I don't usually read a real paper copy of the Daily Telegraph, but the children were seduced by a promise of free chocolates, and so we bought one.

On the letters page was a suggestion by a reader that the possibility of water shortages in warmer summers, combined with the possibility of colder and snowier winters and a shortage of road grit salt, suggested to him that the installation of desalination plants might be a good thing.

It would be good if we had some joined up thinking about the future, really. Floating hydroponics farms may need dragging to warmer climes if the gulf stream diverts away from the UK and we descend into a new ice age. Tethered water-borne housing to replace flooded towns.