ON a day much more suitable for ducks, sincere thanks are due to the hardy 19 volunteers who endured the pretty awful weather at the NSC on Saturday in Douglas.
We all got wet and cold, and it’s a shame that the five new volunteers had to put up with such horrible weather for their first event with us. Let’s hope they haven’t been put off coming along again.
Despite everything, the results were amazing. The 19 volunteers collected a huge amount of rubbish and left the parts of the NSC visible to the public absolutely spotless for the public.
However, we did find loads of rubbish in hidden parts of the area, particularly the scrubland between the main road and the NSC perimeter track wall at the Springfield Road end.
There were absolutely mountains of glass bottles, plastic bottles, food containers, tin cans and piles of drinks glasses which must have been stolen from the Quarterbridge Hotel over the years and dumped by idiots on the way home.
Some of the plastic, in particular, was really old, as it cracked and shattered as it was pulled out from amongst the soil, roots and ivy. This sort of rubbish in an area like this is clearly a huge danger to wildlife, such as hedgehogs, so it was a vital piece of work today.
The age of the artwork on cans and bottles also showed that this rubbish has been gathering for a very, very long time and some of the tin cans were so rusty and decomposed they were obviously extremely old.
Lots of rubbish was also found at the back of the gymnasium and the perimeter fence around The Bowl, and we only scratched the surface and there is more to collect in the future.
Maybe we will ask the gymnasts and footballers to help us next time.
There is one problem, however. We’re not sure about the responsibility for shifting this rubbish. Beach Buddies responded to a report from the public, but the last thing we want is to be doing a job which might put someone’s employment in jeopardy.
So, we will be asking a few questions in the next week or so about this. Beach Buddies is keen to help, but not put anyone out of work.
Anyway, back to the good news. We collected a massive number of 28 bin bags full to the brim with rubbish - all gathered within 90 minutes.
The volunteers all went home wet and cold, but hopefully with a great sense of achievement. Thanks to every single person today - this was a truly fantastic effort clearing away huge amounts of rubbish in rotten conditions. Thank you. Simply fantastic.
• Special thanks today to David Griffin and his family for helping, with big smiles despite the weather. David runs Aston International - one of our bin sponsors. We were also delighted to see John Shimmin MHK join us once more.
Researching your Manx family history can be a very interesting and rewarding hobby. Trace your roots in the Isle of Man with our helpful of guide.
