Water Security

A friend recently told me a little ditty - "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down." Flushing the loo is an automatic habit, so sometimes I don't remember. I also feel slightly embarrassed if someone else uses a loo & I haven't flushed. I'm sure they think I have finally lost the plot!

In the UK we all take clean, drinkable water for granted. 

In 1829 engineer James Simpson built the first slow sand filter for the Chelsea Waterworks Company, marking the first large-scale treated public water supply for an urban population. In 1854 Dr John Snow proved that cholera spread via contaminated water pumps & safer municipal water sources were introduced. Sir Joseph Bazalgette built the first sewer network in London between 1859 - 1875 because of the "Great Stink" of 1875. All helped to wipe out the Cholera epidemic. So the UK has an almost 200 year history of providing clean water.

Today we have water companies that have been polluting our rivers & seas with sewage for decades. Privatisation of the water companies means that money was diverted to investor profits & management bonuses for years - Not used to properly maintain & future proof the system. 

Today we are building vast data centres which need huge amounts of water because the physical servers that store, process & send out video files for streaming generate massive amounts of heat. Think about that every time you press "play" on a film or show. Entertaining you is in danger of seriously depleting a natural resource that is not infinite. 

In 2026 we had 5 prolonged periods of drought. Although it has now rained we are still in drought. We don't have enough reservoirs because the privatised water companies sold off dozens of them for housing & commercial development & didn't build new ones. The ones we have are way below capacity. 

10 water companies have not been able to supply customers with water on demand in 2026. Only 2 companies avoided implementing a hosepipe ban - Severn Trent & Bristol. South East Water & Thames Water had to temporarily open bottled water stations in 2026 following major supply disruptions & pipe bursts in 2026.

 It's a perfect storm.

Don't for one minute think that 2026 is simply an unusual, difficult, year. The water infrastructure isn't just creaking, it isn't fit for purpose & we can no longer rely on rainfall to top up supply. Demand is increasing & supply is reducing. Privatisation has largely destroyed the infrastructure & profiteering means that there isn't the will to right the wrongs of decades. Shareholders & salaries take precedence.    

No other country in the world has followed this model of full privatisation. Our politicians created this & we allowed them to do it. We now realise just how wrong we were. 

 

Transitional Communities - Housing the Homeless

For a few years I lived in Houndscroft, a hamlet outside Stroud. Stroud is a Transition Town, which means that it sets out to build local self-sufficiency, cut fossil fuel use, and adapt to economic & climate changes. I loved living there. It was possibly the best place I have ever lived in, but that isn't what this post is about.

This is about Transitional Housing & Communities. To clarify, that is short-to-medium-term, (usually a few months up to two years), structured, accommodation that acts as a bridge between crisis situations, emergency shelters, or institutional care and independent, permanent living. That doesn't mean only homeless individuals living on the street. It is for both individuals and families recovering from homelessness, economic hardship, addiction, incarceration, or mental health issues. Ideally it provides both a secure place to live, but also built-in support services like financial literacy, job training, mental health resources, and life-skills coaching. It is a whole package to turn people's lives around. It isn't emergency shelters—which only offer short-term, immediate relief.

The people needing this also need the tools and confidence to find independent, long-term housing. They  need plans tailored to each resident’s unique needs and circumstances. It needs a real commitment to change on the part of all participants. The need is driven by socio economic factors particularly affecting the vulnerable - Homelessness, Domestic Violence, Leaving Foster / Local Authority care at 18, Addiction & Prison. 

Statistically the largest group of individuals & households needing help are between 25 - 49. Below 25 it is categorised as youth homelessness. Whatever figure you find for homelessness will not be accurate because it's only the people who are registered in some way. The "hidden homeless" are many who sofa surf for example, or live with friends & family temporarily. 

Despite what those on the extreme right may want you to believe, charities and housing organisations state that homelessness is not a lifestyle choice, but the result of deep structural, financial, and personal crises. The key causes of homelessness are a severe lack of affordable and social housing, paired with rising private rents and frozen housing benefits, making private tenancies unsustainable for low-income households. Plus no-fault evictions, (Section 21 notices, which actually ended in May 2026), and the ending of private tenancies when landlords sell up.

We should all care about this issue because none of us are immune from the possibility that it could happen to us or someone we know. We should also care because we empathise & sympathise with people less able to cope, or who have problems we fortunately don't. 

 

https://england.shelter.org.uk/what_we_do

https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/how-we-work/ 

 

 

 

Art Versus Science

Because I did Art/Architecture, Biology & English at A Level & didn't do Latin, I was told by my grammar school in 1963 I couldn't apply for University. It was a bit late to tell me because I was in my final year. Apparently universities didn't like mixed arts & sciences. Personally I think specialising too early is a mistake & a broad based education is better for the individual & society. So I did the next best thing & went to a college affiliated to London University which offered a 3 year degree equivalent course. These only came in in 1961, so it was quite new. The course specialised in art, music & drama as well as a comprehensive concentration on teaching. I am what I am today because of not going to university, so I am grateful.

