Dancin' 'Disco' Jack was in a great mood...
Not only had he managed (with a 'bit' of help) to find his lost treasure, but he'd also bought his flashy new bandana and had a boogielicious time dancing the night away in Willaston. His stylishly dressed, bling laden, body popping antics had so impressed 'Saucy' Maggie LeRoc, Jive Queen of the Roller Disco, that she'd finally agreed to go out on a date with him. Hurrah!
Jack had suggested that a nice romantic picnic on the banks of Raby Mere would be ideal for a quiet 'get-to-know-you' kind of thing, and Maggie had agreed to meet him there on sunday afternoon. Wanting everything to go just right, Jack had hurried down there early to get everything prepared - he'd laid out his blue & black woolly rug on the grass and loaded up his ghettoblaster with a bit of Barry White for when she arrived. Oh yeah, he knew how to set the mood alright! He was qualified to satisfy!
Opening his picnic basket, he'd started to check through it and dig out the ingredients to make Maggie's favourite cheese salad sandwiches - five bread rolls, some crunchy peppers (red, yellow & green - one of each), a crunchy stick of celery, half a dozen lettuce leaves, seven cherry tomatoes (which was just enough if you cut them right), a pair of carrots, a cucumber for cutting into slices, a variety of cheeses (Brie, Double Gloucester and his own personal favourite, Wensleydale), beetro...no hang on, skip the beetroot (it always made him wee a funny colour!), a trio of radishes, nine spring onions, and most important of all, the tomato ketchup...
Ketchup...?
Hang on... where was the ketchup?
Oh no! Oh, no no no! There was no ketchup - he'd forgotten it! How could he have done that?!? Everyone in town knew how much Maggie loved the stuff (it was after all why they called her 'saucy'!) To offer her salad sandwiches without it would just turn the whole date into a complete disaster! Aaahh - Freak Out!
He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. Well... he'd got here early on purpose so that he could iron out any problems that might arise, so he still had time to run and get some - but from where? He didn't have any at his nearby secret pirate base as all his catering supplies were on the 'Funky Town', and that was anchored offshore, way out in the Dee - he could never make it there and back in time. The nearest shop he could think of was Thornton Hough Post Office & General Store which was closed on sundays so that was a no-no too. He did however, have a secret stash of ketchup hidden relatively nearby for condiment emergencies such as this, but couldn't for the life of him remember where it was.
He cast his eyes to the ground in despair, and caught sight of his rug...
...there, near the middle was the faint discolouring of a stubborn ketchup mark that no amount of rubbing with a Vanish Stain Stick had ever quite managed to shift properly - and how it seemed to be cruelly taunting him now!
But... no... hang on a minute, that reminded him of something. Yes... yes, that was it! The location of his ketchup stash could be found by using his rug - somewhere in it's colourful design lay the answer. If only he could work out it's saucy secret...
He needed to find it - and fast!
Can you help Jack solve the puzzle of his rug and find his secret ketchup stash?
If you can, he might just give you a nibble of his crudités!
Arrr!