The purpose of the exercise was so that the council could dredge the harbour - the first time they've done this for seven years. So, I thought I should share just one image of what they've extracted from the bottom of the harbour basin. The photo below is only one load of offerings to the water gods. I took this pic out of the back window of the Vereeniging as the dredging barge was on its way to wherever they deposit this junk (apologies for the poor quality). There have been many more loads since. I like to muse that somewhere in that pile of chairs, tables, mobile phones and bicycles are - most likely - a couple of my own bikes, victims of high jinks (others have a different name for it) or sacrifices made by over zealous students (others have a different name for this too) on their nights out. Incredible, isn't it?
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| The dredger taking a load of junk to the dump. How many chairs and tables can you count? |
I wonder how much the local restaurants have to spend on new chairs per month!
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness, Val! That's quite a load on there!
ReplyDeleteTwo questions:
Is the harbour water level lower now and did you recognise anything?
;) xx
Holy cow! Only seven years, too! I thought the Dutch were generally better behaved than that Val... Don't make me send Chad Pergrake over there to do a cleanup! :-D
ReplyDeleteHi Val - rubbish dumping, or unwanted stuff dumping ... some habits we need to change. Well I'm glad they're cleaning it up .. and I too wonder when you will get 'home' ... hope it's soon ... all the best Hilary
ReplyDeleteHello Anonymous, yes, I've often wondered if they build new chairs into their budget! If we see them floating past, we fish them out and put them back on land, but it seems many sink before we see them.
ReplyDeleteDale, I love that idea that the level might get lower on this tidal waterway. It certainly goes up and down every day, but not because of the dredging :) I haven't spotted anything of mine yet, but I'll keep looking xx
Mel, I hope they never dredge anything like that up here, but you never know. Rotterdam did rather 'get it' in 1940!
Tom (I assume it's Tom :)), it's a lot, isn't it? Quite shameful really. When I took some other photos on the quayside, there was a man next to me watching the dredger. When the bucket came up with nothing but silt, we were both surprised. Everyone is aware of how much gets hurled in the water during drunken sprees.
Hilary, you are right about dumping; it needs to stop, but the trouble with much of this stuff is that it was very much wanted. I'm convinced the restaurants are not happy that their chairs end up in the water, and I have been beside myself to find my bicycles stolen. This is really the result of vandalism, not dumping.
Goodness, that lot makes some of the accumulated junk in some of our Wiltshire lay-bys look like an art installation!
ReplyDeleteAmazing, and how frustrating to know your property is probably in that heap! People behaving badly, happens all over the world, and such a shame.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to return to your own spot very soon.
Wow, that's a lot of rubbish! We keep finding very old bottles buried in the mud and there's a lot of old metal poking its head out, but no chance of any dredging round here! Xxx
ReplyDeleteI hope you get back to your own berth soon,Val and just think how junk free it will be beneath you. Are their fines for anyone the police catch throwing stuff into the water?
ReplyDeleteHi Val,
ReplyDeleteI was their in September, seemed to be very clean, but now we know how.
I was wondering if the terrapins are ok.
Jo, there are many artists waiting to get their hands on this stuff - as you might have seen on Facebook!
ReplyDeletePatricia, as Christina James so nicely put it: "What students in drink will throw in the drink"! And yes, it happens the world over :)
Fran, given the lack of dredging opportunities, I'd say it's a good thing you don't get anything more xx
Anne, yes! A junk free harbour will be something - for a little while anyway :) xx
Tug (?), it's another dimension of 'sweeping things under the carpet' - only here it's under the water :)
How strange that so many items get cast overboard. Hope you're soon back home again :-)
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe such a thing happening in Netherland. Did people dump those furniture and home appliances into the river because they are unwanted things? It’d be hard to say who is to blame… but maybe some mental factors or our wasteful lives of nonstop consumption? My municipality takes as many as six bulky items for free once a two months and almost no problem with the contamination of the river with such things.
ReplyDeleteYoko