Service station mystery note yields unique friendship

Thursday 07 June 2018

A spontaneous note left on a Guernsey car parked at a service station just off the M25 has resulted in a unique friendship between two ladies who now plan to meet up.

Expat, Alison Sehmi, nee Jordan, left a note on a Guernsey registered car at the services on the M25 northbound on Bank Holiday Monday. After seeing a media report on Express regarding the note she came forward and has since found out that the owner of the car has family ties with her.

Express reported on Saturday 2 June how a Guernsey family visiting the UK had been left a mystery to solve after a note was put on their car, signed "from a fellow Guern."

Michelle Riseborough found the note after she had parked her car at the service station on Monday, 7 May; with the note addressed to "another Sarnian" wishing her a good holiday.

Ms Riseborough was on route to Breydon Water Park with her family when she stopped off at the service station between 09:00 and 09:45. She found the note scribbled on a serviette on her car window when she returned.

Pictured: The note left on the car

At the time she said: "We would love to find out who left the note, we put a post out on Facebook but we haven’t heard anything yet but would love to find out who it was, just out of curiosity more then anything."

The note even included a bit of Guernsey French. It said: "Hey mon Vieux! Good to see another Sarnian. Enjoy your holiday, from a fellow Guern. Born in Amherst Maternity hospital in 1966)"

The mystery was solved on Monday 4 June after the Express story was shared on a Facebook group called 'Guernsey Expats' which Ms Sehmi is a member of. She got in touch with Express saying that she had been heading to Hastings on the Bank Holiday with her husband when she saw the Guernsey registered car parked next to her English registered car when she returned to it after stopping for a break.

Ms Sehmi has lived in UK since 1994 but said she still comes back home for a fortnight every year and wishes she was back permanently.

She added that she and her husband "both love it when we see a Guernsey car, and usually wave to any Guerns on the road!"

Continuing, Ms Sehmi said "it was a spur of the moment thing to leave the note for Ms. Riseborough but I'm glad she liked it!"

The pair have since been communicating over social media and it turns out they have many mutual connections and their fathers were co-workers. Ms Riseborough said: "It turns out she’s a friend of a family friend, not only that but It transpires that her dad worked with my dad on the taxis years ago! Unbelievable. I recognised her dads name but couldn't think where from, so I asked my mum who knew who it was straight away and told me he worked with my dad years ago. You couldn't make this up."

Ms Sehmi will be returning to Guernsey for a holiday later this year and the pair plan to meet. Ms Riseborough said: "Alison is over in the summer to visit her dad who still lives here, so we are going to meet up. it's amazing ! We are looking forward to swapping stories about our dads and stories that my mum will have about them both."

Ms Sehmi said: "The link to your story was shared via the Guernsey Expats page, of which i am a member. I'm so glad they did." Talking about the unique friendship that has developed since the pair have been talking she said: "Yeah. How amazing."

Pictured main image: Inset left to right Alison Sehmi and Michelle Riseborough