Hands across the Pond

Some years ago now we were temporarily living in a flat in Wapping while waiting for the refurbishment work to be completed on a flat we'd bought in Highgate. While waiting in a queue at the local supermarket I struck a conversation with an American woman behind me. We exchanged the usual pleasantries and I mentioned that my brother was teaching in America, "Where she enquired"? "Oh, I doubt if you've heard of it, it's Ohio State University, in the mid-west." "Really, how odd my daughter is a student there, what does your brother teach"? "Art education." "Really, that's my daughter's major, what's your brother's name"? By now we're both getting rather excited. "Paul Sproll" Exclaiming, "He can't be your brother, I know him well, he's black and you're white, oh! oh! He’s such a great teacher, my daughter loves his classes!" My response "Yes, that's right, he's my Mother's son from a wartime relationship" " I can't believe it! We've even had him over for supper" By now we're both flabbergasted and amazed by the coincidence, and continued to swap information about my brother. A bit of extra information we had just moved from Cambridge to live in London and now we have just brought a flat in Cambridge that we're just about to have refurbished before we move back...I wonder if I'll meet someone in a supermarket queue there?