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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

What is the strangest coincidence you've ever experienced?

565 replies

kickly · 03/02/2017 22:48

As above.

OP posts:
GuinefortGrey · 04/02/2017 08:58

I bought a sweet little old pony for one of my DC. His horse passport said he had lived at various homes all over the country during his 20+ years of faithful service to small children, the last several of which had been 100s of miles away on the south coast.

The first time our farrier met him, he was giving his feet a trim and he said
"You know, this pony is the absolute image of my daughter's first pony from 10/12 years ago, in fact I'm almost certain it's him". We laughed, I mean, how many generic sweet old grey ponies do you think there are out there? There must be about a million in our local Pony Club alone slight exaggeration but they are certainly not a rare commodity and they do all look remarkably similar!! I explained that this pony had come from the south coast so it was very unlikely but that I would check his passport when I got home... Farrier told me the pony would probably have been registered by his wife and told me her name (different from his).

Sure enough, there it was in black and white on the passport, one of his early registered owners was my Farrier's wife! This pony had spent years moving from family to family around the country only to end up on a farm less than 5 miles from where he pretty much started! Farrier sent me some lovely photos of his daughter riding the pony as a very small child and they were delighted to have "found" him again after all those years.

Things got even more bizarre a year or so later when I bought an ancient horse lorry. Next time farrier visited he couldn't believe his eyes... yes, that lorry had also been his many years before!!!! I had to promise I wasn't stalking him 😂. So bizarre!

user1471552546 · 04/02/2017 08:58

Thought of another my mum my cousin a family friend and me all have children born on the same day all boys as well

Vanillaradio · 04/02/2017 09:00

The first present dh bought me was a teddy bear (it was Christmas and we'd been together for about 2 weeks). Bear eventually went up in the loft of our house. 10 years later dh was getting the Christmas decorations down and thought our one year old might like the bear so got him as well. As I put the bear under the tree his label was turned over and I noticed that the bear had a name on it which I hadn't realised before. It was ds' name!

herethereandeverywhere · 04/02/2017 09:09

My nan (mum's mum), my mum and I all have best friends (the one, life long since childhood type of best friend) with birthdays on the 14th January.

What are the chances?

Butterflies27 · 04/02/2017 09:16

Not the most strangest but most recent coincidence. Just before Christmas my dd (2) finally sat and watched a Disney film for the first time. She never watches anything it was The Lady and the Tramp. The next day we went to see Father Christmas at the playgroup. On opening the present my daughter has been presented with The Lady and the Tramp book.

pregnantat50 · 04/02/2017 09:17

my dds bf has the same birthday as her ex. she then discovered her bf dated her ex bfs best friend, as they live in different towns was a little weird.

when I was 5 I was friends with Olwyn, at 6 she moved 300 miles away...never saw her for over 30 years. one cay at tesco she crossed my mind . I told my bf about the time a jug of custard went over her head. I then looked up and there was Olwyn by the custard section in Tesco

SarahOoo · 04/02/2017 09:23

My male friends mum has the same birthday as me and his sister has the same birthday as my mum!

SantinoRice · 04/02/2017 09:24

FusionChefGeoff you know that wasn't a coincidence, right? Your dad was probably following you all round london Wink

NotMyPenguin · 04/02/2017 09:24

When I first moved to London, I had no choice in where I was moving to (I basically moved for the accommodation, which was sort of tied to some duties that meant it was very cheap). I also had little interest in family history.

I developed an interest in family history and then was amazed to discover that many of my relatives from 100-200 years ago had lived within about 500 metres of where I was living! Including on the same street, and my great-great-grandmother had been the same age as me in 1901, with a baby of the same age, and living right nearby. So, 112 years later, I was basically in exactly the same area doing many of the same things as a new mum with baby...

Brillig · 04/02/2017 09:27

I've posted this before on a similar thread..... not really 'strange' but one of those 'would you believe it' moments.

DH and I were on holiday and the otherwise-wonderful hotel had a cringe-making cocktail-party type get-together one night every week so new guests could mingle. Not compulsory but it was sort of expected that you go and have a few drinks and a chat before dinner. We got talking to an older couple who lived in X town. Completely by chance they mentioned they also had a house in an area of London.

Me: 'Oh, that's where we live, and I also lived there before DH and I met. Whereabouts is your house?'
They named a road.
Me: 'That's the road I used to live in! What number?’
They gave the number.
Me: Shock
Their house was next-door-but-one to my old house and I'd probably said hello to them as we went in and out. What are the chances?

LuluJakey1 · 04/02/2017 09:28

DH and I grew up and lived 130 miles apart.
A number of years before we even met, it turns out we both attended the same very small, miserable wedding (about 20 max people) where I was asked as a not very close work colleague and he was asked as a not very close ex-university friend.
We were both surprised to be asked as it was so small and neither of us had any idea why on earth we were asked. We are both on photos but have no strong recollection of each other- other than it was an odd event where everyone seemed a bit uncomfortable and there was no atmosphere. We didn't realise until several years after we were married that we had both been there.
We hate weddings now and don't go unless we have to. 😉

Greenteandchives · 04/02/2017 09:29

I met a colleague of mine in the Masai Mara. We had no idea we were both going to the same place.
Also met an American couple on holiday in Greece and got quite friendly with them. Didn't stay in touch, but met them again in Antarctica of all places.

