Tomato sativa

The village of Shieldaig in Wester Ross is a quiet backwater on the west coast of Scotland. It was also the scene of a drugs raid a week or so ago. Police officers entered the home of a 79-year old widow to search for cannabis plants which were allegedly growing in the window sill. They put her, together with her son aged 47, in a back bedroom whilst the search was carried out. The lady's grandson, who lives in a caravan at the property, was also subjected to a rigorous search.

Problem was that there were no cannabis plants about. The suspicious plants were visibly bearing fruit - nice, juicy tomatoes. Having torn the house apart, and not recovered anything, officers insisted on taking samples of the plants. Anyone who has ever grown tomatoes, or even bought tomatoes on the vine, knows that the tomato vine carries a very distinct smell. Distinct from the cannabis plant in fact.

Northern Constabulary would only confirm that an address in Shieldaig had been attended, and that no illegal drugs or plants were found.

Oh, the title of this post? Cannabis plants carry the Latin name of Cannabis Sativa.

Saturday 29 November

Quite a bright morning with good sunny spells, although the good ole cumulonimbus (showerclouds) abound as well. The Barvas Hills wear white today. Oh, these hills is a range of 4, each rising up to 1,000 feet above sealevel. They are singularly inaccessible, surrounded as they are by miles of bog. I climbed them after a dry spell in August 2005. In the next few days, I'll put the pictures on Atlantic Light.

Also of note this morning is a large Dutch fishing trawler, at anchor in the Glumag, south of here. Glumag Harbour is a deep bay in Stornoway Harbour. The trawler is the Ariadne out of Scheveningen in Holland (get your tongue round that name). Scheveningen is a resort and fishing port situated between the city of The Hague and the North Sea. The Hague is the seat of government in Holland (which therefore does not reside in the capital Amsterdam).

Went out earlier on to take pics of said trawler and the cloudscapes this morning, which are much more rewarding than earlier in the week. Temperatures are mediocre, at only 4C, but better than yesterday's -1C at this hour. Will post pictures later today.