric characters, and Caroline was no different. In the greater scheme of things, my involvement with Radio Caroline was relatively brief – some people from the time, such as station manager Peter Moore are still hard at it today. My own time with Radio Caroline was between 1988 and 1992; You can see a handful of photos by clicking here. I have a couple of hundred others that are not yet digitised. Initially I was involved with a group of friends who helped run the shore side of the organisation, and arranged for secret supply deliveries to be made covertly to the Radio Caroline ship, the Ross Revenge, which was anchored fifteen miles off the Kent Coast, opposite the North Foreland in an area of sea called the South Falls Head. I made several secret supply runs on a variety of vessels – invariably these would set out from places such as Strood Pier or Ramsgate Harbour at the dead of night, laden down with fresh drinking water, food, technical supplies, new records, letters from listeners and most importantly, magazines and newspapers for the crew to read. At the time I was working as a trainee quantity surveyor for a very prestigious London company. More and more of my time was being taken up with Radio Caroline activities, to the point where I realised that I was going to have to give up the day job – which was not such a big step, as I was struggling with my surveying exams, and had already realised that life on a building site was not for me. I jacked in the job, and six weeks later I found myself on board the Ross Revenge. I had a dual role. In the daytime I was to project manage the complete repainting of the ship from stem to stern (I had encountered a very wealthy Radio Caroline fan who owned a large commercial painting and decorating business West of London, who was happy to supply the organisation with roughly £10,000 worth of high quality marine paint), then at night I hosted a radio show featuring album tracks and various quirky news items. I was fortunate that this all happened in the long and glorious summer of 1990 – the weather was excellent, sea conditions for the most part were calm, and life was good. I have a host of stories from my time with the station – many of which sound decidedly far- fetched, though in those cases I have photos from the period for proof! Several people have suggested that I write a book about my experiences, and maybe sometime I will. To be honest, quite a few other Radio Caroline staff have written books over the years, and I wonder whether I would actually contribute anything worthwhile to the genre. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at sea on the Ross Revenge, and still keep in contact with my old boss Peter Moore from time to time (being honest, working for Radio Caroline is a bit like working for the Mafia – you never really leave). Nowadays, though the station has retained and restored the historic Ross Revenge, it broadcasts mainly online from land based studios located in Strood High Street. Coincidentally, there was a story published this week in The Sun about Radio Caroline and organised trips to visit the Ross Revenge, which you can read here.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "We are pleased to report there has been no burglaries  on the ward over the past week. There has also been no reports of vehicle crime which is really good news. Barnehurst Officers assisted with a Licensing Operation on Barnehurst Ward. The operation was aimed at identifying drug dealers and users of cocaine. Drug testing kits and drug dogs were used to identify potential offenders who were searched accordingly. Arrests were made for possession of drugs. A number of residents from Holmsdale Grove received smart water kits over the weekend. Holmsdale Grove residents were offered the smart water due to the alley ways that run round the rear of the property's. In the past burglars have used these alleys to gain entry to property's with less chance of being seen. Lastly we regret to inform you, due to COVID-19 all community contact sessions will be cancelled as from today". Belvedere ward:- "The office have just had an email from a resident in Belvedere to say - 'Just had two cold callers at the door claiming to be from ‘Money Saving Expert' or ‘Money Expert' to talk about bills during the virus. It's a scam trying to get people to switch energy suppliers. Don't entertain them. They clearly have nothing to do with the well known website by that name'. I also had one of these cold callers knock on my door on Tuesday afternoon and in the evening in Northumberland Heath. It is uncertain as to whether this is a scam or not, but there will always be those who try to profiteer at times like this". Bexleyheath ward:- "Tuesday 10/03/20 Theft or Purse Stolen whilst in M and S Broadway. Wednesday 11/03/20 1745 – 12/03/20 0730 Theft From Motor Vehicle Upton Road. Wednesday 11/03/20 1500 Theft of Purse Stolen whilst in Charity Shop Broadway. Thursday 12/03/20 0105 Theft from Motor Vehicle Broomfield Road. Monday 16/03/20 0825 - 0845 Theft of Phone Belvedere Road. Monday 16/03/20 1415 – 1630 Theft of items from locked locker The Gym, Broadway. Monday 16/03/20 1620 Theft of items from locked locker The Gym, Broadway. Monday 16/03/20 1445 – 1630 Theft from locked locker The Gym, Broadway. Please be careful and do not take valuable to The Gym, Bexleyheath Broadway, as there has been a spate of thefts from the locked lockers". Crayford ward:-"There was an attempted burglary in Marden Crescent on Tuesday 10th March at approx. 9.15, the victim was aware as they received a CCTV alert on their mobile phone. The rear door had tool marks on but entry was not gained. A pedal cycle left outside and unlocked at flats to the rear of Crayford High Street was stolen between 20.00 on Thursday 12th March and 09.00 on Friday 13th March. A catalytic converter was stolen off a Honda whilst parked at Tanners Close between 18.30 on Thursday 12th March and 09.30 on Friday 13th March. A wing mirror was stolen off a vehicle (description not given) whilst parked in Mill Place between 22.30 on Friday 13th March and 08.15 on Saturday 14th March. Another catalytic converter stolen off a blue Honda whilst parked in Ridge Way between 18.00 on Friday 13th March and 09.00 on Saturday 14th March. The rear number plate LV69KCC was stolen off a Ford Transit whilst parked at Kennett Road on Tuesday 17th March. These are uncertain times, we will not be holding community contact sessions for the time being but please be assured that we are here if you need us. In an emergency please call 999, for non-emergency calls please call 101 or go on line at www.met.police.uk. We can be contacted on 020 8721 2584 if you would like to speak to one of the team directly, please leave a message if we don't answer and we will call back when we are next on duty. You can also contact us by email Crayford.SNT@met.police.uk" Erith ward:- "For anyone concerned we are carrying on as normal covering Erith. This will even include working from home for extra hours if needs be. There is 4 teams that work out out of Pier Road police office and we will all work together to help each other out. Just to remind you, you can report non urgent crimes online this will free up our call centre for more urgent calls. Weekly Crimes of note report - Friday 13/03/20 Theft of Motor Vehicle Park Crescent. Saturday 14/03/20 Theft of Motor Vehicle Bexley Road. Saturday 14/03/20 Theft of Motor Vehicle Sandcliff Road. We are looking to see if any of these are linked. Monday 16/03/20 Burglary St Francis Road - entry to flat via front door number items removed. Monday 16/03/20 Theft of Motor Vehicle South Road".  Northumberland Heath ward - no report received this week.

