In June 2001, a 10-year-old girl, Laura Buxton,
was celebrating her grand- parents’ wedding
anniversary at her home in Burton, Staffordshire.
Her grandfather suggested that Laura write her
name and address on a label, attach it to a helium
balloon, then release it into the sky. As the balloon
floated off, Laura returned to the party and forgot
about it. The balloon drifted 140 miles until it came
to rest, 10 days later, in a garden in Pewsey, Wiltshire.
There, another little girl of 10 found it. Her name,
astonishingly, was also Laura Buxton.
“The Unlikely Event, Destiny’s Children”, in The Sunday Times Magazine (10 July 2005).