You really, really, really couldn't make this up.

[JanB]

We met the new people this afternoon. Lovely people, really lovely, genuine bods.

She's from Oldham, he's from Connecticut.

Mitchell rocked up with his son in law and the driving mate, beers all round.

You couldn't believe that Mitchell and Gary worked for the same company, in various parts of world, doing pipe work, lying pipe lines and stuff.

They talked about all the different countries they had worked in, the different companies they'd worked for and all the people they knew.


We left them to it

[cromwell]

That is remarkable Jan!

Years ago my friend Pete was in rural Canada, in a bar miles from anywhere. He was getting a drink when a man at the bar said "You're from Hartlepool aren't you?".
He'd recognised the accent.

[JoM]

Amazing!

The first time we went to visit John’s family in Niagara Falls (the US side) his aunt took us to a diner one day and a man heard us talking and came over. He was telling us that his family had come over from the UK in the 50s, he told us his name was Harry Muckley and that there was a pub named after them, The Muckley Arms.

It’s just 10 or so minutes along the A5 from us, Ossie would probably know of it too, and the area surrounding the pub is known as Muckley Corner. In fact we’d even pulled onto the pub car park on the way to the airport to double check we had tickets and passports.

[TheOstrich]

I don't really know Muckley Corner as such, Jo - looking at Google Maps and the timelines in Streetview, I assume it's that very large building complex on the roundabout that looks like it's been a residential development since around 2012?
I've always tended to avoid the A5 Watling Street like the plague - far too many speed cameras for my liking.

Mrs O and I have been to the Roman Settlement at Wall in the distant past, though, which is nearby, (as is The Trooper pub which we've also visited) and it's not that far away from Chasetown FC and Burntwood Rugby Club, but to get to those two from Sutton Coldfield, I used to travel up through Little Aston and Brownhills.

And of course the Staffordshire Hoard was found quite close to Muckley Corner.

[cruiser2]

Many year ago my wife and I were ona cruise. Onthe first night at dinner we were sat at a table with two American couples and a Canadian couple.

The husband of one of the Ameican couples was a Vice President of the parent American company I worked for in England. He knew what I did as they
had similar people in the USA. WE kept in touch by email, with birthday and Christmas cards. He has died and his wife is not well.

[Kaz]

I’m enjoying reading these - amazing coincidences

I think I posted at the time about the registrar at my niece’s wedding having the same (very uncommon) name as my late mum.

[JoM]

That’s the place Ossie, I believe the pub has now closed and been converted into a residential building. We very rarely use the A5 now for the same reasons as you plus it’s just far too busy at times so I’ve not been past for a long time. It used to be John’s route to work in Lichfield but now he avoids it and goes either via Rugeley or Chasetown/Burntwood/Hammerwich, depending on which route has the most temporary traffic lights.

I like the route which you used to take, Brownhills and Little Aston. We often go that way or through Walsall and Great Barr rather than the M6 when we go into Birmingham.