GOT to say, I’m delighted at the initiative shown by South Oxford District Council toward its public conveniences. Investing £65,000 in order to give Thame’s public toilets a facelift shows a genuine commitment to improving the town’s quality of life.

Because, not mincing our words, toilets in Oxford city centre are hardly billboards for 21st century lavatorial chic, are they?

The Gloucester Green ones are grubby and menacing, while those beside the Covered Market have all the charm of an abattoir.

Ten years ago, on another newspaper, I ran a weekly feature entitled Toilet of The Week. And it really did what it said on the tin.

Public toilets in Avon were photographed inside and out, and then reviewed in the same meticulous style applied to restaurant critiques.

Their ambience, lighting, clientele and cleanliness were all taken into account, and although the feature was at first intended as nothing more than mischievous whimsy, it soon became clear we had touched a nerve.

Within weeks, readers wrote in with their own recommendations – and warnings – and it was obvious that public toilets (including those in restaurants and shops) were more than just conveniences.

To many, in fact, they were a source of pride, of shame, of amusement and comfort.

One woman wrote in and said: “The fact my local public toilet is clean and welcoming has a calming effect on my moods; holistic even.” And I know what she meant.

It’s said you can judge a man by his shoes; well so too can you judge a town by its toilets. Either as a visitor, caught short in strange surroundings, or as a resident falling victim to that all-too-frequent condition ‘I-Won’t-Go-Now-Because-It’s-Too-Much-Hassle-And-Anyway-I’m-Sure-I-Can-Hang-On-Just-A-Little-Bit-Longer’.

Sadly – and trust me, I adore Oxford – I think our toilets suck. There aren’t enough of them, they’re badly signposted and when you do finally race in to relieve yourself, you often have to face the agonising decision of do I stay or do I go?

And I simply don’t understand why, in a city internationally famed for its beauty and culture, the best we can offer is something you might find at the back of disused petrol station in the Appalachian mountains. Is it really so difficult to make a public toilet attractive?

When I was at school in Plymouth, I lobbied the headmaster to provide the fifth form with funds to furnish the boys’ toilets with armchairs, blackboards (for graffiti) and posters (I didn’t specify but no-one seemed too upset at pictures of Farrah Fawcett-Majors and Cheryl Tiegs).

Overnight, the toilets in the school’s Quadrangle became a sensation, and we even renamed the corridor outside ‘The Lobby’ where, during Friday lunchtimes, girls would come and hang out (including a prefect or two).

So I’m quite prepared, should the city council be interested, to take on the duty of overseeing the redesign of our public toilets. It wouldn’t cost a lot and with the Olympics on the horizon, they could prove a showcase for our city to the rest of the world.