The Best Bit.

 
We went for a walk in Killburn Woods, a place that not many locals can spell correctly. At the entrance, the Ex Lollipop Lady leaves a big bag for the benefit of dog walkers, and she spends a lot of her time servicing these bags. She was also responsible for having the cooncil place bins in appropriate places, but residents complained about some of them and had them removed; it seems that dog mess is less offensive to them than a bin that is emptied twice a week. XLL also had problems finding somewhere to run free dog training classes, again it seemed that the possibility that she couldn’t police dog owners cleaning up after their dogs was a more serious problem than not having someone like her to explain, rather enthusiastically, the importance of clearing up after one’s dog.
 
I have seen neither her, nor her well behaved dog, nor the one she looks after for a friend, for some time; there is a rumour that she had a fall and isn’t well. Here, at least some dog walkers are leaving their pooh bags hanging neatly next to the intended repository; others are not so considerate. Yet more just park here and leave their McDonald’s take-a-way bags, cans and, even white wine bottles chucked into the long grass.
 
I spent an hour tidying up, filled two bags and left a clean one for the dog walkers, but there is plenty more to do – which will have to wait a few days until I have some time to devote to it. One thing that I have learnt over the years is that people are less likely to litter a tidy place than an untidy one. In the Glen, a couple of organised litter picks a year – which take about an hour each – is a sufficiently good example for others to follow; it is rare to find litter there at any time.