Gone, Plus and Minus

Gone is the overflowing bin full of plastic waste as, at long last, the bin men have stopped striking and are collecting again. With the new council boundaries that came into place a couple of months back came the conundrum that there were two agencies in the same area paying the waste-disposal teams at different rates. Not un-naturally the lower paid team objected. And there has been great support for them locally. But, recycling has gone to the wall and my dear neighbour over the way who organises the dustbins every week has been keeping us up to date with the Saga. Hopefully, she says there will be a garden waste collection next week and then things will be about back to normal.. 

Gone also, and much more sadly, is the entire fruiting of elderberries that neighbour and I had been viewing as the source of a few gallons of elderberry wine. Starlings young and old swarmed in like ants today and with a roar of wings and much chatter picked it clean. I hope it gives them stomach ache!