A new luxury loo called WC1 has opened in London, and for a mere five pounds a time you can experience the joys of a high-class toilet.
“A world away from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street is WC1, the ultimate ladies’ convenience. A glamorous urban sanctuary, WC1 is the world’s first one-million-pound powder room. It has been designed with impeccable hygiene and the pursuit of beauty in mind.
A grand crystal chandelier is suspended over an elegant table. Vases are filled with beautiful blooms. The hand basins are luxurious; the air, fresh and pure. Individual air extractors preserve the perfect ambiance, and loos are sterilised and hygienically sealed after each visit.”
What a complete load of old bollocks. In fact, all of the stupid taboos and euphemisms which surround toilet functions are utter rubbish.
All this restroom, bathroom, ladies’ room, powder room NONSENSE just makes us think there’s something wrong with us for having to poop – we mustn’t talk about it, mustn’t mention it in polite company. We must talk about relieving ourselves and washing our hands and spending a penny, because if we actually just said “I am now going off to take a crap” the whole world would fall apart.
We don’t need any more ladies’ loos that are pretending to be glamorous – what we need is a loo that is proud of its own earthy purpose.
“Welcome to the crapper”, says the sign over the doorway. “Come in and have a poop, everyone welcome”. The cubicles are private but not obsessively so, and patrons are actively encouraged to fart as loudly as possible, possibly to power some kind of wind turbine.
Prizes are given for the most spectacular crap, and anyone who spends more than 20 minutes in a cubicle emerges to the sound of automated applause and takes a bow.
In other words, we stop being so afraid of embarrassment, and start acting like adults about a bodily function that every single human being since the beginning of time has experienced. And we make sure that pooping is free!
I think only someone who has IBS can understand the pleasure at feeling like needed to go to the toilet, actually going to the toilet and not needing like 15 toilet rolls to get clean (or is this just me).
(BTW I am celebrating having just done a poop that only needed one wipe YEH! Interestingly I have been drinking vast quantitiles of real caffeinated coffee – doctors are crap they do not have a clue)
Also, has everyone seen the huge range of freefrom stuff now available in sainsburys, its great. However, I bought some freefrom rich tea biscuits and they were delicious but gave me a stomach ache. They said on the back that freefrom are free from gluten, dairy and wheat, BUT THERE WAS NO TICK ON THE FRONT FOR FREE FROM dairy AND on the allergy it did not say there was dairy, so in conclusion look for the ticks. Intend to phone sainsburys about this being confusing.
Am I missing something. David seems to want loos to be downgraded and dirty. What is wrong with women (and men) wanting clean loos that are cleaned properly, and somewhere to do make-up (or maybe a shave for the men). Someone is at least trying to make the standads better and should be applauded.
Graham, your email address is from the WC1 web address – I presume you work for the company? I don’t think David commented on the loos themselves, that was just me. I am absolutely in favour of loos that are cleaned properly, and somewhere to do make-up or have a shave is fine too. But your loo has a grand crystal chandelier and is “designed with beauty in mind”. That’s a tiny bit more than good hygiene.
Plus, you’re charging five quid for it. If you do work for the company, can you let me know what your policy is if someone with a medical condition such as IBS needed to use the loo in an emergency but didn’t have the five pounds – would you let them in or turn them away?
I would certainly applaud anyone who is trying to make the standard of loos in the country better, but if that service is only available to people who have five pounds to spend on toileting (not many of us, I would suggest) then you are only improving standards for rich people.
Sophie, You know that usually I agree with most of what you say, but in this case I’m inclined to be less critical. I believe that anything that means standards are improved has got to be a good thing. If I was in London and had an attack I’d much rather be in a relaxing atmosphere like that with air conditioning and flowers etc. The worst thing about going out and being ill is worrying about where you might end up, for example crouched over manky toilets in the nearest McDonalds trying not to breathe in.
That said, I do take on board your point about having to pay to use them, and I agree that it does discriminate against those who cannot afford it, but I suppose this is just another example of that type of injustice in today’s society. If I could afford it, I would go into a posh restaurant if I was ill just to use the nicer loos, or even just get a taxi home from wherever I was, but each individual has to decide what to spend their money on and where to draw the line.
As for using euphamisms, well I think that’s just human nature and it’s just polite to say ‘powder’ instead of ‘poo’ because no-one really wants those images conjured up in their minds. I agree that IBS should be talked about and not considered weird, but you can still be delicate about it.
Hi Sophie & all
I am sorry but all this talk of discriminaion and injustice is just slightly ridiculous in my opinion – we are talking about a toilet! Okay so it costs £5, and I wouldn’t personally pay that much, but if the company have been clever enough to develop this ‘cash cow’ and people can afford to pay that much for five minutes of luxury, I say let them charge it. What we are talking about here is a business – rather like all the IBS products advertised on your sight Sophie: yes the products are trying to alleviate the symptons of IBS sufferers, but they are in the end about making money.
