Familiarity Phenomenon & other unlikely coincidences

[NewcastleFalcon]

This is more unbelievable than unlikely in the coincidences firmament

1. Required Citrojim to post up a picture of the New Romney signal box (Kent) from the South Coast Saunter.
2. Required a bit of Falcon Curiosity to find out more about it
3. Required one of our wonderful search engines to pull out incorrectly Romsey Signal Box (Hampshire) as the first hit.
4. Required that signal box to be also a signal box museum with a working educational resource of signal box equipment (in miniature) based on Cowley Bridge Junction Signal Box near Exeter.
5. Required a bit of Falcon Curiosity to see if the original building still existed at Cowley Bridge Junction
6. Required landing here for a search, a quirky blog last updated in 2012, with images of Cowley Bridge Junction and its then signal box https://www.roscalen.com/signals/Exeter ... dgeJct.htm

and

7. Showed an image of the box resplendent in a paint job with uncanny similarities to the Alston box at Chez Falcon.

from One for the Train Buffs

They have only gone and painted the Cowley Bridge Junction signal box in something very akin to my coastal mist/mineral mist...what are the chances of that happening

https://www.roscalen.com/signals/Exeter ... dgeJct.htm

Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

I never mention Bears on the FCF...apart from today, then what happens, in the 350 odd pictures in Jim's Saunter Gallery I find this...

Neil

[CitroJim]

[NewcastleFalcon]

And another one...
I elevated the Fancott Arms, a pub I had never heard of before, to Pub Of the Day due to its garden railway, which randomly cropped up following the unlikely Minic motorway/ Tri-ang/Minic Narrow Gauge Railway produced at the Minic factory in Canterbury.

So, where is the the Oldest Pub Garden Railway in the UK

Here, and elevated for that reason to Pub of the Day

The Fancott Arms, Toddington, Bedfordshire
https://thefancott.com/

Followed by Mick's post...

Spooky one!! I met my mate Dave for lunch today and we had to choose between The Fancott Arms and The Engineer in Harpenden. We settled on The Engineer because we thought The Fancott would be too busy as it's half term and the railway would be running!!

Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

While its always good to read about such noticings on other threads...this is the thread to record such incidences on,
I will document one of my own from yesterday, but here's a link to one which I will call

Jim's indicator stalk Dream, with follow on by Armidillo
Original thread: Electric Vehicles What have you spotted...
Post Link viewtopic.php?p=779561#p779561

My own could be described as:-

The Princess Anne unbelievable coincidence.
Original thread: I spy Classic Cars/Bikes
Post link: viewtopic.php?p=779549#p779549
Author: Steve ( Myglaren)

A simple post reproduced here

Is it Princess Anne's?

Steve posted that at 9.30pm but at Chez Falcon I read that post at 9.48pm and glanced over the top of my laptop screen to the Television and there was the Princess Royal herself just introduced and starting her speech at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

Such timing was indeed an unlikely coincidence, reversing back it required...

James (Hell Razor) spotting a yellow Scimitar and bothering to post it up to the thread
Steve making the connection with Princess Anne and bothering to post his little rhetorical quip.
Bearing in mind I never subscribe to threads and don't get any pings or notifications when a new post is made I choose to look at the classics what have you spotted thread and read Steve's post at precisely 9.48pm, at the exact moment Princess Anne uttered her first words at the Royal Albert Hall.

Neil

[CitroJim]

Wow! Now that is amazing Neil I've met the Princess Royal, she really is lovely...

[NewcastleFalcon]

Another one in the "Princess Anne" category has just occurred.

Pointless is currently on the television and "Mad Max Fury Road" was the answer on the first board one up from the bottom scoring 15 points.

What have I just been posting about literally minutes before and in process of reading some replies, on Remember these all our yesterdays...yes the name Max.

see here
viewtopic.php?p=781455#p781455.

Neil

[CitroJim]

Magic!

[CitroJim]

This was an unlikely coincidence. On Wednesday I ordered a child car seat and a Dryrobe from Amazon... Yesterday, whilst enjoying lunch with Mick, I received notification from Amazon to say they'd delivered the seat and provided a nice photo of its massive box hiding behind one of my wheelie bins... Just as I'd asked... Perfect.

No news of the Dryrobe though... After a most excellent lunch and natter with Mick I set off home...

As I turned into my close there was a DPD van parked by my house and a DPD man at my door with a parcel... What timing Couldn't have timed it better...

I opened my car window and indicated to the DPD man that I was the proper recipient of the parcel and expressed my thanks. He however, would not let me have the parcel (containing my Dryrobe) until I'd stopped my car, got out and unlocked my front door to prove I was legitimate... I found that reassuring. Allegedly it's not unknow for scammers to do what I did and claim a parcel that was not theirs to have.. Interesting that DPD delivered an Amazon order... I've known Royal Mail do so but never DPD. I hope Evri never do

Another related coincidence yesterday was Mick and I arriving at the pub simultaneously, and not only that, at exactly the same time too

[NewcastleFalcon]

No one had an unlikely coincidence to report since December

Fear not, over on this thread Richard W has come up with a contender, with a linked supplementary follow up from me.

viewtopic.php?p=790183#p790183

Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Let me plant a seed of what I think is a relatively rare occurrence, but which today popped up unexpectedly.

An Orange Door



Let it seep into your subconscious, but lie there primed for subsequent apparently random noticings.

Neil

You may remember this. Relatively rare? The orange door challenge has failed to be met and the conclusion that it is indeed the rarest colour for a front door of any house in the Country was compelling.

Still primed to notice many months later today in the village of Birgham near Kelso we have one more rare sighting of the breed.

Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

What's just been posted up here

viewtopic.php?p=791673#p791673

this


What's sitting a top of the sideboard at Chez Falcon right now this very evening, on top of the new O2 sensors boxes

this

Neil

[CitroJim]

This definitely falls into familiarity...

Over many years I have both ridden and drove along this stretch of road on countless hundreds of occasions and being one of our TT courses it's my duty to know every inch of it.

Not until today have I ever noticed this old, traditional county boundary marker And that's despite it being in plain sight...

Much nicer than the more modern one on the opposite side of the road...

And both are on the slant; it's not my duff photography skills this time

[NewcastleFalcon]

This is Trixie, a West Highland White Terrier, and in turn-ups and Sunday Shoes, my Grandpa.

Trixie was his faithful friend and companion in his later days in the early 1980's, and latterly became our dog.

I have an immense affection for the Derwent Valley, on the Northwest flank of the border between Durham and Northumberland, and regularly travel the route between Swalwell and Consett up the Valley, which passes my Grandpa's former house.

Today we were on doggy day care duty for our eldest's Labrador, and I had a walk as often do up past my Grandpa's house and into the surrounding woodland and tracks. Coming up towards the house again on my way back I heard someone call "Hi". Responded with a "Hi" of my own, and as I looked up it was a total stranger speaking into their mobile phone.

Now for the incredibly random event of highly unlikely co-incidence.
She was walking a West Highland White Terrier at the precise location of my Grandpa's house door. Yes it was appropriately Trixie reincarnated...or maybe not...just a random co-incidence requiring me arriving at that precise location, and the precise time after driving over 40 miles, and for on the other side of the meeting the lady deciding to walk her dog and reach my Grandpa's house at again the only time she could have to make the meet happen.

Re-incarnation seems the more likely explanation

Neil

[Rp0thejester]

If reincarnation exists I want to be Angelina Jolie's bike saddle, knowing my luck I'd get Anne Widecombe!! Or worse...JIMs!!!!