Seat Up Or Down?

Today, girls, our football focus is going to be - toilets.

Yes I recognise this is perhaps not the most obvious of subjects. And yes I recognise it might not be one of the more talked about issues in the football world.

For now at least. But there is evidence that it might be about to 'float' into our consciousness at a deeper level.

For example, David James, the Pompey goalie, has vowed to start looking at the environmental concerns relating to stadium toilets. Apparently there is an unnecessary amount of water being used to flush through the urinals at some stadiums, creating a 'waste' of this precious resource.

Furthermore it would seem that the matter of toilets in stadiums is becoming something of a science. There is even a book to help stadium designers, offering advice on meeting the expectations of fans, and which can, apparently, offer advice on how to cope with the half-time rush and how to decide how many to provide for males and how many for females.

I don't know what I think about such meddling to be honest. There are some things about toilets which are just givens. Boys toilets always smell bad. Girls always have to queue. Boys have to find ways to utilise the facilities in a cool and 'business'-like way, avoiding taking a peek to see what equipment their neighbour is using. Girls use the toilets as a social environment and always choose to go in pairs wherever possible.

I mean it's just the way things are isn't it?

Like men always pee standing up.

Or do they?

Not in Germany apparently.

According to reports, German men are increasingly sitting down to undertake this function. This is, apparently, a response to women's complaints about men peeing on the seat.

What's more, this is not simply us girls having a moan to you boys at home or during a debate at the local pub.

Oh no - this is a feminist issue.

And it's not just women leading the 'movement' . There are men who publicly proclaim the benefits too.

There must be a better way of tackling the age old problem of "seat up or down" surely. Through education maybe? Or clever design.

I think it is all a question of being imaginative.

Wonder if we can look forward to mixed loos at The Walkers some time in the future.