Highland Spring the top-selling brand of sparkling bottled water though sparkling accounts for only 20 per cent of bottled water sold

Highland Spring, the top-selling brand of sparkling bottled water (though sparkling accounts for only 20 per cent of bottled water sold), says “only 47 per cent of the UK population drink bottled mineral water”. Water is a necessity, and we should all drink at least eight glasses a day Some recommend two litres. This apparently helps remove toxins and ensures a stronger immune system, as well as assisting the respiratory system so you recover better from exercise. Some claim detox benefits, it helps hangovers, and even enhances flavours to make food taste better. Oxygizer itself tastes more boringly of nothing than water usually does. Cleverly they’ve added to water something that’s not an additive, has no extra calories or taste, and sounds healthy.

And it costs more than almost any other water.At £1.50 for 500ml (so far only available in Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason), if you develop a serious Oxygizer habit, you’d spend £6 a day. A litre contains 150mg of oxygen, around 25 times more than what’s in a litre of tap water. We can all safely drink our litre or more a day straight from the tap. But where’s the cachet or the profit in that? It’s almost as free as air. And wonderful and hydrating though tap water is, the latest bottled waters offer so much more – to make you sportier, healthier and less hungover.
With Oxygizer you pay for air and water together It’s oxygenated, but not fizzy. Bottled in the Tyrolean mountains by a company based in Innsbruck, Austria, it describes itself as “a sip of fresh air”.

Already big in the Middle East – where water’s a more precious commodity than it is here – it has been launched in Europe and now in the UK.Oxygizer doesn’t just slake a thirst, it provides the body with extra oxygen too. Shellfish and fish comes mostly from Scotland, and is so fresh it can be served as sashimi or cooked with flair the Med way.Stane Street, Ockley, Surrey (01306 627430). So you thought water was just a drink? Think again It’s a lifestyle choice. Echoes of that dessert hung over the one we tried at Winkles, a slab of solidified chocolate, raisins and crunchy biscuit bits which would have been rejected as too sweet by a pack of starving six-year-olds. Oh well, if you order something called “Chocolate biscuit cake”, you get what you deserve.At around £30 a head without wine, Winkles is a tad more expensive than Tubby Isaacs’ stall, but with the well-heeled settlers of Victoria Park just down the road, it deserves to attract a local following. As Alexei pointed out, if it was in France, it would be packed. Then again if it was in France, it would be called “Bigorneaux”, and that doesn’t sound much better than Winkles.SECOND HELPINGS: INLAND SEAFOODBy Caroline StaceySlammersBusy fish bistro puts a spin on seafood by serving some in shot glasses It’s all fresh, simple and successful.

For some, the platter of fruits de mer is plenty, but remember, there’s sticky toffee pudding to fit in.625a Ecclesall Road, Sheffield (0114 268 0999)BankLarge brasserie has some of the best fish and seafood in landlocked Birmingham. Always fish and chips, and also a daily changing roster of seared scallops, sole on the bone, fillet of brill, seabass and lobster.4 Brindleyplace, Birmingham (0121-633 4466)FishworksThe original of a group of fishmongers with connected seafood caf? Fish, mostly from Cornwall, is sensational and the cooking spot on. Fish stew, River Fowey mussels, skate with black butter, and fruits de mer.6 Green Street, Bath (01225 448707)Bryce’sThis excellent fish restaurant on the village green has an inn-crowd buzz. Alexei’s salmon fishcake was also a fine specimen, and he thought the hollandaise sauce compared favourably with The Ivy’s, though our accompanying seasonal veg – fried courgettes and some rather musty red cabbage – were less impressive.Alexei’s very funny new novel, Overtaken, contains a description of the worst meal imaginable, which starts with a pork chop garnished with hummus and half a pear, and ends with digestive biscuits, whipped cream and Smarties. An assiette de mer on the Roman Road? What’s wrong with yer good old English, as Alf Garnett might have said.Still, it was an excellent, fresh selection, including tiny brown shrimp, whelks, oysters and langoustine, and at £13.50, reasonable value. You’d pay around £35 for something similar at a Conran place.