Okay folks, sit down & tighten your seats belts for this absolutely amazing story. Keeping in mind that this one-in-a-million coincidence would never have eventuated if I had not been fortunate enough to be allotted a seat on standby for my QF2 Qantas A380 journey back to Sydney last week.
Not only that, if l had not been upgraded to Premium Economy this story also would never have seen the light of day. If you are expecting to see photographs of this amazing coincidence there are none. There is only one photograph & that is of the person involved. We all love an adventure no one more so than me, the more obscure the better.
To drain every last drop out of my 'Adventure before Dementia' holiday in the 'Old Dart' I decided instead of doing the usual thing & ride the train or catch a London Taxi to Terminal 3 at Heathrow for my flight I decided to catch the local bus from St. Albans to Heathrow, my British friends thought that l was completely crazy, who cares what they think of me anyway. This is how the story goes.
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(Above) One of my London-Singapore Qantas Cabin Crew members, and one of my fellow St. Albans bus passengers: Tiago Maciel. Unknowingly, we shared the same St. Albans local bus ride to Heathrow's Terminal 3, earlier that afternoon.
My land Lady Kate, who l stayed with on & off for the 3-months in England, drove me to the local bus depot from where l was to catch the bus. The fare was 10 pounds or $17.00 Australian, the journey would take one & a half hours so l boarded the bus (No. 724) at St. Albans with plenty of time to spare at 4:30pm to eventually arrive at Terminal 3 at Heathrow by 6:00pm. Allowing me 3-hours before my flights departure at 9:10pm with plenty of time to check in & do the security business.
Now this is where my story starts to get interesting. Let me tell you, this local bus ride was definitely a milk run or as some may say, a slow boat to China, however, it really did not matter because l was enjoying every last minute of my last moments here in London.
I sat towards the rear of the bus & of course l had a window seat, I had no idea where on earth I was as the bus drove its route on the way to Heathrow. Approximately 40-mins into the journey with the bus making heaps of stops to pick up local passengers & also drop them off.
(Above) The Qantas A380 Premium Economy cabin on the upper deck. Luckily for me, the luxurious way to travel the 14-hours from London to Singapore.
One of the passengers that boarded the bus looked like a Flight Attendant to me, with his in cabin baggage & dressed in his uniform. I thought to myself, I wonder where this lucky guy is flying off to today, thinking of the days when l was a 'Trolly-Dolly' with Qantas.
Now l did not talk to this chap, I sat there admiring the scenery as we weaved our way to Heathrow arriving on time at Terminal 3 at 6:00pm. Everybody left the bus once we arrived at the terminal.
As l mentioned earlier, l was fortunate enough first of all to have space available so that l could board the aircraft & secondly l was blessed to be upgraded to Premium Economy.
(Above) London Heathrow's Terminal 3
As I mentioned in my previous email our aircraft was 1-hour late departing London due to a technical fault.
We eventually departed Heathrow 1-hour late for the 13-hours flight time to Singapore. A couple of hours after we departed Heathrow l was suffering with a very bad headache, so l decided before the meal service that l would go back to the galley & ask the crew for some Panadol tablets to curb my pain.
When l walked into the galley to ask one of the flight attendants for some Panadol tabs... who do you think was standing there in the galley? Yes you guessed it.
Right before my very eyes was this flight attendant standing there that l thought had joined my local bus ride on the way to the airport. I could not believe my eyes. I looked at him & I asked him “were you on the 724 local bus on the way to Heathrow this afternoon?”
(Above) The Qantas A380 that I actually travelled on from London to Sydney - taxiing at Sydney Airport for a Runway 34-Left departure.
He looked at me very strangely & must have thought l was a clairvoyant or somebody from out of space, because he had no idea who I was & did not notice me on the bus, why would he? His surprise answer to me was, "yes, l certainly was". How did you know that?
Anyway we struck up a conversation & of course neither of us could believe the unbelievable coincidence.
His name is Tiago Maciel. Tiago is a Qantas, London-based Cabin Crew crew member. Tiago was born in Portugal, and he was that Flight Attendant that l had noticed on the local bus earlier in the afternoon & not knowing what airline he worked for because he was wearing a coat making him undistinguishable.
Needless to say our chance meeting on the bus all those hours ago spread like wildfire amongst the crew, that probably led to making my 75th birthday experience on board all that much easier.
(Above) The Qantas A380 Premium Economy cabin on the upper deck. A perfect way to travel the 14-hours from London to Singapore.
I ask you “What are the chances of this coincidence happening?” How many million-to-one odds would you give me. Just going back through this coincidence that required for all 'the holes in the cheese to line up' for this event to happen is as follows.
* Why did l decide to catch the local bus from St. Albans to Heathrow instead of the train or a Taxi to the airport?
* Why did Tiago Maciel board that local bus with me for the journey to Heathrow?
* It was by pure chance that he would be on the same flight out of Heathrow as l was because l had no idea that he was a Qantas Flight Attendant & did not think anything else about that guy l had seen earlier on the local bus.
* If I had not been upgraded to Premium Economy, I would have been seated down the back of the aircraft & would never have met him because he was working on the upper deck & there is no way our paths would have crossed.
* Why did l go back to the galley to request some Panadol Tabs when l did? & he just happened to be standing there right in front of me.
* Tiago could have been working in any other zone of that huge A380 aircraft & l would never have noticed him.
* Why, why, why l ask you, this must mean something!
Now if anyone out there can better this coincidence l want to hear from you immediately. Finally l ask you all once again. What are the odds of this happening, it would have to be millions-to-one.
I hope that you all have enjoyed my millions to one coincidence that l experienced out of London on my way home to Sydney last week.
Warbo
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