This sounds cool but photos please....or it never happened....
BTW - this is a photo of a late 19th century powder monkey (a ship’s boy whose role was to bring explosives to the guns of a warship).
Backstory - I was arranging in another thread to meet someone in the Powder Monkey, a pub in Devon.
The Powder Monkey in question in this particular pub @MaxPete was a woman. I'll come back here and post the story once I've checked it out.
But while you're waiting @MaxPete - I moved to Devon about five years ago after living in the North East of England (Newcastle ) for over 35 years. Up there they like football (you say soccer). I mean they REALLY like it. Football causes some bitter enmities between towns. For example:
People from Newcastle are called Geordies (this is fine)
People from Sunderland are "Mackhams" (not so nice)
People from Middleboro' are called "Smoggies" (hmmm)
People from Hartlepool are "MonkeyHangers" (guaranteed to start a ruck)
The story goes that in Napoleonic times a French warship ran aground at Hartlepool and the people of the town hung the ship's monkey thinking it was a Frenchman. This is always made out to be a real monkey. In truth, if the story has any basis, it is likely that they tried and hung the Powder Monkey (often a small boy).
If you ever meet anyone from Hartlepool don't say, "Oh, where they hung the monkey?"
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