Africa’s water problem solved

Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink just about sums up the plight of the population of Africa, doesn’t it?

If I remember rightly, when the Israelis wanted to start the kibbutz farms, they used desalination plants and other equipment to get water to make the desert bloom and it worked a treat.

This would seem a glorious solution to the problems in Africa. Have I missed something? What an opportunity for engineers to manufacture such a plant.

There is no shortage of water – just the necessary equipment to make it useable.

Earpiece

From: John Gordon, Whitcliffe Lane, Ripon

I CAN see the advantage of a mobile phone in an emergency, but some people seem to have a phone permanently attached to their ear.

They talk into it as if they are with the person on the other end but nowhere near the person who is standing next to them. The result is that I join in the conversation not realising that it is nothing to do with me. I get a cold look but it surely is not my fault, is it? The here and now is what is happening, not miles away. Will we ever get a situation when nobody is talking to the next person but only to somebody else somewhere else? Babies will be born with one ear as they won’t need a second.

Good news

From: Patricia Schofield, Park Lane, Blaxton.

WHAT wonderful news that Boxy the Bull does not have bovine TB (Yorkshire Post, August 13).

The persistence and determination of the Jackson family in proving their case against Defra has been justified.