I often talk about how – if the cleaning teams all decided to down tools at the same time, everything would quickly fall apart, and this sentiment was underlined somewhat on Sunday morning, when London Gatwick Airport’s water supply failed. The first newsflash I heard warned that there was no running water whatsoever, meaning that washroom users could neither flush the toilets nor wash their hands. 

Despite the reported dreadful smells suffered by those in the vicinity, toilet bowls filling up with unflushable excrement, taps not working, (plus the possibility of ‘picking up’ something nasty while in the washroom) people still needed to use the facilities. Long queues built up at those which were still able to remain open thanks to having an emergency water supply. I can imagine the trepidation those in the queue felt, wondering what they’d face once inside… 

As well as sympathising with the travellers stuck at the airport for hours waiting for their flights to depart - unable to buy food or drink or enjoy decent washroom facilities, I felt for the workforce needing to appear cheerful throughout their shift while having to suffer the same issues as the disgruntled travellers and not knowing when, (or if) things would return to normal. 

All hail to the cleaning teams though, who, as usual, were forced to carry on regardless, all the time knowing that they’d eventually have to deal with the dreadful aftermath! 

My many years of attending festivals mean that I never leave home without my bottle of water, a handbag-sized hand sanitiser and my Bazoo ‘sustainable wet wipe alternative’, which means that if nothing I’d expect to find in a washroom is actually there, or if the washroom isn’t as clean as I’d like, I’ll still be ‘fresh out of the shower’ clean - and I daresay that many people picked up similar habits during the pandemic. And with severe water shortages being experienced all over and threats of similar outages to the one experienced on Sunday being made more and more often, I’d suggest that we should all make a point of carrying such essentials at all times. Well… you can’t be too careful these days, can you?

I’m wondering now, as I write this, whether any washrooms have dispensers within the cubicles, containing hand sanitisers and/or wet wipe alternatives, or whether any organisations are considering having them installed. I’m thinking to improve hygiene and/or save water perhaps? If you know of any such facilities, or are considering installing such dispensers, do please let me know as I’d like to learn more.