It's a small world...
Mar 19th 2016, 2:37 am
#16
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 457
Re: It's a small world...
Heard about a British butcher in the small hinterland town Cooroy Qld.
Went out for a drive and called in, the Butcher had a Midlands accent so we asked where was he from. Needless to say he had been the butcher from our Nottingham village and gone to the same school as my sons and knew one of them.
Went out for a drive and called in, the Butcher had a Midlands accent so we asked where was he from. Needless to say he had been the butcher from our Nottingham village and gone to the same school as my sons and knew one of them.
Mar 20th 2016, 5:56 am
#17
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 20,821
Re: It's a small world...
And there's this, for the small-world thread...
Two men were sitting next to each other at a bar in New York. After a while, one guy looks at the other and says, "I can't help but think, from your accent, that you're from Ireland." The other guy responds proudly, "Yes, that I am!"
The first guy says, "So am I! And from whereabouts in Ireland might you be?" The other guy answers, "I'm from Dublin, I am."
The first guy responds, "Sure and begorra, and so am I! And what street did you live on in Dublin?" The other guy says, "A lovely little area it was, I lived on McCleary Street in the old central part of town."
The first guy says, "Faith & it's a small world; so did I! And to what school would you have been going?" The other guy answers, "Well now, I went to St. Mary's of course."
The first guy gets really excited, and says, "And so did I. Tell me, what year did you graduate?" The other guy answers, "Well, now, I graduated in 1964."
The first guy exclaims, "The Good Lord must be smiling down upon us! I can hardly believe our good luck at winding up in the same bar tonight. Can you believe it, I graduated from St. Mary's in 1964 my own self."
About this time, another guy walks into the bar, sits down, and orders a beer. The bartender walks over shaking his head & mutters, "It's going to be a long night tonight."
The guy asks, "Why do you say that?"
"The bloody O'Malley twins are drunk again."
Two men were sitting next to each other at a bar in New York. After a while, one guy looks at the other and says, "I can't help but think, from your accent, that you're from Ireland." The other guy responds proudly, "Yes, that I am!"
The first guy says, "So am I! And from whereabouts in Ireland might you be?" The other guy answers, "I'm from Dublin, I am."
The first guy responds, "Sure and begorra, and so am I! And what street did you live on in Dublin?" The other guy says, "A lovely little area it was, I lived on McCleary Street in the old central part of town."
The first guy says, "Faith & it's a small world; so did I! And to what school would you have been going?" The other guy answers, "Well now, I went to St. Mary's of course."
The first guy gets really excited, and says, "And so did I. Tell me, what year did you graduate?" The other guy answers, "Well, now, I graduated in 1964."
The first guy exclaims, "The Good Lord must be smiling down upon us! I can hardly believe our good luck at winding up in the same bar tonight. Can you believe it, I graduated from St. Mary's in 1964 my own self."
About this time, another guy walks into the bar, sits down, and orders a beer. The bartender walks over shaking his head & mutters, "It's going to be a long night tonight."
The guy asks, "Why do you say that?"
"The bloody O'Malley twins are drunk again."
Mar 20th 2016, 8:13 am
#18
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: north east england to south east queensland(cleveland in fact )WE WON THE CUP
Posts: 5,867
Re: It's a small world...
When i first joined this site years ago i encountered another member on here already living in Australia who was originally from the same village as myself.At the time i did not know this person and it turned out he went to school with my partner and my sister and his sister lived across the road from us !
Mar 23rd 2016, 12:41 am
#19
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 20,821
Re: It's a small world...
When i first joined this site years ago i encountered another member on here already living in Australia who was originally from the same village as myself.At the time i did not know this person and it turned out he went to school with my partner and my sister and his sister lived across the road from us !
Mar 23rd 2016, 9:02 pm
#20
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2012
Location: Cayman Islands
Posts: 4,998
Re: It's a small world...
When we lived in Vila in the New Hebrides (now Port Vila, Vanuatu) in the South Pacific, in the '70s, my wife had a job meeting people off the planes each day and trying to sell them bus tours. One day a pair of backpackers asked her if she could recommend a cheap place to stay. She took pity on them and invited them home to our little apartment. While chatting, she and the girl realised that they had been at the same church-camp outside Melbourne at the age of 15. Small world!
When I arrived home from work I was introduced to the pair, and the Canadian boyfriend's name rang a faint bell with me. Had we met somewhere along the road in Europe? Indeed we had. He was part of a group from the Youth Hostel in Thessaloniki (Greece) nine years before, that decided to go to the local cinema to watch "Zorba the Greek". An even smaller world! (One of the Australian girls in the group hitched a ride with me next morning, and we travelled together for several months through the Middle East and parts of the Soviet Empire. And married in Toronto a couple of years later.)
