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My Not-So-Secret Admirer

And re the bumping into the ex thing:

I have this with one ex - an ongoing experience made slightly more strange by the fact that we used to bump into each other all over the place even before we entered the state necessary for someone to later become an ex, and by the fact that the experience seems to extend to the rest of her family.

We're both from the North but she now lives in London and I have always worked there, on and off - as well as at numerous other locations over the country. Her family still live up here.

Apart from the inordinate number of time we'ver tripped over each other at home - which isn't so strange, it's a small town - I've bumped into her on a platform at London Bridge Station, at a tube station in Leytonstone, a sandwich bar on Shelton Street (central London), a side-street in Penzance, a pub in Brighton and a record shop in Leeds. I've found myself behind her mother while bumbling along Tottenham Court Road and met one of her sister's at an old friend's party in Norwich. I was once idly perusing the posters on a cafe wall in Aberdeen when I saw a picture of her advertising a yoga class (she teaches yoga). I had a bit of a short term fling with a woman who also practiced yoga and who turned out to have been taught by...yes, you guessed it. Twice I've had to hide on trains coming out of London because she's been on them and she's obsessed with being stalked - which is possibly not surprising.

To be honest, if I wake up one night and find her in my wardrobe I'm not going to lose sleep over it - par for the course.
 
Hypermetropia said:
When my son was about 3, we were living in Clevedon, near Bristol. I was shopping with my son in a push chair, facing forward, when I approached a mobile home, parked on the roadside, with the back door open.

My son could see someone inside and got excited at a 'house on wheels'. The lady sitting reading a book at the table, heard him, and came to the door. She asked him, in what turned out to be a Canadian accent, if he'd like to see inside the 'little house'. I undid him from the pushchair, left it on the pavement and stepped inside with him. After a few minutes of talk, a man I had not noticed before, appeared at the door with the pushchair, and without a word, put it inside and closed the door. Before I could collect my thougths he was getting into the driving seat and pulling away. 'Let's have a drive around the block', he said over his shoulder. The book on the table turned out to be a bible and they claimed to be evangalists from Canada. I went into panic mode......... and insisted they stop the vehicle right there and then, which he did without a smile. I scrambled out, thinking what a fool I had been and how dodgy they were!
That's awful! So scary.
I have another story
Once me and my mom were going to catch this shared cab thingie to another town. The cabs are basically like buses except they are small white mini van type cars, sometimes with a sign that says "cab" other times without. This was in Israel. We were waiting when two men drove up to us in that sort of car, and were like "come on, get inside" we refused and they kind of insisted "come, come catch a ride", etc. They were young men in their 20's and were kind of smiling, etc. We didn't go in because it just seemed shady somehow...the cab was built a bit differently, they were laughing and winking at us, etc. I'm not sure if it was just guys playing around, or something worse.

And another story:
My friend was going to school, and a car approached her and asked her where so and so school is. She was like "oh I'm going there!" and gave her directions. The driver told her that he was a teacher at that school, and he'd give her a ride. She hoped in...and he drove her to the school. He turned out to be our supply teacher that day. She got so lucky! We were like ten and I lectured her for doing that, lol.
 
Seems that this young man had been seen acting weirdly in the area for a while beforehand. People told me that they'd seen him possibly following women, dodging about in the bushes, and, get this, rolling around on the ground wrapped in clingfilm.

Clothed?
 
Dunno but I'm inclined to think he wasn't!
 
Back in the 70s (maaan) a friend and I were photographing in some woods near his house. Next minute two squaddies were escorting us to HQ, where we were questioned about our activities. There's not too much a pair of shit-scared art students can tell the military and after some time they released us, giving the impression they bought what we said.

We went back to his mother's house and up the pub and it was some hours before I made my way back to my parent's place. As I arrived back an unmarked green Mini van clocked me and pulled away. It had been sitting there all afternoon apparently, seeing if the story checked out no doubt.
We didn't see any warning notices in the area, although as we were off road its conceivable we missed them. Certainly made the old paranoia rise a few notches.
Wow! Thanks for sharing. Your story really makes you think that there is definitely things going on that we know nothing about! Maybe you could of almost seen something you weren't supposed to! If you don't mind me asking, whereabouts in the UK was it?
 
Cool thread.

My first proper Girlfriend had a brother (Pete) and he and I were really good mates while I dated her but lost touch when we broke up.

Years passed and I had to travel to Los Angeles for work. I picked up a Hertz car and was driving onto the freeway from LAX and went straight into a traffic jam. I'm sitting there fiddling with the air con when I hear a Voice calling my name..I looked out of the window and there was an airport bus idling next to me...and driving it was Pete. I told him where I was staying and arranged to meet up there for a beer later that day.

When we met up, after remarking on the coincidental meeting, he told me.."the really odd thing is I was talking to Anne-Marie today and she said how she still regretted splitting up with you...you're the one. Who got away..and then you turn up here"

The last time I'd seen him was 20 years previously in Birkenhead, Merseyside when I was 15. I don't know what the odds against something like this happening but I imagine they are pretty slim.
 
