by Fern Shaw | Dec 18, 2013 | Uncategorized
For such a teensy island I must say Britain certainly packs in a plethora of trivia from all around.
- The Slimbridge Wildlife & Wetlands Trust is the world’s largest and most diversified wildfowl centre. It has the largest collection of swans, geese, and ducks on Earth, and is the only place where all six species of Flamingo can still be observed. (We don’t source any of our water from here – promise.)
- Mother Shipton’s Cave near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, is England’s oldest recorded tourist attraction. Its owner, Charles Slingsby, fenced off the site in 1630 and started charging visitors to gape at this so-called petrifying well. The mineral-rich water from this uncanny spring has the ability to give objects a stone-like appearance after a prolonged exposure. (Nor from here.)
- An official report of the European Union surveying universities in all member states ranked the University of London as the top performer in terms of publications and in terms of citations, and the University of Cambridge as top performers in terms of impact.
- French was the official language of England for about 300 years, from 1066 until 1362. Mais oui!
- The world’s largest second-hand book market can be found at Hay-on-Wye, a small village at the border of England and Wales. The village is also famous for proclaiming itself independent from the UK in 1977.
- Fish ‘n chips are apparently not much more a traditional English dish than is Chicken Tikka Masala. The first combined fish ‘n’ chip shop was actually opened by a Jewish immigrant, Joseph Malin, within the sound of Bow Bells in East London around 1860.
Now you know. What is home grown (so to speak) and all things British, is our water. Whether it’s from the Scottish highlands, the Warwickshire countryside or from a natural spring deep in the Irish Hill, AquAid’s water is packed full of minerals and nutrients to keep you topped up and super hydrated. Drink up. Enjoy.
by Fern Shaw | Nov 25, 2013 | Charity, water cooler, Water Coolers
The Bupa Great Birmingham Run is the biggest half marathon in the Midlands.
‘Formerly known as the Birmingham Half Marathon the event was first staged in staged in 2008 and in 2009 also incorporated the World Half Marathon Championships.
England’s second city is the perfect stage for the event which attracts competitors from across the UK and around the world.
In 2012 Kenyan Micah Kogo won a thrilling sprint for the line ahead of Abera Kuma to set a new course record. Kogo, who dominated the race almost from the start, breasted the tape in a time of one hour and 17 seconds to deny his Ethiopian rival victory by two seconds with World record holder and pre-race favourite Zersenay Tadese third in 1:01:06.
On a very misty morning, Kogo – after losing the previous month’s Bupa Great North Run by a second – made amends by smashing the course record of 1:01:29 set a year ago by the legendary Ethiopian, Haile Gebrselassie.
The women’s race saw Sara Moreira taking total control in the last three miles to notch a runaway victory ahead of Ethiopia’s former World Half Marathon champion Berhane Adere.
The course takes in some of the city’s most iconic sights including the Bullring, the Cadbury’s factory in Bournville and Edgbaston cricket ground. Live music from ‘bands on the run’ keep you motivated every step of the way and thousands of supporters turn out to cheer finishers across the line on Broad Street in the heart of the city centre. ‘
Our Scott Barnbrook, of AquAid Birmingham, is quite the individual when it comes to participating in events for charity and/or improving his health. A recap here.
Good on yer, Scott, for competing in and finishing this rather marvellous and historical marathon!
Remember though, whether you’re running or exerting yourself in any kind of strenuous activity, you need to keep hydrated. This means drinking water. If you’re just zooming around your cubicle at 36 revolutions p/m, that also counts.
For any water cooler requirements, contact Scott at AquAid Birmingham, he or his team will be happy to help.
by Fern Shaw | Nov 1, 2013 | Water Boilers
AquAid have a new kid on the block. It’s very stylinnnnng. Its debuts just in time for the colder climes approaching the U.K. at warp speed Mr Sulu. Before I wax lyrical about how styling this little marvel is, here’s the nitty gritty tech spec. stuff:
What is its name? It is called The AquAid Instant Boiler
Features and Options
- Upmarket, stainless steel design
- Dispense point on worktop, boiler hidden underneath
- Electronically controlled for constant temperature of 95 degrees
- Mains fed
- Rapid draw off 7 litres
- Minimum hourly output 28 litres
- Minimal steam escape
- Early warning intelligent diagnostics with LCD display
Now you may be thinking that by me expounding all the wonderful attributes of this nifty 7ℓ stainless steel boiler, this means I’m so bedazzled by its sleek design and efficient lines that I am automatically denigrating our other water boilers. I’m not. Truly.
