This is the carcass of a stranded Minke Whale on Mull.

It’s a poignant sight and one that is increasingly common, according to the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust. (www.whaledolphintrust.co.uk). The Trust has a photo album of the whales seen in the waters off Mull.Current theories have linked strandings to the use of sonar by boats, or to general marine pollution, as stranded whales are often found with stomachs full of plastics or tangled in nets. A contemporary version of the finest nineteenth century American novel (Hemingway was wrong to vote for Huck Finn I reckon) would have to have a section on plastics now.

‘What a piece of work is a man’ indeed.