Crazy coincidence

Had several crazy coincidences happen, bumped into a work colleague in a pub in Thailand , bumped into an old collage friend at same hotel in Peru, and on another occasion met a neighbour in Jordan who then caught the same flight back as us

My son was terrible at keeping in touch while he was at Uni, the days before mobile phones. One Saturday morning I decided to ring his flat share. Phone was answered by a young man who when I asked for Mark said "Mark who?"when I said his surname he sounded more than a little surprised, My son came on the phone and said Mum how did you find me. Turned out he had just popped in to visit a mate in another flat and I must have mis-dialled his number but had managed to dial the number where he was, We were more than a little spooked and I became known as Mark's witchy mum.

Years ago when we got married husbands gran asked us where we were going for honeymoon and we told her upto Northumberland. She said that her sisters son was on holiday up there at the same time.
Days later we got in the queue to get on the boat to go to the Farne islands. My oh said he’d forgotten something so went off back to the car. Meanwhile i got chatting to the nice couple in front of us(as i do!) about all sorts and they were admiring our dogs etc . When oh came back he did a double take, and said oh hello Andrew how are you?? Yep it was grans sisters son!!!!

In 1966, outside a Nairobi supermarket, I noticed a woman who had been in the year behind me at school in Ayrshire. I went up to her, said hello and tried to make conversation. Either she was a bit shy or she hadn't liked me at school, but she wasn't inclined to chat and I never bumped into her again.

I was visiting my doctor son in New Zealand and we stopped at a large restaurant for lunch. He went to order food while I sat at an outside table with 4 chairs. The restaurant was almost completely full. While I was waiting a young man came up and asked if he could share my table. I said "Yes, but I am waiting for my son." We got talking and I found out that he too was a doctor. When my son came back they immediately recognised each as colleagues from the same hospital in England.

I too am a twin and, although I am in the UK and she has lived inNorth America for decades, we still coincidentally buy the same thing on the same day, ( pillows, once!) or have our hair cut, or go to see a film! We’re not identical, by the way. I really believe in coincidences.

DH and I went for a special birthday lunch treat on one of the lovely Belmond Pullman trains in Wales. We were on a table for two. On the only table opposite us were a couple from England who we got chatting to. Discovered the husbands best friend was an ex boyfriend of mine from when I lived in Scotland many years before. It is a small world.

When I was in hospital after the birth of my son 38 years ago, one of the auxiliary nurses recognised my accent and asked where I was from (small pit village in Yorkshire). Turned out she had been bridesmaid to the mother of my old school friend, and they had lost touch many years previously. I was able to put them back in contact, to the great pleasure of everyone involved.

PS..I should have said, I was in Newcastle upon Tyne at the time, about 100 miles away!

At my nephew's wedding I met my friend - who is the aunt of the bride. One of my children's Facebook friends (we live in Malta) who lives in Australia told him he has a cousin in Malta - who was the boy in the desk near his, in class. I asked the girl who answered the phone in a Government Department that she spoke exactly like my friend, and I gave her name... of course, she was her sister... and so on... One of the most amusing coincidences is that when a friend took me out to lunch, I told her we would never, ever, find parking in the first two towns we mentioned. So we went to a quiet village. She chose the restaurant... and there were my friends having lunch.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Back in 1988 staying in a deserted hostel in Tasmania (their winter) - running on honesty payments), a young man arrived to photo Fairy Penguins. Turned out he came from same country village in remote area of Shropshire.
Still in Tasmania but now in Hobart met a chap from Telford, Shropshire, and we shared same friends.
The whole of my time in Australia and Tasmania many coincidences happened. Or were they more than coincidences? I think so. Felt very cared for.

I had a wonderful coincidence played out right here on gransnet - one which made a huge impact on me and my grandsons.
I'm desperate to share, but it's also another members coincidence, too.
For her, though

How's this for coincidence, my DDs teacher in Aberdeen went to the same church as myself. We got quite friendly, I was amazed to find out both she and her DH had known my dad, now long since dead. They knew him at university in North Wales!! Then I discovered her great uncle had been founder member of The Welsh National Party along with my great Uncle!! They have now moved to North Wales and we normally visit them when we manage to go there!

Dated a guy rather pleasantly for a few weeks one summer. Went our separate ways abroad and, seven years later, we passed each other on the opposite sides of a street in a big city, both with other parties. A mutual feint recognition occurred as we looked back over our shoulders. Subsequently married. Right time, right place I guess. Always amazes me.

My daughter (born in S.Africa) took a teaching post in Portugal. One of the teachers in the same school who became her boyfriend was from my old hometown in England and had taught with my best friends‘ husband in the old hometown. Small world.

My friend's son was standing at a bus stop in Australia. A young man joined him and said "did you go to college in Belfast?" What are the chances! They were in the same class at college.

A couple of years ago myself and dh were in a club Southport wathcing football .( Rangers v Celtic).
I was talking about my father who was from Glasgow and told dh that Glasgow was my dad`s team.
Then out of the blue an elderly couple sat at a table opposite and the man asked who`s winning.
I said Rangers,and asked if he was a fan,he held up a chain from around his neck which read Rangers.
I told him my father was a Rangers fan and he lived on a certain street and low and behold after a few more words i found out he was my dads sisters neighbour and he knew my dad realy well and told me a few things about him.
I still can`t get over it tbh.

Not anything gob-smacking, but years ago, when my daughter was arranging her wedding in Tobago, she used a wedding planner.

I was chatting to a guy at work and mentioned it. He commented that his wifes' best friend had started the same business in Trinidad and - yes! It was the same woman.

Many years ago we were in Carcassonne with our three teenage daughters and we bumped into girls they had been on a song and dance course with the week before.

DS went travelling done years ago, and the last place he visited was Russia, where he stayed with a host family.
When he left them, he was given gifts that included some rather dubious home-made spirits that almost certainly could be a problem at Customs back in England. Nevertheless, they were put in his case, though he chose to wear the clearly Russian teeshirt that they also gave him.

Wearing that teeshirt, not surprisingly he got picked out by customs for a bag search. However, although they didnt know each other, it turned out that the customs officer had been to the same school as him, so after a jolly conversation about that, he wasn't actually searched.
A very fortunate coincidence!

My son is a doctor in a large hospital in Wellington, New Zealand. He recently was chatting to one of his patients who told him she was brought up in Wales. It transpired that, as young children, she and her husband had been taught by my mother! They both remembered her well and my son was thrilled to hear stories about his late grandmother!

We went on a tour of the Eastern Europe and got talking to a couple over coffee. She came from 'somewhere no one has heard of' - we live there. And she was born in the house friends now live in. We were able to update her on local info and she told us lots of old info.

When we had a boat we tied up at a tiny highland village. I sat at a table with an elderly couple. He asked where I was from. I said it’s very small you won’t have heard of it. Try me he says. Thorntonhall I said. He laughed and said he was brought up there. I said we were in the Ravenscourt flats. He said he was brought up in the mansion that was there before the flats. It was incredible.

Now that is incredible coast!!