Stop and breath

 Good morning.

Someone put a report in on the UK Litter Picking page. They have been monitoring two laybys on the A453 in North Leicestershire, for two years. They have taken photographs and gathered video evidence of the litter problem there. Over that time they have contacted every environmental agency and every authority they can think of to come and sort the problem out. This has led to a lot of dead ends where no one is interested. The litter picker has reached the end of her tether, she feels that she has exhausted every avenue available to her, and is about to give up. I sense the despair in her lengthy report on this situation. 

The hardest thing to do is stay motivated when everything seems to be against you. I should know all about that. The messages you pick up are telling you to give up. To stop. But you carry on in the hope that it will all come right in the end. The obvious is staring you in the face. Life would be so much easier if you just gave up and settled for a less meaningful life. Where you just got on with doing what everyone else was doing. Just throw the litter down and add to the pile. Walk away from it, not your problem. 

I didn't walk away from lorry driving. I stuck with it, and in the end it did work out well. But not everyone has my resolve. Women did give up when it all became too much. Everyone has their breaking point. How much anger, conflict, and misery can you take before you eventually crack and say, I'm out of here. 

Self belief has a lot to do with it. In any situation you can only give as much as you have in reserve to see you through to the end. When the tank is empty you stop giving. Oh, you can try to push on further through the barrier which is screaming you to stop. With each push you become weaker. The end will come when your world totally collapses and you drive yourself towards insanity. 

This has happened to me when I have endeavoured to make relationships work. I stuck with it, but only for a certain length of time. Eventually I knew it was never going to work. Then it was time to move on, to save my sanity. 

To the lady who has been struggling to tidy up the layby's, to anyone who is stuck at a dead end in their life, to anyone who is on the wrong track, there is nothing more important than your own mental and physical health. It would be nice if everything we ever did ended in success. We can try our best, we can change direction, but there will come a time when we need to stop and breath. Every morning is the start of a brand new day. Embrace that feeling. 

Enjoy your weekend.  Toodle pip. ilona 

The easy option.

I was in the mood for litter picking today. I had my eye on the grottiest spot you have ever seen. Thought I might give it a go. There is a big car park at the Football Stadium, and along one side of it underneath a row of trees, there is humungus amounts of litter and fly tipping. I noticed it last week when I was there so I thought I might make a start on it. 

I parked my car and did a walk around the whole perimeter to see what the rest of it is like. I decided not to tackle that awful mess today, and found enough litter along this edge with easier access, to fill three bags. There is my car, the trolley is out, and I started by pulling all the rubbish out first. 

Someone from the Football Ground stopped his car to thank me for tidying up. I said the litter is much worse underneath the line of trees around the corner. He said that the car park has been sold. They will be building houses on it. I think that will be a long way off, so I will keep it in mind to at least make a start on picking some of the litter up.  

Funny what you find. Right next door to the Football Ground are lots of fast food takeaway establishments. Someone obviously didn't like the look of their sausages. 

I thought about dropping my bags off next to four wheelie bins by the layby just before the motorway roundabout. I checked it out first. Oh my goodness, the whole area was covered in litter, and the bins were less that half full. No time to pick it up. I decided not to add to the mess that was already there. 

And so I dropped my bags off at my usual place, where I know they will be collected by the Council. 

Have a good weekend. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

I'm still here.

 Good evening.

You may have noticed that I recently published a nasty comment, someone calling me arrogant. I've been called worse. I publish if I have a reply, or delete when I can't be bothered. I delete a lot more comments that you don't see. 

There really is no point in trying to get through to trolls. Their whole world revolves around punching someone in the face. Their aim is to inflict hurt and pain on their victim. When you retaliate that gives them even more ammunition to twist the knife. 

Some people are pretty screwed up. They are at the mercy of their genes, and their upbringing. It doesn't matter how much you try and engage with one of these anonymous  people, their sole intention is to bring you down. They may never give up, spiting their vitriol for the rest of their lives. What a sad life they must have. 

If I do publish one of these nasty comments, the last thing I want is for others to jump to my defence. While I appreciate the support, that only exacerbates the situation. I can fight my own battles if need be. Nasty comments bounce right off me. My zest for life will never fade. Come back next week, next month, next year, I'll still be here. 

Remember when Papillon, Steve McQueen, jumped off a rock into the sea, and floated away? The last words he said, 'I'm still here'.  A cracking good film. 

Thank you for reading my blog and watching my videos.

Toodle pip.   ilona

My home town

Gooooodie morning. Did you notice I was missing yesterday. I went to visit family in Burton upon Trent. It is 6 months since I was last there, so it was about time. After lots of chat, I took time out to do a walkabout, and take a few snaps before heading north and back home. . 

I parked my car at Stapenhill Gardens. and walked over the Ferry Bridge. Swans and ducks in abundance. 

The bridge comes out in town, at the Technical College and market Place. 

I walked down the High Street, it all looks pretty much the same as any High street. Nothing to interest me. There is a new blot on the landscape. Where there used to be a bowling alley, and a nightclub, and a shopping arcade, there now stands a big housing complex of what I would call blocks of flats for rent, and a few mews houses to buy. Small boxes in a very busy and noisy part at the main junction through Burton. 

My circular walk took me back across the river over the old road bridge. I noticed that a lot of new paths have been laid out in the washlands area. Very nice walking when it is a sunny day, but they will be completely inaccessible during the winter months when the river frequently floods. 

Heading back up Stapenhill Road, I decided to have a bimble around the Cemetery. It is a pleasantly quiet area to relax before my two hour drive home. The traffic was building up at that time, so if I delayed my journey, hopefully it would be clear in an hour. And it was. 

Here is a link to my blog post of August 2024. Pictures of the gardens, and a video of the cemetery. 

