Too often the elderly in our society are treated as peripheral, as nuisances, like children, or even as though they have somehow become invisible as real people. The ATTACHED poem, currently in general circulation through the internet, strikes a blow for better visibility and appreciation for elders in our society. [Thanks to Anne W for sending it in.]
Grumpy Old Mans gift

Use of Rainbank Controller for water pumps:

It has come to my attention that people have either installed a Daveys Rainbank Controller or are being advised to buy one by the pump dealer to allow swap over between mains and tank water. The Rainbank controller requires mains pressure to operate and actually uses mains until the flow is more than 1.5 litres per minute. This means that if the village pump is not working then neither will your own pump which is not a good idea

Make sure that you get an independent pressure controller for your pump. I would advise manual change over if you need it. Please refer to the Water Document on the AAEV web site for information on the ways to configure your water systems. See:

http://www.aaev.net/management/bdc/bdc_documents/files/Water%20Systems%200704.pdf

Adrian Oakey - BDC Co-ordinator

From today's ‘Indaily’ of the The Independent Weekly (Thanks to Jane O’C):

Rainwater declared safe for daily drinking 
A major study of Australian households with a water tank has found drinking rainwater had no impact on their health.

The study was based in Adelaide, the nation's tank capital, and took in 300 homes that used rainwater as their primary drinking source. All of the homes were given a benchtop filter and told it would remove any potential gastroenteritis-causing bugs from their water, but half of the devices intentionally did not work. The rate of gastro cases recorded across the households over 12 months was found to match that seen across the broader community, who drank treated tap water. "There were just under 770 episodes of gastroenteritis reported during the study or 0.77 episodes of gastro per person," said Associate Professor Karin Leder, head of the infectious diseases unit at Monash University's department of epidemiology. "Interestingly, this rate is very similar to the rate of gastro reported in other studies both in Australia, and in ! other industrialised countries, amongst non-rainwater drinkers." Gastroenteritis rates were the same for families who used the working filters and those who had the dummy devices. The research contrasts with official advice from state health departments that discourages rainwater drinking where treated water is available. (AAP)