I've just received an order from an Iranian firm that supplies Iranair. They have a contract to supply 4 million block-bottomed airsickness bags, based on the design on the left. Delivery will be in 2 lots and destination is Tehran.

The contractor wishes to know whether I can supply these bags.

I've checked my swaps, and currently have only 1 spare Iranair bag in stock, though it's not of the required design. That leaves me 3,999,999 bags short.

I estimate that if I set up a production line, it would take me 2.5 minutes to make a single bag by hand. Multiplied by 3,999,999 bags, that comes to something like 17 years of continuous work.

So I'm considering contracting part of this work out to unemployed fellow bag enthusiasts. I've already ordered the paper, ink, glue, wire tabs and rubber stamps with the Iranair logo. Please let me know if you'd like to participate in this unique venture, and I'll ship you the materials and detailed inking, folding and cutting instructions.

Baggists the world over have been scratching their heads over the identity of this Second World War "barfbag".

German baggist Walter Brinker had bought it on eBay in the hope that it was a highly collectible item used by ancient airsick aviators.

Suggestions (apart from barfbag) included an air filter, a vacuum cleaner bag, and a waste bag for onboard litter. After all, one can hardly imagine that pilots returning from bombing British cities would want to mess up the pristine English countryside below by dropping sweet wrappers on it.

Sadly, it turns out it's not a barfbag at all. Walter checked with Jürgen Willisch of the German Air Force Museum in Berlin. He said that it is a bag used to hold spent cartridges from the the MG 131, a heavy machine gun used in German planes during the war.

Ruth, wife of British baggist Aidan Stradling, was the only one to guess the correct use.

Congratulations, Ruth. And commiserations, Walter. The search for those rare wartime barfbags continues.

Personkind's best friend is welcome to walk with you around the scenic Lilyponds nature reserve of Bosherton, in southern Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Just as long as you keep your pooch on a lead, and make sure it doesn't do what dogs do best: do-do.

In case it does do-do, the National Trust, owners of the Lilyponds, supply plastic dogshit bags in handy dispensers at the entrance to the reserve. Hang onto your poo-filled bag for several hours, and you can dump it in the special container near the exit as you leave.

Sadly, the bags available to the general public are plain green, lacking any information.

Ask the warden nicely, though, and he'll give you one of the bags on the left. This is my first dogshit bag in Welsh. In fact, my first bag of any type in Welsh: it's not a language frequently used in international aviation.

This fascinating item is issued by Cyngor Sir Penfro, or Pembrokeshire County Council, which is charged with preventing dog excrement pollution in the furthest corners of Wales.

"Your dog must wear a collar and tag with your name and address when in a public place", it says. This friendly advice is followed by threats: "Stray dogs are collected by the dog warden and impounded until a release fee is paid. Clean up after your dog. Offenders will be prosecuted."

Check the bag itself if you want to know what that lot is in Welsh.

The water level in the scenic lilyponds is falling. The warden tells me this is because the ponds are being filled with dogshit.

Beware: 15-year-old British baggist Chris Hays has started flying lessons.

Here he is preparing to steer a Galaxy C5B down the runway.

Chris refuses to admit how many bags he managed to purloin from the cockpit before military police turfed him onto the tarmac.

Chris brings amazing energy to the art and science of bag-collecting. He began collecting bags only in early 2004, and has already amassed a very respectable 400+ bags.

Visit his collection at www.geocities.com/chrishays27/sickbags.

This is the sixth of a series about bagophiles in their natural habitat. Want to have your picture on bagophily.com? Send me a jpg, and I'll put it on the web!

Winner of the prestigious Bagsite of the Month award for August 2005 is baghecht.de, the joint collection of German baggists Thorsten Hecht and Gerhard Lang.

Thorsten says the site is taking longer to build than they had hoped. Perhaps because the team has been undertaking the arduous task of including detailed descriptors such as the material (paper, plastic...), design (flat base, pointy bottom...), closing mechanism (vertical tab, horizontal tab...), trim (zigzag cut, straight cut...), country of origin, and the location of the manufacturer's logo. Plus, a scan of said logo, usually from the gusset.

I don't know how it's possible to scan a bag gusset without cutting, creasing, or otherwise damaging the bag. A unique service to the bagloving public. Don't expect it to be imitated by many other sites.

Appearances can be deceptive.

The three staid-looking gents in the photo, standing next to the sign "This is not a museum: This junk", are Niek Vermeulen (in hat), Bob Grove and Bruce Kelly (with beard) - three of the world's biggest baggists.

The three bagchamps met in July 2005 at the Airliners International show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"I was able to grab a few good bags but the competition was intense, as you can well imagine", reports Bruce.

One can only assume that the photo was taken before the bagfight began. No news as to how many bags were damaged in the process, or who managed to land the most punches.

Thanks to Bruce for this news.

This is the fifth of a series about bagophiles in their natural habitat. Want to have your picture on bagophily.com? Send me a jpg, and I'll put it on the web!

Here's an opportunity for those hordes of sanitary bag collectors out there with an eye for a canny investment: a sanitary bag for just €850.

This is a standard sanibag with instructions in German, English, French and Russian. Two handy icons instruct pregnant women with spindly legs to apparate through the cubicle wall and then into the nearest waste bin.

Plus, there's an enigmatic rubber stamp that says "Hauptstrom" along with what appears to be a drunken smiley.

If all that isn't enough for you to reach for your wallet, you might be tempted by the signature of pioneering German conceptual artist Joseph Beuys (1921-86).

This is the same Joseph Beuys whose 1980s exhibit of a dirty bathtub was mistakenly scrubbed clean by an artistically challenged gallery worker.

Check out eArt.de for full details (site is in German). There are "multiple" bags for sale, purportedly in excellent condition.

I have decided to sign and date all the sanitary bags in my collection in a bid to boost their value for collectors.

Thanks to Johannes for this news.