Peace and good loos for all men

Are you stuck for an ingenious Christmas present? Don’t get bogged down with Christmas shopping, simply twin your loved one’s toilet.

We all have that person in our lives, the one who’s impossible to buy presents for. Usually it’s your Dad. This year, why not think about treating them to a toilet twin? 

Thanks to our new and improved website, you can now personalise any twins given as gifts. We also include a gift card, so you can write a few words explaining why you thought a latrine would be the perfect present.

Christmas at your convenience

Order by the 14^th December for your certificate to be delivered in time for Christmas – just order by 7 pm. However, if you’re one to leave things to the last minute and miss that deadline, you can download a voucher to print or email – great to add in with a Christmas (e-)card.

Toilet Twinning is a gift that transforms communities and leaves the person you are buying for flushed with a yuletide glow.

Wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy loo year!

Ten festive uses of toilet roll

We’ve scoured the Internet to find ten of the best innovative uses for old toilet roll tubes to brighten up your home this Christmas.

Ok, so we’re a few days behind on this, but who would have thought you could turn toilet roll tubes into such a great advent calendar?

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Home/Crafts/Christmas-Craft-Toilet-Paper-Roll-Advent-Calendar.html

Alternatively, you could turn those tubes into a variety of Christmas characters, whether you want to go for the traditional nativity scene…

http://catholicicing.com/2009/12/diy-printable-nativity-for-kids/

… Father Christmas and his helpers ….

http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/christmas-gifts-cards-decorations/christmas-character-crafts/christmas-crew-663694/

… or represent your favourite carols

http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/christmas-gifts-cards-decorations/christmas-character-crafts/christmas-crew-663694/

(and those singing them!)

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/christmas-choir-661390/

Or you could use your spent toilet rolls for home-made decorations for your tree

http://chasingfireflies.typepad.com/chasing_fireflies/2010/12/snowflake-ornaments.html

Using a similar technique you can create fantastic wreath

http://lolailosadventures.blogspot.com/2011/11/toilet-paper-tubes-christmas-wreath.html

Technically this Christmas tree wasn’t made using loo roll, but with a bit of wrapping paper we’re sure the effect could be recreated!

http://stephssilverboxes.blogspot.com/2011/11/spool-christmas-trees.html   

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, it wouldn’t be Christmas without crackers. If you’re fed up of the usual jokes and trinkets, why not recycle those toilet rolls and make your own?

http://lisasayswhybensaysyup.blogspot.com/2011/04/recycling-toilet-paper-rolls.html

Last but by no means least, reuse old toilet roll inners as gift wrapping for smaller presents (this looks much prettier than it sounds!)

http://factorydirectcraft.com/factorydirectcraft_blog/upcycling-toilet-tube-gift-box/

Unfortunately a Toilet Twinning certificate won’t fit in one of these so will have to be gift-wrapped in the normal way. 

Technology vs reading - what do kids do on the loo?

Rev Cate Edmonds: Toilet Twinning champion



Cate with her twinned toilet

Vicar Cate Edmonds has gone above and beyond the call of duty in her mission to get people twinning their toilets. It all started when she twinned a loo at home for her husband’s Christmas present. Since then she’s been on a roll, encouraging twinnings all across her three parishes.

We asked Cate a few questions to find out what it is about Toilet Twinning that keeps her coming back for more.

Introduce yourself in 50 words or less:

Reverend Cate Edmonds, Diocesan Adviser for Education Chaplaincies and Vicar of three parishes. I’m married with two grown-up children, have travelled extensively and hate having to use poor sanitation. But that’s only when I travel, then I come home to good sanitation and feel guilty that there are others who don’t.

How many toilets have you twinned (directly and indirectly)?
Directly I have twinned eight and indirectly another five or six, with more on the way as I spread the news.

[Through Cate, two schools, three churches and the Old Deanery have all twinned loos, with others to follow soon.]

How did you first hear about Toilet Twinning?

Through Cord mailings

What stood out to you and why did you choose to support Toilet Twinning?

