IT HAS struck administrators at NHS Borders health board.
Q: Is it serious? A: Only if the victim is superstitious. It's fear of the number 13. The phobia has a particular resonance when 13 is the date and Friday is the day. Borders health bureaucrats have decided to bring forward the hotly-contested closure of Sister Margaret Cottage Hospital in Jedburgh by a day, to Thursday, October 12, to avoid further public opprobrium.
Q: Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky? A: Fear of the number perhaps dates back to Norse myth. At a dinner attended by 12 gods at Valhalla, their heaven, Loki, a 13th uninvited guest arrived and arranged for Hoder, the god of darkness, to kill Balder the Beautiful, god of joy. The earth went dark.
Q: Other cultures? A: The ancient Romans believed 13 was the sign of death and destruction. Judas, who betrayed Christ, was the 13th guest at the Last Supper. The unpopularity of 13 probably stems from the fact it's the first number after 12, which is considered complete (as in 12 months in the year).
Q: What about Friday? A: Considered inauspicious as Jesus was crucified on that day. It was possibly the day on which Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit. Friday and 13 came together with devastating consequences for the Knights Templar in medieval times.
Q: What happened? A: On Friday, October 13, 1307 (nearly 700 years on, identified as a bad day by and for NHS Borders), Philip IV of France had the French Templars arrested, tortured and put to death by burning for alleged heresies. He desperately needed money to fight the English. His actions enabled him to loot the Templar treasures and wipe out the huge debts he owed the order.
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