The Royal Alfred refurbished.

Many readers will be familiar with the building in the photo above; it is the former Royal Alfred pub in Manor Road, Erith. The pub has been empty and unused for years due to a number of factors. It has been a landmark on Manor Road since it was built in 1874. Over the last couple of years, the building has been covered in scaffolding whilst a complete new roof was installed, and huge changes made to the internal architecture of the building, which was also extended to the rear by a significant degree. A very large amount of exceedingly expensive work has been undertaken, and I have a bit of a scoop - the first look inside the refurbished former pub, now that work on the refurbishment of the upper floors has just been completed, and before the first tenants move in to the extremely high quality apartments which are shortly to be available for private rent. You may recall that I ran a feature on the Royal Alfred almost a year ago, when the place was little more than a shell - you can read my original article by clicking here. things have progressed amazingly in the intervening time, as you can see in the photos I took last Saturday afternoon, which you can see below. Click on any one for a larger version. All of the photos were taken using natural light, and no electronic flash.

I was given free reign to go wherever I liked in the building, and take whatever photographs I wanted to; I have to say that the workmanship of the refurbishment is of an exceptionally high quality, and the materials and domestic appliances installed are all absolutely top notch. Manjinder and his family have done a stunning job - I expected the fit and finish to be good, but what he has achieved has exceeded my expectations by a substantial margin. Now that the upper floors are now complete, work will shortly begin on the ground floor - turning it from a building site into a new, expanded Londis store to replace the cramped and outgrown shop on the opposite corner of Appold Street that the Bains family have run very successfully since 2002. They plan to keep as much of the former Royal Alfred pub identity as they can. If you are interested in learning more about these lovely apartments, then drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com and I will put you in contact with Manjinder.

The News Shopper are reporting a story that I predicted well over a year ago. The Dartford River Crossing Dart Charge system has not been anything like the success its operators had promised when the number plate recognition system was introduced. Recently released figures show that the Department of Transport has failed to collect a total of £32.5 million in unpaid fines, just from the last financial year. As I originally wrote, the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system used at the Dartford Crossing is easily fooled by dirt on the number plates, by certain foreign number plate designs with non – UK fonts, fog, rain and road spray. Basically unless the plate is scanned in near perfect weather and visibility conditions – something of a rarity in the local area, there is a strong chance that the number plate will not be recorded by the Dart Charge system correctly. On top of this, there is the well-known local issue of a large number of stolen and forged number plates in wide use by drivers which enable the criminal fraternity to travel over the crossing with impunity. If this situation was not bad enough, a lot of foreign drivers who ignore the Dart Charge system – the reports says that 437,304 unpaid crossing fines were forwarded to European debt recovery agents in the last year, very little, if any of which will be repaid. What also occurs to me, is if the level of fee avoidance is as high as now becomes apparent, how much does the collection process in itself actually cost? I wonder if it would actually work out cheaper to make the crossing – both the bridge and the tunnels free as had originally been intended? I have no vested interest in the Dartford Crossing myself, as it is not something that I personally use. I feel that the cost of administration versus the actual toll receipts could do with being looked at. Would a free crossing make a difference to the traffic levels in North Kent and South Essex? I am not an expert, but it would be interested to hear the opinion of a professional transport analyst on the subject.

One tends not to think of the local area as being one that fosters much in the way of agriculture; a fairly unglamorous South East London / North Kent suburb is not exactly the kind of place one would expect to find much in the way of food production. In many respects this may be the case, but in one particular area it is most definitely not true. Erith, Slade Green and Dartford are renown for the quality of honey that is produced in the area; indeed Dartford Bee Keeping Club have just won an award for producing some of the best quality honey in the country. I guess that this is due to areas such as the Slade Green Marshes, with the large open areas covered with heather, wild flowers and bulrushes. For what is thought of as a predominantly urban area, we actually have quite a large amount of uncultivated, wild wetlands and other places which bees find attractive. You can read more about Dartford Bee Keepers on their website here. I must warn you that the text on much of the site suffers extensively from rogue apostrophes – “bee’s” occurs on multiple occasions, amongst other misuses of possessive apostrophes. The site is obviously a labour of love, created by someone with rather more knowledge of bee keeping than good web design, or English grammar and punctuation.

Last week I ran an article on the proposed closure of Bexleyheath Police Station; Dana Wiffen of Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association sent me the following report on a recent public meeting to protest against the proposed closure:- "Thursday night’s meeting at The Council Civic Offices-main chamber, with representatives from The Mayor's Office including the Deputy Mayor-Sophie Linden and Bexley Police Borough Commander-Stuart Bell who took questions from a passionate 90 Bexley residents who attended. The top table included with the above two, plus Joyce Sutherland Chair of Bexley Safer Neighbourhood Board and myself. Many of those who attended were NW-Coordinators and most of NW's Committee was there also present, all NW members are volunteers that work in the Borough to try and reduce crime; all are against the planned closures of both front desk and then the police station itself, moving all police and front desk to Marlow House in Sidcup. There are also plans to close the police sub-offices in the Borough as well. We were told that this is part of a London wide programme to try and save £400 Million pounds from the MET's budget. Some of the arguments against were:- 1) Bexleyheath is Central to the Borough-Sidcup is not. 2) Bexleyheath allows a quick response to crime in the North of the Borough such as Thamesmead, Sidcup would not. 3) Bexleyheath is accessible from all parts of the Borough by bus, Sidcup is not. 4) Bexleyheath Town Centre has its own problems around pub closing times on Fridays and Saturdays - how would police responding from Sidcup be able to handle these problems quickly? 5) Pushing for a reality type police contact would exclude the 30% of over 65 year olds that do not have computer access. 6) There are no public parking facilities near to Marlow House and bus services to other parts of the Borough are limited making travel say from Erith to Sidcup difficult. 7) With a growing population in Bexley, the planned building in the North of the Borough as well as around Bexleyheath was pointed out with residents amazed that none of this has been taken into consideration. Although the figures for cost saving of Bexleyheath Police station were offered none were available for the amount of money needed to be spent on Marlowe House to allow it to take all the extra officers and vehicles and also the cost of installing a 24/7 front desk, which Marlowe House does not have at present. Already Bexleyheath Police Station has been devalued with the holding cells closed last year, it is ridiculous that police now have to take those arrested to either Plumstead Police Station or to Bromley meaning they can be off-line for a long period of time while offenders are booked in and they travel to and from Bexley. What seems just as bad is that Marlowe House does not have this facility either and there are no plans to include them if these changes are made. We feel that the plans to close both the 24/7 front office and police station will rip the heart out of community policing in the Borough, and that the already rising crime figures will continue during this process if it goes ahead. In addition to being able to respond the MOPAC on-line questionnaire (which is loaded towards the closure and reality policing), Bexley residents can sign an online (38 degrees) petition and if they prefer or do not have computer access they can sign hard copy petition and use it to gather their neighbours signature etc which are available from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch. (Tele: 0208 284 5537 Email: bexwatch-office@btconnect.com). The fight will go on with the on-line petition approaching 3,000 signatures there is scope to push this to 10,000 in time for both types of petition to be presented to our London Assembly Member-Gareth Bacon in time for him to present to the Assembly in early November. It is important to remember and this seems something both the MET and MOPAC have lost sight of Community Police Officers on the beat are "the eyes and ears" for fighting crime along with NW-Coordinators who continue to work with these teams to reduce crime and improve safety for residents, with the ever present danger of terrorist activity and the continued increase in gun and knife crime as well as the continued rise in lawless and dangerous biker gangs, the closure will give them the green light to carry on with their criminal activities knowing there is even less chance of them getting caught. While we are assured that there is going to be 2 fixed officers in each ward, by the time they have travelled from Sidcup to their ward, set up planned "Hubs" and start working on their newly acquired tablets there will be little time to patrol their wards. Bexley's residents should be aware and act now, as once these plans have been rubber stamped, the plan to build flats on the site will be the next step and Bexleyheath Police Station will be gone forever". You can sign the anti Bexleyheath Police Station closure petition by clicking here.

