James Ogley: It's a small, small, small, small world

Sitting in the living room looking for Googlewhacks (thanks entirely to Dave Gorman) when my mobile phone rang. I picked it up and the caller ID reported that it was a certain Mr Pete Bellamy. Now, Pete's a mate but he doesn't call me often, so intrigued I flipped it open ...

Me: Mr Bellamy!
Pete: Mr Ogley
...

The conversation continued and I discovered that I had just come up in a conversation he was engaged in. Not that surprising you might think, given that we were members of the same church in Watford and have roughly the same circle of friends in that part of the world.

Not that surprising until it turns out that Pete is not with people from church. He's not even in Watford. Oh no, he's in London at a meeting of the Pete Collective. The meeting in question is happening at the Jerusalem Tavern and he's talking to another Pete who, it turns out also knows me.

Pete's odd, but not so odd as to ask total strangers who happen to share his forename if they know random people he knows so how did he and this other Pete discover their mutual acquaintance? Well, Pete B mentioned Soul Survivor and the other Pete started racking his brain as to where he's heard that term before. Then it dawned on him. Someone who had previously worked at the same company as him had a connection there and so, Pete Prior asked Pete Bellamy if he knew me and the answer, of course, was yes.

I want to know what the odds of this are? It's pretty mad and a huge coincidence to say the least. It's also brought a smile to my face.

Pete is on the left (and another Pete is on the right)

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