Toilet seat lid etiquette

Toilets should be left with the lid down, Mr Tara Plumbing believes, it looks tidier.

Perhaps he is influenced by the Feng Shui notion that all the good energy which is swirling around the house seeking a means of escape will find it by plunging into the pan.  With all our internal door constantly open AND the lid up we are doomed!  Strangely, there is no suggestion that negative, bad energy would feel compelled to drown in the toilet water.  I’m a little cynical, myself.

A few days ago I knocked Mr T.P.’s toothbrush out of the cupboard and straight down the loo.  No I didn’t swill it in the sink and put it back! I owned up and threw it away.  So, that is why the lid should be down!

I had suspected it was an equality campaign.  If those who stand up to wee are to lift the seat and replace it when they have finished, then there is a certain equality if we all have to lift and close the lid. As you can imagine, this very subject is the focus for many a web page, for various reasons most seem to agree with Mr TP, although, don’t quote me on that as I did not conduct a full review! For those interested on what others have to say just search on the title of this page.  This blog site is dedicated to it:http://www.icbe.org/icbe.shtml

Blog on all toilet related matters here: http://www.icbe.org/blog/

Gay pride in Margate

Recent edit – Next Pride in Margate 21 July 26th July 2008. See link at the bottom! 

In my short life time (I’m still in my 30’s, but only just) things have changed beyond anything I could imagine.

In the 1970’s and early ’80’s you could count the number of famous gay people on one hand.  A gay character on TV was a novelty, and considered by many to be shocking.

Discrimination against gay people was perfectly legal and many laws specifically were discriminatory.

Things are so much better now.  Being gay, lesbian or bisexual is perfectly acceptable these days, to the majority of people, and barely provokes a raised eye brow.  When my son asks if he can marry me – of course, I explain why he can’t.  When he asks if two boys can marry I’m pleased to be able to tell him they can.  It’s not an issue.  He knows lesbian & gay couples and considers it to be normal, children do accept these things.

So, in this day and age is there a place for a Gay & Lesbian Pride Celebration? 

Unfortunately, twice in the last year alone I’ve seen children under the age of 10 taunting others by calling them “Queer” or “Gay” as an insult.  As long as being QUEER is thought of as inferior then there will be a need for a balance.  It may be easier these days for youngsters to grow up differently.  But note I wrote easier, not easy.

Readers of the local news papers will know that violent anti-gay attacks still take place.

I am quite happy to go to Gay Pride but I know others will stay clear of Margate because they are embarrased or affraid to be associated publicly with gay folk.  Even if they are themselves in that camp.

Click on my what’s on page to find a link detailing Margate Gay Pride this Saturday.

If you are interested, good introduction to history of “Gay Pride” here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_pride_parade

www.thanetpride.co.uk/thanet2008/Home.html

http://www.gaytoz.com/eventsJUL.asp

Bon Appétit in Ramsgate

 is walking distance from my house. Based on my one visit on a mums’ night out I would highly recommend the restaurant and so does Mark Palmer in the Daily Telegraph.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/wine/2007/06/16/edtable116.xml

It is French, of course, the menu is for the dairy-loving carnivore. With just 2 hours notice they were able to come up with a delicious choice of vegan options for one guest, which is the sign of a good chef. Now, let me tell you, I don’t do food reviews. My vocabulary has no adjectives which can be applied to comestibles. The food was interesting delicious, portions sizes were generous. The food was excellent, fresh, tasty, interesting and well presented. Bon Appétit is expensive (relative to the area), but you get what you pay for (expect to pay £25-£40pp (depending on how much you like your puddings and alcohol), it is worth it. In an elevated position under the Royal Harbour Yacht Club it has a great view over the harbour.

Whenever a large group go to dinner, that tricky issue of the bill with inevitably arise. I hoped someone would say, “Don’t worry everyone, I’ll get this”! I ‘ve been for dinner with strangers many times. I remember once being most impressed by the local lawyer sitting next to me who suddenly produced a tiny note of everything he had, with the price. He had obviously written this, very discretely, through the evening. As a regular member of that group he told me the end of the evening was always chaotic as everyone paid for what they had eaten.

