Seascale Sea Foam

I was recently at the Cumbrian town of Seascale, better known for the huge nuclear power station in whose shadow it sits. The wind was strong and the sea choppy; car doors yanked open to the fullest extent if steadying hands did not offer restraint. From the sea flew portions of white froth, not unlike candy floss, though it took the appearance of bird muck once it hit the windscreen. The carpark by the sea front looked like it had been the scene of a 1990s children’s TV show in which foam and gunge were frolicked and splashed. Sea foam is a solution of salts, proteins, oils, dead algae and other contaminants, mixed with other organic and inorganic materials. Whipped up at times of storm, the organic debris forms little bubbles that stick to each other. So, what appeared to be chunks of shaving foam blowing off the sea, was actually a process of purification. The more foam blew out and off the water, the cleaner the H2O it left behind.

Remember, the next time you go through one of life’s storms: the bubbles and froth blow away, while you are left purer and brighter.