public loos - sit or crouch?

I wonder if young mums today teach their daughters to hover or was a generational thing?

Much earlier today I was reading this thread, had read a few bits to DH and then commented that it was staying near the top of the active page.
DH said, "I'm really surprised", I waited for profound comment, "that any of you ever get anything else done apart from read that. (GN)

Which is why I felt unreasonably guilty and have been sorting sheets and de cluttering the spare room all morning.

I'm not a hoverer by the way. It was a shock for me to discover that one of the cubicles in a local supermarket was obviously meant for a child and alot lower than normal. I wasn't sure I'd ever get up again.

How on earth do you crouch over a loo seat unless you are 6'3 or more???? I'm 5'3 and there is no way I could crouch, even when my knees were ok.

And with my knees, no chance. I wet loo paper and wipe seat and make a little seat protector with loo paper. In the countryside, I always find a tree trunk or stone I can sit on- 'cause of the knees!

I can't "work" unless I'm sitting down so the toilets "a la torque" in France can be a problem. One small town we visited in the Dordogne had 3 sets of public loos and I could use none of them. Luckily we found a cafe with a proper loo but that can sometimes defeat the object. However, on that day, the next loo we found was okay.

As others have said it is the croucher that wets the seat. We come along and get a wet bum and that is horrible.

..and there you have it

[IMG]http://i57.tinypic.com/nbxcex.jpg[/IMG]

tinypic.com/view.php?pic=nbxcex&s=8#.VYGOpP_bLIU

(you don't need the [IMG] *Poppikok)

Poppikok!

It is usually us blokes that get the blame for peeing on the seat -- now we know we have been maligned.

Rowantree I hope I'm not prying, but what do you mean by "bottle-wash"?

Well, I could describe the procedure but it might not be appropriate on this thread and I don't want to upset or offend anyone!

There are various things on the internet about it but scrupulous hygiene is vital - to prevent e-coli bacteria from entering the urinary tract and setting up a nasty infection.
I recommend reading a book by Angela Kilmartin on cystitis, but I hope this link works:

books.google.co.uk/books?id=DQcQbdwDCDoC&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138&dq=bottle+washing+cystitis&source=bl&ots=VCgfVT9wl_&sig=eE9hlhDi2KwbzJki82CDUD8rXXI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=faKBVfyzFoqP7AaUvoTYDg&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=bottle%20washing%20cystitis&f=false

It did, thanks!

I must admit I'm relieved, Rowantree. I was having visions of a bottle-brush having to be carried in your handbag at all times...

Ana!!!

Do you remember the sound of women in the loos in the 1960s scrunching and rubbing the Izal loo paper in order to soften it up a bit ?

"I always hover in public toilets." Taken out of context, petallus, this statement could land you in all sorts of trouble.

This all points to the creator being a bloke who created man in his own image!

I don't drip on the seat when I hover! If it were to happen, I would wipe it off anyway.

Lots of you say that you couldn't hover even if you wanted to, because of your knees or other muscles. That's set me thinking again (I know, I must stop thinking too much!) - are there any former-hoverers here who have had to give it up as they have got older? If not, maybe we've discovered a good exercise that keeps us strong in those areas.

Thank goodness DH doesn't know how to get on to Gransnet - I dread to think what he would say if he knew what I'd started here

Does your DH know you hover, MamaCaz?

Pompa, I don't think men get the blame for wee on the toilet seat - they usually put it up, don't they? (and some of them don't put it down again...)

Ana: No, he probably doesn't know that I hover, as I don't do it at home. Though he does suspect that my mother flies a broomstick, so maybe he wouldn't be surprised

I've just noticed that this thread is mentioned on "discussions of the day". The apostrophe they've put in loos is driving me to distraction . I'm fighting the urge to pop over to Pedants' Corner now!

Come on now- I want a full blown description of your technique- how do you support your body- on hands and arms? (if yes I'd rather put my bum on the seat than my hands?)... or ???

I'm glad you said that MamaCaz - there's also a grocer's apostrophe in "DH's" - someone at GNHQ should be required to do a penance!

Ana my husband complains that women leave the toilet seat down ...

Really, Granjura?

Ok, here goes then: Just lower the underwear, then, with back facing the toilet, bend the knees enough for the backside to be above but not touching the toilet. Hands, meanwhile, are well away from the toilet, occupied with the sometimes tricky task of extracting paper from dispenser so it's ready for use when needed. Multi-tasking at its most practical !

Simples!

Ok then - how tall are you?

5'6"-ish, but as far as I know my mum still hovers (a much better term for what we do than my original 'crouch'), and she is only about 5' tall these days.

You are probably wondering now how on earth she manages it. I'm afraid I don't know, and I don't think I dare ask her what her technique is!