Merde, London!

Well, well, well.... who'd have thought that in London you would be more at risk of walking in a dog poo than Paris? I certainly didn't think so.

In Paris at the weekend, I came across my fair share of mess on the pavements. Luckily I didn't tread/slip/fall over in it, but this was only achieved by constantly scanning the ground before me, and if I happened to be, I don't know let's say - sightseeing (never!), then it often resulted in a last minute, slightly off-balance skip/hop/dance round the poo. Nevertheless, Paris is famous for this, so you go prepared for, and expect, the worst.

London, on the other hand, is not notorious for it's pooey pavements, yet on the way to the library yesterday it was like walking through a poo-minefield*. Every little tentative step was potentially dangerous. Now, based on the size and colour of these little 'presents' I can only assume that they came from just one or two different dogs (okay, so I'm no a dog-poo expert, but I think you can tell), which means that there are a couple of owners who don't clean up after their hounds.

Surely, it isn't hard this clearing up business. And, it's generally the done thing, so it's not like it's an uncool thing to do. Not only is it a clean, hygienic and considerate thing to do, it's also cool. Yes, cool. Not cool in the 'I wear hipsters and ride a fixie' cool (which to be honest really ain't cool anyway - bad example, sorry), but in the 'I give a damn about other people' type of cool.

I also fail to understand a) how the perpetrators remain guilt-free leaving big poos on the pavement, and b) why they don't get caught.

Oh, silly me... there I am thinking that people a) have a conscience, and b) the owners aren't wandering around with frightening fighting dogs and/or look frightening and fighty themselves - often far too scary even to throw a 'good morning' in their direction, let alone a damn good telling off.

The council could make a mint if they had one of their 'Trained Officers' loitering on the corner of this particular road - with fines at £80 a pop, they'd soon have enough money to put up a bin, provide bags, and teach the no-gooders a lesson.

I can but live in hope. In the meantime, I'll simply walk on the other side of the road.

(*I decided to spare you the photo)

Text & Photos © Abby Clarke 2011