The core education debate is "what is education for"? Should the driver be individual or societal? Should a child be allowed to pursue the subjects they like / are good at? Or, are the needs of society paramount, so they should be directed into areas society needs or lacks? You often hear the argument that some university courses are useless. Commonly criticised / low value degrees are - Creative Arts & Design (including Fine Art, Drama, and Fashion Design) - Performing Arts  (Music, Theatre Arts, and Dance - Mass Communications and Media Studies - Creative Writing and Film Studies). All of these so called "low value" degrees are arts. 

However in purely financial terms, the arts & culture sector generates approx 0.4 to 0.5% of the UK's GDP & the broader creative industries generate 5.5 to 5.7% of total economic value. The less quantifiable value of the arts is the benefit we all get from the various aspects of the arts & creativity. That can be in just looking & experiencing or in participating ourselves. I wonder if that even features in the figures I quoted. Think of all the art & craft materials & books sold to hobbyists.

I am a great believer in evidence, so science is important to me. More & more I feel that we need to be able to verify & challenge the information readily available to us from numerous sources, many questionable, if not totally unverified. We need scientists & empirically trained people to give us information we can trust. 

I suppose my argument is that in order to be the best that we each individually can be we need a broad based education for as long as possible. There is a heavy emphasis on STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) which has historically sidelined arts & humanities.  Proponents of prioritising sciences contend that focusing on STEM aligns with labour market demands in high-growth sectors, and technology-driven economic strategies.

When students choose narrower subject combinations, research has shown that the proportion of students mixing arts and sciences has sharply drops, with exclusive STEM tracks doubling. There have been persistent funding cuts for creative & performing arts & a shift in the Strategic Priorities grant redirecting it to high cost healthcare & technical subjects. Governments are actively manipulating students choice towards a societal one.

 

We all need both arts & sciences to flourish. Our children need & deserve a flexible, broad based, curriculum right through the education system, including tertiary. The broader our knowledge & experience the more flexible we will be. In a changing world that is really important.   

 

  

 

 

  

Safety is an Illusion

I used to live in a village outside Newbury. We had Aldermaston, Greenham Common, Welford & Hermitage around us. We always felt that at least annihilation would be quick! Drones & Missiles can seemingly get anywhere now & there are currently about 630 military satellites in orbit. I'm sure it won't be long before they can use them to fire missiles anywhere. No one is safe in the 21st century.

Safety is protection from harm, danger or injury. It implies freedom from risk & involves rules, tools & choices to enable that freedom. We are all familiar with Health & Safety legislation applying to the workplace & the highway. At home we lock doors & keep harmful things away from children. Most of us are safety aware.

But none of that stops accidents from happening. None of that protects us from random acts of violence by others. None of that can protect us from terrorism & nations who would do us harm. That is why I think that safety is an illusion.

Personally I have had several accidents causing quite bad injury. My husband died in a sudden, unforeseeable, fatal accident. A really close friend died in a dreadful accident in the sea watched by his family. I could go on. 

Life is unpredictable & misfortune happens to everyone. But for some people safety is a concept they simply do not recognise or experience. People suffering from poverty, famine, despotic governments & war, natural disasters... Currently the world seems very unstable & full of turmoil. 

We take safety for granted in the UK. Probably we shouldn't. At the lower end of the scale do you really think we have food security? After this summers heatwaves & the pollution issues with the water companies, do you think we have water security? Given the war between Russia & Ukraine is Europe safe? Given the American war with Iran do we have energy security? Of course not.

So what do we do? Do we, individually, bury our heads in the sand & hope the worst won't happen? Or, do we do whatever we can to be reliably informed & prepared for possible eventualities? Hopefully the latter. Personally if I were younger I would consider moving to a more remote area & be as self sufficient as possible. But at 81 that isn't an option. I'm not exactly a Doomsday Prepper, but a lot of the tech billionaires seem to be. Maybe they know something we don't.

I'm not alone - See BBC Wales - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c33j0rdnry1o  There is civil unrest which could lead to looting & fires, cyber attacks could take down the national grid for example, any number of threats. It isn't a question of the worst case scenario, but more the possibility of needing a torch, multi tool & camping equipment in your own home. Also being able to defend your home. 

I do think we should all be thinking seriously about preparing for the unexpected & making our homes & ourselves as resilient & safe as possible. It may never happen, but do you really want to take that risk? Do you want to be the ostrich with your head in the sand?

 

 

Memories & Remembering

Like many people my age my short term memory is getting very unreliable. I read in bed at night & have to go back a few pages every night to remind myself of what I previously read. If I watch a weekly TV series I have forgotten what happened in the previous week by the time it comes around again. I think that is all perfectly normal, however frustrating. I don't particularly worry about it.