BikeRunSki · 04/02/2017 09:34

Years ago (30ish) we used to go on holiday to the Lake District ad children/teenagers. We always went to the same place and often met the same family. We knew roughly where they came from, but was 100s miles away from us. We only ever saw them on holiday.

When I was 22 I moved to their city, but we'd lost touch by then. In the 7 yrs that I lived there, I bumped into one of them occasionally,we lived a couple of miles apart, one of the sons had been to school with my bf of the time.

Last October - 20years later - we were in the city for half term. We curtailed our planned route so that DD could go for a wee. We headed for a local library, hoping there was a toilet. There was. A man came in and gave some leaflets for an event to the library. He looked at me a winked. I ignored him!

2 mins later we were sitting on a bench outside eating our sandehiches and the man came out and was joking with the dc. I was a bit Hmm when he looked at me and burst out "BikeRunSki, do you always ignore your old friends?". It was the dad of the family we used to meet on holiday. After 30 years, we are now in touch!

BlueClearSkies · 04/02/2017 09:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Mcchickenbb41 · 04/02/2017 09:37

Dh was working at a flat last week quite far away. It was an empty flat and he was asked to let in another tradesmen who would be coming to do something. It was his brother Shock totally different trade totally diff area to which they normally work !!

BikeRunSki · 04/02/2017 09:38

Met my Head of Year on a gondola in Venice. I was about 14. It was incredibly cringey.

Met my line manager, on my day off, in a cafe a good 30 miles from where either of us live or work. He was a bit Blush at bring caught off-route on the way to a mtg at a different office - it's an excellent cafe/takeaway.

paddypants13 · 04/02/2017 09:38

Not me but a friend of mine met and married a man who had the same surname as her. His mum and dad also had the same first names as my friend's, both their brothers had the same name and his brother's girlfriend has the same name as my friend's sister!

BarbedBloom · 04/02/2017 09:40

When I was 7/8 we went on holiday to Spain and I made friends with another girl my age. At the end of the holiday we got her address so I could write to her, but it was lost during the return journey and we could only remember that she lived in London.

Years later we were going on holiday in the U.K. One day my mum asked where I wanted to go that day and I picked a random small town near where we were staying as I had seen something about their amazing ice cream.

We went there but weirdly almost everything was shut that day so we walked down to the sea wall and just stood there chatting for a bit. On the way back I was really thirsty and straight ahead was a stall that seemed to be the only thing open.

My mum went to get me a drink and the girl serving recognised her. It was my friend from Spain. Her family had moved to the area a few years before. We chatted for a bit and I got her address to write to her. The address was lost on the way home again even though this time my mum put it in the zipped up section of her bag.

Mablethorpe · 04/02/2017 09:42

First proper relationship ended badly (he cheated and I was heartbroken) and girls only holiday to Ibiza was duly booked for a few weeks later to help me 'get over' the lying pig. No contact whatsoever with Ex in between.

Get to hotel, go down to bar and who's there with all his mates? Yes, Ex!

Spent the whole week trying to avoid him parade an endless array of other girls in front of me and failing miserably.

user1471552546 · 04/02/2017 09:42

Brilliant thread op Ds best friends with little lad a few doors away little lad moved away to another town and they lost touch Ds meets girlfriend finds out is only cousin of little lad from years ago

frauleinsallybowles · 04/02/2017 09:42

.

Charley50 · 04/02/2017 09:45

Was working in Guyana and had just arrived in the rainforest and we stopped for a beer from the beer shack. We put on BBC World Service and 'in the jungle the mighty jungle' was playing.

BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 04/02/2017 09:45

Friend from high school has a facebook status that she's sorting all her baby clothes today ready for new baby. I comment & say I must get on to that too. When is she due? She replies with the same edd as me. We stay in touch comparing symptoms & such like. Talk about how my last dc was premature her first was 2 weeks over. Occasionally joke we'll deliver on the same day. She says mine will probably come first & I agree as I'd had labour stopped by this point. 3 days before edd I go in to labour & baby is born. Dh says, about 2 hours later, are you going to text friend. I do, friend texts back mine has just arrived! In the labour room ooposite mine Smile. There's about 50 minutes between the 2 of them Smile.

ohfourfoxache · 04/02/2017 09:49

My ILs moved house when dh was 4.

When she was at primary school, my DSis went to a friend's house to play and. When I went with mum to pick her up, we were invited in and the friend, my DSis and I played in her room for a while.

Turns out that ILs sold the house to the friend's family and I had played in DH's old room!

Inneedofaholiday2017 · 04/02/2017 09:49

Daily mail reporter much?!

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