Seeing Double

They say everyone has a double, and 'they' should know. Encountering someone's doppelganger can be so unnerving; you see an old friend in the street and say hi, only to realise they're slightly taller than before, or their voice is somewhat huskier, or they're a man. The other night I was having dinner with a friend in a TGI Friday's (nice) and saw the spitting image of Carrie, a girl I knew (in the strictly non-biblical sense) very briefly a couple of years ago. She looked unbelievably identical, to the point where I had to ask. It wasn't her, or at least she denied it to me, but it was a pretty spooky resemblance. As strange as that can be, it's nothing like the apocalyptic nightmare of seeing your own clone. It's like deja vu, turned up to 11. I remember, years and years ago, being totally freaked out watching Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels with same friend from the TGI meal (oddly enough). At one point there is a small blink-and-you'll-miss-it bit part and the actor looks identical to me. Totally and irrationally identical! It was so eerie that my first reaction wasn't 'ooh he looks like me!' it was 'I don't remember making a film with Vinnie Jones...' I'm not sure why facing your photocopy is so acutely and terrifyingly embarrassing, but it really is. It's like meeting someone at a party with the same shirt, but much much worse, 'Agh! We're in the same genes!'