A year or so ago I had some interesting correspondence with a New Zealand resident, Sue. She had read my Jersey novels and they took her back to her younger days when she worked for the Seymour family. The Seymours own the now-derelict Portelet Hotel and other land nearby.
I thought little more of it – until two days ago. I was happily mooching down the German-built road that leads down to Noirmont Point, the sun shining, the wild flowers of the common beginning to appear. A car came down the road from behind me then suddenly pulled over. As it did so the occupant of the back seat nearly fell out as she tried to get out before the car had come to a halt. She crossed over and said
Noirmont Point (jersey.com)
‘Roy?’
‘Yes?’
‘Hi, I’m Sue from New Zealand. Do you remember I emailed you? Well, after that I just had to come back to Jersey to see the place for myself again.’
‘But…how did you know it was me?’
‘I just thought it was you!’
I didn’t press the matter and the lovely Sue, after introducing me to her husband, drove off. Now, we never exchanged photos or anything like that. My photo isn’t exactly splashed all over the Net nor is it within my book covers. And remember Sue would have had a rear view when approaching me shambling along towards the Point.
So I hope Sue enjoys her break in Jersey and gets in touch again in due course. And maybe I’ll ask her the same question – how did you know who I was?
But there again, maybe some little mysteries in life are best left as mysteries. What do you think? Any other odd or coincidental encounters out there in bloggerland?
Back On The Rock 
Well this beats Banagher!
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Wonderful old expression Jean!
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and I presume you know the rest of it … ‘and Banagher beat the divil.’
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This is amazing! I guess when people interact through e-mail and other media, they form some kind of picture of each other in their minds. For example, a few people who have met me in person for the first time, said they expected me to look and dress the way I did, based on how well they know me through my emails and writing. Psychology is fun.
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Hi Sue! True – if you were looking out for someone in a crowd you can usually narrow it down. However I’ve also had the opposite experience.
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Oh!
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I think that would have freaked me out a bit, Roy. I remember years ago running into an old high school friend in a massive airport. Both of us were hundreds of miles away from where we currently lived…it was kind of strange.
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Yes, that’s an odd experience as well Jill. However the theorists would try to tell you that there is a fair chance of meeting someone you know at a big airport, though not a specified individual. And it’s quite likely that, at some point in one’s life, you’ll walk down the very same street at the very same time as another named person. I’d sooner keep the mystery aspect!
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Wow, that is an amazing story – how did she know it was you? Or had she accosted all lone men on the island on the off chance? 🙂
I love coincidences like this and have often wondered if I’ve ever walked past anyone that I’d only recognise by their blog writing. Might be quite fun to have a blogference where we could all meet up once a year. Then again …
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A blogference! Like a Masked Ball? There are some bloggers that I’d love to meet but, like meeting one’s hero, one also risks disappointment.
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That is a cool experience. I am glad you got to meet her. And, it must feel good to know your words moved someone to such actions. ~Gail
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Funnily enough Gail it was only after they’d driven off I got to thinking – Huh? Yes, surreal and pleasant.
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The curiosity would be killing me, too. But like other people have mentioned, blogging and social media becomes its own little world. I went to a book exchange once and spotted a woman that I took to be the book reviewer I imagined her to be. I often read her reviews because I liked them so much. So when I saw this woman, I decided it must be her. And it was!
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Well there must be some sort of explanation Juliann. Maybe, just as owners look like their dogs maybe writers somehow physically resemble their writing. Or emanate it in some inexplicable way
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Jumping out of a moving car to get to you Roy, you obviously made an impression!
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Ha ha! This chick magnetism has come too late in life Andrea!
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This is great, Roy! I haven’t had any odd or coincidental encounters with bloggers, but I love this story (and I love Andrea’s comment about someone jumping out of a moving car to get to you! – made me giggle) 😀
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Hi Dianne – yes I did wonder ‘what on earth is she doing?’ but it was a pleasant and unexpected encounter. And a spark of an idea for a story maybe?
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I can see it as the beginning of a novel where she starts appearing everywhere! lol – it’s got my mind racing now 😉
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That’s pretty amazing, Roy. I’ve never had an experience like that from either perspective, although I too do form mental images of people I’ve communicated with but never met. I guess you matched her mental image, right down to that fab curly hair of yours! 🙂
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Hi Janna! Yes it would be (just about) explicable if she’d been looking for me, but it happened in seconds… Maybe if Sue gets in touch she’ll have some rational explanation.
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What a fantastic story, haha! You must emit a writerly quality about you, Roy, that people can detect from passing cars!
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I must learn to control these new powers Letizia 🙂
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Wow, what a weird experience! I don’t know how I’d feel about it if someone recognized me on the street. My husband is a blogger and gets recognized from his picture quite frequently (just in our city).
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Hi AMB! I suppose I’m quite used to being recognised in this small community through sports involvement, coaching, work etc. A total stranger though is very cool. Philly must be a hotbed of bloggers if your husband gets recognised like that! Do people say ‘Hey, you’re the blogging guy!’? 🙂
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It sounds like a nice community. My husband is a legal blogger and so people usually say, “You’re at the X firm. I read your blog.” He’s usually recognized by other lawyers–so it’s a smaller community.
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Holy hell! I wish this would have been filmed, so we could see your face when Sue jumped out of the car and ran up to you!
That is some crazy stuff, my friend. I haven’t had that type of experience, but I have certainly had my fair share of unexplainable connections which have opened my skeptical eyes to possibilities I will never understand. I suppose we just have to gawk in wonder at these situations. Keeps life interesting, eh?
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Well I didn’t realise how unlikely it was until the next day. I’m more and more open to the notion that there is more going on around us than is generally understood. It’s another nugget of an idea for one’s writing. You’re quite apt to slip in a mystery or two to your writing Britt and, increasingly, I’m doing likewise.
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Serendipitous indeed – quite a story Roy. Life is just so far fetched at times, it’s hard to believe. By the way Roy – I’m loving the photos with your new camera. You’re doing well, and Jersey looks like a beautiful island.
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Hi Bruce and thanks. There are certain things that just can’t be explained away, and I guess that makes life all the richer. As for the photos Bruce – I blush when comparing them to those who produce such expert works. Like in many areas I’m afraid the world has left me way behind 🙂
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Hi Roy – I blush in comparison to your writing creativity – like, doesn’t this sound sort of awkward. I’m with you on the ways to be left behind by the world. That’s easy cause the world moves so fast 🙂
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Hi Roy,
This is a great story. I would never have been able to identify you without a photo or a red carnation in your lapel, based on our correspondence before we met. I just love it when these things happen.
A storyteller friend of mine went to Scotland to meet Duncan Williamson, a Scottish traveler who settled down in a little town in Scotland with the academic who was studying his storytelling. But Donald had no idea how to find him. He was reading Duncan’s book of folk tales, so he got off at the bus stop and decided to finish the last few pages of the book before asking directions. It wasn’t a big town, and the bus stop was across the street from the school. There was this guy staring at him from the front seat of a VW bus. My friend tried not to notice, but this guy was WATCHING him. Donald finished the book, put it away, and the stranger called, “How did you like it?” It was Duncan, come to pick up his kids from school, and he had noticed my friend reading his book. He took Donald home with him, and they became the very best of friends.
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That is a lovely story Naomi. I’d love it if I spotted a complete stranger reading one of my books.
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