- Joined
- Jun 4, 2002
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- 3,930
Some new friends I made this last visit to Florida. Great bunch of guys, by day they work in the Colonial Spanish Quarter living history museum in Saint Augustine, Florida. In their spare time, they've formed a singing group specializing in 18th and 19th century sea shanties.
The young, clean shaven, fellow, by the name of Brad, is the museum's blacksmith, and he does some excellent work (y'all should see the handforged cup hilt he did for a cutlass, complete with chiseled embellishments). A good guy, and an Englishman, who, as it happened, became an American citizen while I was there. Naturally, I gave him one of my knives, a little 4" blade, rosewood handled, seaman's knife in a dangler scabbard. Dang if he don't love that little booger, and the girl who keeps the tavern confided to me that now when he changes from 18th century garb to civvy duds, the knife comes off one belt, and gets slipped right back on the other.
Tavern? What tavern? That would be the Taberna del Gallo, on St. George's Street, established in 1734.
My daughter and I partied with the whole gang there on her birthday, and had an outstanding time, rattling the rafters of that ancient watering hole 'til late in the evening.
Here's a view inside the tavern, with some reenactors "taking refreshment". If I'm not bad mistaken, they're some of the gun crew who do cannon firing demonstrations at the old Spanish fortress, the Castillo de San Marcos, just a few blocks from the tavern.
Aargh mateys, want to sit and listen to some good old sea shanties? Check out the Bilge Rats at www.bilgerats.net (that's where all the pics above came from). They're not yet sophisticated enough to be selling them online, but they do have a good CD out (listened to mine all the way back to Texas). Just click on the contact e-mail addy on their website, and I'm sure they can hook you up. And no, I'm not shilling their CD, but nautical minded friends here in the Cantina can tell you, that you can't just pop into your local music store and purchase sea shanty CD's, it just ain't happening.
Sarge
p.s.: y'all will never guess what I made yesterday, yup, another 4" blade seaman's knife (at least that's what the Sheffield website calls it) with a dangler scabbard, and instead of the usual rosewood, the handle slabs are some beautifully fine grained and well seasoned hickory, maybe I'll be able to hang onto this one, but if not, I'll surely make another, this is such a simple but great pattern for a handy EDC, that I wouldn't want to be without one, pics to come, dang batteries in my camera have gone dead
The young, clean shaven, fellow, by the name of Brad, is the museum's blacksmith, and he does some excellent work (y'all should see the handforged cup hilt he did for a cutlass, complete with chiseled embellishments). A good guy, and an Englishman, who, as it happened, became an American citizen while I was there. Naturally, I gave him one of my knives, a little 4" blade, rosewood handled, seaman's knife in a dangler scabbard. Dang if he don't love that little booger, and the girl who keeps the tavern confided to me that now when he changes from 18th century garb to civvy duds, the knife comes off one belt, and gets slipped right back on the other.
Tavern? What tavern? That would be the Taberna del Gallo, on St. George's Street, established in 1734.
My daughter and I partied with the whole gang there on her birthday, and had an outstanding time, rattling the rafters of that ancient watering hole 'til late in the evening.
Here's a view inside the tavern, with some reenactors "taking refreshment". If I'm not bad mistaken, they're some of the gun crew who do cannon firing demonstrations at the old Spanish fortress, the Castillo de San Marcos, just a few blocks from the tavern.
Aargh mateys, want to sit and listen to some good old sea shanties? Check out the Bilge Rats at www.bilgerats.net (that's where all the pics above came from). They're not yet sophisticated enough to be selling them online, but they do have a good CD out (listened to mine all the way back to Texas). Just click on the contact e-mail addy on their website, and I'm sure they can hook you up. And no, I'm not shilling their CD, but nautical minded friends here in the Cantina can tell you, that you can't just pop into your local music store and purchase sea shanty CD's, it just ain't happening.
Sarge
p.s.: y'all will never guess what I made yesterday, yup, another 4" blade seaman's knife (at least that's what the Sheffield website calls it) with a dangler scabbard, and instead of the usual rosewood, the handle slabs are some beautifully fine grained and well seasoned hickory, maybe I'll be able to hang onto this one, but if not, I'll surely make another, this is such a simple but great pattern for a handy EDC, that I wouldn't want to be without one, pics to come, dang batteries in my camera have gone dead
