How do you know you are back in UK?

[otherclive]

After a great month down in the south of France we stopped off on our return from Dover at Fleet Services in Hampshire. The caravan parking was clearly signed and was shared with the trucks. But on opening the car doors we were met with that oh so familiar smell of the Britsh HGV service areas...urine! Fleet even exceeded Frankley on the M5 for odour. Even the nearby woods were scattered with excrement, and it can't be dogs as they don't use paper. Why can't people use the toilets provided rather than the parking areas?

Other Clive

 

[jacky3]

same as you know when youv'e left

 

[ValA.]

To be fair, there are service areas, and Aires in France which are just as bad. I don't think it's just a British problem. Lorry drivers make the excuse that they daren't leave their load unattended - and having heard several caravanners say they won't leave their outfit without one staying behind you have to have some, not quite sympathy, but understanding. However WHY don't they fit lorries with a cassette loo - they seem to have everything else. Surely it could be tucked away somewhere more discrete than crouching in a service area car park or woodland!

 

[LMH]

It could be foreign lorry drivers using the place as a toilet......

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Having witnessed in France, north and south, many times in broad daylight males urinating wherever they tend to be when needing to empty their bladder I don't think we are anywhere near to them regarding peeing in public and stinking the place out. Maybe this is why in France they hose down the streets in the early hours because the gutters can be open sewers.

OK, at least over here it's confined to lorry parks, laybys and alleyways when the drunks get kicked out.

Another point where our hygiene and care for the environment is superior to theirs. On British waterways boats have to have a pump out toilet system whereas in France it goes straight into the canal/river. Once on the Canal du Rhone a Sete I lifted the toilet lid to see a fish grazing on the sides of the toilet bowl.

I have a question.

When in Paris I used a public toilet where you stood piddling while looking out at everyone passing by. They could also see your head and feet when stood there. When having a tiddle all the females passed by the males as they stood there but worse was the female sat knitting at the end of the urinals. On the table was a dish for coins where you paid to have a pee. On official forms what occupation would she declare?

 

[Guest]

I'm sorry to say that it's a European wide problem, and will say that sadly many British lorries are just as bad as others.

What I can't understand is that some of the European services have very good truckers facilities including good showers.

When we were transporting furniture and belongings from the UK to France I used quite a few and always found them immaculate.

We should ask why the highways agencies throughout Europe don't do more to provide toilets alongside truck stops and why are truck parking areas not washed down and sanitised by road cleaning trucks?

 

[Guest]

Camping at one French sporting event, porta cabin style shower blocks were provided and kept sparkling clean by an attractive French lady in thong bikini bottom only most of the time. She laid or sat out on her sun lounger for most of the event and seemed to make rather good money! {;0)

I have to say she kept the facilities sparkling clean and provided towels and soaps etc to those who wanted.

 

[CreatureComforts]

There is a book entitled, 'Cr*p Jobs', which gives first-hand accounts of, well, 'cr*p jobs'.

One such job was, apparently, working as part of the cabin cleaning team on the North Sea ferries. Yes, there were plus pints (namely a high ratio of young uninhibited females to male team members, plus lots of impromptu parties, and all that entailed.

On the downside, the author mentioned how they dreaded changing the cabin sheets after the boat had docked. The foreign truckers would usually be so drunk that they had used their beds as toilets (that's #1's, and #2's) - even though the bathroon was about five feet away!

The UK truckers just didn't do that! - but it was fairly routine for their continental cousins.

 

[Auvergne]

We live about half a mile away from the docks and as a result have heaps of truckers round and about the local area from all over Europe. In response to Val A's comment about "lorry drivers daren't leave their load unattended", they most certainly do round here I can assure you. They park in close proximity to our 24hr Asdas and use the cafe, shopping facilities etc., but not the toilets for some unknown reason. They would rather dump in a bush in broad daylight, bog roll in hand, and leave the place stinking. My "embracing diversity" head tells me it may be a cultural thing, my "reality" head tells me something very different.

 

[Guest]

Having witnessed in France, north and south, many times in broad daylight males urinating wherever they tend to be when needing to empty their bladder I don't think we are anywhere near to them regarding peeing in public and stinking the place out. Maybe this is why in France they hose down the streets in the early hours because the gutters can be open sewers.

OK, at least over here it's confined to lorry parks, laybys and alleyways when the drunks get kicked out.

Another point where our hygiene and care for the environment is superior to theirs. On British waterways boats have to have a pump out toilet system whereas in France it goes straight into the canal/river. Once on the Canal du Rhone a Sete I lifted the toilet lid to see a fish grazing on the sides of the toilet bowl.

I have a question.

When in Paris I used a public toilet where you stood piddling while looking out at everyone passing by. They could also see your head and feet when stood there. When having a tiddle all the females passed by the males as they stood there but worse was the female sat knitting at the end of the urinals. On the table was a dish for coins where you paid to have a pee. On official forms what occupation would she declare?

waste recycling supervisor

 

[ValA.]

I did say it was an excuse!

We met a British lorry driver at Birch services, peeing right outside the back door - which must have been harder to find than the door into the toilet! My OH remonstrated with him - and got a mouthful (not literally!!!!!) in return!