Do your shopping in Waterlooville without a car?

How do you haul loads of shopping from Waterlooville to home, without a car and disposable carrier bags? This has always been a problem even when in the past we had plenty of choice for local shops. Well mothers and fathers often use the babies push chair, so we can take a lesson from this and use un-motorised wheels.

One way is to use a shopping trolley, not the supermarket variety, but a personal one that you can pull behind you. I know what your thinking, it's not for you because they are dull or uncool. Yes? No?

Well no, because there are trolleys to suit all tastes now. For example Rolser have a range of cool looking trolleys. I like the Rolser Mountain Retro. If you want to use carrier bags, then why not use a DeWeNe trolley to carry them. Lets get rid of those disposable carrier bags, get fitter and reduce GHG emissions all in one go!

Asda fly the bag in Waterlooville

An Asda plastic carrier bag caught on camera at the Hambledon Road Retail Centre, near the pedestrian underpass. The dual carriageway traffic lights can be seen in the background.

Well done Asda Waterlooville for achieving greater heights with plastic bags. This one looks like it might be blown away in a gale, who knows where? Maybe to the big rubbish dump collecting in the Pacific ocean.

The good news is that the bag isn't full of dog shit, which is what you do observe in plastic bags a lot on the streets here in Waterlooville, surrounding areas and other parts of the UK.

Swiss Cottage - Waterlooville

Swiss Cottage Nearby Office block and flats

Swiss Cottage is probably one of the last remaining unaltered buildings in Waterlooville that dates back before the 1950s. There is a photograph of the building that is dated 1906, this one was taken today. It is now occupied by the local Citizens Advice Bureau branch, an organisation devoted to giving free legal and financial advice. It's a shame that the roof tiles at the front have been replaced by plastic sheeting, but most of the building retains its original character. It is however in poor repair. A few yards further down the street is this non-descript block of offices and flats. About two years ago some beautiful Georgian cottages were demolished so that these could be built. The same type of cottages in Chichester would be protected and cherished, but the local Waterlooville authorities and property developers consider Waterlooville the ideal place to demolish any previous history. Unfortunately i didn't photograph the Georgian cottages before they were demolished. A lot of the worst defacing of Waterloovilles historic buildings occured in the 1950s and 1960s. Take a look at photographs of the period and the old Victorian buildings had either been replaced or modern fronts had been put on the old shops. Of course today, developers and councillors see fit to continue the trend.

Havant Rubbish

Had to take the bus to Havant last week and was shocked yet again at the amount of rubbish that can be found in ditches, hedgerows etc. at the road side. It is really appalling and because car drivers don't see it (and councillors), nothing gets done. The Bus stop near the Havant Civic Offices and Health Centre has a nice pile of fast food rubbish and supermarket packaging in a ditch.

I didn't have my camera with me this time so can't post any photos, but will do if i get a chance. On the embankment that leads to the railway bridge crossing into Havant Town centre there is another huge pile of rubbish, again because it isn't visible by the majority of people that pass that point (in cars), it isn't seen as a major problem.

If the majority walked past the point, then there would be a big public outcry about how appalling it is and that Havant should be cleaned up. But because most people drive past it and it is not visible to them, there is no will to do anything about it.

Trenches at Waterlooville

Initial survey work and the digging of test trenches has started on the Grainger part of the West of Waterlooville MDA. I'm not sure what the trenches are for, but it looks like they are checking the composition of the soil. The diggers and bulldozers moved in days ago, similar trenches were dug on a different section of land last year. I think crops were grown on the land last year. You can't actually see the trenches from London road, you have to climb up the embankment to get a good view of them. Like the George Wimpey development nearer Denmead, this housing/commercial development will permanently take this land out of agricultural use and/or remove it as a habitat for wild life. At the same time the weak environmental regulation of building in the UK will mean carbon emissions will also increase. Sadly when people move into their new Grainger and Wimpey homes, they won't care that the land their homes are built on was once green or what Waterlooville looked like before the homes were built.

Congrats to the Hawks

An outstanding result for the Hawks (Havant and Waterlooville) football club yesterday, beating Swansea 4-2 in the FA cup tournament. It's not often the team or the two Hampshire towns make headline news!

Even more incredible for the part time Hawks team will be the fact that they will be playing Liverpool in the next (fourth) round. Good luck Hawks.

Hawks Supporters site

Rubbish Waterlooville

Waitrose bag Asda bag Tesco bag Bag of unknown origin Shopping cart

Plastic carrier bags and other rubbish trapped in hedgerows and grass are an eyesore around Waterlooville. The photos here were taken this weekend near Waterlooville fire station and along the dual carriage way bypass. There seemed to be examples from every local supermarket, Waitrose, Tescos and Asda. The problem is that most people don't notice the mess in the grass and hedgerows, whilst sitting in their cars. You have to be walking past it to really appreciate the crap that is lying around. Car drivers probably use more 'disposable' carrier bags than pedestrians these days, as most pedestrians i see with shopping bags have there own sturdy bags or recyclable 'bags for life'. So not only do drivers ignore the bags, but they are probably also the primary reason why supermarkets in the UK keep supplying 'free' carrier bags to customers. How can the mess be cleaned up? Well one could blame the people that drop the bags on the pavement. But the bags are just as likely to blow out of public waste bins along the street or out the back of waste collection vehicles. So who should take responsibility for cleaning this crap up? I think the supermarkets and other retail outlets in Waterlooville should contribute to a yearly clean up fund. This could be used to pay for a team of people to go around the grass verges and hedgerows cleaning up the rubbish a few times a year. Twice a year is probably sufficient. I don't think that Havant council does anything, i might be wrong but i have never seen anyone clean it up. Of course the other solution is to eliminate the packaging and bags. Biodegradeable packaging has been around for centuries, it's called paper and card! But obviously there are other modern alternatives as well. Banning disposable plastic carrier bags is another obvious way forward. If you don't like it, tough, you'll have to survive without, i'm sure you'll manage.