Sunday before last, in the afternoon, I was driving to my mother's when my phone rang. As I was conveniently close to a lay-by I parked and took the call. This is a rural A road, flanked on both sides by hedges, fields and occasional woodland, and it's a drive through lay-by, separated from the main carriageway, easily long enough for a dozen vehicles, with a sandwich van during the working week.
Another car pulled in behind me. I got out of my car to stretch my legs, enjoy the countryside (and roll a ciggie). Strewn along the grass verge were a load of Co-op carrier bags. I kicked one which appeared to contain an empty wine bottle. I checked the others and they mostly seemed to contain one empty wine bottle. I exchanged glances and gestures with the other driver to signify "What's all this about? Some people need shooting".
I can't abide littering, there's no excuse for it, particularly in countryside. I've frequently walked hills and come back with a rucksack full of other people's drinks cans etc. My car gets used as a utility vehicle and there's often rubbish in the back destined for the council tip, so I opened my tailgate and scooped up the bags of bottles. The other driver applauded my actions. Of course, he could have no idea that I was a wine maker, would dispose of the carrier bags in a more appropriate manner but had other uses for the bottles.
So my first thought was "what sort of person throws a party and then dumps their bottles in a lay-by?"
Later that week I fetched the bottles from the car and was pleased to find that they were clean, still had their screw caps and the labels came away quite easily. But why so many carrier bags? These wines weren't bought by the case, they were bought individually. A dozen Co-op carrier bags with 13 Co-op Soave bottles and one Co-op Pinot Grigio. One carrier bag also contained an empty Benson & Hedges pack plus a Co-op till receipt for one bottle of Soave and ten B&H, paid in cash.
Maybe this person's a secret drinker? Calls into the Co-op every day and buys a bottle of wine, drinks that wine, re-fits the screw cap, ties the empty bottle in its carrier bag and hides the evidence in their car boot, then dumps them in a lay-by at the weekend. Maybe the Co-op had sold out of Soave on that one day, or this person simply fancied a change.
The mystery deepens: I was driving to my mother's again yesterday afternoon so just out of curiosity I drove through that same lay-by. I parked and collected 7 more Co-op carrier bags, each containing one bottle, with screw cap, bag handles tied. There's a touch of OCD here. 6 Soave and one Cabernet this time.
What sort of person does something like this? :wha:
Another car pulled in behind me. I got out of my car to stretch my legs, enjoy the countryside (and roll a ciggie). Strewn along the grass verge were a load of Co-op carrier bags. I kicked one which appeared to contain an empty wine bottle. I checked the others and they mostly seemed to contain one empty wine bottle. I exchanged glances and gestures with the other driver to signify "What's all this about? Some people need shooting".
I can't abide littering, there's no excuse for it, particularly in countryside. I've frequently walked hills and come back with a rucksack full of other people's drinks cans etc. My car gets used as a utility vehicle and there's often rubbish in the back destined for the council tip, so I opened my tailgate and scooped up the bags of bottles. The other driver applauded my actions. Of course, he could have no idea that I was a wine maker, would dispose of the carrier bags in a more appropriate manner but had other uses for the bottles.
So my first thought was "what sort of person throws a party and then dumps their bottles in a lay-by?"
Later that week I fetched the bottles from the car and was pleased to find that they were clean, still had their screw caps and the labels came away quite easily. But why so many carrier bags? These wines weren't bought by the case, they were bought individually. A dozen Co-op carrier bags with 13 Co-op Soave bottles and one Co-op Pinot Grigio. One carrier bag also contained an empty Benson & Hedges pack plus a Co-op till receipt for one bottle of Soave and ten B&H, paid in cash.
Maybe this person's a secret drinker? Calls into the Co-op every day and buys a bottle of wine, drinks that wine, re-fits the screw cap, ties the empty bottle in its carrier bag and hides the evidence in their car boot, then dumps them in a lay-by at the weekend. Maybe the Co-op had sold out of Soave on that one day, or this person simply fancied a change.
The mystery deepens: I was driving to my mother's again yesterday afternoon so just out of curiosity I drove through that same lay-by. I parked and collected 7 more Co-op carrier bags, each containing one bottle, with screw cap, bag handles tied. There's a touch of OCD here. 6 Soave and one Cabernet this time.
What sort of person does something like this? :wha:
