by Fern Shaw | Jul 31, 2017 | aquaid central london, water cooler, Water Coolers
We hope by now, by browsing our super new spiffy website, that you’ve seen that AquAid really do put the cool in your water cooler, and that we’re geared to be able to provide you with any requirements you may have, water cooler wise, across the United Kingdom. But you may not be aware that there is not one, but two, AquAid Water Coolers branches in London?
You didn’t? Well, step right up, dear customers, past, present and future and let’s introduce ourselves.
The first AquAid London branch we’re focusing on is the AquAid Central London branch, with premises in Andrews Road, E8 4QN.
AquAid Central London has been in operation for 15 years and services their more than 800 customers’ requirements for water, water cooler and water related products.
It’s almost impossible to itemise what makes London so special, so today we’re focusing on perhaps lesser known nibs of interest in and around the AquAid Central London office.
Sir John Soane’s: The architect of the Bank of England had a magpie’s eye for unusual and exquisite bric-a-brac. His former home has long served as a museum space to show off the collection, which includes period furniture, paintings by the likes of Hogarth and, most memorably, the sarcophagus of Seti I. Entrance to this one of a kind museum is free.
Great Ormond Street Hospital is possibly the best and most famous children’s hospital in the world. But what you may not be aware of is that the hospital owns the rights to Peter Pan. Peter Pan is one of the greatest children’s stories ever told, and in 1929, its author J. M. Barrie gifted the copyright to the hospital, eight years before his death.
King’s Cross Station is a magical place. The station features in many books and films, but its most famous appearance in either comes as the gateway to Platform 9¾ and the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter series. Author J.K. Rowling picked King’s Cross because her parents met on a train at the station (although the author was apparently thinking of Euston Station’s platforms 9 and 10 at the time).
Even if you’re based at Platform 9¾ in Central London, the AquAid Central London branch is more than equipped for all your water and water cooler requirements. They’d be delighted to assist, so please do get in contact.
by Fern Shaw | Jul 31, 2017 | aquaid london south east
AquAid Water Coolers have been in operation providing high quality water coolers, dispensers and water boilers since 1998. Today, AquAid have 35 branches throughout the U.K.
In London, AquAid have not one, but two branches in the capital.
If you have any water or water cooler requirements in London’s South East, then you need look no further than AquAid London South East or AquAid LSE as the branch is known.
Owned and managed by the inimitable Paul Taylor, AquAid LSE has been supplying water coolers, dispensers and bespoke water supply solutions to their customers for 16 years. Paul and his team look after more than 1,250 customers at worksites, care facilities, hospitals, offices, universities, colleges and schools.
Although London’s South East boroughs of have changed somewhat over the years, AquAid LSE continues to look after their customer requirements throughout the following areas:
Beckenham, Bexley, Camberwell, Docklands, Erith, Forest Gate, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham, Orpington, Peckham, Rotherhithe, Sidcup, Southwark, Stratford, Swanley, Walthamstow and Welling.
Certainly a mouthful but AquAid LSE has you coolered nonetheless!
Some perhaps lesser known points of interest in and about the boroughs of London’s South East:
*The O2 Arena in Greenwich, originally known as the Millennium Dome, is so large that it can fit the Great Pyramid of Giza or the Statue of Liberty inside. It is the largest structure of its kind in the world, but with a seating capacity of 20,000, it comes in second to the Manchester Arena.
*The London Docklands: In 1696, the Howland Great Dock was formed in Rotherhithe. It was established to give more area for the ships to dock and secure the ship from any thieves. There are at least 120 large vessels which could be accommodated in the dock.
*Lambeth Bridge is painted red in honour of the House of Lords, while Westminster Bridge is painted green for the House of Commons. It is an interesting honour considering that Parliament attempted to block the building of the bridge in 1664, 1828, and 1836, as well as trying to block its widening in 1912.
So whether you’re situated in the Docklands, Greenwich or Lambeth (or in any of the other 15 locales) in London’s South East, AquAid LSE is available for all your water and water cooler requirements. They may not be painting any bridges red or green but they’ll always be able to offer you cool blue drinking water, whatever your set-up requires.
Contact them today – they’ll be more than pleased to assist.
*source: from an article in Londontopia
by Fern Shaw | Jul 10, 2017 | aquaid edinburgh, water cooler, Water Coolers
I don’t know about you, but if you’re not a local, when I think of Edinburgh and The Lothians, it always brings to mind unicorns, cobbled streets and interesting sounding bridge names. Perhaps the latter is due to my having read my way through the Rebus’ books. Whichever way you look at it, Edinburgh has a fascinating history and a legion of places, people and landmarks of interest.
AquAid Edinburgh, or AquAid Lothian as the branch is more commonly known, has been looking after their more than 1,000 customers in Edinburgh; Alloa; East Lothian; Falkirk; Fife; Midlothian; Perth; Scottish Borders and Stirling since they opened their doors in 2005.
Edinburgh & The Lothians are so close, yet they’re both so very different. Scotland‘s cosmopolitan capital city borders with miles of lush countryside and the attractive coastline of the Lothians.
But even if you’re a local, there are quite a few startling facts about this gorgeous city and region you may not be aware of.
Like the fact that the Castle is perched on top of part of a volcano.* Arthur’s Seat isn’t the only extinct volcanic feature in Edinburgh. Castle Rock is actually a volcanic plug, and it’s 340 million years old…
And, what about the source of Scrooge* – Charles Dickens invented the famous character of Scrooge when he misread the tombstone of successful Edinburgh merchant Ebenezer Scroggie in the Canongate Kirkyard. Dickens was horrified by the apparently hard-hearted inscription ‘Meanman’ – but the tombstone actually read ‘Mealman’ in recognition of Scroggie’s successful career as a corn trader. Thus, a legend was mistakenly born.
