This Soiled and Squalid Land

My half hour commute to work takes me past a McDonald's and a Tesco supermarket twice every weekday. Every time I see the same depressing sight: carrier bags fluttering like torn flags in tree branches; fast food cartons and soft drink cups with chewed-up straws strewn across neglected grass verges; dog shit, takeaway boxes and spat out chewing gum stuck to the pavement, chocolate bar wrappers clogging up the gaps; soggy free newspapers discarded under seats and all along the width of a metro platform littered with dog ends, used tickets and flattened beer cans. Jeremy Paxman's article in this morning's Guardian is exactly right, the filth that litters our streets is something that shames every one of us.