That takes me back, Royboy, the tippler. I can remember my mum, when I was very small, instructing me to run the cold tap for a few minutes after going to the loo.
When we had an inside lavatory installed in the bathroom it was like the height of luxury. No more going outside (all of 6 feet from the back door) with the risk of huge spiders (my brothers always told me there would be one and it would be lurking just under the rim, waiting to jump on to my bum) and the very real peril of daddy-long-legs in August - how do you answer Nature's call while screaming and trying to swat the hideous thing with a piece of Izal loo roll? It's impossible.
My present loo is at least 20 years old and needs replacing (as does the rest of the bathroom suite). I used to use those blue things (the lid lifts off mine very easily) but now I just plonk a bit of Domestos in the pan every night. I stopped using the loo-bloos when I realised they were leaving a slimy deposit at the bottom of the cistern.