MEMBERS of Narberth and District Probus had a fascinating meeting in July when members recalled and shared coincidences they had experienced during their lives.

The meeting was led by John Morris. On one occasion he was in Northampton Cattle Market when he met a man from Meidrim who had been in school with John’s father. In the Midlands, during heavy snow, John booked a taxi, only to discover that the driver was from St Clears and his brother worked on John’s parents’ farm! 

At an agricultural show in Hampshire John bumped into a man he hadn’t seen for 50 years. In Zimbabwe on holiday he met the hotel manager who the week before had enjoyed lunch in the Angel Inn in Narberth. 

At the Bucks County Show which he attended with a friend, they were approached by three familiar looking people, one of whom knew John’s friend who introduced him to them. They turned out to be the Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan, Nubar Gulbelkian (one of the richest men in the world at the time). But the third one turned out to be the most interesting. She was Margot Fonteyn, world famous ballerina. John had more stories to tell in what was a fascinating and incredible catalogue of coincidences.

Patrick Jones recalled that in 2003 he had bought a computer from a small company owned by two brothers and a sister. 10 years later he bought a second hand car from a garage in Kilgetty, only to discover, from the paperwork, that the same car had been owned, in 2003, by the lady from the computer company.

In 2002, when Patrick was driving up the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus he encountered a monk with a donkey. The monk, originally from Llanelli, and Patrick found they had three mutual acquaintances: Roscoe Howells from Amroth, Father Paul Sartori from Haverfordwest and, amazingly, a lady who was a member of Patrick’s staff at Withybush Hospital.

Peter Spacey recalled how, as a member of a local Male Voice Choir he had attended the 1,000 male voices concert at the Albert Hall. In conversation with a member of a choir from the Welsh Valleys he discovered that the chorister owned and was living in the house in which Peter had been born.

Graham Haddleton had been invited to speak at an International Convention in Xian, China. On a boat trip on the River Li, he bumped into an acquaintance he had not seen for 40 years. To add to the coincidence, it was discovered that four other Probus Members present had also been to Xian and gone on the same river trip, one or two in the same year as Graham. They might even have been on the same boat!

Speaker at next month’s meeting will be Gareth Mills with ‘Pembroke Dock: The forgotten Town’.

The Narberth and District Probus Club is a gentlemen only club attended by mostly retired people. The club meets on the last Thursday of each month at the Plas Hyfryd Hotel, Narberth at 12.30pm for an interesting talk, followed by lunch at 1.15pm. New members are always sought: contact Patrick Jones (07846660904, email [email protected]) or any other Probus member.