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Theft of Motor vehicle Friday 13/03 Rainbow Road, Theft of Motor vehicle Saturday 14/03. Overnight on 15-16/03 there were 3 Theft From Motor vehicles recorded all on the Frobisher Road estate including Power tools taken from a van. Burglary between 7pm and 7.15pm on Saturday 14/03 at Wessex Drive. Rear patio door left unlocked and items stolen, the suspect was disturbed by the victim. Aggravated burglary on Manor Road at 1145pm Sunday 15/03. Victim was injured in the seemingly motiveless violent incident. CID are investigating. Reassurance visits and patrols have been made by SNT officers. PC's Mark and James have had 2 positive drug stop and searches with the relevant warnings given. This week's crime prevention has been based around moped crime. In particular the garage area behind the shops in Bridge Road was checked where stolen bikes are often found. All garage areas are being checked. At this moment, we are working as normal during the coronavirus situation except all engagement activities have been cancelled for now. We will try and keep you updated during this difficult and unprecedented time of any major news. In the meantime, please keep an eye out on any vulnerable family members, friends and neighbours". Thamesmead East ward:- "Lensbury Way Wednesday 11/3/20 6:30pm – 12/3/20 5:50pm Victim states Vehicle broken into by suspect/s an untidy search of glovebox nothing reported taken. No damage to vehicle seen. St Katherine's Road Saturday 14/3/20 7pm – Sun 15/3/20 1:30pm Catalytic Converter removed by suspect/s unknown from victims vehicle Honda Accord. Criminal Damage - Harrow Manor Way Saturday 14/3/20 5:30 – 6pm Victim reports hearing a loud bang downstairs when investigated the kitchen window in the property had been smashed by suspect/s. A brick was found on the front lawn". West Heath ward:-"One attempted burglary this week in Exmouth Road. This incident took place on Wednesday March 11th between 10.30 – 15.00. The resident came home to find the barrel lock on the front door had been tampered with. Her key bent as she attempted to put in the lock. Entry to the property was not gained. Theft of number plates from a vehicle parked in Hurst Lane. This incident took place between Monday 16/03/20 15.00 – Tuesday 17/03/20 -12.00. Theft of a black Mercedes from a driveway in Dryhill Road on Wednesday 18/03/20 at 01.30 when the tracker on the victim's phone was activated. There is no further information regarding the location of the vehicle at this time. The team have made three arrests this week so far, these arrests were made as a direct result of stop and searches. The arrests were for non-payment of fines, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a knife".

The end video this week is pretty topical; it features American TV chef and expert in the science of food and cooking, Alton Brown, giving a demonstration in a very effective way to wash your hands. Comments to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Erith Pier for sale?

The popular press have been banging on for weeks regarding the heatwave we have either been enjoying, or suffering with, depending on your point of view. Personally I am glad we now have cooler conditions, as I am sure do many others. One local area that has benefitted from the warm weather and clear skies has been Erith Pier, which has seen a marked increase in visitors. This is great, as the pier has historically been somewhat under used, and really only known to Erith residents and others living nearby; it now seems to be getting some wider recognition, which can only be welcomed. I have heard rumours from a couple of sources that there may soon be some changes taking place on and around the pier. Firstly, I have heard that Morrison's supermarket (which owns Erith Pier) are looking to sell it off - and that a meeting has recently taken place between representatives of Bexley Council and Morrison's senior management at Morrison's headquarters in Bradford regarding the potential sale of the pier to a currently unknown third party. I am also led to understand that the Port of London Authority will have a say in any change of ownership, as the pier is regarded as a key asset to the River Thames, and in addition to its leisure uses, it is still employed to moor commercial river traffic on occasion. On top of this, discussions regarding the potential extension of the Thames Clipper river bus service are still ongoing after successful test voyages last Autumn. Bexley Council announced last September that:- "We would welcome a clipper type service if it offers another option for people travelling to and from the City and central London. We don’t own the pier and, while we understand it does not currently have the facilities to allow vessels to dock, we would hope they can be provided if the service is extended along the Thames. We support greater use of the river, particularly for leisure and tourism.” Sean Collins, CEO and co-founder, MBNA Thames Clippers said in a News Shopper interview that:- “Our Gravesend trial service was a complete success. Bookings completely sold out, and we have had incredibly positive feedback from passengers, many asking us when it will become a permanent extension to our current network. The purpose of the trial sailings was to provide us with the required information to enable us to evaluate the potential of such services for the future. The infrastructure and vessels required to operate such service would need to be built, as well as evaluating other potential stops for the route to support the routes viability". There are considerable barriers to setting up a MBNA ferry terminal on Erith Pier; the problems can be divided into two specific types. Firstly there are the engineering and physical challenges to enabling a ferry to dock at the pier. A free floating pontoon extension to the existing pier structure would be needed; this would project out into the deep water channel closer to the middle of the river. This would, however create problems of its own. Whilst the floating pontoon would enable ferries to dock at the the pier whatever the state of the tide was, it would also create a hazard to other shipping that uses the river. Commercial vessels, including cargo ships and bulk freighters use the deep water channel, and if a jetty was protruding into the channel, this might create a hazard to navigation, especially at night and at times of reduced visibility. There are several ways to manage this, the most obvious one being to make the floating jetty movable - to swing it out into the deep water channel only when a ferry was approaching the pier. Unfortunately this would add complexity, and therefore cost to the design, and for safety reasons would almost certainly require a supervising operator to be located on site. The jetty, whether movable or fixed, would require hazard warning lights, a fog horn, and a radar reflector. The pier itself would also require some shelters for waiting commuters to occupy in inclement weather - the wind coming off the Thames at Erith in winter can be absolutely bitter, not to mention the freezing rain. Who would foot the bill for all of the alterations and upgrades is uncertain - at this point the results of the discussions between Bexley Council and Morrison's supermarket have not been released, so at present it is only open to conjecture. This discussion really represents the second challenge to the expansion of the functionality of Erith Pier - what will there is at both council and supermarket level to make substantial changes to how the pier is operated. In the past there has been incredible resistance to change. I know from personal experience that dealing with these organisations, when any mention of Erith Pier is made, it tends to provoke the response of "The answer is no, now what is the question?" Long term readers may recall that I had a small involvement some years ago with an abortive project to bring the Ross Revenge - the Radio Caroline ship to Erith Pier to open it as a public attraction for the Summer season. The objections and bureaucratic barriers that were put up to block the temporary project were simply staggering, and even the involvement of Teresa Pearce, MP for Erith and Thamesmead was not enough to get the project the green light, and it ended up being abandoned. On a more positive note, I am also aware that a number of cultural and social events are being planned around Erith Pier for the Autumn, following on from the hugely successful Erith Lighthouse pop - up restaurant project from last year. More on these undertakings in the weeks to come.

