Tall Paul

Hey There Cap'n Daft. Glad to hear that you have landed the Somerset gig. Have you put out the word on the UK Pirate Brotherhood Yet? That is probably the best place to recruit for this event. Also once you have put the word out that you have taken the job, other groups will be less likley to trouble the venue by calling in. "Tall Paul" Adams

I Just got back from the SWPF, I don't remember any thursty sheep though. If you are interested in finding other Pirates in Britain, I would reccomend joining the UK Pirate Brotherhood E-mail Community. at this link. http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/ukpiratebrotherhood/ All the best, "Tall Paul" Adams

er....... Let me see............ 1,2,11,12,14,18,20,23,27,28 and 31 !!!!! 11 out of 32 isn't too bad is it ????

Nope, Not even close. The closest thing I can think of is a short fat wooden peppermill. A turned wooden cylander about 3 or 4 inches in diameter by about 9 inches high with a mushroom shaped top. I have searched the internet for a picture i could post, but so far without luck. Ok, I have just found a picture. it is from an auction site, so it may not be there for long, so save it while you can

Ok, I am not the owner, but can anyone beat this. From the 1963 movie the longships? I say it qualifies as a ships bell because at one point it was mounted on a raft and towed behind a longship.

The Brass, "Turkish" Coffee grinder was popular in America by the time of the War of Indipendence, and it was certanly in use in its country of origin considerably erlier than this, but when it made its way across the Atlantic is unclear. Whilst looking for a picture of a wooden 17th Century Coffee mill, I came across tis source for brass, coffee grinders. bothe the quality and the price is ithe best that I have see, and it includes shipping Coffee grinder from Turkey There are quite a few 17th Century Coffee mills surviving, (There is one on display in my local museum here in Colchester) They were made from turned hardwood, Lignem Vitae, and were constructed in three interlocking parts. I was unable to find any photographs to post, and the structure of these things is not easy to describe, but I shall do my best. Part one. The grinder. The top part of the mill has a domed handle and was used to grind the beans. the lower half was a conical shape, usually carved with a series of ridges to provide a grinding surface. this fitted snugly into. Part Two The moarter The second part has a conical recess, the reverse of the top piece, into which the beans were placed. at the bottom of the cup, was a hole, approximately one inch diameter over which a metal plate was attached. The plate was drilled through with a series of holes through which the particles of ground coffee fell. part three. the base, The bottom section of the mill was a recepticle into which the ground coffee fell. once the beans were ground, the base could be removed, and the fresh coffe could be transfered to the pot. As A side note. BLACKJOHN. The picture of Rowin Atkinson as Edmund Blackadder that you use as an avatar picture was taken at Colchester Barraks. the buildings in the background are less than a mile from my house.

Dont forget the Womens pettition agaisy Coffee of 1674 or to use its full title, THE WOMEN'S PETITION AGAINST COFFEE REPRESENTING TO PUBLICK CONSIDERATION THE Grand INCONVENIENCIES accruing to their SEX from the Excessive Use of that Drying, Enfeebling LIQUOR. The main thrust of the complaint was that men were unable to fulfill their obligations in the bedroom due to the effects of the excessive time spent in the coffee house. You can find the full text of the pettition here Womens pettition against coffee 1674 and you can find the mens reply here The Mens Answer to the Womens Petition against Coffee (London 1674) "Tall Paul" Adams

Another British Pirate group to add to the list, (Also a bump for this thread ) Northern Historic Re-enactment from Hartlepool in the North East of England.

If you want to try your hand at somthing a bit special, you could always take a look at the Queen Anne Kit here. Blackley's Kits Top quality parts, and all the castings are in silver. But on the down side, I could buy two Pedersoli Queen Anne pistol kits for the cost of this one. "Tall Paul" Adams

Hello Sonny, There are at least two Australian pirate groups that I know of. But since I live in England, I don't have much contact with any of them. here is a link to the Pirates of Brisbane Yahoo group, they may be able to help you. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PiratesBrisbane Also, here is a link for their website, but it isn't up and running yet, so you will have to keep checking. PIRATES OF THE MORNING STAR If there isn't anyone close to where you live, perhaps you should consider setting up your own crew. I hope that this helps, "Tall Paul" Adams"

on a lighter note, I just came across this.

