Tuesday 15 September 2009

Talk like a Pirate Day - 19th September

Talk like a Pirate Day - Celebrated once a year on 19th September by pirate fans of all generations.... You may not have come across this celebration before, but this event is growing fans year on year and is now in it's 7th Official Year.

How did it all begin you ask? Two guys. John Baur and Mark Summers. Two very normal guys who wore suits to work and played tennis together. 6th June 1995 they were playing tennis, not very well but doing their best. They started calling out friendly encouragement to each other in pirate slang. One thing led to another and an hour later, the pirate lingo had really taken off, plus the game had been much more fun and the time had breezed by. They decided there and then that what the world needed was a new national holiday - Talk Like A Pirate Day was born.

The date - believe it or not was chosen because it was the only date that Mark could remember - his ex-wife's birthday. For seven years, they celebrated International Talk Like A Pirate Day pretty much on their own, with their friend Brian actually having to remind them that the date was coming up.

Talk Like A Pirate Day takes off - One day in early 2002, John chanced upon Dave Barry's email address - Dave Barry, syndicated columnist, funnyman and author of 6,000 books was vaguely-known by the guys and they introduced themselves by email. He replied in a couple of days and thought it was a great idea, followed by an introduction to a local newspaper and several radio interviews. From that year, the idea grew, the celebrations grew and now there are people from all walks of life who celebrate this event.

But why do we need an International Talk Like A Pirate Day? Because it's fun. It's as simple as that. It gives your conversation a swagger, it cheers everyone up, silliness is the day's best selling point. So what's the point? The point is there is no point. And that's what's fun about Talk Like A Pirate Day.

For more information on this event, go to the official Talk Like A Pirate Day website -
www.talklikeapirateday.com