Monday, November 30

Herons As Messengers From The Deceased

Herons

I have written previously that, though coincidence and synchronicity are the most popular themes on this blog, the next most popular are white feathers and white doves - being seen following a loved ones death. Some say that these are 'messages' from those who have died. Today a new one for the collection: herons.


In my first marriage, we had a garden with four acres, and herons used to come to our wildlife pond regularly - we really loved seeing them.

Sadly, my husband and I divorced, but we remained close friends even though we both remarried In 2010, he died quickly of cancer. The next day, as I drove through an estate close by a heron appeared and landed on a roof.

I slowed down and watched it, and it turned and appeared to look at me. It stayed on the roof standing for about five minutes, watching me.

I relayed this to our son and he said a heron had landed in his garden at the same time.

I rang our daughter and she gasped. A heron had landed in her garden also.

We all live a long way away from each other, yet, we all saw a heron at the same time, the day after his death.

~ Rachael Hyde

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Saturday, November 28

Nails Wanted On Machu Picchu Coincidence

Machu Picchu

...and following on from yesterday's post, another one:

My husband owned an ironmongers shop and I worked with him. One year we went on holiday to Peru and travelled to Machu Picchu, which we visited on a very rainy day.

Our group was climbing up very steep steps slowly, and stepped aside to make room for another group coming down the steps.

Suddenly a man grabbed my arm and, as he passed me said, "Three pounds of 4 inch round nails please, Mrs Potts," before disappearing downhill.

So far from home in the rain ... but who was he?

We would have loved it if he had come into the shop to tell us afterwards.

~ Kathleen Potts

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Friday, November 27

The 5,500 Mile coincidence Connection


Have had a run of similar coincidences, on this blog recently, where people have met up in unexpected places. Here's yet another one.

I was on holiday in Sri Lanka (from England) with a friend and we went on a sightseeing trip with a couple from another hotel.

We exchanged names and they asked where we were from. "Peterborough," we replied, and asked where they were from.

"Jersey," was the answer.

"My son and family live on Jersey, " I said, "In Grouville."

"That's where we live!" they exclaimed, and asked for his address. When I told them, they looked at each other and smiled.

"That was our house when we were first married," they said.

On their return home, they visited my son and showed him some photos they had taken of us from the trip.

~ Jan Tod.

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Thursday, November 26

The Dollar Bill Assassination Prediction

Prediction or coincidence

It was the anniversary of John F Kennedy's death on the 22nd of this month and by 'coincidence' I came across a story in a newspaper, from that time, with an article headed: The Dollar Bill That Predicted Kennedy's Death.

I think to most it'll be a bit far fetched, but though I'd publish it any way. Here goes:

The Dollar Bill That Predicted Kennedy's Death

Two weeks before the Kennedy Assassination, the Treasury Department released a series of dollar bills. The serial number on these bills start with the letter K and end with A (Kennedy Assassination).

When Federal Reserve Districts were assigned, Dallas was assigned the letter K, which is the eleventh letter of the alphabet. John Kennedy has eleven letters. Below the serial number on the right of the dollar bill, and above the serial number on the left, are two elevens. Two elevens add to twenty-two - the day and month of the assassination. To the right of Washington's picture on the bill is "Series 1963A" - the year of the assassination/ Coincidence?

Source: Ocala Star-Banner.

Unfortunately I cannot find a $1 bill from that period on Google Photos or elsewhere.

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Wednesday, November 25

They Met By Coincidence In A Salt Mine

Salt mines Salzburg
Salt mines Salzburg
Today, another coincidence story I saw in the Daily Mail newspaper from Mike Matthews of South Wales.

"While studying A-levels at grammar school in Brighton I went on a school trip to Germany and Austria, led by our German tutor, Len Symes.

The trip took us to Munich, Innsbruck and the beautiful city of Salzburg.

One of the highlights of the trip was a train journey from Munich to Innsbruck, travelling through the foothills of the Alps on an old steam train that had open-air carriages at either end.

When we got to Salzberg, the school had arranged a visit to a salt mine, which involved a steep descent to a depth of 300 feet.

While at the bottom and looking at he rock formations Len, our tutor, felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around, he discovered he was looking at his next-door neighbour from Brighton!

