by Fern Shaw | May 22, 2013 | water cooler
Ever wonder what came BTWC (Before the Water Cooler)? Here’s our first instalment about the history of water supply in the UK – hold onto your cups, because this timeline gets a little hairy at times!
1325
Franciscan Friars lay a pipeline into Cambridge from a spring one kilometre outside the town. Religious communities acquired a good reputation for water supply management in the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
1439
The mayor of London asked the Abbot of Westminster to help provide fresh water for the 55,000 people of the city.
1460
A system of lead pipes was laid under the streets of Hull. Householders paid for pumps to extract the water.
1574-82
Peter Morris (a Dutchman) installed an ingenious pump below London Bridge. It was driven by a waterwheel and forced water up a tower over 100 feet high into a big tank, or cistern. The water was then strained through a mesh and fed through large wooden pipes and small lead pipes to houses in London. Five wheels had been built by 1582.
1584
Sir Francis Drake helped Plymouth Corporation persuade Parliament to build a water system to bring water 25km across the moors to the town. Water was stored in cisterns to be used without charge. The supply served for 300 years.
1596
Britain’s first flushing toilet called a water closet was designed by Queen Elizabeth’s godson.
1605
Oxford used covered gullies to collect spring water from Hinksey Hill. The gullies lead to a 90,000 litre tank protected by a stone house.
1677
In York, water from the River Ouse was pumped by wind power into a tank on the top of Lendal Tower. This provided water inside the walls of the city.
1775
Alexander Cumming re-invented the Water Closet.
1777
James Prosser improved it.
1778
Joseph Bramah perfected the modern flushing toilet.
Each week, we’ll wend our watery way through the historical dates to the big ol’ 21st century and see how far we’ve progressed in terms of having access to fresh, clean, potable water.
At AquAid, we’re pleased to say that we offer the aforementioned potable water in a variety of forms, from bottle fed through to mains fed water coolers. Water comes from 3 different sources throughout the U.K.
Plus, revenue from sales is donated by AquAid to sustainable charities like Christian Aid and The Africa Trust. The Africa Trust being all about people in far flung rural communities in Africa being able to have access to potable water. Rather fabulous, to think that you drinking water from a water cooler in Gretna Green means many people in Africa will have access to safe drinking water too.
by Fern Shaw | Apr 26, 2013 | Water Coolers
- On Good Friday in 1930, the BBC reported, “There is no news.” Instead, they played piano music. (They were probably all gathered around the water cooler).
- In England, in pubs or bars, you can have drinks but you are not allowed to get drunk and in Scotland you are on the wrong side of the law if you are drunk and in possession of a cow. (So, perhaps safer to drink water, but watch out for that bovine companion).
- In London, the tube route from Leicester Square to Covent Garden is the most popular tube route for tourists despite the fact that it is actually quicker to cover this distance on foot. (Remember to drink your water on this trip).
- The 409 escalators in the London subway cover a distance every week which is approximately equivalent to several trips around the globe. (Again, even if you’re only using a few of these escalators, drink your water).
- The Queen of England, who once enjoyed extensive powers and authority over almost the whole world and despite all her present majesty and glory, is not allowed to enter the House of Commons simply because she is not its member. She may only enter the House of Lords.
- In medieval England even animals were tried in royal courts and punished for damages they inflicted on people or their properties. (That poor cow has a right to its beef!).
- In the Great Fire of London that wreaked havoc on the city and necessitated massive reconstruction work, the casualty count was only eight. (Imagine if all the premises had had water coolers on site).
- The English drink more tea than any person of any other nation (over twenty times more than Americans).
- Did you know that London has had many names in the past? It was called Londonium during the Roman Invasion, Ludenwic in Saxon times and Ludenburg during the kingdom of Alfred the Great.
- The treasures contained in the British Museum span two million years of world civilization. (Hmm, gem encrusted water bottle, anyone?)
- Did you know that the River Thames, which flows through London, has over 200 bridges and 20 tunnels? (Lots of water there, but I doubt that I’d be drinking it).
by Fern Shaw | Apr 9, 2013 | Health and Hydration
We still think water is better. Find out why we think so here.
