Privy Counsel Pin-Up: James Purefoy

Although we just did a Privy Counsel Pin-Up post, and hesitate to repeat ourselves, we have decided to award the world at large a present, and publish one more. The previous posts were, you see, received with raucous acclaim, and it appears that Privy Counsel readers the world over are united in a cry of "More! More!" Who are we to deny them their simple pleasures? Here you go: pictures of James Purefoy in the bath! You're welcome. Pretend it's your birthday, or something.

Let's start with a picture where the man is fully dressed,
gradually moving on to the more depraved ones as we go along.
Image from mynewplaidpants.

As Mark Antony in Rome, bathing Roman fashion: being scraped with olive oil
and a strigil by a slave. This is also our own personal favourite method of bathing.
There are much ruder pictures than this one available online, for those so inclined.
Image from mynewplaidpants.

We're not entirely sure what's going on here or where this is from, and don't particularly care.
It might be a scene from Rome.
Image from mamakittyreviews.

Bath-tub festivity. Image from starlists.

Oh, go on, then. Let's have another one! It is so very festive!
Image from phoebefay.

For a serious thrill, contemplate this: Privy Counsel HQ was, once upon a time, located near James Purefoy HQ in Hammersmith!

Related reading
Privy Counsel Pin-Up: Colin Firth
Privy Counsel Pin-Up: Toby Stephens
For the sake of gender equality we naturally have a girl pin-up, too
The Roman Bath Museum - Crap on a Stick
Roaring Good Roman Fun

Privy Counsel Pin-Up: Ablutions with Toby

Don't ask us why, but it's time for another Privy Counsel Pin-Up. Likewise don't ask us why, but we were lucky enough to come across a picture of Toby Stephens in the bath! Most people know this actor from Jane Eyre, but it turns out he's done lots of other stuff as well. Stephens has, it appears, strong cleanliness credentials; check out this video of him tending to his hygiene!

A reviewer on Amazon has this to say about Toby Stephens' audio books:

"Let Toby's velvet voice wash over you like melted chocolate as he breathes life into Tales from the Arabian Nights: Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sinbad, as only Toby can." 

Oooh, yes please. (It's quite hard to find quotes relating to Toby Stephens and hygiene on the internet. This one's got the word "wash" in it - that's as good as it gets.)

Hurrah! Another instance of Toby Stephens bathing; this time in The Camomile Lawn!
Image from digplanet

Related Reading
Jane Eyre - Plunging into Passion
Privy Counsel Pin-Up - Colin Firth 
Privy Counsel Pin-Up - James Purefoy
Anthony Hopkins Uses Hand Sanitizer, Avoids Winter Vomiting Disease

Toilet Song - Hitting the Bathtub Gin with Amy

It's Sunday - time for a Toilet Song! If you've spent as much time as we have with drunken academics lately, you'll be glad of some simple rock'n'roll to rest the mental faculties. We're in a subtle mood today, so toilet references are in a similar vein. Amy's mention of "stormy weather", moreover, strikes a chord - Privy Counsel HQ is literally snowed in!

Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good

Meet you downstairs in the bar and hurt
Your rolled-up sleeves and your skull t-shirt
You say, "What did you do with him today?"
And sniff me out like I was Tanqueray

'Cause you're my fella, my guy
Hand me your Stella and fly
By the time I'm out the door
You tear men down like Roger Moore

I cheated myself
Like I knew I would
I told ya I was trouble
You know that I'm no good

Upstairs in bed, with my ex boy
He's in the place, but I can't get joy
Thinking on you in the final throes
This is when my buzzer goes

Run out to meet ya, chips and pitta
You say, "When we're married" - 'cause you're not bitter -
"There'll be none of him no more"
I cried for you on the kitchen floor

I cheated myself
Like I knew I would
I told ya I was trouble
You know that I'm no good

Sweet reunion, Jamaica and Spain
We're like how we were again
I'm in the tub, you're on the seat
Lick your lips as I soak my feet

Then you notice a likkle carpet burn
My stomach drop and my guts churn
You shrug, and it's the worst
Who truly stuck the knife in first?

