On Christmas morning Nicola and I were in the kitchen preparing Christmas lunch when we heard the noise of running water from above. Then we saw the water running down the walls from the ceiling. We assumed we had a burst pipe caused by the thaw after the big freeze that preceded it. So we turned the water off. Would it also affect our gas fired central heating system? I phoned Scottish Gas and I was directed through to a call centre, possibly in India. After some deliberation and consultation with others I was told to switch the heating off. Presumably in India they did not appreciate the affect this would have on us in Scotland in mid winter! Thankfully, I managed to get a hold of our local plumber, even on Christmas Day, and he told me that this was nonsense. The central heating was a sealed system separate from the main water supply and would work fine notwithstanding that we had turned the water off. So at least we had heat, if not water. Our neighbours kindly supplied us with buckets of water so we survived Christmas Day and ‘Boxing Day’ (I understand that Boxing Day cannot fall on a Sunday) without water from our taps.

The plumber arrived this morning and discovered that we did not in fact have a burst pipe (as such). A pipe that carries water from the roof has an old connection that comes within the wall cavity but has been blocked off (after the pipe became redundant and had been cut from whatever item it used to drain water from within the house). The lead that sealed it was not holding it watertight. The main pipe down the side of the house was completely frozen. As the snow thawed on the roof it was running down the outside pipes but backing up when it hit the frozen pipe and ended up coming inside the house! It was just a coincidence that it stopped coming in when we turned the water off at the mains – so we could have had water running from our taps on Christmas Day and ‘Boxing Day’ after all!

Living with water from buckets for two days was not a great hardship compared with the problems the current weather has caused for many. We did have to become much more economic with our use of water and it did make us think of our friends in 22 de Enero. I blogged on 17 November 2009 that “The water that the residents have access to is largely underground and away from the housing area, making it difficult to find potable water for family consumption.” We helped Germán to build a water tower but many families had to walk some distance to fill buckets of water and carry them back to their homes. In Glasgow we were able to simply pop next door.

International research and statistics show that:-

• One out of every three city dwellers – nearly a billion people – lives in a slum. (Slum indicators include: lack of water, lack of sanitation, overcrowding, non-durable structures and insecure tenure.) (UN-Habitat: 2006)
• UN-Habitat has reported that because of poor living conditions children in slums are more likely to die from water-borne and respiratory illness. (UN-Habitat: 2006)

Habitat for Humanity agree with the Department for International Development (DFID) that it should be "our moral and religious duty to ensure that we are part of a world where no one has to live in poverty; A world in which all have access  to food, shelter, clean water; to a livelihood, health and education; A world in which the rights and dignity of every woman, man and child to live life to the full are respected". (DFID Target 2015, halving world poverty. A Shared Vision of Reducing World Poverty).

Next time you fill a kettle from a tap, run a bath, have a shower or flush a toilet think of those less fortunate in the world who do not have this luxury that we take for granted. You can help by Just Giving.

Following on from my last two blog posts there is now a James Morrison Street Flickr Page where many who attended the event have been posting their photos. Here is the Flickr Slide Show of those photos:-

'As part of Doors Open Day on Saturday 18th September 2010, the local community and creative cluster around Glasgow Cross joined forces in grassroots style to transform James Morrison Street into a vibrant public space full of activity and performance.

Between 10am and 4pm there was an eclectic programme of events including film screenings in the urban escape theatre, free homemade soup and Jim Morrison branded toast, a buskers stage, tea and cake, and interactive creative activities. There was also the opportunity to explore the studio spaces of the local design community and the hidden gem of St Andrew’s church. Or you could simply put your feet up in the outdoor living room and soak up the sights and sounds of city street life in a re-imagined car free environment.'

The above is from the official press release. The following is my day:-

My day started before 9am as I was helping Nicola and her colleagues at Page\Park together with others involved in organising the event set up for the day. First task was rolling out the astroturf on the ramp into the underground carpark - this would form the 'grassed' seating area for the cinema. Then there were gazebos to erect and shopping trolley handles to re-label (the shopping trolleys being used for Book Crossing). Meanwhile the bunting (which included some of my shirts!) was going up with a great team effort that solved several logistical problems along the way. The Street Kiosk (winning entry by Boriss Krutiks of Riga, Latvia in the Vox Populi competition organised by Skirmishes) was being put together. By 10am it was all coming together and the first visitors were arriving to sample the soup and Jim Morrison toast - both were very good indeed. There were also cakes available at Goodd/GRAS. Children were getting their faces painted, hula hooping, building sand castles and playing Giant Jenga. Penalty shoot outs were taking place in St Andrew's Square and golf putting on astroturf on James Morrison Street.

I was a Marshal for part of the morning. This involved wearing a High Vis jacket and a cowboy hat and assisting visitors to the event. Towards the end of the day I counted visitors into the Page\Park offices. They had 581. Then the day was all too quickly coming to an end with a final strip the willow on the street with music by the Ardoch Ceilidh Band. There had been music throughout the day from Jasmine, Pipers - Neil and Aonghas, Honesty Christian, Diverted Traffic, The Imagineers, We See Lights and Captain and the Kings.

After 4pm it was time to tidy up with the astroturf being rolled up and the gazebos dismantled. It was not long before the street was clear and could be re-opened to traffic again.

It had been a very successful day and one I had been glad to have been part of. Nicola had been involved for weeks as part of the organising committee - so the part I played was very small by comparison. It reminded me, however, of our time in Argentina working as a team building homes. Today we built temporary structures but ones that played an important part in bringing the community together. It was life affirming to see the results of this. The whole day had been a very positive one. Thanks for this must go to the participating organisations:-

Andy Murray Design, Brown & Wallace, Collective Architecture, Dancehouse, Dualchas Building Design, Erz, Goodd, GRAS, Icecream Architecture, John Gilbert Architects, Kraft Architecture, Lofts Residents Association, Merchant City Marketing Cooperative, Page\Park Architects, the local residents of James Morrison Street and St Andrews Square.

See: Photos of the James Morrison Street Party at InkstersGive

See: Photos of the James Morrison Street Party on Flickr

Hands reach out from Page\Park offices

I am a Marshal!

Making Jim Morrison Toast

Jim Morrison Toast

Music for the day

A shirt or two of mine help make up the bunting!

Bagpipes and Tai Chi - an unusual combination!

The cinema

Hula

Football

Street Kiosk - Winning entry by Boriss Krutiks of Riga, Latvia in the Vox Populi competition organised by Skirmishes theatre

Nicola ceilidhs in the street

Read about the James Morrison Street Party

See: Photos of the James Morrison Street Party on Flickr