It’s immoral that women in particular miss out on education due to lack of sanitation, and just the idea of not having a private place to do the most personal but basic requirements of life is appalling.

How have you encouraged others to support Toilet Twinning?
I am constantly encouraging others to do this, for example, for secret Santas. My husband and I asked for donations for a wedding anniversary present.

Do you have any special Toilet Twinning moments?
Yes − people think I have a toilet fetish or am just mad but it makes them take note. 

What do you appreciate about Toilet Twinning?
It’s practical and, particularly with children, you can engage them in looking up their toilet twin online.

What’s your Toilet Twinning ambition?
That everyone in the world should have access to a toilet and clean water.



How to wash your hands

Well, its been a busy week, starting with World Porridge Day before heading into National Curry Week and National Chocolate Week. After all this focus on food, it seems only reasonable that we finish off with Global Handwashing Day on Saturday.

Although perhaps we should have all washed our hands before embarking on a national week of eating.

If you need any reminders about why handwashing is important, refresh your memory with a doctor’s view of this most essential practice.

Once we’ve got the ‘why’ sorted we need to make sure that we’re washing our hands the right way, for example making sure that we use soap and not just water. If you’re unsure, there are some rather detailed instructions out there!

Apparently, it takes 15–20 seconds to wash your hands properly. If you don’t want to just count to 20, you could try singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to yourself – probably in your head – as this is about the right length.

If you don’t want people to think you’re dropping hints about your birthday, you could invest in a musical handwash timer. These handy (no pun intended) gadgets fit onto your soap dispenser and, when pressed, light up and play music for 20 s.

Unfortunately some families can’t afford soap. Felizo Bigirimana is 35 and lives with his family in Burundi. Hygiene conditions are better now that they have their own latrine, but they don’t always have enough money to buy soap.

Felizo Bigirimana in front of his farm plot 

Cord (one of Toilet Twinning’s founding charities) has set up a Community Seed Centre that provides good quality seeds and cuttings to people like Felizo. This helps them to start growing produce to feed their families and sell for income.

By twinning your toilet, you’re helping Cord and Tearfund to support families like Felizo’s to have access to the basics that we so often take for granted.

Guest Post: Reverend Richard Littledale - A waste of money

Down the toilet

An old friend of mine used to do a party trick. He would ask for a £5 note and then say that there were three songs on it. He would list the songs off as “God save the Queen” and “Rule Britannia”. In answer to the puzzled expressions on the audience’s faces he would then rip the note in half, hand it back to the poor volunteer and say “Who’s sorry now!”. There must be more useful things to do with paper money than that, surely?

Origami artist Won Park would say that there certainly is. He can transform American Dollar bills into anything from a Koi Carp:

Image: maxcdn

to a camera:

Image: maxcdn

There is no doubting the skill involved – but couldn’t the money be turned into something a bit more lasting?

Maybe one of his other sculptures gives a clue:

Image: maxcdn

Without the need for any clever folding or origami magic – paper money could be turned into a real toilet. Far from flushing that money down the drain, it could be turned into a life-changing piece of sanitation. This is what you do:

·                 Take 12 £5 notes

·                 Flatten them out, rather than folding them

·                 Send them to Toilet Twinning and twin your loo

·                 Visit your loo’s location on Google maps

·                 Avoid all party tricks which involve tearing up (yours or other people’s) folding money.

The Rev Richard Littledale is Pastor of Teddington Baptist Church in Middlesex and is a graduate of Spurgeon's College, London and Saint Andrews University. A tutor at The College of Preachers, he has a particular interest in innovative and effective communication. His preaching has featured on BBC Radio 4 and he is a regular on BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought. He is the author of Stale Bread?: A Handbook for Spreading the Story and The preacher’s A to Z and writes as a columnist for The Baptist Times. You can find his blog at http://www.richardlittledale.wordpress.com/

His new book Who needs words: a Christian communication handbook, was published last week in print and on Kindle 

Lifting the lid: the story behind the loos at Bukeno School

At Toilet Twinning we love to hear about toilets. New toilets, old toilets, in homes, schools, at work, pretty much anywhere. We just love toilets.

