Modern Pirates

After one of the periods during which England had been at war with France, the King sent his messenger to various ports to advise that hostilities had ended. The King's messenger accordingly went to Fowey (which had sent more ships to the seige of Calais than had London), where the local privateers, called The Fowey Gallants cut his ear off for his trouble and continued their raids and they did not confine them to foreign ports either, for they were forever raiding the Cinque Ports of: Hastings, Hythe, Dover, Sandwich, Rye and Winchelsea (formerly New Romney). Eventually, the leaders of the rebels were hanged and the name The Fowey Gallants lives on in a lively yacht club in the harbour. At least these pirates had some daring and style about them.

Modern pirates seem to comprise: incompetent bankers, greedy real estate agents, rather mucky stock and currency dealers (such as Gordon Gecko) and the owners of the rapacious land developers who are uglifying so much of England in general, and Cornwall in particular, at this very moment: Ampersand with its abortion (actually truly aborted) half-built development scarring Crinnis Beach, and Wainhomes (with their gutless policy of employing only sub-contractors) to throw up their shoddy matchbox developments, at will, here, there and everywhere, without hindrance from local planners.

No, give me the old-time pirates, anyday.

In the picture is Sir Henry Morgan (1635-1688), pirate and sometime Governor of Jamaica: Aar, Aar Aar!!