UK - Give it to me straight from the tap

Give it to me straight from the tap
By Alan Calvert
ON a couple of occasions lately I have asked for a glass of tap water to accompany a restaurant meal.
It is important to stress that the water you want is "corporation pop" - older readers will recognise that term - if you want to avoid the heavy cost of a bottled alternative with a fancy name.
The waiters probably identified me as an incorrigible cheapskate, but I am made of stern stuff when it comes to this sort of thing.
In any case, I already pay more than enough to United Utilities, the privatised company that will no doubt be sold one day to a larger one elsewhere in the world.
It seems, if you believe what you read in the papers, that more and more people are plucking up the courage to ask for the free alternative when dining out.
Add to that the growing environmental concerns about the millions of plastic bottles transported around the globe and you realise that you can be a rare creature - a smug cheapskate.
At the moment local tap water is entirely acceptable (let's keep it free of fluoride) and there is no real need to buy the other stuff.
12:09pm Monday 18th February 2008