....I've got a Jolly Roger.....

George Harrison...the pirate song.

Be ye aware that today be International Talk Like A Pirate Day?

Be ye aware that the traditional pirate speech is entirely down to Robert Newton a native of Dorset and later Cornwall who played Long John Silver in the 1950 movie Treasure Island?

Be ye aware that the only recorded words of any pirate are those of Blackbeard at the Battle of Ocracoke? " May the Devil take my soul if I ever give quarter or asks it of ye? Damn ye, yellow bellied sapsuckers. I'm a better man than all of ye milksops put together!"

Be ye aware that Robert Louis Stevenson invented several pirate phrases for Treasure Island? Avast there me hearties. Bring me a noggin of rum, now, won't ye matey? Fifteen men on a dead man's chest! Yo ho ho nd a bottle of rum.Shiver me timbers.

Here's my fave pirate joke for you. Little boy dresses up as a pitrate for Hallowe'en. Knocks at the door and a man answers and says....Aha ship mate I see you be a pirate but where be your buccaneeers? Kid replies....On the side of me buccan head like every one else!


Oh, you want to know about tonight's quiz?......don't buccan ask.....we got tatered off arch rivals the Cricket Club largely due to the most one sided set of questions I've ever heard. Final score 38-62!!!!!!!!

I did all right with my individual rounds.....Astertisms and The Verdi Shakespeare Operas, considering I didn't know what an asterism is and I know bugger all about Verdi(except his name translates as Joe Green) or operas.

An asterism is a set of stars in a constellation, so I was able to work out that the common name for Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka that form a straight line in a winter constellation is Orion's Belt and I could work out that the opera where the main character sings.."Oh happy wishes, for magic power. No wood ever moved itself" was Macbeth.

To show you how one sided the questions where consider this.
Opponents question on the theme of banned books:-
The alleged affair between Lady XXXXXX and her bisexual gardener and handy man in the grounds of XXXXXXHouse was believed to be the basis of which D.H.Lawrence book banned in Britain for obscenity?
Our question:-
Which 19th Century childrens book was banned in China because the talking animals in the story offended religious principles?

Answers: Lady Chatterleys Lover , obviously, very famous banned book and the question gives a synopsis to help.

And ours? Gone on have a guess. Wind in the Willows? Dr.Doolittle? The tale of Peter Rabbit?. Give up? Not bloody surprised....Alice in Wonderland!!!!!!

Any way some questions for your enjoyment.

1. Long nets, purse nets and gate nets are used when hunting with which animal?
2. Kalingrad is a Russian enclave between Poland and which other country?
3. Which foodstuff is described as pulmentarious due to it's lack of nutritional value?
4. Which food stuff gets it's English name from the translation of the French phrase "I love"?
5. Which Commonwelath country has 830 official languages including Fore, Hamtai and Enga?

Four of these questions were ours in this one sided ascapade and the other was the opponents....guess which one!

Answers
1. Ferrets
2.Lithuania
3. Gruel ( well known common foodstuff in 2011!)
4.Jam ( no clue in J'aime teere then!)
5. Papua New Guinea ....obviously!!!!

Das vidanya me hearties!