Mopping the floor

'What a grey day'! - to misquote Larry Grayson.  Charles, one of my friends from Keep Oban Beautiful, had suggested a litter pick along Glenshellach Road, a back road behind Oban's local wetland, the Lon Mhor. (This piece of ground deserves a Blip all of its own - another day.)

Four of us met up after lunch at the end of the road, which has been blocked off to prevent through traffic - vehicles can come through from the other end. Full waterproofs, woolly hats, plastic bags and litter pickers and we were off. Loads of the usual stuff - bottles, cans and polystyrene carry-out boxes, plus less common objects such as two woolly hats, one cotton hat, a huge piece of some knitted garment - all sodden with the rain of years - plastic tubes, plastic boards - and a broken crutch! In the process I sank 18 inches into the slime and had great difficulty in pulling myself out. Glad I wore my wellies and waterproof trousers!

We hauled it up to the end of the road where the council will pick it up tomorrow. We could do another pick at the edge of the Lon Mhor, but that will wait until another day.

But where will all this end? Unless we can find a way of educating people we'll be picking up crap for ever! I found a quote by environmentalist David Katz, which I've modified slightly to read 'There's little point in mopping up the floor unless you turn the tap off'!