One somewhat surprising issue which has been brought to my attention this week by an eagle eyed reader is that Bexley Council are advertising that they have trees for sponsorship. Really. Their announcement reads:- "The London Borough of Bexley now provides the opportunity for individuals, families, community groups and businesses to sponsor the planting of new tree parks and some highway locations within the borough. Planting a tree can leave a long-term legacy, and trees not only look beautiful and support wildlife but help clean the air, reduce extreme temperatures and reduce stormwater runoff. If you have either a location in mind or a particular tree species you would like planted we can work with you to see how we can best meet your aspirations". The levels of sponsorship range from £250 per tree to £400 per tree - and no name plates, dedication notes or burial of cremation ashes beneath the sponsored tree are permitted. You can see the full terms and conditions by clicking here. Personally I find this somewhat ironic - after all, Bexley Council has been spending money paying contractors to cut down trees all around the borough for the last few months - and now it is expecting local residents to pick up the bill to replace them? Bearing in mind the council have already got our council tax money - which amongst many other things is supposed to cover tree planting and maintaining the natural environment - in essence they are asking the public to pay twice for something. Bare faced cheek in my opinion. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Erith is somewhat unusual in that it is a town that still has an old – style “cottage hospital”. Nowadays the hospital is mainly used for blood tests and X-rays, and an excellent urgent care centre which has a very good reputation. Back in the 1980’s there was a small surgical unit in the hospital where routine type procedures were carried out. There were two wards accommodating a maximum of thirty one in – patients in 1986. Nowadays the most common reason to visit the hospital is to have an X-ray, blood test, or receive treatment for a minor injury. The X-ray department is located in a rather unusual out building. You can see a photo of the building above – click for a larger view. The bunker was built in 1938 by the then Erith Borough Council as part of the Emergency Medical Service introduced by the Ministry of Health to deal with the anticipated large-scale casualties from enemy bombing during the Second World War. The provision was mainly hut based accommodation, and although another five of these concrete structures were planned on the site, no others are known to survive. The only other underground hospitals known are the one at Dover Castle built by the military as a Field Dressing Station as part of a combined HQ accommodation and the underground hospital at Jersey built by the Germans with forced labour for their defence from the allies. Neither of these examples are comparable with this structure at Erith. The bunker was converted from an emergency field hospital into an X-ray department in 1950. The bunker structure was granted Grade II listed status in 2003, due to its history and uniqueness. It certainly still has a war – time atmosphere; on the one occasion I had to visit the bunker, I half expected a brace of Hawker Hurricanes to fly overhead! Recently, reports have emerged that Erith Hospital is in serious need of a review, following the ambitious growth plans published by Bexley Council. Last week, Director of adult social care Stuart Rowbotham gave Bexley councillors an update on local health services, highlighting the importance of Erith Hospital. He said in an interview published in the News Shopper that:- “The services currently provided there are both very valued by residents, but badly in need of review. We have radiology from a WW2 bunker – the hardware is in bad need of replacing. It’s hard to recruit and retain radiologists, and if that goes you can’t run an urgent care centre there. There’s a domino effect there – the urgent care service there is hugely popular but used for the wrong things. It can’t continue from what is an inappropriate clinical site. That hospital, at some point in the future, will need to be reconfigured. We will need to work with the CCG as it distributes primary care and general practice We, like many others, operate in a highly challenged hospital system. A particular concern is Greenwich and Lewisham trust, and of course Kings which has an infamous overspend situation. This winter just gone was one of the most difficult on record, we had significant breaches of A and E waiting times of almost all hospitals. It was a harsh winter in terms of the weather. Planning starts now for Winter 2018/19. These pressures flow through into social care and that brings a cost pressure – but we need these hospitals to work best because they serve our residents.” What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Have you ever put some key search words into a search engine such as Google or Bing, and got back some really unexpected results? For example, searching for “bicycle safety” and getting results from payday loan websites. If you have, this is down to a criminal activity called search engine poisoning. Search engine poisoning attacks are designed to skew results so that dodgy sites - anything from malware infected websites to payday loan sites - appear prominently in the index of sites related to popular search terms. In many cases the tactic is so successful that malware sites appear in the first page of results for popular search terms, in sometimes much higher than legitimate websites. More recently, miscreants have begun trying to manipulate image search results. The murky world of high interest payday loan sharks is to blame in many cases. The lenders always require details of potential new customers – what they refer to as “leads” and they are prepared to pay substantial amounts of money to grab as many leads as they can. One way that they do this is by hiring “lead generators” – dodgy, semi legal outfits that have been involved in hacking innocent, completely unconnected websites to redirect to payday loan websites and similar. The other side of this, is if you were actually searching for, as previously mentioned, a bicycle safety site, your search would result in your enquiry being redirected to a dodgy loan website – and your details potentially being siphoned off your web browser for the lead generating company to sell on to the highest bidder. All search engines suffer poisoning to some degree or other; web analytics from security company Sophos indicate that currently Microsoft’s Bing is the worst affected – which is surprising as it is relatively small in comparison to the elephant in the corner – Google. It would appear that whilst Google does suffer from search poisoning, their security is tighter, and less gets through. You have been warned. 

