The changing faces of Erith.

Some photos of different aspects of life in and around Erith, all taken by me in the last week or so with my trusty Nikon D200 digital SLR camera. Click on any shot above for a larger version. You can also see my online photo album here.

I had an interesting encounter on my journey home from Dad visiting this evening. Erith shopping centre (see the photo above) was hosting members of the Erith Western Gateway Regeneration Team, who are based in the town, and who are looking into the upgrading and rebirth of the town that has been sadly neglected for so long. You can view their website here.

I had a very constructive and informative talk with a couple of staff from the team, who were extremely friendly and helpful, though they were a bit too politically correct to agree to my plan to offer Chav hunting trips using open topped buses and hunters equipped with sniper rifles. Oh well, maybe another time. Apparently the plans drawn up four years ago for the regeneration of Erith have been canned and some new developers are being brought in. We shall see what happens now. I did voice a number of complaints, primarily about the Tunnel of Doom (tm) and the horrendous fish sculpture on the roundabout above it. I also commented on the level of vandalism - using the story I blogged here as a prime example. I did say that I still liked the place and wanted to stay, hoping from some improvement - as per my posting here. Time no doubt will tell.

I am going to see progressive rock giants Rush at Wembley Arena in a couple of weeks; they are one of the few bands I have yet to see and I am really looking forward to the gig. Below is a very obscure video from 1982 courtesy of YouTube. It is of one of my favourite Rush tracks from their album Signals. It is about the very first Space Shuttle launch and is called Countdown. Please give it a try and see what you think - you can leave comments by clicking on the link below.

Sculptures and setting.

I took these photos yesterday at the Royal Arsenal site at Woolwich. This surreal art installation is a permanent part of the residential redevelopment, and I like it a lot. It reminds me of the work of Storm Thorgerson - the designer responsible for much of the Pink Floyd album artwork. Click on any photo for a larger version.

Some serious stuff now; I am saddened to report the death of Kevin Beckingham, younger brother of Peter, a close friend whilst I was at school. I had not seen either bloke for close on twenty years, but I was deeply shocked to hear of his callous and brutal murder. You can read the story at the News Shopper website here.

Wasps. What do they do and what are they for? I cannot think of a more completely useless creature. They are the only living thing that I will kill at the first opportunity. They only live to sting. I must admit that I am a bit phobic of them (well, a lot phobic actually). If they were to disappear overnight, would the World be any the worse off? I think not.

The story earlier this week relating to the girl who put her feet on the seat opposite on a local train rings with me - as you may know, this is a big hobby horse of mine. Train staff should be issued with Tasers, along with the Police and any other public servant who has to deal with Chavs and the general criminal underclass. On a similar note, I can report that I have successfully challenged several smokers who have lit up in now banned areas; as long as one keeps things civil, you generally get a constructive response and they put it out. Me being a tweed jacketed 6'3" and wearing a pair of steel toe capped size 12 rigger boots tends to help as well.

I have added oodles of new photographs to my Flickr site; please feel free to view and leave comments as appropriate. Apologies work colleagues, this site is blocked by policy - you will have to visit from your home computer.