In a similar story, a reader alerted me to the advertisement above - which shows the former Belvedere Police Station which is now up for sale.  The plot of land, which is located on the corner of Woolwich Road and Nuxley Road in Upper Belvedere (NOT Nuxley Village - there never has been such a place - it is a recent, historically incorrect invention of estate agents that do not live around here, and have no knowledge of local history) is up for sale for redevelopment. Whilst I have no ideas what property development companies have expressed an interest in the site, but you can be pretty much certain that a large block of flats will end up being built on the site. Nuxley Road is already about to see some extensive changes; the very long established Walk Around store and the hardware store Nuxley DIY next door to it are about to close for good. The owner of the buildings is selling up and both buildings are being redeveloped for housing in the form of an apartment block. The whole nature of Nuxley Road is about to change. It seems that the threat of the closure of Bexleyheath Police Station and the selling off of Belvedere Police Station are not isolated cases; indeed it has come to my notice that our neighbours across the River Thames in the London Borough of Havering are experiencing a similar problem. Indeed the borough issued a public announcement last week that read:- “Havering Council Leader Roger Ramsey, is urging residents to speak out against proposals to close a number of police public access points. The Council strongly opposes the Mayor of London’s Office for Policing and Crime’s (MOPAC) proposal to close both Hornchurch and Rainham police stations along with seven Safer Neighbourhood bases.  Cllr Ramsey, said: “I understand that there are cuts being made to the service which has put the Mayor in a difficult position, but closing these stations and bases is a short-sighted decision. It will leave our residents feeling unsafe and for some, in particular residents in Rainham, this means having to travel over an hour to their nearest police station, which isn't acceptable. “I urge residents across the borough to attend MOPAC’s public meeting tonight (Wednesday 13 September), at the Salvation Army in Romford from 6pm to 8pm." It would seem from that midweek announcement that the two boroughs share a lot in common in terms of challenges that we both face.

In what has become an annual event, Riverdale Road based country and western musician and composer Wayne Jacobs has just won the ukcountryradio.com listeners club award for song of the year. He has won this award every year since 2012. This year he was also a finalist for UK country artist of the year and UK male country singer of the year. Mr. Jacobs is obviously very talented in his chosen field, and has been accordingly recognised. What surprises me is that he has not chosen to emigrate to the USA, where the main market for country and western music exists. It occurs to me that he would be in a far more receptive environment over there, and certainly far more ability to generate a substantial income for himself in the process.

The Bexley Times published a rather poorly researched story last week; it printed an interview with the Chief Executive of MBNA Thames Clippers, Sean Collins, after the recent trials of Thames Clippers ferrying commuters from Gravesend Town Pier into Central London. In the interview he said:- “The trial has been a total success so far, passengers have been asking a lot of questions to find out when a permanent service could be up and running and how much it will cost. These questions are the reason we are running this trial, I set up this company 18 years ago, and two years later people were asking me about a Gravesend service, the only reason we haven’t done anything sooner is because we’ve been working on other projects across London. We need to set out a full business case, it could take up to two years to start up a service, it would be great to see it stop at other places, such as Erith, Greenhithe, Dagenham and Thurrock. Because of demand we’d need to build at least two bigger boats, at around 300 capacity. They would cost around £6 million each and then there’s the cost of running to consider. By having new, bespoke boats, the journey time wouldn’t be longer, but for now the idea of additional stops is something we would have to evaluate in a business plan, as we would have to bring in the cost of setting up dedicated piers for the service.” Sean Collins obviously made his statement before consulting with either the Port of London Authority, Morrison’s Supermarket, or indeed Bexley Council. As regular readers will recall, I have previously researched and written about using Erith Pier as a embarkation / debarkation point for the Thames Clipper ferry service. The pier, albeit the longest on the entire river Thames, is a dogleg shape with the long axis running parallel to the river bank. At low tide, the pier “dries out” meaning river craft cannot access it for several hours each side of low tide. The solution for this would be to install a floating jetty which would extend into the deep water channel further towards the centre of the river. The problem with this solution is that there are a number of factors acting against it – firstly, a jetty extending from the pier might be construed as a hazard to navigation by the PLA – and would require hazard warning lights at night, and in times of poor visibility. Secondly, Morrison’s, who own the pier and have responsibility for maintaining it do not want it used as a ferry terminal, as commuters would use spaces in the supermarket car park which they would rather see in use for their own customers, and thirdly, Bexley Council say in not so many words that they are not interested; a spokesperson from the council was recently quoted as saying:- “We are not aware of any such proposal. There was a query raised with us about whether the service could stop at Erith pier but it does not have the facilities to allow a vessel to dock and fitting them would be very expensive. We are supportive of increased use of the river particularly for leisure and tourism, but the economics of a commuter service may be challenging. In this context we await the outcome of the trial with interest.” Local MP Teresa Pearce has examined the possibility of ferries stopping at Erith Pier, and she too was told that it was not going to happen. Personally I would love to be able to commute to and from Erith Pier to my place of work in Canary Wharf, but unless there are some drastic changes in policy by several involved organisations, I really cannot see it happening. Let's hope things change for the better.

This weeks incident reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Another Good week for Barnehurst ward with only one crime of note reported, unfortunately this was a nasty robbery which occurred at 12 noon on the 12th September near to Gravel Hill Primary School by two suspects riding a moped. The victim was crossing the road towards the school when a male wearing a crash helmet grabbed her necklace with such force that she was pulled to the ground. He then jumped onto the back of a waiting moped and made off down Gravel Hill towards the roundabout. If you have any information please call us with any details. Please be aware of your surroundings and take care of your property especially mobile phones and jewellery, for crime prevention advice on how to stay safe please visit the Metropolitan Police web site. We are aware of reports over the weekend of some ASB in Martens Avenue regarding youths on their pushbikes, we will be adjusting our duties to patrol at the relevant times and deal with the youths involved. Please join us on Friday 15th September at 11am at Barnehurst Golf Course to discuss any local issues or concerns that you may have. As always please follow us on twitter @MPSBarnehurst for regular updates from the team". From a member of the public in Martens Avenue:-  "Once again we are plagued by large groups of boys on cycle doing wheelies up and down the centre of the Martens Avenue, Bexleyheath. adjacent to the kids playground. This evening there are about 15 of them blocking the driveway of our house. When told to move they are abusive, rude and give you the one finger gesture. It is quite clear nothing seems to have been done with these kids who seem to be a law on to themselves. I can foresee that one of them will get hit by a car and seriously injured as they seem to hold no fear of traffic and indeed on occasions I have seen them play chicken down the centre of the road and force cars to slow down or stop. Something drastic needs to be done with these kids. They seem to have no respect for anyone or anything and I can foresee the time when if something is not done, one of the residents here taking the law into their own hands to deal with them. Their parents who should take some of the responsibility for these kids as they seem to do nothing and indeed no doubt if something is said to the kids about their behaviour, they would be soon knocking on doors and being confrontational. Please do something before things get out of hand". From Belvedere ward:- "We are continuing to canvass the ward to set up new Neighbourhood Watches. This is a lengthy process, but we have managed to set up 10 watches across the ward since we began. There has been ongoing Anti - Social Behaviour (ASB) by children/ youths acting in an intimidating manner and gathering in large groups in the public car park in Nuxley Road. We are monitoring this area and have spoken to residents of nearby streets to gain further information. Patrols of the area are set to continue and we have spoken to a number of young persons to advise them that any such behaviour will not be tolerated. There has also been a spate of thefts recently on the Belvedere Park estate in Lower Belvedere. Of note, uniforms belonging to the management company Pinnacle have been stolen. If there are any suspicions around people seen wearing these uniforms, we would urge residents of Belvedere Park not to allow these people access to any of the blocks on the estate and to contact Police immediately".

From North End Ward:- "A vehicle has been spotted parked in Appold Street with no registration plates. It looked like they had been forcibly removed . It's a blue Chevrolet and a photo has been sent to the local police team with relevant information". Copy of the photo above - click for a larger view. "There has been a burglary is Masefield Close (off of Bridge Road). Access was gained by a side window and air rifles, a tv and custom made remote control cars were among the main items stolen. The victim has been visited by SNT and is looking into getting CCTV at his home. There has also been an attempted bag snatch near the underpass on North End Road this week. Fortunately they didn’t get the bag but the victim is naturally very shook up. Patrols of the underpass area will be taking place and our advice is that if you are alone, please use the traffic lights at the bottom of Colyers Lane to cross the road. We have a surgery at 1800 hours on Tuesday 19th September in the Community Centre on the Rainbow Road estate. Please come along and say hello if you are around". Northumberland Heath ward:- "A burglary took place in Matfield Road where the suspect has been arrested and is currently on bail. Other than the burglary it has been a fairly quiet week on the ward apart from criminal damage to a motor vehicle parked outside the BNM Store in Brook Street where the victims window was smashed. This took place on Thursday 7th September between 0100 – 0500am. We have received a report from a member of the public of youths on pushbikes outside the post office in Mill Road throwing stones at passers-by. The incident was caught on film. Some rubbish was set fire to in Stream way, the Fire Brigade attended and put the fire out. No damage to property or life. On Thursday September 7th a member of staff from Erith School had her handbag stolen whist working in the school office." From Thamesmead East ward:- "No Burglaries to report. Delivery drivers beware – On Monday 4th September, food items were stolen from an ASDA’S delivery van, while the driver was with a customer, Kale Road. On Wednesday 6th September, a moped was stolen from Yarnton Way, however good news to report is that later in the day a male was seen with the bike, subsequently arrested and charged to court. Between Sunday 10th September and Tuesday 12th September a car was stolen from Pointer Close, officers managed to locate the vehicle in the Belvedere area, and has now been reunited with the owner. Just a reminder that between the 15th and 17th September a summer fete will be held at Southmere Park. Lots planned. We are always interested in recruiting new Neighbourhood watch co-ordinators for the ward. Please ask your family and friends if they would like to set up a Neighbourhood watch in their road. Contact us on 020 8721 2049 or Thamesmead.SNT@met.police.uk for more information, (or reply to this email to contact the NW office direct) For latest news from Bexley Police visit our twitter pages @MPSBexley and @MPSThamesmeadE".

