So British!

An intresting thing on Sky News last evening: An American who sent a message in a bottle across the Atlantic has been "told off" by a Briton for littering.

Captain Harvey Bennett, of Napeague in Long Island's Hamptons resort, launched five plastic bottles into the ocean last August. Last week, one of them returned in the post with a letter telling him off for throwing rubbish into the sea.

His bottle had been picked up by Henry Biggelsworth, in Bournemouth, Dorset, according to the East Hampton Star newspaper. He said he had found the bottle on the beach at Poole Harbour and was not impressed. "You Americans don't seem to be happy unless you are mucking about somewhere," he wrote. The letter began "Dear 'Captain Bennett'" and continued: "I recently found your bottle while taking a scenic walk on the beach by Poole Harbour. "While you may consider this some profound experiment on the path and speed of oceanic currents, I have another name for it, litter."

Capt Bennett, 55, who owns a tackle shop, said he was somewhat taken aback. He said: "I kind of felt like no good deed goes unpunished." Capt Bennett said he thought the recent hurricanes had helped the bottle on its 3,000-mile transatlantic journey.

Personally I think this is just the sort of thing that could spark an international incident. The question is where would my loyalty lie? With the USMC whom I've sworn allegience, or my British neighbours, whom last year gave me an OBE?