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BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Bus worker helps couple from Canada to smile

Saved the day: Colin Dunlop, the dispatch inspector at the Hamilton bus terminal who returned the couple’s bag (Photograph by Jonathan Bell)

Bermuda got high marks for friendliness from a globetrotting Canadian couple who have toasted their 40th anniversary here this week.David and Sarah Coombs, who returned yesterday to Canada after making the island their 99th country to visit, gave special thanks to Colin Dunlop and his colleagues at the central bus terminal in Hamilton.Mr Dunlop, the dispatch inspector at the main terminal, made sure the couple were reunited with their bag of keepsakes from Dockyard that was left behind on a No 8 bus on Wednesday.After collecting their bag on Thursday, Mr Coombs said he had given Mr Dunlop “a big hug, and he smiled in return as all Bermudians do”.Mr Coombs added: “We’re both 70 and we’ve gone to 99 countries over our 40 years together, so we’re not new to travelling — but for the first time, we left a bag on a bus.”The retired couple live west of Ottawa, where the temperature this week fell to -11F (-24C), putting Bermuda high on their list of warm places to visit again. Mr Coombs said they were “quite keen” on their souvenirs from Dockyard and after “losing our minds” searching for them, the two got a pleasant surprise after calling the bus terminal.He added: “When I tell you Bermuda is beautiful, it’s friendly and it’s clean, I’m not just saying it because we’re on vacation here.“With all the places we’ve seen, people ask us where Bermuda ranks. We’re from Canada, so I can’t say it’s number one, but it’s up there.”He said he had been told “Bermudians are a proud people who know what they’ve got and want to keep it”.Their visit to the island was “an exploratory trip for the possibility of returning on an annual basis”.Mr Coombs said Egypt would be the couple’s 100th country, with Jordan next at 101.