Hey...Bingo! Even Longer Lost Sisters Reunited

BingoPort had already heard the extraordinary story of Jackie and Elaine: the reunion of 2 sisters who had been separated as children.

Now, there’s another twist in the tale. The sisters have found their other sibling!

A quick recap

For any of you who somehow missed the fairy-tale story (where have you been?!) of the long lost sisters, Jackie and Elaine, back in February, here’s a quick reminder. (You can also read the full story and view media coverage of Jackie and Elaine here.)

Elaine, a regular here at BingoPort, had known, since being adopted as a child, that she had other siblings out there. However, with no information or means of contacting them, it took the death of one of her brothers, and the subsequent work of an heir hunter, to discover 3 of them.

The revelation that there was another sister out there was an exciting new discovery for Elaine. But Jackie’s whereabouts remained a mystery.

It was when Elaine discovered her sister’s surname —entirely by chance— and set about on an extensive Facebook search, that the sisters eventually came into contact.

The greatest revelation of all, though, was the discovery that Jackie was also a BingoPort regular —and that the pair of them had been playing against each other, and chatting to each other under their bingo pseudonyms, for quite some time!

Community Love

BingoPort prides itself on its community feel and the friendships that have developed from a mutual love of the game. However, nothing as unexpected and exciting as this is thought to have happened here before!

It was a connection that’s stuck —and developed— since the sisters have ascertained their true identities. Amid regular phone contact, Elaine has described their relationship as ‘wonderful’ and ‘close’; Jackie is also planning an imminent week-long visit up north to celebrate Elaine’s upcoming 60th birthday with her.

Both sisters have retained their BingoPort membership —Jackie, in particular, is an avid player— and they have been overwhelmed by well-wishes from players and CMs they’ve come to know well, and regard as online friends, as well as others in the wider BingoPort community.

1TG

But even in spite all of this, the family still wasn’t quite complete.

Elaine had always been aware of the existence of another sister, Wendy (or rather, as she was to discover later, Wendiey) as her adoptive parents had met them both as children.

But, with little to go on, other than a misspelt name, a birthdate and Wendiey’s last known address in Scotland, Elaine began to lose hope that she’d ever be reunited with the last member of her missing family.

Even the discovery of Wendiey’s surname proved futile, after Elaine eventually learnt that Wendiey had remarried. Another dead-end: it looked like Wendiey would be lost to her sisters forever.

But there was to be yet another twist in the tale of the ‘terrible twins’.

Hitting the Jackpot

Other members of Elaine’s family had met Wendiey’s ex-husband many years ago, and the name gave her the start of a new lead.

It was then that a photograph emerged, amongst Elaine’s late brother’s possessions. The pictured child was Wendiey’s son, and —best of all— it was labelled. Elaine finally had the full names of both her sister’s ex-husband and her nephew!

Shown by a researcher how to search for ‘linked profiles’ on Facebook, Elaine managed to trace them both, contacting the latter, and including the photo in her message.

Elaine describes a tense week of waiting before Wendiey’s son replied. He, understandably, had plenty of questions for Elaine. When she answered them, it became clear to him, too, that they were related; he passed on contact details for Wendiey.

Elaine had made a heartfelt appeal to find Wendiey during the media coverage of her reunion with Jackie, and finally  —just in time for her 60th birthday— it seemed as if it was about to come true!

Wendiey was, it transpired, on holiday, so it was another few days before she could be brought up to date on the exciting revelation. Upon hearing the news, Wendiey immediately gave Elaine her number.

And hey… Bingo! One weekend, 5 hours of phone calls and a lot of joyful tears later, the sisters decided to meet up. A whirlwind trip up to Scotland less than a week after verifying Wendiey’s true identity, gave Elaine the closure —and sister— she’d always longed for.

The pair gelled, just as Elaine and Jackie had, not long previous. Elaine even proved a hit with Wendiey’s dog —a rescue pet, who was unwilling to approach anyone other than the immediate family… He must have known!

A Matter of Chance

As though it weren’t enough to have discovered her shared passion for bingo with Jackie, Elaine also found that her new-found sister Wendiey lived very close to her in-laws.

Even more startling was the discovery that, at one time, they’d both been living on the same housing estate!

Way To Go

Elaine has subsequently told Jackie and Wendiey about each other, and the two have connected over the phone.

As for Elaine’s own phone, it’s getting plenty of use! With the 3 siblings that she found 4 years ago, Jackie, and now Wendiey, she and her family are making up for long-lost time.

In this extraordinary tale, the ‘terrible twins’ have become the ‘terrible trio’ they dreamt of.