But hang on a second – what about the people who use those toilets? Don’t we care about them too? Don’t we want to know more than just where they go to the loo?

The answer, of course, is a resounding yes! Earlier this year staff from one of Toilet Twinning’s founder charities – Cord –  went to Burundi to see the impact that their work is having and to meet some lovely loo users.





One visit took them to Bukeno School in Giharo province of Burundi The school had some things we would expect – latrines, water, teachers and students aplenty, but was without others – namely electricity.

The teachers at Bukeno School are (from left to right) Elie Ntakiyiruta (age 33), Evangeline Niyonsaba (age 22), Ferdenand Nibitanga (age 25) and Emmanuelie Niyingarukiye (age 28).

These teachers live at least a five-hour walk away from the school. To increase staff recruitment and retention, an on-site house has been built by Cord for teachers to live in during the week. Teachers now just make their 20-km journeys home at the weekend, leaving on Saturday morning and returning the following day.

Unfortunately, as the school building and teachers’ house are without electricity (as are three other schools in the area), the day has to end when the sun goes down (around 7pm), leaving little time for marking papers or planning lessons!

Worryingly, although the school does have toilet blocks and a water source, their supply is sometimes disrupted by a neighbour. If this happens teachers collect water from a spring located a mile away. However, a longer term solution to this problem is needed and the teachers are planning advocacy for the school and greater political action to ensure the water supply.

While the students seem to be enjoying their school, a local council leader and the teachers believe that things could be improved further, whether by installing solar power or building a football ground.

It’s clear that the school is looking ahead, choosing to focus on what it can do and the positive impact it can have.

Beauty and the bog

Vital though toilets are, they’re not generally considered works of art or a natural subject for photography.

We’d like you to reconsider and view the loos you visit with an artistic eye, after all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Our friends at Site Equip and Loos R Us have launched a photo competition to create a 2012 Toilet calendar supporting Toilet Twinning.

While there are many weird and wonderful toilets out there, don’t feel that you need to find the world’s most unusual toilet (although we’ll certainly want to hear from you if you do). The challenge is to look beyond the ordinary, to find images that give a different take on toilets. Site Equip and Loos R Us are looking for “scenes that are funny, inventive, poignant or exciting”.

If you’re in need of inspiration, or feel that this is all a bit amateur, why not take a look at professional photographer Richard Hanson’s collection of striking pictures (look for P*ssed off, under Projects).

Of course, some might say that you can’t beat a good framed certificate of a latrine in Burundi, but they might be biased.

The top 12 images will be published in the 2012 calendar and the overall winner will also receive a canvas print (of any of their photos – not necessarily a loo!).

All entries must be submitted digitally via email or on a CD. For more information on how to enter, what the judges will be looking for and all the t&c’s, visit the competition page.

You have until the 23rd November to submit your best shot. Good luck and happy snapping!





Photos courtesy of & copyright Richard Hanson, www.hansonphoto.co.uk. Top left – Mongolia; Middle – Brazil.

A brief history of toilet humour

Today is the launch of the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And as the festival has a history of linking laughs with loos (at the 2009 Festival, the tragicomedy ‘Waiting for Godot’ was performed in the St James public loos) we thought it only appropriate we devote today’s On The Blog to toilet humour.

According to Johnny Foreigner’s Guide to British Humour, humour was invented by John Cleese in 1066. Potty, or ‘toilet’ humour Mr Foreigner claims, is at once the best, worst and possibly the funniest kind.

Here is John Cleese explaining his recent discovery at the Science Symposium held in Brussels early that year:

Not ones to pooh-pooh the opportunity for a wee giggle, here at Toilet Twinning we’re quite fond of the odd pun. According to Mr Foreigner, “the pun is a rare and elusive creature outside of the UK”. Here it is in its natural habitat:

Those of you who follow us on Twitter will be used to our absolootely shameless use of puns in our, ahem, t[wee]ts. But it’s with good cause! It’s because we think it’s out of order that 40% of the world’s population doesn’t have somewhere decent to go to the loo. And this is just one of many shocking stats on sanitation.

