OK, that was weird. But then I guess it is a small world.

Sitting in the staff room at break time a colleague mentioned that he'd just bumped into one of 'my' lecturers who had some students from Saudi Arabia that he was showing round. Couldn't think of his name off the top of his head and I went back to my book.

Then he remembered: Joe Onion.

And as my brain clicked into gear I asked him if he was sure? The name rang lots of bells from childhood - it kind of stuck in my mind for obvious reasons. Could there really be two such people? Short and even more rotund than me? suggested my colleague. That was probably him. From the little I could recall as a lad, short and round would be about right.

A little later sitting in the office, the ILL lady from just round the corner popped her head round to say that Joe was here with his students. She'd obviously overhead the earlier conversation and thought I ought to link up with this 'long lost friend'.

Actually, I probably wouldn't have known him if we'd passed in the street. As he reminded me, once the students were safely let loose to roam the library, he knew my parents well and often stayed at our house. But I was pretty sure we were going back three decades or more. He was delighted by the chance meeting because he's not actually a lecturer at the university having retired (two years ago did he say?), but as he did part-time stints with such students as the ones he was showing round who happened to be studying computing, they fell to me to induct. I now have my second induction booked but as it's on Wednesday, it will actually be my first here.

And Joe? He was so keen to catch up with my parents who are off to Brazil for six months from the beginning of October, he's coming round next weekend to meet up with them. The small world shrinks again.