Aaaargh, me hearties! No, it’s not Talk Like A Pirate Day, just the news that Captain Jack Sparrow’s ship, The Black Pearl, will be in town this Saturday. What better way to spend the weekend than stumping around the infamous pirate ship on your wooden leg, drinking rum and making scurvy dogs walk the plank. Or whatever it is pirates get up to these days. Details of the visit are as follows, Jim-lad…

“Hollywood’s most famous ship - The Black Pearl - arrives in Liverpool this Saturday. Members of the public are invited to follow in the footsteps of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow to help raise funds for the fire-damaged Cutty Sark.

In real life The Black Pearl - of the blockbusting Oscar-winning Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy - is a full-size replica of the original HMS Bounty.

It was actually built for the 1962 film ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’, starring Marlon Brando, which looked at the infamous Royal Navy mutiny of 1789 in the Southern Pacific Ocean.

HMS Bounty will dock in Liverpool at the South Quay of Canning half-tide dock, facing the Merseyside Maritime Museum, on Saturday August 18.

It will be open to the public between 10am and 5.30pm and tours feature costumed characters from the two famous films.

The 91ft long Tall Ship is making a world tour to help raise funds for The Cutty Sark which was damaged by fire on May 21 this year. Adults will be charged £5 to board and children (under 16’s) go free, all proceeds go towards The Cutty Sark restoration appeal.

As part of the visit there will also be pirate themed street entertainment, provided by the Albert Dock Company.”

Details on HMS Bounty
The Cutty Sark restoration appeal

Liverpool Chamber’s last ‘quick poll’ on our homepage asked ‘does your business offer flexible working’?

Over 400 people responded, revealing an apparently even split in the city. 50.37% said they did have access to flexible working, while 49.63% did not.

We’ve posted about flexible working several times on the Chamber blog. The Equal Opportunities Commission recently found that companies who introduce flexible working patterns report that they see increased productivity, improved staff engagement, and are better placed to deal with customer needs.

Check out our other posts on the subject to learn more about the benefits of flexible working.

Or visit the Chamber’s main site to take part in our latest quick poll. In the light of today’s A-level results, we’re asking if today’s school-leavers are equipped academically for employment.