Common Haggis. Ink on a watercolour Moleskine.

This is a drawing of the common haggis. These shy wee creatures are very rarely seen as they have almost been hunted to extinction. The recent cold weather, however, has meant that they are venturing further afield in search for food. They became popular when Robert Burns wrote a famous address to a “Pudding” made from boiled haggis and many fear, as the 250th anniversary of the poet’s birth approaches, on January 25th 2009, that the beasties will be further decimated. To this end, a vegetarian variation is being promoted but “traditionalists” claim that it doesn’t taste the same. Haggis’ are being driven from their natural habitat and many sightings have been made outside Scotland even as far away as parts of the USA where surreptitious agencies seem to have introduced breeding pairs to that country. One National newspaper has even gone so far as to offer prizes for authenticated sightings ( http://haggishunt.scotsman.com/)