So go on then, hit us with your best – and most hygienic – toilet jokes. Puns especially welcome. Leave them in the comments section beloo. And finally, we leave you with these words of blessing:

May your life be like a roll of toilet paper, long and useful.

Images:

John Cleese The Scientist from John Cleese Podcast #32 The Scientists

Pun from Johnny Foreigner’s Guide to British Humour

Toilet Twinning celebrates Burundian Independence Day: With dignity comes peace.

Ndagijimana Fulgence, Cord Burundi’s Programme Manager and a Burundian himself, gives his thoughts about the journey that his country has been on since its independence.

1 July 2011 will mark the 49th year of independence for Burundi from two successive colonial powers, Germany and Belgium. Since 1962 up to now, there has been some progress in terms of infrastructures, schools and life has improved in many different ways.

Some of the benefits of independence are being able to control one’s own destiny, to live without fear of an external master and to respond to basic needs. These elements are also signs and indications of peace.

In a life of a country, as in any living organism, there are good and difficult times. Burundi, as a country, has been no exception. A series of wars and civic unrest made it difficult to achieve the ideals that our ‘independence heroes’ lived for, fought for and died for. Destruction of livelihoods, lack of unity between the sons and daughters of our beloved country, exile to other countries, massive killings, inability to accommodate differences and cherish diversity have all been experienced in this country formerly independent from other colonial powers.

A number of organisations have stepped in to help heal the wounds of war and divisions; a much needed helping hand to contribute to the efforts of both government and civil society organisations to build a country where everyone is respected and his or her contribution to the construction of the nation is valued. Cord came up with innovative ideas to help people positively deal with root causes of conflicts, get the skills and mechanisms necessary to solve conflicts or mitigate their destructive effects, and along the way lead decent and a better life.

Toilet Twinning has been one of the genius ideas. The simple concept is about having toilets in the west twinned with latrines in the remote communes of Rutana Province. The process helps support more people in getting latrines and provides privacy and dignity, improves personal and domestic hygiene, resist water born diseases and build peace.

Our ‘independence heroes’ had dreams of a Burundi where people are able to cater for their basic needs, lead healthy and quality lives and where conflicts are positively dealt with when they arise. It is amazing how the work that Cord and Toilet Twinning does is continuing the legacy of our heroes, building peace and improving people’s lives. Wish us luck as we make this a reality.

Notes
Toilet Twinning was started by Cord in 2009, and is now a partnership between international charities Cord and Tearfund.

Cord has been working in Burundi since 1996, to enable sustainable and peaceful resettlement of returnees and vulnerable people in Rutana province.

Photos

1. Ndagijimana Fulgence, Cord Burundi’s Programme Manager. Photo copyright David Morphew / Cord.

2. Fulgence talks with a family in Burundi. Photo copyright Cord.

The art of queuing

Or, how do you get from Wimbledon to Burundi?

An obsession with whether or not it will rain, strawberries and cream, queues of newsworthy proportions and, all too often, sporting disappointment – it could only be Wimbledon. What other occasion gives so many opportunities to flaunt Britishness?

Talking about the weather and queuing are two quintessentially British traits, and Wimbledon gives us the chance to enjoy both. Although centre court’s multimillion pound roof means rain won’t stop play, there are still many times when weather and tennis collide: Will Murray Mount stay open? Should people take extra sunscreen? What’s the strawberry crop like this year?

There are few certainties in today’s world, but an obsession with a Brit winning Wimbledon is a sure thing. As are the queues of people waiting to see whether this year will be THE year. The Wimbledon queue is such a tradition that it even has its own code of conduct.

Of course, Wimbledon isn’t the only time when our ability to queue comes in handy. Any woman will be only too familiar with The Queue. (Why are the queues for the ladies always worse than the gents? Answers on a postcard please… or in this digital age, just comment below).

