Diamond day for Kilsyth couple

John and Irene Brown from Kilsyth have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary with a special visit from the King's representative and the Provost.

John met Catherine Smith, known as Irene, in the Kilsyth Co-operative Dairy where she worked. Irene was only 16 when they met and John, a painter and decorator for the Co-operative, was 21.

He took her to the Co-operative dance at the Leapark Hotel in Grangemouth for their first date and asked her to marry him when she was 17.

They wed a year later and had their first daughter, Carol Ann, when Irene was 19.  John William arrived in June 1968, Katrina in 1969 and Mairi was born in 1977.

John worked with the Provident as a painter and decorator until he retired but went on to start his own company Shangri-La Decorating and had a steady flow of returning customers until he finally retired.

Irene has had a varied career, mostly in the care sector.  She worked at Lennox Castle, the Coachman Hotel and laterally Quarriers and even went back to college as a mature student and studied for an HNC in Social Sciences and took a cookery course at Cumbernauld College. She also worked as a dinner lady.

John loves music and was in the Columban Singers as well as playing in bands and performing at events for the local community.

Irene is a knitter and loves helping others whenever she can.  She now volunteers at the Credit Union in Kilsyth and enjoys meeting people.

While raising their children, they took them on lots of summer holiday trips camping or in a caravan, having lots of fun in the process.

John and Irene now have 11 grandchildren and five great grandchildren and still live in Kilsyth, where they were both born and raised.