With the current spate of hot weather, thankfully which appears to have abated for the time being, the authorities have been very keen to ensure the everyone carries a bottle of water when out and about; I understand the thoughts behind this - dehydration can become a serious matter when temperatures exceed thirty degrees Celsius. One aspect that seems to have been overlooked, however is that of what I term as "wee mileage". Wee mileage is a concept I developed back in November 2009; I expounded it at the time, but perhaps it deserves a revisit. It encompasses irregular and unreliable public transport, the woeful lack of public toilets in this country nowadays, and the propensity which many have for going out for a quiet pint on the odd occasion. The aforementioned factors create an artificial boundary as to how far one can travel from home, if intending to indulge in a tipple whilst out and about. Once you have left the hostelry or beer festival at the end of the evening, there is a finite amount of time available for travelling before one will be compelled to pump ones' bilges. Obviously this will vary between individuals and their personal bladder capacity / ability to hold on, the amount of liquid they have imbibed, and the ambient air temperature.  I am presupposing that one does not cheat and avail oneself of a convenient bush or dark alley. Wee mileages seem to be higher when employing a cab, mainly due to the fact one can take a last minute leak before starting the journey, and the cab will take you door to door with no waiting around at a chilly bus stop or draughty railway platform with the bladder clock ticking. This is the principal reason that I have never attended the CAMRA Great British Beer Festival at Olympia (this year the event takes place between the 7th and the 11th of August). The exhibition hall is admirably equipped with public conveniences, but once you leave the venue and head back to civilisation from West London the trouble starts. One would have to navigate the tube back to Charing Cross Station (it is possible to make a loo visit there - they used to have the temerity to charge a fee, but now I understand that they are now free to use). After this it is fifty minutes overland by train to Erith Station, in a train that has a loo - but that is almost always locked and out of use to stop vandalism. Just too much to endure - and thus far too high a wee mileage for me to even consider. A similar restriction occurs when taking bottles of water whilst out and about in hot weather - people guzzle water, then find that there are few if any loos around. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Yet again another good week for Barnehurst Ward with no burglaries to report. There has also been no reports of vehicle crime on the ward. We have however had an incident reported for Criminal damage to a property in Eversley Avenue at 01.00am on 25/07/2018 whereby a window was smashed by persons unknown. Proactive patrols have been carried out to areas of concern, Hampton House, Merewood Road and alleyways on the ward have been covered throughout the shift when the team are on duty. The team popped into all shops in Barnehurst Road and Erith Road to speak with shop managers and staff and on Saturday held a community event at the local Sainsbury whereby customers were given crime prevention advice. Purse bells and personal attack alarms were given to vulnerable residents. Crime prevention leaflets covering all aspects from scams to home security were also made available for residents to take home and read. This was our first community event at Sainsbury and it proved very successful so we plan to hold more events here in the near future. These events give residents the opportunity to raise any concerns and to get to know their local policing team. With regards Bogus traders, there are so called traders going round targeting vulnerable and elderly residents. Do not be forced to make quick decisions on the doorstep. Get a few quotes from reputable companies. Be aware of companies that only use mobile numbers. Anyone who signs a contract on the doorstep following a visit that was not arranged does have 7 days in which to cancel it by law. Cancellation rights must be provided in writing to the customer at the time the contract is agreed (usually on the doorstep). If you don't want to speak to traders, don't answer the door and if you feel intimidated by anyone, close the door and call Police. Please look out for Vulnerable neighbours who may one day end up being a target. If you wish to meet the team to discuss any issues you may have, please join us at Barnehurst Golf Club on Thursday 2nd August 2018 at 1pm". Belvedere ward:- "There was an attempt break in at 4 Beckett Close on 21/07/2018 at around 13:45. Two men knocked on the front door of a house then went round the back and tried to break in. The occupant was home and this potentially scared them off. No entry gained. If anyone saw anything suspicious in the area around this time please contact us. We have been receiving complaints about the HMO at 83 Barnefield Road. This has ranged from noise, drunken behaviour and potential drug use. Again if anyone has any information about these issues please contact us. Further to the above we have had reports of drug dealing from a HMO at 41 Coleman Road. If anyone has any information please get in touch with the team. In other news PC Mike Cuell has joined the team for the next couple of months". Bexleyheath ward:- "We want to start off by saying that we have had no reports of any residential burglaries on the ward which is always nice to hear. Below is or brief summary of what has been going on our ward: 20/07/2018 - Theft from motor vehicle. Property taken from vehicle overnight along Freta Road; 21/07/2018 – Theft of pedal cycle along the Broadway – Bike owner allowed another person to ride their bike and had stolen bike; 21/07/2018 – Unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle by Bexleyheath Methodist Church; 21/07/2018 – Criminal damage to motor vehicle along Long Lane. Vehicle badge taken and vehicle scratched; 23/07/2018 – Criminal damage to property along the Broadway, shop sign damaged. We are holding our next contact session on the 3rd August between 2pm and 3pm at Café Nero along the Broadway. Please feel free to make others aware if they wish to pop in and have a chat. Please be aware of bogus callers and people dropping cards/leaflets through the door, if you need gardening/building work doing please do seek references from neighbours or friends. The team had been conducting targeted patrols in relation to the schools