Although we might despair at toilet queues, whether at a festival, on a night out or just about anywhere else there are public toilets, at least we have something to queue for. They might not always be spotless and chances are the door won’t lock, but there is some provision for privacy and at least a nod towards hygiene.

Compare this with the situation for 2.6 billion people in the world. They’re not queuing because they don’t have a loo to queue for. While we might complain that the toilet roll’s run out or the flush isn’t working, millions don’t have the luxury of a flush. Or a seat. Or even walls.

Since Toilet Twinning’s launch over 1,600 latrines have been built in Burundi. With an average family size of 6, that’s nearly 10,000 people who now have somewhere safe, private and hygienic to go. As well as safe sanitation your donations help to fund access to clean water and hygiene promotion. What are you waiting for? Twin your toilet and help give others something to queue for.

Pictures from: BBC Sports News, The Metro's Guide to a Day out at Wimbledon

Festival Loos: A Survival Guide

As Glastonbury kicks off today, festival season is in full swing – bring on the wellies and hot pants!

The line-ups, the food, the rain – it’s all part of the fun. But by far the biggest fear for most people will be….dum dum DUM….the loos.


(Photo credit: www.telegraph.co.uk)

It can be a pretty grim experience, and may well put you off eating and drinking for the rest of your time there, but thankfully we’ve put together some handy tips to help you get through it!

First of all, you will need:

• Your own toilet paper
• Anti-bacterial hand gel
• Wet wipes
• A torch
• Water
• Anti-diarrheal tablets
• A strong disposition

(Photo credit: www.videojug.com)

Learn to hover – You may need some strong thighs, or if you don’t, you will do by the time you leave the festival.

Wash your hands – Considering that most food you will eat a festival will not involve a lot of cutlery, make sure you wash your hands often. Keep an antibacterial gel in your pocket at all times! You don’t want an upset stomach at a festival…

Take a torch – You want to be sure where you are sitting at night time. If you can, make it a head torch – no chance of having to fish around on the floor – or worse – when you drop it!

Go in the morning – Most festival toilets are used over the course of the day and emptied over night. You do not want to go late into the evening, the stench would be at its peak!

But for a change of perspective: As disgusting and as embarrassing as some festival loo experiences may be over a matter of a few days, it’s got nothing on the 2.6 billion around the world for whom not having a hygienic and safe place to go to the toilet is a daily experience. Just imagine for a moment if everyone at Glastonbury had to go out in the open? Now imagine 2.6 billion people doing that every day!

So when you’re getting frustrated in the loo queue this festival season, waiting for what seems like hours, take a second to remember the millions of people who walk miles to get to a hole in the ground.

One of the latrines Toilet Twinning is helping to build.

For £60 you can twin your toilet and make all the difference in the world, to transform the lives of the poorest communities and give them somewhere safe to go to the loo. Just like festival toilet supplier Andyloos did last year by twinning some of their portable loos – so have a look out for them at this summer’s celebrations, send a photo to us if you spot them!

Stay safe and happy loo queuing!

No. 2 gifts for No. 1 dads

I don’t know about you but I find that fathers are particularly tricky to buy presents for. If your dad’s anything like mine then if he needs something, he’s gone out and got it already.

With this in mind, at Toilet Twinning we’ve done a little bit of research into unusual gifts for the man who has everything. No prizes for guessing the theme!

Our recent poll highlighted the controversial issue of toilet paper orientation, so where better to start than novelty toilet roll. There’s a good line out there in special toilet paper, whether you want to share a heartfelt message …

(thanks to www.buzzfeed.com)

… make night-time toilet trips easier with glow in the dark loo roll …

(from www.iwantoneofthose.com)

… or simply give your dad the opportunity to show that men CAN multitask, given the right environment.

(from www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk)

Or what about the LavNav – a handy little gadget that’s essentially a night light for your bathroom. Not only does it mean you don’t have to turn the light on, there’s also an in-built toilet seat up/down indicator.

(from www.iwantoneofthose.com)

If you’re looking for something less practical and more for a practical joker, there is the inspired talking toilet roll dispenser. You can record your own message or jingle, which will play whenever someone takes any loo roll.

