Well, I am a member of the Wester Ross Burns Club and at the Burns Supper we always have prunes, well at least two in every bowl of cock a leekie. Nothing odd about it at all just part of the Bard's traditional supper. Don't know what he would have thought about it though!
From Wikipedia:
"The original recipe added prunes during cooking, and traditionalists still garnish with a julienne of prunes. Anne Mulhern of Glasgow's Willow Tearooms suggests that the reason for the addition of prunes dates back to times when only boiling fowls were available and prunes were added to increase the nutritional value of the broth".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cock-a-leekie_soup
Wrap a bit of bacon around a prune, whack it in the oven and tuck in.....hmmmmm devils on horseback......even better with a touch of whole grain mustard in the centre of the prune....yuummmmmmyyyyy! :-)
It's just like having apple sauce with pork, or cranberry sauce with turkey, or pineapple with gammon isn't it? I love food with a sweet and savoury taste combination, sounds really nice.