Harry Paye Day 2016

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On Saturday afternoon we went to Poole Quay for Harry Paye Day. The Pirates of Poole started this event. This is a community group that keeps the maritime history of Poole alive!

They hold events to raise money for local charities and causes and they first put on Harry Paye Day in 2006. It was so successful that it is now a yearly event.

Firstly, a bit of information about Harry Paye himself. Harry Paye was a notorious pirate in the 15th century. The Spanish marked him as a thief and the French didn’t like him much either.

It is rumoured that he stole a gold cross from the Church of Finisterre. This is just one of the many tales of his pirating.

Unfortunately, we missed the pirates parading down the quay due. This is because we had to park in one of the high street carparks, as the quay one was very busy.

However, as we walked around the quay there were many people in pirate dress. A lot of them looked very authentic. There were lots of children dressed up too, to compete in a pirate dress up competition.

Along the quay, we checked out various stalls, games and raffles. The most we came away with was a few sweets, but most of the stalls and games were quite cheap so we didn’t mind spending, plus it was for charity.

My daughter and her cousins enjoyed some Dorset ice cream.

The kids played in a fire engine.

The girls received a doubloon from a male statue performer when they put some money in his hat, which they found very amusing.

There was also a little show, where some naughty pirates were caught by the guardsmen and handcuffed. Cannons and guns were also let off at the end of this show.

The girls were talking to the pirate afterwards and he asked if they wanted to sail with him and scrub the ship decks. This amused them greatly.

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We also watched a band, Spiderpig, play rock music. All the members of the band were dressed in pirate attire which we thought was a nice little touch. However, the girls very quickly tired of the band and they wanted us to move on.

All in all this was a lovely afternoon out. It was something a little different and fun for everyone. The girls really enjoyed it and they would like to go again next year. I would definitely recommend this for a family day out.

Take care everyone.