As they say, you can't always count on the weather. But you can count on the enthusiasm of GOPI volunteers. More than 50 of them turned up on Sunday 29 October for the annual inlet clean-up.
With the yellow flags that marked the 15 clean-up sites whipping around in the wind and rain, parka-clad figures could be seen gathering up the usual collection of old iron, bottles, hub caps, plastic and the general mess that finds its way into the inlet. This year the usual suspects were supplemented by less common finds - a carton of used firecrackers and two cell phones. By the end of the morning, more than 60 bags of this detritus had been collected to be taken away later in the day by council truck.
The traditional barbecue lunch provided by Plimmerton Rotary members back at Browns Bay was a welcome finale to a good morning's work. A hot sausage never goes amiss on a cold day. An additional bonus for Margaret Giddens was being the winner of the lucky draw and receiving a $50 Mana New world voucher.
The Guardians were grateful to John Poppleton of Keep Porirua Beautiful. As always, he provided excellent logistical support, to ensure the day went smoothly. If only he could control the weather as well as he manages the logistics!
No one was keen to stop long enough to take a lot of photos, but we did manage to capture the indomitable spirit of GOPI volunteers.
