The first day back at work after the Christmas break is rarely something I look forward to. This time last year, arriving back at my desk with all good intentions of starting afresh, I tentatively listened to the answer machine and turned my computer on to see what delights were waiting in my inbox. It had been a particularly wild and windy period over Christmas and there would consequently be the inevitable reports of trees down, footpath damage or the perennial damage to Mullion Harbour.
The first I heard of something amiss on Poldhu beach was a throw-away remark on Twitter. Friends of Poldhu, the volunteer beach wardens who regularly clear Poldhu beach of marine litter, reported a small cluster of bright pink bottles washed up on the strand-line. Nothing new here, plastic bottles blight our beaches on a daily basis, particularly following high winds and seas.
As more pink bottles began to appear, we soon realised that this was much more than the usual flotsam and jetsam. Each wave deposited more and more bottles, and looking out to sea, there were whole rafts of pink waiting just off shore.