It was a chance encounter at Glasgow Central Station that brought Alastair and Inez Paisley together more than six decades ago.
The couple reminisced fondly on the early days of their relationship as they prepared to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, June 17.
An impressive milestone that they will celebrate with their family and friends at Paisley Town Hall later this week.
Alastair, now 88, explained that he had just come out of the Royal Air Force and was preparing to catch a train home to Penilee in the city’s Southside when he bumped into Inez.
“I went into Glasgow Central Station, and this lovely young woman said, ‘Oh, hello, Alastair’. It was Inez”, he recalls.
Alastair continues: “We grew up in the same housing scheme because our fathers worked with Rolls-Royce making aeroplane engines during the war.
“I was at a different school from Inez, but my best friend was in her class, so we met when we were 11 years old, but went our separate ways.
“Central Station is where we re-met, and we then travelled in the same compartment on the train.
"It turned out that the RAF were about to pay me a small sum of money, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to ask Inez out.”
Alastair noted that this initially did not go to plan as he didn’t see Inez on the train again for several weeks.
Undeterred, he bravely plucked up the courage to go to her house and ask her out on a date in person, which also did not go as planned.
READ NEXT:
MP Alison Taylor celebrates Renfrew community bike shop
Inez was unfortunately in the hospital, so the couple started to write back and forth before eventually meeting up once she was home.
Not long after, Alastair and Inez started to talk of getting engaged and even worked extra jobs to save up for the occasion.
They were then married at the Fairfield Church on Golspie Street in Govan on June 17, 1961, with the reception later held at Paisley Town Hall.
Alistair commented: “One of the bridesmaid’s partners was at sea and we sent a telegram, it was sent from Mr and Mrs Paisley at Paisley Town Hall, Paisley.
“The Post Office didn’t deliver it because they thought there was a mistake. We flew to London and went on the Cornish River Express to St Ives in Cornwall for our honeymoon.
“It was a magical place.”
The couple have travelled an impressive distance throughout their relationship, living in Pollokshaws, Bearsden, Aberdeen, Inverness, East Lothian, and now in Edinburgh.
They welcomed a daughter named Susan and a son named Scott during this time.
Alastair later ran as a councillor in Edinburgh, with Inez going back to college and working her way through the ranks as a social worker.
READ NEXT:
Singer says it was 'surreal' joining Zach Bryan on Murrayfield stage
He was also made Bailie of the city and awarded a British Empire Medal for political and public service, but says his focus now is solely on gardening with his wife.
Alastair commented: “We’re still together and have a wonderful life. We have a super daughter and son.”
When asked what the key to a long, happy marriage is, the couple both responded: “We love each other and we always work together.
“We work with each other. If we have a disagreement, it lasts about 30 seconds, and then we move on.”
Share