Opium
It was reported over the weekend that a 3 metres (10 feet) tall statue, depicting a bunch of opium poppies, is to be put up at Lews Castle. This to signify the Castle's historical link to the 19th century opium trade, through which its builder, Sir James Matheson, made his fortune. I find the idea faintly odious, because the opium trade that Matheson worked was actually designed to get the Chinese people hooked on the addictive substance that opium is. Made from the sap of Papaver somniferum , opium contains nearly two dozen different substances, all related to morphine - which is highly addictive. When the Chinese government tried to ban the import of opium from India (on British ships), Matheson got the British government to wage a war on China to counteract their prohibition. This Sunday, I visited Sandwick Cemetery, about a mile east of Stornoway, to photograph a tombstone. One of the names on it was Capt D Mcdonald, who was lost in the China Sea. Upon adding the picture to th...