So here’s the story: it begins with an iPad and ends with lacy knickers with a flowery print. (I trust this is not too risque for philosophers.)
Heathrow has been inconsistent about iPads. I’ve taken one through concealed in carry on luggage about 4 times, and nary a word. But this spring it all changed. I was stopped and put in a line where one gets to watch the fate that awaits you.
At the same time, you may want to know that I didn’t have a direct flight and half expecting my luggage to get lost, I put a change of some basics in the carry on.
Now, what they do when your bag is seen as suspicious is to have you stand by it while they locate the most obvious offending object. In this case, the iPad. They take it out and send the bag back through the scanners. This is not enough, though. They then go through the bag, removing all items and, holding each up for all to see, and drop it in a container. The woman before me was in tears. I was pretty sure the items I had were very innocent, so I wasn’t worried as each was displayed before all those waiting. Then I was handed the bag and told to fill it. But it obviously had one more thing left in it. One thing that had not been displayed for the amusement of the audience. And that was – you guessed it – a pair of lacy, flowery knickers!
(Could it have been that they thought knickers for grandmother type are just too disgusting to display. That’s just occurred to me. O dear! Anyway, do know that we have today possibly identified two terrorist tools in the posts on airports: garlic and old ladies’ knicker, even if lacy and flowery.)