‘PLP‘, professional litter picker, as today I used the funds a friend gave me towards litter picking to get paid for half a day.

I had a cup of coffee, bought 2 bananas, filled up my water bottle and went walking along the Coventry canal. I had four hours free parking so had to be back by 1pm.

Today I had the added inspiration that I was being paid, but I still felt despondent as my bag started to fill up! Tin cans, plastic bottles, sweet wrappers, empty crisp packets-the usual!

The ducks and ducklings were nice to watch, as were the swans. The chugging narrow boats relax you. The simple waves from their drivers, a nod of the head, a hello, a thanks for picking up the trash.

I stopped to talk to someone. We talked litter. We talked woodwork. We talked boats. Did I want some work? We’ll talk again on Monday!

I found a pink wallet with 2p in it and a photo of a baby in a white t-shirt with the words, “101 kisses” on it. (By bridge number 38). Stolen and discarded?

Probably/possibly/don’t judge!

After two hours my large bag was full and I was ready to stop…until I found a ceramic toilet bowl and a large builder’s dumpy bag. I chucked the bowl in, chucked my bag in, and dragging it along the grass towpath I carried on filling it. And just as the dumpy bag was getting too heavy to drag…I found the rusty undercarriage of a wheel barrow thrust into a hedge. I straightened out the handles, put the dumpy bag on top…and carried on. It’s as if the litter gods were providing my every need!

I reached bridge 34 where there was a canal waterways building…with a skip outside it. Canal litter/canal waterways skip? Seemed natural. In went the lot.

I walked up the hill. It was 11.45am and I had to get back to the car. I found a pub and phoned the taxi number on the outside wall. I was back in Atherstone for £9, breakfast and in time to drive my car away by 1pm.

Getting paid to pick up litter can work. Thanks DP. Any more offers people?

(ps. I didn’t win the £10,000!, Pallet Tour/Day 2).