How to avoid the strain

I spotted this in the Daily Telegraph Doctor's Diary while on holiday last year, ripped it out and kept it thinking it may well be useful for you especially when you are out camping on the ice and are perhaps suffering from difficulties because of the meagre rations. It could involve having to pack a length of wood if you can find one. Read on:

"The recent suggestion that those “straining at stool” should reach skywards with their hands has, inevitably, provoked some interesting comments. “I find that a few heavy thwacks on the behind before assuming the sitting position works wonders,” writes a Northumberland reader. He originally worked out for himself, from elementary principles of mechanics, that an impulsive force is much more effective than steady pressure (as in pile driving).
Country law, however, confirms it, as it is well known that the easiest way to obtain a fresh cow pat (to apply, for example, as a poultice) is by whacking the cow’s behind with a plank.
There are also a couple of useful suggestions on how to adapt a modern convenience to the squatting position, which has the great advantage of re-positioning the pelvic muscles as to permit a straight “run through”. The first option, much favoured apparently by the Royal Navy, is to place the feet on a low stool (as it were) placed beneath the bowl. The alternative is to squat on the seat itself and those who might be concerned about leaving their footprints behind can purchase an ingenious device called ‘Nature’s Platform' which, as the name suggests, provides a platform over the bowl."

Well I thought it was funny and it may just come in useful one day. I might take a cricket bat on the next diving trip in an effort to avoid the embarrasment of using the 'head' on the Blue Turtle again (that name now take on a whole new meaning).

If you feel the urge you can find 'Nature's Platform' on the internet