Hester

And, as a point of literary piratical interest, one of those other early references was by Daniel Defoe in 1727: http://www.stiltoncheese.com/UK/pr/uk.cfm ... leading me to christen my breakfast concoction of a half English muffin "island", topped with Stilton and grilled under the broiler, upon which is then stranded a poached egg, "Eggs Defoe". Cheers, Hester ... who knows what her breakfast will be tomorrow!

[Out of turn, I know, but I can't resist.] Cheeky Actress asked: >>>New Year Resolutions - did you make any?<<< Loads. My favourite is to: "Idulge my inner punk" Cheers, Hester [Okay, now ignore this post and answer my Q from the one above.]

^ Xmas night, after my family's atrocious potluck buffet, which I tried to wash down with too many Captain Kidd cocktails. < So totally thrilled with Foxe's transcription of the late 17th C. black-letter broadside "The Whetstone-Park Privateer" that I've used a snippet of a stanza as my new sig-line. v Why do you think that the compass that points to one's heart's desire won't work anymore for Captain Jack in PotC 2?

>>>The Whetstones-Park Privateer. <<< And doesn't the metre remind you of "The Night Before Xmas"?! Cheers, Hester

>>>I transcribed a load of the Bodlean manuscripts a couple of years back for the UKPB songbook<<< Hi, Foxe: Is that songbook available for purchase somewhere? It sounds like many of the people on this thread would love it (including me). And what do the initials UKPB stand for? [My guess -- United Kingdom Pirate Brotherhood.] Cheers, Hester

Hi, Foxe: Many thanks for that transcription! But, given the bawdy double-entendres that pervade the song, I think that, rather than "Luff", her haven was "Lust". What fun! Cheers, Hester

Red Maria wrote: >>>I am serously surprised that your search didn't turn up the boardside ballad Captain Kidd. It was written in 1701 shortly after Kidd's execution. It has what seems to be a 100 verses! The tune was well known and even used for pro-Jacobite songs. The tune has a rock music sensibility to it. <<< Hi, Maria: I'm not sure why the Bodleian's searchable index doesn't turn up that ballad. (I've tried various search words/categories, with no result.) It does seem odd that this well-known ballad would not be in their collection [unless perhaps the song survived only in the oral tradition, with no extant printed copy -- but that seems unlikely given the popularity of the song and the subject matter!] I first heard the song in the very melancholy slowed-down version by the Cowboy Junkies, [apparently learned in turn from the singing of Pete Seeger]. And, of course, Great Big Sea do a rollicking live version. Cheers, Hester

Broadside ballads! The Bodleian library's collection is searchable by date, so you will be able to find ballads known to have been published during the GAoP: http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ballads/ballads.htm You can also search by subject, and the search word "piracy" yields 104 hits. Many of these pirate ballads are from the 19th century (still very interesting), but there are also some lovely rare gems from the late 17th century, such as this one, published sometime between 1672 and 1696, called "The City Caper or The Whetstones-park privateer", sung to the tune of "Captain Digby's Farewell", about a "pickaroon" [lovely archaic word for a pirate ship!] named "The Jenny": http://bodley24.bodley.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/ac...if&seq=1&size=0 The typeface is gorgeous, but a bit difficult to make out in places. I haven't been able to decipher the whole thing yet, but there seems to be a nice bawdy metaphoric representation of the ship "The Jenny" as a lusty wench. For instance, note wonderful the lines: "The rustling [or ruffling?] silk of her Petticoat Sails The wind had full blown with it's [sic] wantoning gales." Lovely woodcut illustration of the two ships in battles as well! Sometimes, it can be difficult to find the tune to which a particular ballad was sung. It may not be mentioned at all (as the printer thought it was obvious), or the tune may simply be named, with no melody given in musical notation, leading to a great deal of confusion as several tunes may have had the same name, or no known tune of the given name survives. In this case, the tune is named as "Captain Digby's Farewell". The following webpage has a [cheesey] midi of a tune of that name and period playing in the background, along with the history of the tune and lyrics of the ballad to which it was first attached: http://www.contemplator.com/england/drownlov.html I'm not a musician, and only a very novice singer, so it's not immediately obvious to me how (or even IF) the Jenny lyrics can be matched to this tune. For anyone really serious about reconstructing/reenacting the popular songs of the period, the Bodleian collection of broadsides is invaluable. However, as you can see, deciphering the typeface and matching the lyrics to the suggested tune can be a bit of a project, if you want to end up with a singable "song". Cheers, Hester

Well, how about, "I Saw Three Ships"? It's apparently from the 17th century, so it's even in period: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art14443.asp Cheers, Hester

I bought these building card sets for my nieces and nephews this Xmas: http://www.klutz.com/catalog/product/5520 Cheers, Hester

I came across a delicious pirate-themed cocktail recipe lately. It's very potent, has a strong chocolate flavour, and is perfect served with dessert : Captain Kidd Cocktail: 1 part cognac 1 part dark rum 2 parts dark creme de cacao Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a champagne saucer (or wine glass). Garnish with an orange slice and/or maraschino cherries (or a chocolate-covered cherry or dark chocolate truffle on a sword-shaped skewer, if you want to be even more decadent). [Oh, "Be even more decadent" -- terrific, now I have another item for my New Year's resolutions list!] Cheers, Hester

Rumba, I just returned from 9 days as a house-guest with my in-laws. I know EXACTLY how you felt! Cheers, Hester

Jet lag ... migraine ... nausea ... and retro-active Air Rage!