The ending video this week shows the work to complete the new Abbey Wood railway station, which combines both the North Kent Line tracks and the new Crossrail (soon to be renamed Elizabeth Line) into one facility. Do give the short video a watch, and leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Nitrous Oxide.

It has been reported to me by a long time Maggot Sandwich reader that there is a serious drugs problem in the area in and around the former Bexley Mencap site in Lesney Park Road, Erith. The site, and the old house adjacent to it are shortly to be redeveloped for additional housing, with eighteen terraced houses and the third of the land  that the Council is retaining will have twelve supported living units for adults with learning difficulties built on it. In the meantime the old buildings are occupied by property guardians - individuals who get to live in the property at a very reduced rent, in return for caring for the building until such time as it is readied for redevelopment. The idea is not new, but it does have attractions - the building owner avoids their property being vandalised or squatted, with the attendant costs that this would involve, and people get the chance to legally live somewhere at a rent that is far below the norm for the area; the system should be a win / win for all involved. In this case it would appear to not be the outcome that had been anticipated. It is strongly suspected by local residents that one or more of the guardians occupying the old Mencap unit and the house next door to it are involved in the sale and consumption of illegal drugs, including Nitrous Oxide, as you can see in the photograph above - click on it for a larger version - the photo was taken by another concerned local resident. The situation was initially reported back in April, but it would appear that little has happened in the meantime to resolve it. The purchase, sale, storage or consumption of Nitrous Oxide as a stimulant has been a criminal offence since the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 came into effect on the 27th May 2016. One worried local resident initially wrote to the Council and said:- "There were dozens of the little silver capsules in the gutter, which I am told are in connection with drug taking.  This is not the first time there have been dozens of these capsules littered outside the premises.   A neighbour in Lesney Park Road has even seen a car parked nearby, and he watched the driver put on blue surgical gloves, sorted through some boxes (drugs presumably) and then drove a few yards up Lesney Park Road to the old Bexley Mencap site and carried on some business with the occupants.  I have also seen people coming out of the premises, late morning, in clothes similar to pyjamas and going to their car for something and then going back in.  So they are obviously being used as residential premises. Who owns these premises? Are the occupants being housed there at local rate payers' expense? This is totally unacceptable. These premises are just a few yards across the road from Christ Church Primary School. The children are surely at risk. Apart from the drug paraphernalia, there is often other debris outside, broken glass, old furniture etc.  The whole frontage is an absolute eye-sore.  The occupants are showing no respect at all for the surroundings, and are taking advantage. Lesney Park Road used to be one of the nicest roads in Erith. It is in a conservation area. What is happening now is a disgrace and very unfair on the local rate-paying residents.  Can the Council and the local Police please look into the goings on at the site and take control of the situation?" I hope to make further reports on this issue in the weeks to come; if you have any information to add, please contact me at the usual address.

As a follow-up on the broad daylight plant theft from The Cross Keys Centre reported on the Maggot Sandwich update published on the 4th of June,  thefts of more potted plants have come to light in the centre of Erith, including one splendid ornamental basket hanging from the Stone Court retirement home, an act also caught on CCTV.  Neighbours have reported seeing people not known to live in the immediate area looking at some of these items on display, but in every case except one it has been simply to admire these lovely additions to the streetscape, not to walk off with them. One person the plant owners would like to trace is shown in the pictures above - the upper one from CCTV recorded from The Cross Keys Centre, and the lower photo which was taken covertly in the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, when the suspect was seen walking through it some time after the theft took place. His description matches that of a person seen carrying a large stolen oleander along the High Street on May 26th. The witness was struck by the odd behaviour of someone of strong stocky build, in a very distinctive polo shirt, walking very quickly along the street carrying an oversized plant. If you can identify the individual above, please contact me so that even if he is entirely innocent, he can be eliminated from Police enquiries. Email me in complete confidence at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I don't normally comment on stories that have been covered by the mainstream press, but I am making a notable exception in this case, as the popular press have in general only reported on about half of the real story. Google has said it will no longer scan the content of Gmail messages to sell targeted adverts to users of the free service. Google made the announcement in a blog post on Friday touting the success of its G Suite, the cloud applications service for business. G Suite is advertising free and does not scan content – for the obvious reason that businesses wouldn't be very keen on that – and now Google says it will make the free Gmail service scanning-free too. In an interview in the Register website, a Google representative said:- "G Suite's Gmail is already not used as input for ads personalisation, and Google has decided to follow suit later this year in our free consumer Gmail service,  Consumer Gmail content will not be used or scanned for any ads personalisation after this change. This decision brings Gmail ads in line with how we personalise ads for other Google products. Ads shown are based on users' settings. Users can change those settings at any time, including disabling ads personalisation." The Gmail scanning system was highly controversial ever since it was introduced in 2004, but the advantages of the service were clear. At the time, most webmail accounts offered pitiful amounts of storage – 2MB for Hotmail, for example – while Google was offering a gigabyte and promised to increase that later. While people weren't particularly enamoured with the idea of having their emails automatically scanned, they certainly liked the storage enough to continue using it. Nevertheless, Microsoft's advertising department used the practice as a stick to beat Google with – albeit to very limited effect. Many Gmail users do not receive targetted advertising anyway; if you have any kind of paid relationship with Google, such as having extended paid for cloud cased storage, you do not get adverts in Gmail, also, if like me, you were one of the first 500 people in the UK to set up a Gmail account, then you too see no targetted adverts. Google are very conscious that of the 3 billion people on Earth who have access to a computer or mobile phone, around 1.2 billion of them have a Gmail account. Whilst not all of those accounts will be in active use, that is still an absolutely staggering figure, and Google are acutely aware that they are in a contest with Microsoft in respect of cloud based office computing - Microsoft have Office 365, and Google have G Suite. If a large number of users are familiar with the Gmail user interface, they will find the G Suite very easy to use, as it is based on a very similar look and feel. Ironically this is how Microsoft locked users into Microsoft Office for years; once a user had become comfortable with MS Office they were strongly disinclined to switch to another product which would require a fresh learning curve. Microsoft came quite late to the cloud, and it is now playing catch up with Google, who are now kings of that particular hill. Nowadays for a vast majority of computer users, their web browser is by far the most used and most important piece of software on their computer or mobile device.

Local convicted multiple murderer Arthur Simpson - Kent lost his appeal against his whole life tariff when he appeared in court on Tuesday last week. Arthur Kent’s lawyers failed to persuade Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and two other leading judges at the Court of Appeal in London that the term should be reduced. He killed his partner, the former EastEnders actress Sian Blake, 43, and their sons, Zachary, eight, and four-year-old Amon, after the actress, who was terminally-ill with motor neurone disease, planned to leave him and take the boys with her. Once he had killed the three, he buried their bodies in the garden of their rented bungalow in Pembroke Road, Erith. The bodies were not discovered by the Police for three weeks. They had been repeatedly beaten and stabbed in a series of frenzied attacks. Simpson-Kent, who admitted three counts of murder, was sentenced at the Old Bailey last October by a judge who said he had been left in "no doubt'' he should receive the most severe punishment available for his ''truly horrific'' crimes. He was thus awarded the very rare sentence of a Whole Life Tariff – which means the only way he will ever be let out of prison is on the written orders of the Home Secretary, something that has rarely if ever happened. In his case, life really does mean life in prison, with no chance of parole. I used to see Sian Blake with her children occasionally walking around Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, and every so often in Morrison’s. I did not know she was an actress, or had been in EastEnders at one time (I am not a soap watcher).  I had not seen them for some considerable time before their untimely demise, I guess as her Motor Neurone Disease got worse, and she was forced to limit her mobility; the whole case is tragic. As far as I am aware their former bungalow in Pembroke Road is still empty – see the photo above. When the case first broke, I used Google Maps / Google Street View to locate the property; when I did, the image that the Google Street View camera car had captured of the house showed one of the little boys standing in the left hand window, looking out into the street. It had obviously been taken some time prior to the tragic events. I immediately decided that I would not publish or make reference to the image out of respect to the deceased and their surviving family and friends. I might have well not have bothered, as a couple of days later, the Sun newspaper published the image of the “ghostly” child in the window. I felt that this was in the very poorest of taste, but then the Sun is not exactly known for letting propriety or good taste get in the way of a good story.