We can’t leave out the fact that 75% of the city’s buildings are listed.* In fact, Edinburgh has the most listed sites in the UK outside of London, with more than 4,500 buildings making the list.
It’s where the Encyclopaedia Britannica was first published.* The Encyclopaedia Britannica was first produced in Edinburgh, and the first edition caused controversy due to the anatomy section which was said to contain “unvarnished portrayals of the unmentionable parts of the human body.”
Rose’s Lime Juice was first made here.* Taking a tip from sailors avoiding scurvy at sea, Lauchlan Rose patented a method to preserve citrus juice using sugar in 1867 and Rose’s Lime Juice was born. The first factory to produce the now world famous cordial opened on Commercial Street in Leith in 1868.
The meaning of ‘caddie’.* The word ‘caddie’ is now commonly associated with golf, but is thought to have originated as a description of the men who were hired to carry pails of water up the tenement flats in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
The professional team of installers, drivers and engineers at AquAid Edinburgh certainly don’t bring you pails of water, but they are responsible for getting your water to you and keeping your water coolers in tip top condition.
For all your water and water coolers requirements in Edinburgh and The Lothians, contact any one of the amazing team at the AquAid Edinburgh branch – they’ll be delighted to assist.
*source: iNews
by Fern Shaw | Mar 29, 2017 | Water Coolers
Love it or hate it, the day will soon be upon us. Personally, I’ve never been a fan, perhaps an underdeveloped sense of humour, but there’s no denying that there have been some awfully clever April Fool’s pranks played over the years.
The French call the day Poisson d’Avril, or ‘April Fish’. French children will often tape a picture of a fish on to the back of their friends and wait for them to realise. This is also the case in Italy.
In Scotland, April Fools’ Day used to be called Huntigowk Day – ‘gowk’ being Scots for a cuckoo or a foolish person.
Traditionally people were sent on a foolish errand to deliver a sealed message reading ‘Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile’.
Some of the best April Fool’s played out over the years have included:
- Flying penguins
In 2008 the BBC caught viewers out by running a video clip of flying penguins, claiming the birds were flying to tropical rainforests in South American to escape the harsh Antarctic weather.
- UFO lands near London
On 31 March 1989, thousands of motorists driving on the highway outside London looked up in the air to see a glowing flying saucer descending on their city. The saucer finally landed in a field on the outskirts of London. When a door in the craft popped open, a small, silver-suited figure emerged. The saucer turned out to be a hot-air balloon that had been specially built to look like a UFO by Richard Branson, the then 36-year-old chairman of Virgin Records. His plan was to land the craft in London’s Hyde Park on April 1. Unfortunately, the wind blew him off course, and he was forced to land a day early in the wrong location.
- Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity
In 1976, British astronomer, Patrick Moore, told radio listeners that at 9.47 a.m. the earth was going to experience a feeling of less gravity. He said that Jupiter and Pluto would cross and if listeners jumped in the air at exactly 9.47 a.m. they would feel the sensation of having no gravity. Hundreds of listeners phoned the radio to say they had jumped and floated in the air.
- The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
On 1 April 1, 1957, the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. The broadcast remains, by far, the most popular and widely acclaimed April Fool’s Day hoax ever.
Today, with all of the technology we have at hand, it’s probably unlikely that such hoaxes wouldn’t be dismissed almost immediately, but then again, perhaps it’s actually easier to fool people because of the technology we each have?
Rest assured, here at AquAid, although we have a fine sense of humour, it’s unlikely that we’ll be playing any April Fool’s on anyone this year; although, did I mention that we’ve been selected to supply water coolers and water to the first crewed Mars mission in 2031?
by Fern Shaw | Mar 29, 2017 | water cooler, Water Coolers
Generally, everyone enjoys a good bit of trivia and none so more than me.
People have pretty fertile imaginations though, so the facts behind some trivia can easily be distorted and the internet being as it is, fact checking trivia snippets can be a little difficult.
To astound and amaze, here’s a bit of trivia to keep you amused this week – and to keep your brain active during your working day. Try them out on colleagues at the water cooler when you beetle off to replenish your water bottle (just no Larry [or Larissa] the Lounge Lizard actions while you’re there now, see?)
John Cleese’s father’s surname was Cheese. Cleese grew up 10 miles from Cheddar and his best friend at school was called Barney Butter.
The last private resident of No 10 Downing Street was called Mr Chicken. Nobody knows anything about him other than his name. He moved out in 1732, after which King George II presented both houses to Sir Robert Walpole.
All but one of the ravens at the Tower of London died from stress during the Blitz.
In 2009, a retired policeman called Geraint Woolford was admitted to Abergale Hospital in north Wales and ended up next to another retired policeman called Geraint Woolford. The men weren’t related, had never met and were the only two people in the UK called Geraint Woolford. Imagine that conversation around the ward’s water cooler!
A blue whale can hold up to 5,000kgs of water in its mouth. (No, we’re not able to provide blue whale water coolers even if you are a large organisation).
In the UK, accents change noticeably about every 25 miles.
British Pennies, pre-1971, are used in the pendulum to adjust the time in London’s Big Ben clock tower.
The names of the English rivers Avon, Axe, Esk, Exe and Ouse all mean ‘river’ or ‘water’ in various ancient languages.
Now you know. In fairness, a blue whale isn’t really British, however according to the ‘Fishes Royal’ which states that all sturgeon, whales, porpoises and dolphins in the water around the UK belong to the Queen, apparently they are!
I’ve fact checked these as best I can – if you know differently – please feel free to correct me and provide your source.
