Motoring cost of spending a penny

WHAT KATI DID NEXT:

The other week I was at Euston Station in London and frankly, I was desperate for a pee.

By the time I had rummaged around in my bag for the 20 pence needed, no fives, no coppers, no change, that sort of thing, it was almost too late.

A week or so later the same thing happened, at Piccadilly. Again, the rummaging for change and again the very near accident.

With children it wouldn’t have been a near miss — it would have been a complete change of clothes.

Since when did it become de rigueur to charge us for what is actually a very natural occurrence?

It’s like charging us for the air we breathe. See now I’ve given the yes men another idea. I will not, I repeat not, pay for the air I breathe.

You need an endless pocket these days if you are needy in the toilet department. Last weekend while driving south we came to that bit on the M6 which is always packed and we decided it would be quicker — a lot quicker — to jump on the toll road.

This road, for those not stupid enough to attempt to drive it, shaves about 20 minutes off your journey and about a fiver off your bank account.

Yes, you pay for the privilege of skirting Birmingham, an easy decision for most.

Anyhow, the pros outweighed the cons and we jumped aboard the toll. Half-way down the road, the little one in the back decided he needed a pee and bearing in mind we were on a motorway we had to take the next junction to allow him to do so.

We had to pay. A fiver. Once the pee had subsided, we then had to get back on the toll at a cost of £3.70, for the honour of another two-minutes’ driving, thus ensuring my son’s needs cost us a total of £8.70. Surely the most expensive pee ever.

I wonder where the saying “spend a penny” came from. Because it’s not from Euston or Piccadilly, and most definitely not the M6 toll...