braking up for the holidays to help reduce any sort of anti-social behaviour issues. If you do want to pass on information to Police then please feel free to contact Crime stoppers on 0800 555111". Erith ward:- "Still motor vehicle crime is high on the ward: 19th July – Theft of motor vehicle – Ashburnham Road – Motorbike stolen from outside home address; 19th July – Theft of Motor Vehicle – West street – Car stolen from behind Café; 19th July – Criminal damage to motor vehicle – Diana Court – Front windscreen screen found by police; 20th July – Robbery – Pier Road – Money and phone stolen; 20th July – Attempted burglary – Alford Road – tried to force entry; 20th July – Attempted burglary – Morrison's – Timber and tiles removed from roof to try and gain entry; 21st July – Theft of Motor vehicle – Bexley Road – Left car due to broken down – gone the next day; 21st July – Criminal damage of Motor vehicle – Salford Close – Windscreen smashed; 22nd July – Burglary – Compton place – Phone stolen; 23rd July – Theft of Motor vehicle – Christchurch Avenue – Stolen overnight; 23rd July – Theft of motor vehicle – Battle Road – Unknown method; 23rd July - Theft from motor vehicle – Parkside Lodge – Erith Road – Broken into items taken; 25th July – Theft from motor vehicle – Christchurch Road – items taken; 25th July – Theft from motor vehicle - Park Crescent – Items taken; 25th July – Theft from motor vehicle – Chandlers drive – item taken; 25th July – Attempted burglary – Salford Road – Garage broken into – tools taken. This seems a lot of crime this week – but the SNT are working hard to combat issue within the ward. Pro-active patrols by whole team being done down at West Street due to residents' concerns. Our next coffee with cops will be on 3rd August at Erith library any concerns about the ward come and have a chat with local officers". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Great news again this week, no burglaries have been reported on the ward. Three theft from motor vehicles over the last week. On Monday July 16th at 1600 an orange topper light was stolen from a parked company vehicle in Walsingham Walk. A company minibus had number plates stolen in Brook Street on Friday July 2oth. Wing mirrors were stolen from a parked vehicle in Avenue Road overnight on Saturday July 21st. The team held our Ward Panel last Wednesday evening and it was decided that we would focus on anti-social behaviour in the Recreation Ground Sussex Road following a number of reports of motorbikes being ridden erratically. Our other promise is engagement and trying to recruit further Neighbourhood Watches on the ward. PS Dan young dealt with a male in Erith this week who was in possession of cannabis by completing a Community Resolution form. The next drop in Police Surgery will be held on Thursday August 2nd between 12pm – 1pm at the Library in Mill Road Erith". Slade Green and North End ward:- "Unfortunately we have 2 burglaries to report this week. On Thursday 19thy July at lunchtime a distraction burglary occurred at Cloudesley Road. A male pretending to be from the waterboard gained access to an 87 year old victim's property by deception and took jewellery and a wallet. He was caught in the act by the victim and ran out of the house. On Saturday 21st July between 11pm and 6am, an empty property was broken into in Manor Road. Fortunately, there was nothing there to steal but there is damage to the kitchen window where entry was gained. Crime prevention leaflets were delivered to neighbours at both locations. PC Telfer stopped a male on Forest Road Monday afternoon who was found in possession of cannabis. The drugs were seized and the relevant warnings were issued. We have a Community Contact Session at 12 midday in Forest Road Café this Tuesday 31st July. Please come and say hi if you are nearby. Please take care during this spell of very hot weather ensuring all downstairs windows are shut at night and if you are in the back garden, as well as having plenty of suncream on, please make sure any windows at the front of the home are closed as this can be the perfect opportunity for burglars to creep into your home unnoticed while the music is playing in the garden. It sounds maybe a bit far-fetched but it does genuinely happen. If you would like any further Crime Prevention advice, please let us know". Thamesmead East ward:- "Good news - Whilst on routine patrol PC's Pruden and Quarshie - Awuah dealt with a domestic which ended amicably and a neighbour dispute resolved. Burglaries - During the early hours of Sunday 22/07/18 an attempt to break into a garage had occurred in Mangold Way. Damage only to the garage door ,which has since been made secure. .Sheds and garages - Firstly, check that your insurance covers the contents of your shed/garage from theft. If you're off on holiday and wish to post anything on social media, make sure your posts aren't public and that they're only seen by your friends. Motor Vehicle Crimes - A motor cycle was stolen from outside of Trefoil House, Kale Road on Wednesday 18/07/18. Another motor cycle which only had the steering lock on was stolen from an address in Drake Crescent between the hours of 6:00pm on Sunday 22/07/18 and 6:30am Monday 23/07/18.A motor vehicle parked in Woburn Close was stolen between Sunday 15/07/18 and Monday 20/07/18.A motor vehicle was reported stolen from outside Clydesdale House, Kale Road, on Sunday 22/07/18 had not been used for some time, was last seen on 05/07/18. The number plates were stolen from a vehicle parked near Hinksey Path between the hours of 9:00pm and 11:59pm on Friday 20/07/18". West Heath ward:- "There was 1 reported burglary on West Heath Ward between 18/07/18 and 24/07/18. The victim in Hartley Road Welling found her window opened and her belongings moved but not sure whether anything was stolen. There were also three reported thefts of motor vehicles and theft from motor vehicle during the same period. A black Honda motor bike index LS15THK was stolen from Langley Road Welling on 24/07/18. A white FORD transit van index NV58FMF was stolen from Cumberland Drive Bexleyheath on 19/07/18 A white Vauxhall index BD09WXC was reported stolen on 21/07/18 by the victim Lodge Hill Welling when his friend failed to returned the vehicle on an agreed date. A number plate was stolen from a vehicle in New Road. West Heath Ward officers engaged with parents, teachers and pupils at Hillsgrove primary on the last day of term and the team is looking forward to more engagements with the schools after the holidays. Our next Community Contact Session (CCS) will be on 30/07/18 at Burchabro Road from 6pm -7pm".