Riverdale Road, Erith based country and Western singer songwriter Wayne Jacobs has been nominated for another three music gongs in the 2017 UK Country Music Awards. One of the nominations is for Best UK Country Artist of the year. I also understand that Wayne Jacobs has also written a song dedicated to Donald Trump. Personally I think this is pretty unnecessary, as President Trump already has an ideal signature song - "If I only had a brain" from the Wizard of Oz.

It would seem that the riot in Northumberland Heath last September has resulted in a long term legacy of fear and intimidation. A large number of local residents met with representatives from Bexley Police last Thursday in the Northumberland Heath Social Club. An officer has been assigned as overall lead for keeping the peace in Northumberland Heath; his name is Inspector Darren Murphy; he is leading a crackdown on anti-social behaviour, which is now regarded as the priority policing issue in the area. It seems that a majority of the youths / school children that engaged in the riot and subsequent fights and anti-social behaviour in Northumberland Heath are not from the area at all – they have mostly come from Woolwich and Plumstead. During an interview with the Bexley Times, Inspector Murphy said:- "I want to develop the use of Section 60 stop and searches, so if we hear of any problems our officers can stop and search anyone in the area without grounds, we’ve come away from that recently but following an increase in violence and knife crime it’s come to a point where we need to do it. We’ve identified a number of the youths and have established most of them aren’t from here, for whatever reason there coming in from surrounding areas such as Woolwich and are doing what they do, we’ve upped resources here, you can imagine how difficult that’s been during the events in London, but we still manage to have a safer neighbourhood team as well as the two officers working later in the night. We’re working with businesses such as Tesco to cut down on theft and loitering as well as with TfL to get Oyster cards taken away so these youths can’t make their way into the area. Our intelligence is improving, three months ago I couldn’t have told residents when there were going to be problems, but now we’re getting calls from parents, neighbours and schools telling us what is going on, Once we know what’s happening we can put dispersal orders in place to stop it, and we need that support to continue by ensuring that concerned residents contact their local safer neighbourhood police team NorthumberlandHeath.snt@met.pnn.police.uk.” It seems that what seems like a quiet and friendly place is actually blighted by a culture of violence and intimidation mostly led by school children from outside of the area. Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association recently published the following report on the public meeting and the outcome from it:-"The Northumberland Heath Safer Neighbourhood Team along with Acting Chief Inspector Peter Bodley, Inspector Darren Murphy, The Bexley Council Neighbourhood Services and local Councillors held a meeting at the Social Club in Mill Road last Thursday. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the ongoing anti-social behaviour in and around Northumberland Heath. Although it was a sweltering evening, the meeting was well attended with approximately seventy local residents and business owners in attendance. Each attendee was asked to fill in a questionnaire and a question and answer session took place. The senior Management Team from Bexleyheath Police Station explained the locations of where the main issues are and what we are trying to do to resolve them. Several individuals have been issued with a Community Protection Warning Letter with conditions asking them not to congregate in groups in and around Northumberland Heath or act in a manner which local residents may find intimidating. The Warning Letter if not adhered to will then result in a Community Protection Notice issue and court proceedings to follow. One youth has already broken his agreement and has been spoken to along with his parents to highlight the seriousness of his actions. The Team have been working very hard to collate evidence against individuals who are choosing to break these agreements. Street Pastors conducted trial patrols last week to try to engage with local youths, we are hoping that we will receive positive feedback from this experiment with a view to further patrols and engagement. A cannabis Warning form was issued to a male found in possession of cannabis behind an alleyway in Bexley Road. On a happier note, there has been very little in the way of crime reported to us this week, with no burglaries or vehicle crime. The next drop in Surgery will be held in the Library at Mill Road on Friday July 7th at 2pm". If you have experienced any issues in Northumberland Heath relating to anti-social behaviour, please get in touch with me in complete confidence; you can Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

There has been another incident of a person in the River Thames off Erith; on Sunday evening last week, emergency services were notified that a man was in the river next to a couple of moored tugs. He was reported clinging to the side of a tug, but unable to get out of the water at approximately half past seven in the evening. The inshore lifeboat came from Gravesend to rescue the individual, but by the time it had arrived the man had been in the water for nearly an hour; if this had happened in the winter, the man would have died from exposure in that time. I once again call for the creation of an RNLI sub station at Erith to serve the area of the Thames between Woolwich and Dartford, plugging what appears to be a gap in the current lifeboat coverage. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Some worrying news has emerged over the last week or so; the main encryption system used in online banking, web based shops like eBay and Amazon, “Smart” payment cards and a host of other vital services has been cracked – in the laboratory at least. The crack is currently only experimental, and to the best of current knowledge it has not been employed in the real world, but as with any of these things, it is only a matter of time before crooks find a way to “weaponise” the discovery. The most common, and indeed until now the most effective form of data encryption is a system known as AES 256. AES stands for Advanced Encryption System. This advanced encryption algorithm is unclassified and is "capable of protecting sensitive government information well into the next century," according to an announcement by the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) and is the most trusted process the for development of an advanced encryption standard algorithm. It  is easy to implement in hardware and software, as well as in restricted environments (for example, in a smart card) and offer good defences against various attack techniques. In June 2003, the U.S. government announced that AES could be used to protect classified information, and it soon became the default encryption algorithm for protecting classified information as well as the first publicly accessible and open cipher approved by the NSA for top-secret information. The NSA chose AES as one of the cryptographic algorithms to be used by its Information Assurance Directorate to protect U.S national security systems. Its successful use by the U.S. government led to widespread use in the private sector, leading AES to become the most popular algorithm used in symmetric key cryptography internationally. The transparent selection process helped create a high level of confidence in AES among security and cryptography experts. AES is more secure than its predecessors - DES and 3DES - as the algorithm is stronger and uses longer key lengths. Until very recently AES encryption was considered to be pretty much bullet proof; that is, until information leaked online about a rather unusual method of trying to break it. Researchers at Fox‑IT have managed to wirelessly extract secret AES-256 encryption keys from a distance of one metre – using £200 worth of parts obtained from a standard electronics store – just by measuring electromagnetic radiation. At that distance sniffing the keys over the air took five minutes, but if an attacker got within 30 centimetres of a device, the extraction time is cut down to just 50 seconds. The research team used a simple loop antenna, attached it to an external amplifier and bandpass filters bought online, and then plugged it into a software defined radio USB stick they bought for £20. The entire cost of the setup was less than £200 and the device could be hidden in a jacket or laptop case. The researchers used this kit to record the radio signals generated by the power consumption of the target system running an ARM powered chip. By measuring the leakage between the processor and the data bus, the data showed the peaks and troughs of consumption as the encryption process was carried out. By running a different encryption run on a test rig, the researchers mapped out how the power consumption related to individual bytes of information. That allowed them to take guesses at the 256 possible values of a single byte and the correct choice showed the highest power spike. "Using this approach only requires us to spend a few seconds guessing the correct value for each byte in turn (256 options per byte, for 32 bytes – so a total of 8,192 guesses), In contrast, a direct brute-force attack on AES‑256 would require 2256 guesses and would not complete before the end of the universe." The electromagnetic signals drop off rapidly the farther away you are from the target, but the researchers still managed the extraction from a distance of one metre, even though it took much longer to do so. Spending more on the equipment, however, would increase the range and speed of the attack. There are, of course, some caveats. The tests took place under laboratory conditions, rather than in a busy office or server room where other signals might interfere with the data collection. Nevertheless it is an interesting example of how an attack previously thought of as unfeasible due to cost and distance has been made easier by smarter and cheaper technology.

A road tanker dropped a large volume of Rapeseed Oil on the roads of Erith on the evening of the 26th June. The oil spill closed Lower Road, Bronze Age Way, Queens Road, South Road and North End Road from around 6.30pm. The Fire Brigade put sand on the large spill, which trailed all of the way back to the ADM Oil processing facility in Church Manor Way, which employs nearly 1,200 local people. The company originally started up in 1908, when it was known as Erith Oil Works – the business then was similar to now; they crush and process all kinds of seeds, to extract their natural oils, which are used in foodstuffs, cooking oils and animal feeds. The seeds, then as now are brought upriver in large bulk freighter ships. The distinctive huge concrete silos that are still present on the ADM Oil site were constructed in 1916, where they were some of the earliest surviving examples of reinforced concrete construction in the UK. They were constructed by Danish structural engineering company Christiani and Nielsen, who invented reinforced concrete construction techniques. ADM oils have in the past been guilty of causing the terrible smells that we have experienced in the local area. The reason for this was that the filters on the oil seed boiler chimneys used to not be changed as often as they were supposed to be. Lately ADM's plant engineers seem to have been a lot more conscientious in this respect, and the sickly smell has now been largely absent, thankfully.

