In a letter to the editor, Doug Maughan from Dunblane, Stirling, responds to a previous letter by Melanie Jones regarding Peter Mandelson's predicament when caught short late one evening. Maughan assures that his sympathy extends to women in the same situation, stating, “If you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.”
The Serious Side
Maughan highlights a serious issue: many people rarely leave home due to bladder problems. Instead of criticising or sniggering when someone is forced to relieve themselves in public, he urges society to demand that basic toilet facilities be provided on more streets.
A Call for Empathy
He adds that we should avoid having “a fit of the vapours” if, on rare occasions, we see someone of any gender or age going to the edge of the pavement and “doing a Mandelson” into a drain. The letter emphasises the need for empathy and practical solutions to address the lack of public toilets.
