Some of the comments posted to that story in my previous post were just too delicious to pass up, so here they are:
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CommentsIn relation to item number 5, the lack of public conveniences in England has become deplorable, despite councils claiming they have to close due to illicit activity inside, there is no excuse for not providing this service to the tax payer. Indeed if the councils are so worried about the activities perhaps they should employ attendants to keep them clean and safe! Some people then wonder why members of the often forced to relieve themselves in an alley or public location.
Posted by: James | 13 Nov 2008 23:04:18What a wonder no one mentioned a "pit stop" along the freeway in California's Imperial Valley. The sign warns of rattlesnakes lurking in the loo. It seems the critters seek the residual warmth of concrete during the cold desert night. Disturbing their warm dreams could lead to the ultimate indignity.
Posted by: sam guyton | 14 Nov 2008 01:27:15It's a century since Thomas Crapper, the pioneering Yorkshireman, popularised the syphonic flush, yet a month ago I was confronted by three overflowing chemical loos and another sealed-up stinker aboard the Eurostars to and from Paris which were an abomination. I've asked how such insanitary trains could be allowed to run but so far have received neither explanation nor apology - only a couple of non-committal acknowledgements that pass the buck to the company's so-called "Head of Onboard Comfort" who has so far remained closeted. Sir Thomas could have taught her a lesson or two.
Posted by: FRANGLAIS | 14 Nov 2008 01:53:37One of the most gruesome lavatory stories of recent years evidently missed your letters page. Only 25 years ago the British serial killer, Dennis Nilsen, was caught because he had flushed the body parts of his victims down his top-floor loo and thus blocked his neighbours' drains.
Posted by: Stephen Clifford Wilson | 14 Nov 2008 08:11:56Yes, if a council closes the public lavatories, the whole town becomes a public lavatory.
Posted by: Frank Upton | 14 Nov 2008 09:21:39There are never enough toilets for us ladies. It is humiliating that we always have to queu, while the men can just walk in and out. There should be rules that in public places there should be at least twice the facilities for women.
Posted by: cm kooij | 14 Nov 2008 09:36:05Certain public toilets are frequented by types of men for 'entertainment' purposes. This is disgusting and they should get a hotel room.
Posted by: John | 14 Nov 2008 09:39:02What a load of crap!
Posted by: James McShute | 14 Nov 2008 09:43:56bullshit!
Posted by: | 14 Nov 2008 10:42:25On a recent visit to Warsaw I found that public toilets, and those in hotels and bars, were guarded by a custodian who would expect a few coins to be placed in the bowl before them. I was even offered change on one occasion. This ensured that the toilets were not abused or vandalised, and were generally impressively clean. Perhaps we should follow this example in the UK.
Posted by: Harry Thompson-Jones | 14 Nov 2008 14:54:38at crowded events with equal numbers of gents and ladies tiolets, I am one of those brazen women who turns my head away from the urinals as I power walk to the gents cubicles. Come on ladies learn to power walk with your head turned.
PS it is helpful if you can send a friendly male inside, in advance so you know where to walk to!
Posted by: ppoo | 14 Nov 2008 18:38:58The description of public toilets in Warsaw, ( where one pays a custodian ),reminded me of a visit to a similar arrangement in a park in Gothenberg. Not noticing the pay - window I entered the cubicle and had just made myself 'comfortable' when the lock-less door burst open and a very robust and formidable lady with outstretched arm and open hand rushed at me shouting furiously in, ( to me ), incomprehensible Swedish.
It took some time to realise that I was being accused of trying to avoid payment . Having located the necessary coins I was left alone to reflect on how effective the whole incident had been in securing my relief.
Posted by: John Freshwater | 14 Nov 2008 20:34:22It's alright for you men- you can find yourselves a dark alley. What about the women- we can't pee standing up, where are the dark alleys for us?!!
Posted by: alicia | 15 Nov 2008 09:53:28How about the "bomb holes" that we went to in Verona, Italy. My grandaughter was 8 years old and it was for men and women with no drapes just a big open room with all these holes in the floor. The Italian men were very polite and they all stayed outside to allow my two grandaughters have some privacy. I was very impressed that all the men respected little girls, 8 and 12 years old. Thank-you to the Italian men for being so kind.
Eleanor, Jacksonvill, FL, USA
Posted by: eleanor whalen | 15 Nov 2008 14:18:06To Alicia and all those women who haven't discovered p-mates yet- yes you too can pee standing in a back alley -or wherever if you want to. But the real issue is the awful queueing women seem to accept as the norm in public places. We need double the number of toilets that are provided for males, (and that includes the urinals.) The area of the women's floorspace needs to be larger to accomodate the extra cubicles too. The men's urinals take up less space, but the men's and women's toilets are usually a similar size. Why can't anyone see this is part of the of the problem?
Posted by: Janet | 15 Nov 2008 22:27:05I work in a bar, 4 bathrooms for men, 4 for women (no not one with 4 stalls, 4 separate washrooms each with a toilet and sink NO urinals). A line up always at the women s but never at the mens. Same number of facilities but why no line up.
With exact same numbers of facilities, either women are slower, more women go to the bathroom than men or
?
Posted by: anthony | 15 Nov 2008 23:19:05Holland has introduced communal facilities, which they say work very well & there is no waiting time; no drugs; no "cottaging";1st come; 1st gets it done.
Beijing put loofs on the commural lavs for the Blits, to provide privycy?
Posted by: M. STANISTREET | 16 Nov 2008 09:33:17Holland has introduced communal facilities, which they say work very well & there is no waiting time; no drugs; no "cottaging";1st come; 1st gets it done.
