Nick Crane's recent 'Coast' programme

I too saw the programme and it brought back many happy memories of our French onion man. I used to look forward to him coming and from about 10yrs of age I used to practise my French. He always made the effort to help my language skills every 2 weeks when he sold 6 strings to my mum. I remember he brought my mum a lace hanky when he made his last delivery, as she had been one of his regular ladies.

Nick said they went to the Newcastle area too. Lucky you to have known them. The Seaweed interested me.
Years ago I read a letter in Gardening News from a lady up in St.Annes. Her father had an allotment in a field by the seashore, and fetched barrow loads of seaweed off the beach. His plot was 18" higher than all the others. She said all the years she was growing up her family were never ill.

we [dad] used to dig in seaweed too and we rarely fell ill.

Thanks for the tip Diane I shall put Calcified seaweed on my shoping list.

Most coastal town councils are happy to have their beaches cleared by gardeners, rather than have the seaweed rot away, as this takes time.
A friends dad, when I was a boy live in Gt Yarmouth, just raked it sort of evenly onto the soil & planted through it, saying it wasn't worth the bother trying to incorporate into the soil.