A common superstition states that if you say “rabbit, white rabbit” or simply "rabbit, rabbit" immediately upon waking on the first day the month, it will bring you good luck. It must be said early in the morning, before any other word has been uttered, otherwise the charm loses its force. The reward for saying this is variously given as general good luck for the month, or the receipt of a gift within a few days. In some districts it is considered necessary to say 'Hares' or 'Black Rabbits' when going to bed on the night before, as well as 'Rabbits' or ‘White Rabbits' in the morning. Today the superstition has spread to most of the English-speaking countries of the world. Its exact origin of is unknown, but the superstition is probably related to the belief in the rabbit or hare as a “lucky” animal, as exhibited in the practice of carrying a rabbit’s foot for luck. End of lesson.

How many times have you I bemoaned the fact that we make so little of Halloween here in the UK? Well, it can only be three times, when you come to think of it, at least on the Blog. Actually there seems to be an increased interest in Halloween if the number of costumes for adults in the shops is anything to go by. But Emma and I are still waiting for our first invitation to a Halloween party. [Emma has just reminded me that my brother invited us to a Tarts and Vicars party before he emigrated to Australia, but that was a New Year’s Eve do.] Anyway, for your eyes only, here is Emma, the little devil, promoting fornication and other sins of the flesh. Obviously the picture was actually taken before Halloween, otherwise it couldn’t have appeared here. A dress-rehearsal for the party that never was. Nevertheless, I succumbed to temptation and fucked her rigid.

Now and then I feel I have to say a word or two about the images I publish on the Blog, lest I be accused of being less than truthful. I take photographs of Emma (and of Emma and me) for my own amusement - for the simple pleasure of taking them, downloading them, editing them, and viewing them, individually or as slide-shows. And I also use many of them as illustrations on the Blog. Now, while I am completely honest in the text of my posts - if I say we fucked on Monday, we fucked on Monday - the pictures are not usually taken at the time unless I specifically say they were. If I leave the camera set up for a week or so and take a few dozen acceptable photographs, I don’t think it dishonest or unreasonable to use the pictures later, so long as I am up-front about it. They are not intended to be anything more than illustrations.