The end video this week is of particular relevance to readers with an interest in local history. It features historical weapons expert Ian McCullam, and a presentation on the Maxim 37mm Automatic Cannon, a large calibre machine gun which was manufactured prior to World War One in the Maxim weapons factory in Fraser Road, Erith. Ian goes into some detail describing the development of the gun, and what customers purchased the fearsome weapon. Leave your comments below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Numbers.

You may recall that last October I wrote about the conversion of the former Royal Alfred pub in Manor Road into apartments and a new larger Londis convenience store by the family that own and operate the existing Londis on the opposite side of Appold Street. You can see my original article by clicking here, which also shows some photographs of the then level of progress. Well, only a few scant months on from then, the scaffolding that has cocooned the building for almost a year has now been dismantled, and the remarkable changes to the historic building can now be seen. There is still much to be completed now that the large rear extension and new roof have been added, and the exterior still needs more work, but the refurbished, extended and repurposed building is now beginning to take shape. I will be having a tour of the interior soon, and I will report back with new photographs. Keep watching this space. 

I have asked some of my regular readers why they like reading the Maggot Sandwich, and one answer that consistently comes up is that it is a true local news provider. Whilst the original local papers such as the Bexley Times, and to a greater extent, the News Shopper have become regional rather than local due to major cutbacks and to no longer being located in the area. For example the News Shopper are currently reporting on a story about feeding feral pigeons, which has attracted some keen debate on their talkback page. This is understandable as it is a contentious issue which attracts strong feelings in both directions. My issue is nothing whatsoever to do with the subject matter – it is an item that will be of interest to some people, but my concern is that the story comes not from South East London or North Kent, but from Epsom in Surrey! I have never been to Epsom, and ended up looking it up on Wikipedia. It describes the place as “Epsom (/ˈɛpsəm/) is a market town in Surrey, England, 13.6 miles (21.9 km) south south-west of London, located between Ashtead and Ewell. The town straddles chalk down land (Epsom Downs) and the upper Thanet Formation. Epsom Downs Racecourse holds The Derby, now a generic name for sports competitions in English-speaking countries. The town also gives its name to Epsom salts, extracted from mineral waters there.” Well you learn something every day. Quite why people in Plumstead, Abbey Wood, Belvedere, Erith or Slade Green would have interests or concerns in respect of activities specifically local to Epsom somewhat mystifies me. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

After what seems like an almost endless round of delays and changes, construction of the long anticipated London Paramount Theme Park is begin later this year, and it should be open to the paying public by 2022. The £3.2bn park is hoped to rival Disney resorts in Florida and Paris. London Paramount Resort will boast more than 50 rides, a nightclub and a 2,000-seat theatre. It is estimated that the 872-acre-park will bring up to 40,000 visitors a day. Thousands of jobs will be created by the park, with estimates of around 27,000 permanent full time roles being created. The project manager say of the development:- "The Entertainment Resort will contain a number of themed zones, with exciting rides and attractions for families, children and the more adventurous thrill-seeking visitor. At the heart of the Entertainment Resort there will be a wide range of indoor, covered and open-air experiences as well as a variety of cafes, bars and restaurants. a number of exciting events will be hosted each year such as shows and music events. Late afternoon every day the ‘Paramount and Friends Carnival’ is planned to take place. We are planning to follow this every evening with a spectacular show celebrating the works of Paramount Pictures and our other content partners. Also in the evening, there will be a chance to enjoy a West End quality production at one of our theatres, indoor or outdoor venues. These venues could potentially showcase Paramount films, BBC and Aardman productions and provide a stage for live comedy acts and concerts. The heart of the Entertainment Resort will open to the public in 2021, with additional rides and attractions scheduled to be unveiled soon after in the following years." This has got to be good news for the entire region; the number of jobs being created, and the amount of wealth that this amusement park will generate will be a force for real change and regeneration - it will be interesting to see how it all pans out. 

A story that certainly does have local relevance, and was picked up earlier in the week by the London Evening Standard is that of the forthcoming electoral boundary changes. The article, which strikes me as being written in a style designed to wind up local readers of both Bexley and Woolwich, describes how residents of the London Borough of Bexley are apparently up in arms over the proposed changes from the Boundary Commission. It plans to move the Abbey Wood ward from the Erith and Thamesmead parliamentary constituency to a newly formed seat called Woolwich as part of moves to slash the number of London MPs from 73 to 68 by 2020. According to the Standard, "dozens" of residents had objected, and have criticised the proposals, saying they have nothing in common with the riverside town best known for its huge Royal Arsenal. One of them, Maree Parra, said in an interview in the Standard that:- “We have paid higher prices to live in Bexley as we have no desire to live in Woolwich and do not visit Woolwich for any reason.” Mary Clark said: “Woolwich has gone downhill big time. I do not want to be classed as being in Woolwich, and the value of my house will go down.” Nicola Hunter wrote to the commission to say she moved to Bexley borough because “their ideas and priorities are far superior and in line with my views and aspirations”. But Woolwich resident Nick Bradshaw, 60, a freelance musician and music teacher, said: “Having lived in this area for 20 years, there’s a clear divide between the sort of people inhabiting Plumstead and Woolwich and those in Welling or Bexleyheath. I was always aware of the different demographics and Bexley is less cosmopolitan. They seem more reactionary and conservative. I go to Bexley and can’t wait to get away from there. I think it’s them being snobby and they have not been sensible about it. These comments don’t surprise me because I know what kind of people these are". Crikey - anyone would think we were talking about people from North and South Korea arguing over the divide, rather from a couple of neighbouring South East London suburbs. I get the distinct feeling that the Standard journalists behind the piece are trying to start a storm in a teacup - this outside the political reasons for the creation of the new ward, purely to do with the alleged perceptions and reactions of residents on both sides of the boundary. People in both wards share far more than they have differences, and I feel that the Standard's piece does not address this, and talks of "class war" - errant rubbish - it almost feels like "never let the facts get in the way of a good story". 

