Birnam hailed a conquering hero at the weekend as a young man from the borders secured the title of World Haggis Eating Champion for a third consecutive year.
Lee Goodfellow from Earlston scoffed a full 1lb pudding in little more than two and a half minutes in front of an impressed audience.
Far from the stereotypical eating challenge competitor, Lee was also a competing runner at the annual event, which took place in bright sunshine.
Just minutes after his victory the athlete was proving that his reputation for having a cast-iron stomach was well deserved as he took part impressively in the relay.
Also competing again within minutes of his haggis challenge was popular heavyweight competitor Pete Hart, whose attempt to oust Lee once again ended in failure.Photo gallery: Birnam Highland GamesThe big man was in fact the first to claim victory, holding aloft an empty haggis skin, only for adjudicators to gleefully point out that there was more of the meaty filling at his feet than in his stomach.
His disqualification was met with cheers and laughter and waves from the heavy as he left the remaining competitors to begin preparations for the weight over the bar.
More laughs came from the participation of a pair of children’s TV presenters from Australia, who were in Scotland to film a new episode of their show Wacky World Beaters.
Neither Amos Gill (aka Gilly) nor Amberley Lobo appeared too enamoured of their first taste of haggis, while Amberley’s attempt to dull the flavour with mouthwash and toothpaste clearly failed.
To groans from the crowd, she was the first to reacquaint herself with the small amount of haggis she had managed to pack away.
Fine weather ensured hundreds passed through the gates for the games and kept them there throughout much of the afternoon. They enjoyed some superb Highland dancing, solo piping, cycling and field and track events.
The members of the Blairgowrie and Rattray District Pipe Band also gave a series of hugely impressive performances and they plucked a special guest from the crowd to play with them as they paraded onto the Games field.
Elian Heins, 8, and his mini drum charmed the audience as he followed their routine expertly, with no rehearsal beforehand, all the while watched by his proud family.
The arena also played host to the ever-popular heavyweight competition, with the kilted titans impressing with their feats of strength.
Three members of the Colthart family were once again represented David Sr, Lorne and David Jr with Lorne giving masterclass in the art. His “perfect” caber toss was a high point of the competition, which also saw Pete Hart, Poland’s Lukas Wenta and Lorne battling it out for supremacy in the weight over the bar.
“We had a great day and given that this was my first year in charge I couldn’t be happier,” games chairman Ewan Alcorn said.
Full results from the games will be in Tuesday’s edition of The Courier.