Our “What Are Your Memories?” group met on Wednesday 09 September 2026 to examine their recalled sayings and superstitions. The group managed at least 16 of them! You might have your own ideas as to where they originated.

We started with “The Wreck of the Hesperus”, used by parents to describe a child’s mess. We then moved on to the origins of “A Hair of the Dog” which had its origins in the early practice of medicine. Then we heard an explanation of “Bless You!” after someone has sneezed.

A stranger ritual was “Passing Under the Donkey’s Belly” which was done three times in order to cure Whooping Cough. Fortunately that is no longer practised! What is still practised is the saying of “White Rabbits” on the first of each month for good luck. From good luck, we moved to the superstition that it is bad luck to seat 13 people round a table, possibly from the Last Supper described in the New Testament?

We then heard about “First Footing” on Hogmanay, with a dark-haired man and a piece of coal. There were many superstitions connected with that celebration, and we heard about using a left sock to cure a sore throat!! From Scotland, we travelled to Egypt for stories about snakes and vultures, and even Queen Cleopatra, who died from a snake bite, managed an appearance. We then heard about red ribbons or jewellery being used to keep evil spirits at bay.

We then crossed the seas with “Wind Before Rain? Soon Dry Again”, and “Mackerel Skies and Mare’s Tails Make Tall Ships Carry Low Sails”. That led to “Laugh and the world laughs with you – Weep and you weep alone!” and several sayings connected with good and bad luck. Bad luck took us to cats and walking under ladders, and a possible connection between the religion of ancient Egypt and the Holy Trinity based on the three sides of a triangle.

From there, we looked at “A Present in Leather, inscribed Parted Forever” which surprised some of us. That connected to the saying that you should never give an empty purse as a present, and if you are given a knife as a present you must always pay the giver with a coin. We then heard why a 4-leaf clover is considered lucky, and why it is unlucky to wish Happy Birthday before the actual day. Bad luck led to the superstition that lighting a third cigarette from a single match was unlucky and its connection with the trenches in the Great War.

We then had an explanation for why people touch wood when they are hoping for good luck, and why the full moon should never be viewed through glass. We heard an old saying that “Morning Troubles lead to Afternoon Luck”; why you must never stir a pot with a knife, and why you should never rock and empty rocking chair. With that we were back to the natural world for magpies – with all thirteen verses recited! There was spilt salt thrown over the left shoulder, and we finished with stories about spiders.

The group will meet again on 14 October 2026 at 10:00 am for “Memories of Food” and “Something not allowed as a Child”.