Coincidences

[Slim]

I listened to Bowie's Hunky Dory yesterday for the first time in years and today, a video about its standout tune (in an album of standout tunes), Life On Mars turned up on YouTube - published 18 hours ago as I type.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Two years ago I messaged a friend (a refrigeration engineer) on Facebook as my freezer was playing up. He didn't reply. He moved to Wales a few weeks ago and noticed and replied apologetically to my ancient, missed message this morning. About an hour ago I mentioned in passing another friend's name whom I haven't been in contact with for a long time. A few seconds later I received a Facebook message from the friend in Wales suggesting the next time he is in Glasgow the three of us should meet up. Spooky!

[Slim]

For some reason my train of thought while out on a bike led me to remember an English teacher from my Grammar School days, called Mr Howells. Taffy, as he was known (for he was Welsh) was an unpleasant, inadequate little man. Not cruel, not abusive, just one of those people who get his kicks from making kids feel uncomfortable by embarrassing them in front of the rest of the class.

Months or years can go past without me sparing the old tosser a thought. I hadn't seen him mentioned on social media or anywhere else for about 20 years, when someone remembered him on the Hartlepool Grammar School page on Friends Reunited. But this evening someone posted a pic of him and his class on Facebook.

[Matt2112]

Nowadays at schools they have a lesson period called "Forest School", where children have hands-on learning in a natural outdoors environment.

The teacher designated for this at my young 'un's school is called Mr Wood.

[Slim]

Nowadays at schools they have a lesson period called "Forest School", where children have hands-on learning in a natural outdoors environment.

The teacher designated for this at my young 'un's school is called Mr Wood.

At Rolls-Royce in the '90s there was a company directory a bit like a telephone book, most offices had one. The Manager of Small Parts was a gentleman called Mr Mycock, but I've often wondered whether someone submitted it to the folks who compiled it as a prank.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Not a complete coincidence as such, more some coincidental personal feelings about an occurrence. Yesterday, my FB feed showed a photograph and brief life story of Camille Claudel. I had never heard of her but she was a French sculptor famously known as a lover of Auguste Rodin. She had a most unfortunate life. However, what drew me to the post was how disturbingly similar in appearance she was to a long time girlfriend I had in the 90s. It really took me aback on first glance. That relationship had a profound effect on my adult life. The woman in question was also a very talented and creative artist. She gained a first at Glasgow School Of Art which is why we were able to meet initially. She also spent some time working in France. I'm not into reincarnation at all, but this set me thinking.

[Slim]

This feels a bit eerie .. I've known the Doobies tune Takin' It to the Streets for decades but I've been obsessing over it a bit this last few days, after watching some of the old No Nukes concert footage featuring the band, from 1979. Then Rick Beato published a video about it last night.

[Matt2112]

Reminds me of another song-based one: on the New Year's Eve gig I played in a restaurant, where I played a "ground floor" set and a similar "first floor" set, I had to nip home in between sets; on firing up the car, the song playing on the radio was the song I was using to open both sets.

[Nickslikk2112]

Put the Tour Down Under on the telly, then went back to the kitchen to pick my lunch up and the Radio was playing Down Under by Men at Work, spooky eh?

[Matt2112]

Reminds me of another song-based one: on the New Year's Eve gig I played in a restaurant, where I played a "ground floor" set and a similar "first floor" set, I had to nip home in between sets; on firing up the car, the song playing on the radio was the song I was using to open both sets.

Last night was my first gig since that one; I played Stuck In The Middle With You for the first time in public and it went down a storm.
 
On my 8-minute drive home later, Greatest Hits were playing Whitney Houston's So Emotional, so I very nearly changed the station; but I didn't, and the song after it was...yep!

[The Picnic Wasp]

Very, very strange one today. When I first passed my driving test I bought myself a beat up old Cortina Mk2 Estate from the proceeds of my summer van boy job. It was a big old tank of a car. That first summer of driving I would explore places with my two, marginally younger mates. We never got that very far as there was only ever a couple of gallons in the tank.

Most evenings we would park up round the corner from one of my friend's homes. It was a quiet spot at the edge of a wooded area with no overlooking houses, so suited our teenage requirements as a few of our usual group smoked and this place afforded the privacy needed.

A girl began to meet us and would join those sitting on the wall smoking. She was American, a tiny girl but very confident, living in Scotland whilst her father worked here. I didn't get to know her that well as I didn't attend the local secondary school, but we were quite friendly for a few months.

I very, very rarely think of her. Practically never, but in an idle moment today her name came to mind. I haven't seen or heard from her for at least 45 years and always assumed one day she must have returned to the US. So, as she had an unusual first and last name I decided to Google her.

Her name came up on my first search. It was linked to her friend's Instagram account. The post described her friend's sorrow at her passing.

It was posted yesterday!

R.I.P

[Thenop]

Watching TV, or actually more using it as wallpaper that constantly changes, just after dinner I subliminally caught something on a tv show that triggered a memory to a passage in a short story I once wrote.
My mind wandered and I thought back to what was probably 8 years ago when I gifted a writer frined a book I read and really liked. (I have habit of giving away things I like myself a lot because only then it is meaningful for me to give, as it turns out I then start looking for it only to realise I gave it away).

Anyway, I started thinking on the wroter of the book I gave away and how I hadn't heard from him in a while (he's Dutch) and how I have not seen a new book of his in a while. Did a quick check at my favourite book shop only to find out his latest was published 2 days ago. Go figure!

Instant buy.

[Slim]

I was listening to a Reacher novel while out on a bike. At one point, Reacher says "everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth".

Forty minutes later I've switched the audiobook off and I'm listening to Matt Chorley's programme on 5 Live. One of his guests says exactly the same thing.

[Slim]

Wife is retiring this week, and she had a retirement dinner yesterday with a few work colleagues at a restaurant we go to occasionally called San Giovanni.

At the end of the dinner one of the staff came up to her with a gift-wrapped plant and a card that they said had been left for her. The card said "Happy Retirement Sue! From the Silver Birch Brigade".

Sue explained that she had no idea who the Silver Birch Brigade were. But the staff insisted that she should take it. They don't have retirement dinners there often, so what were the chances it could be for another Sue on the same day?

Well - of course - a few hours later we get a call from the restaurant. Another Sue had come in to have a retirement dinner and the plant was meant for her. So we took it back today and we had a round of drinks on the house.

[Matt2112]

During a quite lengthy exchange on Gemini, exactly as I was typing the words "extreme left" (to denote a physical position), the same words were spoken on a TV news channel in the background (to denote a political position).

Not "spooky" of course, just pretty much inevitable, though it's always startling when it happens.