Recycle the glass and the metal. Stick the organic things in the compost. Bash the ceramic stuff up with a brick and pop it in the bottom of your pots of geraniums. Add 1p to the change and buy yourself a fudge bar.

I collected some crisp packets from a place I went to at the weekend. They were just dropped by litter droppers. That doesn't seem so bad - I just don't understand how people who profess to worship nature (or some paganish variation) can leave all that tat at the swallowhead springs. (rant rant etc).

Hi, Jim,

Firstly, I'd like to express my thanks to you and Pete for undertaking to do this on behalf of this ancient space. Well Done.

When I'm in the UK (how grandiose of me!) I volunteer at the Marine Interpretation Centre at Wembury, Devon. We give kids and families a guided tour of the animal life to be found in the kne-deep pools amongst the rocks. We also pick up rubbish that is washed across the rocks and left by the tide (and people on the beach). In the Interpretation Centre (recently re-opened after a face lift) they had (may still have) a six-foot high homunculus made from this junk to serve as a reminder not to litter. Perhaps it may be possible to construct one of these (by the sounds of it, it shouldn't take long!) and place it somewhere locally? Or, failing that, tie it to a fence at emotionally-charged times of the year. Perhaps those lovely Heritage Action people could adopt it as a mascot as a focus (pity it's a Spring and not a Ford) for a campaign?

Thanks again

Peace

Pilgrim

X

Aw, I just KNEW I'd forget!

Well done to the two of you for doing it... I thought there was going to be a few of you when you mentioned it...

I really wanted to go and do me bit, cos it really gets my goat, all that littering. I know some folk think it's all OK cos it's traditional, but I can't help but disagree. Surely respect should play a large part in it. The argument for continuing fox-hunting was always based on the fact that it's traditional, and we all know how wrong THAT is!

G x

Re suggestions as to "artifacts". Made a start by adding to the measly 14p by putting £1 in the NSPPC box in my local. How about burying some of the rest at a MDing site?

Jim.

I visited this site as I was at Tara on Saturday:

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/2711

There were 'offerings' here, some of the more modern religious variety and some of the new age variety. They in no way detracted from the beauty of the place. In fact, in a way I'm glad they were there. I'm glad people still bother with this, interact and be creative with their (dare I say it) sacred places.

However, this is a well-tended site. The locals obviously love and look after it. Should hordes of the great unwashed show up and do their thang, I don't have to tell you what the response would be.

What can we do? Clean up and keep cleaning up and do some more cleaning up. When we're finished we could always clean up some more. :-)

I may be misunderstanding. I see a couple dozen little things that would take maybe, at the outside, five minutes to put in a medium size plastic garbage bag. This is some kind of disaster? If Loie and I threw a party and DIDN'T have twenty times this amount of trash to deal with, THAT would be a disaster. Jimit, take a couple long, slow, soothing deep breaths and get a grip.

It has to have taken you two or three times the effort to take a picture, write a list and make a post here that it would have to quietly clean up. The worshipping lady never would have known the diff. Next time, just walk confidently in, open your trash bag, clean up, give a respectful salute to the place and go home satisfied in the knowledge of a job well done. Oh, and yes, recycle if possible, donate anything not broken to the Purple Heart, trash the rest. It's all done its job long before you get there.

All this leaving of offerings would be all very well if the place were attended by a resident priest/druid/whatever, who could keep it clean for the next day.

In the absense of someone like that I cannot imagine what people who leave this stuff think is actually going to happen to it.

Perhaps they regard MA's as the gods, since we actually take it away?

I think I shall be a wrathful one...