Saturday Scenes

On the 20th of October 1720, Caribbean pirate Calico Jack was captured by the Royal Navy.

Calico Jack — real name John Rackham — was an English pirate captain in the Bahamas who designed a version of the Jolly Roger flag which we still associate with pirates today: a skull with two crossed swords. He is famous for having had two female crew members on his ship: Mary Read and Anne Bonny.

Calico Jack – Wikipedia

Whilst in port Rackham began an affair with Anne Bonny, wife of sailor James Bonny who was employed by Governor Rogers. After finding out about the relationship, James Bonny brought Anne to Governor Rogers, who ordered her whipped on charges of adultery. Rackham offered to buy Anne in a “divorce by purchase,” but she refused to be sold like an animal. The pair (with a new crew) escaped to sea together, voiding Rackham’s pardon, by stealing a sloop belonging to John Ham. They sailed the Caribbean for two months, overtaking other pirate ships. Often Rackham would invite the crew of ships he attacked to join his own.

Not originally realizing her gender, Rackham welcomed Mary Read aboard his ship to join his crew. Anne Bonny started to have feelings for Read, and after some flirtation, Mary revealed her sex to Anne. Rackham, becoming jealous of the amount of attention Bonny was giving Read, threatened to kill Read until Anne divulged the secret and he agreed to keep her aboard.

Calico Jack’s ship was attacked at anchor at Point Negril, Jamaica on the night of the 20th of October. Most of the crew was drunk and unable to defend the ship. Read, Bonny and an unknown man fought fiercely but they were overwhelmed and the crew was captured. Anne Bonny’s last words to Rackham in jail were that she was “sorry to see him there, but if he had fought like a man, he need not have been hang’d like a dog.”

Meanwhile, almost three hundred years later, avast! On the 20th of October 2012, these prize photographs were shivering timbers all over the world:

Aye, they say that dead men tell no tales, but I’m spilling th’ beans. These are the pirates who took them:

• CarolineBignell
• exRAFairman
• martin_chrisj
• Joyuna
• ClareRevell
• raumsinn
• JeannieKelly
• Pewari
• JanetIsserlis
• ernmander
• Korwhai
• elibrody
• sahfenn
• SockYarnShop
• twasntme
• robdavies
• icklemouse
• akrabat
• jamesnnb
• mousewords
• HeideSpruck
• tradingnothing
• FrauKulli
• HarryMyhre
• RobStormchaser
• max1018
• dndtsa
• gwenthing
• akaSylvia
• CliffStanford
• APGPhoto

[clears throat] *Ahem*

I’d be loving to see yer corner o’ the world, wherever ye might be anchored.

Tisn’t difficult. Jus’ take a photo on Saturday and tell me about it! Arrrr!

I’m expecting to see yer Saturday scene this weekend or yer a lily-livered swabbie!

(How’d I do?)

The 13th of October 1582 might not exist, depending on your location. If you lived in Italy, Poland, Portugal or Spain in 1582, the day simply never happened. In Alaska, the day also went missing, but not until 1867.

Pope Gregory XIII introduced a papal bull to adopt the Gregorian calendar, which is now the most widely accepted civil calendar. The Julian calendar used previously set the time between vernal equinoxes as 365¼ days when it is actually almost 11 minutes shorter, which led to a drift of about three days every 400 years. This was important to the Church, as it led to the Spring equinox falling on the 11th of March instead of the ecclesiastically fixed date of 21st of March, which was used to determine the celebration of Easter.

Four Catholic countries adopted the new calendar on Friday the 15th of October 1582, immediately following the Julian Thursday, the 4th of October. However, many other countries objected to the change.

History Of Our Calendar | Calendars

Ironically, by the time the Catholic church buckled under the weight of the scientific reasoning that pointed out the error, it had lost much of its power to implement the fix. Protestant tract writers responded to Gregory’s calendar by calling him the “Roman Antichrist” and claiming that its real purpose was to keep true Christians from worshiping on the correct days. The “new” calendar, as we know it today, was not adopted uniformly across Europe until well into the 18th century.

In Alaska, Friday the 6th of October in 1867 was followed by Friday the 18th of October. Russia was still on the Julian calendar but the United States wasn’t, so when the US purchased the territory, they shifted Alaska to the Gregorian calendar and moved the International Date line to the other side of the state.

However, do not be alarmed! We have photographic evidence that the 13th of October 2012 took place all over the world:

And here are the regular-as-clockwork Saturday submitters who took them:

• CarolineBignell
• embee
• JanetIsserlis
• evilrooster
• thermalhound
• martin_chrisj
• oxonlady
• ahpilot
• icklemouse
• robdavies
• Pewari
• akrabat
• twasntme
• mousewords
• ClareRevell
• carocat
• CallumDG
• jamesnnb
• SockYarnShop
• elibrody
• ernmander
• craftychai
• UKMelia
• akaSylvia
• dndtsa
• RAFairman
• CliffStanford
• ladyauntiecathy
• max1018
• FrauKulli
• HarryMyhre
• HeideSpruck
• dudleypj
• JLM1974
• DaughterofLir
• Korwhai
• raumsinn
• Krautie

Wouldn’t you like to join us?

