It's a small world

[Dan Vanniasingham]

Some of you may know that I appeared on Countdown over 8 years ago, losing to eventual semi-finalist David Ballheimer.

Some of you may also know that I'm a ten-pin bowler, and attend a Tuesday evening quads league at Heathrow's Airport Bowl.

In the opposition team tonight, bowling for the Monty Ferrets, was a Richie Ballheimer. He has a very distinctive technique (even weirder than my own), and I'd bowled against him before, but never noticed his surname. When I asked if he was any relation, he said he was David's younger brother.

Spooky. I took up bowling at uni, which was after I'd been on the show. I had no idea David had any siblings either.

Thankfully, my team won, and I beat Richie on the night too. That's as close to vengeance as I'm ever likely to get.


Anyone else had any random Countdown-related encounters (preferably not involving Drew Carey)?

P.S. Richie bears a facial resemblance to David, but has about half the body mass...

[Jason Larsen]

Do you suppose any American-born Countdown contestant would scream and jump on Des O'Connor after winning?

[Dinos Sfyris]

In what way does this even vaguely resemble the topic?

[Jason Larsen]

Wouldn't it be interesting to see an American-born contestant on the show do that?

[Dinos Sfyris]

No. It wouldn't. Again I ask the question

In what way does this even vaguely resemble the topic?

[Jon Corby]

Wouldn't it be interesting to see an American-born contestant on the show do that?

I'd hope that he'd be taken down by armed security before he got within two feet of Des.

[David O'Donnell]

This is a bit off topic since it's not Countdown related.

I am working in a library that specialises in migration and we generally have quite a few visitors, mostly living abroad, who have genealogical queries. We had a visit from two guys who looked quite similar but one had an English accent and the other had a Canadian/ Ulster North Coast (almost Scottish!) accent. The fellow now living in Canada told me that he'd been researching his family tree because he wanted to know where his roots had come from: this is a fairly typical scenario for us and it's predominantly American tourists who want us to find out that they are actually the long lost King/Queen of Ireland or somesuch. In this fellow's research he'd got a contact at the Public Record Office in Belfast who'd been helping him research his family name in the parish where he was born. She had a friend who worked in a similar job in England and while visiting her English counterpart she happened to mention the guy's enquiry and the English lady mentioned that she had someone who was researching the same family in the same area. So they decided to put the two chaps in contact with each other and offload some of their own workload simultaneously.

The two chaps got in contact with each other and discovered that they were in fact related and their Grandfathers had been brothers in the mortal realm (and probably still are in the spiritual realm) although one's family had gone to England and the other had stayed at home.. Obviously they were inquisitive about how each other's life had turned out and the conversation turned to occupation. Both were intrigued to learn that they were both Electrical Engineers. The next obvious question was to ask where each studied and they both got a surprise when it transpired that both got their degrees in Queen's, Belfast. "When did you graduate?" was the obvious next question and of course, as I am sure you've guessed, they both graduated in the same year. The Ulster/Canadian guy then went running off to get a photo of his graduation year and was able to confirm which student in the picture had been distantly related to him, they had been in several classes together.

Now, I don't believe in fate or any of that nonsense but that story does reveal quite a few coincidences that led these two guys to meeting up with each other and quite a few coincidences in the trajectory of their lives.

[Richard Brittain]

Maybe they were actually the same person, but didn't realise it (split personality disorder or something). This would explain why they had a common ancestor.

[David O'Donnell]

Maybe they were actually the same person, but didn't realise it (split personality disorder or something). This would explain why they had a common ancestor.

It wouldn't explain why I met them and they appeared to be two distinct people unless I also have some personality disorder which is quite possible.

[Jason Larsen]

Jon, not all Americans are mean people!