The end video this week shows a factory that has been very important to many people in the area over the last seventy years or so, but over the last couple of decades has seemingly gone very quiet. It is the huge Ford vehicle plant at Dagenham, just across the River Thames. Due to automation the plant does not employ nearly as many people as it did in the past, and it no longer produces complete vehicles; instead it produces a vast number of engines and transmissions for both private and commercial use throughout Ford production facilities in and around Europe.  Do give the short video a watch, and please feel free to comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Riot.

The original painting above was created by Erith based professional artist Patrick Hearne. It was painted earlier this year, and shows the view looking Eastwards along Erith Station. It was displayed at the "Our Erith" local art exhibition arranged by the Friends of Christ Church Erith earlier this year. Patrick has an excellent website showing more of his work, which you can see here.

The area got some extremely unwelcome bad publicity at the beginning of the week; several national tabloid newspapers, including the Sun, as well as being featured on the BBC News website. On Monday evening a fight broke out between what is estimated to be around a hundred school pupils in Northumberland Heath. It is not my usual practice to report on stories that make the national press, as there is little point in going over ground that has already been covered by professional journalists. I make an exception in this case, as it is so worrying and affects local people. Whilst the precise details of the mini riot are still somewhat sketchy the best part of a week later, it would appear to have been organised via social media, and a number of those involved were armed with baseball bats or knives - the main clash happened near the Duchess of Kent Pub in Brook Street. Police and specialist officers with dogs descended on the area after reports of a “large fight between a group of youths” at around 5.40pm. The Met’s police helicopter flew overhead as officers tried to break up the violence. Seven people, aged between 15 and 21, were arrested. Various video clips are now circulating on social media, and these have been picked up by the press and online. On Wednesday Bexley Police were given authorisation to disperse and ban troublemakers from Bexleyheath town centre and Northumberland Heath over a following two day period. One thing does strike me - almost nobody in the UK plays baseball, so how come so many of these stories involve youths with baseball bats? Where are they coming from? Bearing in mind the impact to actual sport would be minimal, would not an immediate ban on the sale, resale or ownership of baseball bats be a good move on the part of the authorities? The official Police report on the riot read thus:- Officers are appealing for information following a large scale fight in Bexley involving more than 100 youths. Police were called to Northumberland Heath, Bexley, at approximately 17:40hrs on 19 September, to reports of the large fight between a group of youths. Officers from the borough and the Met's Territorial Support Group (TSG) were called to the scene attending within eight minutes. Two males aged 15 and 19 suffered non-life threatening injuries and were taken to a south London hospital by London Ambulance Service. Seven males, aged between 15 and 21 years, were arrested and taken to a south London police stations. They are currently in custody. Just before the fight in Northumberland Heath, there was a disturbance between a group of youths in Bexley Broadway at approximately 16:30hrs. Police dispersed the large group of people and they were believed to have been involved in the fight in later on. Officers are investigating the circumstances of what happened in the run up to the incident and appealing for anyone who was involved or witnesses to speak to them as soon as possible. Police will be in the area of the Northumberland Heath tonight, 20 September, to provide reassurance to the local community. They will also be working with local schools in the area over the next few weeks. Borough Commander of Bexley, Chief Superintendent Jeff Boothe, said: “This incident was a large scale fight in a public area and would have been shocking to anyone who witnessed it. "The safety of young people in our borough and the wider community is paramount.  We are actively investigating what happened and take matters like this extremely seriously. There will be extra patrols in the borough to provide reassurance in the community. I would appeal to anyone with information about what happened to contact us. They can speak to their schools liaison officer or hey can do this anonymously through Crimestoppers.” Speaking about the scale of the incident, Chief Superintendent Boothe said: “In total over  40  calls were made to police by members of the public and a number of incidents occurred across at least five different locations. Every available officer within Bexley was deployed to assist with the incident and support from the Met Territorial Support Group was provided. We were not able to attend and speak with every person who called police due to the large volume of calls and multiple incidents occurring. The calls had to be prioritised based on the risks and scale of disorder at each venue. Officers will be contacting those people over the next coming days as part of the investigation and to provide further reassurance." Anyone with information or witnesses can call Bexley police on 0208 284 9146, the police non-emergency line on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously 0800 555 111.

There has been a rumour circulating over the last week or so, and I have been able to get to the bottom of it. As many people know, Erith Morrison's supermarket is currently undergoing a much needed refurbishment. This includes the petrol station adjacent to the supermarket main building. Word has been going round that when the petrol station is refitted, it will be selling alcohol in the shop. Several concerned local residents have contacted me, as have a couple of Morrison's staff who are worried about an increase in crime if alcohol is served from the petrol station. I am happy to report that I have received word from official sources that whilst Morrison's applied for a drinks licence for the petrol station, it was not granted, and the station shop will remain alcohol free. The correct outcome all round, I feel. If you have strong feelings about this, or any other issues, please leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I have had several readers comment on my story last week on The News Shopper, and how for the last year or so they have had no base in South East London / North Kent, as they have closed their Pett’s Wood office and moved to Sutton in Surrey. The readers had not been aware of this situation – understandably, as the News Shopper did report the move at the time, but they kept it rather low key, and the story slipped under many peoples radar. When one reads the paper with this information in mind, it does become rather obvious that the emphasis is now on stories in South West, rather than South East London and North Kent; for example, they have been running a promotion on behalf of Young’s Brewery, to celebrate the 185th birthday of the pub company and brewer. The problem is that the edition that is available both online and in print for the local area features Young’s pubs taking part in the promotion that are located in Wimbledon, Richmond, Putney, Sutton, Croydon and Kingston.  Not exactly reflecting local stories and issues then. It must be very hard for what were former local newspapers that are forced into becoming regional newspapers as the only way to survive in what is a cutthroat and competitive market. One of the main motivations of the Maggot sandwich was to become a "parish magazine” for the Erith / Slade Green area and slightly beyond, as no local paper was covering the area in any detail. It has come to pass that the blog has become far wider ranging than originally intended – in many ways it has become somewhat of a victim of its’ own success – not that I am complaining! There has been a void in local news provision, which the Maggot Sandwich endeavours to fill.

You may recall that a couple of weeks ago I ran a story about a number of green spaces that Bexley Council wants to sell off to raise some cash. Once again the law of unintended consequences has come into play. Rather than quietly do away with the various small packets of green land around the (mostly Northern) parts of the borough, Bexley Council have done a sterling job in fostering community spirit and local cohesion. For example, a chap called Mark has been on contact with me - he requested that I publicise a FaceBook site that has been set up to fight the sale of the parcel of green land that exists on the corner of Napier Road and Wellington Road in Belvedere. I am more than happy to do so - whatever the outcome of the fight, it has brought local residents together against a common foe. I would suggest that one of the best ways of ensuring the continuing free space would be for the neighbours to form a charitable trust and to club together to jointly buy the land. That way they could guarantee their continued peaceful enjoyment of the open space. They would need to consult a solicitor with specific experience in such undertakings though. You can join the No To Napier Road Green Space Sell Off page by clicking here.

