Coincidence? I doubt it

Since moving to London in March, I've got into the habit of going to a pub called the Abbey in Kentish Town on the first Friday of each month. There and then, Stuart (who is with Laura, my friend from Oxford) plays an excellent DJ set. It's always a pleasure to see them both - Stuart is a fellow Villa fan, Laura is an old friend and both of them are passionate about music in all its forms.

Today was Thursday, June 1st, and I was (as usual) very busy. Just after 5pm, I realised that I was fed up and so I decided that, rather than stay after hours like normal, I'd leave. So about 5.15pm I left the client and walked to down to Chancery Lane tube. I realised that, at this time of day, it would be far more sensible to walk to Holborn and take the Piccadilly line, as it would be much less crowded. For some reason, though, I decided to get on the Central Line and then change at Tottenham Court Road, despite realising that the change would probably be hellish.

I successfully negotiated the squishing power of the Central Line, and the crowds at TCR. While waiting for a Northern Line train, I took out my iPod in the hope of listening to Stuart's CD which he had given me last Christmas. Unfortunately however, the battery was flat. In the absence of music, I found myself wishing it was Friday and that I could go to the Abbey, chill out and forget about work for a couple days. I wandered along the platform, and when the train arrived I stepped on board. The train was crowded, and I found myself face to face with... Stuart.

If this isn't evidence of some sort of synchronicity, I don't know what is. Stepping onto a tube train and being faced with someone you know is fairly unlikely. At TCR, which is almost dead centre of the tube map, on the busiest line at the busiest time of day, it is even more remote. To put it in context, each train has a capacity close to 1,000 people; it has 24 sets of doors, and there is, on average, a train every 1-3 minutes. What was even more incredible about this occurrence is that Stuart was in the TCR area, and needed to go to Goodge Street (the next stop) to meet Laura. Rather than walk or jump on a bus, for some reason he decided to defy obvious common sense and take the tube.

Needless to say I ended up going for a drink with Laura, Stuart, Emma and Jamie (who for some reason reminds me of Ryan Atwood from the O.C.). It was a pleasant interlude in what has otherwise been a pretty depressing week or two. I've had so much work on, which has stressed me out, plus the weather has been terrible. I've always found the winter terribly depressing, to the extent that it's a real effort for me to get through it every year. Going to Florida mid-winter the last couple years has helped me out quite a bit. Normally by this time of year the sun is out at least some of the time; even if its not, the grey is at least quite bright. This May, however, mainly took the form of a set-in darkness and rain, which left me feeling very depressed and longing for some sunshine. I think this is probably the last country I should live in. Hopefully I won't have to much longer.