Restrooms
Yes, that’s right. I’m going to talk about the
restrooms we encountered while in Britain. And I will do so proudly. The first
thing you have to know is that restrooms are not typically called restrooms in
Britain. The natives understand what you are talking about if you call them
that, but typically restrooms are called toilets. And that’s what’s on the
signs for them, also.
Toilets
at Gretna Green, Scotland
Public toilets were mostly like the restrooms we have in the US. One thing I noticed, however, is that you are more likely to
encounter a low volume flush toilet in Britain than you are here in the states.
That will most likely change in the future as our government sticks its nose
more deeply into our toilets and their regulations. I don’t know about you, but
I believe this stinks. Leave the toilets for us citizens to stick our own noses
into.
Not all toilets were low volume flush. Occasionally we
visited older restrooms using older technology. In fact, in one location (I
believe it was near the Bronte Parsonage in Haworth, England), I used a toilet
that had the reservoir high on the wall. It used a pull chain for flushing. I
believe this was a holdover from the days of the Roman occupation.
Public
Toilets at a Restaurant in England
The bathrooms at the hotels were quite varied. In one
older hotel the shower had a circular curtain to pull around you. I had only
seen these in movies made before I was born. In several of the more modern
hotels the shower/tub had a fixed glass wall that only covered about half the
length of the tub. Thus, you couldn’t prevent water from splattering outside
the shower as it ricocheted off your body. I don’t know for sure, but I
wouldn’t doubt these half length glass walls were due to some type of
government regulation. After all, why would the hotel want you to splash water
all over the toilet and floor?
Half Wall
on Shower/Tub in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England
The most interesting bathroom was at a hotel in
Windsor. It had a totally open shower with no walls at all. Water splattered
everywhere while showering, and then mostly ran to the drain at a low point in
the floor. Lest you think “How stupid is that?”, let me inform you that we were
in a handicapped room. Makes a bit more sense now, doesn’t it?
Bathroom
With No Shower Wall in Windsor, England
I now give you an assignment. The next time you
travel, pay attention to the restrooms, bathrooms, or toilets. You just might
find something interesting, especially if the previous occupant failed to
flush.
