h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, one of my contacts at one of my customers is an English guy in France - so we automatically have that "expat Brits surrounded by foreigners" type of thing going on when we meet up (plus i sometimes record footie games for him and his son)

Anyhoooooo we were talking about school once, and it was one of those moments (like when I met Reddyfreddy) when he said "oh, not the Bonnets" and I said "oh no, you know about the bonnets"... and it turns out that while I was there his mum was one of the French teachers. Not mine, however, although I did know her (I think)

So anyway, last night we were having dinner and I mentioned that actually although it is always fun to go out with those guys (there were 3 of "us" and 4 of "them") what I had hoped for was an evening on my own because I have some friends in the next town and I would really like to meet up with them one time when I'm over in that Part of France. Ex-Army buddies I said.

Oh, sez he. I have friends here who used to be in the army. And yes, turns out that we have mutual acquaintences - who he immediately phoned and put them on to me.

Spooky, eh?
What's that music I can hear...

'tis a small world.

My son's off to Chile in September on a Raleigh expedition - and will be meeting the daughter of his sister's new boss.

I'm glad to hear it's not just me.

Several years ago I was working for a computer magazine based in Germany. we went to the Systems trade show, our American sister publication's boss came also. This chap turned up at the stand, introduced himself as a friend of boss and said that he'd given our phone number to this guy with whom he was having a meeting the next day in Amsterdam.

A few hours later the company in Amsterdam called to leave him a message - and when I asked the woman's name it was a fairly unusual one, the same as a Dutch girly I used to work with and we had remained firm friends even after we both left the company and went our separate ways. So I asked her for her surname, which she was reluctant to give, so I gave it to her.

We used to go on camping holidays in France when the kids were much younger - and without fail, my husband met someone he knew in each and every site. It was usually an old neighbour or someone he was in the cubs with a zillion years ago - but the kids were dead impressed anyway.

My own coincidence was finding out in conversation with a patient that we were third cousins, twice removed - or somesuch thing - it was tenuous, but we were definitely related. Odd that we'd both ended up 500 miles away from where we were born.