morning
Sir Francis Drake is perhaps the most famous
English sailor of all time. He was the first Englishman ever to
sail right round the world. He was also a great hero of the wars
against Spain in the reign of Elizabeth 1.
The drum which he used to take with him on his voyages around the
world still hangs on the walls of Buckland Abbey near Plymouth.
There is an interesting superstition surrounding this drum. It is
said that Drake promised to come back and fight for England if
she were ever at war again. The signal for danger was to be a
banging on the drum.
There are occasions when people claim to have heard the drum -
for example when the First World War broke out in 1914. Some also
claim that other great English war heroes, such as Nelson, were
Drake who came back to life in another form.
Dressing and undressing are routine activities which most of us carry out every day of our lives. When we get up in the morning, we put on our clothes and then at bedtime we take them off again. It's not really surprising that various superstitions have built up over the years around such a common, everyday activity.
In the north of England, people believe that
you should get someone to pinch you every time you try on a
brand-new piece of clothing. This is considered lucky.
It is not so lucky to button up a shirt or blouse the wrong way.
If you do put the wrong button in a buttonhole, then you must
immediately undo the whole thing and start again.
In some parts of Britain, it is also thought to be unlucky to put
the left arm of a piece of clothing on first.
If you make a complete hash of dressing yourself, and put on your
clothes inside out, then it is very bad luck if you try to put
them on the right way again. It is much better to keep them on
the wrong way round for the rest of the day.
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