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Archive for August, 2007


In search of London’s drinking fountains (and cattle troughs)


Friday, August 31, 2007

Help locate London’s fine heritage of Victorian drinking fountains, in celebration of the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association.

Public drinking fountains are a simple, modest yet precious civic amenity under threat from neglect and the rise of environmentally catastrophic bottled water. Turn away from the bottle and join a treasure hunt and celebration of the public drinking fountains of London (not forgetting troughs for the cows).

Use the Google Map below to add your favourite fountains:


View Larger Map

Links:

Photo Essay

Victorian Art and Water

Wikipedia entry

Unleashing the power of investigative journalism


Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Eight years – and a lifetime – ago, I was working as a political aide to the UK agriculture minister Nick Brown. It was a difficult time for British farming. Prices were down, the backwash of mad cow disease was impacting the livestock sector, the strong pound was hitting exporters and there was genuine discontent in many rural communities. At the same time, the member states of the European Union were negotiating a reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP), the collective name for all the support programmes that exist to give a helping hand to European farmers. At a time of crisis, farmers said, why tinker with the government support programmes that are our lifeline? (more…)