Baldrics!! No!..................Not the "B" Word! As Dorian has pointed out, this topic has been done to death in several other threads in the pub. However if you are serious enough about authenticity to be concerned about the accuracy of your ear rings, you should be aware that the consensus of opinion is that Baldrics had fallen out of use by the Golden Age of Piracy. you would be better off investing in a good swordbelt. As for ear rings, I think that not wanting your piercings to close up is a legitimate excuse. If I were in your shoes I would go for a small gold hoop. it would be fairly unobtrusive, whilst conforming to image that people have of pirates.

To claim copyright, you have to be able to prove that the phrase (Or whatever) is your intalectual property. ie that you thought of ot first. You may have a problem with "A Pirates life for me", for example, because it is a line from a song by lyricist Xavier Atencio and composer George Bruns commisioned for Disney. But unless "Surrender the booty" was first used in a book that is still in copyright, (Something like 50 years after the death of the author, but it varies depending on the country, publishers contract and so on) You should be fairly safe.

The UK has very strict laws against manufacturing and selling toys that can break to present small, sharp or swallowable parts. So, I think it is unlikly to be UK manufacture. However it is possible that the maker could possably get around this by selling as a "Collectable". Anyway, I just came across this on ebay, (whilst looking for a wooden chest). Pirate Treasure Island World Set (Base + 12 Figures) Although the bases are a different colour, if you look closely, you can see all four of RumbaRue's figures. The estemated value of £106.49 (about $186) looks a bit high to me though. "Tall Paul" Adams

I recently bought a useful little book entitled MARINER'S MEALTIMES & OTHER DAILY DETAILS of life on board a sailing warship By Una A. Robertson Published by the Unicorn Preservation Society it contains lots of useful information about food and provisions on board ship in the 19th Century. This is an excerpt on the subject of ships biscuits. "Everyone has heard of ships' biscuits, nicknamed "Purser's Nuts," that were served in lieu of "soft tommy" (bread). The decreed ration was 1 lb per man per day. They were made in the Royal Bakeries attached to the dockyards where 70X4 oz biscuits could be produced every minute. We are told that they were "round, thick and well-browned biscuits stamped with a purforator in the middle" which compressed the centre into an unbelievable hardness. Made from a mixture of wheat and pea flour, sometimes adulterated by bone dust, they were unspeakably tough." The "Perforator" described is doubtless the item at the head of this topic. However, since it is unlikly that it would be possible to compress uncooked dough to unbelievable hardness with a hand held stamp, I thaink that the auther has missinterprited its function. Whilst it is a simple matter to roll a ball of dough flat, and punch a few holes into it with a pointed stick, this process would take anything upto a couple of minutes to perform. As they were being produced at the rate of 70 per minute, using the stamp would reduce the actions of rolling and pricking to one single action taking only seconds. The length of the spikes would also ensuere a uniformity of thickness which would be important in ensuring an even cooking. This stamp was used for making biscuits at a rate of over 4,000 per hour, in order to meet the demands of a Navy contract. I imagine that bakeries producing hard tack for merchant or civil use would not have been under such pressures to turn out biscits at such a rate, they probably had the time to make them by hand. MARINERS'MEALTIMES goes on to say. "But They were not neccessarily eaten just as a biscuit. They could be used in all sorts of ways; for example, soaked in water then fried with strips of pork fat: pounded in a canvas bag with a marlin spike until they resembled coarse flour, then mixed with chopped up meat and baked by the cook: a mixture of pounded biscuit and pork fat and sugar "made a delectable cake": and there was a was a mixture called "Scotch Coffee" - burnt ships' biscuits "boiled in water till (it resembled a) thick blacking paste then sweetened." This, believe it or not, was a favourite breakfast dish." Any type of shortening will do this. Lard, suet, butter. it prevents the biscuit from drying out and hardening. they are quite tasty this way, but you can no longer keep them on your ships manafest for three years. "Tall Paul" Adams

