With the water bills coming through the letterboxes, there is concern at another rise in prices.

Some people suggest meters, others a standard charge.

Dare I say, I accept the new charges. Do people ever stop to think what it was like before we could just 'turn the tap', having to 'prime' a pump, outside on a cold morning, or get water from a well?

What about the old chemical toilet or the old "pit" with seats for two or three people, very sociable, behind a bush down the garden.

I don't mind paying to turn a tap or flush a toilet.

Wash day was a major operation, pumping water, stoking the boiler, sometimes outside!

Water is our most precious commodity, so Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott wants to think again before wanting to build all these thousands of homes in the country. Water is getting short. Can he guarantee supplies to all? Joyce Gascoigne, Main Road, Middleton Cheney