It’s easy to take part!

1) Take a photo on a Saturday and upload it to a photo site like Flickr or Twitpic
2) Tweet the url for your photograph to @SatScenes
3) Watch for the next post here to see a great set of all the photographs together.

I’m looking forward to seeing your scenes!

On the 6th of October 1993, Lawrence Richard Walters died in the heart of the Angeles National Forest. Walters had achieved fame as “Lawnchair Larry” after he flew in his homemade airship, the Inspiration I: a lawn chair with 45 helium-filled weather balloons attached to it. He bought the eight-foot weather balloons and helium tanks using a forged requisition from his employer, claiming that the balloons were required for a television commercial.

He strapped himself in and took a pellet gun (in order to burst the balloons for descent), a parachute, a CB radio, sandwiches and beer. He’d planned to float gently over the backyard at a height of about 9 metres (30 feet). However, when his friends cut the cord, he rose rapidly to 4,600 metres (15,000 feet). Frightened to shoot the balloons and unbalance his chair, he drifted across the primary approach corridor of Long Beach Airport. He eventually descended but got caught in a power line, which caused a local blackout. Dangling five feet above the ground, he managed to climb down into someone’s backyard.

“Lawn Chair Pilot”

He was immediately arrested by waiting members of the Los Angeles Police Department. When asked by a reporter why he had done it, Walters replied “a man can’t just sit around.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was initially baffled by the incident. The regional safety inspector, Neal Savoy, reportedly said “We know he broke some part of the Federal Aviation Act, and as soon as we decide which part it is, some type of charge will be filed. If he had a pilot’s license, we’d suspend that. But he doesn’t.” But Walters had been catapulted, unexpectedly and unprepared, from obscurity to national fame.

He was fined $4,000 which he appealed and had reduced to $1,500. He said that it was not until ten years later, when he was featured in a Timex advertisement based on “adventurous individuals” that he broke even on the expensive stunt.

On the 6th of October 2012, the following photographs were taken bringing inspiration to the masses on Twitter:

And here are the adventurous individuals who took them:

• oxonlady
• CarolineBignell
• Pewari
• FrauKulli
• SockYarnShop
• Krautie
• akrabat
• ahpilot
• dugghelen
• ernmander
• raumsinn
• ClareRevell
• icklemouse
• JanetIsserlis
• HeideSpruck
• robdavies
• RAFairman
• Korwhai
• JLM1974
• max1018
• evenstar84
• carocat
• jamesnnb
• mousewords
• kyleorchid
• rnout
• martin_chrisj
• thermalhound
• dndtsa
• dudleypj
• evilrooster
• akaSylvia
• RealCainMosni

Wouldn’t you like to join us?

It’s easy to take part!

1) Take a photo on a Saturday
2) Tweet the url for your photograph to @SatScenes
3) Watch for the next post here to see a great set of all the photographs together.

I’m looking forward to seeing your scenes!

On the 29th of September in 1829, the Metropolitan Police Service was founded in London. The Metropolitan Police Service is responsible for Greater London, excluding the City of London.

Prior to this, English law enforcement was carried out by unpaid parish constables. This system didn’t allow for criminal investigations which is why Henry Fielding created the Bow Street Runners in 1753: a detective team of eight constables to investigate crimes. In 1805, the Bow Street Horse Patrol, the first uniformed police, was established. The Marine Police Force was established in 1798, with 220 constables assisted by 1,000 registered dock workers and was specifically responsible for preventing the theft of cargo.

All three of these forces were merged into the Metropolitan Police Service which was conceived by Sir Robert Peel.

History of the Metropolitan Police Service – Wikipedia

Due to public fears concerning the deployment of the military in domestic matters, Robert Peel organised the force along civilian lines, rather than paramilitary. To appear neutral, the uniform was deliberately manufactured in blue, rather than red which was then a military colour, along with the officers being armed only with a wooden truncheon and a rattle to signal the need for assistance. Along with this, police ranks did not include military titles, with the exception of Sergeant

Meanwhile, no laws were broken and the military was only available for posing on the 29th of September in 2012, when these photographs were taken:

And here are the upstanding citizens who took them:

• martin_chrisj
• 65WZ
• akrabat
• rnout
• Krautie
• Pewari
• JanetIsserlis
• RAFairman
• elibrody
• FrauKulli
• mousewords
• raumsinn
• ernmander
• akaSylvia
• Korwhai
• HeideSpruck
• icklemouse
• ahpilot
• brianhrfc
• robdavies
• HarryMyhre
• Joyuna
• jamesnnb
• CallumDG
• maidbloke
• CliffStanford
• ingridf
• AlistairRae
• carocat
• RealCainMosni

Do you know anyone with a camera?

Of course you do! Why not tell your friends about SatScenes?

Anyone from anywhere in the world can take part! All you have to do is take a photograph on Saturday and send it to @SatScenes to be included.