Several tabloid newspapers such as the Daily Star seem to be getting quite excited about a subject I have covered on the Maggot Sandwich in the distant past, but now seems to be back in the news. For some inexplicable reason, they have been writing about Secret Numbers and Book Code illicit radio stations in some detail. They have picked up on the espionage activities of North Korea, especially after the recent assassination of Kim Jong Nam which has received much press attention for understandable reasons. Numbers Stations have been in existence since World War II. They can be found quite easily if you have a radio which can receive the shortwave bands. Generally speaking, numbers stations appear somewhat erratically and consist of a disembodied electronic voice reading out streams of numbers which repeat a fixed number of times. The stations are usually outside of the main shortwave broadcast bands, and can sometimes be encountered in the amateur radio bands – much to the annoyance of their legal users, such as myself. Whilst numbers stations are well known to radio enthusiasts like me, most of the general public will be unaware of their existence. The purpose of numbers stations is simple. They are the most secure method of communicating with spies in the field. Computer communications are easily intercepted, and even the most heavily encrypted ciphers can be broken over time by supercomputers used by the security services – and it is relatively straightforward to identify a person from an Internet Service Provider. Old fashioned analogue shortwave radio is completely anonymous – no sign in, or account is required, and a suitable radio can be picked up in a shop for a few pounds. Anyone found with a radio which can receive the shortwave bands will not get much attention – most compact travel radios can receive shortwave broadcasts; thus a spy can be completely anonymous and untraceable whilst listening to the coded broadcasts. Sometimes new technology is not the best solution to a problem, and this is most definitely the case here. Each numbers station transmission is read out by a computer generated voice, giving it an eerie, somewhat creepy sound. One would have thought that once the Cold War was over, the need for numbers stations would cease, but in many cases, the number of stations has actually increased – radio traffic, including numbers stations has been recently noticed in the Ukraine, where before the recent dispute with Russia, it was pretty much a backwater. Book Code stations are a simpler but still very effective way of communicating via radio with any person intercepting the transmission unable to understand the meaning of the message being communicated. The key to a book code is that the sender and the receiver need to have an identical copy of a book - two different editions of the same book will not work, as the page layouts will be different. If you buy two identical copies of a book, the transmitter can compile their message in plain language (uncoded), then look through the book to find the relevant words in the text. The sender then notes down the page number, paragraph, line and number of words along the line. This is written down as a series of numbers. This is done for every word in the message in order (very tedious, but very secure as long as the books used are not known to anyone intercepting the message). The stream of numbers is then read out over the radio and the recipient then reverses the process to decypher the message. It is simple, very secure and almost impossible to crack without the use of sophisticated statistical analysis software and a handy supercomputer, which only the likes of the NSA or GCHQ would have access to. As long as the book used is kept secret - and preferably changed for another title for both the sender and recipient on a regular basis - it is pretty much secure. You can watch a short news broadcast about secret numbers stations below. It is a few years old, but still very accurate and insightful. Please leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Further to my examination of Smart energy meters and the unexpected problems which they can cause; information came to light this week which on top of all of the other problems that they can have, highlights that they can be staggeringly inaccurate in a variety of circumstances. A recent study from researchers at University of Twente (UT) and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) has found that three-phase static (electronic) energy meters, which are replacing traditional electromechanical meters, can exaggerate energy consumption by as much as 582 per cent. Estimates of the number of households in the Netherlands with smart meters range from 750,000 to 1.5 million. In the US, smart meter penetration at the end of 2016 has been estimated at 70 million, according to the Edison Foundation. The government of the Netherlands aims to replace at least 80 per cent of the energy meters in the country with smart meters by 2020, in keeping with EU goals. EU authorities suggest that smart meters, on average, result in energy savings of 3 per cent. But as researchers Frank Leferink, Cees Keyer, and Anton Melentjev report, "Some consumers are complaining about their energy bills after replacement of the energy meter, because the registered energy is higher with the static meter compared to the old Ferraris meter." Smart meter billing problems have also been documented in the US. Some of the past flaws found in static meters have been attributed to electromagnetic interference, which has been addressed over the years. The researchers suggest that present flaws are made more difficult to detect by insufficiently broad testing and opaque industry practices. They point out that makers of the smart meters covered in the study test their equipment under ideal conditions, with consistent voltage and load, but fail to consider other scenarios. They also observe that faulty smart meters tend to get scrapped instead of being offered for examination and that utilities don't make their equipment available for testing, don't document the devices well, and tend to rely on proprietary software. Among the ten models tested, the issue appears to be a component known as the Rogowski Coil, one of the four-types of current sensors used in static meters. The three others are: the shunt resistor, the current transformer, and the Hall effect-based current sensor. "The reason for faulty readings appears to be the current sensor, and the associated circuitry," the research paper states. "As a Rogowski coil results in a time-derivative of the measured current, the measured voltage has to be integrated. Probably active integration is used instead of passive integration, and the input electronics are pushed in saturation caused by the high rise-time of the current." Which basically boils down to a poor design in the meter means that it is inherently inaccurate and cannot be relied on. I think we will see more on this subject in the mainstream press in the near future. 

A story appeared on the Bexley Times website this week, with an outcome that really surprised me. Just for once an all too common case of fraud ended up with a happy outcome. The attempted con happened on February 13, when the resident, who lives alone in Sidcup, returned home to find a man standing at his door, saying that a large piece of concrete had just fallen off his roof. He was told that it could be mended for £2,500 cash, with a further £6,000 to be paid. However, the trader ended up removing the entire roof and then demanded a further £39,000 to finish the work.  Trading Standards attended the address but the unidentified trader had left. The trader then continued to contact the elderly man by phone. During one call the trader was spoken to by police and informed that Trading Standards were dealing with the matter. After contacting Trading Standards by phone the same day, the trader was told he needed to return the total of £6,000 paid so far by the victim. Much to their surprise, an anonymous female attended the Civic Offices the following day and handed over £6,000 in cash to Trading Standards, who returned it to the victim. This is a welcome, but very unusual outcome; I don’t normally cover stories on the far side of the borough, as they are outside of the main remit of the Maggot Sandwich, but these con merchants operate all over the area, and there are vulnerable people who could easily fall victim as happened with this elderly man. It is just fortunate in this exceptional case that the Police and Trading Standards were able to get the man’s money back.

I got sent the photo above during the week; I have to say that I had never seen it before. It was taken during the long hot summer of 1990 whilst I was part of the crew of the Ross Revenge, the home of Radio Caroline, at that time moored fifteen miles off the North Foreland, in the international waters of the North Sea. and outside of British legal jurisdiction. It was taken by one of a group of visitors to the Ross Revenge on a day trip to visit the ship and crew / DJ's. The group brought lots of essential supplies such as drinking water, food and most importantly daily newspapers - something we were always very keep to get, as being stuck on a ship moored in the middle of the North Sea can easily make you lose touch with current affairs, despite having TV and radio. I can be seen on the right hand side of the photo, wearing a black T-shirt - and I am not unnaturally tall - I was standing on a bar which ran along the inside wall of the hull. It was not usual to see me up in the morning at this time, but after all, we did have visitors. I did an overnight album show which finished at 6am when I handed over to the breakfast show DJ, then I would normally mooch around, have my dinner whilst watching the breakfast news on TV, and then head to my cabin for a few hours sleep, normally waking mid afternoon, when I would then coordinate the repainting of the ship. You can see more photos from my time on Radio Caroline by clicking here. You can listen to edited highlights from a show I did during a force 9 gale by clicking here - apologies, I do sound about twelve years old, but in my defence, it was a very long time ago!

