LITTLE did Nicol and Rebecca Bird know as they were growing up in Prestonpans that the loves of their lives were so close at hand.
The two lived within a stone's throw of one another, attending the same schools, but it was not until they reached
adulthood that they finally became a couple.
It was well worth the wait, because 60 years on they are now preparing to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary – and still in Prestonpans.
Nicol and Rebecca, also known as Ruby, born in 1923 and 1927 respectively, attended first Prestonpans public school and then Preston Lodge.
She lived in the High Street and he lived in the Barrowland, but their paths never crossed until after their school days were over.
Ruby recalled: "We were at school together but we didn't ken each other then. There was a wee crowd of us used to go to Jones's Cafe on the High Street and have a bag of chips and sat and blethered when we were about 19 or 20, and that's how we met."
Romance flourished and they were married in the Grange Manse on October 1, 1948, with a reception held afterwards at Prestonpans Town Hall.
Nicol was a miner all his working life, including during the war. He worked first at Prestonlinks and then Monktonhall Colliery.
He was forced to retire on the grounds of ill health in 1978 after a workplace accident – after 42 years at the coalface.
During the early days of their marriage the couple stayed with Ruby's family in Robertson Avenue, later moving to their own home on The Brae.
Their children, John, now 57, and Agnes, 54, still live in Prestonpans. The couple also have three grandchildren, Leigh, 33, Lynsey, 30, and Brian, 30, and five great grandchildren, of whom Ruby commented: "They keep me young, they're so young and full of life."
As her own children grew up, Ruby went to work in Edinburgh, making Walnut Whips at the Duncan's Chocolates factory, which later became Rowntrees.
She then moved on to work in Cossars Bakery in Musselburgh, where she worked for 25 years.
Nicol was on the board of the Co-operative Society of Prestonpans for 30 years, retiring at 65. He has also been an active member of Castle Park bowling club for 60 years and is now Honorary Life President.
The couple are planning to celebrate their diamond anniversary with a family party at the Prestoungrange Gothenburg in Prestonpans.
And the secret of such a long, happy marriage? Ruby says it's simple: "Just get on with each other and have your ups and downs and everything comes all right again in the end. For 60 years it has, anyway."
The full article contains 479 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
