Ernie Carwile’s Maxwell Winston Stone series aims to impart eternal wisdom during that crucial five to seven minutes while you are closeted in the bathroom, performing your ablutions.

Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

One day, while reading another book on quotes, it was as if the clouds parted and he was able to glimpse … to see that there were recurring themes being written about by every generation. Tracing this idea back 2500 years to the time of Plato, he discovered fifteen of these recurring themes.

A fascinating insight arose – where each generation had their “aha” moment and wrote about these solid truths, it became obvious that they believed they were the first to discover them. They simply had no idea that generations before them had already discovered these gems. Two vital questions then evolved: What if these invaluable secrets of living could be incorporated into the lives of not only our current generation, but also for all future generations? And, could this contribute to literally raising the consciousness of our world?

At only $10 each, the books are a fast read … thus the perfect bathroom book.

Sound tempting? Visit the author’s website here.

The answer, according to The Telegraph, is Graham and Barbara Barthorpe – selling up their lovingly-restored and quite unique home in Walkeringham, Notts, to downsize for retirement.

Personally we think it sounds wonderful – especially the period bathroom with its very own fireplace. Here’s an excerpt from the Daily Telegraph’s story on the subject:

Period property: All change on the Lincoln line

Refurbishing the house was an ongoing project, which they finished just five years ago.

“Graham is a very good handyman, so we’ve done most things ourselves,” she says. “He’s a health and safety adviser now, but used to work offshore, which is why it took so long.” They have put one fireplace into the living room, which used to be the waiting-room, and the other into the bathroom.

“We have tried to make it as Victorian-looking as we can, right down to the wallpaper,” says Barbara. The cistern and chain-pull in the bathroom are reproduction. “We had to search quite hard to find what we thought would be right. The rise-and-fall Victorian light in the bathroom is original, and we managed to find an original cistern for the cloakroom.”

The green paint on the exterior doors is the original Great Northern colour and they’ve added a conservatory. Read full story here…

Seven Tips for a Well-Organized Bathroom

1. Throw out what you don’t use. Before starting to organize your bathroom, go through everything you keep there. Be prepared to throw a lot of things away. Any makeup, soap, shampoo, or medicine that’s over a year old should go in the bin. Same with chronically mildewed toys, ripped or threadbare towels, rusty nail clippers, and anything else that isn’t necessary and you don’t use on a regular basis. Throw out what you don’t need first, and you’ll have less to organize later. Read the other six tips here…

Never fear – you might be in a minority in your own home, but you’re not alone. 2008 is the 20th anniversary of the Bathroom Readers’ Institute and its series of publications, Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader.

Designed to give you something to think about when alone in the smallest room, the series contains individual volumes for every member of the family as well as puzzle books, trivia collections and insights into geography, history, science and a host of other subjects.

According to the organisation’s website, the idea was born after Uncle John himself was caught short – sitting on the loo with nothing to read. In his own words:

And then a shaft of light appeared in Uncle John’s privy, and angelic voices began to sing! And lo, Uncle John proclaimeth’d: “There is a whole world of forgotten readers out there. We must all unite as one and make our voices be heard! ‘We read in the Bathroom and we’re proud!’”

And with that, the Bathroom Readers’ Institute was born. Nearly two decades later, we’re still going strong. Uncle John and his crack research staff work year-round to make each all-new Bathroom Reader a stand-alone, sit-down masterpiece! Since 1988 we’ve sold seven million books and have now reached a membership base that’s over 30,000 loyal readers.

So you can sample some of this American institution’s finest output from the last two decades for yourselves, it publishes a number of articles on its website – a handy length for printing out and taking to the bathroom with you (Although if you’ve got a really long soak in the tub in mind, there’s always War and Peace).

In the interests of bringing our readers the most up-to-date, cutting-edge and crucial information from the world of bathrooms, we list a few here:

• Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader puzzle book 2: Simply Mauvelous word puzzle
• Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges Into Hollywood: Audrey Hepburn by the numbers
• Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges Into The Universe: Biosphere 2 (a prototype space colony in Tucson, Arizona).
• Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Necessary Numbers: Bar codes explained
• Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History: The Phantom Army hoax of World War II

* Like what you’ve read? Buy Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader titles at Foyles Bookstore >>

Here’s something you really do need to take a look at if you’re interested in finding out about the latest in bathroom trends and design features.

