French Monkey Spies???

[underpants]

Monkey bone fuels British town's curious simian myth

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050603/sc_afp/britainfranceanimal_050603121921;_ylt=AlwSjYUMlXNfgUREXUuKSQ8TO7gF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGVna3NhBHNlYwNzc3JlbA--

LONDON (AFP) - A bone found on a British beach has sparked renewed interest in one of the country's most curious myths -- that a monkey washed ashore during the Napoleonic Wars was executed by suspicious locals for being a French spy.

The discovery has intrigued locals, given the town's curious folklore from the Anglo-French Napoleonic conflict, which lasted from 1793 to 1815.

According to popular legend, a monkey dressed in a French uniform was washed ashore at Hartlepool and tried by local magistrates on suspicion of being a French spy.

Because it did not answer questions they presumed the animal was guilty, and it was hanged from a lamppost.

Although the tale's authenticity is unknown, Hartlepool's football team has long used a man dressed in a monkey suit -- dubbed "H'Angus" -- as its mascot.

In a bizarre twist to the story, the man who used to wear the monkey suit, Stuart Drummond, was elected Harlepool's mayor in 2002 after running for the post in the guise of H'Angus.

[matcom]

1. THIS ain't no French Monkey!

[Zuni]

4. does that pic have anything to do with the story?

nice, but seemingly irrelevant :P

[kick-ass-bob]

6. It has everything to do with the story.

All that I care about anyways...

:bounce:

[underpants]

8. Butt ....Butt

Oh never mind

EDITED for spelling

[Deja Q]

9. Yargh! I'm blind!!

[GOPisEvil]

2. They expected the monkey to answer questions?

Where was this "trial" held? The local pub?

Wow.

[ikri]

12. Since Hartlepool is within a few miles of my home I'd better jump in here

Hartlepool during the Napoleonic wars was a small fishing village. Most of the inhabitants wouldn't have traveled more than 15 miles from their homes during their entire lives let alone met someone from another country.

Now a monkey is washed ashore dressed in a French soldier's uniform having survived the sinking of either a French ship where the monkey was what passed for entertainment of from a zoo ship where the owners thought it would be funny to have a monkey dressed in a French uniform (the ship changes depending on who you talk to).

The locals, having never met a Frenchman and having little idea of what the French language sounded like, spot a biped wearing a French uniform. Having spoken to it they conclude that since it neither speaks or comprehends English, but will jabber in some language unknown to the locals, that it must indeed by a Frenchman.

The unfortunate monkey was in fact given a trial. But since it was a monkey it had no way to defend itself against the charges of spying.

It was subsequently hung on the beach just next to the town walls.

For years calling a Hartlepudlian a Monkey Hanger was a quick way to start a fight. More recently though the inhabitants of Hartlepool have taken it on as their own local nickname, preferential to the normal regional nickname Smoggies.

[Zuni]

14. wow. A voice of reason on an insane thread

thank you for the info. That is the kind of story i love, one that gives a little town character---a unique bit of history that seperates it from the rest of the world

What a bizarre story, though. You don't come across that every day!

[underpants]

16. You'd think "Hartlepudlian" would be sufficient to start a fight

That is a very good explanation. Until WWII most (say 80%) of people in the US hadn't traveled more than 30 miles from where they were born either.

[Spinzonner]

3. More likely it was a Bush ancestor

But it's an easy mistake to make

[Zuni]

5. I wonder what the trial was like

the 1800s equivalent of drunken soccer hooligans accusing a monkey of espionage...:eyes:

[underpants]

7. Combine posts #2 and #5 and I think you have your answer

:beer::grr::spank:

[Zuni]

10. did you just re-enact the monkey trial in smileys?

Here is how I think it would look
:popcorn:
:beer: :toast:
:wtf:
:shrug:
:wow:
:mad: :grr: :mad: :grr:
:think:
:grr: :grr:
:nopity:
:spank:
:patriot:

:beer: :toast: :beer:

:beer: :patriot: :beer:

[underpants]

11. You don't find many monkey trial re-enactors around here

Mostly Civil War re-enactors...at least that is what they say they are.

ON EDIT-VERY well done If I may say so myself.

[Zuni]

13. it was really just thrown together without much rehersal

kind of sloppy, but it captures the chaos of a bunch of drunken Brits lynching a monkey in a French uniform....:P

[underpants]

15. Which is hard to do

especially in oils