Not a dry eye in the house!

With barely a spare seat in the house the parents, grandparents and Friends of the Academy roared their appreciation and approval at the Concert put on by the students from the Bexley Academy of Music and Performing Arts.

Dancers, singers, orchestras and bands trained at the Academy presented their talents almost in defiance of its closure.

They were encouraged by a resounding standing and singing audience to Elgars Land of Hope & Glory.  The encore was deafening.

The heartening reception not only recognised their talents but it was also sending a clear message to all concerned that anything less than continuity of the “Jewel inBexley’s Crown’was unacceptable.

Any would-be takers of the Academy would be advised of the parents resolve by their outstanding support. People of all ages benefit enormously in participating in what the Academy has to offer.  The concert on the 15th July supported by hundreds of paying guests at the Fairfield Halls has made its aim loud and clear.

John Johnson - Sidcup

Black Police Association

If John Steward really doesn’t know why the Black Police Association is funded then he needs to read Lord Scarman’s report about the Brixton riots.                         

The riots were largely attributed to the resentment by black youths towards white police officers who had singled them out to stop and search, they rightly or wrongly felt harassed. Lord Scarman recommended that the police should recruit more officers from black and ethnic minority groups so that they were more representative of the communities they served.

Police forces have been given BME recruitment targets, which have led to accusations against some police forces of illegal race discrimination in the selection process in an attempt to meet those targets. Paying for a Black Police Association is aimed at trying to support and retain officers who have already been recruited and is less discriminatory.

Whilst any financial support aimed solely at BME groups appears disciminatory the amounts involved are a drop in the ocean compared to the financial and social costs of the large scale rioting, damage and looting that took place in Brixton. Over 300 people were injured and 83 premises and 23 vehicles were damaged at an estimated cost of £7.5 million pounds.

If John Steward has any better ideas of how to recruit and retain BME police officers which are completely non discriminatory then he should speak out.  I would rather my tax was spent on the Black Police Association than on putting right the wanton damage caused by rioting.

Pat Grevell, Sidcup.

Blackwall Bridge?

As someone who drives for a living I find there situation at Blackwall Tunnel quite appalling.

In the past twenty years the north of the Thames has been developed out of all recognition. The present three river crossings, Rotherhithe and Blackwall Tunnels and The Woolwich Ferry simply can’t cope with the extra traffic caused by this. So an extra river crossing is required.

Mayor Livingstones plan is to build The Thames Gateway Bridge from Beckton to Thamesmead. It doesn’t take much intelligence (just look at a map) to see that this will in fact become the river crossing for the North and South Circular Roads. Once the bridge has been completed the extra traffic will make life intolerable for local residents and businesses and new roads will be required.

To support the Livingstone plan for the Thames Gateway Bridge with tolls, the Blackwall Tunnel’s tidal flow system has been withdrawn and no doubt the next step will be a toll (remember we were promised the Dartford toll was going to end – it has been increased!).

What is required is a bridge at Blackwall. The infrastructure is there on both sides of the river and vehicles that cannot use the tunnels and are forced to use either the Woolwich Ferry (which closes at 7pm) or the Dartford or Southwark Bridges. This causes traffic congestion (who gains from congestion?).

A Blackwall Bridge would take this unnecessary traffic.

Tim Harlow,

Sidcup

Hip hop!

The House of Lords has criticised HiPs that will become compulsory on 1st August for 4-bedroomed home sellers. The Lords found serious flaws and loopholes, including the lack of criminal background checks on energy assessors who will be legally entitled to enter homes. Labour’s Baroness Andrews gave an unconvincing explanation why energy assessors do not undergo criminal record checks. If it was not for the Lords, Parliament would also have exempted MPs on spurious grounds from the FoI Act which MPs and government bodies have found so inconvenient. The excuse of confidentiality is often used to cover up incompetence, or worse, in the NHS, police fiascos and local government faux pas! 

Life is being made ever more precarious and over-complicated by a government obsessed with meddling but incapable of putting its own house in order. The steam pipe burst last week in New York is blamed by their Mayor on a breakage of infrastructure. England too has neglected to properly maintain our water, drainage and sewage systems. Almost all agencies have been statutorily negligent about “climate change” and global warming, secure in the knowledge that they can shrug their shoulders when preventable calamities occur.

R Grootendorst

Sidcup

To Err Is Human... To Forgive Divine...