Dirty Dishes	Dirty Dishes Archive

Thanks to the attentive reader who sent Dawn a little clip concerning urban planning in the British town of Reading, just to the west of London.

It seems that Tory planners have won kudos for not only protecting green space, but also compelling that shopping facilities be targeted at the city's center, not allowed to sprawl endlessly into the suburban residential ring. The "Oracle shopping centre" has been lauded for revitalizing downtown with its 700,000 square feet of shopping, ten-screen cinema, 23 bars and cafes, and 2,300 parking places. But what caught Dawn's attention was that the Oracle won "Best Loo of the Year" from the British Toilet Association.

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Intrigued at just what the BTA was, Dawn located their website (www.britloos.co.uk) and discovered that the group is dedicated to noble cause of "representing the interests and aspirations of 'away from home' toilet providers, suppliers and users of all types and to act as the catalyst for change in the pursuit of standards of excellence in all areas of public toilet provision and management." Here! here! Dawn urges the immediate formation of North American counterparts to campaign for better toilets throughout the US and Canada.

And toilet crusaders would be wise to read The Toilets of Tomorrow from the May 1998 issue of The Guide. Therein they would find such commonsense tips such as: making sure some stalls are equipped with rails and a small bench, but no toilet, so as to facilitate more sexual postures; installing "honeymoon" gloryholes that guarantee no one can complain of unwanted attention; and hiring elderly attendants to keep things tidy, hand out lube and condoms, and warn of the arrival of vice cops....