When I arrived home from work I was introduced to the pair, and the Canadian boyfriend's name rang a faint bell with me. Had we met somewhere along the road in Europe? Indeed we had. He was part of a group from the Youth Hostel in Thessaloniki (Greece) nine years before, that decided to go to the local cinema to watch "Zorba the Greek". An even smaller world! (One of the Australian girls in the group hitched a ride with me next morning, and we travelled together for several months through the Middle East and parts of the Soviet Empire. And married in Toronto a couple of years later.)
Mar 23rd 2016, 9:55 pm
#21
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2013
Location: Sugarloaf, QLD
Posts: 2,004
Re: It's a small world...
So, Sal and I rented a house in Carindale for a year and a half and then managed to purchase the house next door where we are living now. The rental house was empty for a bit and we would pop next door and check for our mail. The new tenant got his first piece of mail and Sal said "that's funny, I used to go to school in Kyogle with a boy called A.B."
Incredibly, A.B. was in a relationship with another girl that Sal went to school with and they both moved in next door to us. He moved from Townsville and she from Dubbo. Hell of a coincidence.
Incredibly, A.B. was in a relationship with another girl that Sal went to school with and they both moved in next door to us. He moved from Townsville and she from Dubbo. Hell of a coincidence.
Mar 25th 2016, 12:37 am
#22
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2010
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 132
Re: It's a small world...
Both my uncles seem to have the small world thing going.
About 2 year ago I met an Australian girl in a bar in the UK. We got chatting and she told me she was touring the UK. It turned out she lived on the next street from my Uncle in Brisbane.
My Uncle who lives in the UK went on holiday to Sydney about 10 years ago. He bumped into (literally!) a fellow member of his church choir on the street. None of them knew each other was even on holiday!
My AU Uncle used to own a business in the Seychelles with a fellow British expat. They both left the Seychelles and lost contact. Many years later my UK Uncle went to a pub whilst on holiday in Jersey and spotted the picture of the business on the wall. After he made enquirers it turned out the landlord was my AU Uncles business partner.
About 2 year ago I met an Australian girl in a bar in the UK. We got chatting and she told me she was touring the UK. It turned out she lived on the next street from my Uncle in Brisbane.
My Uncle who lives in the UK went on holiday to Sydney about 10 years ago. He bumped into (literally!) a fellow member of his church choir on the street. None of them knew each other was even on holiday!
My AU Uncle used to own a business in the Seychelles with a fellow British expat. They both left the Seychelles and lost contact. Many years later my UK Uncle went to a pub whilst on holiday in Jersey and spotted the picture of the business on the wall. After he made enquirers it turned out the landlord was my AU Uncles business partner.
Apr 2nd 2016, 7:11 pm
#23
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Joined: May 2012
Location: Cayman Islands
Posts: 4,998
Re: It's a small world...
Another small-world incident from my time in the New Hebrides,now Vanuatu... One evening I was waiting in a hotel lobby in Vila (the main town) for a visiting client to come down and be taken out to dinner. Being early, I wandered over and was idly reading the bulletin-board. A voice from behind me said, "Gordon?" It was a Canadian chap that I used to work with in Nassau, Bahamas, two or three years before. While I was still there, he had moved to a job in Buenos Aires, and just happened (for some reason I've forgotten now) to have a one-night stopover in Vila. He had recognised me by my bald spot!
Apr 4th 2016, 4:40 am
#24
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,397
Re: It's a small world...
No, just that I was asleep and haven't seen the post till now!
Many moons ago I met Wol & Mrs Wol at a couple of BE meet in Brighotn, before either of us had got visas.
Then on my last day at work before emigrating they turned up in the office to get their fingerprints taken for an FBI check for their Aussie visas - they hadn't realised I worked there and as their real names were on the appointments book, not the names I knew them by, it was rather a surprise
Many moons ago I met Wol & Mrs Wol at a couple of BE meet in Brighotn, before either of us had got visas.
Then on my last day at work before emigrating they turned up in the office to get their fingerprints taken for an FBI check for their Aussie visas - they hadn't realised I worked there and as their real names were on the appointments book, not the names I knew them by, it was rather a surprise
Apr 9th 2016, 1:17 pm
#25
Australia's Doorman
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: The Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 11,056
Re: It's a small world...
