#40thingsbefore40 – sending a message in a bottle

I ticked this off my list of 40 things to do before 40 a little while ago, but have been waiting to write about it in the hope that my message in a bottle would be found by an exotic prince, held captive on a desert island miles away, but unfortunately that was not to be.

Instead, a month or two ago, I had an email that went like this…

message in a bottle

That’s not terribly exotic is it? Plus it was only about 4 miles from where we launched the bottle. I did reply, but heard nothing back. Possibly Mark was annoyed with me for littering the Somerset coastline when he was trying to tidy it up? The littering aspect was something that hadn’t really occurred to me when I added the challenge to the list, and I did feel pretty bad actively chucking a bottle into a river, but by that point I was committed.

We launched the bottle back in May last year. I was feeling pretty sad and my sister’s boyfriend, in true ‘I am a man, I must offer a practical solution’ style, thought it would be fun to distract me with a dual outing/challenge situation. He was right. Fortunately he is known to enjoy the odd tipple, so was quickly able to put his hands on the perfect bottle. I drafted a message – something romantic and poignant, just in case – and we set off.

Message in a bottle

We drove out to Combwich and set about posing for some suitably contemplative looking photos. The look I was going for was ‘I may be feeling sad right now but I know that it will pass. Exotic prince hear my call.’ I suspect I just look cold.

Message in a bottle

Message in a bottle

Unfortunately it soon became clear that we had chosen a stretch of water where I would have to throw the bottle at least five metres to even clear the mud banks. Not renowned for my powerful throwing arm, this posed a problem. The solution was this:

Message in a bottle

The official story

Message in a bottle

What actually happened

So there we go. One more tick on the list.

Have you ever sent or found a message in a bottle?

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10 Comments

  1. Ema J Lowe
    13 February, 2015 / 2:22 pm

    was a bottle, but a balloon.
    we was in Portugal for new year and our younger daughter got a clown balloon from the gala evening. it was still afloat on the day we came home, so we tied a note to the end. never have received anything to say if it was found.

  2. 13 February, 2015 / 2:27 pm

    Pah ha ha , love the fact you had to get a man to chuck it for you! Probably what I’d have done too. Bet it feels good to have another task ticked off the list.

  3. 15 February, 2015 / 1:55 am

    Great to have ticked another thing off your list and as long as the bottle was secure I think the littering thing was not really an issue and a pity he didn’t respond to your email. At least it made it 4 miles – I sent one off the coast of France about 6 years ago and have never heard anything more – who knows where that is right now

    Laura x

  4. 15 February, 2015 / 4:38 pm

    I really need to get on the case with my 40 things before 40 (I’m running out of time) but I’m really enjoying yours! x

  5. 15 February, 2015 / 6:38 pm

    you know this has been on my ‘should do’ list for years…. gonna make it happen this year, you’ve inspired me ;)

  6. 15 February, 2015 / 6:48 pm

    Such a fun idea! I’ve never sent or found. The email reply did make me laugh though! x

  7. 24 February, 2015 / 9:48 pm

    haha! aww sorry it wasn’t found somewhere more exciting but this really made me laugh! x

  8. 10 April, 2015 / 2:44 pm

    Ahh! I really love the combination of the story and background image. Got much fun by reading the story. Nice one thanks.

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