It's hard to believe that it's Winter, isn't it? Well certainly from where I'm sitting anyway, and when I ventured into my garden yesterday I noticed that several of the trees and shrubs are in bud and that some of my tubs and baskets are still in flower!

Of course when we're spoiled like this it's easy to forget that we actually need some unpleasant weather to kill off the nasty bugs that survive the season when it's mild and come back to annoy us in larger volumes and sizes as a result - and of course there are our water supplies to worry about too, aren't there?

This week the Environment Agency has warned that unless we cut our water consumption over the coming months, we'll suffer a drought crisis next Summer as parts of the UK have had some of the lowest rainfall this year since records began. And it's not just the UK... Continental Europe is also experiencing conditions that are far milder than normal.

I generally feel quite smug when I hear this kind of news as I work in an industry that's working hard to cut the amount of water and energy we consumers use as we go about our daily lives.

I'm ashamed to say though that I'm one of the 65% of people in the UK that doesn't own a dishwasher. Since joining the industry I've learned that they cut the amount of water used in washing up, rather than use more (as I'd always believed). Having examined the latest Whirlpool appliance on a visit to the company's showrooms a couple of weeks back (see the story below) and learned that it uses a paltry six litres of water to get the family's dishes, pots and pans sparkling clean, I've decided that this is something I need to change quickly if I want to be sure of 'doing my bit'!