The W.C.

 

The W.C.

"What is the W.C.?"  you ask.

The more common question might be - "WHERE is the W.C.?"

W. C. stands for Water Closet.

It's another name for bathroom. Toilet. Restroom. The John. The Loo. ("The Loo" is what I heard a lot as a kid in England, but I have not heard anyone call it that since being here.  Not even when I was in England for 5 days last summer.)

I imagine the term 'water closet' came about many years ago, when the indoor, flush toilet was invented. Probably because there was a large box of sorts that was attached to the wall that contained water. For flushing. I imagine it needed the help of gravity to force the flush.  And because it was probably in a little room - rather like a closet - it must have assumed the obvious name - Water Closet.

It actually does sound nicer than other names.


So that is what they call the public restrooms here in the UK.

At least, that is the public name for it.
However, I have not actually heard a live person call it "the Water Closet."

But to find a bathroom when you need one, you must either recognize the universal symbols for toilets, or you must follow the sign for W.C.

I LOVE this sign. You will find it at the departure gates in the Inverness Airport.     Now THAT is a universal sign!

So you would think that a bathroom is a bathroom is a bathroom.
But you would be wrong.
Yes, they serve the same function, but they are different.
And of course, I must comment on them.
And show pictures.
Because I have learned that I must take my camera everywhere.

Firstly, I think, unlike some bathrooms in the US, they are not intended to be places you go to hang out. Maybe that is why they are not called "rest" rooms here. They are small. And functional. You are to get in there, do your thing, and get out. At least, that is the message they send.

Now, I cannot speak for the men's rooms - and since Mike has never commented on the men's public restrooms, I assume they must be pretty standard.

Restrooms here are very private. Unlike the restrooms in the US, the doors and side walls go all the way to the floor. And if not completely to the floor, then close enough that a small child could not squeeze underneath (you know, like sometimes they have to do when they have locked themselves into a stall and cannot seem to unlock it.) But not here.



So, stalls are very much like small closets, in that respect.

But there really are some funny things about the bathrooms here:

1. There are no outlets in bathrooms. Except for electric shavers . There is an outlet for electric shavers in every private bathroom. But why are electric shavers the exception, anyway?

2. There are no light switches inside the bathrooms. They are on the wall outside the door. In the hallway.  Even in public bathrooms, like at a pub. (Except at my friend's house - she actually has a pull string right inside the door! I'm not sure how they got away with that - LOL!)

3. Public bathrooms have tiny sinks. I mean, tiny. Sometimes barely big enough to put your hands into.

4. Almost all public bathrooms - and even some hotels - have two separate water faucets - on opposite sides of the sink. One for the hot water and one for the cold water.  This is the one that does not make sense to me. Especially at hotels. How is one supposed to wash their face? Turn the two faucets on, cup your hands together, and swing them back and forth between the hot and the cold and then splash it on your face?    In this day and age of technology - the ability to combine hot and cold water into one faucet exists. And people all over the world use this technology. But not here. You would be surprised. Especially at hotels.  (As we discussed this - again - several weeks ago, Mike suddenly had the thought that maybe the idea is that you are supposed to put the plug in the sink, fill the sink with hot and cold water, and then wash your face. Hmmm. The idea is plausible.)

5. Many of the bathrooms have all kinds of poles and such - on the walls, sticking out.... What is that all about? I truly have not figured it all out.

Every town here has a free, public W.C. And a free parking lot. And they are usually together.

There is a small town of Golspie, which is about half way down the A9 to Inverness. It's a lovely little town. We like to stop there for a cup of coffee and something sweet and homemade at the Coffee Bothy, if it's open, and to use the public restroom that is in the same parking lot. And even if the coffee shop is not open, it's a convenient place to stop. Because of the W.C.

