#cumbria life

[guy60660]

Ian Lawson | Cumbria Life

[lymphomalass]

"Each step forward is progress."

It can be frustrating when we get knockbacks and progress is slow. The diagnosis we've dreaded. The business opportunity that evaporates. The family or other personal interaction that didn't go as we hoped.

Many of these steps can have a forward motion. The diagnosis can mean we finally get the treatment that will help. Realising the opportunity was never going to materialise can help us take a different better route. The difficult interaction can help us understand someone better, and that may lead to a better relationship. Each of these has been my experience, at one time or another.

It can be forward progress, even when it doesn't feel like that.

Seeing it as a step forward may help us to cope, especially when the path ahead looks like a long one. It's helped me. It might help you.

To buy the art printed on all kinds of things, please go to: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/115243460

Thanks!

Sam aka LymphomaLass xx

[barbucomedie]

Infantry Officer's Small Sword from Germany dated to 1796 on display at the Cumbria Museum of Military Life in Carlise, England

Until 1786 there was little regulation on what swords officers in the British army carried. After that they introduced regular patterns for regiments and officers to use. Small swords like this were more a symbol of authority and rank on the battlefield and on parade unlike cavalry swords which were more in use in combat.

Photographs taken by myself 2023

[university-dayz]

Photos me and my field group took when we where carrying out an investigation into how air pollution effects the growth, type and coverage of lichen on trees in different areas

We carried out this experiment in two locations with various levels of air pollutants

(Please keep in mind I was in my foundation year, had no clue what I was doing and I’ve lost my notes so am doing this PURELY from memory.)

Hypothesis

We expected to see more moss in the park by the river compared to the park in the housing estate due to the latter being closer to the roads and shops

A park in the city centre

Position of the tree

Middle of the park

Close to and facing a river

Notable environmental observations

Smell of wild garlic in the air

Visible litter in river (an indication that this is an frequently visited area)

What is in the vicinity of the tree

Other trees

A foot path

Findings

Small patches of bushy green moss across the surface of the tree we chose to observe. This indicates that sulphur dioxide levels are low

Small park in the centre of a housing estate

Position of the tree

At the edge of the “park” Facing east towards houses and the road

Notable environmental observations

Excessive level of traffic

Up the road there’s a Car garage

Increased levels of foot traffic both within and outside of the “park” . Due to the park being surrounded by houses

What is the vicinity of the tree

Other trees

Benches

Roads

Houses

A car garage

Findings

There was no evidence of lichen on the two trees that we had chosen to observe. But that can not be said for all of the trees in the area. This indicates that there’s high levels of sulphur dioxide

Final conclusions

We seem to have been correct in our assumption that there would be more air pollution in a more industrialised/ populated areas

Improvements for next time

Don’t Loose notes so it’s easier to write about

Make a note about how much of the tree the lichen covers

Make more detailed notes about the type of lichen that I on the tree

[ghostofbambifanfiction]

CYOA

You know what screw it, I wanted to finish chapter 59 today but I feel horrible and it's just not going to happen so for now you can have this completed scene under the cut with my great affection love love peace peace feel free to react as it'll make me happy etc. etc.

Private WhatsApp Chat Resumed: Friday 18th March, 2022, 07:57 Members: Lily Evans, James Potter

================================

James Potter: i think it's pretty amazing that you and beatrice know the exact date that you first met when you were two

Lily Evans: Lollllll Hello to you too

James Potter: although idk how sirius would react if we knew and i suggested celebrating that hello, also beautiful hello beautiful is what i meant to say

Lily Evans: Suave of you.

James Potter: i'm only just having my first coffee of the day, alright? give me five minutes and i'll be on my game

Lily Evans: I suppose I can allow you five minutes. We didn't always know, but my mum's been journaling every day for most of her life, so a few years back we did a little detective work and it turns out she'd written about my first day at Little Tots. We've done something for our anniversary every year since, but she's blown my gift out of the water this time around.

James Potter: why, what was your gift?

Lily Evans: I bought her a ladyship. She's Lady Beatrice Booth now. Officially. Incredibly it only costs £30 and you get a tiny plot of land in Cumbria with it. I gave the pack to her housemate to leave out today so she'll get a huge kick out of it when she gets home later.

James Potter: how ironic is it that you got her a ladyship and i was looking into getting her canonised earlier

Lily Evans: Lol why?

