Somehow, fear as a motivator has fallen out of favor. Back in the day, though, scaring the tar out of kids was a perfectly acceptable method for keeping them in check. This 70s-era water safety clip from the UK was designed to educate by terror, with a creepy grim-reaper type character lurking in the waterways, ready to “trap showoffs and fools.” I’ll bet this put a damper on waterside playtime for the young Brits of the time!”
Were Scotland Yard’s phone operators playing it too loose with trips to the loo? You can’t manage what you can’t measure, so the bosses have devised an unintentionally-hilarious new procedure to keep tabs on toilet “productivity” metrics. From couriermail.com.au,
Toilet break now a ‘Code Three’
NO longer known as a number one or number two, when phone operators at Scotland Yard take a toilet break they will have to log it as a “Code Three” so police can monitor time wasters.
Britain’s Metropolitan police said the new rules would stop staff at the police head quarter’s control room from taking unnecessary breaks.
The operators will have to log toilet visits as a “code three” on a bath-specific database.
Staff are fuming about being so heavily scrutinised.
Employee Paul Drew wrote in a staff magazine: “Everyone I have spoken to about this finds it deeply offensive and humiliating.
“It would be interesting to know what the public or the Met can possibly gain from making notes of such intimate details.”
Superintendent Russ Hanson-Coles, told the BBC: “Our primary role at central communications command is to be available for the public to contact and it is vital that we make the best use of our resources.
“Staff in this environment have regular breaks that compare very favourably with outside industry so the need for extra personal breaks should be minimal.”
Some people can look at things cast off and thrown aside and imagine something new and wonderful. Katie’s artistic eye and creative vision gave new life to an old tub as a charming, one-of-a-kind garden bench, made of 100% recycled and reused materials.
Before, this sad old soaker appears to be awaiting it’s ride to the landfill. But Katie (from the UK near Northumberland) was already formulating her plan.
After husband John (update, oops! John is the blacksmith, and Geoff is the husband!) tackled the tub with some patient cutting and griding, the shell looked like this:
Now things really get awesome. The emerging creation needed some feet, so Katie “thought that cobbler’s lasts might do the job.” Some scrap metal and some welding wraps up the final “step.”
Last, a good scrub, a dreamy spot under a beautiful spherical twig arbor, and this all-recycled treasure is ready for it’s second, more pastoral life.
All that’s left to do is enjoy it, right? Maybe not! Some refinements are being considered – “we’ll put some taps on maybe and Geoff thinks we should stand it on a bit of lino, with a bath mat perhaps? I will make some seat cushions for it – its a bit cold on the old bum.”
Just makes me smile every time I look at it! You can see more on this unusual garden bench at Katie’s blog, http://whatkatiedid.typepad.com along with tons of other clever and inventive creations made from reused and recycled materials.
For less than the price of a slightly-fancy European automobile, you could own your very own European water tower! That’s the kind of status symbol that could completely deflate those BMW-driving show-offs, huh?
From www.eveshamjournal.co.uk,
PEBWORTH WATER TOWER TO GO UNDER THE HAMMER
PEBWORTH water tower owned by Severn Trent is one of 420 properties going under the hammer over the next 18 months. The water tower stands on 343 meters of land next to Manor Cottage and is up for auction on July 1 in London.
The ground at Pebworth is part of the first phase of sell-offs expected to raise millions for Severn Trent. The selling agent for the Pebworth Water Tower, Jason Birch from Kings Sturge Savills (Nottingham), expects the land to go for around £20,000 to £25,000.
He said: “It is big enough for a detached house to go on, but that depends on planning permission.”
Severn Trent Water’s director of property services said: “This first batch of properties are mainly small ones with likely values of between £25,000 to £50,000 each. The sort of thing people may buy to add to their gardens.”
Pebworth is a village in Worcestershire, by the way. I can’t dredge up a photo of the tower, but we can see on this detailed map that your tower is likely nestled somewhere between the east and west sewage treatment facilities.