I suppose the thing we have to keep in mind is how many people we see who aren't long lost mates/friends/partners.
 
About 12 months ago I was strolling along the main shopping street in the town I live in. I noticed a man taking photos, and it appeared to me he was targeting me. He was in front of my and kept stopping and turning around sort of seruptisiously (is that a word?) freaked me out a bit to be honest. I’m well past my prime random photo years! I considered he was ‘marking’ me as a possible mugging target to mates further along the road. It was strange as he kept stopping to look in shop windows until I passed by him. Anyway I dove into Bon Marche, right to the back, hid behind the big nighties section for about ten mins. Never saw him again.
 
About 12 months ago I was strolling along the main shopping street in the town I live in. I noticed a man taking photos, and it appeared to me he was targeting me. He was in front of my and kept stopping and turning around sort of seruptisiously (is that a word?) freaked me out a bit to be honest. I’m well past my prime random photo years! I considered he was ‘marking’ me as a possible mugging target to mates further along the road. It was strange as he kept stopping to look in shop windows until I passed by him. Anyway I dove into Bon Marche, right to the back, hid behind the big nighties section for about ten mins. Never saw him again.
Sorry Dotty, I'd just bought the camera .. and I think that blue nightie would suit you best if you don't mind me saying so.
 
Well the receptionist at the doctors told me I looked a bit like Lena Martell, and someone else told me Natalie Wood, but I think they are both dead. Also that was a very longtime ago, before they went grey ; )

Natalie Wood died young (only 43) and sadly never had the chance to go grey.

Her death would make a worthy subject for Fortean discussion: drowned in mysterious and suspicious circumstances, and the only other person likely to have any idea what happened has since admitted lying about it. She had a difficult life.

Lena Martell is approaching her 79th birthday and is therefore likely to be grey.

They did have a surprising resemblance to each other, if you choose your photos carefully:
71pzo26iCDL._SX355_.jpg

1280_natalie_wood_gettyimages-3292523.jpg
 
Well the receptionist at the doctors told me I looked a bit like Lena Martell, and someone else told me Natalie Wood, but I think they are both dead. Also that was a very longtime ago, before they went grey ; )
Flippin' Eck! I'm watching a documentary about Natalie Wood at the same time as reading this thread! Someone contact the 'Coincidences' thread!
 
Cool thread.

My first proper Girlfriend had a brother (Pete) and he and I were really good mates while I dated her but lost touch when we broke up.

Years passed and I had to travel to Los Angeles for work. I picked up a Hertz car and was driving onto the freeway from LAX and went straight into a traffic jam. I'm sitting there fiddling with the air con when I hear a Voice calling my name..I looked out of the window and there was an airport bus idling next to me...and driving it was Pete. I told him where I was staying and arranged to meet up there for a beer later that day.

When we met up, after remarking on the coincidental meeting, he told me.."the really odd thing is I was talking to Anne-Marie today and she said how she still regretted splitting up with you...you're the one. Who got away..and then you turn up here"

The last time I'd seen him was 20 years previously in Birkenhead, Merseyside when I was 15. I don't know what the odds against something like this happening but I imagine they are pretty slim.
That's the most romantic thing - did you end up getting back together?! This stuff is more than co-incidence to me (and is also the sort of stuff my romance filled dreams are made of!)
 
This has been an informative thread. Certainly learned a bit about prostitution in the UK. I suppose, when you get wrapped up in the day-to-day living, you forget (or ignore) some of the more squalid things going on in the world.

I am a little surprised that it costs more to kiss a girl than to have sex with her. I suppose it may be easier to dissociate during sex. Kissing may be more personal and come with a higher psychological price.
 
It can be a difficult call whether to contact police or not over unusual behavior. Rolling on the ground in public while wrapped in clingfilm seems like it should have triggered some action though. His engaging in such an outre pass time would be an obvious clue that he needed some kind of intervention. Geez. How could anyone ignore the guy? Maybe he was trying to make his own straight jacket -- or maybe he was trying out a Halloween costume and didn't anticipate the technical issues with getting out of it again.

Walking at night was less perilous for me than walking by day when I was young. Weird men always accosted me when I was out, whether alone or with female friends. The only violent encounters I ever had were in the middle of the day. But several times at night I was mistaken for a prostitute, dressed revealingly as I was in jeans, baggy shirt and bulky jacket. The only time it really creeped me out was when I was in a suburb where there are many cars, parking lots and no people in the streets. I was waiting for a friend to pick me up (no decent public transit in American suburbs!) and couldn't leave. The guy gestured angrily for me to go over to his car. He scowled. Some people are obsessed by their own desires and have no empathy. They love feeling they have power over others. Or they might be desperately lonely and have bad boundaries. And then there are the sociopaths. They look more normal than I do.

Cities feel much safer to me.

