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Brit retiree makes Portuguese national news for his good works
| Published: | 23 Jul at 6 PM |
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A British expat dedicated to cleaning up his immediate environment has made headlines in the country’s largest national newspaper.
The report in Corriero da Manha told of 63-year old Brit expat Ian West’s ongoing crusade to remove debris and rubbish from local roadsides in his home town of Tavira. The determined expatriate spends three hours every morning picking up and bagging rubbish, and is now a familiar and welcome sight for residents in the town. His daily crusade begins at 6 a.m. and ends at 9 a.m, and so far he’s collected enough refuse to fill well over a hundred bid bags.
In an interview with the newspaper, Ian said he chose early mornings as the best time because traffic is far lighter and it’s safer than during rush hour. He collects all plastics, metal cans, paper items and everything else that’s been dumped by uncaring residents during the previous day. Ian’s lived in Tavira for five years now, and decided to take matters into his own hands as he hated the sight of piles of rubbish on the verges and considered it his civil duty to clean them up. At the same time, he’s keeping fit for a UK-based charity walk he’s planned in order to benefit an organisation which trains dogs for the blind.
Ian told reporters he’s going to walk the entire coastline of England between next October and August 2019 and is using his early morning anti-rubbish forays to keep his legs flexible in order to be able to succeed in his walk. Age, he said, is not forgiving. He’s not blaming local services in Tavira for the mess beside the roads and realises Portugal isn’t alone with this problem, adding that giving a little back to society for being allowed to live in the town shows his gratitude as well as helping local services short of both time and money. Finally, Ian promised he’d never give up on his good work for the place he now calls home.
The report in Corriero da Manha told of 63-year old Brit expat Ian West’s ongoing crusade to remove debris and rubbish from local roadsides in his home town of Tavira. The determined expatriate spends three hours every morning picking up and bagging rubbish, and is now a familiar and welcome sight for residents in the town. His daily crusade begins at 6 a.m. and ends at 9 a.m, and so far he’s collected enough refuse to fill well over a hundred bid bags.
In an interview with the newspaper, Ian said he chose early mornings as the best time because traffic is far lighter and it’s safer than during rush hour. He collects all plastics, metal cans, paper items and everything else that’s been dumped by uncaring residents during the previous day. Ian’s lived in Tavira for five years now, and decided to take matters into his own hands as he hated the sight of piles of rubbish on the verges and considered it his civil duty to clean them up. At the same time, he’s keeping fit for a UK-based charity walk he’s planned in order to benefit an organisation which trains dogs for the blind.
Ian told reporters he’s going to walk the entire coastline of England between next October and August 2019 and is using his early morning anti-rubbish forays to keep his legs flexible in order to be able to succeed in his walk. Age, he said, is not forgiving. He’s not blaming local services in Tavira for the mess beside the roads and realises Portugal isn’t alone with this problem, adding that giving a little back to society for being allowed to live in the town shows his gratitude as well as helping local services short of both time and money. Finally, Ian promised he’d never give up on his good work for the place he now calls home.
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