The culturally insensitive sign

I was in a loo today, in a place where people from the Arab nations may be using the facilities, as well as people from many other countries. As squatting is normal in some countries, or using a hosepipe attachment for intimate ablutions, and there was no such attachment, the sign annoyed me.

When I was living in Greece in the 1980s, all.public toilets, even at the cinema, were of the squat type. We normally had to pay a withered attendant at the door for a couple of sheets of toilet paper, which had to be thrown in a bin after use, never in the toilet. I found the whole process terrifying at first. Mind you, the stench might have had something to do with it.

My brother still lives in Greece, and says that the squat toilets have largely disappeared over the last three decades. The paper situation remains the same, as all holidaymakers know.

My sister, who used to live in Bahrain, says that if the UK is going to house Syrian families on a permanent basis, it will have to think about installing squat-type toilets.

I can imagine the Daily Mail-type conversations that would ensue from this suggestion!

Apart from this minor irritation, I had a great day out. More about it some other time...