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Posted: 07-08-2013 17:27 Post subject:

One of the more weird things to have happened to me, I'm still putting it down as pure coincidence, but I can see how someone with a different belief system might interpret it...

So, me and my wife-to-be were over in Scotland for the weekend finalising last minute plans and enjoying the Highland Games in the village my family are from. Because our wedding is in September my Mum didn't come up for her usual August holiday but is going up for 2 weeks in September. This is the first time in my life that she hasn't been up for the Games, I've not missed them in 32/33 years - not entirely sure if I first went aged 1 or 2.

Consequently it was a bit of a different feeling weekend, plus my Uncle was in hospital for surgery so he was not about, so maybe thoughts of family were higher in my sub-conscious.

Anyhow, we had gone out for an Indian on the Saturday night and in the restaurant was a woman who, without my glasses on, was the absolute spit of my Mum - same mannerisms, dress sense, everything. We laughed about it but thought no more of it. With my glasses on she didn't actually look that much like her.

Our waiter came over, tall Indian man, late 50s, Indian accent but with a slight Scottish twang. I don't even recall what he said but just the tone and way he delivered on sentence reminded me exactly of how my Dad spoke. He died in 2005 and we never really had much of a relationship so I rarely, if ever, talk of him to my partner and it is not often he even comes into my mind - there was no bad blood, he was just disinterested and I was unperturbed by his indifference. In this instance though I said to her: "Even though he is Indian that waiter speaks just like my Dad used to..."

A few minutes passed and he had forgotten to bring us our poppadoms, eventually he came over placed them down and apologised for forgetting, then he paused and turned back and said "I'm just getting old..."

At this point my partner says my face went white as a sheet and as he walked away I explained to her that those were the exact last words my Dad ever said to me. He had not been feeling great in the days before he suffered a massive heart attack and on the Saturday I'd dropped him off at the pub, as he struggled to get out the car he made light of his difficulty and said: "I'm just getting old..."

For me, just a very odd coincidence. Had the waiter not spoken in a voice that just suddenly caught me as being that of my Dad I'd not even have registered the words. Strangely, the rest of the evening the waiter sounded like an Indian man. It just seemed to be that one instance where his words came out in the voice of my Dad - as if to bring him into my thoughts - and then the immediate punch of the same words.

Very odd, and I remain unconvinced it is anything more than coincidence. But I'll admit it took me a while to get to sleep that night wondering if I had just been visited with a pre-wedding message.

I've always joked that it'd be the ultimate irony to get more interaction out of him from the other side than I ever did in real life... Laughing

Posted: 07-08-2013 20:39 Post subject:

Posted: 08-08-2013 15:00 Post subject:

I'm still shocked someone bothered to have a party to celebrate a kitchen fitting. That's just weird.

Posted: 08-08-2013 16:06 Post subject:

Posted: 09-08-2013 11:56 Post subject:

Fantastic coincidence McAvennie, I love it when things like that come together.

Posted: 09-08-2013 12:26 Post subject:

Yup, I like that McAvennie one, rings bells with me. People seeming to speak like the dead crop up now and then.

A few years ago, out with my dogs, I heard someone greet them in a certain silly way. Only one person used to say that to them and he'd recently died. It stopped me in my tracks. Shocked

One of my university friends had a close pal who was murdered. (It was quite a famous case which happened before I met her, so I can remember racking my brains for the details, ooer.)

Some time later, she was out with some mates who'd also known the dead girl, and went to order drinks. The barmaid turned to her and suggested, in what my friend said was the dead woman's voice, that she have the very cocktail that they'd all usually drunk on their nights out.

My friend was shocked but the barmaid didn't miss a beat and carried on polishing glasses or whatever she was doing.

Posted: 10-08-2013 22:46 Post subject:

Just now, Techy jokingly quoted the film The Lost Boys, saying 'You're a goddam shit-sucking vampire!'

I then flipped a few TV channels and stopped at that film, which we hadn't known was on, and it was about a minute before those very words were spoken. Laughing

Posted: 24-09-2013 00:58 Post subject:

Was chatting to a lady I have become friendly with at Probus craft group.
Talk turned to a monthly market that used to be at the venue years ago and I mentioned that I always went as there was a potter there who made lovely plant holders of lifelike heads.
She looked at me and laughed and said that she was that potter.

Posted: 24-09-2013 07:59 Post subject:

Does anyone else find they'll notice a nice coincidence, think Oooh! I'll remember that! and then in their busy day forget it? Sad

I'm going to start a new Coincidences list on my phone so I don't lose any more. Wink

Posted: 13-10-2013 10:47 Post subject:

Yesterday morning as I was rushing around I could hear Desert Island Discs playing in the kitchen. The song was Jagger and Bowie singing Dancing In The Street.

For some reason I really hate that song so I thought 'Euurgh! Oh well, I'm off out now!', left and set off in t'banger.

The car stereo came on, playing Bowie's Greatest Hits - Dancing In The Street. Which I usually manage to skip. But not that day... Evil or Very Mad

I normally have R4 on in the car and rarely play music so it was days since I'd put the disc in and I had forgotten which it was. I was fated to hear it. Laughing

Posted: 13-10-2013 14:34 Post subject:

This morning I read this:

Posted: 13-10-2013 18:54 Post subject:

Late last night I heard (again on the kitchen radio Shocked

) the song Wish You Were Here. Then I went back into the front room where Techy was watching a TV programme with that same track as background music. Very Happy

Posted: 13-10-2013 21:22 Post subject:

Another TV-related one:

This morning, wearing my Lone Coastguard Hat, I wrote:
"Tides are very predictable, for the most part, as they are caused by the gravitational effects of sun and moon. Weather conditions such as atmospheric pressure can alter the predictions to a certain degree, but only rarely to dramatic proportions. (The east coast floods in 1953 were caused by a combination of high spring tides, low pressure, and northerly gales.)"

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1359340#1359340

This evening I wanted to watch the Da Vinci Code on Channel 5. So that I didn't get distracted by the internet, I went to the TV lounge early, with a book I've nearly finished. I put the TV on, but our TV doesn't indicate what channel is playing. As it happened, there was something on relating to lake monsters, which was nice! At the next commercial break I realised I was watching Channel 4, The World's Weirdest Weather.

But after the break, they had an item about the east coast floods in 1953! Shocked

And they echoed the points I'd made earlier.

I didn't know this was going to be on, and it was pure chance I saw it, on the very day I'd posted something on the subject. That's what I call a coincidence! Cool

Posted: 14-10-2013 16:12 Post subject:

Posted: 15-10-2013 15:25 Post subject:

I've just read on the BBC website about Srinivasa Ramanujan and the number 1,729 and now read the "Dream Solutions" thread for the first time, and the first and last posts mention Srinivasa Ramanujan!