It all began with the sound.
This was not the stillness of falling snow.
It was the incessant rat-tat-tat of hail pounding on the windows.
The showers were short and sharp.
They were intense while they lasted.
And the effect on the ground was dramatic.
Looking out the window
you could be forgiven for thinking it has been snowing
but the fact of the matter was that it was hail pretending to be snow.
It transformed the familiar landscape.
It brought with it a seasonal feel.
But it was slippery.
In between the showers the sky was often blue.
However, at other times it was inky black.
Sometimes it had a strange orange hue.
If we looked across to the Isle of Mull Ben More had snow.
You could see in the distance other snow capped peaks.
On the Ben you could make out the snow line.
The Isle of Rum is about 35 miles distant.
Yet across the waters of Gott Bay the Rum Cullin looked so close.
Further north, the snow line on Rum seemed to come much lower than on Mull.
Out and about I stopped on the shore of Gott Bay.
It had all the appearance of a Summer’s day.
This was the Hawaii of the north.
Yet . . .
Less than a mile away on the island the hail was pretending to be snow.
Across the Passage of Tiree Ben More was capped with snow.
The contrast could not have been more sharp.
Late afternoon the sun was setting close to the Golf Ball on Ben Hynish.
The sun’s rays were streaking earthwards.
Out to sea it was so different.
It all makes ‘Life on Tiree’ so interesting.
Perhaps tomorrow we will have real thing.
Well! Santa is visiting the island.
He has grotto at An Talla.