My mum's Irish - grew up in County Clare. She moved to Salford as a young girl with her mum and then to Bolton, where she met my dad. They moved south to North Hertfordshire and had a family, including me. 20 years later I move to Bath to work for a publishing company and, since many of the people I work with are stiffs, I work in a pub for beer. While there I meet a girl and two years later we move in together. Five years after that we decide to get married and all the rellies are invited along, including my soon-to-be-wife's sister and her husband. At the reception my mother gets talking to the sister-in-law's husband and it turns out his mum's Irish too. She asks where from. Guess what - same county. Asks which town. Guess what - same town. Asks what the mother's name is. Guess what - she was my mum's best friend for 20 years before she moved to England. Hadn't heard from her in 40 years or so. They got back in touch and remained in contact until she (the brother in law's mum) died a few years later.
Also. I was lucky enough to spend a semester at college in upstate New York. I was on the back seat of a greyhound bus at the end of my trip and got talking to the girl in the seat in front. Turned out we grew up three doors down from each other - she was a couple of years behind me in school - went to the same primary school and the same secondary.
Also. I was lucky enough to spend a semester at college in upstate New York. I was on the back seat of a greyhound bus at the end of my trip and got talking to the girl in the seat in front. Turned out we grew up three doors down from each other - she was a couple of years behind me in school - went to the same primary school and the same secondary.
Apr 11th 2016, 8:54 pm
#26
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: It's a small world...
On Concorde, you used to be able fly to New York in hours and get there before you left which tells me this planet of ours ain't as big as people make it out to be. Ahem.
I once met Barry Norman on a cross-channel ferry but as I had never met him personally before it was probably nothing special. I've also met various VIPs but seeing as we were at the same event : nothing doing...
I'll try harder. Years ago, I sailed around the Caribbean on a little yacht belonging to a retired General with an assortment of crew and then 6 months later, whilst stopping at a servo for a Mars Bar on an English A road bumped in to one of the blokes also present.
When I arrived in Sydney I was jogging between Bondi and Bronte when someone called me. An old mate from London. Not a Pom tourist so perhaps a bit less chancy...you'd expect to meet people on Bondi...
I once met Barry Norman on a cross-channel ferry but as I had never met him personally before it was probably nothing special. I've also met various VIPs but seeing as we were at the same event : nothing doing...
I'll try harder. Years ago, I sailed around the Caribbean on a little yacht belonging to a retired General with an assortment of crew and then 6 months later, whilst stopping at a servo for a Mars Bar on an English A road bumped in to one of the blokes also present.
When I arrived in Sydney I was jogging between Bondi and Bronte when someone called me. An old mate from London. Not a Pom tourist so perhaps a bit less chancy...you'd expect to meet people on Bondi...
Last edited by BadgeIsBack; Apr 11th 2016 at 8:58 pm.
Apr 14th 2016, 10:05 am
#27
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Scotland
Posts: 7,949
Re: It's a small world...
I've got some unusual experiences as well:
1 My wife when she was single went out to Melbourne for 2 years to teach from Scotland (that's how we met in the same tennis club but that's another experience!) The plane touched down in Sydney en-route and as she was walking down the stairs of the plane someone called her name. It turned out that the 1st person she spoke to in Oz was her next door neighbour from her small village in Scotland who she hadn't seen for 15 years and had lost contact with (he was working at Sydney airport and had emigrated).
2 Friends of ours have a son who emigrated to NZ. He is now CEO of one of the largest NZ construction companies working on the rebuilding of Christchurch. When he went to Christchurch to speak to the head of the government department co-ordinating the project he noticed she had a Scottish accent and asked where she came from. They were 5 or 6 years apart and it turned out they both came from the small Scottish town where we live, they both went to the same school and I taught both of them!!
1 My wife when she was single went out to Melbourne for 2 years to teach from Scotland (that's how we met in the same tennis club but that's another experience!) The plane touched down in Sydney en-route and as she was walking down the stairs of the plane someone called her name. It turned out that the 1st person she spoke to in Oz was her next door neighbour from her small village in Scotland who she hadn't seen for 15 years and had lost contact with (he was working at Sydney airport and had emigrated).
2 Friends of ours have a son who emigrated to NZ. He is now CEO of one of the largest NZ construction companies working on the rebuilding of Christchurch. When he went to Christchurch to speak to the head of the government department co-ordinating the project he noticed she had a Scottish accent and asked where she came from. They were 5 or 6 years apart and it turned out they both came from the small Scottish town where we live, they both went to the same school and I taught both of them!!