Riverdale Road based local musician Wayne Jacobs has been making the headlines again. The amateur singer / songwriter has won yet another award. He’s won the UK Country Radio listeners club award for the fifth time in a row. The singer is known for his three hits that reached number one in Nashville Tennessee, including My Tennessee Girl, I Want My Daddy and Rockin’ in the USA. Mr Jacobs first started writing his own country music after watching Walk the Line, the well-known film chronicling the life of music legend Johnny Cash. You can read more about Wayne Jacobs and his latest win by clicking here. I must admit that I am rather conflicted about this award. Whilst I am really pleased to see an Erith resident excel in an artistic field; I just wish it was playing something other than Country and Western music. I can (just about) see why certain people in the Southern states of the USA would like it - after all it talks to experiences they, or at least their grandparents may have had. Why someone from outside the USA would feel it appropriate mystifies me. Country music is mostly still synonymous with southern, white, cowboy culture. We can talk about parts of the genre that have moved past cowboy boots and pick-up trucks but if you look at the chart toppers, concert attendance, and country music media in general you'll still notice these things: 1) Very traditional gender roles. 2) Some measure of conservative, patriotic (or jingoistic depending on your perspective), religious undertones. 3) Traditional and maudlin, self indulgent, romantic themes. 4) Explicit, direct, emotional expression - a very un - British concept. On top of this, Country and Western music lacks any concept of irony or self - awareness. Why anyone British would want to pretend to be American completely escapes me. If you have some insight into this phenomenon, I would love to hear from you. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I have been asked in the past questions about a relatively new pastime - the collecting of old computers. Like anything produced for a relatively limited period of time, old computers can become worth serious money - and others are essentially worthless. Already a lively market already exists on websites like Ebay, but it is easy, as with anything collectible and potentially valuable, there are plenty of pitfalls. Like in the more traditional field of antique collection, certain rules apply. Originality is paramount - all of the correct leads, connectors and the power supply need to be present and correct, and the original box in good condition should also be there.  Condition needs to be good to excellent in order to attract a premium price, and any history of the machine in question is a bonus. One of the question I was asked was “If price was no object, what three classic computers would you most like to own, and why?” After a bit of mulling, my response was:- 1) Xerox Alto – the most revolutionary computer since Colossus. More on it in a moment. 2) Xerox Star – the development of the Alto, and the first commercially available computer to use a graphical user interface. 3) NeXT Cube Colour – the great granddaddy of all modern Unix based Apple Macs, and the platform used by Sir Tim Berners – Lee to create the World Wide Web. So why did I pick the Xerox Alto as my most desired classic computer? Well, bear in mind that the Alto was never actually available for commercial purchase, and only between fifteen hundred and two thousand Alto units were hand constructed by Xerox, mainly for internal use, though a handful made it into academia for study purposes, and one made it into the White House. The Alto was the first computer anywhere that had a GUI – a Graphical User Interface, that used the still common desktop paradigm. It had a mouse, used icons, it was able to talk to other Alto computers over an early form of Ethernet data networking. It had a "what you see is what you get" word processing program, it could send and receive Emails with attachments, it could output page set documents to a laser printer and had the world’s first high resolution bitmapped screen. All of this was available in 1973! You can see a short TV commercial for it here. It was at least fifteen years ahead of anything else in the world, but Xerox did not think there would be a market for such a computer, and eventually wound the project down. This business decision made Decca turning down the Beatles look small change in comparison. Later, the GUI computer project was restarted, and in the very early 1980’s Xerox released the Star – a high end workstation based on the earlier Alto concepts. Bexley Council had a couple of Star units in their typing pool for several years in the early 1980's, but they were never really used for anything other than word processing – with their distinctive portrait oriented display screens. Their powerful networking and graphical features were pretty much overlooked. A few years ago, before Bexley Council moved out of their old offices in Bexleyheath Broadway as they were due to be demolished, I tried to find out if any of the Xerox Star units were still being stored on site. I had heard vague rumours that at least one unit was stored in the basement nuclear fallout shelter. I had hoped to persuade the council to donate it to The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. Unfortunately my investigation drew a blank – nobody I contacted at the council knew anything about the computers, and they were actually not very interested. Many phone messages and Emails to them went without response, to the point where I got fed up and gave in. Anyone with a Xerox Star, or even more enticingly an Alto stuck in the corner of their basement (it would not have gone in the loft – it was so heavy it would have come through the ceiling) is sitting on not only a very important piece of computer history, but a small fortune. Collectors will pay substantial sums of money for rare and important computers – as was recently seen when an immaculate and completely original Apple 1 was purchased at auction for $905,0000. Personally I think this was a tad over-valued. The Apple 1 was not the first home computer by some way, it was not revolutionary and it was merely one of a number of kit type computers then available. The later fame of the brand has put quite an image boost over the machine that started it all for the Apple brand, and I will not be at all surprised if the next Apple 1 to go on auction breaks the million dollar mark.

The photo above shows a very young me, well, the back of my head at least - taken in September 1988 whilst I was working on my very first ever job in radio. Every so often I get asked by readers as to where the name of my blog originated; I usually tell them that if they read it for long enough, they will find out. Well. now is the time, in case you missed it last time I retold the tale, which was now quite a while ago. Over the last few years I have occasionally mentioned radio stations – both legitimate and otherwise that I have worked for in one manner or another. I have always had a deep interest in radio – even when I was at primary school, I would find old radios from charity shops and jumble sales and pull them apart to try and work out what made them tick; at one stage I managed to convert an old Bush valve receiver into an amplifier / speaker for my bedside transistor radio – even if it was only to listen to Ed Stewart on “Junior Choice” on BBC Radio 1. When in secondary school I started to listen the land based pirates which you could find all across both the Medium Wave and (what was then termed VHF) FM bands. The early 80’s were a formative time for unlicensed broadcasting – at that point little government thought had been given to widening commercial licences, and things such as community stations and special event licences just did not exist – with the notable exception of Radio Thamesmead, which at that time was available via Rediffusion cable only to residents physically located in Thamesmead. All sorts of pirate stations broadcast from whatever high points they could find – usually the roof of a tower block – radio signals on the VHF band travel in straight lines, so the higher up the transmitter / antenna are, the further the signal can theoretically travel – though other factors also come into play. My own favourite stations at the time were Alice’s Restaurant, and later Rock FM, which broadcast out of the Epping / Hainault area of Essex. Another station – which only came on during Monday nights was called Imagine – it played melodic rock and electronic music from bands like Tangerine Dream. When I was in the 6th form at school, I worked Saturdays at independent computer store Silica Shop in Hatherley Road, Sidcup, and so was not at home to listen to the various other pirate stations that broadcast on Saturdays. A friend handed me a cassette he had recorded of a pirate station that he said sounded like nothing he had heard before. I listened to the tape and was doubly astounded; firstly the station sounded very slick and professional – they had jingles and sound effects, and even had hourly news bulletins. Secondly, I recognised several of the voices as being people I knew, including one who was a school teacher of mine! I said nothing and carried on with the Saturday job. Sometime later when I had left school, I bumped into several of the people whose voices I had heard on the tape – typically we met in a pub – the Fox in Upper Belvedere (which back then was excellent, unlike now). One thing led to another and I was invited up to the studio. The station was called Radio Lumberjack, and it was run from a large semi-detached house in Bexleyheath. Most of the upper floor of the house had been converted into a main studio and a newsroom / production facility. Unusually for such a setup, the transmitter was located in the studio itself. Normally land based pirates would have a small, low powered UHF link transmitter which sent a hard to track signal to a much more powerful VHF FM transmitter located on the roof of a nearby tower block; the thinking behind this was that the authorities could easily track and confiscate the main FM transmitter, but the low power UHF link signal was far harder to detect – thus meaning it was less likely for the studio to also be raided – though this still was a danger. I later found out that the reason the chap behind Radio Lumberjack was unconcerned about the possibility of being raided was that his day job was as a member of the Department of Trade and Industry Radio Investigation Service – the pirate radio hunters of the time! He knew well in advance of any possible raids, and any documents pertaining to Radio Lumberjack promptly got “lost”, so the station got no official investigation at all, and operated with complete impunity for several years. Having such a “mole” right at the heart of the opposition proved invaluable later, when a number of Radio Lumberjack staff became involved with Radio Caroline – but that is a story for another day. Radio Lumberjack broadcast an eclectic range of music, interspersed with comedy sketches and novelty jingles. I soon became a regular presenter, hosting the evening album music show between 9pm and midnight – allowing pretty much all the other DJ’s to disappear up the pub. The humour on Radio Lumberjack was pretty surreal – much of the comedy material was written by the station staff. There were many spoof adverts, with commercials for fictional companies such as “Bethlehem Motors – car faith healers – save money and save your soul! With one simple low cost prayer, we can have your vehicle back on the road”. “Tacky’s Nightclub, with your host, Bland Groover”. Also, “Gaskets motor spares – suppliers of neo Georgian suspension, arc brake lights and stained glass windows”. Best of all, a commercial for the Thamesmead Tourist Board, with a cod salsa song “it’s the place for fun, it’s the place for sun, come to Thamesmead – go on day trips to all the popular holiday destinations like the Belvedere Rift Valley – home of the world famous earwig farm; enquire at the Thamesmead Tourist Board office – the little green hut behind the bike sheds in Thamesmead High Street!” It was all very slick and professional; the chap that ran the station was a big fan of Kenny Everett, but had his own unique style. Each presenter had their own introductory jingle – mine started with an incredulous voice – “oh my God.... It’s Arthur Pewty!” followed by the sound of Stuka dive bombers, explosions and collapsing buildings, accompanied by a massed band of Daleks screaming “Arthur Pewty, Arthur Pewty!” It was all very over the top and wacky. My pseudonym came from the meek and mild insurance salesman Arthur Pewty from the famous Monty Python sketch about the marriage guidance counsellor. When I first started my evening show, I racked my brains to think of a suitably surreal and silly name for it. I had already got my nickname, and recently I had read a history of 1960’s offshore station Radio London, where John Peel got his big break into radio. John Peel had a show called “The Perfumed Garden” where he played a lot of hippy music and recited poetry sent in by listeners (some of it was toe curlingly bad, but I digress). I thought that my show needed a really surreal title, so, as a play on “John Peel’s Perfumed Garden”, “Arthur Pewty’s Maggot Sandwich” was born. I was part of Radio Lumberjack for a couple of very happy and memorable years, and made friends that I still have to this day. The station naturally ran its course, and in time some of the more dedicated members – the station owner included became involved in Radio Caroline. That is a story for another time. So now you know.

