The iSporran

Clever people the Scots.

They've managed to produce a skirt and handbag outfit for a bloke that makes him look masculine and menacing at the same time. If you don't believe me check out Liam Neeson's performance in the film version of Rob Roy from a few years back.

And what a design that handbag thing is! Better call it by it's proper name - a sporran. Have you ever looked at one? Well it's just right for carrying a blackberry or an iphone. And it's a good handy size for those credit card carriers that I always keep misplacing. You'd never think the thing was around in Shakespeare's day, it's perfect for the twenty-first century.

But there's more. Have you ever needed a mouse mat in emergency and couldn't find one? Our kilted friends have no problem, whip off the sporran, put it face down on a flat surface and there you have it, an emergency mouse mat.

Now be imaginative, look at the side of this thing. Have you noticed it yet - that edge is perfect for a USB port! Wow! The person who designed the sporran knew his future proofing.

So, the race is on. There's a buzz that Bill Gates is toying with an XPorran to be released next year but my money is on Steve Jobs. Rumour has it that prototype iSporrans, complete with connections for the iPhone and iPod are already being field tested .

So if you see a young Scot alone in the woods playing about with his kilt, give him the benefit of the doubt, he's probably just trying to experiment, in secret, with the USB ports on the latest beta release of his iSporran.