Thursday 21 May

Slightly better day in terms of weather - although the showers are still plagueing us, they are not as heavy as yesterday. We are warned against thunder, but that is a rare occurrence in these islands. Thunderstorms usually happen in winter. I was caught up in a fierce one in the middle of an ice / snow / hailstorm in January 2005. The bus I was on was reduced to crawling along at 10 mph on the main road down to Tarbert that afternoon.
Just as I start a new paragraph, a hail shower starts. Right, that's me told.

Seaweed used to be an important part of the economy of the islands off the Scottish west coast. Until 1815, it was a major source of potash (potassium nitrate, used in the production of gunpowder). It has resurfaced once more, and a small firm is using seaweed to produce items for the pharmaceutical, food supplement and other industries. In days gone by, people went down to the shoreline to cut the kelp. Now, a machine has been brought across from America to harvest it from the water. Read more here.


Image courtesy Hebrides News