#ettington

George Fox, epistle to Friends

For a long time when I started running I always ran on my own. I thought of running very much as a solitary activity. Discovering parkrun and the friendships that I’ve made through running with others has changed all that.

When Neil accepted my friend request on Facebook I spotted a link to another activity that I’d always pursued in splendid isolation. Neil was part of a group called Rubbish Friends. I clicked on the link and started to get really excited. Rubbish Friends was a very loose collection of friends and neighbours in Stratford who got together once a month for a couple of hours of litter picking.

My Mum has always picked up litter when she’s out for a walk.

My nephew is mildly obsessive about people dropping litter.

I pick up obvious pieces of litter when I am out running. Every month or so I take a carrier bag and walk round my village and keep going till I’ve filled the bag with litter. Then I post the picture on Instagram. It always gets me into a conversation about litter and where I got my litter picker from. But essentially it’s been a solitary activity.

As I explored the Rubbish Friends (Stratford) page I came across Becky. I messaged her. She messaged me back with her phone number. I rang her. We had a long conversation where Becky talked me through how they got started and how they operated…without a committee….or a treasurer….or any funding…or meetings. I went to their next monthly litter pick….and the one after that. I decided picking up litter with other people was more fun. What if we started a Rubbish Friends (Ettington)?

It took a few minutes to set up a Facebook page…invite a few friends…and set up our first litter pick. We borrowed some kit from Becky and in May a few of us spent an hour or so picking up mostly cans, crisp packets and fag packets. We figured it would be easier to see what we were doing in the winter when the verges and hedgerows had died back.

So it all went a bit quiet for a while.

Then just after Christmas I saw another friend out litter picking on his own. It prompted me to set up another FB event for Rubbish Friends before the end of the New Year break. Becky loaned us some more equipment.

Lots of people joined the group and about 15 people of all ages turned out on the day.

We filled about a dozen sacks.

Better still several people commented on how nice it was to catch up with friends they hadn’t seen for a while or to put faces to names they’d seen on Facebook. It’s fair to say everyone quite enjoyed picking up litter together.

I love the Rubbish Friends concept. No committee. No membership fees. No rules. No ‘organisation’. Just a few friends and neighbours coming together to do something to make the place where they live just a bit better….and getting to know each other better while doing it.

Responding to the photos of our January 5th pick, several people commented on the state of a lay-by just outside the village. So that became our next target.

It was very last minute but nine people turned out and in just over an hour we filled 17 sacks and collected assorted other oddities, which Biffa duly came and took away for us.

It feels like time to get some gear of our own. Our Parish Council have said they’ll help and we plan to contact local businesses too. I met with Becky from Rubbish Friends (Stratford) and had a bit of a master class. Her gang has learnt so much in the last two years and Becky is incredibly generous with her knowledge and time.

What we’ve learnt is that there were lots of individuals who felt the same way about the litter round our village. A few people went out and tried to do something about it on their own. But by coming together and doing something about it as a community we’re having far more impact on the problem, having fun and building stronger relationships along the way.

If you’re interested starting a Rubbish Friends group going where you live, get in touch. It’s really easy and all it needs is a few like minded people who want to take action together to make things better.

Most Sunday’s now I take a short walk to the Friends Meeting House tucked away in a quiet side road in Ettington. There’s always a warm welcome…hand shakes…a catch up on the week’s news…then gradually everyone settles into a seat and a stillness comes over the room.

I found this photo taken in 1950 here. The meeting room looks very much as it does now apart from the addition of a few raised seats…

Lambcote Barn Pet-Friendly Cottage, Ettington, Cotswolds (Ref 14580)

Description: Lambcote Barn is a barn conversion on the owner's farm. With three bedrooms, a double, a single and a twin with an en-suite bathroom, it sleeps five comfortably. There is also a bathroom, a ground floor cloak room, kitchen with dining area and a sitting room with woodburner. Outside, there is a shared front garden with furniture and use of a tennis court as well. Lambcote Barn has…