Overview

• Multiple outlets this week cite an anonymous Asthall resident who says DeGeneres refilled her pool during the August Bank Holiday 2024, draining the hamlet’s mains water.
• Mains supply to The Farmer’s Dog failed on its second day of opening in August 2024, forcing closure of its kitchen and toilets and turning away customers.
• Clarkson’s plumber initially attributed the outage to heavy local water use preventing flow uphill from Asthall village to the pub.
• Ellen DeGeneres’s 56ft by 12ft pool holds about 112,896 litres and reportedly takes seven to nine days to fill using mains water.
• Asthall’s basic mains network has limited capacity, intensifying competition between residents and uphill properties like the pub.