With another group that I regularly eat with we also pay for our own meal. I have no problem doing a quick mental tally of my own consumption, but I’ve always been impressed by the woman who brings her calculator and works it out to the penny (no rounding it up to the nearest pound) she then meticulously adds on 12.5%. Actually she multiplies by 1.125 as she is using a scientific machine. She’s a girl with a math’s degree on a budget!

The mum’s divided the bill equally, always a recipe for confrontation among strangers! Who didn’t have a pudding? Who only drank tap water? Not me – I ate and drank as much as I could! You don’t keep this wobbly tummy without working on it!  How much should we leave as a tip? At least 12.5% is a minimum guideline if you have had good food and good service.

I heard a very interesting programme on Radio 4 this week. Did you know that it is legal and common in the restaurant business to pay staff less than the minimum wage! It is expected that wages will be made up by tips AND income tax is paid on those tips. If you had a good night out, with good service and sat at a table for several hours, the least you can do is reward the low paid staff with the best tip you can afford! 10% is the absolute minimum, in my opinion, 15-20% is quite reasonable. I’m known for being thrifty, so if I don’t feel I can afford the tip then I would eat somewhere cheaper – Beano Cafe have a good reputation! 

I’m sure buffet, eat as much as you can type places thrive because of groups of strangers. At such places the food might be somewhere between awful to palatable. At least there is not much chance of arguing over the bill and a generous tip might not be required.

By the way, if you check out the review for Bon Appétit (link above) you will note Ramsgate is up and coming! The author mentions that we have a Waitrose and a Cafe Nero. Mr Tara Plumbing recalls the Waitrose opening in the early 1980’s and as an apprentice plumber he worked in there at one of its refits in the 1980’s. Apparently it was built on the site of a former brewery.

More : http://www.restaurant-guide.com/bon-appetit-5.htm

It pays to visit a public loo

It was hardly surprising that I should fall in love with Mr Tara Plumbing – from when we first met, we had so much in common:

• he told me he puts his hands down peoples’ toilets for a living;
• whereas, I was interested in all things related to toilets.

The internet makes it easy to feed my fascination.

It will not surprise anyone to know there are sites which review public toilets – complete with photos! http://www.crappersquarterly.com/reviews/england.htm

of similar interest: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3919973.stm

where are the public loos of London?:

http://www.lastrounds.co.uk/public_toilets.html

I think most people only use public toilets if they really have to, or if they are hoping to meet a certain type of man. I suspect Mr Tara Plumbing always carries his autograph book in case he should be fortunate enough to run into George Michael… or any other super star.

There is a monetary incentive to visit the public toilets of Japan, however. It has been reported that a mystery person has been leaving gifts in the toilets – read on without fear – packages of money with a message.

http://www.examiner.com/a-823764~Money_Found_in_Toilets

Vegetarian Thanet

160 years ago Vegetarian Society was founded, in Ramsgate of all places. There is an event on Saturday 7th July organised by local Veggie folk, not the national society (I think).

See my page for more details and links:

http://mrstaraplumbing.wordpress.com/whats-on/

Some people imagine Vegetarians to be pale, weak, humourless characters, who live on state benefits and can not afford a proper collar for their dogs. Their responses are slow because their brains are trying to conserve energy.

Strange – I’ve met that man as well, he’s NOT veggie, he’s a druggie! I love the jokes about vegetarians, they tend to be surreal.

Does meat make you strong (virile, manly)? Well – it takes an awful long time for it to move through the intestines & digest.  There is a study which found meat-eaters’ poo takes 6 months to disintergrate, whereas a vegan’s poo decomposes in hours. Infact, it would seem likely that the person who eats only meat & wheat, with no fruit & veggies is more likely to be sloath-like in their behaviour.  I’m not sure about mental functioning but there is no reason for a planet based diet to be lacking in the omegas.

If you love eating, as I do, then it makes sence to eat a vegan diet: high fibre, based on fruit, vegetables and grains.