James Potter: because i really really really liked that video, evans

Lily Evans: I see. I see. I see. Not embarrassed about you having seen that AT ALL. Although I suppose I don't have a right to be embarrassed when I've seen all of your childhood photos, do I? It was probably about time that you saw some of mine.

James Potter: what would you have to be embarrassed about? you were an adorable child i loved watching you grow up on an instagram reel with, inexplicably, flo rida's musical accompaniment

Lily Evans: Lollllllllll I know that probably seems like a weird choice, but it was our go-to dance song when we were eighteen. And on that note, I was a very awkward teenager, as you've now seen.

James Potter: almost everyone on earth was an awkward teenager and the ones who weren't awkward peaked in their teens, so think of how they've suffered since then although i guess sirius is the exception anyway you say you were awkward, but fifteen year old me would have been DESPERATE for fifteen year old you's attention

Lily Evans: Oh, you say that now.

James Potter: no i would have been and i wouldn't have gotten it because as we've previously established i was a prick when i was fifteen so if i'd gone to school with you i still would have been a prick, but a prick who wanted your attention and did all manner of stupid things to get it i would have driven you mad

Lily Evans: Twenty-seven year old you wants my attention and I've not been driven mad over it once, to be fair.

James Potter: twenty-seven year old me has much improved with age and is more deserving of it you however have been a delight your whole life which i now have visual proof of hence i'll be calling your best mate saint lady beatrice from now on

Lily Evans: I wasn't a delight my whole life, I promise you. As a child I was a precocious little shit who thought she knew everything and couldn't be told otherwise. That's why I got into so many scrapes, doing stupid, dangerous things because I couldn't just listen to my mother when she told me "no, Lily, that's dangerous." I was like a working class Peppa Pig, honestly, no wonder my sister couldn't hack being around me half the time. So you're not the only one who has much improved with age. And fifteen year old me would have had a massive crush on fifteen year old you, BELIEVE me.

James Potter: oh really?

Lily Evans: Would I have let you know about it? Absolutely not. But it still would have been there.

James Potter: you mean like the crush you've had on me this whole time?

Lily Evans: I already have to get you back for some nonsense you pulled yesterday, Potter, so I'd advise you not to pile on and add this to the list.

James Potter: lollllllll

Lily Evans: I'm serious!

James Potter: oh i'm sure you are to which i say go on then do it

Lily Evans: I will do it.

James Potter: you go right ahead i can handle it

Lily Evans: You're being very cocky right now and while I can't pretend I don't like it, it'll also prove to be your downfall later.

James Potter: we'll see, we'll see

Lily Evans: We will see.

James Potter: whatever you need to tell yourself, sweetheart

Lily Evans: I think the fifteen year old you has taken over the controls in your head, mate.

James Potter: he probably has, yeah but what can i say he's really chuffed about your crush on me

Lily Evans: You mean the crush you've decided I have that I haven't confirmed?

James Potter: right, yeah, of course, clearly i'm the one in the wrong here still sleeping in my bed, are you?

Lily Evans: I have to go do a work thing now.

James Potter: oh, sure, that old excuse

[thoughtlessarse]

A loggerhead turtle, named Nazaré, seen recovering last February after being washed up on Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, UK. She was found severely cold-stunned, suffering from pneumonia and covered in algae. But her story had a happy ending this month … Photograph: BDMLR/PA

… as, after a full recovery, Sea Life experts released her back into warmer waters. Here, Todd German from Sea Life Scarborough and Scott Blacker from Sea Life Blackpool are seen helping Nazaré into the sea off the coast of Horta in the Azores - Photograph: Anthony Devlin/Sea Life/PA

Click source for more Week in Wildlife photos,

[feasibilities]

Renewal | Jim x Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Burgeoning Relationship, Pregnancy, Mentions of Sex Synopsis: An unexpected pregnancy between you and Jim could get in the way of things. Author's Note: I have nothing but love for my baldheaded king, Jim.

“I’m pregnant, Jim.” You whispered to yourself, rehearsing the line for the thousandth time. You couldn’t understand why you were so nervous. You two survived hell on earth and now you got the chance to dote on post-epidemic life. You came to this cottage in Cumbria so Jim could recover. Naturally, your ardor got in the way of his recovery. Affectionate glances and gestures became blazes of unbridled passion. You remember an incident where the cottage nearly burned down because you two were occupied with screwing around in the bath. Your relationship with Jim blossomed beautifully and you felt safe for the first time in weeks. Walking to your bedroom, you saw him sleeping soundly. You went to him and planted gentle kisses on his nose to wake him. Stirring awake, he smiled at you. 