I have never been able to remember much about my childhood. I suspect I have actually blocked much of it out because it wasn't easy. Even hypnotism didn't help me remember. By the time I left college at 21 I was really glad that I didn't have to return & live at home. I married & started a professional job in a different part of the country to my parents. 

Friends remember things about our friendship that I don't. My daughter remembers things about our lives that I don't. I tell myself it's because I tend not to look back. I prefer to live for today & look forward. 

Nowadays I need prompts to remember what is happening in my life. But I am an organised person & generally the prompts work. The most frustrating thing is not being able to recall words, even names of people I know well. I have a visual memory so I can see an image of the person / thing but can't remember the name. In common with many people I can set off to do something & in seconds the task has drifted out of my mind, so I'm walking somewhere to do something but don't know what.

There are things in everyone's life it is important to remember & things best forgotten. Dwelling on past arguments & mistakes really gets you nowhere. It has happened & cannot be changed. The most important thing is to not repeat the mistakes. To learn from them. On the other hand as you age you realise that good memories are little nuggets of gold to be treasured. 

Now that I am less mobile & not able to travel to far flung places as I once did, I realise that my best memories are of wonderful journeys I had with my husband. We tended to focus on challenging walks in beautiful & varied landscapes. There is nothing quite like ascending to great heights & looking down from mountains. It gives you perspective. There is also nothing quite like meeting people who have a completely different culture & realising that we have more in common than the things that divide us. There is nothing like visiting sites of ancient civilisations & realising that we do not have a monopoly on creating & building. 

Travel does broaden your horizons & your mind. So these are the memories that I hope I retain. 

We now live in a time where we should all consider whether travel is justified because of the climate emergency. At the very least we should consider choosing land travel & avoid flying. Sadly many of the countries I travelled to are now unsafe because of civil unrest, criminal regimes & war. 

 

Times have changed & we have to change with them.    

Being a Citizen

Being a citizen is a contract. It means being a legally recognised member of a country, state, or city & owing allegiance to it's government. In return the citizen receives full civil & political rights. Possibly that contract needs to be made much clearer, because it seems to me that too many of us are too ready to claim our rights & ignore our individual responsibilities. We are selfish. We want the benefits without contributing. 

Turnout at the 2024 general election was 59.7%, which was the lowest at a general election since 2001

 

Turnout at local elections is even worse.

 

It doesn't seem too much to ask that people go to a polling station & cast a vote for whomever they want to make decisions for them in return for the benefits of living in a democracy. You can even do it by post if that's too much effort!

Apparently voter numbers have declined globally since the 1960's. So it isn't just Brits. People least likely to vote are younger people, people with fewer qualifications, people with lower socio-economic backgrounds, people who were born overseas and people from ethnic minority groups. Exactly the people who I would argue need to be heard in this ever widening gap between the rich & the poor, the educated & the uneducated. A relatively small number of people in the UK may not vote due to political disengagement and/or logistical or bureaucratic barriers such as incorrect registration on the electoral roll.

To be honest I think it's more a feeling of apathy & lack of confidence that one vote matters. It does & will do even more if we get a fairer voting system than the current one.

I'm reading "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury. It is so prescient & paints a picture of where this could so easily go if we don't all ensure that we know & understand what is happening in the world & the UK. Then we need to actually do something to try to make sure that decision making is in the interests of humanity & the world we live in.  

 

Value

Value can be what something is worth, or it can be what you personally value, which may not be valuable in monetary terms at all. Both are important. The latter speaks to your own values, what matters to you & what doesn't.

I'm just having a clear out in my house. I'm bearing in mind what William Morris said ""Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." So stuff is gradually being disposed of in one way or another. 

  

As you age, you refine the things you value. Over the years we all accumulate a lot of stuff. Much of it sits in cupboards & drawers untouched for months, even years. There comes a time when you have to question whether it deserves a place in your home. If you meditate on your own mortality you should think about the onerous job you leave behind for friends & family to get rid of all your worldly possessions. Giving them away while you are alive at least gives you the satisfaction of knowing that someone else needs or wants them & benefits from your gift. 

The issue of what you personally value is more complex & ethical. But again, I think ones moral values crystallise over the years. Although I don't have belief in any of the main religions, or even a god, I do value ethics & a moral code. It seems to me that the main thing we should all value is the sanctity of life, whether it is human or not. So we should care about what is happening to people all over the world. They may have cultural & religious differences to us, but that does not make them any less valuable or important. We should also value & protect all living species, if not for any other reason than everything is part of one huge symbiotic ecosystem. If we damage part of it, we ultimately damage ourselves.

I have been watching the excellent BBC series "Corridors of Power - should America Police the World" The one thing it shows us is that we do not value human life. If that is true what on earth do we truly value?