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 was on holiday in France, visiting a cave under a little town. Met someone I knew.

Wow!

Aww, this is also very sweet. ❤️

My brother was working on a checkout in Morrison's in Edinburgh when he got chatting to a customer who turned out to be our dad's milkman from Sheffield 40 years ago.

This is so true, we've bumped into people at Disneyland Paris several times. Also one resort in the Loire in France we bumped into 3 sets of school families in one holiday.

Thanks everyone, great stories and this probably isn’t as uncommon as I thought.

For anyone who likes these stories, I like this one too:

When I did jury duty, I got chatting to a man on the same case. We came from the same town and he lived 5 doors down from me. I walked past his house every day.

I feel like I randomly bump into people abroad way more often than I do in London, where we actually live.

Several years ago I was in Porto in December and while walking through an otherwise deserted park bumped into someone I last saw at university 15 years previously.

A couple of years ago I was in Naples for a work trip. Unexpectedly had an evening off, booked myself a spontaneous solo table at a restaurant across town... and at the table next to me, at the same time on the same day, were good friends of mine who were on holiday. That was a very fun night in the end. Funnily enough a few years before we'd have probably all known in advance we'd be there at the same time, as we'd have mentioned it on social media, but by 2023 none of us were broadcasting our personal lives any more, so it was a total surprise.

Went to youngest sons graduation and then travelled on to a very nice hotel in Dorset to celebrate the final ending of the University years. In the restaurant that night we sat on a table next to the parents of my husband's best friend through Primary school. Husband was brought up in Halifax but hasn't lived there since he was 10. He recognised the accent and then the face of friend's mother.

I was getting the train to leeds and the guy sat opposite me spilled his coffee on my while he was getting off the train. He didn't say anything which I thought was rude!

Then when I got the train home he got on and sat next to me again, he said 'did I spill coffee on you this morning?!' and I got a proper apology.

My Dad was a nuclear test veteran, and it's a pretty small niche group to be in. Started a job and got chatting to a girl on break. Discovered her cousin was someone I know on Facebook as a bit of a mover and shaker in the campaigning for justice for test vets world.

On a similar theme, I was part of a local am dram group about 15 years ago, doing backstage and design. Discovered the latest leading lady was the daughter of my Dad's lymphoma consultant.....

Went to view a flat with my DP, and it turned out the downstairs neighbour was the girlfriend of a chap who had assaulted my DP in an incident that went to court and everything. We did not move in. It's not like we live in a small town either.

I used to have a shop, and in the early days acquired a slightly dotty elderly gentleman as a regular visitor. He needed some support, which was sometimes above my paygrade, so ended up getting ASC involved etc. Told my Dad and SM about it, using just his first name. Both of them kind of looked at each other and asked if his surname was "Smith" which I confirmed. They actually knew him years before and were able to give a bit of back story, which was pretty chaotic. I had to promise not to let my elderly "friend" know where they lived.....

I sometimes think it's quantum entanglement or something.....

Erm.. when I was 17, my girlfriend, and the girl I was cheating on her with, caught the same national express coach from London to Leeds, and sat next to each other. I went to the bus station to meet the coach and got dumped by both of them on the spot.

I did learn my lesson.

We were flying to the US. Our first flight out of Gatwick was delayed and we ended up having to spend the night in Detroit as we’d missed the last flight for the night to our destination.

On the shuttle bus to the airport hotel we got talking to an American couple and it turned out the husband had spent ten years working in a factory on our street years ago! We lived in a small town in the NE of England at that point. They were very sad to hear that the factory had since closed and houses had been built on the site.

I saw a (minor) celebrity at a party in a country I was visiting, he came in with his new girlfriend, which I knew from primary school (in my home country)