Well, Rumba, just as long as there's lotsa meat on the bone. Janet: "I don't like men with too many muscles." Frankie: "I didn't make him for you!"

Seriously, picture him in pirate gear: ~H.

Whip-thin and tall, with silky dark hair contrasting starkly with his pale skin. Grey-blue eyes under straight, raven dark brows. Sensuous deep-pink lips and ever-so-slightly snaggled teeth. He's arrogant (for good reason), a little rough around the edges, and wild enough to be a bit dangerous. And his fashion sense is cooler than cool. [Yeah, okay, so I'm describing the young Paul Weller ... but he'd make a fantastic model for a pirate captain in a romance novel!] Cheers, Hester

Oh, speaking of dietary iron and libations, I should mention wine. Red wine does contain iron; however, it is also high in tannins and polyphenols, which block iron consumption, so drinking it won't actually help you replenish your iron stores. And drinking red wine with plant sources of iron will also inhibit the absorption of iron from those foods. Coffee and tea will also inhibit iron absorption. White wine contains no iron itself; however, it actually enhances iron absorption from other foods. So does Vitamin C. And Popeye notwithstanding, spinach is also an iron conundrum. It contains lots of iron, but also oxalic acid, which will block iron absorption. Utterly confusing! Good luck, Siren. Cheers, Hester

Hey, Rogue: Yuck, indeed! I think that's probably worse than melting off a few strands of hair. But I'm wondering why the clerk was bleeding ... nose bleed? ... torn cuticle? ... or did you menace the clerk with your cutlass? [Which makes me think that all those pretty jewels and coins in the pirates' treasure chests might have had some inconvenient stains on them too.] Cheers, Hester

Hi, Siren: Sorry to hear about your anaemia. I had a serious problem with that last year as well. However, my doctor was astonished at how quickly I was able to get my ferritin level back up toward the normal range. I followed her advice of 3 ferrous gluconate tablets a day (taken with orange juice, because the Vitamin C helps absorption) plus high sources of iron in my diet. Happily, I love black pudding (blood sausage) and the local deli makes a really good one -- so I had that for breakfast nearly everyday. But, I was also really surprised to discover that clams are very high in iron (higher than liver, and without all the cholesterol). So, I ate a lot of pasta with clam sauce too. Some brands of dark chocolate are also high in iron, particularly this one, which I love: (But if you can't find that, check the nutrition labelling, as different brands of chocolate vary widely in the amount of iron.) And I just love eating blackstrap molasses by the spoonful! Anyhow, I hope these ideas give you some tasty ways to help fight this deficiency. Sadly, it's a myth that Guinness is high in iron [Drat!]. And although rum is made from molasses, it doesn't actully contain any iron either. I hope you're feeling better soon! Cheers, Hester

Traumatized!!! I was blow-drying my hair in a hurry (having spent too much time pissing about on-line this morning when I have errands to run) and I got impatient and held the dryer too close to the brush, so that the metal grill on the front was actually resting on my hair. To my shock and horror, a chunk of hair actually melted! Okay, granted, it was a small chunk, and in the layers underneath where you can't actually see it, but still -- I melted my hair!!! Sheesh -- talk about a bad hair day! ~H

"Jack names the Planets" by Ash -- with a Doctor Who visual twist!

My "Doctor Who meets Paul Weller" playlist -- The Jam, Style Council & Weller solo tunes with space/time themes, interspersed with snippets of the theme music as it evolved over the years. Weird and wonderful! And I'm not the only one who thinks these two British institutions belong together: Cheers, Hester

Pete Yorn's cover of The Smiths' "Panic"

Hemming pants ... something I hate doing and I've postponed for far too long. I've just finished the first of two pairs, and it wasn't too traumatic. The length looks pretty good (unlike the pair of paisley jeans that I accidentally turned into capris last summer). Now for the second pair... fingers crossed! Cheers, Hester

Neko Case, Fox Confessor brings the Flood Everytime she hits a high note, my husband thinks I'm calling him. Which I'd take as a compliment ... but he also does the same thing when the door hinges squeak. Cheers, Hester