Sangar Ali is a doctor from Iraqi Kurdistan who now lives in Leeds. He's had to get used to many new things here - but none so infuriating as the plumbing system. Why on earth do the English still use separate hot and cold taps - when the rest of the world has embraced the mixer tap?

When I get together with people from other cultures here in Leeds, the conversation often turns to mixer taps. We're all amazed that the English don't have them in their kitchens and bathrooms. For us, it's one of the most surprising things about life here.

My invention

Sangar's ingenious solution

Only a week went by before I invented my own mixer tap, by fixing a plastic bottle to my kitchen taps and cutting a single hole in the bottom.

You have to turn the hot tap on first, then the cold, and be cautious not to turn the taps on fully or it overflows. But it's a lot better than the two-tap system in which your hands either burn or are freezing. Other refugees have done the same thing.

Still to this day I don't know why people don't try to change their taps, or why separate taps continue to be put into new houses.

People use a plug

I have asked some English people to invite me to their house to see in the morning how they wash their face with separate taps. What I discovered was that they plug the sink and then use the same water for everything.

English people are surprised when I tell them my views about mixer taps - but I'm also surprised!