“I’m up, I’m up.” He said sleepily. You wiggled your way underneath the blanket and stared at him intently. 

“I have something to tell you, Jim.” You said softly. 

“What is it?” He inquired, furrowing his eyebrows. You stayed silent for a bit which made Jim sit up. You wordlessly took his hand and placed it on your stomach. It took a minute for it to register. His eyes widened as he realized what the news was. 

“Really?” He said excitedly. You nodded in response and giggled when he embraced you. 

“How far along?” He asked.

“No idea but labor’s gonna be a bitch.” You quipped. Jim delicately pulled the strap of your nightgown off your shoulder and kissed it. You put your hand on his chest to remind him of your condition.

“I’ll be gentle. Promise.” He murmured on your skin. 

[stellastra-scribbles]

Finally completed the outfit reference for Jayna Stiles, a half-elven NPC follower from Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.

Outfit breakdown (or "outfit onions" as I like to call them lol~)

I really like Jayna Stiles and her backstory + goals of becoming a technological healer. I'm also a sucker for 19th-century fashion and I have an unhealthily large collection of reference books and a bunch of files saved from online museum collections (I've got about 22+ gigabytes of refs downloaded from the Library of Congress alone haha I need more hobbies).

Back on track, I really just wanted to design Jayna an outfit that suited her character more than her in-game sprites while also being practical for travel/adventuring.

More unrestrained detailed design ramblings below the cut~

Individual layers. I pulled most of her colors from her default outfit.

Since Arcanum's starting year is 1885, I usually picture the "modern" sense of fashion in big cities like Tarant and Caladon taking cues from real life 1885-1890s western fashions (to give myself some leeway with references). Smaller towns can be a bit more dated, but I try not to go back further than the 1870s in most cases.

However, for a character like Jayna, who hails from Dernholm, I gave her clothing from references dating back to the 1850-1860s. I did this because Jayna says in her recruitment dialogue that "[her] parents weren't wealthy people, and [she doesn't] make much money here in Dernholm," so I took this to mean that she likely wears clothing to last, wearing hand-me-downs, makes her own clothes, and mending it over the years rather than buying new clothes.

Given that Dernholm (+ the Kingdom of Cumbria in general) isn't in the best state when the game starts, they may be behind the times and the latest fashions take longer to reach Dernholm.

Gar: “Alas, poor Dernholm! Once home to the legendary Dragon Knights, it has fallen on hard times since Praetor became king some 60 odd years ago. He despises all technology, and I think he's recently become sour on magick as well.”

Herkemer Oggdoddler: “For two generations Cumbria languished as an economically abused and technologically impaired backwater in the shadow of Tarant. Its once fine capital, Dernholm, has become a ruin.”

Layer 1 - Chemise + Open Drawers. I deliberately drew the drawers as fairly loose so as to not expose her without having to redraw the pose or resort to "Barbie doll anatomy."

Various resources demonstrated the chemise being tucked into the drawers or worn fully untucked/loose, but I drew it as tucked-in for the sake of reference visibility, so perhaps either one works in practice.

Layer 2 - Corset + Socks/Stockings. I picked a more "contemporary" (1880s) design for the corset as I imagine it would be a more custom-fitted garment. Plus, anyone who has ever worn bras will attest that a bra that properly fits is comparable to a good pair of shoes: never cheap out on it because if you take care of it, it will take care of you. Perhaps that same logic can be applied to corsets in ye olden days and historically-inspired fantasy settings.

For Jayna, despite the simplistic design, it might be one of the few luxuries she can afford for herself given the necessity of the garment for bust support.

Layer 3 - Trousers + Shoes. I was inspired by vivandières and Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, who typically wore trousers beneath their skirts. Dr. Walker was a "surgeon, women’s rights advocate, abolitionist, and spy, [and] the first female U.S. Army surgeon during the Civil War." Since Jayna is an aspiring technological healer, I feel like an allusion to Dr. Walker and her practicality was appropriate.

