by Fern Shaw | Aug 12, 2016 | Uncategorized
I know we bang on a lot about water (no surprise there, Murphy Brown) and most of it’s to do with keeping ourselves happy and hydrated (and our children and the elderly and the animals), but seeing as there’s a whole planet out there that needs water to survive, I thought I’d focus a little on water and growing stuff – like plants and gardens and shrubs and the like.
Here’s a few how to’s for these glorious summer months:
- Use drip irrigation for shrubs and trees to apply water directly to the roots where it’s needed.
- Pressure washers use a lot of water. Use them sparingly and think about what you are doing. If you must use one to wash your patio furniture or bike, do it on the lawn so the water gets recycled.
- Use mulch and bark in your garden to reduce evaporation by up to 70%.
- Think about mixing some drought-resistant bedding and perennial plants to your garden to add diversity. Examples of these perennials are African or French marigolds, petunias, geraniums or campanula.
- Don’t waste water by using a hosepipe to clean your paths, patios and driveways. Use a broom, rake or outdoor blower or vacuum instead.
- Reduce the amount of lawn in your yard by planting shrubs and ground covers appropriate to your site and region.
- Try not to cut lawns too short. When mowing, cut only the top third of the leaf area, leaving it three centimetres or higher. Reduce water loss even further by saving your lawn clippings to use as mulch on your lawn or garden.
Of course, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t add a little postscript here when I remind you to try to avoid using your water cooler to water your shrubs, perennials and gardens. That water is for you, that is!
by Fern Shaw | Jul 28, 2016
Much is said about how much water a person should drink every day.
This information can be pretty generalised and occasionally confusing, so we’ve come up with a more specific indicator of how much water you should be drinking.This chart gives a clear indication of exactly how much water you should drink each day to keep you sufficiently hydrated based on your weight and activity level.
To give you a better indication, we’ve classified both average and sedentary activities here:
A sedentary activity level describes someone who gets little to no exercise. If you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk or watching television, without working out regularly, you’re considered sedentary. The activity you do perform during your daily routine is low-intensity.
Average activity describes a person who gets just under two and a half hours of activity a week. Examples of average activity are brisk walking (4mph); housework; mowing the lawn; playing doubles tennis and light cycling.
(We haven’t included the drinking requirements in the conversion chart for people who have high levels of activity as this is so varied it is impossible to give general guidelines.)
To get the full benefits of drinking water, you should try to maintain a steady intake throughout the day. That’s where AquAid’s range of bottle fed and mains fed water coolers come in, giving you a constant supply close to hand.
by Fern Shaw | Jul 15, 2016 | Uncategorized
Summer is upon us – lift your hands in air and say – Hey ayyy! But what to do and where to go inside of our now less than frosty shores? Here are a few suggestions that may shine some light on your wintery grey matter:
Woodland Trust – The UK has centuries-old oaks, beeches and cedars – and the Woodland Trust is keen to protect our ancient trees. Help the trust by setting out to explore Britain’s oldest forests. Give a tree a hug to see how far your arms stretch round – they become important when the girth of the trunk is one to four arm spans.
Real Ale Trail – Create your own real ale trail by train for just a few bob. A hop-on, hop-off day return on the St Ives Bay Line in Cornwall will take you past real ale pubs in Lelant Saltings, St Erth, Penzance and St Ives. That’ll certainly put the hop in your journey!
Visit Flat Holm Island – Sail across the water to Flat Holm Island in the Bristol Channel and spend the day wildlife spotting. There are boat trips that can be arranged to the island to visit for the day or for longer stays.
Rooftop Films – Watch a movie al fresco during the Rooftop Film Club season, which runs until September 30, with screenings in Camden, Peckham, and Shoreditch. They’ll also take place at Somerset House and in Trafalgar Square.
