What are the chances

[mollykins]

Of seeing someone you know in London, when you live over 100 miles away?

And not just on the train to/from your town, but randomly, by the houses of Parliament?

[squarebear]

Pretty slim but if it didn't happen, it wouldn't cross your mind. The fact that it did bears no resemblence on the probability of it happening.

[bibblebub]

Is it your MP?

[mollykins]

No bibble, a teacher from my high school.

[Booldawg]

lol bibble!

[pa___ul3]

I was good mates with a lad in 6th form but we didnt really speak nmuch after we went off to Uni, then in my 3rd year I had to spend a year in Spain, I spent the first half in Granada then for the summer went over to Alicante where I bumped into him in a bar, he was living there too, and we were both chasing the same barmaid!

[DTCwordfan]

You must be joking, bibblebub. my MP turning up at the Hs of P from here?? - especially when there are no fiddles on expenses to be had to line their pockets/Cayman bank account.

[tastymorsel]

Went to London and receptionist who booked us in to hotel turned out to know my uncle who lived in the Lake District.

[jackthehat]

My Dad usually meets someone he knows......whereever he goes...

I think the oddest time was when we were up an Alp (or a Dolomite) and he met a former work colleague.

And why is it that they always greet him with " Well, well ! *Mr Jackthehat, senior* How are you, you old ba$*** ?!? " ?

[SIRandyraven]

Was on holiday once in Crete.
Got to know the chap in Villa next to us.
He was from Sheffield and a shop fitter.
Anyway 2 weeks after holiday.
Went to China town - some 80 miles drive from where I live into London.
Sat at table with work colleges and on the next table was ...
Yes ...he was in London doing a shop fit - He said had a couple a year to do in London ...

[redcrx]

sounds like my dad too JTH, he bumps into people he knows all over the place. We were in Disney Florida once when it happened.
I once went to a hotel in italy, there had just been a wedding there when we arrived.
Upon returning i was talking to a regular supplier of mine and he said his daughter had just got married, that was her wedding! Then 2 days later i spoke to another supplier who knows first and also turned out that he had been at same hotel, had seen the wedding and had seen the other supplier though not spoken to him as he didnt think it would be him.

[Bbbananas]

Higher than you'd think Molls - a student in half-term somewhere that could be deemed to be educational. A teacher in half-term somewhere that........

[Hypognosis]

Meeting by the Houses of Parliament is not what I would call 'randomly'.
Quite the opposite, in fact. It's a tourist attraction, so visitors to London are actively choosing to be there. I can only assume you and this other person were both in 'tourist mode' on the day.
:-)

[squarebear]

This is kind of what I was trying to get at in my first post. Say you were walking along the road bridge outside the Houses of Parliament. On it were a red fiat punto, a poilce car, two taxis, a blue audi and a green volkswagen. Walking on the path, were two Chinese men, an Indian woman pushing a pram, a group of school children and a man with a brown hat.

Not especially unusual, as it doesn't stick out but if you were looking for that situation, it would strike you as being an amazing coincidence.

[NoMercy]

I once bumped into a neighbour in Marbella.

[Bbbananas]

Que helen?

In all honesty, there was no innuendo or smut intention there! I meant it's not such a co-incidence that a student would see a teacher in a semi-educational setting in a large city in half-term.

Honestly - it's your mind, not mine!!!!

[mollykins]

SB plus we walked past a group of sea cadets a couple of minutes later, and one person had exactly the same badges as me on one arm (couldn't see the other); able cadet, 2 years GCB, sailing level 1 and power level 2 . . .

[mollykins]

But I didn't know the cadets and they that person probably had different badges to me on the other arm.