I GET asked the oddest questions . . .

For instance, my old Moss Bank chum Ronnie Aitch is curious to know if there are any pubs which still have unisex loos.

What got the ball rolling was a bar-top discussion on the old-time watering holes of St Helens. And Ronnie clearly recalls that the Victoria at Pocket Nook had just such a mixed toilet up to as recently as the late 1960s when he flitted from that area.

Apparently a little warning whistle or a call of 'Anybody in?' usually did the trick. None of the regulars batted an eyelid at this ritual.

Though, according to Ron, there was the odd occasion when customers of either sex might be caught with their pants down.

I doubt if such a free-and-easy arrangement would be permitted in this day and age, but Ronnie still wonders whether there's the outside possibility that there might be some ancient pub in one of our borough backwaters that might still boast this most inconvenient of conveniences.

IF you know of a survivor, or can say when the last unisex loo disappeared, please drop a line to Whalley's World, St Helens Star, YMCA Buildings, Duke Street, St Helens WA10 2HZ.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.