LOVE, loyalty and a willingness to compromise are at the heart of a happy marriage, according to a sparkling couple.
Ross and Margaret Laidlaw toasted 60 years of wedded bliss on September 7.
The couple, who live on Dunbar’s North Road, were presented with a card from the Queen by Patrick Gammell, Vice Lord Lieutenant for East Lothian.
Margaret summed up the secret to a long-lasting marriage and told the Courier: “Without a doubt, love, loyalty and a willingness to compromise.”
The couple met while working at the Dolphin School, near Newark in Nottinghamshire.
They tied the knot on September 7, 1962, at Corstorphine Old Parish Kirk in Edinburgh before a honeymoon at Lochgilphead.
As well as visiting Oban, the couple travelled to Iona and Staffa.
When Ross returned south of the Border, Margaret took up a job at the Simpson Memorial Maternity Hospital, where she was introduced to Scottish culinary delights including black pudding and haggis.
The couple would move to Wales before returning north of the Border and settling in Edinburgh.
Margaret, who turns 88 on Sunday, and Ross, 91, have two children, Kenneth and Ruth.
Ross retired from Belhaven Hill School, where he was geography and history teacher, in 1992.
In his retirement, he has written a number of award-winning books.
Meanwhile, Margaret has been busy fundraising for UNICEF and was presented with an MBE for her services to the charity in 2012.
The branch opened in 1988, with the group raising thousands of pounds each year.
Over the years, the Dunbar branch has raised more than £120,000 and in 2010 she was presented with an Outstanding Achievement Award by the charity.
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