Neither of them knew that the other was going on a trip, let alone to the same place.

Once back on the surface, they marked the coincidence with a stein full of Austrian beer. Unfortunately, we boys were not allowed to join in."

~ Mike Matthews

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Tuesday, November 24

The Ghostly Woman Sat Four Feet From His Bed

1880 woman ghost

The following story was described as A Modern Ghost Story by the Hartford Weekly Times. Though this was way back in 1886, so maybe not quite so modern now! The newspaper told of a Curious Coincidence of a Death and an Apparition.


Cleveland, Ohio: At about 8 o'clock on Friday morning Mrs Emily Frayne, a widow, of Hamilton, Ont., who had come to Cleveland to visit her sister, who resides on a block on Prospect Street, died very suddenly.

Frank Lamb, a fresco painter, aged 33, who occupies apartments adjoining those in which Mrs Frayne died, relates a remarkable story.

He says that between 2 and 3 o'clock on the morning in question he was awakened, and, looking across the room he saw a lady sitting about four feet from his bed.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Raising her right hand, the lady said, "Hush! Hush!" and then disappeared,

Lamb is a disbeliever in ghosts and he at once made a search of the room and examined the lock of the door. He found the door was securely fastened, and, getting in bed, he lay for ten minutes thinking about the strange occurrence.

Suddenly the clothing of his bed and the cover were tumbled off on the floor by some unseen power, and he fell himself to the floor.

Being angry by this time, Lamb made another search of the room without finding anybody. He then opened the door, and as he did so Mrs Hadden, the sister of Mrs Frayne came from her room into the hall saying. "My sister."

Lamb declares that he was not excited and he was perfectly sober. He cannot account for the strange occurrences.

Other people in the block who heard Lamb fall also left their rooms, and they corroborate his story as to the coincidence of his fall with Mrs Frayne's death.

The coroner has decided that the woman's death was caused by heart decease.

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Monday, November 23

Three Short Coincidence Stories

Breaking news coincidence

Three short coincidence stories.

Salt Lake City: Having the same names wasn't so odd, when John Bollwinkel of American Falls, Idaho, met John Bollwinkel of Salt Lake City for the first time but:

They each have a pioneer ancestor of the same name, wives named Erma, sons named John, and ten years service as Sunday school superintendents in the Latter Saints church.

McAlester, Okla: Mrs. Addie Pilgrim has the auto license plates 1620, the year the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

Cabbage Patch Doll: For her birthday, Helen Barker received from her grandson, Scott, a Cabbage Patch orphan baby doll. Mrs. Barker collects dolls.

With the doll came an application along with a history of the baby, a background of her parents, and circumstances of her being available for adoption.  The doll's name was Pauline Terry, which by coincidence, is the same as Mrs. Barker's sister-in-law.

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Saturday, November 21

They Meet Up By Coincidence After 50 Years


Here's a coincidence story I saw in yesterday's Daily Mail. It seems even the press are getting interested in coincidences now! The story was from Jeff Pickard from Sussex.

As an eleven year old in 1945, I passed my exams and went to Maldon Grammar School in Essex. On leaving school at 15 and later marrying an Essex girl, we moved to Hertfordshire and I served 30 years in the Herts Police.

I retired in 1987 and moved to Sussex where, in 1995, I joined Middleton Bowling Club.

During one of my first home matches, I was aked by a fellow Middleton bowler where did I come from.

I replied: "Hertfordshire, but originally I came from Essex,"

He then asked where in Essex to which I replied: "Burnham-on-Crouch."

"I know Burnham," he said, "Where did you go to school?"

"Malden Grammar," I replied.

He appeared quite startled and said, "Who was your secondary school history teacher?"

"Mr. Thomas," I said.

With that, he extended his hand to mine and introduced himself: "I was your history teacher. I am that Mr. Thomas."

Meeting someone 50 years later - amazing!

~ Jeff Pickard.

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Friday, November 20

Power For Squirrels Coincidence

Squirrels clip art

I didn't realise the problems that squirrels can cause. I came across the following which, of course, includes a coincidence.