This time I took a few photo's, mostly of very old gravestones which have not been tended to for a long time. The contrast has been pumped up to accentuate the difference between light and dark. 

 

I wonder how much longer this leaning tree will stay upright. It looks like an amputation has already taken place. 

The following three photo's have been massively tweaked with contrast and saturation. 

As you can see from the map it is huge. I didn't walk right to the very top end, maybe next time. 

Time to head back. The roads were all clear, A38 northbound, bypassing Derby, and joining the M1 northbound at Junction 28. 

Very windy here today. dry so far, and still quite warm.

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Tidying the grot spot

Help. I am running out of time. This will be a quick one. I managed to squeeze in an hour of litter picking this afternoon, at the Industrial Estate, on the way to Aldi. I took a sandwich with me because I knew I would have to eat. Get the chair out and have a break half way through the job. 

I was at the grot spot, that was first cleared by the Scunthorpe group pickers. It's two weeks since I was last here. It's going to need regular monitoring as it's a busy path that people walk between work and home. I could have easily filled a second red bag but didn't have time, so I used two smaller bags, and filled a carrier bag with glass bottles. Close by is this red litter bin so this is where I left my bags. 

Now it's time to go to bed. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Got it covered.

 Don't worry about what is going on. The Home Office is in control and has everything covered. 

Home Office

@ukhomeoffice

We are the lead UK government department for immigration & passports, crime & policing, homeland security and protecting vulnerable people.

Home Office

@ukhomeoffice

·

5h

New reforms will see asylum seekers pay towards the cost of their housing and financial support. Migrants who can afford to are expected to have to pay around £10,000 to be eligible for settlement. Those who leaves the UK must pay up if they wish to return.

A new independent appeals body will quickly and fairly ensure asylum appeals are heard in months, not years. Currently, the average time taken to clear asylum appeal cases stands at 67 weeks, which has left a backlog of more than 87,000 appeals waiting to be heard. The new appeals body will be staffed by professionally trained and independently appointed adjudicators.

45,000 more illegal migrants and foreign criminals will be deported or removed from the UK within the next decade. Capacity at secure Immigration Removal Centres is increasing by 1,000 beds so that foreign offenders, illegal workers and small boat arrivals can be removed faster.

New safe and legal routes for refugees to come to the UK will begin to rollout in the autumn, giving genuine refugees a pathway to rebuild their lives. Our new community sponsorship scheme will allow approved groups to choose the refugees they sponsor, taking responsibility for their housing, integration and supporting them into work. Trusted universities will be able to directly sponsor refugees through a new refugee study route. The first refugee arrivals are expected by autumn 2027.

Up to 3,750 illegal migrants could be housed within three former

DefenceHQ

sites until their asylum claim is decided. MoD Bicester, MoD Barnham and MoD Linton-on-Ouse are being considered for accommodation purposes, allowing for the further closure of asylum hotels.

20 more asylum hotels have shut to illegal migrants and are being handed back to communities. This follows the 11 hotels already closed in April, saving taxpayers over £170 million this financial year.

Big Tech companies like Apple and Google have been given three months to activate built in safeguards on smartphones and tablets to detect and block nude images for children. This will prevent predators from exploiting and abusing victims through their devices, as well as stopping children accessing pornography.

AI technology will be rolled out at our borders in 2027 to crack down on illegal migrants who pose as children to claim asylum, dodge detention and avoid removal from the UK. Strengthened checks will make it easier to identify those abusing protections for children.

Nothing to worry about then. Get regular reports directly from The Home Office on Tweeeeter.

Sunny today. Have a good day. Toodle pip. ilona

I'm not very good at guessing games.

Pardon. Can you speak up please. I'm a little bit deaf. 

NO, YOU DON'T NEED TO SHOUT. 

Just face me so I can read the expressions on your face, and lipread the words as they come out of your mouth. Please speak slowly and clearly. 

This is a short video. It is sound only. I recorded it at our Crafty Club this morning. We meet in the Village Hall. There are usually 12 - 15 members, everyone sits around a big table, all except me. I have a small table by myself. Some of you may know that I am deaf in my left ear. I wear a hearing aid which helps. But, it magnifies every sound, every voice, if I am in a group setting. When everyone is talking I cannot have a conversation because everything is loud. I wondered if my camera would pick up what I hear.

Thank you. That's better. 

Have a good day. See you soon. Toodle pip.   ilona

Back on the litter trail again.

Good evening. 

It's still warm, but not quite as hot as it has been these last few days. I ventured out today to do a bit of tidying up at the back of Tesco, the big store at the end of the motorway. There is a short piece of road which opens out onto a field. people use it to park there, then throw their litter out of the window. Lorry drivers park overnight, even though there is a sign which says no overnight parking. I have every sympathy for them, knowing what it's like to be a few minutes over your driving time with nowhere to park. 

Let's see how many bags I can fill. That's a good start, a black bin bag full of plastics. 

Lots of brambles and nettles to fight my way through. 

This concrete block stops vehicles going onto the field. I can walk through there with my trolley. 

I don't know why someone has thrown these away. The plastic cups look like they have only been used once. 

This looks like a tent has been abandoned. I tried to pick it up but it is so heavy. I left it there. 

I can get my trolley through that gap. 

24 glass bottles pulled out of the weeds, some of them dug out of the ground. 

Strange what you find. A dog collar. A potato masher and a serving spoon. Don't know what that other thing is. 

I just kept going, Four bags filled, plus the glass bottles in two carrier bags. I dropped it all off in my usual place, the litter bin next to the pond. 

Phew, I was hot but because it was all in one small area, it didn't take much effort to bag it up. 

Now I've got to feed the hedgies. 

Thanks for popping in. Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.  ilona