It is a fact of life that as you get older the urge to release your bladder can become stronger. With that in mind and sick of forever waiting for me, my family has suggested that if I intend to spend my retirement sitting in the bathroom then I might as well blog about it and hence....... the Bog Blog.


31 August 2016

Slated



Built in natural Lakeland slate mined in the local quarries, the public conveniences on the edge of Chapel Stile are open daily from Easter to the end of October. A welcome sight for those descending the Langdale valley after a long day in the hills and perhaps also a stop for a drink at The Stickle Barn or hotel bar at the head of the valley. Not so useful in winter, possibly explaining some of the jokes about yellow snow.

So the best aspects of these facilities? The setting of course, opening out onto a field with views of the fells above; secondly the building materials; thirdly there is no charge to use them, yes I repeat: they are free!

The downside? Well they are still a decent walk away from Dungeon Ghyll and there's only a cold water supply to the sink. But they are the height of luxury for walkers and we all carry hand sanitiser these days anyway.


30 August 2016

In the Beginning


Toilets come in various forms and one of the delights of global travel is to experience just how different the lavatory experience can be. In the west we are now used to flushing toilets with seats to sit on. Yet it wasn't so long ago that a visit to France or Spain involved the fascinations of the "squat and drop" model, now more prevalent in Asia, whilst in central Africa pit latrines are that continent's version of our old earth closet.

Poor sanitation can be responsible for the spread of cholera and dysentry and the progress of civilisation has gone hand in hand with the development of sewers. 



There was a time when public lavatories in the UK inevitably had overhead cisterns, a vague whiff of disinfectant (as well as other less attractive odours), doors with brass locks operated by the insertion of a penny and invariably only a sink with cold water to wash your hands. These days, however, the public convenience experience differs from place to place and when you step back and look, those differences can be fascinating.


Obviously any visit is always subject first to the cleanliness scrutiny, but this blog will seek to take that as assured (I haven't gone down with cholera yet) and highlight other features.

In the meantime all of the photographs here were taken whilst travelling in India - do any surprise?