As of 05.48 am it was officially the First Day of Spring.

Friday the 13th is widely hailed as the most common superstition in the world. It’s the second one in two months this year, so I thought that I would explore the Phobia!!

The fear of Friday the 13th (known as paraskevidekatriaphobia) isn’t exactly grounded in scientific logic. But the really strange thing is that most of the people who believe the day is unlucky can offer no explanation at all, logical or illogical. As with most superstitions, people fear Friday the 13th for its own sake, without any need for background information.

It is the linking of Friday and the number 13 that make up the even more unlucky Friday 13th.

Facts or Myths.

• Never change your bed on Friday; it will bring bad dreams.
•  Don’t start a trip on Friday or you will have misfortune.
• If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow.
• Ships that set sail on a Friday will have bad luck – as in the tale of H.M.S. Friday … One hundred years ago, the British government sought to quell once and for all the widespread superstition among seamen that setting sail on Fridays was unlucky. A special ship was commissioned, named “H.M.S. Friday.” They laid her keel on a Friday, launched her on a Friday, selected her crew on a Friday and hired a man named Jim Friday to be her captain. To top it off, H.M.S. Friday embarked on her maiden voyage on a Friday, and was never seen or heard from again. ( I don’t believe a word of it) .
• It was on a Friday, supposedly, that Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit.
• In pagan Rome, Friday was execution day (later Hangman’s Day in Britain)
• Thirteen is significant to Christians because it is the number of people who were present at the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles). Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th member of the party to arrive.
•  In 2006, a study by the RAC revealed that the number of personal injuries leading to hospital admissions because of road accidents had increased by as much as 52 per cent on Friday 13th.
•  Christian legend holds that 13 is unholy because it signifies the gathering of 12 witches and the devil to form a covern.
• Hindu and Norse people believe that If 13 people sit down to dinner together, all will die within the year.

So are you a sufferer of  paraskevidekatriaphobia or a skeptic? Will you be avoiding damaging mirrors, walking under ladders or looking for black cats…………………………Dare you ignore Friday the 13th!!!!!!

The mornings are getting lighter the days longer and the dawn chorus starts before I get up so…………

When is the First Day of Spring ?

Climatologically The Met Office classes the first day of spring as the 1st day of March,  but because of the variation in the days on which the equinox and solstice falls, it is more convenient to use whole months. The Met Office therefore classifies the spring months as being March, April and May (Boring)

Traditionally the first day of spring is Astronomically derived therefore, The first day of spring this year is Friday March 20th. The equinox will be at 5:48 GMT. At this time the Sun will cross directly over the Earth’s equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, this is the moment of the autumnal equinox.
Vernal comes originally from the Latin word for bloom and refers to the fact that, in the northern hemisphere, this equinox marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. An equinox is a time when the nights are as long as the days and the vernal equinox is recognised the world over as the start of the new astrological cycle.

But with Global Warming who knows??

I know which one I’ll go with what about you ???

British Waterways launched today a hotline for the public to report abandoned shopping trolleys found in canals and rivers.
There are over 3000 trolleys dumped each year and it costs £150,000 to recover them which according to Robin Evans equates to just 18 minutes of profit from the leading supermarkets.

BW conducted a survey of 1991 people, of those 86% believe that the supermarkets should pay for the removal of dumped trolleys.

Shopping trolleys are symbolic of the mindless pollution that takes place along our canals and rivers every year

Robin Evans
British Waterways

The Trolley Hotline can be contacted on on 01923 291120, or by visiting www.britishwaterways.co.uk/trolley.

A few months ago we got a free pack of Phillips energy saving light bulbs from British Gas and as I had tried these so called “Eco bulbs” a few years back and found them next to useless they got filed in the garage.
I only decided to use the freebies because two of the bulbs in the wall lights in the lounge blew at the same time and as usual I didn’t have any spares.

I was pleasantly surprised, the new generation of “Eco bulbs” strike up quicker and seem to be a lot whiter.
The only thing I found was that you need the next wattage up to get the same light output i.e. 40 watt old bulb needs a 60 watt Eco bulb but with an energy consumption of only 14 watts and an expected life of over 6 years whose to grumble.
When I went in to Waitrose today the bulbs were on sale at £1.49 buy one get one free.

My route to work is mainly rural and this morning driving up  out of a dip I saw silhouetted against the near full moon a herd of deer and with the snow on the ground it looked like a Christmas card scene. Its moments like these that really cheer you up 

While I was reading today’s copy of the Times I spotted a letter sent in by Mike Borshell of Bishops Stortford.

Sir,So local authorities are running out of salt and grit. You would have thought they would have a slush fund to avoid this happening.

Well it made me chuckle……………………..

While I was cooking breakfast I couldn’t help but notice the amount of birds that were using the feeders.

There were two Robins having a territory battle (the winner is in the picture above) but wouldn’t stay still long enough for me to photograph.

I was also pleasantly supprised to get a picture of a Gold Finch with this cheeky Blue Tit. Other birds visiting today were a pair of Blackbirds, Sparrows both varieties,Starlings,Wood Pigeons and a Collared Dove.

Woke up expecting snow ….nothing….even Jo decided that she would drive. I set off, just out of the village it started, not snow, but sleet thick and heavy. The back roads were ok with only three lightly flooded sections. The A10 was a different matter with the sleet now very heavy, I was passed by many vehicles doing well over 60 mph……………How the hell would they be able to stop in an emergency beats me. The other thing is why don’t drivers put their lights on it’s not them seeing it’s being seen by others.

As I was looking through the February edition of Waterways World the advert for Kingsground Narowboats caught my eye.

Would you rather have your money floating around the rather ugly world of the banking system?

OR

Would it be safer floating round the beautiful canal system right here at home?

With the interest rates paid out by the banks and building societies I think I agree with Kingsground. At least you would be getting pleasure out of your savings rather than keeping them under the bed (even that would be safer than a bank)or at the mercy of a corrupt and immoral banking system.

The banks in my view brought on this calamity by sheer avarice with no thought to their social responsibilities just to their immoral bonuses. They still haven’t learned their lesson absorbing the government bail out money like sponges but not releasing any to hard pressed business and mortgages. Someone somewhere is making a lot of money at our expense.

“Vive la Révolution!