Greencastle Couple win €30,000 on the Big Money Game
I saw her in Centra last week. I was coming to the counter on Thursday and she was on the till. “Stop whistling, Gerry” she said. “Don’t you know it is bad luck to whistle indoors?” I didn’t but she checked with a woman behind me in the queue who happened to be from Poland and she said that it was considered unlucky too in her country.
I’m not superstitious and I would think that is something that was made up one day by someone who didn’t like the noise of someone whistling in the house.
Bridget McLaughlin was saying it in a friendly way but I wondered why she was so insistent in avoiding and possibility of bad luck. The answer was already in my hands. When I got home I read the Inishowen Independent that I had bought and there Bridget was the girl on Page 3 along with her husband Paul who had bought the ticket along with their daughter Rebecca.
No Bad Luck
The story said that Paul had bought the ticket that would allow them to appear on the show and that Bridget would represent him. No wonder she wanted to avoid bad luck.
I saw her the next day and wished her well. Then I started thinking “What if she did badly and hardly won any money. Would I get the blame for whistling indoors? Would it all be down to me”?
I needn’t have worried. Bridget won €30,000 on the show. It couldn’t happen to a nicer person. She is always friendly, smiling and helpful in Centra even though she describes herself as ‘grumpy’.
Not Grumpy
I don’t think she’ll be grumpy this week – unless, of course, after her big win she does what many pools winners do and tells her boss to ‘stuff it’. I couldn’t see Bridget doing that anyway and it seems a fairly relaxed and friendly crowd there.
With local property prices the way they are she could nearly buy Centra anyway. Being from Greencastle. I’m sure that they’ll enjoy the Greencastle Regatta this coming weekend especially well.
I wonder if it is safe yet for me to whistle in Centra again. I’ll give it a go on Monday morning if she is there.