Queuing...outside Barnardo's shop
WHAT appeared to be three bodies lying on the pavement at Stone Row on Thursday turned out to be three ultimate sports fanatics.
The three young men are Ultimate Frisbee enthusiasts but they now seem to have invented Ultimate Queuing as an alternative pastime. In order to beat the “9.00am rush” at Barnardo’s charity shop in Stone Row, they slept out on the street from 4.00am. Needless to say, they were the first into the shop.
Early morning workers coming into the town centre through Stone Row were shocked to find what appeared to be three bodies lying on the pavement outside the Barnardo’s shop on Thursday morning.
It had been freezing all night and there was concern that the people may have died of exposure, even though they were in sleeping bags.
The Coleraine Times quickly got to the bottom of the story - and what a strange story it is!
The three first-year university students wanted to get cheap suits to wear at an Ultimate Frisbee event at the weekend. They heard about the great value suits in Barnardo’s but believed there would be a rush for them on Thursday morning - so they queued from 4.00am to make sure they got what they wanted.
Andrew Davidson and Drew Bolster, both studying at Dundee University and David Scott, a student at Bristol, are all from Coleraine and are former pupils of Dalriada. The three friends are keen Ultimate Frisbee players, a competitive sport described as being a cross between netball and American football but played with a frisbee, playing for their university teams.
They were off to the Lagan Valley Leisure Centre in Lisburn on Saturday for an exhibition Ultimate Frisbee match. As part of the event the players were asked to wear suits and that lead to Thursday’s strange goings on.
Andrew said: “We are going to play Ultimate Frisbee at Lisburn on Saturday and we wanted to get cheap suits to wear on the day. We heard that there were some sweet suits in Barnardo’s and we thought we would beat the nine o’clock rush and make sure we got the pick of them.
“It was a bit of fun and we came down at 4.00am and lay on the street. It was very cold but we had sleeping bags so it wasn’t too bad.”
They picked the wrong day though. As they talked to our reporter they realised it was 9.20am and they were still queuing for the shop to open. They weren’t stuck for an answer - they decided they would now try and beat the ten o’clock rush!
After a cup of tea from the Times, the sit out turned out to be worthwhile after all. The three friends each got their suit - and because of their determination and long sit out in the cold, they got an extra discount, making their efforts even more cost effective.
Assistant manager of the Coleraine Barnardo’s Shop, Helen Thompson, said: “I didn’t know what to think when I saw them queuing outside the shop. I have never seen anything like it before but it must say something for the quality of the stuff we sell.
“It was great to help the boys chose their suits and I wish them well on Saturday. It was certainly a different start to the day.”
There was genuine concern for the young men and a number of people contacted the police. They rushed to the scene but were pleased to find that all was well with the trio.
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Weather for Coleraine
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: East
