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UTILITY WEEK | 5TH - 11TH SEPTEMBER 2014 | 31 Community Disconnector Editor: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellen.bennett@fav-house.com; News editor: Jillian Ambrose, t: 01342 332061, e: jillian.ambrose@fav-house.com; Associate news editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathew.beech@fav-house. com; Insights editor: Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: jane.gray@fav-house.com; Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paul.newton@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ed Roberts, t: 01342 332067, e: ed.roberts@fav-house. com; Sales executive: Hayley Cronin, t: 01342 332077, e: hayley.cronin@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amanda.barnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Subscriptions: UK £577 per year, Overseas £689 per year, t: 01342 332011. ISSN: 1356-5532. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Printed by: Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE. Published by: Faversham House Ltd, Windsor Court, Wood Street, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 1UZ Kids are always on the phone There's nothing like the great outdoors for getting away from it all and leaving the hurly burly of the modern world behind. Yup, Disconnector is talking about camping here. It's the closest many of us get to facing down the elements and living as our ancestors did, relying only on our wits (and camping stoves) for survival. But this sort of basic existence is too basic for some, it would appear, even if it is only for 48 hours. An outfit called Bang Bang Tents has released a range of solar-powered tents that come complete with a 5W solar panel that can trickle- charge various low-voltage devices essential to the yoof of today, such as smartphones, MP3 speakers and cameras. It can even charge LED lighting, according to the company's website. Things have come to a pretty pass if you can't sit still for a few hours in the countryside without browsing the internet on your phone, thinks the great man. Pity the poor sod trying to com- mune with nature (ie Disconnec- tor) while the idiot in the pitch next door has draped his tent in flashing LEDs synchronised to Taylor Swi. That's not camping, mate. Fortunately, for those of us who still fly the flag for the traditional British camping holi- day – sitting in a damp field for a couple of days while the kids complain that there's nothing to Disconnector do – there are always the stink- ing chemical toilets and freezing cold showers to remind you that you're camping and make you glad to be going home. Burglar comes clean But young people are not going to be prepared to put up with crappy showers at campsites for long, thinks the great man with a resigned sigh, if a news story last week from America is anything to go by. Ryan Carpenter was arrested in Lexington, Kentucky, for breaking into someone's house and using their shower. It's not been unknown in the past for a cheeky burglar to avail himself of a householder's victuals – on more than one occasion a dopey burglar has been found fast asleep aer breaking into someone's house. But Ryan was not caught because he'd stopped to take a shower during a break- in. The shower was the point of the break-in. He told police his plumbing was on the blink and he needed a hot shower, so he helped himself to a neighbour's. He's being charged with burglary. Who's loo? Sometimes it's a case of no pain, no gain (such as with camping), but the great man is otherwise all for those little touches of luxury, where you can get them. Hats off, then, to Justin Hog- gans, owner of the Warmley Waiting Room Cafe, situated on the Bristol to Bath cycle path. The cafe needed to fork out for a new toilet for the use of customers, so rather than treating the exercise as an overhead, Justin decided to make the toilet a feature of the eatery and hired a carpenter in York to build a replica of the Tardis – the time machine that looks like a 1950s police box featured in Doctor Who. The inside of the box has been fitted out in a Victorian style with toilet, sink and hand dryer. If has also been kitted out with a sound effects kit and a flashing light on top so that it can make a genuine Tar- dis sound with the press of a button located inside the cafe. Disconnector has to admit, it looks great, and is prov- ing quite a draw for the café, attracting people who want to grab a selfie with the box in the background. Disconnector just hopes that users of the convenience are warned in advance when the owner is going to turn on the sound effects and flashing lights – although at least they're in the right place… 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2013 Subscriptions: UK £577 per year, Overseas £689 per year fhcustomerservices@ abacusemedia.com Mike Easdon @MichaelEasdon En route to OFGEM' ECO 1.2 "de minimis" work- shop. Hoping to find a common sense approach and push simplicity. Less can be more! Money Saving Expert @MoneySavingExp Calling all renters! @DECCgovuk wants your views on how to make your home energy efficient Kevin Peachey @PeacheyK Water bills to go up less than cost of living (Ofwat). House prices going up more than cost of living (Nationwide) John Deben @lorddeben In order to join UKIP, Douglas Carswell didn't have to change his views. Question must be why he thought it right to stand as a Conservative Leo Hickman @LeoHickman "Hard-working families" is one of the most annoying phrases in modern politics. It now even has its own Wiki page Rich Hall @richonlyinname Sad for Green Deal. At its heart is a truly fantastic idea, but by heck does it generate bad news stories Energy UK @EnergyUKcomms We're aware people are getting calls from people impersonating Energy UK. We never make cold calls to the public Emily Gosden @emilygosden Has anyone considered the impact of wind farms on derelict sea fort prices? Yorkshire Water @YorkshireWater We're not pouring cold water on the #ALSIceBucketChallenge but wanted to offer our tips for an eco-friendly drench! Caitlin Moran @caitlinmoran Wind turbines look AMAZING and mean we don't have to kiss dictators' arses Waterwise @Waterwise #water companies should use stuff like #gamification to crowd source customer solutions instead of building stuff! Top Tweets