Anyway, Zilch5 is right I think, white vans are plentiful, and for banal reasons. Think of all the delivery vans and rental vans there are. The companies that own them sell them off when they have so many miles on them, or they reach a certain age. The graphics are stripped off. I think the prices are on the low side. Presto change-o anonymous van! The ones with mysterious creepy occupants might be part of an official fleet, or are maybe second hand vehicles in use by private investigators or sociopaths or exes or even graduate students doing field research on nocturnal urban wildlife. Or Russian internet trolls, or homeless families living in their vehicles, or self appointed law enforcement, or . . .

Sorry for the wordy post.
 
Besides which, what do you think about legitimising the sex-trade Mr Ex-Plod?

I'd legalise it. Then again, I'd also legalise all "street" drugs, so perhaps I'm atypical.

We've gone past any possible tipping point; both activities are de facto legal, if not yet de jure. Why not regulate them, ensure public health and - obvs - let the regime rake in a few more quid to urinate away.

maximus otter
 
WW2. The Eastern Front. The Germans in retreat, fighting a ferocious rearguard. A young German conscript is tasked with escorting a heavily wounded colleague back to the nearest field hospital. The young man has to literally carry his wounded comrade through knee-deep snow for hour-upon-hour - over two days in total, with no food or shelter - but he gets him to the hospital. The young conscript later joins the Battle of Berlin before surrendering to the Allies.

About 8 years ago: the conscript is now a semi-retired factory worker in Devon, England. One day he visits Exeter (capital city of Devon). He is walking down the street when he sees an elderly man approaching him. He stops him - “I know you”. The elderly stranger denies this, but the conscript persists - this time in German - “I know you - I should know, I carried you for over two days in the knee-deep snow!”. The stranger nearly collapses as he recognises his saviour from decades earlier...

True tale told to me by a friend of the factory owner that the conscript worked for. The two old soldiers are now best friends.

(Note: large numbers of German POWs were held in a prison camp in Devon, now HMP Channings Wood).
 
WW2. The Eastern Front. The Germans in retreat, fighting a ferocious rearguard. A young German conscript is tasked with escorting a heavily wounded colleague back to the nearest field hospital. The young man has to literally carry his wounded comrade through knee-deep snow for hour-upon-hour - over two days in total, with no food or shelter - but he gets him to the hospital. The young conscript later joins the Battle of Berlin before surrendering to the Allies.

About 8 years ago: the conscript is now a semi-retired factory worker in Devon, England. One day he visits Exeter (capital city of Devon). He is walking down the street when he sees an elderly man approaching him. He stops him - “I know you”. The elderly stranger denies this, but the conscript persists - this time in German - “I know you - I should know, I carried you for over two days in the knee-deep snow!”. The stranger nearly collapses as he recognises his saviour from decades earlier...

True tale told to me by a friend of the factory owner that the conscript worked for. The two old soldiers are now best friends.

(Note: large numbers of German POWs were held in a prison camp in Devon, now HMP Channings Wood).
Wow! What an amazing story! Just shows how small our world really and truly is.
 
Natalie Wood died young (only 43) and sadly never had the chance to go grey.

Her death would make a worthy subject for Fortean discussion: drowned in mysterious and suspicious circumstances, and the only other person likely to have any idea what happened has since admitted lying about it. She had a difficult life.

Lena Martell is approaching her 79th birthday and is therefore likely to be grey.

They did have a surprising resemblance to each other, if you choose your photos carefully:
View attachment 16743
View attachment 16742

There's a young woman on the train that looks like Natalie Wood and there's another that looks like Sean Young!
 
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My housemate was trying to procure some um let's call it CHARLIE SHEEN one night and was waiting for the drop near our apartments. She was looking for a black audi and on seeing one pull up got into the back seat (as per usual) expecting the guy to drive round the block, do the deal and GTFO. Only this time the guy pulled away and drove around to the carpark of a the local supermarket before asking her how much she charged for certain services. Shocked (and probably bricking it) she had to explain why she'd got in the car and apparently they drove back round to the front of our building in awkward silence before wishing eachother luck in their individual quests and bidding a pleasant evening.
The moral of this story... don't stand around on whitechapel high street after dark. or ever, really. Oh, and don't do drugs, or if you do don't be the one who has to pick the damn stuff up.
Just goes to show that even people engaged in unsavory practices can be very civilized!
 
On the subject of Prostitution. A lad we both know and worked with Hubby was bragging about his latest girlfriend in the pub some years back. I asked him what line of work she did and he replied rather proudly "Oh she is a Receptionist/ Secretary... in a Massage Parlour". I asked the lad innocently "Oh, can she type then?" He looked at me daft and said she couldn't then wondered why I asked. I changed the subject as he looked puzzled and Hubby had nudged me hard and hissed "It's a Brothel". Which led to me asking him how he knew! Thankfully the lads in work had told him (I hope... ) all about it. Typist indeed lol he still didn't click about what was wrong with her job description and her real duties/place of work but there you go he wasn't too bright.
 
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