old habits

I used to be very superstitious when younger, and saw a single magpie on the way to the maternity hospital, about 20 mins drive away. I got quite upset and DH stopped the car and said we would we wait until I saw the second. In the end, I begged him to go. When I reached the maternity home, they to,d me not to leave it so late next time. We never saw another one, but my daughter was delivered without complications.
I read somewhere that if you see a sole magpie, it will be a male and he is scared of his wife so if you say Mrs. Magpie wants you he will rush off without causing any trouble!

I don't eat it either because of my (lack of) teeth.

JoyBloggs

It was...
'Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief' in my day! No transport to my wedding predicted!
No I don't still do it because I don't eat stoned fruit any more.

Joy, I'm curious why you don't eat stoned fruit any more?

The continuation of Tinker, Taylor in my childhood was "this year, next year, sometime, never" for when we would be married, and "silk, ritches, cotton, rags" for what we would wear as a bride.

I loved skipping in and out of the big rope in the playground. Trying to remember the skipping chants.

Romola, I enjoyed your aspirational rhyme: I feel that we were raised aiming too low.

Ah yes I had forgotten the wedding dress materials. Thank you for the reminder. I am enjoying the different things, some I havent heard of before and others brought to mind

Ashcombe

Wedding dress material: Silk, satin, muslin, rags!

I remember that one! The rope got turned faster to catch us out sooner. Happy days.

Calendargirl

dragonfly46

I count when I see magpies - 1 for sorrow, 2 for joy, 3 for a letter, 4 for a boy, 5 for silver, 6 for gold, 7 for a secret never to be told.

I thought it was ‘3 for a girl, 4 for a boy’…?

I did too.

We used to play a communal skipping game with a long rope:-

Ears and eyes and mouth and chin.
When is your birthday?
Please run in.
January, February, March, April etc.

My mum used to count everything, but particularly liquids. Eight to pour a cup of tea, twenty four to fill her teapot, ten to fill a hot water bottle. I think she lost count if she was running a bath.

Wedding dress material: Silk, satin, muslin, rags!

For the socially ambitious, maybe...

Soldier brave, sailor true, dashing airman, Oxford blue
Skilled physician, curate pale, sporting noble, squire so hale

Ah, the male counting we had was double the female set so:~

Tinker, taylor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man. beggar man .thief!

Love the elephant , monkey , tangerine. Had never heard that before but also sounds a great line when we used to go skipping with a big rope and we all went in and out together!

We also said "Good morning Mr Magpie" and that rhyme for us went
One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy. five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never told.

Cant remember the name of the song but the Uthanks used to sing this folksong beautifully with those words.

We said 3 for a letter, 4 for a boy, but when we were older, we said 3 for a girl, 4 for a boy. We also said, eight for a wish, nine for a kiss, 10 for an evening ending in bliss!

dragonfly46

I count when I see magpies - 1 for sorrow, 2 for joy, 3 for a letter, 4 for a boy, 5 for silver, 6 for gold, 7 for a secret never to be told.

I thought it was ‘3 for a girl, 4 for a boy’…?

Magenta8

Lady, baby, Gypsy, Queen, elephant, monkey, tangerine; was what we used to say as a skipping rhyme. I have no idea what it meant.

We said that too, and ^this year, next year, sometime, never for when we’d get married.

Lady, baby, Gypsy, Queen, elephant, monkey, tangerine; was what we used to say as a skipping rhyme. I have no idea what it meant.

I'm with JoyBloggs on fruit stones, and I count magpies ( after I've said Good Morning to them, obviously)..

Tinker Taylor Soldier sailor etc for fruit stones and I also count magpies lots of them around here😂

I hang them over my ears for a while and when I get around to counting the stones as a great Le Carre fan I also would say Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. There are 4 and Allardine I think is the next sentence.

I count when I see magpies - 1 for sorrow, 2 for joy, 3 for a letter, 4 for a boy, 5 for silver, 6 for gold, 7 for a secret never to be told.

The last time I ate cherries I found myself counting the stones:
tinker, tailor, soldier, spy! I think I read too many paperbacks!

It was...
'Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief' in my day! No transport to my wedding predicted!
No I don't still do it because I don't eat stoned fruit any more.