Arr, ’tis a rum do
Pirate record bid fails after group stays in the pub
YOU can always rely on pirates to scupper things…
A bid to beat the world record of having 14,231 buccaneers in one place has flopped again after a bunch of them stayed yo ho ho-ing in the pub. Penzance in Cornwall was hoping to wrestle the Guinness World Record title off the East Sussex town of Hastings. But when the 4pm deadline came for counting, they were a “few short”, despite supportive landlords vowing to kick pirates out of their pubs as the time approached. Organiser Andy Hazlehurst said: “We won’t say how many. We won’t shame those who were down in the Dolphin and that. We still haven’t taught the people who go to the pub to get here on time.”
Penzance mayor Dick Cliffe added: “It is a disappointment to miss out by such a small amount. I remember looking into the pub and seeing people in pirate outfits at the time of the count. But it is a tough thing to marshal that number of pirates. They are not a group that traditionally are easily marshalled.”
The Cornish town won the first title in 2011. But in 2013, its south coast rival snatched it back. A year later Penzance again came up short, as it did on Sunday.
But Mr Cliffe insisted his town is the real home of pirates.
He said: “The pirates of Penzance is an expression everyone knows, not the pirates of Hastings. They are just impostors.” None of the boozy buccaneers who stayed in the pub have been named.
But if Mr Cliffe had his way, no doubt they would be walking the plank.