Egg Rolling, Rockets and ‘Easter Water’

Egg Rolling, Rockets and ‘Easter Water’

In spite of what has almost become an AquAid tradition of writing an Easter themed blog and the role water plays at this time of the year, we’re constantly amazed there is more to discover out there with an (usually traditional) Easter/water connection. As well as other unusual traditions and events that is.

In previous blogs, we referred to traditions such as in Switzerland, people decorate wells and fountains leading up to Easter. Decorating a well symbolises the honouring of water, which is essential for life, and Easter, the feast of renewed life.

In another, we looked at where every Easter, hundreds of thousands of Norwegians indulge in crime fiction, known in Norwegian as påskekrim (Easter crime).

This year we discovered ‘l’eau de Paques’, or ‘Easter water’.  The purity, healing and restorative powers of any water collected from any moving brook, stream or river in the hours* before sunrise on Easter hearkens back to a Catholic ritual performed in France hundreds of years ago and reaching as far as Quebec, and still performed today.

Egg rolling began in Central Europe and the United Kingdom and in Preston, eggs have been rolled for more than a century and a half. According to a Lonely Planet article Avenham Park, whose grassy slope is the perfect stage for children competing to roll their egg the furthest.

Fireworks are common during midnight church services on Orthodox Easter Saturdays in Greece. But on the island of Chios, Easter is incendiary. Two neighbouring parishes hold an annual competition to fire shots at each other’s steeples. Real cannons were used until the late 19th century, but these days homemade rockets are the ammunition for the town’s annual ‘rouketopolemos’ (rocket war).*

Of course, as AquAid is all things water, health and hydration, we do not recommend beginning a local version of the Easter rocket wars. What we will do is wish you all a peaceful and blessed Easter, however you choose to celebrate it.

*source: article Bangor Daily News

*source: article Lonely Planet

Are you AquAidly hydrated?

Are you AquAidly hydrated?

“You can tune a guitar, but you can’t tuna fish. Unless, of course, you play bass.” Douglas Adams

With the all-encompassing advent of our world online, I have been wondering for some time now if puns are the things of beauty they once were.  Post millennium there are more social media pun dedicated pages than you could shake a stick.

One cannot help but think that if puns are becoming obsolete (by the mere fact that there are just too many of them being churned out to be of any relevance) are the other witty extensions of language also on the slippery slope to obsolescence?

While you ponder this, we’d like you to consider the raison d’être behind the rather pun filled headline of this blog.

As I’m sure you’ve gathered, what we’re asking (a perennial favourite) is are you adequately (AquAidly) hydrated? If not, why not? Is it because you’re unsure of what qualifies as adequate hydration? Well, there we can help.

Being as we are a water and water cooler provider of some 23 years, it’s our business to know all about proper hydration.  We’re constantly checking to ensure that we’re up-to-date about all things drinking water related.

One of the ways that we pass on this information to you, dear online reader, is by providing a quick reference guide at our website. That’s here.

Aside from that, we have over 22 AquAid branches throughout the UK, staffed by highly experienced water knowledgeable teams who are well equipped to provide you with the best water provision solution – tailor-made to suit your hydration requirements.

We can’t, of course, make you hydrate properly as that’s certainly up to you. We’re also not using the terms – lead-horse-water-drink in here, perish the thought – but we are hoping that you recognise for your own health and well-being how important it is to make sure that you are aware that in order to perform at your peak -whether at work, school or play – you need to be adequately (AquAidly) hydrated.

We would love to be able to assist. Contact us today.

Innovation at the Water Cooler – Bubble Tea / Dalgona Coffee

Innovation at the Water Cooler – Bubble Tea / Dalgona Coffee

Having yet to enter the hallowed halls of one of the biggest name coffee shops on the planet, never mind order a mocha decaf almond milk frappé, it’s safe to assume that this blogger does on occasion miss drinks trends.

Which is why when scouring social media and seeing the word ‘bubble’, I took it as a reference to ‘stay in your bubble’ – a reference to social distancing. Turns out, after some investigation, the references were for Dalgona (whipped) coffee – an alt. version of this bubble drink. I watched with fascination as an Americano was whipped into submission, until it changed properties.

Upon further investigation I discovered that ‘bubble drinks’ have been around for decades and the variations are … um … varied.

Wiki tells us: Bubble tea is a tea-based drink. Originating in Taichung, Taiwan in the early 1980s, it includes chewy tapioca balls or a wide range of other toppings.

First off, there’s Boba (or Bubble) Tea – the bubbles or boba being tapioca balls, almond jelly or grass jelly (an Asian treat similar in texture to Jell-O). There is also ‘Bubble Coffee’, which is coffee mixed with soy and condensed milk, and finished with coffee-soaked tapioca pearls.

Whereas Bubble Tea has been around for decades, Dalgona coffee seems more a product of (ironically) those staying in their home bubble. According to Wiki: A drink made by whipping equal proportions of instant coffee powder, sugar, and hot water until it becomes creamy and then adding it to cold or hot milk. It was popularised on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people refraining from going out started making videos of whipping the coffee at home, by hand without using electrical mixers.

