Baptism to bonds, some want them only on 7/7/07

Dubai: Triplets baptised on triple seven - now that's a day to remember for proud parents Bob Ferguson and his wife Anna.

The delighted couple took their three-month-old triplets Chloe, Danielle and Elizabeth, to be baptised at St Mary's Church in Dubai yesterday.

Ferguson, a Scot who is a Senior Vice-President of Emirates, said he and his Filipina wife hope the 'special' date of 7/7/07 will herald a happy life for their daughters, who were born in March one-and-a-half months premature.

He added that his wife, who works for Arabian Adventures, booked their daughters in to be baptised yesterday "quite a while ago", so keen was she to have the ceremony performed on the special date, which some believe is linked to good luck.

There was a rush for National Bonds yesterday, with purchasers hoping that buying on 7/7/07 would give them luck in the monthly draw in which prizes as large as Dh1 million are awarded.

A bus traveller, Rashad Pallikandy, had more than just three sevens on his ticket - having bought it at 07:07 on 7/7/07.

There were people who organised their weddings for yesterday to coincide with the special date, although some church ministers said they had not seen any evidence of couples rushing to walk up the aisle.

Pastor Dan Marshall from Emirates Baptist Church International said no couples had asked him to marry them yesterday. "The evangelical church tends to be unsuperstitious. It would almost be frowned upon," he said. Reverend Canon Stephen Wright, chaplain of Christ Church in Jebel Ali, said one couple had approached him asking to be married on 7/7/07 but he had had to turn them down. "I don't work on a Saturday .... Last year someone asked to be married on 6/6/06 because of the date. They just thought it would be fun."

Anthony Pascual, a Filipino wedding co-ordinator, said his company had received just one request from a couple to marry on 7/7/07. "I don't think they were aware of the significance of the date in any case. They weren't superstitious about it," he said.

Reverend John Weir, chaplain of Holy Trinity Church in Dubai, said he had three weddings planned for 7/7/07 but only because he was about to go on leave and would not be available later. "People are just encouraging superstition."