I’d never heard the word before. Stillicide. Water falling, in drops. I challenge myself to get it into a sentence for the pressies.

‘Will the Ice Dock only serve the city?’ I notice the journalist who asks this wears a blouse the colour of the chaffinch’s breast. I’ve been practising the answer.

‘Steven?’ Alan invites.

‘Yes. Despite the impression, there is actually quite a lot of water to go round. Particularly in the summer.’ I make a joke. ‘When’s the last time you had a barbecue in August?

‘There’s a lot of rain. And we’re an island, so we’re surrounded by water we could desalinate. But on a large scale, and for so many people, the energy required is prohibitive. When the sun comes out it’s hot. But it doesn’t come out enough. It’s a case, for the smaller communities, of properly managing the water they do have.’

‘So it’s not the fact you can’t really own seawater, and so can’t make enough money from desalination?’ The question comes from Colin. He looks like he eats a lot of kale but not because he likes it.

‘No,’ I disabuse him. ‘It’s simply the quantity of people in the city, and what that process would take; and, of course, the quantity of water required for the superfarms that feed us.

‘We only drink a relatively small fraction of the supply. Agriculture uses seventy per cent. It’s likely part of that draw, over and above the in-transit stillicide (yay!), will be serviced by the Water Train.’

‘The term “they” was used earlier, but the corporation own the train as well. Right?’ Colin, again.

‘We manage the technical operation of the train. It’s owned by the city,’ Alan clarifies.

‘Which is why the Metropolitan Police patrol the line.’

‘Correct. But we’re here to talk about the Ice Dock. Not the Water Train.’

‘Of course,’ Alan picks up, ‘the project does mean sacrifices’ (why use that word?). ‘Not just the Dock itself. The tipping basin the tugs will tow it to, and the conveyor-way to bring the berg into the Dock. All this means moving people. But we’re trying to water millions here – and the other benefits that come with this. Some of us’ (and why use ‘us’?), ‘will have to “take one for the team”.’

I see the pressies wince at this, but how else can you put it?

Even from primary school science they should know. The weight displaced by a floating object equals the weight of that floating object.

What does an average family weigh?

‘Perhaps we should bring Ms Williams in here,’ I suggest, and Alan invites the Spokesperson for Westminster to speak.

‘Well, yes,’ Ms Williams says. ‘Government is supporting smaller cities, as well as here.’ I thought we’d moved on from that question, but. ‘Plans for extra reservoirs are already significantly progressed.’