Went down to Lancaster this morning, had a nice lunch with Beverley's son David and his 'top bird', Laura. Happy birthday again David, will give you a shout if I am ever being mugged on the Costa Del Sol! You guessed it, NO appointment in the post today!

What is the biggest coincidence that has ever happened to you in your life? Well when I was 14, it was probably that every time I saw a girl that I fancied, my trousers would bulge, but I didn't have the knowledge to know why or what to do with it yet! At the age of 40 I employed a girl, only to find that we had been in the same class as each other in Primary School. But the biggest one of all came to me earlier this year and I am sure that it will never be beaten. (sorry, some of you know the story) I joined the Access to Art & Design course at Cumbria University, not knowing at the time that it would turn out to be one of the most enjoyable years of my life. I think there were 12 of us at the start, ranging in ages from 19 to about 60 something. We all got on great pretty much from the start, and as it turned out, some of us are very good friends still and probably always will be. I got on very well with ( fairer to not name her I think ) a really nice girl in our group, similar age to some of my daughters. We had the town of Harrogate in common so would often talk about the town and which areas we had been to. She was very funny and popular within our group, but looking back, there was something so familiar about her face! On the last day of first term, some of us went out for a drink and at about 8pm there was just me and 2 girls left. Whilst one girl went to have a talk with a friend, I was left alone to talk to the other, the 19 year old that I was talking about from Harrogate. I asked her how she was getting home and she said, "by taxi, but it will cost me £20". "Blimey", I said, "where do you live, it must be a long way?" "Dalston, she replied". "Oh, I was told some months back that my ex wife had moved to Dalston". She said, "what's her name, I might know her?" The name came out of my mouth and in an instant, she looked stunned and yes, pretty traumatised. I thought she must be either having a stroke, a panic attack or was just succumbing to the drink! That was until she said the words "that's my mum!" which entered me into the same state of stupor, alongside her. We didn't exchange much in conversation after that, only to confirm with bits of private detail swapping so that we could confirm to each other that we were not both going mad. When I was a 19 year old soldier, I had married and had children with her Mum who was 17 at the time and from Harrogate. If there is such thing as blame to be laid at one door for the end of a relationship, it was my fault. We went through the rest of the academic year and I respected her wish not to want to talk anymore about it. It was uneasy between us, to say the least, but I told everyone else on the course so that people would better understand any 'atmosphere' being generated. I still have photos of her mum and they look so alike at that age, which explains why, when I first met her, that her face seemed strangely familiar. If I hadn't left her Mum all those years ago, she would not exist today; but that's how life goes. One small change that we make in our lives today can have such a dramatic knock on in future years!