July 11th 2024.
Mark Sallin and Simon Sanders were in for the surprise of a lifetime when they discovered that they were actually long lost relatives. It all started back in 2014 when Mark and his wife, Helen, decided to use HomeExchange to find a place to stay in London while they let someone else take care of their home in Shrewsbury. Little did they know, the homeowners they were swapping with were actually Simon and Jo Sanders.
The two couples met in May of that year, and Mark couldn't help but notice that Simon had some similar mannerisms to his father. At the time, he didn't think much of it, but that all changed when Simon emailed him in March of the following year. To Mark's surprise, Simon had discovered that they were actually related. It turns out that they share the same great-grandfather, Louis Salinsky, who hailed from Russia.
Mark and Simon were both amazed by this revelation and since then, their families have met up multiple times. Mark, who is a father of four, couldn't believe the odds of this happening. He said, "Genuinely, you can't even put it into numbers - one in 10 million? One in 50 million?" They even joked that sometimes it could just be a distant cousin, but in this case, they were literally next to each other on the family tree.
The families and their friends have remained close ever since and in 2022, they all met up for a lovely lunch together. Looking back, Mark and Helen signed up for HomeExchange, which was then called LoveHomeSwap, to travel with their children on a budget. They pay an annual fee of £180 and in return, get to stay in beautiful homes for free. They have since swapped eight times within the UK and will be exchanging with a family in the Netherlands next month.
Mark explained that with four kids, it can be difficult to find affordable accommodation, which is why HomeExchange has been such a blessing for them. He said, "It's always exciting for us country folk to go to London and we thought we'd go for the weekend while we can carry Henry - who was three months old at the time - around." Little did they know, this trip would lead to a life-changing discovery.
The families had a wonderful time swapping homes and when they said their goodbyes, they never would have guessed what was to come. About 10 months later, Mark received an email from Simon out of the blue. Attached was a picture of a family tree, and as he read the email, Mark had an "Oh my God" moment. He couldn't believe it when he saw that they both shared the same great-grandfather, Louis Salinsky.
Mark explained that after World War II, their Jewish surname was Anglicised, changing from Salinsky to Sallin and Sanders respectively. He also recalled that during their home swap, there were many idiosyncrasies that reminded him of his father, which now made perfect sense. Looking back, Simon was not shocked by this discovery as he felt an immediate connection with Mark and his family. He said, "For us, this was our first home swap in the UK, and it was great for a weekend. The added bonus was having people looking after our house and pets as well."
The families continue to stay in touch and have even become close friends. They were all amazed by the twist of fate that brought them together and are grateful for the memories they have shared. As for Mark and Simon, they couldn't have asked for a better outcome from their seemingly ordinary home exchange.
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