Love shines brightly after 60 happy years together

Roland Tukk, 84, and his wife Edith, 83, were born in Estonia and East Germany respectively but met at a dance hall in Perth.

Mr Tukk was born in 1927 and raised in the small village of Kopu in Estonia before moving to Germany at the age of 16 and serving in the German air force.

After the war he worked at an American-owned garage in Germany until September 1947 when he moved to Britain after hearing job opportunities were available.

Mrs Tukk was born in 1928 in the village of Wildwiese in eastern Germany where she grew up and was educated at the local school. She left home at 16 and was doing farm and hotel work at the time the war was ending. She moved as a refugee to western Germany in 1944 and then on to Britain in 1950.

She had been in Scotland only three weeks before meeting her future husband at a dance in Perth. She said it was "love at first sight".

They both worked at the Stanley cotton mill seven miles outside Perth and had been courting for about a year before they decided to tie the knot.

One day at work Mr Tukk made a frank proposal, asking Edith about "getting married in three weeks' time as it'll be cheaper and that he'd be back at the end of his lunch in an hour for her answer". Her reply was "Of course".

They were married on November 3, 1951 at Perth registry office and settled down in Stanley where they only had "two and sixpence to live on for the first two weeks". In 1956 they moved to a flat in Stockbridge where they raised their two daughters, Nikki and Inge.

After working in a rubber mill in Edinburgh and a hydro-power plant at Killin, Mr Tukk was a roadwork labourer for Limmer and Trinidad (now Tarmac) for 33 years, retiring as a roadwork manager.

Mrs Tukk worked part time at the Elizabeth restaurant in Tollcross, and then for 22 years as a head chef at the Parsons Peebles engineering plant in East Pilton.

Their daughter, Inge Sandham, remembers how her father was once offered an office job, but turned it down as he loved being outdoors and getting fresh air. She said: "He was always outdoors. He loved fishing and doing DIY. He was a great handyman and could always fix things that were broken, while my mum made sure we never went hungry, it was a good deal for us."

Mr and Mrs Tukk still live in Stockbridge and being happily retired, they spend their time as members and trophy holders at the Ferranti bowling club, tending to their allotment at Inverleith Park and enjoying their three grand children and two great-grandchildren.

They plan to celebrate with neighbours at home tomorrow and again with their family at the weekend.