Ashland, Wis: It was an unlucky day for two squirrels and hundreds of power customers. A spokesman for Xcel Energy said a squirrel came in contact with an overhead transformer and knocked out service to 177 customers. Power was restored in just over an hour, and repair crews found the remains of the unfortunate squirrel.

By coincidence, another squirrel got into a substation 40 miles away in Ironwood, Mich. and caused a temporary outage that affected 1,400 customers in Ironwood and two nearby communities,

The energy spokesman is quoted as saying: "We kind of liken it to anyone who's had a bird feeder and tried to keep the squirrels out. They find a way."

I then read in an old issue of the Free Lance-Star that in Fredericksburg a squirrel shorted a transformer at a substation behind the Park & Shop shopping centre, which served 3,500 customers, And (perhaps by coincidence) in the same month "...another squirrel blazed into the power company's logbooks when it shorted a circuit breaker at a substation. Some 3,400 customers were in the dark for 37 minutes."

And then I found yet another story in The Spokesman Review:



"Spokane County sherriff's deputies converged on Mead High School Friday morning when a deputy at the school heard what he thought was a gunshot and saw a man running through the woods near the school.

"Three patrol officers and two detectives were on their way when Deputy Ron Mulvey found the culprit.


"A squirrel shorted out an electricity transformer on a utility pole near the school, causing a transformer to explode. Mulvey said the squirrel was still smouldering when he found it.


"The deputies concluded that it was just a coincidence someone was running into the woods when the squirrel fried itself."

So look out, look out there's a squirrel about ...

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Thursday, November 19

Police Say Amazing Coincidence Sends Man To Jail

Go to jail, do not pass Go

Here's a story I dug out of the archives. It shows that if you are about to do a dodgy deal you must make sure who is standing next to you.


An alcoholic cheque pusher, caught by what police describe as a most amazing coincidence, was sentenced to one year in the Ottawa County Jail.

James Shragg of O'Connor Street, will be treated for alcoholism while in custody. He pleaded guilty to two false pretenses charges.

Shragg was arrested in a Sparks Street bank. He was trying to deal with a forged cheque for $420 when the owner of the account on which it was written began to transact business at the wicket beside him.

She overheard Shragg talking to the teller and mentioning her name as a former employer. She immediately told her own teller to call the police.

After questioning, Shragg admitted passing another $420 cheque at another bank several days previously. He said he had not written the cheques and was passing them for other men - whose identity he didn't know!

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Wednesday, November 18

A Couple Of Quickies Today

Quickies

A couple of quickies today.

They Said She Was A Heroin Addict

In the UK, if you want to work with children, you have to be checked out by the Criminal Records Bureau. Amanda Hodgson didn't think there would be anything to worry about when she applied to become a welfare assistant at her child's school - how wrong she was.

The CRB sent her a letter claiming that she was a recovering heroin addict who was also violent and had assaulted police. As a law abiding citizen Amanda was shocked by this, to say the least.

How did this happen? Simply because, by coincidence, there is another Amanda Hodgson in the area who just happens to have exactly the same date of birth.

Easy enough to sort out, you might think, but the problem didn't end there. The onus was on Mrs.Hodgson to prove her innocence!

Yesssss! I'm going to win the lottery!

How do I know I'm going to win the lottery? Well it's because my name is Michael (but you can call me Mike).

The UK National Lottery records show that you are most likely to win if you are called Michael, John, David, Peter Robert or James. So how can I fail!

The luckiest lottery winning women are called Margaret, Susan, Patricia, Mary and Christine.

I suppose I'll have to buy a ticket though - there's always a snag!

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Tuesday, November 17

The Unknown Links Of Coincidence Brought Them Together


A story from Kim showing how links between people can bring them together.

"My name is Kim and I was raised in a small town in western Nebraska called Alliance. I am also recovering alcoholic. One day I was in an Alcoholics Anonymous chat room,(which I rarely visit), when a man named Scott started talking to me. As it turns out he once lived in Omaha, where I live now and went to school here to become a Nurse.

As we talked further, he told me that he wasn’t from Omaha, but was raised in western Nebraska. You got it, he was from my home town. After I learned his last name, it sounded familiar, but we were 7 years apart in age. We did however have some mutual friends in Alliance.

