Village litter

 I live in a very rural village in Norfolk (just off The Wash) which is 90% middle to upper class yet we have a dreadful problem with litter. In fact if the evidence of litter tells you anything we have a dreadful problem with alcoholics as 50% of the litter is gin, vodka, beer or energy drinks. And most of that seems to be tossed out of cars!!  There are quite a few bins around but litter is everywhere right out to the rural roads where the next habitation is a mile or two further on. Worst thing to see is how it gets ploughed into the fields and mixed with all those food crops! 

Last weekend some of the young parents of the village organised a litter pick (within Covid restrictions) off their own bat on the village Facebook. It was extremely successful with 200 black bags collected. Local businesses chipped in a skip and bags/gloves. Absolutely nothing was organised by the Parish or Borough council. As I am on the Parish council I was a bit ashamed but did my bit as a private citizen and expressed private support to the organiser. Not allowed to be public on this social media stuff apparently (and one day I probably will get sacked as a Councillor)!!!

Small Treasures blog posted this image of an anti litter campaign " 'up North".

I love it. Suggested to the other Councillors we get some! But probably not "suitable" language round here!! 

I have put a poster on my non-recycling bin supporting the Tidy Village campaign and openly invited anyone to drop a black bag of litter picked in it if there is room. We never fill our bin up completely anyway and our 2 widower neighbours can go months without even bothering to put out their bins they have so little in them. We have plenty of capacity for litter and we have paid for collection anyway!

Shame that even after last weekend's efforts I have within half a mile of my house picked up 3 carrier bags full of rubbish in the last 3 days. Ah well, at least litter picking on the way back from the post box (the one marked NHS priority right out at the end of the farm lane) where I was dropping in the Bowel Cancer tests allowed me to say a sentence I never expected to my husband on return:

 "I've been posting poo and picking up crap!".

Giving stuff away

Our village Facebook page is full of "stuff" people put out for free at their gates, mostly plastic toys. Late yesterday afternoon I put out a FREE message, saying it would be on verge around 10am on Saturday. By 10.05 the first person dew up, by 11.30 they were all (20) gone.

Who would think a few scruffy spare plants would be so attractive on a damp dull morning?

Just as well all gone by then, as its 3 pm and its started to snow.

Prompted by my FB post, an acquaintance in the village just messaged me to say she was house packing ready to move to Kent. Shocked. She was so entrenched in village life here (various committees) and how did she manage to view houses in Covid times? Also jealous as it is one of the areas we are contemplating and we have not made our first step to achieve anything yet.