Erith, Kent
It was the May bank holiday weekend and we were undecided as to where to go for a good trek. As we hadn't been to Erith for a while, we thought it would be interesting to see what the high tides had brought in since the last time we were there. The reeds and long grasses in Erith, (which is on the Thames estuary), are a good trap for bottles and other bits of flotsam and jetsam. Some bits of the flotsam and jetsam are nicer than others. For example, I was a bit spooked when I came across this doll languishing in the marsh in amongst the reeds....
spooky, once loved dolly Still, unperturbed, I carried on through the reeds, rather wishing I had a large scythe to clear my path. Plastic bottles everywhere... There just had to be a message in amongst this lot. When you are concentrating on finding a message in a bottle, it can be a real disappointment when you spot what looks like a hopeful bottle, with some rolled up paper in it..... that turns out to be a crisp packet, or an old paper bag. It's also easy to mistake the reverse side of a label for a message and this is what I almost did today when my eye caught this bottle nestling in the marsh amongst the reeds. It was unique in that it was written in blue typed print and was laminated. I almost passed it by thinking it was the instructions for some kind of cleaning product. I picked it up to have a closer look just to be sure.
at first I thought the note was the typing on the reverse of a label. And Im glad I did! The bottle had laid there for almost 7 years. Well done to Mona and Sonja who had the brainwave of laminating the note. I've often found messages that have faded over time, or that have completely disintegrated, and it's such a shame to not be able to read them. So, 10/10 to them :) The only bit that faded was the number, but I finally made out that it was bottle number 15.
We didn't waste any time on returning home, to write to Mona and Sonja, but I did wonder if the email address would still be active. Patience not being one of virtues, I tweeted the message out and also put it on facebook to see if we could trace Jonas. I have to say it is amazing the response from both twitter and facebook. There seems to exude a great sense of collective enthusiasm whenever a plea for help is sent out into the ether. I think Jonas's message was retweeted well over 200 times. And then finally.....I had a reply to my email. Below is an excerpt from it, from Mona.
Mona, Jonas' sister "Hi Nicola,
This is Mona, one of Jonas' sisters. I have not logged in to this address for a very long time and suddenly decided to do so today when I found your reply. How fantastic! I got very emotional and excited when I found it. I have been trying to find the list I prepared for all the bottles we sent out to see in which water number 15 was thrown, but haven't managed to find it yet. I hope I still have it somewhere.
I can't remember how many bottles we let go, but I think it was around 25. I think 2 of the bottles were found and responded to nearer to his 40th in 2007, but this email address disappeared for a while and I am not sure if I, or my brother, saved those replies somewhere else.
In addition to the bottles, I tied a note to several balloons and sent them up, but I had only one reply from those and that was from a neighbour a few houses away!
When I have sent you this I am looking forward to checking your blog. It is extremely exciting with these kind of things and I am so happy that you found it!
I attach a photo of each one of us from last summer (apologies for the beer bottles, but I could not find any other photos in a hurry) so you know who we are.
We have also had one reply from Twitter and one from FB Lostbox so thank you very much. Please keep in touch and I hope Jonas will reply to you as well.
All the best from
Mona (big sister)
Sonja, Jonas' sister I was delighted to hear from Mona, and even more delighted that she sent me some pictures of her, Sonja and the birthday boy himself! Mona and I both agreed that it was interesting to see the response from social media when trying to trace someone in these circumstances. So, even though we were a little late (just 7 years), we did get a chance to pass on our birthday wishes to Jonas! Better late than never!! I also have to add that Mona, Sonja and Jonas look like fab people to have a party with. We'll be holding out for an invite to celebrate the big 50 :)
Jonas the Birthday Boy, whose message in a bottle we found in Erith, 7 years after it was thrown in the water.
So, Here goes; You strum, We'll sing: "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Jonas......Happy Birthday to you".
"J" was the theme of the day that day. Another washed up bit of plastic in the reeds.
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