Don't Holiday in Mexico in August (Old Moore's Almanack)

Member Name: aefra

Product:	Old Moore's Almanack
Date:	20/01/04 (1223 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of information make it inexpensive

Disadvantages: *

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br>Come the second week into the New Year and diaries and calendars can be found at sale prices. Not so Old Moore's Almanack. Amazon and similar outlets were already out of stock as were the local newsagents. Although first published in the 17th century this little book of 87 pages still sells by the million.

Dr Francis Moore, court physician to Charles 11, composed a pamphlet giving herbal treatments and suggesting the best astrological times for taking them. Since then his name has been used as a pseudonym by all the following compilers of Old Moore's Almanack which developed into a mixture of predictions of world events, astrological forecasts and even lucky dates (depending on your birth sign) to play bingo. You may scoff, but come with me anyway through the 2004 edition.

The cover is just under 8" x 6" and is white with mauve edging. Headed "The Original Edition" it gives us the dates 1697 and 2004. Photographs of celebrities, a racing scene and a depiction of the National Lottery are beside promises of our lucky lotto guide, weather, and sun and moon tables among other goodies.

On the first page "Dr Francis Moore" explains that five planets trigger the history-making events of the world. He goes on to tell us of this year's alignment and how the UK and other parts of the world will be influenced politically and financially.

A section on World Affairs predicts in more depth what we may expect for individual states within the world beginning with the ever-present threat of terrorism. The first couple of paragraphs look worrying - but then Nostradamus predicted that the world would end as we know it in July 1999, so relax.

Celebrities such as Prince Harry, Will Young, Graham Norton and even Ken Barlow of Coronation Street have their own pages before the booklet goes on to offer our own year for 2004 month by month astrologically speaking. It seems
that, as a libran, professionally I will have a lot more responsibility. I hope not as I am happily retired and have left all that behind me. So any offer to run the railways will be turned down flat.

By page 37 Old Moore has entered a section in which month by month we learn of portentous happenings such as a possible coup in Nigeria in January as well as new child-protection measures at home and the suggestion that at National Hunt meetings you will be luckier betting on favourites in novice chases rather than hurdle races. Racing with the Trainers should be a handy guide to speculating folk as they are offered favourable periods for individual racehorse trainers and jockeys as well as trap numbers to keep in mind month by month at various greyhound tracks. An astro-guide for Thunderball and lucky dates to play Bingo can be borne in mind.

Aside from gambling the gardener has a page for best sowing and planting times and the angler is advised which techniques will be rewarded at certain times of the year. All this will be helped by the lighting-up-times chart and list of UK events and fairs.

Old Moore's Almanack tells us that it predicted the Munich Crisis of 1938, the abdication of Edward V111 in 1936 and the fatal floods in Europe of 2002. Since I have seen copies for sale for years such as 1935 and 1967 I suppose these claims can be veified or not by the researcher and those who have kept past editions.

This is not the only publication of its type produced by Foulsham whose Raphael's Ephemeris written by Jeff Mayo is claimed to be the most accurate astrological guide you can buy. For the uniniated, an ephemiris is a table giving daily positions of heavenly bodies and I see Old Moore's Almanack as a sister publication with more general information.

I am open-minded about astrology, not disbelieving or particularly drawn to it. A little like the U.F.O's my friend is fascinated by. I don&
#39;t disbelieve that they exist, just can't drum up any interest. Even so, for £1.75 little is lost for a browse through and if you are really interested there are many advertisements for astral readings, holy squares of magic, ancient magical talismans and magic prayers. Among them is a lucky number telephone draw for £20,000 to be won if you don't mind paying 60p per minute to check the numbers once a month. I shan't bother.

I have to admit that my copy this year was bought for me and it is years since I have read one. However, its popularity continues as it has over the centuries, which is borne out by the fact that this year's edition was snapped up so fast by eager readers. So if you want to make a killing on the stockmarket, bet on that 100/1 outsider or plan your holiday so you are not in the Phillipines in april (insurgency) or Mexico in august (earthquakes) this could be for you.


Note. This is in the right cat. Dooyoo put 2003 when my request was for 2004

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