To ask about this utterly random coincidental meeting?

[TeeGypt]

In 1999, I went on an 18-30 type holiday to Magaluf. The hotel reception was mainly manned by an old English guy called Mick. He was quite a character, most notable for telling everyone that checked in that he had a cosh under the counter, so not to give him any trouble.

Over the 2 weeks we got to know him a little bit but ultimately we were just another group of “revellers”, and at the end of the holiday we went home. Mick was occasionally mentioned when reminiscing but that’s about it.

Earlier today I was coming through the train station and popped into a branch of Co-op for something. Never been in before. While browsing, I heard a voice that I recognised talking to member of staff - I turned to look round and it was Mick from the hotel!

After getting over the shock that he was still alive (he seemed ancient back in 1999), I asked whether he used to work in hotel in Magaluf. He said he had but was retired.

I told him I remembered him from 26 years ago and he was impressed by my memory. He said he still lived in Mallorca but was over visiting his sister. He was only in the station because he was changing trains and the onward service was cancelled.

Anyway, we went our separate ways but it seemed like an amazing coincidence.

Anyone had anything similar?

I went to Goa and bumped into some people who lived on the next Rd from me in England.

Yep! I met someone I went to primary school at a house viewing.. it was 350 miles away from where we want to school together

About 20 years ago, I lived in the Caribbean with my youngest children. I had adult children who lived in England. I had to return to England to arrange some interviews and flew into Heathrow. It was early morning when I was checking into a hotel next to Heathrow and my oldest son, who lived up North, was just checking out of the same hotel as he was flying off somewhere for work. Neither of us knew we were going to be there, he actually heard my voice and approached me and we were both delighted, but gobsmacked, to have 5 minutes with each other before he flew off and I went to bed!

I met my best friend from when I was 5 in the queue to register for our (very niche) course at university! I’d moved away when I was 6 and we’d not kept in touch.

Sold my partners bag on vinted. An old colleague who had moved hours north some years ago bought it.

I was hitchhiking once in tiny swiss mountain village, and the bloke who stopped to give me a lift was the brother of the man whose kids I had babysat back in north wales years before.

How would you know that, though? You don't usually know the identity of the buyer.

@MounjaroMounjaro you see the name of you print off the address label

Oh sorry, I don't do that - I use the locker system and there's no address label. It blows my mind every time!

Back in the 90s, I was at uni in a city a couple of hours' travel away. Went to go and see a new flat and inadvertently pressed the wrong bell. The door was opened by a girl I was at school with 6 years earlier.

One weekend, a few years ago, I sold just two items on ebay. Both were for different buyers in the same small village about 200 miles away.

In the 80’s I lived in Hong Kong with my (ex) husband. We landed in the evening and got taken to out flat. The next morning as we were leaving the flat we met our new neighbour. She recognised him as he walked past her house every morning to get to the tube station when we and she lived in London.

On a beach many hours from home, I met a woman whose mother went to school in the house in which I now live.

I went on holiday to a place that would be lucky to call itself a one horse town. and got talking to a couple. After meeting in random places, we had a night out together. One of the couple started talking about their university. The same one my adult child went to.

When I asked what subject they did, it was the same as my child.

I got one of those moments where I kind of recognised them. I asked if they played a bit of an obscure sport. The friend I was holidaying with looked at me like I was crazy.

I looked at them, they looked at me. It was my adult child's first love interest. We had met once when I visited.

A close school friend and I lost touch after her parents went abroad for work and she went to a boarding school at the other end of the country . Fifty years later I was visiting my mum in her care home as she had advanced dementia when I heard a familiar voice . My friend was visiting the care home as she had patients there who she was helping with swallowing and talking. I said “I recognise that voice “. She turned round and recognised me immediately. We’ve been in touch ever since and regularly have girly lunches and dinners.

I was at an outdoor event with some old schoolmates - 150 miles away from where we’re all from. We were all in our mid thirties. I mentioned someone two of us remembered from primary school, who neither of us had seen for 25 years. Then - literally within one minute of me mentioning her - she walked right past us.

My first love, who I lost my virginity to, now lives down the road from my dad. Completely different city, nearly 20 years later. Haven't bumped in to him yet but constantly mentally prepared to whenever I'm there

Arrived home from a holiday in the canaries, went to the local supermarket for petrol and the people from the next sunbed were filling up beside us.

Arrived in Santorini and collecting our cases at the carousel found myself standing next to the MD from work, and the company nurse. Both married, and not to each other.

Husband moved 60 miles to be with me, some 20 years later he’s in the local supermarket when someone calls his name. Turns out to be a woman he worked with in his home town 30 plus years ago. She’d moved to the same small town to be with her partner. Arranged to all meet up, and her partner is someone I used to work with.

I was in Chennai airport (India) for work in January,and had to go to the desk to discuss a charging pack in my checked luggage and another lady had the same. She used to work in a building on the same road as my office.

When I had a graduation lunch with friends from uni, my Dad was chatting away to one of the other dads. Turned out he had worked with him in Hong Kong when he worked overseas over 15 years before when I was about 4. We had visited the family's flat which I remember vividly. I had been studying with the son for three years without having any idea!

A few years ago I'd gone to an auction with my mum,a couple of hours from our home town. I did the registration form to be able to bid: as I was writing out the address ( weirdly it was backwards-as in Town, street, number) the chap overseeing me, announced my house number before I'd written it. He'd been born and grew up in our house. We'd found documents etc relating to him in the house. We met up with him and gave them to him.

Oh and when we moved from that house, my mum had left my school reports in the loft.
( Obviously the house made people forget things!)
Many years later, I was at work at the nursery where I worked, and said my unusual maiden name to a parent. Her mum was living in our old house and had found my reports. She brought them into me.

Our house was previously owned by an old lady, and her granddaughter lived with her. The granddaughter's bedroom was fairly modern whereas the rest of the house was very dated. My sister lodged with us for the first year that we lived here; she had the modern room.

During that time my sister met a new girlfriend, she lived around 50 miles away. It turned out that the granddaughter who used to occupy my sister's room was my sister's girlfriend's best friend!

I think the name is even on the locker qr codes as well.

Told this before, but in the 90s my mum had to go to Edinburgh hospital for a (at the time) unusual operation, she lived in England.My dad went with her and popped out for a fag, a bloke asked him for a light and it was a guy he’d been in North Africa with in the war and hadn’t seen since being demobbed.