My lunchtime is spent in cafes and restaurants which I know are near-perfect clean - if the toilet isn’t clean or smelling of bleach or the freshness of toilet cleansing solutions, I’m outta there, in nano-seconds, cos, to my mind, the hygience ain’t top of their priorities and for me that’s a must or a no-no.
Why?
I went into a pub (a public house) around 3 years ago on one of the most well known roads in London and found myself ill after having a plate of chips. The reason: one customer who I’d seen there a couple of times at lunchtime, came with his dear companion, a ‘lil pit bull terrier or an hybrid of that ilk and I’d befriended this ‘lil dog - well - the instincts got the better of me and I patted it’s head and kept whistling for it to come over - then I’d wink at it and tapped my legs for it to come over and stay by the table.
A couple of days later, I felt ill and went to the hospital, complaining of an headache. It turned out, I needed a 3-month supply of de-worming tablets (OMG)! I nearly blacked out! I was that close to fainting - imagine being in Miami in September, even, outside for 3 minutes, in unbreathable heat with mosquitos sucking the blood in your legs, arms and cheeks (yes that unbearable). Apparently, if not treated, it could seriously cause dizziness and nausea and even worse, lead to the person being ill for a long while.
The nurse didn’t fail to mention either, that schools are the worst place for this, as children lodge the bacteria unintentionally on door handles having eaten food dropped on the floor without realising the importance of hygiene nor the importance of washing their hands after going to the toilet.
Needless to say, I didn’t feel too good for a while.