While Mike and I tend to travel during the day, I have heard that the W.C.s are closed at night. Doors locked. But... you can get your own key for them (or at least for the one in Golspie), which can be quite handy if you are one who travels after-hours.  Because, at least on the A9 between Inverness and Thurso, there just aren't any rest areas. In fact, there are no rest areas in the UK (like we find everywhere- on every major road in the US). So, finding a place to go can be quite a bother. I know people who have a key to the Golspie W.C. I must remember to borrow their key if we decide to travel at night.

Now, in many places still, there are pay toilets. That means you must pay money to use them. When we first went to John O'Groats, we noticed a pay machine there. It used to cost 20p (20 pence) to use the toilet.  Apparently, they no longer require that and you can push past it.

In Inverness, it also costs 20p.  (We like to say "It costs 20p to pee.")   

When I was a small child living in England, there were pay toilets, but women took pity on each other. We would be waiting in those long lines that always seem to exist for women at public toilets, and when one woman came out of a toilet stall, she would just hold the door open for the next woman. So, probably 100 women would go for just the 5p it cost then.

I guess the authorities got wise to that because in many places now, instead of putting your money in the stall door, you actually have to pay a person whose job it is to collect your money before you enter the bathroom. See the window on the right in the above picture?

And here, instead of having a handle to push to flush, there are almost always a set of 2 buttons. One small and one large. Now, the way I see it, this could go two ways. Either the big button is for the more frequent, less-power-needed flush (pee) and the little button is for the more-power-needed flush (poop)    -  OR  vice versa   -   the big button for the bigger harder flush and the little button for the little flush.
I still do not really know. But I will tell you that at home I just push the big button all the time because it is easier.

I have a quilting friend whose husband has been working in Tokyo on and off for several years. This friend apparently has grown to like the Japanese toilets and had some installed in her house here in Thurso. Now, from what I understand, there are several different buttons to choose from and if you choose the wrong one, you can actually get sprayed!  Now, I say that that is just too much trouble!  Who needs to think that hard about using the toilet?   But what is really funny is that 2 more of my quilting friends went to Japan to visit, but before they went, they got instructions on using chopsticks and using the toilet!  LOL!

Now, I have not seen these toilets for myself, but I found these pictures on Google. I suspect they look like this.

Ok, now I have a funny short story about our stay in Brussels. About 2 days before we arrived, I was looking over the directions and such for the flat we were renting there when I noticed that it said it had a hot tub. Cool. That might be rather nice to sit in after a day of walking around Christmas markets in the cold. On our second day there, I suddenly remembered about the hot tub. It definitely was not in the apartment. Or on the balcony. So I sent Mike looking around the building. Nothing. So, I shot off a message to the flat owner, saying, "It was advertised that there was a hot tub here. Where can we find it?"  I soon received a message back, "There is only one bathtub in the apartment. Are you having trouble with the hot water?"    LOL!  The differences we have between languages! 

This is a public men's restroom in Brussels. I also saw them in Amsterdam. Seriously.

This is the sign that makes sense to me. It seems to me that this person is running to the bathroom and the sign is saying it is downstairs.  But that would be wrong. This is an emergency exit sign.

There are no public restrooms at many tourist sights here in Scotland.  Not even porta-potties. Maybe that's because many of the sites are castle ruins and cairns and standing stones in the middle of fields and beautiful beaches.

I did actually see this porta-potty outside of Dunrobin Castle.     A Portaloo!     Made by Portakabin!     I love it!

And this one cracks me up - another porta-potty but with what looks like a gear shifter beside it! 

This sign was up at a public restroom in Orkney.   They must have closed this one for a while....

And then there is this.

But keep scrolling, there is one more thing....










And now, for your viewing enjoyment, I give you this real UK commercial for Poo Pourri.
Yes, it is a real commercial. I have seen it many times.
Yes, it is a real product.
And yes, I own some.
Because my mom gave it to me. :)
And yes, it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaQ1CdISw8o

(if the link doesn't work, maybe you can copy and paste it into your browser.)