When you start to drink more water, you’ll find that you drink fewer fizzy drinks and fewer high-calorie drinks. There are a few major benefits to this:
- Swapping water for fizzy drinks helps to decrease your daily caloric intake
- Drinking more water helps you to feel full throughout the day so you snack less
- Drinking water trains your taste buds to enjoy the subtle tastes of whole foods that are less processed and lower in calories
- Drinking sufficient water will have a pretty noticeable and remarkably fast effect (for the better) on your physical well-being
- Drinking water instead of reaching for the fizz will fatten your brain cells and not your body’s fat cells
- Fizzy drinks can act as a diuretic whereas water does not dehydrate you – in, the fact it achieves the complete opposite
- Drinking water, while you may not initially register it, is incredibly refreshing, whereas drinking fizzy drinks is falsely refreshing
And while you might drink water to lose weight, you’ll find that it’s good for your purse as well. Have you ever thought about the annual cost of your fizzy drink habit? For many people, it is substantial. A single diet fizzy drink during the day may not seem expensive, but over the course of a year, it adds up to hundreds of pounds.
This week, I’ll catch you at the water cooler where I’ll be lurking in an observational mode for research I’m doing on changing seasonal water habits and if there’s any truth to them. See you there!
by Fern Shaw | Apr 8, 2013 | Charity, Water Coolers
The Elephant Pump – how does it work?
What is it?
The Elephant Pump is a manual activated water pump based on a 2000 year-old Chinese design that the CEO of The Africa Trust, Ian Thorpe, adapted, to make it stronger and more durable.
This award winning Pump brings a cost effective, reliable and sustainable solution to one of Africa’s biggest problems.
What does it do?
It is made and maintained using materials that are locally available in remote rural sub-Saharan African communities, which means that once the Pump has been built, local resources can be drawn upon for repairs and replacement parts.
It draws water up from a well at a high volume – approximately 1 litre per second. That means 60 litres per minute.
How does it work?
As the handle is turned, water is drawn up from a well of up to 30 meters in depth via a central pipe by washers attached to a rope. As the pump mechanism is fully enclosed to exclude sources of contamination, it yields a quality and quantity of water which exceeds WHO guidelines. The surplus water is used for livestock and irrigation of crops.
What are the benefits of the Pump?
The Elephant Pump has already contributed to bringing over 2 million people in rural Africa, a safe water source, at a price significantly less in comparison to comparable hand pumps.
- The ancient methods of constructing the Pump ensure the materials can be locally sourced and built, further promoting employment within the local community.
- Reliability – At any one time around 95% of existing Elephant Pumps are in operation which is 40% above the average for Africa.
- Ease of Use – The Elephant Pump is safe and suitable for operation by children and the elderly.
- High Volume – The Pump can provide 500 people with 20 litres per person, per day for domestic use.
- The money saved from installing an Elephant Pump provides enough money to build an additional pump providing a further 500 people with water.
Where does AquAid fit in?
At AquAid, we continually strive to supply water coolers that are best suited to our customers’ requirements thereby ensuring that our customers keep hydrated. At the same time, our water coolers also help provide safe drinking water to thousands of people every year by donating to sustainable charities; the Elephant Pumps in particular, being built as a direct result of monies donated to The Africa Trust.
How do you fit in?
For each purchase of an AquAid water cooler, a portion of that revenue is donated to Christian Aid and The Africa Trust.
We also have on-going paperless campaigns where selected customers are offered the opportunity to have an Elephant Pump with their name on it, built in a rural community, thereby ensuring a safe water supply to others less fortunate.
So when you use our services you are also benefiting many others in the developing world and helping to save lives.
by Fern Shaw | Mar 26, 2013 | Charity, Health and Hydration
There are seven billion people on this planet and only one has run 521 miles on a treadmill in a week!
AITC’s Dan Lawson broke Sharon Gayter’s incredible record in the early hours of this morning, surrounded by well-wishers and supporters including Albion in the Community’s Dick Knight, Alan Sanders and Michael Edwards, plus Albion’s chief executive Paul Barber, who ran for an hour with Dan earlier in the evening alongside club chairman Tony Bloom.
In an electric atmosphere, Dan’s seven-day mission came to a climatic end amid raucous cheers, and quite a few tears, at 12.20am. Running over three marathons a day, the 40-year-old from Hove tested his mental and physical strength to the absolute limit battling through severe stomach pain, sleep deprivation, and creaking joints to break a world record that may never be eclipsed.
Buoyed throughout the final day by his favourite music from the early 1990s and unstinting support from his colleague Stuart Christie, friends Charlotte Jalley and Lewis Pilgrim, and his two daughters Lilly and Ruby, Dan also managed to conduct three TV interviews – two live – and four on the radio!
Dan’s stunning achievement was to raise funds and awareness for AITC’s children’s activity projects, designed to keep their youngsters healthy and active.
Sponsor Dan: here.
All of us here at AquAid and specifically those at AquAid West Sussex, who sponsored Dan’s Water Coolers and drinking water, would like to say congratulations to Dan on an absolutely phenomenal achievement!
