Brace yourselves, this is a bit of a long and weird one!

I never used to think too much about public toilets.  I’d used them on occassion but not very often.  They’re generally not very pleasant, but then needs must and all that. 

Then I got pregnant and public toilets became a very important part of my life.  I was working then and knew all the public toilets in London’s financial district and also all the ones in my local area (plus the pubs that would look sympathetically on a pregnant woman).  The girl was born and with the return of some room for my bladder, public toilets faded into the background once again.  When pregnant with the boy I had to re-visit my local public toilets and very quickly worked out which ones you could negotiate with a small child in a buggy (only one really, and you had to get the far end cubicle so you could have the buggy in the doorway but no-one would wander past and look in). 

Fast forward to today – I no longer have to worry about my bladder but that of the girls which is about as reliable at the moment as mine was when I was pregnant – when she needs to go, she needs to go RIGHT NOW.  So, I’m back to trying to find a public toilet that isn’t too dirty (some of them are frankly grim) and into which I can wheel a buggy (although it’s not so vital to have one that no-one can see into as I block most of the view). 

I went to a shopping centre near us today (The Glades, for those in the area that have similar toilet interests to me) and discovered on the top floor (Car Park Level 2) toilet heaven (for a mother of two small children).  They had three (yes, three) cubicles that were big enough to not only wheel a buggy into but then manouver it around as well.  They were fantastically clean.  The sink was low enough down for the girl to easily reach.  There was plenty of toilet roll and the soap dispenser was full and working.

Here we all are in my new favourite room.