I had one of those “pinkies” moments when my neighbour dropped in recently for a visit; not that I said it out loud. The discussion turned to French lessons at school, and a particular song that his teacher, Miss Collins, taught him: ‘Sur le Pont, d’Avignon’ (On the bridge of Avignon). That’s when I wanted to call out “pinkies” (and interlock little fingers to celebrate a shared experience), because that’s the exact song that my teacher, Miss Ahern, taught me.

There’s a pinkies moment in the Bible, but with a fairly dark twist. In the story of Esther, a high-ranking official named Haman has desires to eradicate the Jews from the empire, simply because one of them, Mordecai, had slighted him by not standing in his presence. Haman even had gallows built to despatch the man. But when he went to the king to secure the death sentence, a surprise awaited him.

Upon entering the palace, and with the request forming on his lips, the King spoke first – and surprise, surprise – on the topic of Mordecai. It was a pinkies moment, but not one to celebrate; nor I suspect, was there any interlocking of little fingers. For the King wished to promote Mordecai for uncovering a plot against him, and instructed Haman to parade Mordecai around the streets to the applause of the city. And when Haman’s scheme was discovered, he was taken for a final dance, not on a bridge, but on the end of a rope.