Just wondering whether anyone has watched the current series running on BBC2 Scotland, with Dr Cathy Marr, entitled "Fás Slán (Grow Well)" exploring traditional lore and medicines of the Highlands and Western Isles, mainly concentrating on common flora and their various medicinal properties but also relating to plants traditionally used as foods, their nutritional values and how they were used in the kitchen.
I haven't managed to catch every installment but have found it quite fascinating.
One discussion I found to be of particular interest was when she was speaking to a priest on Benbecula who spoke of the plants the children used to eat when coming home from school, most of which were either sweet or sour, as they didn't often get sweets.
He then said something astonishing, that they used to catch bees and "split them open", and there was "like a small plastic bag" (the stomach???) full of honey which they used to eat! Not an anecdote you'd expect to hear from someone who's lived in the Western Isles all his life.
The program is in Gaelic, with English subtitles, but the downside is that it's only shown on BBC2 Scotland. It should be available for viewing on BBC's website soon though, at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/tv/bbc_alba/2009-10-18
Well worth watching though!
I haven't managed to catch every installment but have found it quite fascinating.
One discussion I found to be of particular interest was when she was speaking to a priest on Benbecula who spoke of the plants the children used to eat when coming home from school, most of which were either sweet or sour, as they didn't often get sweets.
He then said something astonishing, that they used to catch bees and "split them open", and there was "like a small plastic bag" (the stomach???) full of honey which they used to eat! Not an anecdote you'd expect to hear from someone who's lived in the Western Isles all his life.
The program is in Gaelic, with English subtitles, but the downside is that it's only shown on BBC2 Scotland. It should be available for viewing on BBC's website soon though, at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/tv/bbc_alba/2009-10-18
Well worth watching though!
