A plague!

Walking along the beach this afternoon I came across this strange object.

Is it a denizen of the deep thrown up by the recent storms, or perhaps an unusual fungus growing on the piece of driftwood? No, it is that curse of modern life, a lump of discarded plastic. Probably part of a fish box that was shredded when it fell into the ship's propeller.

This was but the tip of the plastic iceberg lying on the beach. The "extra" shows part of a fish net lost from a trawler. Quite pretty to look at, but part of a growing ecological nightmare that will be with us centuries to come.