Red Rubber Band Litter Costing Royal Mail £2,840 a Day

The Daily Telegraph has, once again, championed a cause of great importance. Thank goodness the Telegraph is there to advise us that Royal Mail has spent £5 million in the past five years on the red rubber bands that often litter Britain's pavements.

They clearly see the world as we do for they comment: Research by the organisation (Keep Britain Tidy) discovered that the items were found on eight per cent of streets surveyed – more than the number affected by dog mess.

Royal Mail is not, however, prepared to capitulate. A spokesman said: “Royal Mail uses biodegradable rubber bands because they are necessary when it comes to the effective sorting and delivery of the mail.

With all that said, the BBC reminds us that: Postal workers get through two million red rubber bands per day. Indeed: the amount the postal organisation spends on bands has increased by 40% in five years.

I am glad that this information is now in the public domain. While the Internet is awash with information about dog faeces, our streets are carpeted with red rubber bands.

I am confident that this was all kicked off by Paul Burns, who became a legend on this very blog.

I am equally confident that our readers are interested in local and world affairs. If they weren't, they wouldn't be with us on our crusade. There are revolutions taking place across the Middle East. Egypt and Tunisia have seen their presidents toppled. The vile regime in Libya is under threat, Bahrain teeters on the edge.

Closer to home, inflation rises, jobs are lost and the economy stands on the edge of collapse.

I say: "let's get after those rubber bands, nothing comes near to being that important"!

Telegraph here.

BBC here.

Variations on a Theme - Cat Fouling

As is obvious without saying, Stamp on It and I are very focused on dog fouling and red rubber bands.

I decided, however, that it isn't just Elgar, who can look at variations on a theme. This was largely prompted by the fact that I am visiting my mother and have found her garden to be absolutely swamped with cat excrement. Frankly, I can hardly move for it and will be engaging in a major clear up operation tomorrow.

So is cat fouling a problem nationally? Cursory investigation suggests that it might well be. As various advice sites state, the issue is not covered by legislation. There appears, therefore, to be a lack of discussion on the topic compared to dog fouling, which is covered by several different pieces of legislation.

My research has, however, highlighted again the ingenuity of the human spirit. Faced with no redress in statute law, one poster on the following site proposes to strike back through the terms of a tenancy agreement! There is also reference to violence and, I would suggest, institutional racism rears its head.

Clearly fouling has the capacity to bring out the best and the worst in us.

For my part, I will forgive the local cats (as I do the dogs) and simply immerse my shoes in a bucket of water.

I hope that all our readers will feel that their horizons have been expanded.

Enlighten yourselves here.

Ram It Down Their Throats In Ramsgate!!!

"There you go, the whole place is full of it"!

These are the words of the producer of the video shown below.

Under the name of "janisalicia", this sturdy campaigner has produced 3 videos of dog fouling on Ramsgate seafront. Clearly, the area is not just awash with sea.

Whoever you really are, we thank you for highlighting this subject. For my part, I truly enjoyed the close up shots of dog waste. I could almost taste it! If only our elected representatives could also have this taste in their mouths!

Don't just watch this video, get onto Youtube and watch the series!

Bromley and Karl Marx - A Very Unlikely Combination...

...and yet there is an emerging parallel.

In The First Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engles famously postulated that: "A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism".

Karl was certainly right about the spectre but, from the recent deluge of literature generated by the residents of Bromley, the spectre appears to be that of dog fouling.

In this sense, it appears that dog fouling has filled the political void created by the demise of the proletariat and emergence of the middle classes. Class consciousness has been superseded by an all enveloping need, at all levels of society, to eliminate the menace of dog fouling.

In Karl's day, it was fair to say that: "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles". Today, it has become an ongoing history of dog fouling, with red rubber bands making an occasional appearance.

Now, we have this latest offering from R Clark of Biggin Hill. Our grateful thanks to the Biggin Hill News for creating the opportunity for this topic to be aired so freely.

In the true blue heartland, which is Bromley, we see the emergence of Karl's legacy.

While some of you might be shocked at this, at least Karl knew how to smash a gas lamp!

Skid to School in Colchester

Katy Lock, of Canwick Grove, Colchester, walks her four-year-old son Charlie to Old Heath Community Primary School.

She encounters muck along Cavendish Avenue and Old Heath Road, daily.

She said: “Every day we have the same problem with new dog fouling and have to tiptoe everywhere, trying to avoid treading in the muck".




Katy describes the deposits as "a stinking mess".

Once again, dog fouling hits the headlines.

Seeing this did, however, put me in mind of an event from my childhood. My brother and I decided to cycle home, each taking a different route, and see who would get home first.

I arrived home and waited and age for my brother, who finally arrived at the door.

He was covered in cow dung! His bike had hit a massive cow pat and he had rolled into it. This was, however, accepted as a local hazard. If only we had had the internet all those years ago!

Latest story here.

Bromley Is Clearly Awash!

Will it ever stop in Bromley? For anyone, who is unaware, Bromley is the largest borough in Greater London with an area approaching 60 square miles.

Below is a letter from Biggin Hill:

As can be seen from the map below, this blog has now highlighted issues in the north, north west and far south of the borough. Approximately 60 square miles of London flowing with dog faeces. Oh the horror!

Bromley Times - Leading The Way Again!

You will all remember the letter from Pat Barker, which appeared in the Bromley Times and was celebrated on this blog here.

Well, it looks as if Pat has started something of a backlash in Bromley. David Cutler from Mottingham and Chislehurst (the other side of the borough) also appears to be having trouble with dogs and their owners. While I could never condone the cruelty involved in "rubbing a dog's nose in it", I am intrigued at the concept of rubbing the dog itself in its mess. What a strange and, again, barbaric suggestion. How on earth could it be of benefit to anybody to rub a dog in its own mess? The owner I can understand but certainly not the poor dog.

Lastly, I also see an element of cruelty in David's suggestion that dogs are being allowed to "fowl" lawns and pavements. Are we to assume from this that the dogs are being allowed to scatter chickens around Bromley? If so, then it is time that the relevant authorities took urgent action!