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UTILITY WEEK | 30TH OCTOBER - 5TH NOVEMBER 2015 | 31 Community Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: 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 insights editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathew.beech@ fav-house.com; Assistant editor (insights): Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: jane.gray@fav-house. com; Research analyst: Vidhu Dutt, t: 01342 332026, e: vidhu.dutt@fav-house.com; Reporters: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080; e: lois.vallely@fav-house.com and Lucinda Dann, t: 01342 332083; e: lucinda.dann@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Richard Powell, t: 01342 332062, e: richard.powell@fav-house.com; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, t: 01342 332077, e: sarah.wood@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amanda.barnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership subscriptions: UK £577 per year, overseas £689 per year, t: 020 8955 7045 or email membership sales manager Paul Tweedale: paultweedale@fav-house.com. 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 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2014 Membership subscriptions: UK £577 per year. Overseas £689 per year. Email: paultweedale@fav-house.com Top Tweets Disconnector Is this toilet free? As regular readers of this col- umn will be aware, toilets are something the Japanese take very seriously. Ordinary house- holders can spend thousands of pounds on electronically programmable conveniences with controllable lights, sound systems, heaters, jet washers and all the rest. So it's no small achieve- ment that British architect firm Klein Dytham Architecture has won the annual award for the best toilet in Japan, given out by the ministry of land, infra- structure and transportation. The competition in question was to design a public conveni- ence for Tokyo's Narita Inter- national Airport. The Klein Dytham design featured doors looking out on to the airport concourses made of an LED-lit luminous "fabric", upon which shadow play scenes can be played depicting aspects of Japanese life or theatre. Hopefully, passers-by won't be fooled into thinking there is actually a troupe of Japanese actors cavorting around inside the toilet, or they may be put off from entering. Regardless, it makes you proud to be British that we can, as it were, crack the Japanese market, particularly as they can't have had much prac- tice designing British public lavatories. We've closed most of them down. Power and money Something else the British did at one time that seems to have fallen by the wayside is pro- vide affordable housing. It's a huge problem throughout this Sceptered Isle, but particularly in London. That situation isn't going to be helped much by the redevelopment of Battersea power station. In addition to the rows of super- exclusive flats is now being added a hotel: the 160-room London Battersea Power Station Hotel will feature an open-air rooop swimming pool and garden run- ning the length of the building. Not many Brits will be staying or living there, of course, but it should be a suit- able hangout for the super-rich from Russia and the Middle East. And maybe Japan, if the toilets pass muster. The only consolation Dis- connector can offer to all the working stiffs out there is that the flats look ridiculous. Ukip chiefs lack ghost of a smile Okay, so we may not do public toilets and ordinary housing these days, but if there is one thing the British excel at, it's the ability to laugh at ourselves. Well, up to a point. And that point was reached by that quintessential Englishman Nigel Farage when a Ukip party member tried to organise a Halloween party poking fun at said leader. Richard Hendron organised the party with the theme "Nigel Farage and his creepy henchmen" but has since emailed would-be attend- ees saying that the "powers that be" in Ukip high com- mand failed to see the funny side and ordered him to cancel the event on threat of being expelled from the party. To be fair to Nigel, Mr Hendron has form with antagonising the more traditional Ukip membership. He organised Ukip's LGBT march at London Pride, which didn't endear him to colleagues. He's also on record criticising Nigel's televised attacks on treating foreigners with HIV. He has also said that too many people view Ukip as "overflowing with racists, homophobes and bigots". Unsurprisingly, Hendron's bid this year to become the offi- cial Ukip candidate for London mayor was unsuccessful. Disconnector can't help but wonder whether Mr Hendron is really Ukip material. Disconnector Tom Burke @tom_burke_47 Hinkley will cost 24 & a half billion pounds, more than Crossrail & 2012 Olympics put together #nuclear #economy William Marchant @richonlyinname Pa holds forth on energy. Doesn't like Hinkley: "Why do we need the Chinese?" Likes Swansea lagoon: "Swansea's rough. Needs the investment." ... I point out the lagoon's very expensive. He points out he's 77 & won't be paying for anything. He's got a point. Don't make him chancellor. Rod Adams @Atomicrod #Nuclear energy is only source with the potential to be zero carbon because it can power its own infrastructure Gerry Hassan @GerryHassan Germaine Greer talking tosh on #bbcqt. One min she is against globalisation; next no probs with Chinese investment in UK nuclear energy. ofgem @ofgem Richard Black @_richardblack UK would benefit from having consensus about energy as it did in the past, says Lord Bourne #CHclimate - what could he mean? @DECCgovuk DECC @DECCgovuk 'Paris won't be the end of the road but the beginning of global step-change in efforts tackling climate change' @nick__bourne #CHclimate Miguel Arias Cañete @MAC_europa Bonn talks: new text as negotiating basis for #COP21 but still too many options on the table and many key issues unresolved #ADP2 el-p @therealelp Sometimes I wonder if people who grew up rich know that their gas stove also serves as a heating unit for their apartment. ABC News Intern @ABCnewsIntern Being "a supporter of the coal mining indus- try" in 2015 sounds like being a supporter of the horse and carriage industry in 1915.