Schoolgirl turns 12 on final sequential date of the century

Forget about a sweet 16th or turning 18 – the number 12 will be all the rage today as revellers across the Capital celebrate a rare and auspicious date on the calendar.

The 12-12-12 is viewed as lucky by some because it marks the century’s final sequential date.

And its importance is not lost on Leith schoolgirl Angela Hill, who turns 12 on the unusual date.

Angela is one of 157 children born across Scotland on this day exactly 12 years ago.

She said she was excited at the prospect, adding: “I think it’s quite weird. I’ve told some of my friends. I’m not superstitious, but 12’s my lucky number.”

The self-confessed tomboy, who counts boxing and BMX racing amongst her hobbies, said she would celebrate the occasion by joining a football team for the first time.

She will be stuck in school rather than blowing out candles at 12.12pm, but predicted she would spend the evening ice skating after class.

Eighteenth century Edinburgh venue The Caves has been exclusively booked in honour of the unusual date.

Events manager Lisa Rowan-Harney said the popular wedding venue was usually flooded with Christmas work parties at this time of year, but a one-off birthday event had upstaged the usual bookings.

She said: “We do have an event that was booked because the gentleman’s birthday was the 12th of December. It’s his 56th birthday, but he’s decided that it’s only ever going to be once in a lifetime that he gets 12-12-12.

“It’s not really normal to have a birthday party for 150 people on a Wednesday night. A Christmas party when it’s been paid for by the company, yes. A birthday party on a Wednesday night, no.

“He’s excited. He believes it’ll be the best year ever if he has a party on that date.”

Similar dates in the past such as 11-11-11 have traditionally prompted a surge in couples getting married.

Twenty-eight partners are registered to tie the knot across Edinburgh and the Lothians today in an unusually high number for a Wednesday in December.

Lauren Robertson, marketing manager for The Balmoral hotel, said: “Strangely we haven’t had anyone specifically booking in for 12/12/12, even though we had a lot of interest in 11/11/11. People are already getting bookings in for 11/12/13 too.”

Even social media forum Twitter has announced changes for the significant date, with a new profile set-up to be rolled out to millions of users across Scotland. Documentary makers all across the planet will also be taking part in the One Day on Earth project by recording their own lives over a 24-hour period. Organised by the United Nations, events have previously been held on 10/10/10 and 11/11/11.

However, not everyone is convinced the rare date is a cause for celebration, with doomsayers predicting it will spell the end of the world. Many a doomsday prophet has made much of the fact that a three-mile wide asteroid was set to make a fly-by of Earth at some point this morning – although if you’re reading this, Toutatis has already safely passed us by.