Yo Ho Ho..

"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, Drink and the devil had done for the rest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum." (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Pirates or Ninjas?

I know we've all wondered this at some point. It is one of those questions up there with the meaning of life.

Tomorrow is Hastings Pirate Day and I heartily look forward to putting on skirt, corset and hat and setting out with my plastic cutlass to town. They are trying to regain the Guinness World Record for "largest gathering of pirates". It is slightly disturbing walking through the street and seeing so many Jack Sparrow lookalikes in one place. It is great fun though. A lot of bad things can be said about the somewhat unsavoury town of Hastings but it does undeniably have character. What do you expect from the descendants of smugglers?

I'm rather a fan of our smuggling heritage. There was a battle at Sidley Green just up the road from where I live between the smugglers and the blockade men around 1820. I do believe the smugglers won. Obviously there was a brutal side to piracy, just like the knights in shining armour were less chivalrous than legend tells, but the fantasy is much more exciting than truth.

I certainly have no problem with the idea of letting my children play at being pirates. Pirates represent freedom, exploration and pleasure. We'll play down the plundering, raping and binge drinking until the kids are older.

Back to the point - in a straight fight, I'm fairly sure a ninja would trump a pirate. Luckily pirates don't fight fair so I'd say a pirate stands a cheating chance. I like ninjas - I don't want to offend them in case they come silently after me. There's a place for ninjas and I know they have a vast following. They are a bit colourless for me though. I am more of a pirate person myself. They have better taste in clothes, and are definitely the ones I would prefer to party with. 

Happy Pirate Day, y'all! Arrgh!