What’s the weirdest coincidence you’ve ever experienced?

That’s actually a surprisingly difficult question.

I mean, I’ve had plenty of weird coincidences over the years. Some are the sort of thing you mention in passing and everyone says, “Blimey, that’s strange.”

Then there are the ones that make you stop and wonder whether the universe has got a slightly twisted sense of humour.

For me, it has to be the story of how I met Mrs Bob.

Let’s rewind a bit.

I was twenty years old and had absolutely no idea who my future wife was.

I joined the Army.

Nothing particularly unusual about that.

Except that I signed up on Mrs Bob’s birthday.

At the time, I obviously didn’t know that.

She was just some girl somewhere in the world, living her life, while I was about to start mine on a completely different path.

Then came my second posting.

Ten miles from her home.

Again, I didn’t know her, and we lived around 250 miles from each other.

Didn’t know she existed… Didn’t know that somewhere just down the road was the woman I’d eventually marry.

Life carried on.

Years passed.

And eventually, somehow, our paths finally crossed on Twitter. I followed someone who happened to follow Mrs Bob, and th next day, I saw a post from her.

And here’s where it gets properly weird.

She posted that she was reading a book about string theory and multiverses.

Yes. String theory. Multiverses.

The stuff involving tiny vibrating strings, extra dimensions and the possibility that there might be countless versions of reality existing alongside our own.

Because apparently a normal conversation about the weather wasn’t enough.

There I was, having spent years unknowingly being stationed within ten miles of the woman who would become my wife, and eventually we actually started talking because of a book about the fundamental nature of the universe.

You couldn’t make it up.

And that’s the bit I find fascinating.

At twenty, I was making decisions that I thought were simply about my own future.

I had no idea that one of those decisions would put me within ten miles of the person I’d eventually, many years later, spend the rest of my life with.

And she had absolutely no idea either.

And at the time we first spoke on Twitter, neither of us was looking for someone to love.

There wasn’t some grand romantic plan. No cosmic dating algorithm. No mysterious voice from the heavens saying, “Bob, this is your future wife.”

We were just two people getting on with their lives.

I’ve always liked the idea of parallel universes.

Somewhere, perhaps, there’s another version of me who didn’t join the Army. Another who got posted somewhere completely different. There’s another Mrs Bob who never picked up that particular book, and I never spoke to her.

Is our meeting a strange coincidence? Almost certainly.

Fate? Who knows.

Some days I think it’s simply a wonderful collection of random events that happened to line up perfectly.

Other days, when I look back at the sheer number of things that had to happen for us to eventually meet, I can’t help but wonder.

Maybe the universe really does have a sense of humour.

And if there are infinite universes out there, I’d like to think that somewhere there’s another Bob and another Mrs Bob sitting down with a cup of tea, discussing exactly the same thing.

Although knowing my luck, that version of me probably also hasn’t figured out how to use the washing machine.

Stay safe,

BC