I showed the above picture to a friend of mine who used to be a curator at the Tower of London Armouries. To my surprise, I learned that the buff coat, in a military context, survived until the very end of the 17th century, (although dating it beyond the first few years of the 18th Century is probably pushing it.) The coat pictured is certainly not English in origin, (Hardly a surprise since A History of Costume was originally published in Germany, and uses many pictures from German collections.) The sleeves were probably a late addition to a sleeveless mid 17th Century buff coat, so this is probably good advice. would it be a good idea to make the sleeves removable? There is provenance for this in the English Civil War period, and you would get the best of both worlds. Nor am I. I think that Kohler's book is a very useful work on the subject of historical costume, I refer to it a lot. However years of experience has taught me that just because it is in a book does not make it true. Given the relative age of this publication, and the fact that much new research has been published since the first release of the English edition in 1928, means that whilst it is an invaluable starting point for research, it never hurts to confirm the information with other sources if possible. This is true of any research from secondary sources, not just this book. The "If they had cows they must have had leather" argument is used a lot in re-enactment. unfortunately, this overlooks the fact that tanning (as opposed to curing) is a complex process that usually requires the resources of a small town at the least. the tanning process requires the use of lined pits in which the hides are soaked in a variety of chemical solutions which would not necessarily available to Buccaneers. For example, there were people who made a living scouring the streets of cities collecting dog excrement to service the requirements of the tanneries. (apparently the droppings of carnivores, ie, dogs was vastly superior to that of livestock, for this purpose.) Buckskinners used a process called brain-tanning, which they probably learned from Native Americans, but which id common to many "primitive" societies across the world, to produce the soft, hardwearing buckskin leather. whilst the ingredients and processes of brain-tanning are less elaborate than those of conventional tanning, it is a very labour intensive process requiring specialised equipment. Once more, without my copy of the book handy, I cannot check, (although I am sure that if I am wrong someone will correct me) but from what I can remember from the last time I read Esquemelling's Buccaneers of America, he goes into quite a bit of detail about the lifestyle of the buccaneers, how they hunted, the preparation of the bouccan, how they spent their leisure time. But I do not remember any reference to Tanning leather. I would've expected such a time consuming process to have been worthy of a mention if they had done so. Also, Brain-tanning produces a soft, suede type of leather not unlike chamey leather, not a grain out leather like that used in modern clothing. If Buccaneers made use of the cow and pig hides that would have been a by product of the bacon making process, I think that it is most likely that they would have simply cured the skins, probably using the relatively simple process of salt curing or possibly brine curing, (plenty of sea water available). Then used the skins for trade. I may have missed the point, but I was always under the impression, that the reason that the Buccaneers were out there, making all of that smoked meat, was to produce a commodity for trade. Again, I cannot check, but I am pretty sure that Esquamelling mentions this. Due to cash flow problems at the moment, I decided not to go to The Original Reenactors Market this year. sorry that I missed you. As for the UKPirateBrotherhood group, it is still there, but unless there is a show in preparation, it is a group of 150 lurkers. I occasionally try to get a thread going, but without too much success so far. What's a guy to do I think that's enough to be going on with. "Tall Paul" Adams

What you have there GOF is a Buff Coat, Very Common during the English Civil War. I am however surprised to see one attributed to a date as late as the 1700's. It is however possible that the garment may have survived in some of the extremities of the Bavarian/Germanic Empire until this time. The Buff Coat was in effect a suit of leather armour, made from thick buff leather (a quarter of an inch or more thick) and had what would now be regarded as a suede finish. Over the years I have seen quite a number of these in various English stately houses. and I have also worn an accurate reproduction of one. they are very heavy, and very stiff and the one that I wore could be stood upright in a corner unsupported. I think that some further research is in order before this Coat should be authenticated for the early eighteenth Century. Kohler's A History of Costume is a very useful book, especially as many of the costumes illustrated in it were destroyed during the war. But it is also now a very old book, and some of the information contained in it has since been superseded by more recent research. It is also possible that 1700's is a mistranslation of 17th Century. I do not have my copy of A History of Costume available at the moment, but I seem to remember the same error occurring elsewhere in the book. Unfortunately, most of my books are still boxed up, awaiting the installation of new shelves, so I am not in a position to do any detailed research into the matter at this time. However, there are a number of surviving embroidered, soft leather (Suede out) waistcoats from the mid to late 17th Century I can see no real problems with making an outer coat, but it would be a high status garment, probably elaborately decorated or embroidered. Although the leather (Grain out) justacorps is a fairly popular feature in film costuming, I cannot recall ever seeing one in an eighteenth Century historical context. But since Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is wearing one in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, I have no doubt that there will be a sudden glut of them at pirate re-enactments. "Tall Paul" Adams

I Be FULL O' Shumpin' I think it's Myshelf ........................... ...................................Hic!!! Burrits Probablee RUM

