Utility Week

Community their e orts were frustrated by Pickle the pig, who was guard- ing a key valve that they needed to access. One of the engineers told the Surrey Comet that the animal was "more startled than aggres- sive" but nevertheless it pre- vented them from carrying out their work. The stand-o was resolved in a very English man- ner. They contacted the owner, who managed to lure Pickle away with a packet of crisps. Pig ignorant Talking of pigs, Disconnector was amused to read about a trio•of would-be drug smug- glers in Tuscany who buried a cache of cocaine in glass jars in a forest, only to have their stash dug up and snorted by a gang of wild boar. The animals snorted an esti- mated £17,000-worth of cocaine, leaving traces of white powder strewn over the Chiana valley. To make matters worse, the gang (one Italian and two Albanians) were complaining to each other about their rotten luck on a phone line that was being tapped by the local constabulary and they were promptly nicked. Disconnector Publishing director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Content director: Jane Gray, janegray@fav-house.com, t: 01342 333004; Editor: Suzanne Heneghan, t: 01342 332106, e: suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com Digital editor: James Wallin, 01342 332015, jameswallin@fav-house.com; Intelligence editor: Denise Chevin, 01342 332087, denisechevin@fav-house.com Energy correspondent: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@ fav-house.com; Reporter: Adam John, t: 01342 332069, e: adamjohn@fav-house.com; Water correspondent: Ruth Williams, e: ruthwilliams@fav-house.com, t: 01342 332069 Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paulnewton@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ben Hammond, e: benhammond@fav-house.com. t: 01342 332116; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, e: sarahwood@fav-house.com. t: 01342 332117 Conference sponsorship manager: Sophie Abbott, t: 01342 332062, e: sophieabbott@fav-house.com; General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332057, e: peterbissell@fav-house.com. 2,500 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2018 Membership subscriptions: UK £950+VAT per year. Contact Jo Nikiforov on: 01342 332077 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), the regulator of the UK's magazine and newspaper industry. We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please contact the Editor. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you want more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk. go, this time at one of the rear windows, which he did – with the same result. "We threw wrenches, we threw everything, we even liter- ally threw the kitchen sink at the glass and it didn't break," Musk told his audience. "For some weird reason it broke now, I don't know why." Tesla's share price plum- meted 6.5 per cent a' er the demo, wiping $768 million o Musk's personal fortune. In a pickle Of all the things you're likely to encounter when you're called out to " x a ruptured water main, being obstructed by a rogue pig has got to come pretty far down the list. Nonetheless, that was what happened to two Thames Water engineers trying to " x a burst water main between Surbiton and London earlier this month. The burst had led to the sus- pension of rail services, so the men were particularly keen to get it sorted as quickly as possible, but when they arrived, Balls of steel They say that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Which begs the ques- tion, when is it right to throw stones? On re› ection, almost never, thinks Disconnector. It's a piece of advice that comes too late to save the blushes of Elon Musk, the eccentric multimillionaire entrepreneur behind SpaceX and Tesla. It was as chief executive of the electric car company that Musk took to the stage in Los Angeles last week to launch Tesla's " rst foray into pickup trucks. The futuristic-looking Cybertruck (think 1970s sci-" movie) boasts a range of 600km and a price tag of less than forty grand. But it was the vehicle's bulletproof bodywork and "shatterproof " glass that le' our man red-faced. Musk, standing in front of his new creation, invited Tesla's design chief Franz von Holzhausen on stage to demonstrate the truck's macho credentials by hurling a heavy steel ball at one of its windows. Franz duly obliged – and the window shattered. A somewhat confused Elon asked his mate to have another UTILITY WEEK | 29TH NOVEMBER - 5TH DECEMBER 2019 | 31 Two of the men are now behind bars. Punch drunk You know you're in the middle of a general election when the newspapers are " lled with photos of the party leaders sparring in boxing gyms, despite none of them hitherto having demonstrated any martial prowess. The idea is presumably to show o your ability to › oor your opponent, but it's a tired old metaphor at the best of times, thinks Disconnector, which therefore has little impact. But it's also curiously out of place in the current elec- tion. It's machismo and tribal- ism that stirred up the mob to such an extent that politicians are being physically and ver- bally abused in the streets. They all claim to want to "unite the country", but in reality all they really want to do is punch their opponents in the face. Which doesn't bode well for any hung parliament. Thank goodness for Jeremy Corbyn and his kinder, gentler politics… go, this time at one of the rear windows, which he did – with Balls of steel They say that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Which begs the ques- tion, when is it right to throw stones? On re› ection, almost and London earlier this month. The burst had led to the sus- pension of rail services, so the men were particularly keen to get it sorted as quickly as possible, but when they arrived, truck's macho credentials by hurling a heavy steel ball at one of its Franz duly obliged – and the window shattered. A somewhat confused Elon asked his mate to have another constabulary and they were being tapped by the local constabulary and they were promptly nicked. pension of rail services, so the men were particularly keen to get it sorted as quickly as possible, but when they arrived, constabulary and they were

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