Now we know.  Truth to be told, it’s unlikely I’ll ever be putting tapioca in any drink or have the fortitude to hand whip up a batch of Dalgona coffee. I’m perfectly happy relying on our AquAid water cooler dispensing refreshing hot and cold water so I can make a cuppa or a coffee.

Water Dispenser Health – Counterbalance dehydrating food and drink

Water Dispenser Health – Counterbalance dehydrating food and drink

At present, it’s understandable that we may crave comfort food and drinks. The quick fix from salt and sugar loaded food and drink is undeniable, so even while you’re attempting to stay better hydrated, you may be ingesting dehydrating substances without even realising it.

Sodium is a big culprit

When you eat salty foods, your cells tell your brain that you’re thirsty. Examples of foods high in salt are fast foods, potato crisps, tinned foods, deli meats and condiments like tomato ketchup, brown sauce and sweet chilli sauce.

Sugary drinks also contribute

Much like salty foods, sugary drinks also tell your brain that you’re thirsty. Try to avoid these – fizzy, energy and sports drinks as well as over sugared coffees and cocktails.

Instead of eating and drinking these dehydration-inducing foods and beverages, drink more water and add these top superfoods to your diet for optimal health and antioxidant levels.

Blueberries

Yielding antioxidants, vitamin C and anti-inflammatory properties, a handful of these berries daily can do wonders.

Fatty fish

Fatty fish with omega-3s include salmon, herring, sardines, and mackerel. Make sure that you only buy fish off the endangered list. A good guide to which are sustainable and safe fish to buy can be found here.

Soy

This does not mean using enough soy sauce to turn your sushi rice another colour. Soy sauce has a high sodium content. Clean and simple soy is recommended. Soy in this category includes tofu, soymilk and edamame. For the curious, edamame are green soybeans boiled or steamed in their pods.

Fibre

There are a variety of great options for getting more fibre in your body:

  1. Beans. Think three-bean salad, bean burritos, chilli, and soup.
  2. Whole grains. That means whole-wheat bread, pasta.
  3. Brown rice. White rice doesn’t offer much fibre.
  4. Popcorn. It’s a great source of fibre.
  5. Nuts. Almonds, pecans, and walnuts have more fibre than other nuts.
  6. Baked potato with skin. The skin’s important here.
  7. Berries. All those seeds, plus the skin, give great fibre to any berry.
  8. Bran cereal. Actually, any cereal that has 5 grams of fibre or more in a serving counts as high fibre.
  9. Oatmeal. Whether its microwaved or stove-cooked, oatmeal is good fibre.
  10. Vegetables. The crunchier, the better.

With all this talk about salt, it’s quite likely you’re now thirsty, so to help, here are a few thirst-quenching alternatives that are not only good for you, but will tamp down on your dehydration quickly:

Tea

The antioxidant powers of tea are present in both black and green tea. Moreover, you’re drinking water when you drink tea, minus all the sugar you would be when consuming fizzy drinks.

Calcium-rich

The health-conscious tend to stay away from dairy products for fear that they contain fat, but calcium is necessary for the body. If you’d rather not consume cheese and milk, take a calcium supplement.

Water

As always, the simplest and quickest route to maintain good hydration is to drink water more. To gauge how much water you should drink, refer to AquAid’s handy guide to start you off.

*updated from a blog post Jan 2013

Water Cooler Hacks – What Can We Do?

Water Cooler Hacks – What Can We Do?

During these rather unprecedented (for many) circumstances, it’s natural that we tend to focus on what we aren’t able to do: can’t this, can’t that and the list goes on.

As the saying goes, when all else fails, opt for simple (okay, there’s no such saying, but adapt we must). Here at AquAid Water Coolers, we took the image seriously and came up with a few options that for the most part, cost nothing but offer much reward:

Soak up the sun.  Disclaimer: although this blogger cannot predict the weather, news suggests that this week we may expect temperatures as high as 26°C. (not so much in the North though … sorry about that!)

Revisit your favourite TV shows.  From Rick Mayall through to Ricky Gervais, there’s nothing more therapeutic than a good ol’ belly laugh.

Build that model craft. Or planet (Lego Deathstar of course) or car, or dinosaur.

Plant something. Then tend to it, water it and watch it grow.

Have a conversation that isn’t a Zoom meeting. Call your furthest and dearest and have a good ol’ catch up.

Discover a new route. Try a different route while taking your outdoor exercise.

Increase your water intake. For real. Now, even more so, it doesn’t matter that you may need to pop to the loo so many times.

Relish the moment. Enjoy the time afforded: whether it’s wearing comfy, fluffy socks; brewing the best cuppa ever; cheat sleeping in for an extra half hour / hour or even longer (you little rebel, you) or diving into those books and reading for hours undisturbed.