#2minutebeachclean

Check out #2minutebeachclean and #2MINUTELITTERPICK on Twitter. The premise is quite simple. Whenever you are out, take two minutes to pick up some litter. The aim is not to scour the area clean (although that would be good) but to pick up a few bits of litter to make a small difference. And let people know about it so that they can consider doing it too.

I first heard of the concept on the BBC Springwatch programme and it seemed quite straight forward. I started taking a small bin liner with me on my walks in Gower with Rufus. I’d wait until we were on our way back and pick up litter. I concentrate on recyclables as these tend to be the things that will last the longest in the landscape. I also make a point of picking up anything that might cause injury, such as broken glass, sharp edged metal and anything that wildlife could get tangled in.

Be sensible. I tend to leave anything that could be contaminated, such as tissues or any container with liquid in it. If I was doing a proper litter pick with all the right kit it would be different, but this is just helping out. Only pick up what you’re comfortable doing. Every little bit you remove makes a difference. We only have one planet, lets help keep it tidy.

Today, Rufus and I went down to Whiteford for a paddle. I made a point of taking a larger bin bag with me as I wanted to pick up a load of litter on the way back. A 30minutebeachclean. On the walk to the beach we were watched carefully by a small robin who was happy for both of us to walk close by and even posed for the camera. On the beach, I let Rufus off the lead and he went off in search of aromatic things to roll in while I snapped away at the Oystercatchers on the water’s edge.

As we walked along, the tide was coming in and the Oystercatchers were getting closer. Rufus is inquisitive and I knew he’s be off to see what they were up to. I pointed the camera at the birds and waited. Sure enough, as soon as he got close, they rose as one and I got some fine photos of Oystercatchers on the wing. We left them alone and headed inland to a point where the tide was closest to the dunes. Here I threw stones and sticks for Rufus to chase into the sea, not that he needed an excuse to paddle. I love watching him bounce around and splash in the water and although he’s not as quick as he used to be, he makes up for it by enthusiastically barking to encourage me to throw more sticks.

It was time to turn around and now was when I got my bin bag out and started to pick up other people’s litter. Very quickly, it was clear that I couldn’t manage to collect everything so I decided to prioritise plastic and my personal objects of hatred – plastic fishing line and net. Soon I had a bag full, including two beer bottles and a broken plastic spade. Unfortunately, the sharp edged plastic tore the bag and before I knew it, the bin bag had shredded. I had a dilemma. I was about 30 minutes from the car and there was no way I could carry all the rubbish back with me.

I don’t claim to be practically clever but I today had a moment of insight. Most of the rubbish was plastic fishing line and with a little re-arranging and with the aid of two of Rufus’ poo bags, I managed to truss up most of the rubbish into a package I could carry. Unfortunately, I had to leave the two beer bottles but they weren’t broken so it wasn’t a disaster. For the next half hour, I carefully carried the bundle of rubbish through the dunes and along the tree lined pathway to the car park, where there was a convenient bin to deposit it all in.

Neither of us were ready to go home so we took a little detour to Broadpool on the way back. I think the heron has taken a dislike to my blue car. When I used to park the red one next to the pool, it would hang about but as soon as it sees the blue one it’s off. We don’t chase the heron as it’s nervous enough. Instead, I watched swallows diving for insects, the Canada Geese taking a nap and the turtles still basking in the sun. I tried to get photos of the dragonflies but they were too quick for the camera to focus on.

Back home, a shower was on the cards for the one of us that was covered in salt and sand.

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Not going out

We’re not going out this weekend. “Too hot,” you say? Well, we tend to venture forth early to avoid the heat of the day, but that’s not the reason. “You have delicate and sensitive skin that you wish to protect from the ravages of the sun,” you ponder? Well, it is true that I was once approached to be the face of Nivea For Men*, but this is not the reason why either.

*Note: This is not actually true.

No. We are not going out today because on Thursday night, some small, sad youth smashed the driver’s side window of my car in order to steal my satellite navigation unit and my mobile phone. Only I don’t have a sat nav and I always carry my mobile phone with me. So instead he stole a pair of binoculars and a portable radio. Total value new, around £50. Total value to him? Probably less than the “four good blood samples and the two sharp fingerprints” he left behind (quote courtesy of the South Wales Police forensics officer).

All he left me was a mess. A small window shatters into several small windows worth of glass; the act of breaking triggers a biological response and each tiny crystal reproduces. And, I am assured by those who have also experienced the joy of a smashed car window, some of those crystals worm their way into the dark corners of the car only to emerge years later. The window is now double glazed with plastic and cardboard and so I can’t leave the car anywhere.

I count myself fortunate. No one of any consequence was injured (the young gentleman who did this deed is of no consequence). There are plenty of people in the world far worse off than me. So I find it easy not to be angry. In reflective moments, I even consider that the person who felt desperate enough to break in to my car probably has a drug or debt problem. But then I also consider that most people with problems do something constructive about them – and that choice of action is a far harder and more difficult thing to do than to hit a pane of glass with a hammer, fumble about in a car and come away with a large, bloody cut and two near worthless items.

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