Sweetpea, my lass, yer ole' gra'mom hopes ye' have a great, grand Hallow's Eve, and come a-sailin' back home with a hefty booty of chocolate doubloons and pieces-of-eight. Fair sailin', me hearty!
(photos by Kelsey)
Pirate Trivia:
Article VI of the Pirate Code agreed to by Bartholomew Roberts ( Black Bart ) and his pirate crew in the Shipboard Articles of 1721 stated: No boy or woman to be allowed amongst them. If any man shall be found seducing any of the latter sex and carrying her to sea in disguise he shall suffer death.
But in the course of my recent reading on Ireland, I came across one brave, fierce, female Irish pirate, named Grace O'Malley. A story is told about a meeting she had with Queen Elizabeth, of England. Grace was seeking the release of some family members who had been imprisoned by England. While standing in front of the Queen and her courtiers, Grace, whose manners were, naturally, fit more for the sea than a Queen's court, sneezed. One of the Queen's courtiers handed her a beautiful lace handkerchief. Grace blew her nose, loudly, on the hankie, and then tossed it into the fire. The Queen, offended by Grace's disregard of the lovely gift, told her she should have put the kerchief into her pocket. Grace replied that the Irish do not put soiled items into their pockets, and, therefore, must be a cleaner people than the English. Yo ho ho! Way to impress the Queen, Grace O'Malley!
Did you know that pirates are still active?! The luxury liner, Seabourn Spirit, was attacked by pirates on November 5th, 2005 about 70 miles off the coast of Somalia. Pirates boarded the ship from two small boats. The pirates used machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades when attacking. Luckily only one person, a crew member, was slightly injured - due to shrapnel.
Every September 19 is "Talk Like a Pirate Day". If you missed out on it this year, be sure to be a-talkin' like a pirate next September 19, else you'll be a-walkin' the plank and visitin' ole' Davey Jones' Locker, matey! And, speaking of plank-walking, did you know that it was not a common practice among the pirate community? They were more apt to use swords or blunt objects to eliminate their foes. Apparently it was the story of Peter Pan that popularized the concept of walking of the plank. In preparation for next year's Talk Like a Pirate Day, you can brush up on your pirate-speak with a fun little quiz, right HERE.
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