Then we got back on the subject of Omaha. He told me that he used to live in central Omaha on a street called Poppleton. I told him that I had just bought a home in North Omaha off of 45th Street. He said, "Really, my Aunt used to live on that street." Scott then asked for the address, when I told him he said that he was certain that this was the home that his Aunt lived in. He described my house to me, just like someone would have if they were standing next to me. I have confirmed that this was his Aunt’s home from neighbours that have lived on this street for over 20 years.

Scott and I continued our friendship, sometimes communicating through e-mail, but mostly over the phone for the past 8 months. We have become close and are very much in love. Scott and I believe that God brought us together through these series of coincidences."

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Monday, November 16

How Egg Custard Saved His Life

Egg custard saved a life

This is a story from the BBC's WW2 Wartime Memories Archives and was submitted by Genevieve. It tells of how an egg custard saved a life.


ARP badgeLet me set the scene. It is 1941, at the start of the Blitz, the 10th of January. The place is Southsea in Portsmouth near the railway lines at Fratton. Our family consisted of my dad George, my mum Rene, my elder sister Muriel, and I am Roy who had his 5th birthday a few months earlier. Dad worked as a printer and travelled daily to Gosport, and in the evening served as a member of the ARP (Air Raid Precautions), that much maligned band of people who are so badly served by the TV image.

On this particular evening during which the air raid warning had sounded, we had finished our tea and Dad was talking about going on duty, but Mum said that Dad was to have his egg custard before he left as she had made it especially for him. At that time fresh eggs were in short supply in the City. Dad dutifully ate his pudding and, while he was eating, two loud explosions suddenly shook the house and it was remarked that 'they were close'. Having finished his pudding, off he went.

From conversations afterwards it appeared that one of the explosions was a bomb that destroyed the ARP Post that Dad would have been in. At least one Warden was killed and one buried for a long time. Dad would not talk about this incident or any other subsequent events. But thanks to the egg custard, his life had been saved.

We remained in Southsea for the duration and suffered damage to our house, but that is another story. The story of the incident of the Egg Custard remained buried as a memory only to be revived by the history projects programme.

WW2 People's War is an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar

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Saturday, November 14

Was The White Dove A Messenger From His Dead Father?

White dove messenger of dead

One of the most popular themes, on this blog, is how white doves sometimes seem to appear when someone dies. Here is another similar white dove story from Uffe.


"Some time after my father passed away my mother decided to move to a smaller apartment. Myself, and two siblings, helped her and when everything was settled, and she felt comfortable in her new home, my siblings and I left.

Later she told me that after we had left a white pigeon landed on the balcony handle bar. It sat there and after a while my mother opened the balcony door and went out.

The pigeon jumped down to the floor and walked into the apartment. My mother said it walked through every room before it went out and again and settled on the handle of the balcony. It looked at my mother and then flew away, and did not show up again.

I like to think it was my father who wanted to see to everything was all right with my mother's new home."

~ Uffe from Sweden

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Friday, November 13

The Spooky Ring That Keeps Disappearing


A while back I published a few posts about wedding rings appearing and disappearing. See The Mystery Of Wedding Rings Which Disappear And Reappear, The Ring Which Disappeared And Then Reappeared and also another incident, which happened to my wife: 333 And A Paranormal Ring Or Perhaps Not.

Here's another similar experience, from someone who wishes to remain anonymous:

"I have just awoken to a dropping sound and noticed my wedding ring was not on my finger. I found it on the floor. I also felt very out of breath, which is uncommon for me. I don't have asthma or anything.

Twice recently my wedding ring has been found on the floor in the morning by my kids. The ring is a tight fit and I can't see how it can just fall off.

My wife thinks there is no logical explanation and that it must be something paranormal happening.

Last year I also lost my ring. After a few months it turned up in a pocket of some shorts. I had been swimming in the sea and worn these shorts numerous times and not noticed anything in the pockets.

Bit spooked. I'd like to know if something or someone is trying to tell me something.

Any ideas?"

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Thursday, November 12

An Unexpected Message WW2 Coincidence

St. Paul's from Paternoster Row, London in WW2
St. Paul's from Paternoster Row, London in WW2.  Photo: © Mike Perry
A coincidence from World War II: November, 1940.

