‘Time traveller’ flies 3,500 miles for wedding... a year too soon
Dave Barclay flew in to Cardiff International Airport, South Wales, from Toronto, Canada, where he works as a teacher. Friend Dave Best, of Cardiff, sent him an email at the beginning of 2007 and mentioned he was getting married on July 6.
Although Mr Barclay, who is in his early 30s, never received an invitation he bought himself a ticket for the UK. Despite thinking it unusual the wedding was apparently taking place on a Friday, he failed to suspect his mistake.
“I occasionally come home for weddings and my mate, Dave Best, emailed me at the start of the year to say he’s having a wedding — July 6,” he said. “So I booked my ticket, paid £500 to fly into Cardiff, got the old suit cleaned, the goatee trimmed, the head shaved — I was going to be the belle of the ball.
“I called his mum to find his number and then I called him up and I said, ’When and where is this wedding? It’s in a couple of days and I’d just like to know where I’m going.’
“He said to me, ’Mate it’s not this year, it’s next year. 2008 not 2007.”’
He said that once he realised his mistake, a handful of other oddities began to make sense.
“I called his mum up and she didn’t mention it at all. I didn’t get an invitation, it was just on an email and I mentioned it to a friend we’re both friends with and he didn’t know what I was talking about. All these things came together and I thought, ’Oh no, you berk.’ I’m a year early and my mates are loving it, aren’t they?
“They’re having a great time. They keep asking me the time, showing me today’s newspaper, calling me the time traveller.”
He added: “My mate said to me, ’You didn’t come home specially for the wedding, did you?’ and I lied and said, ’No.’
“He said, ‘Thank God for that, I thought you were going to charge me for the cost of the ticket and present.’ At least it has assured me a mention in the speech next year, I reckon.”
