It's an old saying and it used to happen more regularly when WA was less populated, we always used to bump into friends etc.
I had to attend Jury Duty in Albany District Court today. A population of approx 35,000 in Albany, a jury panel assembly of 110 people, at the Court.
My ex-neighbour Julie, who sold in March 2022 and moved to Albany was also there in the room......small world.
She has been called up 7 times and it was the third time I have been called up, we had our fingers crossed that didn't make to the final 12, as it was a 4 day trial.
The child-bride met her (across the road neighbor) in a market in Afghanistan, I've met a school mate at a random car-boot sale way down south in Roane County Tennessee.
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Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan
Sent from my imperial66 typewriter using carrier pigeon, message sticks and smoke signals.
Went to put my van back in its storege shed a week ago ....and there was a good number of vans camped onsite. Turned out the leader of the group was the uncle of a M8 I went to boarding school with ....who was also an old boy of the same school.
Needless to say the quick trip to store van turned into a pretty long afternoon.
Cheers Keith
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Nuthin is ever the same once I have owned it ......
During the late 70s early 80s I worked for Hamerlsley Iron in Dampier as a maintenance fitter at the East Intercourse Island port facilities. I used to travel around the operations each shift in my ute inspecting the equipment and answering breakdown calls. When it got quiet I would often stop in and have a coffee and a chat with the equipment operators. One night I called in to have a coffee with an operator I had dropped in on a few times before and the conversation got around to where do you come from ? It went something like this - he asked me where do you come from - I said NSW - yeah so do I what part - Newcastle - yeah so do I what part - Lake Macquarie - yeaahhh what town - Windale - we just looked at me like you're having a lend of me and said what street ? Turns out that we had grown up only about 1/2km apart. We hadn't recognised each other because there had been quite a few years age difference between us but as soon as he said who his family was I definately knew his younger brothers and where they lived. Some years later I called into the old home town to watch the local rugby league team and I couldnt believe it when I saw my old mate standing there engrossed in the action, I tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a beer.
1986 touring the western half of the country.
Up north in the Kimberley and making our way through Tunnel Creek (son, wife and me) and in the dark recognised the voice of one of the girls, I worked with in the Army (believe me it was quite distinct and memorable). She had done only the basic 3 years and left to join the WA police and was taking her annual holidays along with her partner and going the opposite way through the tunnel.
Arrived at the lit section where the roof has collapsed chatted for a while and then moved on. Didn't see them again at all.
1. Enroute from Europe to Australia via Tokyo. Had 12 hours to kill till my flight home so visited a market some distance from the city. Heard a voice call my name. Was an ex-Air Force guy that I had worked with some 10 years earlier. 2. Was in Israel on peace monitoring duties in the Sinai desert when I ran into the girl friend of a mate from Gippsland. She was backpacking with her friends.
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IVECO 50C18 carrying a Winnebago Esperance with a BIG garage at the back followed by a Suzuki GV5
I was in Canberra many years ago and on a bus tour around Canberra and the bus driver was telling stories of different people he had met on tours. 2 couples from America were on a tour that used to take in a woolshed tour and during a bbq lunch people were talking and bus driver asking where people from. Turned out the Americans lived just around corner from each other. Also told us about a fella from Australia who was visiting New Zealand and some games were on, Commonwealth games I think, he was waving to the camera and his arm was around a woman and very comfortable with her, BUT it wasn't his wife, she was home with the kids and saw him on tv. Wasn't a very warm reception when he got home. He actually knew the fella
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Age does not weary us, makes us go travelling more
1. We were camped at Sheffield in Tasmania a couple of years ago when I noticed the TV antenna up on a van that was just starting to leave. I immediately went out and stopped the person to let them know. I noticed the rego was NSW so I asked where they were from as we are also NSW. His reply was from a small town between Canberra and the coast. I looked at him and asked which one as we are also from one such town. He said Bungendore. This surprised me as we are also from Bungendore.
2. About 5 years ago we were travelling in central Queensland and decided to stop at the campsites near Tambo on the river bank. We went in to one site and our little Maltese dog, Sammy, would not get out of the van as there were just too many thorns. There was a dirt site and I said to my wife that maybe if it is OK we can just stay there overnight. It was OK. Just on dark we took Sammy for a walk up the dirt track leading in to the site. When we got to the bitumen a person was coming down the road towards us and Sammy loved meeting people. I jokingly said we will introduce Sammy and then go back to the van. The person came to us and I introduced her to Sammy. She gave him a good pat then stood up, pointed at me and asked me what was my name. I was a bit shocked and my wife broke down crying as she recognised the woman. Would you believe that she was our next door neighbour when we were first married back in 1969. I was posted around in the Air Force and he shifted jobs etc. When you get a paper letter returned saying not at this address it made it hard to track down where they lived. So, we lost contact about 35 years ago but on that night they came with a travelling group and camped next to us. It was very late night.
In 1975, going across the Nullarbor which was a gravel road then, a convoy of Army trucks and vehicles were coming towards me, gave most of them the one finger salute. Then there were a couple of Army jeeps stopped on the side of the road, one bloke was waving at my car, coz of the WA plates I found out later. I said to my then girlfriend, that's Lance B, and turned the car around and went back. He lived about a K away from me and we played football together, had a chat in the middle of nowhere...small world.
In 2010, we went to Melbourne for the weekend, caught a tram to the MCG, stopped behind another tram and got off and started walking into the ground. Heard someone call my name twice, looked around could not see anyone, then he called again and saw Kim. the boss of the BP Roadhouse in Bridgetown waving at me. Collingwood vs St Kilda, 93,000 people at the MCG....two trams a few metres apart, 2 people from Bridgetown, WA (pop 4,500). He was given a ticket to Melbourne by his son for his 60th birthday, a Saints supporter. They lost the game that day and had a Draw in the GF and then they lost the rematch........small world.
Went to Melbourne in 68 for a holiday and was about to walk across the road at the lights, in the CBD and heard my name called out. It was the local Council CEO down there on holidays also. Lucky I wasn't playing up or the small country town would have known all about me, but I never played up !!!!
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Age does not weary us, makes us go travelling more
