I do like a themed toilet. Toilets are all too often sterile and functional, although on the whole this is fine. The average visitor doesn’t usually hang around public toilets for prolonged periods of time unless feeling particularly unwell or looking for a bit of pervert-on-pervert action, if the graffiti on toilet walls is anything to go by.
I was once sat on the loo in a public toilet and was idly reading the graffiti to pass the time and realised that one scrawled missive was offering nefarious engagements at a specific date and time in my very location. It was so recent that I had to check my watch to make sure I wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thankfully I was a couple of days late but by this point I didn’t feel comfortable anymore so I left. But I digress.
I visited Chiquito today, a Mexican themed restaurant. Noting all the colourful trappings that came with a clichéd attempt at bringing a little piece of Mexico onto a business park in Peterborough
Firstly I had to decide between two doors, one bearing the legend ‘Hombres’ and the other ‘Senoritas’. I liked the look of ‘Hombres’ as it bore the image of a comical skeleton wearing a Sombrero on its head. This was fortunate as it also turned out to be the ‘Gents’.
Inside there were what looked like old movie posters for Mexican films (in actual fact an elaborate wall covering, non-stain and non-graffiti I assume – no bandidos will be able to arrange secret trysts here). The doors to the cubicles had a distressed look as if they had been removed from a 19th Century lavatory door in Guadalajara and flown all the way here.
But it’s the little details that count and despite all the novelty trimmings one lone cubicle had the door firmly shut and the obligatory piece of A4 paper stuck to the door to let the customer know it was ‘Out of Order’ in Times New Roman.
Presumably someone had suffered a misfortune at the hands of the Jalapeno Chilli Dog but this was not the point. There was a dull sign in a colourful committee designed chain restaurant which was spoiling my enjoyment. I considered that with a little imagination this boring and functional notice could have been written in Spanish with the English translation below, as if as an afterthought.
Surely even important Health and Safety messages can be dragged into this cavalcade of Mexican revelry? Alas the answer seemed to be no and I left feeling empty in more ways than one.
If you’re interested I recommend the Chilli Con Carne and the Chocolate Brownie Stack. Neither made me unwell.
