Can we have a thread where we share unlikely but true stories?

[letsgowiththat]

I'll start.

My (non English speaking) DGF received an email (in English) from the solicitor of a man who claimed to be the son of a long lost relative from Africa claiming he was basically of princely status and there was an inheritance waiting for my DGF and his siblings.
So basically like the Nigerian prince scam.

Except it was all true and it was a relative who escaped my DGFs home country as he did not want to be drafted into the war and ended up never contacting anyone again and building a small empire in Africa, getting married (multiple times) and having DCs. He willed a small part of his accounts to my DGFs by then deceased mother who was his cousin and then it got passed down and split between my DGF and his siblings by default. Not life changing money but one of our favourite stories to tell!

The majority of the emails was done through google translate as well

Does anyone have any "sounds like a lie but is true" stories they'd like to share?

Sometimes I'm a bit of a magnet for this kind of thing - most recent example yesterday.

I'm trying to get out of my current shop lease, agreed with our LL as our rent is currently too high for us and the area has seen a huge decrease in footfall since we opened.

Had to go and do a couple of viewings yesterday. The second couple want to move their clothing alteration franchise to our location, because their rent is too high in another part of town. Turns out it is the same franchise I worked at temporarily a few years ago under different owners.

Another one - my ex brother-in-law came out of the closet after 30 years of marriage a few years ago. I get bits of news because my son is still in contact with my ex and the family - I stay at a safe distance lol. One evening in the pub, I get a phone call from one of my DPs best female friends who lives a fair distance from us to ask what Ex DBIL is like, because he is now in a relationship with her GBF. That fried my brain massively, and I had to diplomat my way out of the whole thing because as can be imagined, my biased feelings and opinion of my Ex's family is absolutely not relevant here!

My brother was bringing home his new girlfriend to meet our mother. Girlfriend was driving and hadn't realised that she didn't have right of way at a junction on the long straight road near our house (common mistake and the junction has since been changed). She shot out into the road and nearly crashed straight into my mother, who was driving home from the next village. Thankfully the girlfriend reacted very quickly to swerve round my mother's car and avoid disaster. Far from being upset that girlfriend had nearly crashed into her, mother was very impressed with her quick thinking and they got on very well!

I knew the man who had the first 6 organ transplant. He had been given the all-clear for rejection and expected to live for a long time. 5 years after the surgery, he was standing on a chair to change a lightbulb, fell & hit his head and died. It was so tragic!

I've got a laundry list of weirdness between me and my DP.

We properly met after we both had been separated at 42.... on April Fools Day. We had so many social contacts in common, and twice we were both supposed to be at the same events but fate intervened.

We are both Chinese monkeys, being one month apart, and both had the same family dynamic - divorced Mothers living alone, Fathers in new relationships, giving us a total of six "parents" - we are both only children.

As we moved in together we discovered virtually identical antique clocks in the family, we both owned the same miniature pen knife, we had a locket in common, plus quite a few similar items of clothing, down to a red brocade waistcoat I dithered over buying but had to for some reason, and which strongly echoes one of his favourite waistcoats, plus we both had very old leather trousers we had worn to death and kept for sentimental reasons.

His ex in-laws names are virtually mine and his as well, and they're not even in this country.

He was assaulted in the same week that I was a few months before we got together.

Either we are bonded by the Universe or it has a very odd sense of humour!!

Love these posts.
My great grandfather was hit by lightning three times. When I was younger I read somewhere that some people attract lightning.
In the first house I lived in, the tree next to the back door was hit. In my next home, the tree by my front door got hit. In my next home, my husband opened the door during a storm (two separate occasions), and lightning struck next to the house. The third time he was brave enough to open the door years later, a neighbours house three doors down was hit. I'd like to say my ex-husband was the attractor but the first time it came close, I hadn't met him yet. Needless to say, I don't go out if there's a storm about.

I used to go out with someone who is now world famous and a household name. He wasn’t remotely famous when I was with him!

@Iwantacookie

Years ago when I was about 10 you only had one house phone on a curly wire in the hall. Picked up the phone to call my friend and heard no dial tone but someone said hello. I said hello back and turned out it was my friend who I was just about to ring. She had rang me and I had picked up the phone before it had begun to ring. Was pretty odd and never happened to me or anyone else I know.

This has happened to me on a number of occasions. Funny how it is always the person you were going to ring!

@FeelingUnsureNow that is so interesting! I wonder why or even how

It’s happened several times that I’ve thought, ‘I must ring so and so’ (not anyone I speak to often) when they have rung me, instead.

My mother was definitely telepathic now and then (I know of 2 absolutely certain cases) so I put it down to that.

Me and hubby stopped off at a village shop to get an ice cream about 4 years ago. Total was about £3.20, shop keeper wouldn't let husband pay on card as had to be over £5, he bought a £2 scratch card. Won £1000 on it.

I was backpacking in North America and got chatting to a guy who had just spent a summer in London. He showed me some of his photos and in them was my sister! They had been working together.