Strictly speaking, the "Doglock" pistol appears to be some late variation of the Snaphaunce (Not sure about the spelling) lock, and as such would say that it was significantly earlier than the 1650 given in the description. I am not familiar with this particular design of pistol, but I would say that it would be more apt for the English Civil War period. Ok if you are doing original buccaneers. whilst a good firearm would have had a fairly long shelf life, I think that this design would be looking decidedly old fashioned by the golden age of piracy. Loyalist Arms make an early pattern sea service pistol with 1739 stamped on the lock Early Brit. Sea Service Pistol Still too late for GAoP, but better than 1756. I also own a couple of Loyalist arms Doglocks. 1640's-1690's Doglock Given the "Shelf life" factor, these are useable throughout the golden age. however, I am not entirely happy with the shape of the buttplate, and eventually I intend to try and get a pair of hemispherical pommels cast up that would be more typical of the period. If I had the money, I would probably now go for the Loyalist Arms French Cavalry pistol 1720's French Cavalry pistol They have a nice look to them, and fit within the Golden Age. They are fairly typical of early 18th century pistols, with the squareish, un-bridled frizzen. I see no reason why these could not be customised for sea use by adding a belt hook. these can be bought from Loyalist arms, but it would mean drilling a small hole in the sideplate. If you are looking for something big and impressive, and don't mind it being slightly late for the period. (Technically 1730 could be just within the Golden Age of Piracy, depending on your definition) I would go for the potzdam pistol. 1727 flintlock Potzdam pistol Prussian Flintlock Cavalry Pistol ( 1731 Potzdam Model) With a 15" barrel, it is certainly bigger than a Queen Anne.

The way to soften brass is to heat it up to red heat and then quench it in water. Exactly the opposite to iron. I have never tried this with a brass casting, but it makes even fairly thick sheet brass much softer and easier to work.

Well, Having "Tested the water" with a few select items, he has just dumped a load of new Pirates of the caribbean props on ebay. Thee are now about twenty POTC "props" plus items attributed to other films like The Patriot and The Alamo. Looking at the format of his pages, I now have no doubt that this is Pirates-R-Us under a different name. (I am not as obsessed as I may sound, I just have a search set up on ebay to flag props from pirate movies, and this guy just keeps flooding the reports at the moment.) I notice that he has the auctions set up to hide the identity of bidders, so it is imposible to contact his customers before or after the fact. One item that caught my eye was the Pirates of the Caribbean promotional plaque. Pirates Of The Caribbean Pirate Copper Plaque which origionaly sold for over $100 Possibly worth the $24.99 he is asking for it????

I Used to smoke a pipe (almost 15 years ago now, I gave up in order to encorage my then girlfriend to give up ciggaretes. She finally gave up last year.) And I always said that with Cigarettes you had a Vice, but with a Pipe you had a Hobby. To enjoy a pipe, you need an array of tools to clean and maintain your pipe, you are constantly managing the thickness of the carbon in the bowl, and the quality of your tobacco. And keeping the bloody thing alight is an art in its self !! As for Cigars, I take the same approach to Cigars as I do to Whisky. I enjoy the best that I can afford, but in strict moderation. On the subject of cigars, when were they first smoked? are they in period for the GaOP?

So far, the hight of my acting career, apart from a few lines on kids TV, is a non speaking part in the DaVinci Code as the Knight Templar who finds the Holy Grail, and I am convinced that I only got that part by the quality of my beard. But why not come and make your film over here In England. We have Ships, we have REAL English accents, and I you could give me a job "Tall Paul" Adams

US $89.99 seams kind of pricy to me, compared with the cost of similar items on ebay. I think that he was just testing the water, he has just listed a stack of new "Pirates of the Caribbean props" including a 5 litre barrel at the same price as i recently paid for a 50 litre barrel, and another chest, of the same size as the previous one, but this time at the knock down price of US $134.99. Pirates Of The Caribbean Prop Treasure Chest

Under The Black Flag, a new play by Simon Bent, about the early days of Long John Silver, opens at Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London on the 18th of July this year. Acording to the previews, (See links below,) this is a play about the adventures of Long John Silver before he lost his leg. It is set during the rule of Cromwell, and as a result of a thread on this subject at the UKPirateBrotherhood Yahoo Group, we worked out that, if John silver was a boy pirate at the time of Cromwells death, he would have been about 114 years olt by the time the events of the book Treasure Island took place. Here is a link to the Globe Theatre website. Shakespere's Globe and here are a couple of online items about the play. The Society of London Theatre LTG Online