Cambridge Coincidences Collection

My husband, Martin, attended secondary school in Highgate, London, leaving in 1961. He has had no connection with the school since leaving. When he retired, we took the opportunity to volunteer for 4 months in Tanzania, teaching and business development. On our first full night there, we attended a fortnightly meeting of other volunteers. After talking to a lot of other people, we eventually sat next to a couple of roughly our age and started chatting. It was their third visit to Tanzania and they offered all sorts of sensible advice. The lady told me that, as a church organist, she always got the chance to play in Arusha Cathedral during her visits and brought some music from England for the choir. I asked if she had brought any music by John Rutter, as he is very well known in my choral society. She said no, but that her husband had been at school with John Rutter. I was very surprised, as I knew from previous experience that MY husband had been at school with John Rutter. It transpired that Tony and Martin had been at school together, in the same year group, 45 years earlier, although they had no memory of each other in spite of studying the same subjects for A levels.

In my late twenties I started to travel around the world exporting scientific products from the UK and very often I travelled on Trade Missions. On one particular trip to the Antipodes I had travelled to Australia and visited the various offices of distributors in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane. Having spent two weeks in Australia I then flew from Sydney to Auckland in New Zealand. On the flight a young lady walked past my seat two or three times and on each occasion gave me a big beaming smile. I was sitting towards the back of the aircraft and she was right at the front. After the third occasion I went to the front and approached her asking if she was someone I should know. She told me that two weeks previously I had visited the office in which she worked (I cannot now remember which one) and she had seen me walk through the general office to the managers office. As this in itself was quite a coincidence I asked her why she was now on a flight from Sydney to Auckland and she told me she was going to visit her parents before going on to marry someone from England.

my neighbour and i went to newbury to go on a boat trip. in the queue behind us she heard a welsh voice. turning she said she was welsh. they then discus sed where about. it turned out this lady when a child (during the war) lived a few doors up from my neighbour.. i remember you coming home in uniform. we were visisting for the day from maidstone kent. the lady was visiting for the day from wales?

In my late twenties I started to travelled around the world exporting scientific products from the UK and very often I travelled on Trade Missions. On one particular trip to the Antipodes I had travelled to Australia and visited the various offices of distributors in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane. Having spent two weeks in Australia I then flew from Sydney to Auckland in New Zealand. On the flight a young lady walked past my seat two or three times and on each occasion gave me a big beaming smile. I was sitting towards the back of the aircraft and she was right at the front. After the third occasion I went to the front and approached her asking if she was someone I should know. She told me that two weeks previous I had visited the office in which she worked (I cannot now remember which one) and she had seen me walk through the general office to the managers office. As this in itself was quite a coincidence I asked her why she was now on a flight from Sydney to Auckland and she told me she was going to visit her parents before going on to marry someone from England.