The end video this week was taken recently - it shows Royal Navy Albion class amphibious assault ship HMS Bulwark heading down river after a visit to London. The footage was shot from Erith Pier, and shows the large vessel as it passes Erith on a journey towards the Thames Estuary.  Please feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Numbers.

Southeastern Trains and Network Rail have been the subject of further criticism in the last week after points and signalling failure at Lewisham last Monday morning, which disrupted services for much of the day. Fortunately most trains on the Greenwich to Dartford line did not suffer too much disruption, but once again it goes to show what a precarious hold on service the rail company has. One small thing goes wrong, and an entire line grinds to a halt. If this is not bad enough, to add insult to injury, London Labour Mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan has been quoted as saying that  it costs 18p more per mile to travel into London using public transport compared to a transatlantic flight. Mr Khan pointed out that a return train journey on Pay as You Go with an Oyster or contactless card, from Bexley in Zone 6 to Waterloo East in Zone 1, costs £11.80 (daily cap) - or 50p per mile as the passenger jet flies. In contrast, a Virgin Atlantic ‘Upper Class’ return to New York on May 5 - the day of the London mayoral election - would cost £2199.55 – or 32p per mile. The Labour candidate said the figures ‘show how ludicrously expensive Londoners’ fares have got under the Tories’. He went on to say that he will freeze fairs for four years if he is elected into office. Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith, who visited the newly revitalised Erith Market last Wednesday, complete with an entourage from the Conservative members of Bexley Council said in response  “Khan’s £1.9 billion black hole would cut vital transport investment and mean even more trains to and from Bexley are overcrowded and late. My Action Plan for Greater London will improve services and means that when a train pulls into the station you can actually get on it.” As I have said in the past, with a handful of notable local exceptions, you can always tell a politician is lying, because their lips are moving. What do you think? Leave your response in the comments section below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Regular Maggot Sandwich reader and occasional contributor Dana Whiffen has written the following piece this week:- "Former number one musician's Andy Newman's death brings back memories of Thunderclap Newman in Erith Area. News By Dana Wiffen. Andy Newman who many of you may ask, he was the pianist and multi-instrumentalist for British band Thunderclap Newman, founded by The Who's Pete Townshend. If you remember seeing them on Top of the Pops Andy was the bearded piano player who looked a bit old for the band, but he was actually not the oldest member in the band. Sadly Andy Newman died at his home in London on Wednesday 30th March aged 73, Andy could read music and could play keyboards, piano, clarinet, saxophone and many other wind instruments, his unique style of Dixieland piano playing fused with pop/rock sound gave Thunderclap Newman a distinctive sound. Thunderclap Newman shot to fame in the 1969 when the single “Something in the Air” by his band  Thunderclap Newman went to number one for 3 weeks, this track has since been used in TV adverts  giving the track further chart success in later years. The band originally put together by Pete Townshend who knew both Andy Newman and the bands singer/songwriter John “Speedy” Keen they added a very young but brilliant guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and went into the studios to record the track with Pete playing bass and Speedy playing drums. After the amazing success of “Something in the Air” the band needed to change from a studio band to a band capable of playing live and a bass player Jim Avery and drummer Jack McCulloch were added. The album Hollywood Dream followed and several singles from the album were released including “Accidents” and “The Reason. They then toured the UK with The Who as support and later toured smaller venues playing at The Black Prince in Bexley in 1971, they also supported Deep Purple on a European tour. Conflict within the band mainly due to Speedy Keens unreliability, he turned up for rehearsals late and even refused to go on stage leaving the band to play without him as their singer, on the eve of a planned tour of the USA as support for the Who, they split up. Andy went on to release a solo instrumental album on Track titled “Rainbow” and also toured with Roger Ruskin Spear of Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah fame. He regularly came to Bexley having friends in Erith and shortly after the band split he went to see a local band play at Dartford College and ended up on stage playing a number with them. Several years later there were various incarnation of Thunderclap Newman with him at the helm, only though playing small venues, more recently in 2010 a significant line up was put together including Mark Brzezicki (Big Country) on Drums, Josh Townshend (Pete’s nephew) on guitar and vocals. They toured and recorded some live and studio tracks of Thunderclap Newman tracks giving them a more modern and rockier sound, this was released on Track Records titled “Beyond Hollywood” the same year. There were plans for Pete Townshend to write some new songs for this band but things got delayed with Pete touring with The Who and Mark with Big Country, although it was hoped that they would go into the studios later this year. Sadly "unsung musical genius" was not to achieve another stab at the big time and this quiet but highly intellectual person will be greatly missed. When I was working at Track Records, Andy had stayed at my place my mum making him a bed up on our sofa. He visited and we met him at Hall Place only last summer (see photo above - click on it for a larger version - Dana is to the left of the photo, and Andy Newman in the centre). His musicianship and friendship will be missed by all who knew him".

In a similar music inspired theme, Erith’s multi – award winning singer / songwriter Wayne Jacobs is in the press once again. He’s entered a talent competition called “Britain Does Variety”. The winner of the competition will get a chance to perform in a paid gig at a 5 star luxury resort in Europe and recording time at River Studios. He’s already won the UK Country Radio listener’s award in the last four consecutive years. In 2012 he wrote a song about Big Ben, and was consequently invited to sing it on top of the famous landmark in front of MP’s. Other original content has been aired on BBC Radio Kent and BBC Radio Norfolk, and on a number of specialist Country and Western radio stations both in the UK and the USA. Personally Country and Western music is not my thing, but I hope that Wayne does well in something he obviously loves doing.

You may be aware that there has been a large amount of discussion relating to the possible changes proposed to local electoral boundaries; the Boundary Commission have proposed merging Erith and Slade Green into a single electoral boundary. Below you can see the letter responding to this which has been posted by our local councillors. Personally I think the boundary changes are ill - thought out and very unwise, as they don't reflect the reality of local circumstances. Read the letter and let me know what you think - either post a comment below, or drop me an Email. 

