Royal Rowell

On a cold autumn day in 1982 I sat down to attend a sociology lecture in the chemistry block at Leicester University. I was in my first term and had, a few weeks before, registered for the second year Sociology course in error (a mistake not noticed until later in the year). As it was cold I kept my jacket and scarf on (distinctive Norwich City/yellow green). From a seat behind me a student asked if I was a Norwich fan and I said 'yes'. He told me he was born there but his family had moved to Canterbury when he was young so he nothing of the place except the colours of the football club. No common ground anymore but wait...He self corrected himself and told me that it wasn't really Norwich but a place called Drayton (4 miles out of the city). 'Drayton Maternity Home?' I asked as it's all Drayton is known for really. He said 'yes'. End of that? No! I asked when he was born and it turned out that his birthday was 31st August, 1963-just days before mine on the 6th September. Get this-his last name was Royal and mine is Rowell. Same place, same time, almost same name. We never got on and at the end of the year he failed the year and I, as a first year, had passed...He never spoke to me again! To add a little to this, I spoke to my mother about life in a maternity hospital in the early 60's and she told me that a baby had been brought to her in error while she lay there recovering from delivery but for whatever reason (he wasn't as pink and newborn as me?) she told the nurse that it wasn't hers and that the wristband had been misread. I always thought that that student looked like my father.