Banksy art – Go in search of works by elusive graffiti artist Banksy – such as Grim Reaper, The Girl with the Pierced Eardrum and Well Hung Lover – in his home town of Bristol. Try a self-guided walking tour and visit some of the city’s bars and restaurants on the way.
Further north, how about some wonderful behemoth watching (no, I don’t mean ‘Nessie’):
Whale watching, Scottish Highlands – The waters around the Hebrides are home to a variety of whales in the summer months; more than 250 minke and pilot whales were spotted last year, along with rarer sightings of killer, fin and even humpback whales. Alongside the whales, there’s a good chance of seeing dolphins, porpoises and sharks, with white-tailed eagles and puffins in the skies above the boat.
There are oodles more of things to do, see and visit throughout the U.K. this summer; I’ve had to whittle these suggestions down from hundreds. Whatever you decide to do and wherever you go, remember the No. 1 rule of summer – rain or shine – keep your precious little self hydrated and make sure you take your drinking water with you.
by Fern Shaw | Jun 13, 2016 | Uncategorized
The Glastonbury Festival has a long and illustrious history stemming back to the first ever festival which began the day after Jimi Hendrix died, in 1970. This year the Festival is running from the 22nd to the 26th of June.
Attendance has gone from a modest 500 people in 1978 to a whopping 175 000 last year. Rain or shine, that translates into a lot of very thirsty revellers, organisers, staff, and performers – so, pretty much everyone will have a thirst on them.
The good news on the thirst front is that AquAid South Coast has the festival covered. As Glastonbury get into the swing of things setting up, so does AquAid – starting off with the delivery of 120 Bottle Fed coolers accompanied by 600 bottles plus another 20 Mains Fed (POU).
Darren Brooks, of AquAid South Coast, who has experience with filling the Glastonbury Festival order, is managing the day to day orders and deliveries, but AquAid SC has had to take on extra staff to cover the work load.
The bulk of the deliveries have now started to go in and ramping up the orders for the Festival starting 22nd June.
“This will be the fifth year now supplying to the Festival itself, although we supply the farm and organisation all year round,” explained Kevin James, Sales Manager at AquAid South Coast.
So, if you’re heading off to the festival, here’s wishing you an incredible time, and remember to keep your special self hydrated as you party on for the duration. We’re hoping that the only wet you encounter is your drinking water and that the rest of the festival stays sunny and dry. (We’re also hoping for dry weather, so that when we collect our machines post festival, it won’t be in metres of mud – fun!)
Should you have any water or water cooler requirements in the South Coast region, please do contact us, we’ll be delighted to assist.
by Fern Shaw | Jun 8, 2016 | 110v water coolers, construction water coolers
Construction companies are part of a specialised industry, as are their requirements, as they need to ensure that their construction sites adhere to regulations that ensure the health and safety of all on site.
One such requirement is that there is adequate hydration available to the entire workforce on site for the duration of the construction.
The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) states, in part:
Drinking water
Drinking water must be provided or made available at readily accessible and suitable places.
This is where AquAid comes in.
AquAid are the premier choice for a broad range of water cooler provisions in the UK.
We are also the preferred supplier to a number of specialised industries, one of these being to the construction industry, as we understand the specific requirements that construction companies, small or large, have.
Incorporated into our water cooler provision to construction companies we offer the following services as a standard:
- Next-day delivery and collection of water coolers.
- Guaranteed next-day delivery of water.
- Next-day call-outs for repairs.
- Educational hydration package for workers, show casing the importance of remaining hydrated at work to reduce the risk of accidents.
- Supply of both 240V and 110V water coolers.
- Dedicated account managers on both a local and national level.
We already supply numerous construction companies with water coolers throughout the UK, ranging from smaller companies with only a few sites, to some of the largest national companies with hundreds of sites at any one time. Our unique ability to offer a combination of both local and national account managers mean that the ordering process is hassle-free, both at the point of set-up and for re-ordering of supplies.
Call us today to enquire about availability and the unique service we can offer to you the construction industry.