Yes, I absolutely agree we shouldn’t have to pay to go to the loo in ordinary circumstances – but this isn’t an ordinary loo.
Am I only one who does not agree that we should be shouting from the rooftops about toiletry habits? I am certainly not in the least embarrassed about having a crap or takling about it, after suffering from IBS for 16 years I couldn’t possibly be, but I believe that there are some subjects that are personal and not for everyday discussion. I don’t believe that makes people ashamed about normal bodily functions in the least, they are just respecting the norms of society.
Sophie – exactly what are all of your stupid taboos and euphemisms? Leaving the toilet seat up? Not washing your hands?
Hmm, looks like it may just have been me who was turned off by all that pretentious marketing! Maybe I was a bit hard on the old luxury loo people, but I just found all that crystal chandelier stuff completely ridiculous. But like you say Ellie, in the end if it’s a business maybe I should just let them get on with it, and perhaps point my ire at the many disappearing public loos in this country.
The stupid taboos I was talking about are not anything to do with hygiene or leaving the toilet seat up, I’m not sure what those things have to do with taboos or euphemisms. Like I say in the post, they’re the dangerous taboos that stop us from admitting that we all have digestive functions, talking about powder rooms and ladies’ rooms, and making people who have problems with their digestion feel like they need to be ashamed. And yes, maybe that’s the norm of society, but the trouble is that this norm stops people from seeking help, it’s as simple as that.
I think there was study a while back which said that people with are eventually diagnosed with IBS spend an average of seven YEARS suffering before they go to a doctor. That would never happen for lung problems or a wonky leg, so why does it happen for bowel problems? Because we teach people that bowels are dirty and disgusting and should never be mentioned. All these people suffering in silence because they’ve been taught not to talk about it. I hear from people all the time who say that they have no-one to talk to because their friends and family don’t want to talk about bowels.
Thirty years ago the norms of our society were that if you were a woman with breast cancer you didn’t talk about it, because people would get embarrassed. You certainly didn’t mention it if you got a sexually-transmitted disease. Thankfully we’re more open about these things now, but only because sufferers insisted on talking about their problems when others went “Eurggh, don’t tell me that!”
And, of course, we need to talk about IBS to make people understand more about the illness and raise awareness – I know that you’ve said the past Ellie that you find it frustrating when people think that you are exaggerating your condition or even making it up, and the only way we can change these attitudes is to talk about it, really talk about it, and everything that it entails.
Hi Sophie Sorry – I did misinterpret what you meant by taboos!
I think people spending on average seven years before their IBS is diagnosed has everything to do with the ongoing failure of the medical profession to treat IBS as a serious condition. How many of us are told it’s due to stress? That we will grow out of it? This in term makes us, as IBS sufferers, feel like we are making a big fuss over nothing. So, the vicious circle begins.
It has everything to do with the fact that other people (family or friends) can’t SEE or really appreciate what’s wrong with you, and so can’t offer any constructive advice. If I had a broken leg, they’d take me to casualty. If I asthma, they’d get my inhaler. If I had a cold,they’d get me lemsip. And so on. If I say my bowels are playing up, they haven’t got a clue.
So, yes you are right – only by talking about it can we educate people. But it’s not family/friends we should be drumming the message home to, it’s doctors and the medical profession.
Perhaps the problem is that as IBS sufferers we have allowed this present situation to continue for too long – we tend to put up and shut up. Take myself for example, I took the yorktest food intolerance test in March this year and now having followed a very strict exclusion diet for nearly nine months I can say with 100% certainty my IBS is caused by food intolerances. My life has been completely transformed. I wake up every morning and thank heavens for that test.
But what have I done to let others know about it? Nothing really. Have I demanded my doctor take the test seriously? No. When I did mention it he made me feel that I had been taken for a ride. Surely, after nine months I must be right and he wrong? At least by running this site and blog Sophie, you are trying to acheive something. Though we may not always agree, I must commend you for that!
Yes I am working with WC1. It has been a 2 year project and it’s great to see it open.
I understand you are looking at it from the point of IBS and that is fair enough. I would say that what I understand of the condition IBS sufferers will welcome a good environment, with loos that are cleaned after EVERY use and to be able to relax in good conditions when they have an attack.
About the £5.00…. the offering is one that includes the great loos as I have said and also the first high street powder room in London. the cubicles will be used to change after work before a night out (they are big), and we are open long hours and have a staff of 20 on a rota system.
People have put a lot of investment into this project (rent and rates on Oxford Street are not cheap either), it will cost a lot to maintain and ISN’T subsidised by the government or local council. I know you will agree with me that if the local authority kept the public free loos in a better condition (or even open!) then there would be no demand for companies like WC1.
Graham.