A woman was ridiculed and scolded after her 'message in a bottle' was sent back with an angry letter – telling her to stop littering.
Lorraine Forbes, 58, has long been sending plastic bottles with letters inside them out to sea with hopes of sparking a romantic connection with a stranger. Her messages have received responses from as far as Holland and France over the years – but she says that they have mostly washed back up on the shores of nearby beaches.
However, Lorraine, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, recently received a "nasty" shock when one of her letters on the back of a John Lydon gig flyer came back with an angry note from a litter picker.
The letter, which came in a box full of rocks and cost her US$ 9 to accept, read: "Please stop throwing rubbish in the sea. It goes to Pevensey Bay or Normans Bay, one day later. Many thanks, a rubbish picker."
Lorraine, who has lived by the seaside for 30 years, says that she was very shocked by the harsh letter, as her intentions were only to spark a connection.
She said: "I have been sending the letters for years. Whoever writes back to me rarely want to meet me, they just tell me where they found them.
"I just wanted a bit of romance. It has always been a hobby of mine. It is an old-fashioned thing.
"It was a cowardly litter picker who sent me the response. I had to pay US$ 9 to receive it. I think that it is really nasty. They were trying to make a point and teach me a lesson.
"I will never know who the person is that sent me the letter. They refused to put their name to it. If they had I would demand that they give me my US$ 9 back."
The letter, which featured Lorraine’s name and address on the back, was sent on 5 September. The response arrived just over a month later on 7 October.
However, she says that this littering has gotten her in trouble in the past – with staff at the pier telling her off for the impact it might have on local wildlife.
No comments:
Post a Comment