1. The food passes through you really quickly and sometimes still looks the same on the way out as when first consumed! So you can rapidly move on to your next meal.

2. Most vegetable foods are not so calory dense, which means you can get a lot more food on your plate at each meal time.

Touch Me – I’m Karen Taylor

I committed the name of this funny lady to memory when I saw her in 1999, she was an unknown, doing 5 minute standup slots for no pay (she was also incredibly sexy and flirtatious – perhaps that’s why I remember her – see pic at bottom).  I’ve seen hundreds of ‘new’ acts and remember the names of very few.  I do remember Jimmy Carr from those days, too. He also stood out from the rest, from the start.

It was quite by chance that I found this TV programme whilst searching the BBC website for something else.   http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/karentaylor/ 8 years later, here she is appearing on plasma screens across the UK. 

 I have only seen one episode, it did not disappoint. Her comedy is funny, clever, original and up to date (I was thinking ‘contemporary’ but that word triggers sensitive reactions in East Kent).  I would highly recommend anyone with a sense of humour to see the repeat on Saturday – BBC3 or episode 5of 6 Monday BBC3 (10/10.30pm).

If you need or want to know more about Karen Taylor: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/02_february/22/taylor.shtml

Or this: 

http://www.paramountcomedy.com/comedy/comedians/comedian.aspx?id=387

To be honest, not all reviews are good, I came across this:

“Several sketches fall back on cheap sex/toilet humour.”
But that’s what makes Mrs Tara Plumbing laugh!

Gas safety! What a catchy title…

There are over 100 cases of Carbon Monoxide poisoning, resulting in at least 50 deaths across the UK per year.

Most importantly you can purchase an alarm to warn of Carbon Monoxide from Corgi at http://www.trustcorgi.com/consumer/buyacarbonmonoxidealarm.htmx

They seem to claim it is the best thing since sliced bread and you can’t afford to be without one (it’s just under £23 inc.).This is all in the latest issue of Gas Installer. An exciting title – for the exciting monthly publication of Corgi, distributed to all professional gas installers and any one else who just wants to subscribe (you know, just out of interest). It really is a fascinating read (please, trust with me on this) and much of the info. contained really ought to be in aimed at the the public and not Gas Installers.http://www.trustcorgi.com/about/aboutcorgi.htmx

A few years back I bought a lovely Victorian house in Margate. Being concerned about safety issues I had the old gas fires removed immediately. Lucky I did. We could hardly believe the previous residents were still alive! The letter box flue (which is now illegal) was almost completely blocked by years of dust & debris. I suspect many households are still living with such dangerous situations, especially where families have lived in the same house for decades.

If you are a tenant, then it is a legal requirement that there is a visual inspection of gas appliances every year. So it would seem obvious that homeowners should expect at least the same level of safety in their homes. Just as you would not drive your car with out an up to date MOT certificate, would you?

We recommend that you have gas appliances regularly serviced.

I’m sure you know that new gas installations must be undertaken by someone with the suitable Corgi registration – this is the law. A few weeks after the installation you should receive a Declaration of Safety certificate from CORGI if you have used a bona fide Installer.

DIY of your replacement boiler or gas fire is not recommended! It is dangerous and illegal. Well, actually you can attach boilers to every wall in your house if that pleases you aesthetically, for that modern ‘Art Installation’ effect. The illegal bit is if you attempt to connect it to the gas.

In recent years we (not me, of course) have been asked to do the final checks and ‘fire it up’ on a couple of DIY boiler installations. Answer: “NO”.  We want to attend the whole party, not just the end! This very issue has been debated in the Gas Installer, Corgi recommend we do the whole job or nothing at all. It makes sense as the Corgi registered individual who signs it all off is responsible for the whole job.

There are other was to interpret this

1. Gas Installers successfully creating and protecting their niche profession -

profession as defined by sociologists: exclusive rights to perform a task, exclusive entry to profession controlled by a professional body and requiring a set of knowledge.

2.  They want to be paid for the whole installation and not just turning up to do the clever bit at the end.