Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

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That is an amazing story.

I'm glad to hear "our" Dicky Dawe is alive and well. He was an excellent teacher and I still remember him hitting the prep bowlers to all parts with a sawn down bat.

Tiny World, maybe it was a sign...

Something like this happened to me.

When I was living in the US I came back for a couple of weeks to visit my parents, at that time still living in my home town.

I was off to do some shopping when an American chap stopped me and asked me if I knew the way to the Baptist Church.

I asked him why he wanted to know.

It appeared that some so many greats grandfather had been the minister and he was looking for more information.

Until about 2 years previously my father had been the secretary of said church and had all the information. The minister had been at the church a month and his name and phone number were not on the board and it wqas only a little church with no office.

This man had come all the way from Seattle to ask this question and stopped one of perhaps 6 people who could help him.

Mr Dawes: Played centre for Harlequins if my info was right. had a damaged middle finger (permenantly forced back).
Ali: remember you from school I think. Older brother Michael was in my house and year, how's he doing (For some reason I think he went into the church).

I have another one.

My husband is an identical twin. His brother has been a teacher in Solihull for 25 years so when we go to visit, people from about 40 down recognise him and go 'Hello Mr Faulkner'.

He can't say he is not Mr Faulkner 'cos obviously he, is so he got a sweat shirt that said 'I am not Alan'.

We went into a sort of NewAgey type shop for a present for our sister-in-law and the woman behind the counter asked him why he was wearing the sweatshiirt. When he told her she said "I bet you are a Scorpio". That really spooked him out.

It has happened the other way too.

B'-in-law taking a school party round wherever it was Einstein was from.

This Irish chap came up to him and said, "If you weren't obviously a teacher I would swear you were that chap who does American racing on the telly" (My husband)

and have you ever got them mixed up!

Not really.

When I was a student nurse in Sheffield, husband doing a PhD in Brum and B-in-law teaching near Rotherham, he used to accompany me to the nurses parties.

Once phoned home (in-laws) to speak to him and hubby answered the phone, just said 'hello ' and I said 'What are you doing there?', he was supposed to be in Brum.

All those around my age on here may remember 'Sex King Cole' who was quite well known in the early 70s. His wife was a sex therapist, and they wrote for Forum magazine. He was my biology tutor at Uni and was obsessed by the fact that my 'then' boyfriend was a twin.

Alan and I did not get on at all well until I got married but since then we have been fine. He made a speech at our wedding which made me cry and no more trouble since.

Coincidences are always happening, when you least expect them.
In my volunteer days in 1970, I was in the British Embassy in Costa Rica reading the newspapers. I was joined by another visitor of my age, and we got chatting and decided to go for a beer together.
As we wandered towards the centre of San Jose, for some reason, my new acquaintance mentioned that I reminded him of his flatmate in the UK.
It turned out that his flatmate was Dave Lyddon, an exact contemporary of mine at CH, who had been in Barnes A when I was in Barnes B.
On another occasion in Madrid, I was discussing school uniforms with a younger colleague, and we both bet that ours had been the most unusual. My colleague, Ian Dougherty had been in Mid A a few years after me, but this was the first time either of us had ever mentioned CH.
On yet another occasion, I was taking a dutch class in a flat in Amsterdam. At coffee break, I stared across the room at a black and white photograph of Barnes A in the early 60's. The owner of the flat, Salford I think, had been in Barnes A when I was in Barnes B and his brother in law was sharing the flat and was in my dutch class.
These things just keep happening and you just have to get used to them.

It doesn't matter where you go, you always find Old Blues!

DofE Gold Award Hike in the Lakes. Final Day. A scorcher. Just coming of the High Street - we ran out of water. We came to a village. Knocked on a couple of doors to ask if we could re-fill our bottles - but no-one was there. We came to the last house and there was an elderly gentleman in his eighties, in the garden. One of the lads in his best "please, sir" voice asked if we could get some more water "Of course." said the man, "How long have you been at CH?". Our chins nearly hit the floor. It turned out one of the boys was wearing a shirt with the CH crest and the elderly gentleman was an Old Blue and thus had recognised us. He hadn't had contact with the school since he'd left and was quite thrilled to see us. So - we whiled away an hour having tea and cake with him and his wife in the garden chatting about the school and rugger and houses and all that. It was lovely.

It truely is a small world and Old Blues are everywhere.

As a Dof E assessor, I was wondering how you found time to while away an hour, and as for the Cake??

D of E Gold in the Lakes ? Bit Namby-Pamby ?

Did mine in Snowdonia, with hail, rain AND snow !

All we saw was a few scraggy sheep. No cakes; No tea, and no taking advantage of the sheep !.

I was working in an estate agents and the chap came to collect our weekly ad. It was just after Friends Reunited started and he said he had joined the day before. I asked if he had gone to school locally and he said, "no, I went to boarding school in Sussex". How did I guess?

English Angel,
I love your new avatar. However, may I point out that if you make its wings flutter any faster it will achieve lift off, whereupon its legs will extend under the force of gravity, and it will then become glaringly obvious that the figure is actually stark naked. We might even discover whether it is a male or female angel - or are angels sexless? I forget.