Beijing put loofs on the commural lavs for the Blits, to provide privycy?
Posted by: M. STANISTREET | 16 Nov 2008 09:34:18Interesting to note the subsequent fate of the site described above (item 3) as being overwhelmed by "sewerage" from tens of thousands of visitors. Today it is occupied by the BBC Television Centre, who presumably don't have to dig too deep for some of their programme ideas.
Posted by: DashDot | 16 Nov 2008 14:29:36Try going to the loo in Spain in the 21st Century!
There are few if any public conveniences and certainly none on the Costa Blanca.
Anyone needing to 'go' has to enter a bar or restaurante where clientes have to jostle with 'outsiders' for the priviledge of relief.
The absence of an effective H&S organisation means your experience often mirrors that of the Victorians above.
Resident of Altea, Alicante, Spain
Posted by: David Mills | 17 Nov 2008 09:41:31In Finland, in general women have better facilities than the men and have much more room and cubicles than in England. As most of the men consider the rest of the world as there urinal they so see little need to frequent the little boys room. However in general the public toilets are cleaner and safe. I guess hotel rooms are cheap and staff regularly check and clean the toilets......that’s one idea for the brits is to design public toilets that are so easy to clean that in general it could be done with a hose........!!!! then cleaning them would require little effort. Also don’t put locks on the doors……really who would want to watch someone else dropping the kids of at the swimming pool?
Posted by: snags | 17 Nov 2008 09:44:19Our paper, The Toronto Star, recently published a series of articles on the disgusting condition of the lavatories on our tube system. They didn't mention the condition of the lavs at Mississauga Transit's main terminal: Their putrid miasma seeps up from the first level to the second, and walking down the staircase from the bus platform is an eyewatering plunge into a septic tank.
Posted by: Emilka | 17 Nov 2008 22:29:38A couple years ago, on a trip across Europe, a fellow traveller bought postcards of all the sights & just took photographs of all the attendants at public lavatories! Can you imagine an after supper "Would you like to see my holiday snaps" scenario?
Posted by: Sue S | 18 Nov 2008 09:51:55Closer to home, has anyone sat next to the toilet in a Virgin West Coast Line (Manchester to London)?
I suspect new trains are not allowed to discharge toilet contents on to the line, and use a chemical agent to deal with it. Perhaps the train engineering has not quite caught up with the new hygiene laws!!
Posted by: Dr O T Tang | 19 Nov 2008 02:22:11Closer to home, has anyone sat next to the toilet in a Virgin West Coast Line (Manchester to London)?
I suspect new trains are not allowed to discharge toilet contents on to the line, and use a chemical agent to deal with it. Perhaps the train engineering has not quite caught up with the new hygiene laws!!
Posted by: Dr O T Tang | 19 Nov 2008 02:22:55Switzerland has by far the best facilities overall, even the trains!
In Poland, some cities have a new idea for pay lavatories... You can get in to the stall free, but you cannot get out without paying!
One guy was pleading for a Zloty when we were leaving with his hand under the door. We gave him a Turkish banknote. All I can say that he wasn't very happy.
Perhaps, he is still there!
Posted by: Alex | 19 Nov 2008 07:43:42A couple of years ago, my friend was quietly sitting on the loo,when she heard the distinct sound of water splashing and on investigation saw the BIGGEST Cane Toad she had ever seen trying to extrigate itself from the s-bend. Apart from screaming like a mad woman, she FLUSHED the loo.For a long time after we just'hovered' as quickly as possible knowing that it could reappear at any time! Then we moved house!
Posted by: sue butcher | 19 Nov 2008 09:41:36LOL.....last year while traveling in India, I took an overnight train. The bathroom, though fitted with a western style toilet had the usual "roll-up-yer-pantlegs" floor and stench I have become accustomed to.....but the noise of the tracks DID seem a bit loud.
My morning visit to the same bathroom revealed NO PLUMBING....lol....the tracks rushing by, clearly visible under the toilet.
Posted by: Kindns | 19 Nov 2008 17:39:08The 'spiritual' festival at Pilton in your tenth item, was actually the second Glastonbury Fayre. Stinky toilets at Glasto?! Nothing changes...
Posted by: Tom Nicholls | 20 Nov 2008 10:32:02Women spend much longer in the public loos than necessary because of the difficulty in getting access to the toilet paper. Often these are on huge rolls that never seem to have an end, and one has to spend ages picking at the roll to start the thing moving and then it will only release one measely little square. Do men always use toilet paper?
Posted by: Jackie Gordon | 20 Nov 2008 21:16:55The gams need "go" more often than the gents because their bladders are anatomically smaller, and hold less volume.
Posted by: Deluge Observer | 21 Nov 2008 05:45:10I'm sorry to say the 6-foot ditch loos (over which hangs a wooden plank with a number of circular holes cut out to sit on) at Glasto still exist, though are far more pleasant than the unimaginable horrors and stench of the Portaloos!
Posted by: Reveller | 21 Nov 2008 06:14:53Some years ago I was waiting for a ferry to the Isle of Skye in Scotland and had to pay 10p for using a loo there. It was spotless. Pay-to-go is the way to go. It's a bugger if you don't have the 10p though.....
Posted by: David Ashton | 21 Nov 2008 21:25:06Some years ago I was waiting for a ferry to the Isle of Skye in Scotland and had to pay 10p for using a loo there. It was spotless. Pay-to-go is the way to go. It's a bugger if you don't have the 10p though.....
Posted by: David Ashton | 21 Nov 2008 21:25:49