I took my habitual route through the city after work yesterday. I walk across the park, over the river, and through the downtown market. It takes a little longer but it’s much more interesting than the direct path. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the park – a few dogs running about and a couple of uni students playing Frisbee. On the bridge I noticed a couple women dressed in 17th century style corsets, but there’re always a few oddballs around the city. As I approached the market the density of strangely-clad people increased. By the time I reached the stalls I was surrounded by buccaneers and their mistresses – I was the only one in the dress of our time. All the characters were talking with a jovial pirate inflection. Some even stared at me and made comments about my ‘garb.’ It seemed I had stumbled back to the time of piracy. ‘If only I’d taken the direct route home,’ I thought. There was no way I was hard enough to hang with pirates; I’m still scared of suburban teenagers. On the other side of the bazaar I stepped into a small, dimly-lit tavern. If I was to adjust to the sanitary conditions of the 1700s, I would need a drink.
“Wot’ll it be lad?” barked the bearded barkeep, as I took post upon a stool. “The Black Admiral ‘ave the fynest ales.”
“I guess I’ll have an ale then,” I replied.
“Not lyke that you won’t,” he said, slamming his fist on the bar. “You gotta say it lyke a pirate – after alls laddy, today be international talk lyke a pyrate day.”
I looked around the bar. There was an electronic register on the counter, a girl in the corner was talking on her phone, and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ was showing on the TV.
“Wot’ll it be lad?” barked the bearded barkeep, as I took post upon a stool. “The Black Admiral ‘ave the fynest ales.”
“I guess I’ll have an ale then,” I replied.
“Not lyke that you won’t,” he said, slamming his fist on the bar. “You gotta say it lyke a pirate – after alls laddy, today be international talk lyke a pyrate day.”
I looked around the bar. There was an electronic register on the counter, a girl in the corner was talking on her phone, and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ was showing on the TV.