RainRainRain. There, I said it!

uncovering the excavated skeleton in the morning

Neither cold, heat nor wind could stop the intrepid workers of SH2015 Gaza Gray. Only one thing could stop us and that was rain. Which is why we were forbidden to utter the word "rain" or any of its incarnations during the entire dig period. If you did, you might attract the attention of the rain gods and that would be bad for business. As your penalty for such an infraction, you were given a "strafdoppe" that evening in the boma, i.e., a shot of mampoer or moonshine.

You would think it would be easy to avoid saying the word "rain" for a week, but you would be surprised how easily the word is uttered in normal conversation. Especially when you are working in the heat in a parched Kruger National Park after a particularly dry winter.

I got caught out at least twice that I remember. Once in the morning before we uncovered the exposed skeletons that we had revealed the day before. There in the middle of the plastic tarp which had protected them overnight from the animals and the elements was a small puddle of water. It had clearly drizzled a little the night before.

The second time, it was much more innocent. I didn't even realize I had said it until I was called up to collect my strafdoppe that night. But now that the dig is complete and we have left the park,

red sky in morning, sailors take warning! Rain today!

... let it rain!