Sophie's column: Why does spending a penny cost 30p?

As someone who's self-admittedly a bit of a snob, writing an article about crude subjects isn't something which comes naturally.

However, this week I was involved in a scenario which I feel needs to be addressed.

And it’s something, I’m sure, a lot of readers will have experienced or can relate to.

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I want to talk about a fundamental human necessity – something which we all need to do but are sometimes deprived of...going to the toilet, or paying to have a pee, to be exact.

After finishing an extremely busy day at uni last week, I made my way down to Glasgow Queen Street station to catch my train.

Inconveniently for me, my schedule had been so hectic I barely managed to squeeze in a loo break and so, when I narrowly missed my train home, I found myself waiting an extra fifteen minutes for the next ride to Falkirk.

There was me, bobbing about like I had ants in my pants, and then I saw it – the sign for the ladies.

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I ran towards that sign like my life depended on it, but then what did I see? A barrier, which demanded a whole 30 pence just for a nip to the loo.

When did society stoop this low? I understand train stations are services which rely on money to operate, but I’m not sure people paying for a pee is the way forward.

There’s bound to have been scenarios where people just can’t hold any longer.

I for one am ashamed to admit I jumped on another train which was waiting to leave to help solve my predicament.

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It’s something which has been going on for a while now, and I feel like we, the public, should probably speak up against it.

Visiting the toilet is something we all need to do and I’d much rather I didn’t have an accident while scrambling in my purse for some spare change.