After having an afternoon talking to Opeie about plastic in the oceans and the pollution on our beaches in the UK, we watched a few short videos online about the effect if has on sea animals and we wanted to do something to help. It's so easy to learn about these things but then not do anything productive to better the situation. We've recently started to cut down the plastic we use in the house starting with cleaning and body products after learning a few interesting things from Becci and we wanted to continue with that way of living.
Last year Opeie was given a plastic bottle as a 'write a message in a bottle and send it out to sea idea', which was a lovely sentiment but obviously we didn't want to be throwing more plastic into the sea, so the bottle had been sitting on the side for some time. One evening we were all chatting and Becci came up with a great idea to go back to the beach in Crosby after our amazing New Years eve, but this time (as well as collecting sea glass) arm ourselves with bin bags for a beach clean up, but use the bottle to collect small bits of plastic as a way to remind ourselves of the afternoon we had had and the difference we had made.
Another great thing about this trip to Crosby was that we had Becci's boys with us too. Frank and Vinnie are so much fun to be around and having these days out together has been really important for me and Becci taking the next steps in our relationship. We've really been working on us all getting to know each other properly so that when the time comes we can merge in to one bigger happier family.
Vinnie loves taking photos and while we all combed the beach looking for sea glass and bagged up rubbish he took some great shots of the beach and the sun slowly setting. It's always great watching kids really passionate about the things that interest them and I'm really looking forward to more interesting days out with them so that I can see what he comes with.
As expected the day was really special but how could it not have been really? the company was perfect, the weather lush (apart from the cold) and the cause... well that ended up being really satisfying for all of us and gave Opeie something to write about in his recent animal project.
As the daylight disappeared we all sat in the back of the car playing card games and having a good chuckle before heading home and having a good sing along on the way back. It was one of those days that just felt right and both myself and Becci could see clearly just where our lives were going.
Oops! I almost forgot about that bottle of plastic...