It’s just that we believe in a place for everything and everything in its place. Which translated to efficient speak means we have a variety of water boilers with capacities ranging from 3 ℓ through to 12.5ℓ , so the 7ℓ wedges in there capacity wise rather neatly.
I rather like the stainless steel design too – very Bauhaus / Danish modern / à la mode at present. I think.
Also note the ‘minimal steam escape’ feature. This means that when the AquAid Instant is at its constant percolating temperature of 95C°, which is just so warm and toasty, you won’t have great gobs of sweaty-making steam blorting out at you – which is especially welcome when you’re dispensing your 10th cuppa of the day.
Drink up, keep hydrated, and have a coffee, tea, or ………… hot drink of your choice on AquAid why don’t you.
by Fern Shaw | Oct 14, 2013 | Charity, Health and Hydration, water cooler, Water Coolers
Remember the heat wave? You must – it was only a month or so ago. Now, take those temperatures and turn up the heat, so to speak, by a good 8 °C. Or for that matter, another 10°C.
Now, take a good 38°C and couple it with scant shade … and … no water.
Then, to this rather sweltering image, add this: If you want drinking water, you need to walk to go and find it. And not just down to the corner caf, but a few miles. When you get there, you can’t just buy a bottle of water (or any liquid for that matter); you have to fill the bucket that you brought with you and walk back home, carrying the now full bucket.
Not enough Bear Grylls for you? The water that you’ve just fetched is most likely, not fresh, and not clean and may be so full of bacteria, that even while trying to hydrate yourself, you may very well be making yourself ill without even realising it.
Remember, this is just water for you (and possibly, members of your family) to drink. This is not water that is needed to wash your clothes or your dishes or to water your meagre food crop with. This is just water to drink to keep you going. This is basic human survival type of stuff.
This is the day to day existence for many communities throughout the Third World and in the summer months, lack of potable water is amplified by the heat.
That’s just one of the reasons that AquAid chose to work with sustainable charities like The Africa Trust.
Because although we’re always tooting our horn about being one of the top water cooler providers in the U.K. we also (truly) believe in helping others less fortunate to help themselves. So, while we have you to thank, most valued customer, for your support and through your purchases making it possible for others to help themselves; isn’t it rather nice to know that when you’re sipping cool spring water from one of our water coolers, there’s another Elephant Pump being built in Africa, bringing fresh, clean drinking water to yet another community in need?
I think so. Good on yer. Toot toot!
by Fern Shaw | Oct 14, 2013 | Health and Hydration
Yes, yes, I know we blather on about water conservation and that the long, hot summer (‘tun tun de dun’ – Style Council) has passed us by, but this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t maintain water saving ways throughout the year. Hopefully, if we teach ourselves and our families these rather nifty ways, the benefits will be with us for generations to come.
- Bedtime drinks for you = morning watering for plants – A night-time glass of water is a healthy habit and in the morning you can use the left over water to top up your house plants or throw it on your shrubs, good for you, good for the plants, good for your wallet and good for the environment
- When filling the bath put the plug in immediately and adjust the temperature as it fills rather than waiting to get the water coming out of the tap to the right temperature.
- Bathe young children together.
- Steam vegetables instead of boiling. They will be more nutritious and you will use less water and less electricity or gas to cook them.
- Rake and aerate the lawn every year so that water gets down to the roots of the grass instead of sitting on a hard matted surface and evaporating off.
- Fit a pistol grip nozzle on your hose pipe so water only comes out where and when you need it.
- Insulating your pipes can stop bursts in the winter; will cut your hot water bill and means that you get hot and cold water from the tap much faster.
- Rinse your razor in the sink – Put a bit of water in the sink to rinse you razor rather than using a running tap.
- Don’t waste the water from your veg – Water used to boil veg can be used for gravy or soup, or once cool, can add nutrients to your pot plants.
- Fill the kettle whilst you wait – Sometimes you have to run the tap to get hot or cold water (lagging might cut the wait time). Use this water to fill your kettle or keep a watering can by the sink for houseplants.
- Mulch, mulch, mulch – Mulching helps keep soil moist, it reduces evaporation by up to 75% and it adds organic matter to the soil. You can make your own using leaf litter or bark.
From our side, we take a 3-pronged approach (actually there are more ‘prongs’, but all good things and all that):
- Keeping you happy, healthy and hydrated by making drinking water available to you at the press of a button;
- Ensuring that the water that we deliver to you and replenish is from a good source and;
- Keeping it as local as we can – meaning that you should be able to find an AquAid branch close to you out of 32 branches available nationally.
