Meteor over Scotland: My three-year-old dreamed of a shooting star on the same night that one flew through the sky – Hayley Matthews

My youngest has caught me off guard with his stories on several occasions.
A 'brilliant fireball' was seen in the skies above parts of the UKA 'brilliant fireball' was seen in the skies above parts of the UK
A 'brilliant fireball' was seen in the skies above parts of the UK

He comes out with some one-liners that often leave me wondering how on Earth a three-year-old would know such things. Sometimes, it is almost as if he's been here before.

However, recently he really managed to shock me to the point of disbelief when we chatted about his stories or, should I say, predictions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

An example of his magical toddler powers was when last week I said to myself out loud, "oh what do I need from the shop?" I needed one thing and couldn't remember what it was. He piped up "toilet roll mummy" and, right enough, that was the item.

I hadn't said it out loud and I thought it was pretty sharp for a kid his age to even know that we were spinning the last roll! He's very switched on.

However, during the week we were taking about dreams and the hairs on my arms really stood up. I'm not talking the average spooky story when your kid tells you how they're talking to "that floating lady in the hallway wearing a white nighty". This was more of a "how on Earth could you know that" kind of story.

As we were on the sofa having a wee cuddle before getting ready for the day, he told me he'd been dreaming of cars, trucks, cement mixers and excavators, you know, the usual things that a three-year-old boy loves.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Then he said: "No wait! Actually mummy, I remember dreaming of a big, massive, shooting star in the sky last night.” I didn't think much of it, other than what a sweet dream, then went on with my day.

Read More
Was it a meteor or a shooting star? Reports across Scotland of mysterious light ...

Fast-forward to the afternoon and the papers and news channels were sparkling with news of a shooting star, whizzing past Scotland just the night before!

As I watched the video footage captured by lots of members of the public, I tried to work out whether that amazing gleaming shape whirling across the sky was a meteor or something popping along to keep an eye on us all.

I read about all the different things it could be and discovered how anything that enters Earth's atmosphere is called a meteor but, if the fragments survive the journey to reach the ground, then they're called meteorites. If it sparkles and dances, your guess is as good as mine!

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

News reports said that the streak of light, believed to be the first meteor over Scotland in more than 100 years, lasted a good ten seconds – that's ages!

Anyway, all the meteor jargon aside, I looked up the definition of a shooting star, which is: a small, rapidly moving meteor burning up on entering the Earth's atmosphere. I'm calling it, my toddler is a genius! I don't know how but his little dream and all the talk about the shooting star was exactly what happened and on that night too!

So you'll all be pleased to know that I've asked him what the lottery numbers are going to be this week and he said: 6, 19, 27, 44, 35 and 2 and 6. Don't go putting them on, cause you'll be splitting the prize with me!

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.