Thursday 25 December 2008

Christmas Day

A slightly hazy view of the slurry contamination of our beautiful river. What must the otters be thinking of mankind? How will they feed now all the fish have been poisoned?



A quiet family day here, more quiet than usual as eldest daughter is very poorly with a nasty cold and has only been able to stay up for a couple of hours - she ate a bread roll and drank water and watched the rest of us have roast beef with all the trimmings, poor lass. Hers is plated up for tomorrow and hopefully she will feel a bit brighter then. She's been ill for several days now.

My DH and I managed a short walk down by the river this afternoon, me with my new camera clutched in my hot little hands. Since it seems to do everything bar make the tea, I am going to take a while to get to grips with it. We were horrified to find that our beautiful river had been completely polluted by some farmer upstream deliberately dumping the contents of his slurry lagoon in it. I should imagine all the wildlife in the river has now been killed. It STANK of cow sh*t as we walked by it, and was covered in foam, and heaving brownly. I took photos, and we and our neighbours near the river reported it to the Rivers Authority, but it would seem they were already on the case as someone had reported it this morning and the chap was out of the office, and I hope to God there is going to be a conviction and a really heavy fine. I've never seen anything like it in my life . . . apart from when our neighbouring farmer polluted our water supply some years back and the water came out of the taps green and honking of cow sh*t.

I just cannot conceive of anyone being quite so stupid as to think they could get away with this, or indeed, to want to do it in the first place. Have they NO respect for nature?

The first intimation that all was not well with our lovely river. Foam, and stink and thick brown water . . .



The brown swirls show how polluted the river is - and there is one heck of a volume of water going downstream in any given minute. I never dreamed that the first photos I would be taking with my new camera would show such wonton destruction.


Here you can see some of the froth from the pollution, gathering along the river bank.

12 comments:

sweet blondie blue eyes said...

How nasty for you to find that on your walk, the smell must be horrendous and the effect on the wildlife and fish catasrophic.....I hope they find the culprit and he is punished....I cannot tell you how angry I am that some lazy b***** could cause this havoc, jus because he cannot be bothered to deal with his slurry in an appropriate manner.

Bovey Belle said...

I'll give an update on this when I hear anything SSewer. I feel just the same as you - just can't imagine anyone thinks this is something they can get away with because it's Christmas Day and they presume no-one is either working or going to notice it . . .

Did you find the link I left for the handcream by the way? If not, I'll repost it.

Leanne said...

thats truly awful jennie, i echo your disgust and dismay, and even if he is caught and fined, it wont repair the damage and the death will it? So, so sad for a gently balanced eco system.

merry christmas anyway, despite this.

Leanne x

Willow said...

How absolutely shameful is that? Tragic that such a beautiful place could be spoiled by someone whose very livelihood depends on the countryside .... I hope they take action against him quickly.

Apart from that, I hope your new camera leads you to nicer things on your next trip out BB! I have a poorly daughter at home too - she ate her Christmas lunch, but couldn't really taste any of it!

Willow xx

Bovey Belle said...

It beggars belief. I shall have another walk along there today and see if it has cleared - although of course, the environmental damage is done. We have otters upstream (and mink . . .) and I hate to think of them starving because of the pollution.

sweet blondie blue eyes said...

Hi Jeanie,

Yes I dit the link to the handcream, I am delighted with is, my hands have never been ths good for ages.

I noticed the other day that a cheque I sent you has not been cashed, I hope you got it alright.

I hope you manage to discover who has polluted the river and get something done anout it.

Jane Badger said...

Grief, how dreadful. It's almost beyond words. THe worst thing is whatever the repercussions for the farmer, it won't bring the wildlife back.

LBP said...

What an awful thing to do! Does he think we can really get away with that?? I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and look forward to seeing all the beautiful photos you will take with your new camera!

Blessings

Linda

allybea said...

How terrible! I hope whoever the culprit is, they get suitably punished. Those poor otters, I hope they survive.

Let's hope you get a chance to photo something lovely the next time you are out with your new camera.

nancy said...

I'm so sorry, Jennie. What a way to spoil your Christmas day. Keep us posted, as this is of huge concern.
Nancy

A Bite of Country Cupcakes said...

It is disgraceful that someones true laziness and lack of concience,could put wildlife and fish at risk.
Amazing! Such clowns out there

Bovey Belle said...

Silver-sewer - no my dear, no letter or cheque from you at all. When did you send it?