Layer 4 - Petticoat. It's just something to fill out the skirt volume a tad. I considered adding a corset cover in this layer but I did like having the upper outline of the corset somewhat visible in the shirtwaist layer to illustrate her living situation (aka she doesn't have one or just has a poor-quality one). As a modern-age woman, I think this this all already looks like a laundering nightmare to wash by hand.

Layer 5 - Shirtwaist + Outer Skirt. I really like the shape of the 1860s Garibaldi blouse's sleeves (I think these are bishop sleeves? correct me if I'm wrong...) and the stripes allude to some 19th century nurse uniforms. I initially went for a plaid pattern but that was a pain to draw and using a pre-existing plaid brush/pattern just didn't look as good as I wanted it to be.

Layer 6 - Sash + Pistol Holster + Bag. Given Jayna's goals of becoming a tech healer, I took design cues from vivandières, who were 19th-century women attached to military regiments, with a few known vivandières being nurses (like Anna Etheridge).

However, rather than lifting the vivandière look completely, I imagine Jayna would attempt to replicate the silhouette with her own clothes. The bag is a bit of an amalgamation of various 18th-19th century hunting/frontier bags, so I apologize that I don't have a direct reference image.

---------------

Of course, in the end, I did take some liberties with the outfit so it's not completely historically-accurate, but that's okay since Arcanum is a fictional universe.

I guess I should've prefaced that I'm no expert on historical fashion, just a casual enthusiast who thinks "ooh old dress is pretty!"

I just wanted to see how far I could go before I had to make some concessions, such as:

Jayna's hair is short and worn loose while irl Victorian women typically had long hair and wore them up (there were documented exceptions of course). Many portraits for both female player characters and female NPCs across all in-game races show short hair and loose long hair, so let's just assume that 19th-century Arcanum has more relaxed feminine hair standards compared to the real-life 19th century western world. Also, irl 19th-century rural women did sell their hair for money, so maybe there's something to apply to the world of Arcanum with that. Or maybe the short-hair craze just hit Arcanum a few decades early *shrug*.

I initially planned to give her gloves, but many resources show vivandières not really wearing them, preferring to go barehanded.

The clothing colors may be a bit too saturated for the era I took inspiration from, but I wanted to stay somewhat faithful to Jayna's original sprite colors.

I did simplify some garments down for the sake of me having to draw enough layers as it is lol. Sorry if the lace wasn't fancy enough or that she doesn't have headwear. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sometimes you just wanna finish a project and be done with it.

hoo boy, that was a lot

Thank You For Coming to My TED Talk :)

Now go play Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura~

[claraameliapond]

Lynx reintroduction in need of public support: the National Trust is restoring parts of Northumberland that could support a lynx population.

Wild lynx have been extinct in the UK for 1,300 years due to hunting and habitat destruction.

In an effort to rewild and rejuvenate the land, a family of beavers were reintroduced in 2023. Europe has had success with reintroducing both species.

Anyone who lives near should go to these exhibitions and voice their public support! It's such an amazing opportunity ❤

"We've lost so much wildlife, and the jigsaw of life is really quite broken, so bringing back species like beaver and lynx could really help restore nature," Mr Pratt, of Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

"The lynx has been successfully reintroduced in countries like Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy and Slovenia."

"Lynx were once widespread in the UK but disappeared in medieval times because they were hunted for their fur."

It's literally called The Missing Lynx Project !!!! 😻😻😻😻😻😻😻

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Farm life in the frame: Amy Bateman’s Cumbria landscape photography – in pictures

A Great Mell Fell pony. If there is a future for fell ponies in Cumbria then it is as part of the increasing number of grazing schemes operating on hill farms. Ponies graze differently to cattle and sheep, and are one of the few animals that will eat rushes and thistles. Best of all, because they have monogastric stomachs, their dung can transport seeds and spread them, complete with ready-made compost.

[v0id-c0rroded]

A 'Metrovick' in Cumbria, their stamping ground for much of their short life. Looks like a parcels train, strangely formed with a brakevan in the midst of the consist? Steam engines worked traffic like this right up until their demise, so I would assume our photographer was expecting one to emerge from the tunnel. Thankfully, through the assumed disappointment, they fired off a frame anyway.

It's a fantastic study of a fascinating diesel.

Circa mid-60s

[lymphomalass]

"Sometimes the view from the valley can be pretty wonderful too."

