The Birmingham bin strike is well into its eighth month, but it's not all bad news.
Several enterprising companies are offering 'bin strike experiences' and guided tours of the main locations.
Colin leads the 'Apocalypse Now' tour, which is popular with residents and visitors alike. 'It's not too serious,' he says. 'No-one wants to be lectured about typhoid and dysentery.
'We ask our guests to put on Hazmat suits for the tour, and we give them Geiger counters and a mallet for hitting rats with. So they are ready for anything. On the De Luxe tour, we throw in oxygen tanks and someone to translate the Brummie accent. We aim to give them the authentic experience of living in a city affected by a long and unsolvable bin strike.
'People can't get enough of it. It's always very reassuring to see people who are worse off than you are. One lady from Solihull has done the tour eleven times.
'I do worry about the strike and the piles of rubbish, though. If the council or the government were to settle the strike, then I'm out of a job.'
Image credit: perchance.org
