Cambridge Coincidences Collection

Well I Never!

Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University wants to know about your coincidences!

Cambridge coincidence quite literally [et al.]

I have a Cambridge coincidence for you, quite literally!! I also have several other coincidences I can relate. 1) My grandparents lived in Barton Road, Cambridge in the 40s and into the 50s and I visited them from time to time. Since 1972 I have been living either in Portsmouth itself or nearby. I used to be a member of the Anglican cathedral congregation. I got to know the chaplain to Portsmouth Grammar School and found out that he had been educated at Cambridge. Nothing at all out of the ordinary about that. I also found out that he was a Cambridge townsman, i.e. had been born there.

Travel between Liverpool and London - 19th & 20th C

Hi I heard you are compiling coincidences. I was asked to search my Liverpool Mother in Laws side of the family on line. We have lived in East Ham, London E6 for 33 years. I found her Great Grandad and his brother in the 1841 census ( both shipwrights in Liverpool) and followed them through 1851,1861,181, 1881(by whichtime her gt grandad was in a workhouse and gt uncle had moved to London (Poplar Docks).

Birthday coincidence

I've recently been able to establish my Great-great-grandmother's date of birth (prior to BMD registration), which was 28th August 1815. What makes this remarkable is that her great-granddaughter (my mother) was born 28th August 1915 - 100 years exactly! Andrew

Switzerland

1. In the 1960's we had one of the very first Mini Coopers. Climbing a pass in The Swiss Alps the clutch failed. I allowed the car to free wheel down the pass into Italy. The first garage we saw sold Morris Minis. The mechanics had heard about Mini Coopers but had never seen one. They took two hours to repair the clutch, test drove it a terrifying speeds and made no charge. We never saw another Mini show room during our entire stay in Switzerland and Italy. 2. Touring Switzerland one year in the late 1960's we stopped at a very small cafe a few miles from Lake Lucerne.

Phone coincidence. [Readers Digest 1950's]

A man working in a city office developed a bad headache and left early for home. While travelling he stopped off at a roadside chemist's shop to buy some medication. It was in a suburb where he had never previously stopped. While waiting to be served the shop phone rang [pre-mobiles] and the assistant asked if there was a Mr ' John Blank' in the shop as his wife wished to speak to him. The man was amazed but admitted to being 'John Blank.' He protested that this was an impossibility but took the call anyway.

Perfect place to run out of petrol

Nearly 20 years ago now I had arranged to meet my then-boyfriend at a golf course after work. I'd never driven there straight from work before, and to get there I needed to take a small country road that I had never travelled along before. I was running late, and my car was very short of petrol. But I knew my journey was not terribly long (perhaps 16 miles or so), and I also knew there was a petrol station not far from the golf course ...

Retail coincidnce

Customer having waited months for delivery of product walks through door as shop assistant calls to inform of delivery..

Three Widows

I was staying in a small hotel near Portsmouth. At breakfast on my first morning I started to chat with another lady on her own. We found that we were both widows and while we were talking about coping with life alone, another lady came in, heard our discussion and joined us. She was also a widow. Our Three husbands all died on 14th. January 2008 !!! When we told the hotel owner she went a bit pale, nearly dropped our breakfasts and said HOW SPOOKY IS THAT !

Paris - and Bearded Collies

I heard your "appeal" for coincidences on Radio 4 this morning and thought you'd like these: 1. Some years ago our son and his wife went to Paris for the weekend. To my surprise I discovered that, if necessary, they were going to spend a whole day looking for the building where my husband and I had a flat some 38 years before! I had to search for the address and sent it to them.

night at the opera

I live in Huntingdon. My sister lives and works in Cardiff. One night last year I went to the ENO at the Coliseum with a friend. Coming out of a cubicle in the ladies loo at the interval , who should I see at the head of the queue for the next cubicle but my sister and her daughter. I had no idea that she was in London that weekend. I should add that my seat was in the dress circle and my sister's was up in the balcony. So there was a choice of possible loos!

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