An Aberdeen couple have celebrated their golden wedding anniversary surrounded by friends and family – including a surprise guest from Australia.
Trish and Billy Colbert tied the knot at St Fittick’s Parish Church in Torry in 1967, two years after meeting at a dance.
Mrs Colbert was 20 at the time and a clerk at the William Fiddes and Son sawmill, while Mr Colbert was 23 and a pipe fitter.
Five decades on, the pair remain young at heart – with 73-year-old Mr Colbert spending his retirement watching Netflix and his wife, 70, keeping fit with zumba sessions.
Their romance began at the Beach Ballroom in 1965 – where huge crowds regularly gathered to dance Saturday night away to the sound of bands like The Beatles.
While the pair say it “wasn’t love at first sight”, they hit it off and warmed to each other more over the coming weeks and months.
Mr Colbert was involved in some drama in 1966 when he helped rescue people trapped beneath rubble after Aberdeen University’s zoology building collapsed while under construction.
Five men died when the steel and concrete frame failed, but three others who had been stuck were eventually pulled to safety.
Mr Colbert later helped to rebuild the structure, which was completed in 1970.
The couple’s first child, Michelle, was born in 1968 and their youngest, Victoria, followed in 1971.
Around that time, Mr Colbert’s work as a pipe fitter dried up and he sought his fortunes offshore – where he reached the position of construction manager.
While working as a foreman on the rigs, Mr Colbert was given the lasting nickname of “the North Sea owl”.
Mrs Colbert explained the unusual moniker, as she noted that old friends tend to still use it on occasion.
She said: “He was known for going to the tea shack and shouting ‘oot, oot!’ to get the guys back to work, so they all had a laugh about that.”
Mr Colbert retired in 2007 at the age of 62, and Mrs Colbert gave up work when she was 63.
Mr Colbert remained an active member of the Tartan Army until recently, following the Scotland football team’s various highs and lows.
He now prefers the less stressful hobbies of watching television shows over the internet and playing snooker once a week.
Mrs Colbert keeps busy by going to “zumba gold” classes, where workouts are geared towards more mature participants.
The couple, who now live in Cove, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a party at Aberdeen’s RUA Social Club.
The highlight of the occasion was the surprise appearance of Mr Colbert’s sister, Valerie Joss, who jetted over from Australia to join the party.
Mrs Colbert said: “I couldn’t believe it, it was such a nice surprise and it really made the night special.”
The couple were also joined by their three grandsons, aged between 21 and 29, and scores of old friends.
When asked the secret to their long marriage, Mrs Colbert said that “plenty stamina” was required.
She added: “It is a long and winding road, but you get there in the end with a bit of give and take.”