coincidence squared

I was in the living-room of my agent’s house in New Delhi for a dinner party There were many guests from other universities there, three from Leicester. We were idly chatting away, moving from one conversation to another when one of the women from Leicester let slip she was going off for a few days to a tiger reserve. I thought this was rather cool and wondered why I hadn’t been tempted in 8 previous years of visits to India. “But aren’t you supposed to be working?” I asked. “No, I am taking a few days out for my birthday,” said H. “So when is your birthday?” “Tuesday,” said H. “That is so cool, I’ve never met anyone with the same birthday as me.” This was quite exciting in a strange kind of way. We grinned at each other for a few moments and left it at that. H moved off into another conversation.

I’d been chatting to H’s colleagues for some time when she joined us asking, “how do you know so much about Leicester?”

“I was born there.”

“Oh, OK, so your birthday is Tuesday and you were born in Leicester – what year were you born?”

“Oh well before you, H” She does look so much younger (and fitter).

“No, come on, when were you born?”

“OK. 1950. See, I am well older.”

“Oh my goodness… Where were you born?”

“Oh dear, mmm, St Francis Nursing Home, London Road, but...”

“No way!” We stared at each other for what seemed forever. The room went rather still until the truth sank in.

Yes, we were born on the same day, same year, same small 20 bed nursing home in Leicester. It is still tinglingly scary to think about it… And we met for the only the second time in our lives 56 years later in a front room in New Delhi. I mean, New Delhi???

We sent each other birthday txts – I was in Calcutta, H was in her tiger reserve miles from anywhere. Sadly, she saw no tigers.

Our Chinese birth year was the tiger; Leictester's Rugby Union team are called The Tigers...