One of the war-made coincidences took place in Tuscaloosa. Mrs. Roberts of Holt, a native of England, received an unexpected message from her family in London via a motion picture newsreel.

Mrs. Roberts hadn't heard from her two sisters or any other relatives in England for many months. This caused her some concern, when seeing the news reports of the bombs being dropped on London.

One afternoon, out of the blue, Mrs. Roberts decided to go to a local theatre, something she hadn't done for a long time. She was somewhat amazed and delighted when a newsreel showed her two sisters, several of her cousins and an uncle, in a London air raid shelter. One of the sisters even sent her a message saying, "Hello. We are all well and happy here, and where Mr. Hitler can't get us."

Mrs. Roberts had not actually seen her relatives since she moved to the USA in 1920 following her marriage to a US citizen.

Story source: The Tuscaloosa News.

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Wednesday, November 11

The Dog Who Can Count Geese

goose story

Here's a story to make you groan!

A farmer and his dog, Shep, had a very close bond.

After the farmer had finished his plowing one day, the farmer and Shep stopped at a roadside tavern for the afternoon gathering. The farmer began bragging about Shep.

"Shep's the smartest dog, ever," he said. "He's especially good at arithmetic."

Someone said that was nonsense. However, the farmer, to prove how smart Shep was, sent him out to count the geese on the pond.

"Woof, woof, woof, woof woof" Shep said when he returned.

The farmer said Shep counted five geese. They looked outside and sure enough, there were five. They told the farmer it was just a coincidence.

"Shep, go count the geese again," the farmer said several minutes later.

"Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof," Shep said when he came back.

They looked outside. Six geese on the pond! Everyone laughed at the farmer and Shep. Another lucky coincidence.

As the afternoon wore on and it was near dusk, the bartender said the farmer should have Shep count the geese again. Everyone laughed.

But Shep ran out the door and the returned with a stick. He dropped it on the floor in the middle of the tavern.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the bartender asked. "That he can find a stick?"

They all laughed again.

"It's easy," the farmer said. "He's telling you there are more geese out there right now than you can shake a stick at."

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Tuesday, November 10

Near Miss Coincidences - When Fate Lets Us Down

Near miss coincidence

I've published a lot of coincidence or synchronicity stories, some being more impressive than others - what about the near misses.

By this I mean situations where a coincidence could/should have happened but somehow didn't quite materialise.

For example. The last time my wife was in Germany, visiting her brother, she contacted a cousin and paid her a visit. At the cousin's house purely by chance was also another cousin - who my wife hadn't seen for over twenty years.

On talking to this other cousin they got onto the subject of travel and holidays and she mentioned how she had been to the Canary Islands that year. My wife told her that we had also been to the Canary Islands that year.

They then compared notes. It seems we - my wife and I - were in the islands at exactly the same time as this cousin, but there was more to it than this.

We were actually in hotels next to each other, at the same time, and visited many similar places, probably on the same days. The cousin even had a drink or two in our hotel bar.

Somehow though we never all met up. So this was a near miss coincidence.

Another near miss example. Before we ever met my wife and I could have contacted each other much earlier than we did. When I was in my first ever job I worked in Uxbridge. At that time my wife actually lived in Uxbridge - which was remarkable, as she was born in north Germany.

But we never met. Perhaps the time wasn't right.

Something similar happened to my blogging friends Trish and Rob MacGregor. They are from the USA, but after they had met they discovered that they had both been in Edinburgh, Scotland the very same week in July 1975!

I suppose similar coincidence near misses may be happening to all of us and we simply aren't aware of them. If only we had been a couple of minutes later or taken a different route and so on, then who knows what we may have experienced.

Or perhaps there's a proper time and place for everything.

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Monday, November 9

Bette Davis And The Two Willies Coincidence

Bette Davis
Bette Davis
This short story sort of follows on from my last post 'Savaged By A Dog Twice In One Day Coincidence'.

Way back in 1941 the film actress Bette Davis starred in a new movie called The Little Foxes which was considered to be a great success. The director, Willie Wyler, however criticised Bette Davis in public because of differences they had during the making of the picture.