The Bathroom Manufacturers’ Association (BMA) has put together its 2008 report on consumer trends in the bathroom market. There’s an excerpt and a link below – it’s in PDF format so you’ll need Adobe Reader to view it.

It’s well worth taking the time to study this if you want to get an insight into the UK bathroom market, what’s hot and what trends, including property sales and environmental factors, are set to predominate in the year ahead:

How times change – in terms of both lifestyle and design. Today we are far more demanding and well-informed than a decade ago. International travel has broadened the mind; cheaper borrowing and a powerful housing market has dramatically boosted spending power; the rise of celebrities has led to iconic aspirations; good marketing has created a culture of brand awareness and loyalty; and, the internet has made everything accessible.

The bathroom has greatly benefited from this shift in society and has become a multi-purpose room serving practical needs and offering a haven for private time and indulgence. The rise in the property market has helped facilitate this shift with consumers releasing unparalleled levels of equity for home improvements and taking a real pride in their bathrooms.

The bathroom is no longer the poor relation to the kitchen when it comes to improving and selling property. The market has accepted that it’s not just a kitchen that clinches a sale, but a bathroom too – whether that’s by an already existing fantastic bathroom or the potential to create one and every bathroom has this potential, no matter what the size. The market has also realised that the wow factor is far more achievable for most with a bathroom than a kitchen.

In addition, our hectic lifestyles mean that increasingly we use our bathrooms to fulfil a variety of needs including entertainment, rest, relaxation and escapism and look to create a sanctuary of tranquillity. Therefore, overall, we are prepared to invest in quality items to turn our dream bathroom into a reality. Read on here…

With this in mind, our DIY sister site, AllTheToolsYouNeed.com, has just put together a seasonal guide to buying power tools.

While this may serve as a briefing for present-buying for DIY fanatics or a handy hint sheet to print out and leave lying casually round the place, we also think it’s a pretty good place to start as a shopping list to get you launched on that New Year bathroom project you swore you’d tackle soon.

Check it out here: Our top 10 tips for buying power tools.

Unfortunately most of us are stuck with a small, multi-purpose bathroom that we have to share with friends, family or flatmates and more often than not the shower is over the bath. This inevitably means limited options.

What can you do if you’re not in a position to rip the whole lot out and start again, with a top-notch bathroom designer to make it all fit and a team of workers at your beck and call to install it?

This is the first in a series of articles looking at how you can make the most of your bathroom – until you’ve saved up to have the work done, at least. If you can’t shell out for a new hydrotherapy shower and suite, at least you can brighten things up until you’ve put by a few more pennies.

The problem with shower curtains is that they can give out all the wrong messages. You know exactly how this works – we’ve all hovered over the seat while visiting some grotty bathroom where the shower’s half-hidden by a horrible piece of old vinyl streaked with soap and spotted with mildew.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Most are now made from waterproof, easy-care materials that need just a little bit of love and attention to keep them in tip-top condition. And they come in plain and patterned varieties, in neutral shades or vivid enough to brighten up the darkest corner.

They are, in short, an affordably easy design fix and a great way to give yourself a quick-shot bathroom makeover that takes 10 minutes to achieve and won’t have you mired in endless DIY dilemmas.

Here are five great shower curtains to help you rapidly achieve one of five different bright and contemporary looks:

Heal’s big, bold and retro

It’s back to the future with this colourful curtain from Heal’s. Using big, bold splashes of a feature colour against neutral walls or floors is a great bathroom effect – especially if you’re stuck with tiles that it would be a real job to get rid off. Try matching towels and accessories – both in colour and in retro style, for a really individual look. Available in green or purple.

John Lewis’ understated and classy designer stencilling

Get genuine designer style for your bathroom with this curtain, created for John Lewis by Ella Doran who specialises in incorporating details from everyday objects into design-conscious pieces. This shower curtain would work wonderfully if combined with rustic furniture and accessories and pastel colours for a homespun, crafts-inspired look.

Marks and Spencer’s subtle and masculine waffle design

If your main aim is to keep the bathroom looking smart, spare and functional, take a look at this minimalist design from Marks & Spencer. Available in both white and cream, it is machine-washable with a water-resistant finish and will help reflect light and add cool, neutral tones to your bathroom.