I'm all for stretching myself, aiming higher. That's how I got back to walking the Cumbrian fells after my chemotherapy for blood cancer gave me five collapsed vertebrae.

But as I've grown older I've grown wiser and I've learned to also enjoy the moment where I am, rather than letting those high aims spoil the here and now.

It's a mental discipline, to learn to appreciate what we've got where we are, while also working for better. But, in my experience, learning that mental discipline brings previously unbelievable rewards.

Learning to "smell the roses" isn't necessarily easy, but it's worth in.... Or as on this walk, learning to smell the Rannerdale bluebells in that brief period in mid-May when they bloom. That moment that most Lake District visitors sadly miss.

The art under the quote is available printed-to-your-order on all kinds of things at: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/115265489

Thanks!

Sam aka LymphomaLass xx

[barbucomedie]

Officers Uniform for the Kendal and Lonsdale Regiment from the British Empire dated to 1810 on display at the Cumbria Museum of Military Life in Carlisle, England

During the Napoleonic Wars the British Empire started raising local home defence units called Fencibles and Yeomanry. They were to be used in case of a French invasion while the main army was occupied in Europe. While home defence was their main responsibility they were also used in violently surpressing riots and protests in early 19th Cenutry Britain and the Empire.

Photographs taken by myself 2023

[mybeingthere]

Rosemary Vanns was born in Nottinghamshire in 1960 and originally trained and qualified as a registered nurse in Sheffield. A year into further midwifery training in Harlow, Essex in 1983 she gave up her studies to undertake an Arts Foundation Course and then went on to gain a B.A (Hons) degree in Textile and Fashion Design at Winchester School of Art (1984-1987). In both 1988 and 1989 she was awarded places at the Royal College of Art in London to study for an M.A. in Fine Art Printmaking but the birth of her daughter and then her son in those years meant she was unable to attend.

She spent the next 20 years initially as a successful freelance textile designer for the international bedding and furnishings market creating designs for, amongst others, Sanderson, John Lewis, Jeff Banks and Vymura and numerous print and weave companies across the world. For the latter 6 years she returned to work as a surgical staff nurse in Sheffield and then as a district nurse and at her local hospice. Her art making continued spasmodically during this period including a couple of minor awards but it was not until 2009 that she was able to commit herself to life as a full time artist.

Initially printmaking was instinctively her focus (she won the Printmakers' Printmaker Award at Printfest in Cumbria in 2013 and was awarded the Galleries magazine award at the R.E. National Open Print Exhibition in 2018) but painting and mixed media is an equally important part of her work. Mark making and colour continue to predominate in both disciplines and her love of still life and landscape is depicted in either semi abstracted or in more illustrative form.

[sometimes-men-need-help-too]

Men share harrowing stories of abuse at hands of partners at historic conference in Belfast

Psychological and emotional forms of abuse tend to cause a more negative impact and greater feelings of fear than physical aggression.

That has been the finding of many studies, and it was a key theme at Northern Ireland’s first conference focusing on male victims of domestic abuse.

Dr Elizabeth Bates, a psychology lecturer at the University of Cumbria, told guests that female perpetrators used coercive control and gaslighting more often than outright violence, though it should be noted that many men have also been physically and sexually abused by female and male partners.

While most of the guests at the summit were women — possibly because they make up three-quarters of Northern Ireland’s community and voluntary workforce — male victims were also in attendance.

One man who did not wish to be named described how his former partner, who he was with for a decade, took control of his finances, sleep, food and, essentially, his entire life.

“I didn’t know what to do or where to go. I was on the edge of going over the edge,” he told this newspaper.

“I didn’t know there was this support for men suffering domestic abuse.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know if I was in an abusive situation because a lot of people think it’s [just] about physical abuse.

“Call me naive, but I had accepted a lot of things as being normal, and they weren’t.”

He began working 10 to 12-hour shifts, sometimes seven days a week, because he feared going home.

“My job became my safe place. I was getting to the point where I was just going and sleeping in the car because she would come and wake me up, start arguments and tell me I would be getting no sleep that night,” he said.

“That drained me. It was hard. The person I had loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with was treating me this way, and I just didn’t understand it.”

When the man eventually sought help in 2018, he found support was not as readily available as he had expected.

He went to his GP but found they were not a lot of help.

After that, he contacted Women’s Aid, which referred him to the Men’s Advisory Project NI (MAP), the agency that organised yesterday’s conference.

