A long lost father and son were reunited after 20 years after a chance meeting in their local corner shop.
Oliver Archer, who hadn’t seen his father in two decades, was stunned to discover he’d been standing behind him in a corner shop queue.
The 21-year-old said he had so little information about his dad since his parents lost touch shortly after he was born and had almost given up hope of ever finding him.
READ MORE: Ex-Corrie actor Bruce Jones writes play…in Wetherspoon
- Advertisement -
But fate intervened when the gym worker popped into his local shop to drop off some parcels and ended up bumping into the man he’d been searching for all his life.
Oliver struck up a conversation with his dad after hearing him speaking Turkish on the phone.
The entire interaction was caught on CCTV on 27 October.
“I was selling some T-shirts on Vinted and I took them to that shop because I know the guy and I trust him with my parcels,” Oliver, of Ladbroke Grove, west London, told What’s the Jam.
“This gentleman walked in behind me, said ‘Excuse me’ and I let him jump in front.
- Advertisement -
“He was on the phone and speaking Turkish.
“I had so little information about my dad other than his name, the fact that he’s short and he’s Turkish.
“I’m an extroverted person and I’m always up for a chat so I told him my dad was Turkish.
- Advertisement -
“He said I look Turkish.
“Then he said he was from Istanbul which is where my dad is from.
“I didn’t think anything of it at first.
“I didn’t think I was standing there looking at my dad and we didn’t look alike.
“He shook my hand and told me his name, it’s the same name as my dad.
“It was a bit awkward, like, he was gathering his thoughts.
“Something was telling me that he had to be my dad.
“I told him to wait for me outside and I just told myself to give it a shot.
“I asked him if he knew my mum and he said he did and I said I thought I might be his son.
“We both clocked, he was pacing and I kept apologising.
“We were both awkwardly laughing.
“He told me not to apologise and said he was happy it happened.
“I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“It was a series of emotions.”
Oliver had been trying to find his dad since he was a teenager and was shocked to discover they only live a five minute drive away from each other.
Since their meeting, the pair have spoken every day and plan to build a relationship after two decades apart.
Oliver said: “I’ve always wanted to know my dad.
“I used to ask about him and go on my mum’s computer to try and find him on Facebook.
“I’ve always been curious. I did a DNA test on http://Ancestry.co.uk but I had no luck.
“I was never going to give up but I was a bit more passive.
“Then just by chance, I bump into him.
“We exchanged numbers and we’ve text every day.
“It’s nice that he’s genuinely interested and is asking how my day is going.
“I’m excited to see where the relationship will go and I’m sure I’ll get some clarity on where he’s been.”
Oliver has also discovered that he has six new siblings.
He said: “We live a five minute drive from each other.
“When he told me about his other children, he joked that I’m going to have an expensive Christmas and I told him that I’ve only budgeted for my mum’s side of the family.”
Oliver says he’s looking forward to getting to know his dad and insists he holds no grudges over the years they’ve missed.
He added: “I don’t hold grudges and I believe in second chances.
“I’ve only ever heard one side of the story and you can’t change the past.
“The most important thing is looking at what we have in front of us.
“There’s no point in resenting someone else.
“He might be a stranger but he’s my dad. I’m excited to see what we can work with.
“No matter where you go or what you do, be kind, genuine and open to conversation.
“There could be an opportunity you could take from it.
“You never know what outcome could come from a conversation, in my case it was meeting my dad for the first time.”
