A wee problem

And when it comes to washing your hands afterwards, that stupid contraption fixed up on the wall that requires 3 hands to operate it properly, must have been dreamt up by a man!
2 Of our public toilet blocks have been closed down, and of the 2 remaining ones, one is in the park, and despite having been renovated at great cost, are still disgusting, the other one is at the bottom end of the town centre, and I don`t like going in there anymore, as it is staffed by a man.

Not sure about that - I'd be worried about electrocution!

I won't be driving Ana ! Maybe car manufacturers could install something to plug into...

I'm still very much involved with campaigns around the country offering my two penn'orth grannyactivist and am currently trying to get loos accessible to lorry drivers and - ultimately other mobile workers. An uphill struggle but am determined to get there.

Women's loos and the inevitable queues are the subject I'm discussing with a number of people. The problem is women suffer in silence or mutter to each other but don't write letters, hound the press or protest to local authorities. Most of the suppliers are men who don't appreciate the issues of getting older, grandchildren and toilet training in general.

Glory! Get me started and I'm off!!!! Not much encouragement needed

But...it might start moving again when you're in, er, full-flow!

I'm going to get one in a couple of weeks so I can let you know how I get on [as a beginner ]. I seem to have a 'nervous' bladder in that I always feel that I need the loo when I'm in a situation where I can't get to a loo [traffic jams on motorways for example; I mean, there's nowhere to go and if you get out of the car the traffic might start moving again].

This is a serious technical request for advice.
If you are using a shee wee how far down do you have to pull your trousers to get the shee wee in place and how do you stop the wee from blowing back onto your legs or trickling back when the flow rate slows down, like it does when you pour milk out of bottle.

You are bound to still need some privacy and to me it seems it would still be easier to just crouch down and keep pants, thermal base layer, walking trouser and waterproof over trousers out of the way?

I have needed all this gear on in an icy British winter.

Don't get me started !!
I live in a seaside town, with no loos on or near the seafront area for 2 miles ! There used to be a block across the road from train and bus station. This was also near the sandpit children's/children's play area. The idiots knocked it down. Now you have to walk to the supermarket which is a good 5min walk, a long way for a desperate toddler or those with a problem.
Also they installed one of those automatic pod things on the pavement bellow the sea front rather than on the promenade. Then took that away due to lack of use !!
There is one block in town next to the market and that's it

And yes, I am a member of the Ramblers!

Yes, I have several Shewees, in the car,rucksack, handbag and pockets. They are rarely used, but are part of my 'comfort blanket' possessions, which necessitate my bags weighing a ton! I also have some of the gel bags which can be used to store the urine until it can be discarded.

Galen I am reliably informed by DH that some female members of his Ramblers group do indeed have shewees

I am always in the loo! I have to take a 'water' tablet for my blood pressure. Wherever I go, I always have to have a toilet close by. My daughter raises her eyes to the ceiling in despair I have seen those sheewees Galen but I can't imagine ever using one.

Does anyone actually have a sheewee?

I remember Goldengirl started a thread on this very subject when Gransnet was just a baby. She was a member of the British Toilet Association: www.gransnet.com/forums/health/a1188413-Public-toilets Lots of hints and tips on the original thread, including use of a toilet finding 'app' and I believe the first mention on GN of the infamous she-wee.

Where I live here on The Wirral the powers that be have just spent millions on the regeneration of New Brighton front,new shops,coffee houses,boating lake for model boat enthusiasts but no new public loo's,when shopping in the new Morrisons yesterday which is my local supermarket the queues for the ladies was out of the door and all the people where visiting the area not the supermarket,I would expect the council to supply facilities even just in summer time (portaloo's) and put the charge towards keeping them clean & tidy and giving a person at least a temporary job for the summer months.

I agree, pen and suflay. However, in small places where there is only one loo for women and one for men, I don't hesitate to use the men's loo if it is free and the ladies isn't. Tricky if there's a urinal but not for an ordinary, ahem, dual purpose loo.

I do agree SuFlay My particuar gripe is when I go to the theatre. There is a queue a mile long snaking out of the ladies whereas men pop in and out very quickly! It is so unfair..a gender equality issue imho.

It seems that local authorities who used to provide town loos are no longer doing so as they have no statutory duty to do so and its one of the things they can cut to meet finite budgets. Some are contracted out and you do have to pay- I don't mind this as they are usually very clean and as I don't want a publicly acquired UTI or D & V that's fine by me but as you say a good loo is hard to find - I usually pop into a Macdonalds - the food's dreadful but the loos are OK.

It's even worse for disabled loos. Some people seem to take them over for an hour and then when they emerge they're a family of perfectly fit people

I travel through a national park to see Dgs. I have the loo's mapped . The first one I pass is in a Morrison's supermarket after 15miles. Then there are another four but if it wasn't a tourist area it would be a lot harder. Town loo's are definately getting harder to find.

It is one of the things I love about the USA. There are clean toilets everywhere you go, including in all the shops.
As for European countries faring better, I'm not so sure. Try finding a public loo in Italy. Even here in Malta they are few and far between and usually really unsanitary with no paper or soap.

I agree! Off to the beach with the GC today. And I have to take diuretics.

I agree with you. also when there is one they aren't always somewhere you want to go in because of the condition of them, unclean, no running water, no toilet tissue. I think European countries fare better than us.