"I don't really believe it, but . . ."
My mother brought her brood up on sayings and omens. These were as much part of our homely existence as the sound of her voice singing round the house,
" O! O! Antonio!" or
"God be with you till we meet again."
It is little wonder that I automatically repeat these superstitions and pass them on to my son, just as she had garnered them through the years from her parents.

There must be a legion of omens connected with a tickle. Why a tickle, of all sensations, should be an omen I do not know, unless it is that, like a girlish giggle, it belongs to the fleeting flutter of life. Omens should be treated light heartedly.

"Right cry, left joy !" This applies to an irritation of the eyes. I have gone expectantly through the day because of a tickling left eye, waiting for the joy that would come to me. I have also spent much time wondering what great sorrow would lead me to tears, but happily this was usually no more than a visit to a cinema showing an emotional film.

"Right cry, left joy, but—left or right is good at night." The trouble came in determining just when night began. Could it be at four o'clock on a dark winter afternoon? I decided that it could if my right eye was itching, because then I could repeat the jingle and all would be well.

How many times, as children, we suddenly heard my mother's happy singing come to an abrupt end with an exasperated, " Bother this tickle in my nose. I should think I'm going to be vexed or something!" We then watched her vigorously rub the offending nose with the back of her hand. It always tickled-just when her hands were engaged in making pastry or washing linen which, if she had realised it, Was vexation enough.

But she would still expect to be " kissed, cursed, vexed or pleased or shake hands with a fool." This omen presented little trouble; we could all shake hands with ourselves and that disposed of any further repercussions.

A tickling of the elbow meant a strange bed, or a strange bedfellow. Ours was the kind of home where all children were welcome and a spare nightdress was always available, but the elbow doesn't tickle much in my experience.

Just as rare was a tickling knee, but this too had the saying, " You will kneel in a strange church." I don't think we did so very often because, being Free Church members, we usually bowed our heads in prayer.

There seems to be more logic in the omen for a tickling palm; it must have something to do with money. But I wonder why it is " Right receive—left pay away." I seem to pay just as rapidly with my right as with my left and yet not receive any faster.

There is, however, one final tickle omen that I do heartily respect and I do so against all logic, all reason and at the expense of violating my sense of ethical responsibility. For whenever the soles of my feet itch I do indeed " walk upon strange ground," just as my mother had prophesied.

Every summer, about a month before my holiday, the soles of my feet nearly drive me crazy. Sometimes they tickle when I am not expecting to go anywhere new, yet, such is my belief in this particular omen, that I look with expectancy to the invitation which I know will follow. And it does.

Nothing made Mother more angry than to find that we had crossed knives while laying the table. Now look what you have done! There will be a row in the house before the day is out." This was a slight understatement because, with eight of her own and several others visiting, there was a row in the house all the time. Even my credulous nature couldn't understand why she should get so upset about crossed knives on the table when they were more or less always crossed in the drawer.

Fortunately we had many cousins and a large clan of relatives. Fortunately, because we did sometimes place two spoons with one cup and saucer. When this happened Mother would puzzle away as to which of the many relatives was going to get married, for " two spoons in one cup means that there will be a wedding in the family."

As a child I seldom had the pleasure of pouring myself a cup of tea. If I had done so it would have horrified Mother, and not for safety reasons. If two people pour from one teapot it means that twins will be born in the family. We were an ever-increasing family in too little space and a double consignment would have been a calamity indeed. So Mother always poured the tea in our house.
Even the simple process of nail cutting was unfailingly exciting to us, because : Cut them on Monday cut them for health. Cut them on Tuesday cut them for wealth. Cut them on Wednesday cut them for a letter.
Cut them on Thursday for something better.
Cut them on Friday cut them for sorrow. Cut them on Saturday see your sweetheart to-morrow.
Cut them on Sunday play with the Devil all the week.

Perhaps it is a sign of a maturer sense of values that as I got older I would cut them on Monday. In childhood it was a Thursday, because a parcel was better than a letter and, to my childish mind, something better than a letter must be a parcel. In my teens I hopefully cut them every Saturday and then searched the church on Sunday for a new exciting face.

Nothing in our life was ordinary, because it was seen through the eyes of my mother and her omens. Many people would not care whether they saw one crow, or two crows, but to me it meant the difference between sorrow and joy. " See one crow for sorrow and two crows for joy." How often did I scan the horizon until I had spotted my second crow!

To see a wagon-load of hay meant a pleasant surprise coming my way, but it was fatal to cast a backward glance at the wagon because the spell would be broken.

Even getting dressed could be an exciting process. To put a garment on inside-out by accident, meant that a present was on its way. On the other hand, to mend a garment while I was wearing it, meant that I should never again have a new garment of that kind. New shoes were never placed on a table or misfortune would follow.

Of course we were always on the watch against bad luck. It was bad luck to wear green, or to bring May blossom into the house, or to see a pin and not pick it up.
    "See a pin and pick it up, then all day you'll have good luck,
    See a pin and let it lie, then good luck will pass you by."

I am still not sure whether my zeal in picking up pins can be attributed to a natural hatred of waste, or to a fear of the consequences if I don't.

Magic, in the form of sayings and omens, added zest to my childhood; it was light hearted nonsense which we didn't take too seriously. After all, I don't really believe it, but ...