ROSEMARY Cameron was 16 going on 17 when the sound of music at a local dance hall brought her together with her soulmate Donald.
And the happy couple from Rosneath are this week celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary 60 years after tying the knot.
Retired office worker Rosemary grew up in the Scottish Borders and moved to Argyll in 1956 when her father settled in Lochgilphead.
It took the then teenager just two weeks before she first set eyes on soon to be love of her life, and slightly older, Donald at a local dance; the young pair got engaged three years later and married on June 10, 1961 at Ardrishaig Parish Church.
They returned to Rosneath 19 years ago, having moved to the village for a couple of years in the late 60s when Donald was a policeman, also staying in Luss and Arrochar.
After running a fast food outlet at Faslane together for a while, Rosemary retired six years ago, but Donald continues to work at the base - despite turning 82 next month - helping to escort vehicles in and out of HMNB Clyde with Henry Brothers.
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“He enjoys the company,” Rosemary said of her husband’s insatiable appetite for work.
“He is very much a people’s person. When we were both in the base together we enjoyed it very much.
“We thought we would be together forever, but at our age it’s just nice to still be here.
“We hear of a lot of people at our age who are no longer with us, and when we read in the Advertiser, or our other local paper the Argyllshire Advertiser about our friends or people we knew who have died, we can’t believe we are still here. You struggle to take it all in.
“Marriage is something you have to work at all the years. It’s good to compromise, you have got to give and take.
“You don’t just glide through it, you have got to take the good times with the bad.”
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Son David sadly passed away at the age of 48, but the couple have one grandchild, 14-year-old Alice, from daughter Fiona, who now lives in Canada.
The pandemic and travel restrictions have made it difficult to organise a family gathering to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary, however Rosemary and Donald still hope to mark the occasion in their own special way.
Rosemary said: “It’s been a funny year. Fiona was going to come home this year but we couldn’t plan anything because of Covid, so that has had to be put on hold for now.
“We might go away for a night ourselves but we’ve said we’ll just make the 61st anniversary the 60th celebrations once things have settled down. It’s life just now, you can’t make any plans.
“We had a terrible job finding cards for each other – one shopkeeper told us that they don’t get many people looking for 60th wedding anniversary cards!
“I got Donald a bottle of whisky with our names and wedding anniversary date on it, so that’s a surprise for him.
“Fiona arranged a diamond gold bracelet for Donald to give to me. It’s supposed to be a surprise but I already know about it. Fiona said ‘I know what dad’s like, so I’ll just sort a present out’.
“Donald has a great sense of humour and he always has a laugh. He has always got a comment to make and never misses out on making it.
“He’s always right in there with an answer. He gets away with saying a lot at work, but it’s all in good humour.
“We just suited each other over the years.”
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