Caroline Drummond and her lovely family went to the Hastings Pirate Day for the first time this year and took their Ukrainian guest, Olha, with them. They went with another family from Rye who had been many times before so knew the ropes.
What was the atmosphere like and how many people were there?
In French, we would call it ‘bon enfant’, meaning it was very cheerful, everyone was smiling. It was a relaxed and laid-out atmosphere. Lots of fun too, with people playing music as they went around the town, singing. There were lots of people but not too crowded.
What was the most enthralling or exciting bit for you all?
Argh that’s a hard question, there was so much to it!
A sunny day out in Hastings is always exciting, but on Pirate day, it is so much more.
We started by spotting a man with snakes, who kindly let our eldest Luca (a twelve year old snake fanatic) hold them. Luca thinks they were a red rat snake and a royal python. He said he could feel their muscles moving around his neck – exciting! We then met our friends to listen to live music behind the café Eat@the Stade. We all went to the fun fair, trying the pinball ride, where my youngest son shouted the whole way “We are not going to make it!” but we did. It was so hot that we went swimming in the sea at Rock-a-Nore.
Just walking in the streets was exciting. We could hear people playing music live (saxophone player, drumming bands) and see people with brilliant costumes. There were many Captain Jack Sparrows around too. It was very colourful and loud! By complete luck, we came across the pirates parade at the end and were so happy to see the Ryebellion as we love their music. We loved the little dog pirates and the baby pirate too!
Comments from the family
Kenzo: I liked the pinball rollercoaster the most, it was fast and terrifying, and I felt I was going to be falling off the edge, so I didn’t look down!
Luca: I liked holding the snake, and the thrill of the roller coaster, and the pirates parade was loud and boisterous and there were little doggies in carts with pirate hats, really cute.
Jason: My favourite part of the day was the ghost train and walking in the sea, which was so refreshing in that heat. I loved the colour and the noise of the pirate parade. There was a 10 or 11 feet tall giant pirate and a zombie pirate and a t-rex too.
Caroline: I just loved seeing people having fun, there were smiles all around! It was such a brilliant day shared with lovely friends.
Olha: It was so colourful and lively, and I loved the music. I smiled all day.
Image Credits: Caroline Drummond , Caroline Drummond , Col Everit .