Stockwell Toilet Watch

"WE NEED MORE LOOS" - SAYS JOAN BAKEWELL's "UP FRONT" MANIFESTO.

The Bakewell manifesto: 'We need more loos' -
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'We need more loos, and I'm not shy about it,' says Joan Bakewell, the new official Voice of the Elderly.

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Michael McCarthy reports
The Independent. Monday, 10 November 2008
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Dame Joan Bakewell wants to address 'everyday difficulties'
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They're the niggles you don't notice ... unless you're old. The irritations that don't bother you ... unless you're old. The nuisances that aren't a problem ... unless you're old.
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But now one of Britain's best-known broadcasters is going to start pointing them out to the rest of us in her new role as the Government's official Voice of Older People.
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Dame Joan Bakewell, the Sixties TV presenter who is still a prolific writer at the age of 75, said yesterday she wanted to make younger people take note of how their elders encounter the world – even in little ways. "I spend my life now noticing the problems of being old, which young people simply do not see," she said. "Some of them are matters of life and death, some of them are tiny things, but even the tiny things can become real problems."
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Dame Joan has been appointed by the minister for Women, Harriet Harman, to act as an "independent and informed advocate" on issues that affect older people's lives. Her official role will include raising the profile of age equality issues and encouraging public debate around legislation dealing with age discrimination – but she made clear that she would speak out just as much about the business of everyday life and how difficult it can be.
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Giving examples from loos to lifts (or the lack of both) and from opening parcels to getting served in restaurants, she said she wanted younger people to take them on board, because one day they would be their problems, too. "One of my tiny irritations," she said, "is that when you're on a plane, the cabin staff are not allowed to lift your luggage into the overhead rack, because of health and safety regulations. So old people have to call on other passengers to help them. Can we have a solution to this problem? Can someone notice it's a problem?"
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Similarly, she said, dragging a wheeled suitcase could be very difficult, especially in stations on the London Underground where there are few lifts. "The world is going to have to have more lifts," she said.
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Modern packaging, she said, was now so robust that it was often hard to open. Dining alone in restaurants was also difficult, not least in catching the waiter's eye. "Take a book, because it's going to be a long wait," she said.
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She will even be raising awkward subjects such as the provision of public lavatories. "Nobody dares say it, but I don't mind saying it. Old people need to go to the loo more often. A lot of rather fastidious older people want to stay correct and might be worried about that kind of thing. It's a terrible thing to have to worry about."
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Famously dubbed "The thinking man's crumpet" when she presented Late Night Line Up in the 1960s in notably short skirts, Dame Joan also enjoyed a long and secret liaison with the playwright Harold Pinter. Next year, her first novel, All the Nice Girls, is being published by Virago. She describes it as "quite a romance".
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Minor irritants: Time for action
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*Trailing a wheeled suitcase around on a trip, which is all very well until you come to somewhere like a London Underground station where there are no lifts. Getting it up the various flights of stairs can be a real problem if you're elderly. Bakewell verdict: The world needs more lifts.
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*Hoisting your luggage into the overhead compartment in an aircraft. The cabin staff, believe it or not, are not allowed to help you in case they injure themselves.
Bakewell verdict: When will someone notice this problem?
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*Trying to open packages that are too robustly packaged. "Sometimes you have to hack your way in with a carving knife," says Dame Joan.
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Bakewell verdict: Packaging should be redesigned with older people in mind.
* Trying to attract the attention of the waiter in a restaurant if you're dining alone. One thing if you're 35, quite another if you're 75.
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Bakewell verdict: take a book, it's going to be a long wait.
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*Finding a public loo when you need one. Increasingly difficult as some are being closed. Very important for the elderly. Semi-taboo, but not for Dame Joan.
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Bakewell verdict: provide more loos.
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Comments
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11 Comments
Thank you very much Joan Bakewell. Here at STOCKWELL TOILET WATCH we have been flogging away at the problem 24/7 for years to pretty well deaf ears. Ditto the pro rata urgent need for greater public toilet provision for women - all we get (or rather eventually may get) are pop-up pissoirs for about 10 hours a week for men. Yesterday at our very large (Nine Elms) local SAINSBURY's just one single WC cubicle for women users - absolutely disgraceful. We are in the process of taking the matter up with Sainsbury's.
Posted by Ian Cameron 10.11.08.
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Post --- All my admiration for Dame Joan Bakewell! Don't give up! Go on with your fight! We are behind you. ----- Posted by Jacqueline Knops 10.11.08.
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Post --- Also the ubiquitous background jingles and drum machine going on in the background during radio news and travel reports. Older people are less able to pick out the words from the background sounds. And we process speech slightly more slowly, so when the travel or weather presenter speaks fast to try and fit into the time slot, sometimes we miss stuff. ----Posted by Inge Jones 10.11.08.
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Post --- Here and in Europe definitely. On a recent trip to Europe, as soon as the coaches stop the women's queues form up like a Russian bread line from Belgium to Bonn. The quys were actually escorting women in and out of the gents to avoid unnecessary flooding! --- Posted by Aslan 10.11.08.
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Post --- I'm only in my 20s and I already agree with there needing to be more loos! But good on Joan for bringing the older generation's needs to the fore for one! :) ----- Posted by Phaedra Isabella 10.11.08.
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Post --- I'm getting older every day. You are too. Let's give some thought to what this old lady has to say. Then let's get our elected representatives to do what she tells them to. Let's go, now, before it's too late (and I'm truly OLD)! :-) Pattern-chaser "Who cares, wins"---- Posted by Pattern-chaser 10.11.08.
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Post --- The elderly are frequently accused of being 'grumpy' and there are even TV series based around this premise. Perhaps if these issues are addressed they might have less reason to be so grumpy. --- Posted by Bill Samson 10.11.08.
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Post --- I wish there was something to be done for the elderley who are renting privately. If something goes wrong in the house, we cannot call on the council for help and many people are just not able to pay for the handyman or the plumber or whatever to put things right. Also, I have always done my own decorating and have enjoyed it but sadly I am no longer able to wield a paint brush. I think it important to have clean and happy surroundings. Isn't there some way of getting young people interested in helping with these simple things. --- Posted by aline 10.11.08.
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Post --- I was visiting the city of Munich recently - a city that promotes its beers, the results of which may not only affect the elderly. On the other hand, most underground stations seem to have public toilets that are open until late in the evening. In London, the few that exist tend to be closed early. ---- Posted by Hugh Kennedy 10.11.08.
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Post --- How would Joan Bakewell feel if her daughter told her she was a prostitute? Bakewell's "legalise brothels" idea is thinly-veiled anti-feminism --- Posted by Kerry Sanders 10.11.08.

posted by Ian Cameron aka KILROY WAS-A-HERO @ 04:22