Happy Friday the 13th!

Are you suffering from Friggatriskaidekaphobia?

The only bit of this that I could read was the phobia part at the end! I can't pronounce it, let alone spell it! But it's easy really, it is simply the fear of Friday 13! And as superstitions go, according to Tom Fernsler who is a mathematician and expert in the field of number thirteen at the University of Delaware, it is number one in America (where else really?) with approximately 17 million people believing that something really bad is going to happen to you on that day. Apart from Friday being a bad day, add the fear of number thirteen to it and there is a recipe for disaster!

Interestingly, this is the third Friday 13 this year, which is the most that can occur in a single calendar year. And for the first time since 1984, January 13, April 13 and July 13 were exactly thirteen weeks apart! That will give all the triskaidekaphobics (fear of the number thirteen) something to think about!

Now, I am not at all superstitious of either Fridays or the number thirteen. I always loved Fridays when I was teaching as it heralded in the weekend, and my mum always maintained that thirteen was her lucky number. Our house was number 213, and there were thirteen days between her and my dad's birthday. However, I never walk under ladders for fear of something falling on me, like the man on the ladder, and I would never, ever push my luck by flying on Friday 13. That is simply my phobia of flying, not my phobia of days and dates! But if I had to, I would cross my fingers and touch wood, and find a lucky rabbit's foot to carry in my pocket. (I wonder how the rabbits view that idea?)

My lucky black cat!

But, I have a black cat around who wards off evil spirits and keeps me safe. Or is it bad luck to have a black cat cross your path?

Superstitious? No, not me!

Superstition to Super!

You know how things come in 3's? You hear about an accident and then another one, and until you hear about a third one you stay at home? Or you drop a glass, then a plate and almost throw a bowl onto the floor to get it over with! Well, at the beginning of May, we decided to go away in Gemsquash. Rob found a perfect place only a couple of hours drive from here, pet friendly and away from 'civilisation' so we spent a happy couple of days sorting out and packing and organising food and bedding and making sure that Alfie's toys were ready.

Then, the day before we were due to go, Rob's glasses broke! They just cracked across the bridge of his nose and fell off! Thank goodness he had his old, heavy ones as backup!

Then, we decided to switch the caravan fridge on so that I could simply transfer from the kitchen just before we left. Nothing, it was dead. No reassuring hum, nothing. Rob checked the wiring and the plug, and even fitted a new plug just in case!

Now, remember we had given Gemsquash a facelift and that involved moving the fridge, so Rob pulled it out and found a loose wire! But, he wasn't sure where it went and rather than make things worse, he did the right thing and called an electrician who promised to call round early the next morning.
That was the second thing, and we just knew that there would be a third waiting for us! The next morning the electrician arrived dead on time and fixed the fridge in a matter of minutes. Phew, it rattled into life and we were set to go. Packing completed, we loaded the dog into the car, and put our shoulders to the caravan ready to push.

Then, the fates laughed and sent number three! The jockey wheel jammed solid and we couldn't move it! It would go backwards and forwards but would not allow us to turn left or right. Rob did a spot of DIY with a four pound hammer and managed to break the handle too!! By now I was wondering if there was a message hidden in this somewhere and was ready to unload and unpack!

Just then a black cat crossed my path.......not unusual seeing that we have two of them!

We decided to take a chance and go! We heaved and shoved Gemsquash into the drive and Rob reversed the car with precision, thanks to my perfect hand signals! And we were off!

What a wonderful place it turned out to be. A citrus farm with the camping area right on the edge of the Olifants River. We parked on the grass under huge trees a stone's throw from the water.

Taken from the water's edge.

A little manoeuvring was necessary to get the caravan into position before Rob unhooked it as the jockey wheel didn't miraculously unjam itself on the way, but as we were the only people there, there was plenty of room to do this.