Poole Rocks!

It's not long now until Mum and Dad retire and move to Poole.

So last weekend Mum and I went to Poole to hit the shops and select some pieces of furniture and furnishing. This also included accessories and little touches for the house. 10 hours and £4,000 later we were tired but happy.

Poole is a happening place in the summer. Tuesday nights is bike night, which my dad is looking forward to. Friday is theme & classic car night. This may sound boring to some but for Mum and Dad it's perfect. Plus there are other events such as weekly fireworks, Polo and occasional an invasion of scouts. But last weekend was Harry Paye day!

Harry Paye was a 15th century pirate who lived in Poole and regularly robbed French ships. Some French folk joined forces and attacked Poole in retaliation for Paye's stealing. The locals fought back and drove the invaders out. Apparently Paye wasn't even in town at the time.

To celebrate Paye the town hold a charity fun day every year. Everyone, and I mean everyone, dress up as pirates. I felt very out of place along the quay. Those that take part every year have invested money in good quality costumes which will last and they looked great.

There was live music and games such as tuck of war all along the quay front. The shop owners dressed their shops with skull & crossbones and other pirate stuff. Everyone seems to get involved and there is a real party atmosphere. I even spied a Captain Jack Sparrow look alike or was it Jonny Depp?

Alas I didn't have my camera and we didn't 't have the time to join in due to the shopping but i plan to go down again next year so I'm sure I'll blog about Harry Paye again!