Blast from past

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. The other evening I came across a reference to vast quantities of sulphurous black dust falling over Shetland on 20 October 1755, the result of a large volcanic eruption in Iceland the previous day, some 1,000km distant.

By The Newsroom

Published 21st Apr 2010, 22:08 BST

Updated 21st Apr 2010, 22:19 BST

Happily, there were no reports of any travel disruption, although the dust evidently blackened the faces of those working outside.

RON SUTHERLAND

Millwell Park

Innerleithen

Shetland Iceland