@LucyAutumn @LucyAutumn, Your story reminds me of the time when my friend an I were messing around in a phone box '100' years ago. We dialled a random number , not expecting it to exist. A man answered so acting quickly I said "Could I speak to Emma please?" ( the first name that came to mind) The man said " Hang on I'll get her." I dropped the phone as I was so surprised!

Same happened to me, but I asked for Katie.

I once got stuck behind a pigeon on my way to work.

It was flying at steering wheel height about 10 yards in front of my car. It followed the road and stuck to the left hand side. I couldn't overtake due to it being a windy road. I didn't want to make it jump by pressing the horn so just followed it for about 3-4 minutes.

My story is a triumph of the subconscious.

My ex, who suffers with acute levels of cuntery, and is also a compulsive liar, was claiming for 6 months not to be working & that he was staying on a friend’s sofa in a town many miles away, to justify not paying child maintenance. I just KNEW it wasn’t true. However, I had no proof and couldn’t find anything about where he was working.

Well, I racked and racked my brains. Vaguely recalled a conversation from a year or 2 prior about an acquaintance who he had some vague plans to go into business with (he was always coming up with things like this that never came to anything).

Clutching at straws I thought his first name might have been Simon, but no clue on the surname, and I thought maybe he’d mentioned he lived in Richmond but again I didn’t really know. The only other info I had was that he probably worked in marketing, purely because my ex did.

So I googled- Simon marketing Richmond, and phoned the first company in the search results.

Receptionst picked up and I said as confidently as I could- ‘hi, can I speak to (cty c*tychops) please’

She replied- yes, I’ll just put you through now!!!

Well my jaw dropped. You should have HEARD the pregnant pause in the air when he realised it was me!!

Didn’t take long for the gaslighting to return- ‘you don’t know what you’re talking about, I don’t work here, I’m doing a friend a favour and not getting paid for it....’

Still can’t believe it!!

When I was 7yrs old my DM gave birth to my brother. She had major complications and ended up having a cardiac arrest after losing nearly all her blood volume during an emergency hysterectomy. I obviously didn't know any of this. I remember my dad waking me from a dream in which she had nearly died but I had grabbed her and saved her.. Apparently I was crying out and a bit hysterical.. The reason I remember it so well is because I was desperate for a sister and he was another brother..!! . Still gives me goosebumps.. For imformation I was born in/with a True Caul.. Supposed to have 6th sense..

When I was around 11 I saw a piece of card in a dream that read You will have a child on 28 March. I didn't see or it didn't say the year. There was other stuff said on there but I can't recall it.
12 years later however DD was indeed born on 28th March.

Great thread op

When I was on a 6th form field studies trip, I had a holiday romance with a boy from another school many miles away.

Back home, I went to a friend's house for a teenage slightly boozy lunch party, and was telling everyone about him.

'Ooh, I bet you'll never see him again', said the friend, turning on the TV to watch Wimbledon. And there he was in the crowd!

We are still in touch on FB, although the romantic relationship didn't last.

Our last house was on a fairly well hidden country lane. One day, my husband was out mowing the lawn and noticed that a couple in a car had driven slowly past the house a couple of times so he called out to ask if they were lost. It turned out that the husband had lived in our house back in the 50s & 60s and was in the area for a family reunion.

He asked them in to have a look around the place and we got chatting. They commented that my husband's accent wasn't local and asked where he is from. He's from a tiny village that no-one has heard of, but it turned out this couple were actually living there!

Not only that; they knew his family and were close friends with one of his siblings!

I met someone at a work meeting that was the granddaughter of my childhood's neighbour (in a totally different country).

She is 20 odd years younger than me and I had actually babysat her once when she was about 2yo

As teenagers my sister and I went to a "psychic show" and were told that a particular date was significant to both of us. It meant nothing to us and we laughed about it. Ten years later I fell pregnant and my DC was born, nine days overdue on that date. Five years later, my sister fell pregnant and was given the same due date as I'd had. She went the same number of days overdue as I did and also had her DC on that date. Both babies were born at exactly 3am and now very happily share their birthday!

@MaryBoBary

I once got stuck behind a pigeon on my way to work.

It was flying at steering wheel height about 10 yards in front of my car. It followed the road and stuck to the left hand side. I couldn't overtake due to it being a windy road. I didn't want to make it jump by pressing the horn so just followed it for about 3-4 minutes.

I love this!

@RichardMarxisinnocent a contikki is pretty much a backpacking tour. They are very popular and common in other countries where it’s kind of a right of passage for young adults to go and do a contikki or OE (overseas experience) before settling down.

@AliceMcK - we call them gap yahs in UK

My dad was adopted and had struggled to find his birth mother for many years. My mum had a heart attack and while recovering in coronary care she struck up a friendship with the elderly woman in the next bed. They got chatting about their children and the lady told her she’d had a son who had been adopted and it turned out to be my dad. I was with him at home when he got the phone call from my mum to say ‘I think I’ve found your mother’