Pirates at Museum of London Docklands

We were invited to sample some authentic pirate drinks, listen to a talk on gender and sexuality in pirate history, learn to ‘talk like a pirate’, and take inspiration from Westwood, McQueen and Adam Ant in a ‘pirates in fashion’ accessory-making workshop.

There was also a free shot of rum for everyone who came dressed as a pirate.

As we queued for entry, it was quickly evident that this was a popular event; there were an awful lot of people dressed as pirates.

The highlight for me was a guided tour from the exhibition’s curator Tom Wareham.

I’d met with Tom, some months before to be briefed on our designs for the publicity materials; it was great to see and hear his enthusiasm and obvious pride in the exhibition he’d put together.

For the sake of balance, I have thought of one minor criticism.

The charmingly amateur nature of the organisation meant it was quite difficult to know what was going on when and where.

They seemed not to have foreseen the popularity of the late opening and it was difficult to get a gauge of what was happening throughout the museum (we certainly didn’t find many of the billed events).

But that really didn’t matter, the evening was great, the atmosphere was fun and the exhibition is well worth the trip, at any time of the day.