Identical circumstances

I was a police officer and was part of a firearms team in the City of London police. Our driver was born in 1936, some 10 years before me. He told a story of how he, as a 10-year-old, had entered bombed premises, a block of 'flats', about six stories high, and started a fire on a tin tray in the middle of a top floor room, not the fireplace for some obscure reason. There was no intent to damage property, merely keep warm. A police officer had entered the building, they had run out. The building burnt down. </p> <p>When I was the same age I went through the foot tunnel from Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs. There were three small blocks of flats, again 6 stories high, again bomb damaged, just by the exit. I and two friends went into one building, up to the top floor and feeling cold started a fire on - you've probably guessed - a tin tray in the middle of the room. About half a dozen police turned up and entered the other two blocks where there were other kids. </p> <p>We ran out, ran into the tunnel, stayed in the middle for what seemed like an hour but was probably 10 minutes, then as no police appeared we continued to the Greenwich side of the river. We started to walk home along the embankment in front of the Royal Naval College only to see the block we'd left in flames. The strong westerlies spread the fire to the other two blocks. </p> <p>The area where the blocks of flats were is now Island Gardens, by Saunders Ness Road. I still regard it as 'my' park as had not I, together with Tommy and Derek, modified the buildings somewhat it would have been flats or factories. </p> <p>In my time in the police I've experience dozens of 'coincidences'. When Milwall came to Brighton (I transferred to Sussex) for the play offs for promotion we had 600 of their supporters (crews in the jargon) intent on mayhem. We were chasing ghosts and I got my shift to meet me at South Street in order to come up with some plan. The odd thing was that two Milwall crews independently decided on the same location. My guys thought it was a stroke of genius on my part – I was new to the shift. All quiet on the sea front for the rest of the night. </p> <p>A funny one was me stopping a guy for a minor offence. My intent was to warn and let him go. Then the description of a suspect wanted for a serious assault was broadcast and as it came out of my PR he could hear it. It was him. I smiled. He smiled back, shrugged and held out his hands for the handcuffs. </p> <p>When chasing lead strippers I ran onto a roof, again six stories high, from an adjacent building across a scaffold board that bounced as I ran. I got the offender and hadcuffed him but he still struggled. I couldn't take him across the 9 foot gap, and in any case, without the adrenaline buzz I lacked the necessary commitment. I called up security for the building, a bank, to let us out. The chap came, nice bloke. About 18mths later I met him again. He was my wife's sister's new partner. We recognised each other at once. I called him to release me in the same week he met my sister-in-law. </p> <p>There were other coincidences in the police but not for publication.