It’s not often that we take useful tips from the Welsh, but I have heard that one of their ideas which seems to be working well is charging 50p for using the public lavatories. Rye is first and foremost a tourist town. Don’t get me wrong, we live here as ordinary citizens and adore it, but the majority of its income comes from the influx of visitors and tourists, who come hopefully to have a very nice time, and spend their hard earned money in our shops and eateries and other places of interest.
But, and it is an enormous but, we only have two public toilet facilities that I am aware of in the entire town. One down on the Salts, which is not really in the heart of the action, and one by the railway station, which I gather is not great on the cleanliness front.
We do have more lavatories, but they are CLOSED. Why? There are some in Gun Garden, centre of the tourist route...CLOSED. And more down on the Strand, where everyone goes to shop for antiques etc., CLOSED.
As a woman I have been through many stages in my life when I needed facilities, and I needed them now! As a child with a tiny bladder they were important. As a pregnant woman it became imperative ... now. And as an older woman, it is also key to an enjoyable and relaxed time.
But no, we have to scrabble around for loos, go and have yet another coffee or drink so that we can beg a loo from the cafes. Two of you with three children, and a simple morning coffee / drink for five people puts you back a small fortune, with buns attached. It is such a bad decision, presumably made by a mere male, who as we all know do not have our gynaecological pressures on their bladders, and anyway can very often slink away into a leafy corner, in a way that a woman simply cannot.
So if we made the facilities pay for themselves and their cleaners, I think everyone would be happy. I mean, what’s 50p!!
