Wondering: at the serendipity of it all

This is one of those stories that if you saw it in a film, you'd think that the writer was straining the bounds of credulity (or watched a lot of Bollywood).

But it's true - I know because it happened to me. (It's actually not that dramatic - freaky yes but not so dramatic - I've just always wanted to say that.)

About a month ago I started seeing a (fantastic/smart/beautiful/funny) girl that I'd met through RSVP, a popular internet dating site. We clicked pretty quickly and shared tales that indicated that we had a few things in common in our respective pasts. (Which I guess is one of the things you do in the first flush of dating, nothing unique there.)

We both have (Aussie) dads called Bob who have worked in engineering type jobs, both travelled to the UK in the mid/late 1960s and both met their wives there (our mums - Vicki and Marg) who were nurses and both came back here to live.

Interesting coincidences right but in the grand scheme of things, probably not that unusual. But of course there's more - you know there is - why would I be telling this story if there wasn't more to come?

Anyway, things meander along and Nancy Drew here (not me obviously - if it was me I would have said the Hardy boys or perhaps Jupiter Jones) heads down to Melbourne for work and along to Healesville sanctuary, which triggers memories of a childhood visit there with family friends at the age of five.

Fragments of the visit whirl around in her mind for a few days, gradually taking form until out of the blue, she asks "What's your mum's name?". "Vicki - why?", I reply.

At this point, she gets a little excited. "I knew it, I knew you were going to say Vicki".

Anyway, long story short, it turns out that our dads actually shared a flat in London, our mums did nursing training together and my mum and dad introduced hers to each other.

I haven't had a chance to chat to my folks about this yet but Rachel has confirmed it all with hers and her mum and mine still exchange Christmas cards.

I think I'm still processing it to a degree but it's quite the weird story - particularly given that we may well have met as kids.