Through MAP, he was referred for free counselling sessions that he attended for 11 months.

“It was like a weight off my shoulders, just being able to talk to somebody who listened and wasn’t judgemental,” he said.

Coercive control is when a person behaves in a way which makes you feel dependent, isolated or scared.

‘Gaslighting’ is a term used to describe when someone manipulates another person, using psychological methods to make them question their sanity or powers of reasoning.

Dr Bates said many male victims of domestic abuse she interviewed had experiences with these kinds of techniques, particularly around their relationship with their children.

“She was unable to control me physically so instead controlled me using our son and my access to him,” one man said.

Legal systems and social norms can also be manipulated to this end.

One father said: “She [his former partner] regularly disobeys court orders over contact and her and her partner make regular threats to my safety in front of the children.

“The police do nothing and the court orders are not enforced by social services.”

The PSNI received 118 reports of coercive or controlling behaviour In 2021/22.

It became illegal following the passing of the Domestic Abuse Act (NI), which came into force in February 2022.

That same year, 1,297 men reported to police that they had been victims of harassment.

In many cases, a victim’s personal characteristics, such as their age, sexuality or mental capacity, will be targeted by abusive partners.

One elderly man said: “She [his former partner] convinced me I had Alzheimer’s and tried to force me to sign a legal paper to declare me incompetent.”

‘Outing’ — where a perpetrator threatens to reveal a victim’s sexuality to others, or suggests they will disclose their HIV status —is a common form of abuse in same-sex relationships.

MAP reported that 49% of gay and bisexual men have experienced at least one incident of domestic abuse since the age of 16.

Some 70% of the men the charity supports are heterosexual and have faced abuse from an intimate partner.

You can contact the Domestic and Sexual Abuse helpline (0808 802 1414), the PSNI or the Housing Executive for 24-hour support

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/health/men-share-harrowing-stories-of-abuse-at-hands-of-partners-at-historic-conference-in-belfast/15469094.html

[thoughtlessarse]

Foreign multinational companies are extracting billions of litres of water from British aquifers to sell as bottled water, the Guardian can reveal. Coca-Cola extracts the largest amount of freshwater of any drinks company in England, the data obtained through freedom of information legislation shows. It has a licence to extract 1.59bn litres of water a year from boreholes in Sidcup, Kent for its soft drinks. On top of that, it has the right to take 377m litres for its bottled water brands Glaceau Smartwater and Abbey Well from Morpeth in Northumberland. The French company Sources Alma is one of the biggest players in the UK water market, supplying bottled water to Tesco and Asda as well as producing its own Aqua Pura brand. Through its British subsidiary Roxane, it has the right to extract 1.5bn litres annually from Armathwaite in Cumbria, where it bottles Tesco’s Ashbeck water. It also bottles large quantities of water in Staffordshire, where it produces Tesco’s Elmhurst brand, but this spring water is supplied by a third company – South Staffordshire Water plc – so the quantities are not publicly available. The Swiss giant Nestlé Waters has the right to extract a total of 880m litres of water for its brands Buxton and Pure Life from its sites in Derbyshire and Pembrokeshire, where it took over the Welsh company Princes Gate in 2018. Also in Derbyshire is Germany’s Schwarz, which bottles water for Lidl, with a licence to pump up 700m litres a year. Meanwhile, the French company Danone has bought Harrogate Spring Water, where it can extract 460m litres a year. In Scotland, Highland Spring is dominant. Its licence allows it to take 1.85bn litres a year from the Speyside Glenlivet crown estate in the Scottish Highlands. Highland Spring is owned by Mahdi Al Tajir, a Bahrain-born billionaire businessman and Scotland’s richest man. Highland Spring said that it only extracted 32% of the amount allowed by its licence and that it had detected “no discernible impact on the rivers and groundwater levels due to abstraction”. The UK trade body, the Natural Source Water Association, says bottled water represents a tiny fraction of all water abstracted in Britain: in England it is 0.05%, Scotland 0.2% and Wales 0.08%. “For natural source water companies, the water they abstract is the precious commodity at the centre of their operations so they are very careful how they use it,” it said in a statement.

continue reading

Remember that most of this water comes in plastic bottles that add to the plastic pollution afflicting the planet.

Read also: ‘It’s not drought - it’s looting’: the Spanish villages where people are forced to buy back their own drinking water