SHORT: Sips of disappointment.
I just wanted to fill my bottle.
Earlier I passed through Liverpool Street station, and wanted to fill my water bottle.
Easy enough - there’s a water filling station in that gloomy corner of the concourse by WHSmith and Starbucks.
This has historically been standard bottle filling fare - you put your bottle, tepid water is spurted out, and the number on the little screen of “plastic bottles saved” increments to make you feel better about yourself for having helped the planet.
Today, though, I find that this machine has been replaced by high tech whizzbangery:
The venerable filling machine has been upgraded to a box with a touchscreen, contactless card reader and flashing lights.
I now have the option or chilled or room temperature filtered water in varying amounts, or just tap water.
Because I’m making a day of it (I’m going to the Design Museum!) I figure I might as well splash out and fill my insulated bottle with some chilled, filtered water from City of London spring.
Well done, Mr Water Bottle filler company, you have swindled me of 75p and, if my behaviour is typical (although, it usually isn’t), I’m sure you’ll be being listed on the London Stock Exchange in no time.
I tap my phone on the reader, it lights up, does the expected beep that contactless readers beep, but then “ONLINE NOT SUPPORTED” pops up on the screen. I try three more times, and with different cards (mostly to try and get a photo of the error, but it was too quick) to no avail.
In the end, despite my foolish willingness to pay for filtered chilled water, I end up with a bottle of slightly warm tap water. I will be annoyed about it every time I take a sip the rest of the day, even though ultimately I got what I went for in the first place.
Oh well.