The Heart to Heart Blog

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Exploding Haggis

by John - 21:59 on 02 February 2014

Ian Blake a well-known Ross-shire author and poet was flying from Inverness to Dublin, for which he had to catch a connecting flight at Birmingham.

He was going to visit an elderly friend, originally from Edinburgh, so he thought he might take her a haggis as a taste of home.

As he was only going to Dublin for two nights he just had the one small bag.    But as it was going through the scanning device at Birmingham airport excited security staff pulled him out of the line - “Because the scan shows you have plastic explosive in your luggage, sir”

Mr Blake commented: - “The security staff got very excited over my MacSween’s haggis.   Eventually, very reluctantly they agreed it wasn’t a risk. I think because it had a label on it.   These people were not very happy, they were a bit embarrassed and rather boot-faced.”

He added: “It went through the scanners at Inverness airport perfectly fine – obviously those Scottish machines recognise a haggis for a haggis. But the Birmingham machine was quite unable to comprehend it.”

Furthermore, while officials were occupied with his haggis, Mr Blake says they failed to notice he was also carrying a sgian dubh, a single-edged knife, worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress.

Mr Blake was occasioned to write a short verse …

With apologies to R.B.
On being hauled out of the line by Security at Birmingham Airport
“Because the scan shows you have plastic explosive in your luggage, sir”

Wee slekit, cow'rin Security beastie
Whit a panic's in thy breastie
Ye think my baggie safely stowed
In y're aircraft will explode?
I tell ye man, ye'll niver 've seen
A bonnier haggis from MacSween!

Jo Macsween, who runs the company which produced the suspect haggis, said: "My first thought was how wonderful it is that haggis is flying all over the place. And the poem is great, I like Mr Blake's humour."
 

Source: The North Star

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