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Community Don't count your chickens… Stocks can go down as well as up, so the warning goes. And that goes for personal stock as well, as was painfully brought home to Theresa May last week as she was le pondering how she managed to throw away a 20-point lead against an oppo- nent who can't even count on the support of his own party. Ironically, given that the Conservatives made much of Jeremy Corbyn's historic sup- port for Sinn Fein, the Tories were only able to cling on to government by getting into bed with the Unionist DUP. This election was also notably ridiculous for the prevalence of "loony" candi- dates in fancy dress sharing the podiums with leading politicians. Thus, May had to give her acceptance speech with an all-black garbed Lord Buckethead in the background. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron only just managed to hold on to his seat, and had to express his gratitude to the voters while a man bedecked as a fish finger scowled angrily behind him. Mr Fishfinger (his actual name – he changed it by deed poll) put himself forward aer an informal Twitter poll found Far- ron was regarded by the voters as less trustworthy than a fish finger. In the event, he wasn't. Disconnector wonders if these pictures are beamed around the world, and if so, what on earth foreigners make of our political process. The great man is not sure it does UK plc many favours as we try to leverage the brand post-Brexit. Back to basics Japanese literacy and numeracy levels are a marvel compared with the Western educational system, but they are oen lambasted for producing robot drones, devoid of creativity. A major reason for this could be the strict adherence to rote learning employed in Japan. But do they have much of a choice? While the Western alphabet contains 26 letters, written Japanese comprises 2,136 "regular-use" Chinese-based characters – or kanji (plus another 100-odd symbols with specific uses). Kids are expected to memorise more than 1,000 by the time they are 12 and the rest before they are 15. It's little surprise that mem- orising kanji is a task loathed by many. Help has come, however, in the form of a best- selling series of books starring Professor Poo, an emoji-like turd with glasses and a mous- tache, who introduces each new kanji in a sentence that contains the word "poo". It's the brainchild of former Lehman Brothers employee Shuji Yamamoto, who has sold nearly 2 million books of Unko Kanji Doriru (poo kanji drill). There you have it. If you want to engage the kids, you've got to talk poo. It's a lesson Labour strategists took on board to great effect at the election. Ho! Ho! Glasto piss-take The University of the West of England in Bristol has agreed a sustainability partnership with Glastonbury Festival that will see its revolutionary technol- ogy showcased at Worthy Farm for the next five years. The Pee Power urinal first made its debut at Glastonbury in 2015, but since then has been improved and enlarged to accommodate 25 men at a time. The unit is powered by urine fed through microbial fuel cells that generate enough electricity to light the inside of the urinal. The serious purpose behind the technology is to transform the lives of those living in coun- tries where sanitation and elec- tricity are off-grid – Pee Power units are scheduled for trials in India and Africa this year. Yet given Donald Trump's cavalier attitude to a nuclear showdown with North Korea, the makers of Pee Power might be wise to keep a few thousand units closer to home. Disconnector Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Deputy editor: Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: janegray@ fav-house.com; Insights editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathewbeech@fav-house. com; Features editor: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080, e: loisvallely@fav-house.com; Senior reporter: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Reporter: Josh Downes, t: 01342 332102, e: joshdownes@fav-house.com; Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Kevin Pearce, t: 01342 332116, e; kevinpearce@fav-house.com; Business development executive: Nigel Searle, t: 01342 332009, e: nigelsearle@fav-house.com; Conference sponsorship manager: Sophie Abbott, t: 01342 332062, e; sophieabbott@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amandabarnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332057, e: peterbissell@fav-house.com. ISSN: 1356-5532. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Printed by: Buxton Press, 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 2015 Membership subscriptions: UK £669 per year. Overseas £781 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332057 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates 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 that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact the editor, Ellen Bennett, at ellenbennett@fav-house.com. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk Nina Skorupska @NinaSkorupska #GE17 Hung parliament - now what? Can predict more delays to any sensible progress on important issues - Brexit, clean growth plan etc. Nick Hurd @NickHurdUK Big thx to @beisgovuk officials & stakeholders who helped me with Clean growth plan : Paris ratification ; ETS reform ; Industrial Strategy. Richard Nourse @RichardHCNourse Well done for what you have achieved and good luck in new job. Pls tell me its all there for your successor just to sign and issue... Jim Watson @watsonjim2 Shame that @NickHurdUK is moving from @beisgovuk. Was one of the better climate / energy ministers we've had: inclusive and keen on evidence Laura Sandys @Laura_Sandys Totally agree. Nick is the very best. But @claire4devizes is quite fabulous and has a strong track record on clean tech Jonathan Gaventa @jonathangaventa New UK energy minister @claire4devizes seems strong on climate & clean energy; reaffirmed 15% RES target last year Leo Hickman @LeoHickman Gove trying his hardest this morning to reset the view that he is wobbly on climate change. He likes "experts" now? William Marchant @richonlyinname If we are on a path back to the polls, the parties manifesto commitments on energy may not mean much. Reset with their new manifestos. ECIU @ECIU_UK Energy bill price cap will happen 'quite quickly', says @paulmassara buff.ly/2t3qLXp via @UtilityWeek #GE2017 Top Tweets UTILITY WEEK | 16TH - 22ND JUNE 2017 | 31