You know you’re interested, so to get more information, “contact Mr Birch direct on 020 7087 5427 or register an interest in the portfolio at propertydisposals@severntrent.co.uk.
If a water tower seems a little daunting, enquire of Mr. Birch if there’s another property more to your liking…perhaps a modest little reservoir? According to Severn Trent’s website, “We’ve already had considerable interest in the sites, which could be anything from a patch of land containing a manhole cover through to a small, redundant reservoir.”
I’ve seen this twice, so that makes it a trend! For now, it seems centered in the UK, but it’s a matter of time before they’re descending giant water towers on ropes in my ‘burb, all for the betterment of charity!
(Me, I’ll just send a check, thanks very much.)
The Harlow-based charity Motability, which helps disabled people acquire adapted cars and electric scooters, is looking for thrill-seeking volunteers to abseil* down the 110-ft water tower at Church Langley in May. Don’t worry, you’ll get “full training on the day with a safety briefing and all equipment provided.”
*We Americans refer to this as this rappelling.
Aren’t you just itching to put yourself in the harness of this previous participant?
At Poole last December, this event went just a little higher for their charity. From www.poolepeople.co.uk,
Daredevils in Dorset braved the cold to do an 120-foot abseil for charity this morning. CLIC Sargent’s Christmas Cracker Abseil at the Tower Park Water Tower in Poole aims to raise thousands of pounds for children and young people with cancer this Christmas.
The money raised by the 21 fundraisers will help CLIC Sargent to offer financial support to families who have a child with cancer. The charity also helps with holidays and homes away from home whilst the child is in hospital.
Don’t look for any boring pledge drives or banquets from this bunch. Emily Jenkins, CLIC Sargent’s local Events Fundraising Manager, notes that
“Our next fundraising project is going to be to organise a 20 foot fire walk. We hope it will be really popular and will help us to raise more money for children with cancer in 2009.”
Factoid footnote: Liability, anyone? Your charity can hire trained specialists to run these events for you, like Rock and Ice, whose website invites you to “See how easy it is to bring in £1,000’s for your charity.”
Another opportunity to quench your thirst for one-of-a-kind digs. For £100,000 (that’s about US$135,000) plus renovation expenses, you could turn this abandoned concrete tower into a 4-story monument to to your exceptional design instinct. From the Jan. 16, 2009, Northampton (UK) Chronicle & Echo,
The massive concrete tower in Great Doddington comes with planning permission for a four-storey home on a plot measuring almost a quarter of an acre.
Andrew Kilburn, director of residential sales at estate agents King West in Northampton, said the unusual property in Cut Throat Lane could inspire a renovation like those on Channel 4’s Grand Designs show.
He said: “Anything that is unusual, we have to pitch a figure that will generate interest.
“Ultimately, what we are selling here isn’t a terrible-looking building, we’re selling the concept of what it could be. There aren’t too many of them around and I do recall on Grand Designs there was a water tower that was converted and featured.
The plans for the circular structure include two bedrooms on the ground and first floor, kitchen on the third floor and a roof extension for the lounge.
Cut Throat Lane?! I think that adds $20K in value by itself! The photo here is a capture from a wildly entertaining video on the same topic at bbc.com. Watch the BBC Video.
The (UK) Times Online reports today,
Supermarkets selling alcohol cheaper than water
Research has found that it costs less to quench your thirst with alcohol than bottled water at leading supermarkets. Discounted own-brand alcohol is sold for as little as 23p per can, according to the drink and drug charity Addaction. This research comes on the eve of Government plans to tackle binge drinking.
I wonder where this product fits in the value proposition?
Does this mean that water is ridiculously expensive or that booze is incredibly cheap? Well, both. Competition among shops and supermarkets has led to alcohol prices that average 8% less than the recommended retail price. Some items, especially generic “value brands” are as much as 40% below retail. And, the research found that when alcohol is considered as a proportion of income, it is almost 70% more affordable today than it was 1980.
So go ahead and cry in your beer, just don’t weep in the water.