As this criticism was being aired a dog bit Bette on the nose, severely enough to necessitate a little skin grafting. She commented to a newspaper:

"You don't think it could be coincidence do you - that I should be bitten twice in the same week - and that both the biters should be named Willie?"


OTHER BETTE DAVIS QUOTES
It seems that Bette Davis has many quotes attributed to her. Here's a few that have absolutely nothing to do with the above - but they do show she had a somewhat positive streak.

The key to life is accepting challenges. Once someone stops doing this, he's dead.

To fulfil a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labour, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life, The money is the gravy.

I survived because I was tougher than anyone else.

If Hollywood didn't work out, I was prepared to be the best secretary in the world.

I will not retire while I've still got my legs and my make up box.

I've been lucky. I'll be lucky again.

Attempt the impossible to improve your work.

And there are many more.

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Saturday, November 7

Savaged By A Dog Twice In One Day Coincidence

Angry dog's teeth

Here's a story I read in the archives of a newspaper from 1938. It's the gentleman's thoughts on coincidence. He writes:


I have lived roughly, about 25,000 days, On only one of those days have I been bitten by a dog: but on that particular day I was bitten by two.

I had set out to visit a friend who who lived about three miles from my home. As I turned into his street an infuriated dog rushed out of an open gate and savagely attacked me, fastening his teeth into my leg.

Somewhat shaken, I managed to reach my friend's house, where my wounds were bathed and bandaged.

An hour later I set out for home, and almost within sight of it was assailed by another dog, and bitten again.

Puzzled by the unwanted attention paid me that day by the canine world, I carefully examined my person - my clothing and the contents of my pockets. But everything was perfectly normal.

The astounding thing is that I have passed unbitten by every dog that I have since met. It remains among life's inexplicable coincidences.

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Friday, November 6

Bowled Over By An Amazing Coincidence

Bowling Pins

Today's coincidence, with thanks from Brian via JC.

I grew up in a very small town - I’ll call it Smithtown - about 2 hours from the Canadian border and about three hours from Toronto. This was in the 70s and early 80s.

The town had a single small bowling alley, run by a middle-aged Mr.X who had two daughters, Julia and Annie X, both of whom were pretty good bowlers. Annie was actually a friend of mine.

In 1998, I sat by myself in a small bar in Toronto, Canada nursing a beer and watching the World Series on TV. In walked a pretty young woman of about 20, with some friends. She and her friends were all complete strangers to me.

The pretty young woman was wearing a bowling shirt, which was a fad at that time. I looked at the back of the Shirt, and it read 'Smithtown Lanes'.

Astonished, I walked over to her and told her that I grew up in Smithtown and bowled at Smithtown Lanes often when I was a kid.

She was a little taken back. Then I looked at the name sown into her shirt, and it was Annie X!

I told the pretty young woman that I knew the original owner of the shirt, and she was floored - although I’m not sure she believed me.

Then, to top it all off, I asked her how she got the shirt. I figured she must have travelled to a location near Smithtown at some point, where the shirt was on sale used. But no - she said that she bought the shirt at a thrift shop in British Columbia, all of the way across the continent. She had just moved to Toronto a few weeks ago!

How strange a coincidence is that

~ Brian

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Married Couple In The Same Photo As Children
The Coincidence Of My Father's Stopped Watch
Married Couple Were Unknowingly Photographed Together As Children

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Wednesday, November 4

The Coincidence Of My Father's Stopped Watch

clock coincidence

Here's a familiar coincidence story.

One day in February 1966, in his Cambridge, England, apartment, the Rt. Rev. James A. Pike found his clocks stopped at 8:19 - the hour corresponding to the time when his son, James Jr., had shot himself to death in New York City two weeks earlier.

The strange coincidence, according to Pike, was accompanied by other unexplained phenomena: his books were mysteriously moved from place to place; clusters of safety pins appeared "where they had not been before, all open to the position that the hands of a clock are in at 8:19."

The Rev. Pike concluded, "I feel that it is James who communicates with me."

I say familiar because I had a similar experience which I wrote about in January, 2010. For those newer readers here is the story.