Much to nobody's surprise, Transport for London has scrapped its controversial standing-only escalators scheme on London Underground after a six-month pilot that sparked a commuter revolt and achieved only “mixed” results, according to the Evening Standard. Passengers were asked to break with the long-held tradition of standing on the right and walking on the left during the trial at Holborn last year. It was designed to ease crowds by regulating flow of customers at peak times. Staff with megaphones told passengers to ignore the usual protocols, footprints were painted on both sides of the steps and a hologram of an Underground worker was used to persuade commuters to break with convention. A Freedom of Information request by the London Evening Standard has revealed that at peak times during the trial, station capacity was increased by up to 30 per cent and congestion was “notably lessened”. Having said that, the standing-only escalators were able to carry an average of 151 passengers per minute, compared to 115 on the “traditional” escalator, according to the study. But Underground bosses on Wednesday revealed they have no plans to trial the scheme more widely. While congestion was cut on longer escalators, where the left-hand side is used by only a hardy few leaving large gaps in between, there was no improvement on shorter flights where more people are willing to walk. Commuters welcomed the decision to end the scheme, described at the time as “going against everything about being British”. Johanna Whitaker, 35, a communications consultant said: “I used the Tube at least twice a day during the trial, always in rush hour. Standing on the left broke London commuter etiquette. There was always the danger of people thinking they could stand on the left at other tube stations - can you imagine? The congestion at Holborn station is bad so Fair play to TfL for trying it, but I hope there’s a better way." I don't think this was ever going to work, but fair play to TfL for at least trying some way to reduce congestion. 

The photo above was sent to me a couple of years ago by Erith businessman and property developer Manjinder. It shows some very picturesque aircraft contrails reflecting the rising sun over Manor Road. It also illustrates one of the more bizarre conspiracy theories that persist despite much evidence to the contrary. You may have heard of the Chemtrail Conspiracy? If not, I will explain. The chemtrail conspiracy theory is the unproven belief that long-lasting trails, so-called "chemtrails", are left in the sky by high-flying aircraft and that they consist of chemical or biological agents deliberately sprayed for sinister purposes undisclosed to the general public. The main UK based group of Chemtrail conspiracists have their website here - click to view. Believers in the theory argue that normal aircraft contrails dissipate relatively quickly and that contrails that do not dissipate must contain additional substances. These arguments have been dismissed by the scientific community: such trails are normal water-based contrails (condensation trails) that are routinely left by high-flying aircraft under certain atmospheric conditions. Although proponents have attempted to prove that the claimed chemical spraying does take place, their analyses have been flawed or based on misconceptions. Because of the persistence of the conspiracy theory and questions about government involvement, scientists and government agencies around the world have repeatedly explained that supposed chemtrails are in fact normal contrails. Contrails, or condensation trails, are "streaks of condensed water vapour created in the air by an airplane or rocket at high altitudes." They are the result of normal emissions of water vapour from piston and jet engines at high altitudes in which the water vapor condenses into visible clouds. They are formed when hot humid air from the engines (when Kerosene jet fuel burns, one of the results of combustion is water vapour) mixes with the colder surrounding air. The rate at which contrails dissipate is entirely dependent on weather conditions and altitude. If the atmosphere is near saturation, the contrail may exist for some time. Conversely, if the atmosphere is dry, the contrail will dissipate quickly. The conspiracy theorists will have none of this, however. A 2014  research paper presented results of reviewing 20 chemtrail websites found that believers appeal to science in some of their arguments, but don't believe what academic or government-employed scientists say; scientists and federal agencies have consistently denied that chemtrails exist, explaining the sky tracks are simply persistent contrails. The 2014 paper also found that chemtrail believers generally hold that chemtrails are evidence of a global conspiracy; people who believe in the conspiracy allege various goals which include profit (for example, manipulating futures prices or making people sick to benefit drug companies), population control, or weapons testing (use of weather as a weapon, or testing bioweapons). One of these ideas, is that clouds are being seeded with electrically conductive materials as part of a massive electromagnetic superweapons programme based around the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP). Those who believe in the conspiracy say the chemtrails are toxic; the 2014 review found that chemtrail believers generally hold that every person is under attack and found that believers often express fear, anxiety, sadness and anger about this. Experts on atmospheric phenomena say chemtrails do not exist, and that the characteristics attributed to them are simply features of contrails responding differently in diverse conditions in terms of the sunlight, temperature, horizontal and vertical wind shear, and humidity levels present at the aircraft's altitude. In the US, the grid like nature of the National Airspace System's flight lanes tends to cause crosshatched contrails, and in general it is hard to discern from the ground whether overlapping contrails are at similar altitudes or not. The jointly published fact sheet produced by NASA, the EPA, the FAA, and NOAA in 2000 in response to alarms over chemtrails details the science of contrail formation, and outlines both the known and potential impacts contrails have on temperature and climate. The USAF produced a fact sheet as well that described these contrail phenomena as observed and analyzed since at least 1953. It also rebutted chemtrail theories more directly by identifying the theories as a hoax and disproving the existence of chemtrails. Patrick Minnis, an atmospheric scientist with NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is quoted in USA Today and online, as saying that logic does not dissuade most chemtrail proponents: "If you try to pin these people down and refute things, it's, 'Well, you're just part of the conspiracy'," What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The ending video this week comes from a recent Sky News report on homophobia in sport - specifically football. It features local club Bexley Invicta, which was started by occasional Maggot Sandwich contributor and restaurant reviewer Brian Silk. Do give it a watch.