IT JUST SO HAPPENED THAT...

Coincidences are always taken as evidence that, rather than utter randomness, there is a strange design behind events. On the other hand, the word itself, its definition and the very surprise with which people greet such happenings show that, deep down, coincidences are recognised as the results of chance. If they happened too often and were too seemingly prescient or uncanny, people would by now have learned to shrug them off as just another sign from God.

I've had a few happen to me, but not nearly as many as friends have had. I think perhaps it's all down to how fine the tuning is on your "strangeness antenna" i.e. some people, probably the more attentive ones, recognise as a signal what others tune out as noise. They may use a similar faculty that allows patterns in clouds, or indeed in constellations, to be discerned. Whether those patterns are actually there, let alone put there, is a moot point.

Anyway, this morning, I was taken aback by such a coincidence. At the top of this blog are banner ads which try (usually in vain) to target products at me, chosen by some more reasonably intelligent trawling software on the basis of what I write. (It makes some hilarious errors, though. For example, Crabdale's adventures in the kitchen were followed by a spate of ads for fitted kitchens, something I have very little use for as a single-room occupier.)

Yesterday, I was telling friend who is a former voluntary worker that, since my own time in Africa, I have always wanted to use my experience to train teachers to teach basic literacy to poor kids in developing countries. (I can't do this on a salaried basis without a Master's degree, pretty much beyond my means, even though I have all the skills needed.) I also mentioned in passing one inspiring English and literacy project I'd seen in Siem Reap in Cambodia.

The banner ad on my site today (one side only) was for a scheme called Room to Read, where volunteers are building libraries and supporting literacy in Cambodia. When I refreshed the site, it had gone and the kitchens were back. Weird, huh?

Please leave some other bizarre coincidences in the comments box.