(thanks www.asseenontv.com)

(A word of caution – some time ago my friends had a musical toilet roll holder. While undisputedly high on amusement and originality, their downstairs neighbours did complain about the noise. True story.)

For the more altruistic dad, there’s no need to have read all this – just twin your dad’s loo and tick Father’s Day off your to do list.

So go on, show your dads how much you love them!

Changing the world from Norman's bathroom

We love hearing from our supporters! Norman Colville, a Toilet Twinner from Edinburgh, recently dropped us a line about how the view from his loo is helping raise awareness of the sanitation scandal facing poor people all over the world.

When faced with the statistics on water and sanitation in far-flung places it can be tempting just to ignore them and carry on with our own lives. After all, what difference can one person make? Toilet Twinning makes it possible for anyone to change the world … from their bathroom.

Without people like Norman, Toilet Twinning simply wouldn’t work. If you’ve got a story about raising money for Toilet Twinning or have been inspired by Toilet Twinning we’d love to hear from you. And now, over to Norman...

When I discovered Toilet Twinning I thought it was a fantastic idea. The certificate constantly reminds me of the plight of the 2.6 billion people who do not have the basic luxury of going to the loo in privacy, safety or with the most basic hygiene.

Some people may say that issuing a certificate is a gimmick. I would disagree because for me, having the certificate on display in the toilet is a constant reminder of how privileged I am to have had the basic resources of fresh water and sanitation all my life.

Also, it can be a relatively easy thing to make a gift to those in need and then carry on with life feeling quite pious that you have done your bit to help. The certificate acts as a stark reminder that these problems are long term and require constant resources to overcome them.

I have found the reactions of visitors using the toilet very interesting. They usually fall into two categories: some visit the loo and say nothing about the certificate; others, however, find it initially quite amusing but are interested to find out more about it.

A friend of mine who is a retired Marine Engineer used the loo recently. On returning from the loo, he pointed out that the flush mechanism required some maintenance. That spoke volumes to me – for him to have noticed such a minute detail as the flush handle he must have also noticed the certificate, but chose not to mention it in conversation.

I have been deeply challenged and humbled by Toilet Twinning and Tearfund’s Make Life Flow campaign [check out the campaign video], so much so that I am planning to serve in some practical way in the future (God willing). I recently took early retirement from my work as a Marine Engineer after 35 years service, and I believe that I have God given talents and skills that I can use to help bring these most basic of facilities to people who so desperately need them.

Norman Colville

A risky business – health risks of poor water and sanitation

A guest blog by Sue Yardley, Senior water and sanitation policy officer at Tearfund.

The squits, the runs, butt pee - the list goes on for amusing names for diarrhoea and I’m sure you have your own story to tell especially if you’ve travelled to a developing country. I know I try my best to avoid getting it when I travel with work, but I can be caught out by eating that nice bit of lettuce on the side of my plate or brushing my teeth with tap water. However, for us it’s often only an inconvenience. For others it’s life-threatening.

But last week I heard some good news. A critical decision was made at the World Health Organisation to better address the links between dirty water, poor sanitation and hygiene and health impacts.

It seems obvious doesn’t it? Of course there are health implications from drinking dodgy water or not having anywhere to wash your hands after going to the toilet. It’s common sense isn’t it? Well, yes, it is but it’s also a bit more complicated.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is one of the United Nations organisations and it does what it says on the tin – providing global leadership on health. Each year in May all the member countries of the WHO meet in Geneva to discuss ‘hot topics’ in health. The tendency in recent years has been to focus on vaccines to eradicate the many diseases that continue to unnecessarily rob the lives of millions of people. We’ve all benefited from vaccines; you might still have the physical scars. Vaccines are necessary, but they shouldn’t be the only solution.

At this years’ annual meeting of the WHO, which has just finished, crucial progress was made to highlight the need for preventative public health measures around clean water, basic hand washing and improved hygiene behaviour. At Tearfund we were carefully following the preparations for that discussion and were pleased that the resolution was ‘passed with consensus’ meaning that all the member countries agreed with the centrality of this issue.

