Last night, just after 7.00pm, I switched on Radio 4 while wallowing in my bath. As the dreaded Archers theme faded I quickly switched to Rado 4 Extra, hoping for some classic comedy such as Steptoe and Son, The Goons, Round The Horn, Dad’s Army or Hancock’s Half Hour (it’s not just nostalgia that has me laughing out loud at these gems). However, being a Sunday, there was Mystery Theatre – old American detective stories and the like. In this case it was Rocky Fortune, broadcast in 1953 and starring Frank Sinatra as a drifter employed by an agency in various jobs but who usually found himself helping to save sweet innocent ‘chick’ in distress. It was originally broadcast by NBC, following Dragnet in the schedules, and had the same streetwise language and self-deprecating New York humour. Unfortunately I found it hard to understand more than the odd word as the sound quality was somewhat abrasive and, as I was washing, had to contend with irregular splashes and gurgles.

So I switched over to Radio 2 – not something I usually do unless there’s a programme I want to hear like Mark Radcliffe’s Folk Show or Bob Harris Country (I do sometimes listen to others, but that’s usually in the car) – and blow me down but they were playing Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’. The presenter (it may have been Michael Ball) said the song had been written by Paul Anka. After I’d got over the strange coincidence of meeting up with Frank (also my father’s name) so unexpectedly back-to-back as it were, I mused on the great good fortune of the composer who could have retired in some splendour on the proceeds from the many subsequent recordings and performances (though, of course, Paul Anka was already very wealthy with many hits to his credit). In fact Anka wrote the song specifically for Sinatra, using words and phrases he knew would appeal to the star. He also adapted the melody from a French song he’d heard on holiday there and so was obliged to share royalties.

So what is coincidence? Carl Yung called it synchronicity but despite some long quasi-scientific terminology does not really explain it (to me anyway). By its nature coincidence is irrational, eerie, inexplicable and therefore, like God some might say, a waste of time attempting to grapple with. But I disagree. Not that I have any explanation myself but only feel that sometimes it’s good to be reminded of our deficiencies or limitations. It’s easy to believe we have most things covered, scientifically speaking, but that’s probably what the Victorians, or even the ancient Egyptians and Romans thought too. Who knows what may be uncovered in hundreds or thousands of years from now? Coincidence is reminder that not everything has a convincing theoretical basis – and maybe never will – but remains a mystifying reality just the same.