Cambridge Coincidences Collection

Well I Never!

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

old friends

In 1995 we went as a family to work in Ferrol in the North of Spain on a construction contract and became friendly with a local Spanish doctor and his family. After 9 months we returned to the UK and over time lost contact with our Spanish friends. In 2003 we returned to Spain to work in Madrid, where unexpectedly I had to undergo a serious operation. After recovery from that we went as an act of thanksgiving to a remote Shrine in the North of Spain in the foothills of the Pyrenees ( mid-week out of season) and checked into the residence connected to the shrine.

Close House, Giggleswick, North Yorkshire.

When I was working on my wife's maternal family tree, I discovered her great, great, great grandparents living at Close House in the latter half of the 18th century. I was surprised because, for years, I have had a postcard written by my great aunt to her aunt and uncle, addressed to the same Close House, and dated 1909. One evening, a few years ago, my wife and I were enjoying a meal with some friends who live near Giggleswick and I told them of this coincidence. They were surprised and the husband asked his wife, 'Doesn't Mr. D.

Birthday.

I put a film on at about 11PM night before my mum's birthday, at exactly 12am on her birthday, someone in the film said 'it's my birthday' at exactly the same time as my mum. It was really weird.

Addition to: A Coming Together of Time and Distance

I just submitted a coincidence/synchronicity entitled: A Coming Together of Time and Distance and wanted to add one relevent sidenote. Sidenote: I had absolutely no knowledge that my cousin, aunt and uncle were going to be coming to visit my mother. I don't even think my mother was aware of it and it was a complete surprise visit.

Wedding Anniversaries

On 20th August 1996 my wife and I were standing in line on the quay in SanFrancisco, waiting to take a trip out to Alcatraz. We got into conversation with a young couple in front of us who told us that they were on Honeymoon and had been married on the previous Saturday, August 17th. Amazing we said that is the date of our wedding anniversary too, although we were married in 1968. A much older couple directly behind us then exclaimed- you're not going to believe this, but August 17th is also the date of our wedding anniversary.

birthday dates and ages

In 1968, my husband was 21 on the 21st of May, I was 20 on the 20th of June and our son was 1 on the 1st of February.

Two families linked meet across the globe!

In 1993, when I was 13 I moved from my hometown of South Shields, England, with my parents and sister to live in Vernon in the Okanagan Valley, B.C. Canada. When we went to enrol at the local high school the Principal told us there was another English family, from Liverpool, with children at the school and that their daughters were also called Helen and Emma althought he other way round age-wise. A few days later my Mum answered the phone to a Liverpudlian guy, Mr. O. who informed her that he was the father of the other Helen and Emma at the school.

Birthday hospital coincidence.

My Dad had an operation in the University College Hopsital in London. They had one of those all in one tv, phone things by the bed. It was not working. I rang the call centre in Scotland. Whilst waiting for something to happen, the lady on the other end mentioned that she was born in the UCH. I said so was I, I said 1961, she said she was born in 1961. She said April, I replied that was when I was born. I then asked her the date, she answered 7th April. And yes that was when I was born! I could not believe this. She had a Scots accent but moved north of the border when she was do.

3 coincidences : 1919/1973 // Bristol / Helsinki // Found Object

1) 1917/1973 My grandmother's best friend, Helen Wodehouse (cousin of PG), moved from Bingley West Yorkshire to Bristol in 1919 to establish the Department of Education Bristol University. She lived at 66 Egerton Road until 1931 when she moved to Cambridge to take up the Mistress-ship of Girton College (until 1942). In 1973 I moved from Bingley to Bristol and my father, a lawyer specialising in property, helped me buy my first house. He came down to Bristol for a weekend to assess the two houses in Bishopston Bristol that I had selected. He didn't like either of them.

Barbara

This coincidence concerns an experience of my husband's. Before retirement he worked for the Environment Agency as River Pollution Officer. Whilst investigating a pollution, he was tracing the course of a steam which passed through a private garden. When approaching the owner, my husband commented that they shared the same name. They discovered that they were cousins who hadn't met since childhood.

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