Our next steps will be to ensure that the commitments made in the resolution are turned into actions on the ground as the progress and achievements will be reported on next year.

This decision at the WHO may not have made headline news, but it’s a small step towards preventing what is now the biggest killer of children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa, diarrhoea.

You can read more statistics about the impact of lack of access to clean water and effective sanitation here.

Photo: Sue Yardley / Tearfund

How do you hang yours? A tissue issue

Here at Toilet Twinning we’re pretty passionate about toilets, and understandably so. Knowing that 2.6 billion people in the world don’t have access to a loo makes you appreciate yours that little bit more!

However, even with our abundance of toilets we’re still not happy, and there’s one small detail that provokes surprisingly strong opinions and even an evangelistic zeal to re-educate those who are wrong.

The issue? Which way you hang your toilet roll of course! Are you an over-hanger or an under-hanger?

A quick internet search soon reveals that this is an issue as old as toilet paper itself (well, as old as toilet toll holders anyway; here's just one example). There’s even a Wikipedia entry.

For some, it’s an inconsequential detail, while others will change someone’s loo roll if hung the wrong way.

Various ‘scientific’ reasons for the superiority of the one method over the other are proposed. These include, but are not be limited to:
Over – ease of access, increased ease of tearing, reduced risk of scraping the wall with your knuckles
Under – less accessible to cats and young children, loose end hidden from view resulting in a tidier appearance

A recent study has found that those who prefer over like to take charge, are over-achievers and stay organized; whereas under-hangers are laid back, dependable and artistic.

Of course, if you’ve spent much time in some other parts of the world the necessity for toilet paper is up for debate. But that’s a whole other question.

At the end of the day it’s a matter of personal preference and there is no official Toilet Twinning position. Just be warned that if you invite certain members of the Toilet Twinning team round to your house you may find your toilet roll has been re-hung according to their specifications.

We’ve seen what the science says but we want to know what you think. Vote in our poll to determine whether under or over is best.

How Do you Hang Yours?

Are you an over-hanger or and under-hanger?


(Photo courtesy of www.currentconfig.com)

A wee change can make a big difference!

We are really happy to hear that St Michael and All Angels Church in Diseworth, Derby, has twinned a toilet in their building. Even more so, that they launched their loo with a special church service!

The church praised Toilet Twinning's simplicity, saying that it has helped to increase their awareness of the rest of the world. The congregation says it has given them a stronger sense of their own worth, as they say small churches with few congregants can sometimes feel isolated and powerless to help those in need.

We are glad that Toilet Twinning has given this church an opportunity to make a difference. Thanks for helping communities in Burundi to build their own toilets, understand more about good sanitation and live healthier lives.

So a big thanks to the people of St Michael and All Angels church!

(Photos courtesy of: http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/diseworth/parishchurch.html and http://www.toilettwinning.org/)

Trendy Toilets from Oxspring Primary School

Congratulations to all the pupils at Oxspring Primary School in Sheffield who took part in Toilet Twinning's competition for World Water Day!

Having twinned their toilet earlier in the year, last month pupils took up a new challenge – to make sanitation stylish. To mark World Water Day (22 March) the students, aged five to eleven, designed loo seats in a competition to make the most beautiful bog.

(Abbie, 10 - Alisha, 9 - Amelia, 6)

Here at Toilet Twinning, we were very excited to receive a selection of the finest designs. The results would certainly brighten up any bathroom!

(Beth, 11 - Georgia, 7 - Kaylie, 6)

A huge amount of time and effort has clearly been put into making these fantastic designs. It’s great to see the different themes that have been used and the creativity involved.

(Laura, 9 - Lucy, 5)

Why not take up the challenge and see how Toilet Twinning can inspire a transformation of the humble loo seat. Contact us for more information.

Head over to our Facebook page to view the album and comment on these lovely loos!

(Millie, 11- Ronnie, 7 - William, 11)