Please take your rubbish home

RSPB staff at Weymouth Wetlands do a wonderful job in the reserve at Radipole Lake, but I doubt they’d be too pleased at what I saw.

The wealth of bird and mammal life in such a lovely natural setting in the heart of town had clearly proved a magnet for a certain types of visitor who had unfortunately left their calling cards behind.

Top of the list came seven empty cartons of a favourite fast food type of chicken which had just been chucked on the path or tossed casually away out of mind to decorate nearby undergrowth.

A close second in this litany of litter came waxed cartons for coffee or fizzy drinks, many still with a straw punched through their lids. There were about a dozen of these.

Add to that the inevitable sweet and crisp wrappers and the route is clearly a victim of its own popularity.

The problem is that if it gets much more popular then drifts of litter may well obscure the very attraction people have come to see.

I’m bound to say that the nature of the litter I saw indicated it was more of an evening takeaway nature than the sort of wrappers bird watchers might discard during a day visit to the reserve.

Whatever the source, it is unacceptable and people should do their best to take rubbish home with them.

The munch bunch in the car in front

REMEMBER when motorists were threatened with death or worse if caught using a mobile phone while driving?

There were television campaigns, newspaper campaigns and a number of high profile poster campaigns yet you can still spot drivers on the old mobile dog and bone almost wherever you go.

Deterrents clearly aren’t working, so what chance do you think I stand in interesting the Government in a campaign to clamp down on Crisp Man.

Dangerous as mobile phone use is, it pales into insignificance when faced with an oncoming two-ton van driven with one hand by a lobotomy case using his other hand to hold a bag of crisps which he is hungrily upending into his mouth while turning right at a junction. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Such idiocy would have to be attacked by a very high profile police campaign, perhaps fronted by Gary Lineker being mown down by said van driver.

Unfortunately, the reality is that nothing will be done unless offenders are stupid enough to drive and munch in front of a patrol car.

Striker's sausage

BUTCHER Dennis Spurr cheered on England with his special three foot long sausage creation, the Rooney Rocket.

He hoped his meaty masterpiece would make the Three Lions roar and see Germany’s challenge go banger.

But England came off bratwurst as the teutonic terrors sent them crashing out of the World Cup with a 4-1 victory.

Dennis, who runs the Fantastic Sausage Factory in Weymouth’s St Mary Street said: “Fans were taking the World Cup so seriously that I decided to have a bit of fun.

“Thank God the England cricket team beat the Australians!”

Roundabout fun

ROADWORKS for Weymouth’s transport package may not be every motorist’s cup of tea, but they have certainly sparked a few artistic ideas among children.

Removing the brick-walled planter that was Harbour Roundabout involved digging out the old circular foundations and then laying a fresh surface to link up with surrounding roads.

All the workmen beavering away were watched with some glee by two schoolboys on their way home.

They liked all the noise and destruction they were watching but of much more interest was the giant circle of fresh black road surface they were watching emerge.

Did they like it for the new look to the harbour? Did they like it because traffic might benefit? Not a chance!

They liked it because a large unbroken pristine flat surface could have one use and one use only. What a great place to chalk a giant smiley face!

As they moved away they were discussing whether blue or yellow chalk would be best to use. I suppose it beats asphalt machines chalking “No entry” all over the place.

Overhead scrap

HE gleamed in all his finery and she was plain by comparison, but the two of them created a stir when they began to fight.

At the heart of the dispute was a takeaway that neither was prepared to give up.

The only problem for spectators was that it was a bit difficult to call the police as the couple’s dispute was taking place about 15 feet off the ground!

These were a pair of blackbirds and they and every blackbird for miles around seemed to be visiting the cherry tree in my garden to snap up its red fruit.

I presume the scrap had something to do with territory, feeding rights or even pecking order. Whatever the reason, it left us with a bit of a problem.

You see, our washing line is not too far away, eating fruit can keep you regular and we unfortunately had splashes of... well let’s say a few clothing items had to be washed again.

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