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Being remembered after one meeting TWENTY FIVE years ago!!

(38 Posts)
SueDonim Tue 30-Nov-21 19:15:14

A friend is moving to a Caribbean island with her dh’s work. They’ve been out to have a look and were introduced to some work colleagues and their spouses. One of the wives said to my friend ‘I know you. You viewed our house in Scotland when we lived there.’ shock That was some years ago and the newborn baby they had is now 16 years old.grin

grumppa Tue 30-Nov-21 18:29:34

DD2 took her daughter to a ballet exam. The examiner, the usual mature Cecchetti Society type, took one look at DD and said "I remember you." It must have been one similar exam. thirty years ago.

MissAdventure Tue 30-Nov-21 18:05:19

I was lying topless on a beach years ago, in Spain, and heard "Well hello there....." from someone who recognised me from back home.

Blondiescot Tue 30-Nov-21 18:02:56

I find Turkish people really good at that. My husband and I were amazed when we were walking through one town and a man shouted at us from a restaurant - we looked over and he said, I remember you, greeted us by name and asked how we were. It turned out we had been in another restaurant he was working in on our first ever visit to Turkey, more than 15 years beforehand. It's happened to us on several occasions over there - they just seem to have an excellent knack for remembering faces and names.

Kalu Tue 30-Nov-21 17:33:27

It doesn’t surprise me at all GA. Your caring and thoughtful ways towards others has shown clearly and never wavered throughout the years I have read your posts.
Credit where it is due and well deserved.

As a former nurse, I have had a few occasional thanks from people I have no memory of having cared for years ago. I am always pleased to hear no other health issues followed since we last met.

paddyann54 Tue 30-Nov-21 16:42:43

My husband is brilliant at remembering Bride and Grooms from 40 odd years ago,he'll even remember the church they were married in and the minister ,and an odd things that happened on the day .Just as well because we've bumped into people all acros the world who recognise him...thing is it was just one wedding photographer they had to remember ,we've photographed nearly 5000 weddings in our careers so it is a remarkable feat ,I think on his part .
The same man cant remember what he had for lunch most days .

grannyactivist Tue 30-Nov-21 16:05:54

janejudge that happens to me all the time. I have occasional speaking opportunities locally, so people have seen me and heard me speak, but of course I have no idea who they are. I'm afraid that doesn't excuse me though because even with people I've met, or been introduced to, I have no reliable memory for faces or names, unless it's a child. I think being in a classroom has triggered the synapses that relate to children's names and faces, but adults elude me. blush

notgran Tue 30-Nov-21 15:56:01

I went with my elder sister to her Youth Club Reunion, I had never attended the Youth Club and everyone was about 10 years older than me. (I was about 50 at the time). I vaguely knew some of the folk but this balding red haired chap came bounding up to me and said, "I'm Roger. Do you remember when I asked you to dance at the Mecca and you turned me down" I hadn't a clue but I can imagine I did just that. "Well" he rattled on, "I then went and asked another girl and she married me, here she is". What do you say? I mumbled something about my bringing them together but in the back of my head I was thinking, I would only have been about 18 and you would have been nearly 30 and no Adonis. How desperate did he think I looked. wink

JaneJudge Tue 30-Nov-21 15:40:49

I think it is wonderful smile you obviously made an impact on her.

I used to run and train work teams in my closest town and lots of people remember me by name and come up to me and talk to me and I have NO IDEA who any of them are grin My husband jokes that we cannot go anywhere without someone knowing me or talking to me and it even happened at the vaccination centre on the weekend confused

GillT57 Tue 30-Nov-21 15:35:23

Wow! You obviously made an impact, take it as a wonderful compliment, and one which she didn't have to make as you didn't remember her. grin

Pantglas2 Tue 30-Nov-21 15:34:26

I rarely forget a face although names sometimes escape me and cannot always remember immediately from where I know a person.

A small hint will usually bring conversations etc back and DH is always amazed by my capacity for trivia retrieval!

aggie Tue 30-Nov-21 15:34:17

At an evening art class a fellow student asked if I’d passed my exams ?
I’d passed about 25years before ! He remembered me from a group of students on the boat / train to London to sit out finals . I hadn’t even spoken to him !

grannyactivist Tue 30-Nov-21 15:27:32

Yes, that's it really.

Today I met a prospective volunteer for the charity I lead; she was thoughtful, professional and very much on the ball. Asked about her background she has a PhD, has done some sterling international work and had a hand in devising government policy before she retired.

At the end of our meeting as we stood up to go she dropped the bombshell that she remembers interviewing me, in my capacity as a social worker, when she was doing some policy research. Just once! Twenty five years ago! She named where I was then working and said she even remembers the room she met me in. Apparently I gave her a 'striking' answer to one of the questions she put to me and that was memorable because it was at odds with what other people were saying - and which apparently turned out to be accurate.

Now, I don't know about you, but I've had close neighbours from twenty five years ago that I've completely forgotten - I certainly couldn't recall someone I met once unless the circumstances were bizarre or extreme in some way.

Do other people have such prodigious memories? Would you remember someone you met once, so long ago? confused