My feature on Erith’s sporting history last week has provoked quite a positive reaction. Regular reader and occasional contributor Brian Spurrell has come across an account of the three (not two as I wrote last weekend) cricket matches held in Victorian Erith with a home team pitched against a team of Australian visitors. The matches took place on what is now the Europa Industrial Estate. Adjacent to Erith Railway Station and Fraser Road. “20 September 1884: H H Hyslop's Xl v XVI of Erith and District. Then came 1884, when I was 10, and as a climax to the season, the news that the Australians were coming.  Great was the excitement, added to the fear that Spofforth, the "Demon", would paralyse the local batsmen.  As it happened, only four "Aussies" were included in a side brought down by Mr Hyslop, a friend of the captain of Erith, Mr Corbett, to meet 16 of Erith and district.  Spofforth was not one of them, but the quartet were formidable, being Palmer, Boyle and Giffen, a trio of tip top bowlers, and Blackham, generally considered to be the finest wicket keeper playing.  Two other well-known visitors were Godfrey, who often appeared for Sussex, and the Rev. A Carter, of the Yorkshire Gentlemen, whose antics when fielding caused much laughter. The district team went in first, and then came surprises.  Boyle, the bowler, was behind the stumps and Blackham, the famous stumper, shared the bowling with Palmer, and each in his unusual position distinguished himself, Boyle stumping four batsmen and Blackham taking five wickets for 26.  As Palmer collared ten victims for 17 with his easy action and deceptive deliveries, the total was a poor one of 51.  However, to everyone's surprise, the famous visitors did not do too well either, and had not Giffen, after a lucky let off at 4, gone on to 46, and Palmer 22 in good style, they might well have been behind.  As it was they reached 101.  The bowlers responsible for their poor display were Horner of the Surrey 11, who took four wickets for 26, and Parish, the local "demon" who also got four wickets at a cost of 32.  The 16 went in again, but fared no better, losing seven for 28, Haywood, the Eltham "pro", getting 17 not out.  This time Boyle bowled and bagged a couple, but Palmer was still the most destructive with 4 more victims, his complete bag being 14   11 bowled, 3 stumped. Some features of this match have remained vividly in my mind over a period of 57 years, especially the mastery of Palmer over his opponents, for he seemed to get a wicket whenever he liked.  During an interval he came to the railings, chatted with spectators and impressed them with his charming personality.  He asked me if I played and when I stammered "Yes" he said, "Then, my boy, always play the game and always be a trier." I was the proudest kid in Erith that day, and ever after I rejoiced in Palmer's success in Australia.  Palmer remains in my memory as one of the finest bowlers I have ever seen, both for action and effectiveness. 1 May 1886: - Erith and Australia v Bickley Park and Kent. On May Day, 1886, a quartet of "Aussies" were again in Erith, playing for Erith and Australia v Bickley Park and Kent   high-¬sounding titles both.  Blackham was one of the four, but instead of Palmer, Boyle and Giffen we had S P Jones, Evans and Garratt.  Harry Nuttall, who later kept wicket for Kent, was on the same side, but the opposing team was not an impressive one, the chief personality being "Nutty" Martin, of Dartford, who played for Kent from 1885 to 1899, and in that time took 979 wickets for the county   17 runs apiece.  He was considered one of the best left handed bowlers in the country, and on the one occasion that he represented England against Australia was the leading instrument in winning the game by taking 12 for 102. In the match I'm telling of, Erith and Australia batting first were well served by three of the Cornstalks, Jones 57, Evans 60 and Blackham 59.  Martin with five wickets was the most successful bowler.  Against a score of 244, the response was lamentable for facing Garrett, eight for 16, and Evans, three for 15, Bickley Park were helpless and were all out for 37.  To general regret Blackham again did not keep wicket, Nuttall officiating there.  Happy memories are conjured up when I think of "Sammy" Jones promenading the ground arm in arm with an equally light hearted Erith player. 3 May 1890: - H H Hyslop's XII v XVIII of Erith and District. Yet another visit from down under cricketers on May 3, 1890, when Mr Hyslop obliged with a team that included nine of that year's tourists, the most that ever played here.  There were Blackham, Boyle and Jones again, and Dr Barrett, Turner, Murdoch, Burn, H Trumble and G H S Trott.  In batting, Murdoch, who afterwards played for Sussex, was the best man, and Turner, known as the "Terror", was one of the world's outstanding bowlers.  Until our "Tich" of Kent beat it, he held the record for most wickets in first class cricket in a season.  Five other tourists, Lyons, Walters, Charlton, Ferris and S Gregory, watched the game.  So Australia could have fielded a full side.  Two others in Hyslop's XII were county players, Bacmeister, of Middlesex, and Fielding, of Surrey.  It will thus be seen that the 18 of Erith and district, who were the opposition, had a tough lot to meet.  The best known in the local team was W Wright, a Notts "pro" who played for Kent for 12 seasons and in 195 matches took 727 wickets at a cost of 19 runs each.  Later, this same year at the Oval, I saw him receive the injury which sent him to St Thomas' hospital for six weeks.  It was a gallant attempt to catch Lohmann from a terrific return that he had his hand split. Another County man in the side was Bombardier Barton, who did little for Kent, but much for Hampshire.  He was a useful all-rounder and a superb cover point.  Two others, Roberts, for Hampshire, and Hunter, for Kent, had appeared a few times for their Counties.  By this time I was assistant groundsman (that sounds better than ground boy) and scorer for the Erith Club, so I was lucky enough to score in this match, to be photographed in distinguished company, and take an innings at the superb lunch when I scored freely.  The 18 batted first, Barton played the best cricket for 21, Faulkner hit well for 32, and Hutchings delighted the crowd by smacking Turner all over the ground, one big drive laying the scoring tent low.  He made 35 in about 20 minutes.  Turner got most wickets but his cost 36.  The total was 156, sufficient to make a draw, as Hyslop's men got 128 for three, the scoring being very slow.  Barrett in particular being painful, his 50 taking 2 hours 20 minutes to make.  Trott 31, and Murdoch 22, were others who batted.  Barton took two wickets for 11 and was difficult to score from, Parish sent Trott's stumps flying to take the other wicket that fell.” The author of the cricketing memoir ends his recollections with the following comment: “The ground was beautifully situated where the beginning of the GEC works now stand.  On one side was a wooded cliff, and underneath that was the narrow footpath that led to and beyond our old recreation ground, where other local clubs played their matches, men and boys' teams often jostling each other. About a year from the final appearance of Australian players here.  Erith lost its ground, Fraser and Chalmers' works were built upon it, a deplorable change cricket¬-lovers thought, but they were powerless to avert it.  As a result the club dissolved, and by 1892, our recreation ground also having been built on, there was only the Working men's Club team in the place, and that, too, was defunct by the next year”.

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 Stations in some detail. Secret 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. 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. 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.



I got asked in the week about how criminals and malicious hackers actually gain control of computers. I responded that the easiest method was to exploit the user, rather than the computer. Getting the user to carry out an action which allowed the bad person to gain unauthorised access to the target computer. Using booby-trapped USB flash memory drives is a classic hacker technique. But how effective is it really? A group of researchers at the University of Illinois decided to find out, dropping 297 USB memory sticks on the school’s Urbana-Champaign campus last year.  As it turns out, it really works. In a new study, the researchers estimate that at least 48 percent of people will pick up a random USB memory stick, plug it into their computers, and open files contained in them. Moreover, practically all of the drives (98 percent) were picked up or moved from their original drop location.  Very few people said they were concerned about their security. Sixty-eight percent of people said they took no precautions, according to the study, which will appear in the 37th IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in May of this year. “I trust my Macbook to be a good defence against viruses,” one (stunningly naive) participant is quoted as saying, while another one seemed aware of the risks, but didn’t care, saying: “I sacrificed a university computer.”  Some 135 people actually opened some files in the drives, according to the study. The researchers didn’t put any malware on the sticks, but had left an HTML file that contained an image allowing the researchers to detect when a file was opened. The HTML file also contained a survey, which had the goal of informing unbeknownst students and faculty that they had become part of an experiment, and trying to figure out why they had picked up the drive and opened files inside. “It's easy to laugh at these attacks, but the scary thing is that they work—and that's something that needs to be addressed,” the leading researcher on the study, Matt Tischer, told “Motherboard” the technology news website. In the study, the researchers concluded that “the anecdote that users will pick up and plug in flash drives they find is true.” Based on the participants’ survey answers, the researchers concluded that most people did it with “altruistic intentions.” In fact, 68 percent people said they did it to find the owners, while 18 percent admitted it was just out of curiosity. However, considering their actions, it seems some overestimated their good intentions. Despite the fact that some USB drives contained a CV file, almost half the users didn’t open that file, and, instead browsed vacation photos first, “overtaken by curiosity,” as the researchers put it. Tischer said that it’s hard to prevent something like this from happening. “There are no easy solutions to these problems, but they will certainly extend beyond simply the technical to include a deeper understanding of the social, behavioural, and economic factors that affect human behaviour, there is a difference between warning users that a particular action is dangerous and convincing them to actually avoid it. We need to close that gap.”

Christ Church Erith has been also featured on the Maggot Sandwich recently. Now they are in the news for another great piece of philanthropy. They are working with the charity Age UK on the “Men in Sheds” project.  Christ Church have offered Age UK Bexley a plot of land behind the church hall to use for the programme, which has a growing waiting list. The Men In Sheds project is for men over 60, sharing and learning skills in a fully kitted out workshop and working on either personal projects or commissions for local organisations. The programme’s next project is to set up a furniture recycling shop to refurbish sofas and other household items and sell them on to the local community. Della Jeffery, the project development manager said in an interview with the Bexley Times that “The men in sheds project has already proven popular and benefits older men by reducing social isolation and improving mental physical well being”. Christ Church Erith are also marking the second year of their revamped Friends of Christ Church Erith group. In the last year, the Friends of Christ Church Erith has accomplished the following:-  In April, Friends were invited to a private tour of the Bell Tower during its Centenary. Friends’ committee members provided refreshments at each of the Tower Centenary Open Days. Members were personally invited to the Community Lunch in June. In November the Friends held a Quiz Night in the hall (which raised £609). In December, Friends’ committee members provided refreshments at the Rock Choir Concert during the Erith Christmas Tree Festival. They sponsored energy efficiency light bulbs (£50) for one church chandelier in response to the Vicar’s “Let There Be Light” appeal last December. In January this year, members were invited to the formal launch of the forthcoming “Our Erith” exhibition. At the end of February this year, the Friends took a stall at Bexley Civic Society’s Local History Fayre held at Hall Place (the cost of our stall was paid for personally by a Friends committee member).

I have campaigned against fly - tipping on the Maggot Sandwich and elsewhere for years. Readers may think that environmental crime is a relatively new thing, but as you can see in the newsreel footage below from 1965, the problem was well known and widespread over fifty years ago. Do give it a watch and let me know what you think. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.