Two acts of God

On holiday in Gran Canaria in October 1983 kept meeting same Belgian couple - on two day trips and in the Casino on the final night of their holiday. Joke that we can't keep meeting like this. My partner and I never go to same place on holiday twice and neither did they but they always went the same week when they closed their small patisserie in Brussels. One year and two weeks later we met each other again - in Gran Canaria!. Our flight to Madeira had been diverted after strong cross winds meant we couldn't land and tour company had secured overnight accommodation at a newly opened (and virtually empty) hotel on Gran Canaria. We were supervising the loading of our suitcases on the coach back to the airport after an early breakfast as they strolled into the hotel for a late breakfast having landed late the previous night. They should have been holidaying in Rhodes on their normal dates but a fire in their patisserie meant they had to change plans at the last moment and the only holiday they could get at such short notice while the damage was repaired was at a newly opened (and virtually empty) hotel on Gran Canaria. It took a storm in Madeira and a fire in Brussels to bring us together and there was only the briefest window of opportunity to actually meet up.