A cool coincidence (or no degrees of separation)

Frequent readers will remember that on Thursday last (21st November 2013) I had dinner at SRQ's "Barnacle Bill's Restaurant with my SRQ friends Ron and Charlotte, and with my first cousin Janet and her partner Steve who were visiting from Bristol, U.K.

Barnacle Bill's is a traditional American Restaurant which specializes in sea food. I eat so much fish at home that I opted for a dish not found on many menus  -  liver and onions with bacon (yummy!).

We each enjoyed a good meal and great conversation. (Thank you Janet and Steve for "treating us")

I met Ron and Char when I moved to SRQ in 2006.  They are two of the finest people I have ever encountered.  I have made it my business to introduce them to some of my SRQ friends, and to my brother Martyn and my cousin Janet when they have visited from England.

Martyn, Janet, Steve, my local friends and I all assert that Ron and Char are the greatest. There are some pics of Thursday's dinner down below.

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NOW TO THE COOL COINCIDENCE.
 
Some background.
 
1. Back in 2009  I did my sky-jump (in tandem) and landed on South  Lido Beach in Sarasota. 
 
 Ron and Char were on the ground to greet me as I landed, as were Don and Barbara Maclean -  good folks from All Angels Church on Longboat Key FL  where I occasionally ministered. Ron and Char brought champagne and nibbles to celebrate my descent.
 
2. Ron and Char are my preferred dog sitters for Penne. They love her, and she is utterly "at home" with them.
 
3. They have a special old quilt which is Penne's preferred sleeping and resting place when she visits "Uncle Ron and Auntie Char".
 
4. In recent days Ron and Char took this quilt up to Cary, N.C. where their son Matt and daughter in law Liz live.  They left it there.
 
5.  So they decided to go to SRQ's premiere consignment store (the Women's Exchange ) to buy a second hand quilt for Penne.  They found just what they needed.
 
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NOW FOR THE "KICKER".
 
 
In the midst of dinner at Barnacle Bill's last Thursday I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air.
 
 Outside I was surprised  and happy to see the "All Angels"  folks Don and Barbara Maclean and  their son. They were walking up Main St. because they too had decided to have dinner at the same restaurant.
 
I said "you must come in and meet Ron and Char -  they were the folks who brought Champagne to celebrate my sky dive".
 
Barbara M accepted my invitation and came to visit Ron and Char.
 
After a few moments Char said  "We met earlier today".
 
 Barbara was a wee bit confused until Char told her that although they may not have remembered "champagne on the beach" back in 2009, Barbara was in fact the volunteer at the Women's Exchange who had earlier in that day helped Ron and Char to pick out a new (pre-owned) quilt for my good pooch Penne.
 
What a cool coincidence!
 
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Janet and Steve

Ron


Char and Ron
 

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