It’s you, Louis Theroux!

I am a 36-year old female. And serendipity has played a part in my life since the day I was conceived. To say I have ’serendipitous coincidences’ is an understatement.

Just like in the film ‘Serendipity’ starring Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack, we all want the syrupy, honey-coated, happy-ever scenario to beat a path into our lives every single day that we are breathing.

But as well as serendipity-based coincidences, we all also experience ’negative coincidences’ (the underground train doors shutting in your face just as your about to step on for instance), coincidences – neutral events that neither excite or dismay (seeing your cousin who lives in north London in your local supermarket in South London), or real bits of serendipity – seeing the award-winning actress Cate Blanchett on your tube train in the middle of the day – a Hollywood star slumming it. This actually happened to me in 2003 just after the film she appeared in The Talented Mr Ripley has been released.)

But onto the ‘serendipity- filled’ joyous occasions…

In 2001 I was studying at the London College of Printing for a Postgrad Qualification in Journalism. As part of our course we were required to write a profile piece on someone in the public eye. In itself a coincidence, I got chatting to a guy in a nightclub who happened to be a young BBC journalist for Newsnight. I told him how I would like to interview Louis Theroux of ’Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends fame’ but how I didn’t possess his email address. He told me not to be silly and explained that Louis would have a bog standard BBC email address. I contacted Louis at his BBC email and waited and waited and waited for him to reply. Six weeks later he replied saying he was happy for me to do a profile piece on his good self. As negative coincidence would have it, on the day I was supposed to conduct a lunch meet interview with Louis I had a medical nose operation scheduled to remove a nasal polyp. We rescheduled but Louis said: ”Next time the interview would have to be done by phone.”

As it turned out, we had the phone interview but again as negative coincidence would have it, Louis rang me on the wrong day – three days early so my questions were a little shambolic to say the least. I was left thinking I have done a poor interview with Louis and I shall never get a chance to make a more positive impression.

That is when serendipity took hold. A month later I was in Clerkenwell Green having a few quiet drinks in a fairly well known bar when a classmate said: ”Mariam I am not kidding you. Louis Theroux has just walked past the window.”

I said: ”Emily, please do not tease. You know how I hero worship that guy.”

She said: ”Go outside and see four yourself.”

So I did. And there was Louis standing in the middle of Leather Lane Market in Clerkenwell. He was just coming from the Guardian Building (this is when it used to be based in Clerkenwell/Farringdon) and was discussing writing a piece for them.

I shouted out Louis’ name and introduced myself. He remembered we had a quick chat and he told me to always keep up my writing. Then a few minutes later he came into the pub where me and my classmates were having a drink. His parting comment: ”I’m sure our paths will cross again.”

There you have it in a tidy little package. Serendipity working at its very best.

Submitted by Mariam

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