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 | May 20, 2013 | Charity
Radio Marsden is offering 50 cyclists the chance to ride part of the Olympic 2012 road race route.
They have organised the sponsored ride for Sunday, June 30th to raise funds for vital new studio equipment.
After more than 44 years of entertaining patients at the world-renowned Royal Marsden cancer hospitals in Sutton and Chelsea, the UK’s leading hospital radio station could be forced off-air if it doesn’t raise £50,000.
Now cycling enthusiasts can help reach that target by following in the tread of Sir Bradley Wiggins and pedalling 50 miles through the Surrey countryside, including the iconic climb up Box Hill.
“We have just 50 places to ride 50 miles and help us raise £50,000,” explained Radio Marsden Appeal Co-Ordinator Clive Davis. “It will be a circular route from the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton and has been designed to suit regular bike riders. It’s not a race and we want people to enjoy the challenge, admire the scenery and of course get sponsored for their effort.”
To be part of Radio Marsden’s inaugural sponsored cycle ride and to help keep them on-air, simply register and raise a minimum of £100. That commitment will help keep them on-air, delivering a mix of pre-recorded and live shows 24/7 to hospital patients, on-line at www.radiomarsden.co.uk and to a much wider community audience at outside broadcasts throughout Surrey and London.
As a registered charity they receive no financial support from the Royal Marsden Trust, the Government or the NHS, so please ‘get on your bike’ and support their latest fundraising initiative.
AquAid Surrey have ‘got on their bikes’ so to speak by paying for 50 cycling jerseys that will all bear the AquAid logo on the front.
AquAid – suppliers of a broad range of water coolers throughout the U.K. – is strongly linked to helping others to help themselves through supporting sustainable charity work through donations to charities such as Christian Aid and The Africa Trust.
We would like to wish Radio Marsden and the fab cyclists every success in this iconic cycle!
by Fern Shaw | May 3, 2013 | Charity, Health and Hydration
An Inconvenient Truth – Conspiracy or Reality?
In this world there is a surprisingly small amount of the population – just 19% according to a survey done by InternetWorldStats – that have access to the internet and to all the information it brings.
I really thought it would have been something closer in the region of 40% – colour me surprised!
Here I was thinking that when it comes to global environmental issues like ‘was An Inconvenient Truth made up purely for political grandstanding or is that really what we’re doing to the planet’, oodles of people had access to this and other such topical environmental issues. Not the case it would seem.
So, perhaps it’s best to forget about internet accessibility and reach and just resort to the physical world that we live in and good old common sense (boy, am I sounding like my elder elders round about now!). Hopefully, common sense is common sense globally and this is not affected by human wants and needs according to Maselow’s Law of Hierachy.
Common sense to me is to look around me at the world that I live in and map the changes with my beady eyes and act accordingly.
A prime example is the car trips the family took on our annual holiday to the seaside, when I was but a sprog. I rarely noticed anything on the initial trip, but it always struck me on the return. As said sprog, I vaguely remember that we would almost be back in the city, 17 miles out perhaps, before I would notice a little smog. Having been fortunate enough to have grown up in the countryside, anything other than a clear blue sky and fluffy white clouds was instantly noticeable.
Fast forward to adulthood, some 20 years on and I recreate that car trip down to the seaside. On the way back, a good 150 miles or so out of the city – still very much in the countryside, to be surrre – and I see a thick, heavy pall of smog, ugly as all get out with an awful yellow grey colour to it – lurking above the horizon. It shocked me – there is just no other word for it.
I know full well that there are a whole host of contributing factors, all very logical, but it did make me think that we have been rather blessed with a magnificent home, so best to do what I could to maintain and not abuse my home too much.
As a company, AquAid too, has a philosophy and ethic that strives to address the very challenging issue of climate change and to implement steps that will indisputably reduce our carbon emissions.
If, as suppliers and consumers, we all do the very best we can in this regard, then we may have some chance of halting the large-scale destruction of our planet in years to come. In this technology-based world, it is virtually impossible to become “truly” carbon neutral. However, we promise that at AquAid we are concentrating all our efforts and resources in minimising any damaging effects our business has on the environment, whilst continuing to balance this with our on-going commitment through Christian Aid and The Africa Trust of providing fresh clean drinking water for our world’s poorest and most deprived people.
By being kind to your planet, which is your home, you are actually being kind to yourself – pretty much a win-win situation if we look at it like that.
by Fern Shaw | Feb 27, 2013 | Water Coolers
As you may well know, an integral part of AquAid’s professional ethos has always been to work smart; be kind to our environment (from whence we draw our sustenance in so many ways) and be charitable with a knock-on effect by involving ourselves in sustainable projects globally, choosing projects that allow people to empower and help themselves long after water pumps have been installed and wells built.
Purchases of AquAid’s range of water coolers, water boilers, in cup drinks and water fountains has generated donations for January 2013 as follows:
£6,735 to Christian Aid
and
£50,492 to The Africa Trust
In 2012, a total of £88,600 was donated to Christian Aid and £688,000 to The Africa Trust.
The Africa Trust works to bring sustainable solutions to poverty in Africa. This includes establishing sustainable supplies of clean productive water and decent sanitation. Income generating projects are used to pay school fees, improve clinics and generate the funds needed to run orphanages.
Wealth creation is an important objective, with business skills training helping school leavers and villagers to start or expand profitable businesses. One of the innovative new projects is growing bananas to pay for school fees. The banana plantation can only be established once an Elephant Pump or piped water plus a fenced area, have been installed at the school.
More information about the banana growing and other sustainable projects can be found here, paying for school fees with bananas!
We are looking forward to a wonderfully successful 2013 and of course, our previous, current and future successes with our charitable contributions are all because of the relationship we have with you, our valued client.
by Fern Shaw | Feb 18, 2013 | Water Coolers
Multifunctional
Water coolers don’t just mean cool, clean, fresh drinking water on demand. They can also mean piping hot water for your favourite hot drinks to warm you through the nippy cold months. I’m referring to our range of water boilers .
Even more convenient in the ‘Choices Division’ is the:-
AquAid Water Chiller / Boiler Combination!
Then, just when you thought the convenience and options couldn’t become any more marvellous, we also offer a selection of hot and cold beverages for your work place too:
Café Direct Drinks Range:
- Cadbury’s Drinking Chocolate
- Café Direct Coffee
- Bovril
- A full range of Soups
- Kenco coffee
Wherever possible, we choose to supply Fair Trade products, like Café Direct coffee. Fair Trade guarantees a better deal for Third World producers and allows them to invest money in local healthcare and education.
Hot & Cold Water Dispensers from AquAid can also be installed with cool, refreshing sugar-free natural flavours peach, lemon & lime, apple and pear and for each bottle we sell, we’ll donate 5p to Christian Aid.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, all this choice has made me thirsty, I’m off for a quick cuppa Bovril.