B&Q’s cheerful, floral design

Bring a ray of sunshine and a waft of summer scent into your bathroom with this warm, floral shower curtain from B&Q. Perfect for picking out contrasting colours to emphasise with paint or maybe textiles such as rugs and towels. Made from machine-washable, easy-care vinyl material for a cosy, homely effect.

Plumbworld’s crazy splash of colour

If you’re determined to make a huge statement, you can’t do better than this Sweet Temptations shower curtain from Plumbworld, covered in candies in all the colours of the rainbow. Intense red, pinks and oranges fight for attention with yellows, greens and blues. It’s bright, colourful and perfectly individual – what a great centrepiece for your bathroom.

And don’t forget: you’ll need some groovy ways to hang them. Throw out those old, discoloured plastic rings. Try the following:

• Hot and cold shower curtain hooks from John Lewis along with its chrome shower rail
• B&Q beaded nickel-plated curtain rings
• Wickes clear easy-fit shower curtain rings

We suggest:

Glass Bowl Bracket and Tap Package. More details at:

It’s one of the most popular looks our readers are interested in at the moment – the clean, minimalistic designs and ultra-modern lines of the contemporary bathroom.

Glass dish basins, frameless showers, chrome fittings – you know it whe you see it, but how do you achieve it in your own home?

Fortunately, we’re here with the answers on what you need to treat yourself to a gleaming modern bathrooom masterpiece. Just click to visit “How to get that contemporary bathroom look” in our ‘in depth’ section to get started.

As a service to all those people that may have wound up here looking for just such a site, here’s a little information about toilet tourism.

Perhaps you’d like an insight about the facilities at the International Space Station? Or to fantasise about using a 24-carat gold loo in Hong Kong?

For those wanting quite the opposite experience, try a remote wooden structure with no door situated at Terratima Lodge in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains.

All these and more are featured in Toilets of the World by Sian James and Morna Gregory, a Canadian photography and writing partnership.

Here’s a news story about their book from the Saskatoon Star Phoenix:

Outhouse ‘memorable’ bathroom

Canadian commode on international top 10 list

Earlier this month, Victoria debuted “pop-up” night urinals designed to curb public urination on city streets between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Vancouver city officials, meanwhile, are awaiting the arrival of eight fully automated, high-tech public toilets that self-sanitize as well as monitor the length of time a user is in the restroom to minimize crime.

The Australian government has funded a national toilet map that directs the full-bladdered to one of 14,000 public and private toilets across the country, with online users able to download the loo lowdown onto a Global Positioning System device.

And in Beijing, where more than 10 per cent of visitor complaints are related to restroom facilities, authorities are spending more than $50 million renovating and installing thousands of five-star “tourism toilets” in advance of the 2008 Olympics. Read the full story here…

The value of every home in the country is soon to be reassessed to calculate new council tax payments. And many are concerned that any home improvements they carry out could have an impact.

So, what are the facts about revaluation?

This is the first time the nation’s homes have been revalued since the Council Tax was introduced in 1993. And then values were backdated to reflect how much homes were worth in April 1991.

Since then house prices have increased considerably – and by different amounts in different areas of the country. This has led to fears that the current system, where properties are placed in one of eight bands according to their value, is no longer fair.

Who and how?

The revaluation has been on the cards since 2000. It will be carried out by a government body called the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and is likely to be the start of a regular cycle of revaluations.

The exercise will be done largely by computer modelling and will consider factors such as the number of rooms, the floor area and the age of properties.

Some people are concerned that home improvements that increase the value of their property (such as a brand-new bathroom) might also increase the cost of their council tax.

A major improvement?

However it is perhaps important to consider whether the improvements you have planned really will have a significant impact on property value.

To get a feel for how a property is valued, visit the VOA website or consult the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors website.

It’s not yet certain when the revaluation will take place. The government originally expected it to be completed by April 2007.

But it has been postponed as part of a larger inquiry into how local councils are financed. For more information visit the communities and local government website.

Find out more

• Find your local council via Directgov and read its article on council tax
• Read a BBC News Q&A article (written BEFORE the revaluation plans were postponed)

Related Posts:

• Extra funding for home adaptations that allow independent living
• Bathroom revamps help beat property market blues, say new surveys
• Did you know about Houseproud?
• News alert: house buyers spotted by surveyors
• Coloured bathrooms are on the way back!
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