the running wave

After the mayhem wreaked by the elements across these parts during the course of the week, Tilly and I eventually ventured out for a walk yesterday.  It felt safe to go out!  The wind had subsided and the wood had stopped roaring around us. We went to the beach at Belhaven, near Dunbar.  It is a great favourite with surfers but yesterday there was no-one to be seen.  I am not surprised.  The waves were paltry but that aside, the beach was wrecked.  It is normally a huge expanse of lovely sand coloured sand but now at least half of its length is black sand which has been dredged up from somewhere.  Strewn across the beach there is seaweed galore, mostly cuvie kelp, tree trunks from goodness knows where, and a distressing number of dead sea creatures - starfish of all sizes, large and small crabs, lobsters which had been smashed to bits, sea urchins, fish and some kind of soft coral I have had trouble identifying.  It was an apocalyptic scene. We got so far along the beach and it

We have just been up to Applecross on the north west coast of Scotland.  It is our most favourite place.  We haven't been there for two years and withdrawal symptoms were beginning to set in.   We have had many holidays along this stunningly beautiful stretch of coastline.  It is really hard to imagine why we could possibly want to go through the rigmarole of booking flights, ordering foreign currency, remembering passports, dealing with airport security, weight restrictions on luggage, etc etc etc when we have this a few hours drive away.   As Mr Gaucho always says "Who needs the Bahamas?". We were only there for a three nights, staying in a lovely B&B, Ragged Acre, three miles along the road from the wonderful Applecross Inn.  The real excitement sets in as we start to drive up and over the Bealach Na Ba - the Pass of the Cattle.  It is a hairy scary road, better these days with a few more barriers along the route, especially the alpine hairpin bends at the t