Welcome windfall for car washers

May 1989

It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, and the gusts that blew over Wexford on Saturday night last certainly provided a real windfall for car wash operators in the town.

Garages saw a stream of constant demand on Sunday from motorists whose cars had been covered in a strange dust - originating, the weather experts later announced, thousands of miles away in the Sahara desert.

The dust was swept up into the atmosphere during a heavy storm, and carried along westwards by prevailing winds until it came down on the east and south-east coasts of Ireland in a light rainfall last weekend.

But while car owners may have cursed the bizarre happening, car wash operators were certainly not complaining.

Instead, they rubbed their hands in glee as cars lined up at their premises for a thorough washdown throughout the day on Sunday.