IanWARNING! POSSIBLE RANT BELOW! WARNING!
We have just got back from our morning walk down the prom and through Happy Mount Park. We love this walk. Linda and I do it each morning (weather permitting) and it is wonderful to see the park change as the seasons pass. During the pandemic the amount of wildlife has proliferated, apart from the ducks, they seem to have vanished. Squirrels, blackbirds, song thrushes, dunnocks, robins to but name a few. They have become quite tame while the park has been quiet and are enjoying the long grass in parts of the park.
This morning started as nicely as any other. OK, it was cloudy but it was nice and fresh and a great day for a walk. Then it started…
Smashed plastic on the promenade and then one of the recycling bins pushed over. I don’t think we can attribute that to seagulls!
So, on into the park. We decided not to do the ‘woodland walk’ as we name it, avoiding the wet grass and stick to the tarmac paths.
As we walked through the park, it became more and more obvious that people had been using the park over the weekend. Some of the bins were full to overflowing.
Now I can fully understand that the bin is full here and people have been out with their families but when I think back to when we used to go out with the family (mum, dad, my sister and me) if a bin was full, we would have been given the litter and told to find an empty bin to put it in. If the bins were full, we would have taken the litter home! It’s what you do! I had a little wander and there were 3 totally empty bins within 50 feet!
Even then, this totally empty bin has a plastic cup right next to it! All around this area the place was littered, even a mask lazily dropped on the floor. Just utter madness.
What is it with people?! I cannot for the life of me understand why people cannot think of others. Normally of course, it would just be litter which is bad enough. At the moment, this litter is potentially lethal! Who know’s who wore the mask or handled the rest of the litter. Were they infected? What about the council guys who patiently come around each day and clear up the detritus of the litterati? What risks are they having to take because selfish, discourteous morons leave a clean and tidy public space in a mess? Do they do this in their own kitchens?
Some people blame the kids but it isn’t always their fault. Some litter had been bagged up but then the bag had been abandoned. This is not the work of children. Happy Mount Park is a place for us all to enjoy. Leaving litter around like this is disgusting! It is dangerous both to humans and animals. Happy Mount Park is one of the few public spaces in the town. It is looked after by both the council and volunteers who spend their time trying to make it a lovely place to be. There are wide open areas for the children to play safely and lots of colour and beauty. Please do not spoil it for everyone by leaving it in a mess. There are PLENTY of bins around. Make a game of it with the kids. Take a bin bag, put your rubbish in it and then send them off to find an empty bin close by. Let’s all try and make Happy Mount Park happy again. By all means have a picnic (safely) but tidy up after yourselves, then go and see if you can see a jay or watch the squirrels chase each other through the tree canopy. Look for the robins. Harder to locate in the summer but really quite tame. Enjoy the changes in the colour and teach your children the joy of nature. Lookout for Rocky the Moorhen (we named him that as he can often be seen standing on a rock). These are the joys of life. Please don’t spoil the park with litter.
