Piracy on the Low Seas

Some years ago I visited my brother in Holland. On a sunny Saturday he took me sailing on a huge lake. There were lots of yachts and dinghies and one much more threatening boat. It was a very loud, powerful, and worn out speed boat. It was crewed by two young men, and was flying a flag. The flag wasn't the skull and crossbones but I assumed it was the local (very colourful and cheerful) equivalent. The speed boat set its sights on us, chased us down, and came alongside. I was surprised to see that they didn't have grappling hooks and cutlasses. In fact they had very good fenders, a long boathook and a couple of loops of rope so that they could hold themselves alongside. They didn't make us walk the plank, or commandeer our vessel, or steal our money. In fact they politely sold us ice creams.

Thinking back, the Dutch equivalent of the skull and crossbones did look quite similar to the Walls Ice Cream logo.

Richard "How do you say Strawberry Mivvi in Dutch?" B