I cheated myself, like I knew I would
I told ya I was trouble, you know that I'm no good
I cheated myself, like I knew I would
I told ya I was trouble, yeah ya know that I'm no good

Amy in the tub. When you're this fabulous you most likely don't need mixer taps.
Image from Youtube.

OCD Voyeurism

According to Mary Douglas, who is something of an authority, Christmas- and spring-cleaning rituals don't actually contribute to hygiene, but are yet rampant in most cultures. Australian Friend just had a cleaning orgy, and, once she told us she'd "stacked the towels in colour gradients", we just had to ask for pictures. Behold, a titillating voyeuristic OCD journey!

"I even stacked the towels in colour gradients"

Australian Friend's toilet. We love the tiles and the flowers!

The shower

A petite basin!

"The bath popped out when the pipe burst during a storm"

"Close-up of rubber duckie"

"A seaside-inspired display"

"Detail of my basket display, à la Vogue Interiors".
We note with joy the helpful electricity sockets, infamously absent in British bathrooms.

Sink WITH MIXER TAP. OH, THE GLORY!

"Cupboard detail. Note impeccable organisation"

And that concludes our OCD tour of Australian Friend's bathroom!

Related reading
Common Sense in Spain
 Mixer Taps - The Great Controversy, or, When Will Britain Enter the 21st Century?, or, You Are Not Alone! 
HTFU: A Journey through an Australian Dunny

Amelioration, Constipation, Communication

Do you sometimes get that tired, oppressed feeling caused by newspapers jabbering on about how one should always be learning new skills in order to stay attractive on the job market? We do, frequently, and frankly, we happen to think we're quite attractive enough, and if toilet blogging isn't an awesome accomplishment then we don't know what is. Be that as it may, however - here's an opportunity, if you happen to be feeling full of zest and zinginess as opposed to world-weariness and apathy, to learn a new skill! Tudor Friend sent us a link to a very useful website telling you how to give your friends and loved ones useful advice - in Italian - without saying a single syllable! If nothing else, we can see this becoming an awesome party trick!

Using actual words is entirely optional

Why does this guy look so familiar?
Images from Awfullibrarybooks

Related reading
Communication Is So Important
An Opportunity to Learn Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast
The Historic Toilet Tour of York
Sixteenth-Century Handwashing 
Italian Toilet Reviews

Space Waste

It is always a delightful occurrence when one finds soulmates in the shape of fictional characters. We have had occasion to quote the whimsical lads in The Big Bang Theory before, and we now gleefully shoulder the yoke again. We're especially fond of Sheldon, whose narcissism and level of OCD almost match our own. At the moment, however, Howard's space-toilet construction renders him extremely popular at Privy Counsel HQ (although unlike, to pick a name at random, Intellectual Friend, Howard doesn't have a PhD). View the lighthearted space-toilet frolicking here!

Advent Adventures: A Revolutionary New Look at the Best Toilet in England

We had planned an update full to the brim of riotous weekend hilarity and hijinks, but, suddenly remembering that today is Advent Sunday, we chose instead to share some serene seasonal ambience. Taking a radical step in a hitherto unexplored direction, we're showing the exterior of a building containing an excellent toilet, rather than the toilet itself. (Enjoy it while it lasts.) Here is a picture of Café Treff in Ambleside, home of the Best Toilet in England.

Ambleside by night: gobsmacking, jaw-dropping picturesqueness.
Image from Café Treff's Facebook page - we hope they don't mind us borrowing it.

You can naturally still view the famous interior of the Best Toilet in England, if you wish. Here, for instance.

Related Reading
Café Treff, Ambleside: The Best Toilet in England
If You Like Sheep and Beer: Why Not Go to the Lake District on Your Next Holiday
A Splendid Christmas Present: The Best Toilet in Iceland
The Finer Points of Roman Hygiene 

Cafe Treff
Central Buildings
Ambleside
LA22 9BS
http://www.cafetreff.co.uk/