Thinking about this today perhaps it doesn't sound such a big deal but, at the time, it affected me greatly and still intrigues me now.

My son had just told us that he had qualified as a Chartered Accountant, which takes six years work here in the UK. I was, of course, chuffed to bits about this and, after talking about it with my wife, I went upstairs to our bedroom.

I wanted to get something or other out of my wardrobe and, for some reason, I was wondering what my father, now deceased, would have thought about my son's success. As I reached into the wardrobe a small bag fell out.


The bag just happened to be one in which I kept a few of my dad's possessions. Nothing of value but they all mean something to me: his old watch, cigarette case, penknife, wedding ring, darts, a tie and a few other trinkets all full of memories. 

I then looked at the watch. Dad was always one for punctuality and often asked, "Do you know what time it is?" when I was a teenager either arriving home at night or getting up late in the morning. Then I noticed the time where the hands of the watch had stopped and have remained ever since.

The time on the watch was exactly the time that my son had been born (3.20 pm).

Perhaps I was in an emotional state but this really hit me. It was as if it was a message from my father saying he knew all about his grandson.

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Her Grandfather's Photo Fell From The Wall As He Was Dying
The White Dove As A Messenger Of The Dead

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Tuesday, November 3

Her Grandfather's Photo Fell From The Wall As He Was Dying


This is Belinda's experience at the time of her grandfather's death.

I have read many of your posts on white feathers and doves. This is my little experience I would like to share.

My Father died when I was a child so when growing up I became very close to my grandfather who was a kind, loving, gentle man.

On leaving university I had to move away from my home town near London and move to the Midlands where I had secured employment. On the day I left my grandfather had tears in his eyes and I must say that I too was tearful as I drove away.

I kept in touch but I didn't visit him as many times as I know I should have done. I had a new job, new friends and a new life.

One night in August I had this strong dream about grandfather, so vivid I could remember it in detail. He was saying goodbye to me and was waving. I was so unsettled I phoned him in the morning but an aunt answered and told me that grandfather wasn't well and was in bed. She suggested that I should come as soon as I could.

The next day was a Saturday so I drove down to London. The same aunt answered grandfather's door and she ushered me inside. She said, "He's been asking for you but he's now asleep. See him when he wakes up."

We went into the living room where, as soon as I sat down, there was an almighty crash. From the other side of the room I could see grandfather's photo had fallen from the wall. It had always been there next to grandma's photo for as long as I could remember. Something urged me to rush upstairs, which I did. Grandfather was awake, he smiled at me and then took his last breath. I was heartbroken.

I think somehow he made his photo fall off the wall so he could see me and say goodbye before he died. Now I'm full of regrets at not seeing him as often as I could have.

~ Belinda

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The Meaning Of White Feathers As Messages From The Dead
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The Biggest Coincidence Of All Is That You Are Reading This

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Monday, November 2

The Self Tipping Hat Coincidence

self tipping hat
The self tipping hat
I was talking to someone about good manners and politeness. "Remember the days," he said, "when a man, wearing a hat, would raise his hat if he met a lady."

I did remember. When in my early twenties, I had a job where I was out and about visiting people at home. If it looked like rain I would wear a hat so I didn't look like a drowned rat when knocking on someone's door. If a woman of the house answered I would touch my hat or raise it slightly. But it was a long time ago and I haven't worn a hat now for donkey's years.

Anyway, later that day (by coincidence of course!) I came across the self tipping hat - as pictured at the top of the post.

Victorian good manners
The tipping of the hat is a custom that goes way back to Victorian times in England. I read that a gentleman laden with parcels would have to set them down so he could tip his hat if he met a lady - which was probably a bit of a nuisance. But where there is a problem - there is an inventor!

In 1896  James Boyle of Washington invented a self tipping hat. The wearer simply nodded his head to activate a clockwork lifting device in the hat's crown. 

Boyle noted that the device could also be used for advertising - a sign or postcard could be placed on the hat and the novelty of its movement would attract attention - no doubt!

Interesting how times, manners and customs change.

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The Mystery Of The Cornish Roche Rock And Hermitage
The Biggest Coincidence Of All Is That You Are Reading This
The Unusual Contact With Her Dead Mother

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