Trust is key to success in Forrests' golden marriage

A COUPLE from Whitburn have celebrated 50 years of marriage by having a special meal with family and friends.

Jim and Maisie Forrest, both 70, recently marked their golden wedding anniversary at The Vu restaurant in Bathgate. They met as 16-year-old teenagers at a dance in Armadale and dated for around four years before marrying at Whitburn South Church on 5 March, 1960.

Mr Forrest laughs: "I walked Maisie and her pal home from the dance, it was a right frosty night and it was about 12 o'clock at night. Her friend's father was quite strict and he gave me a row for keeping them out late."

Mr Forrest, who said Mrs Forrest was his first girlfriend, joined the 1st Battalion Scots Guards when he was 18 and completed three years' service, two of which were based outside Dusseldorf in Germany.

Mr Forrest, who progressed to Lance Corporal during his time in the Army, added: "I also did the guard duty at Buckingham Palace."

After leaving the Scots Guards he worked as a machine operator for engineering firms in Bathgate, Lanarkshire and Livingston for 37 years, taking early retirement in 1998 at the age of 58 due to health reasons.

Meanwhile, Mrs Forrest spent her working life as a social care worker and a home help, and retired from her last job as social care assistant at Whitdale House care home in Whitburn in August last year, aged 70.

The couple have two sons, Keith, 50, and Stewart, 44, one granddaughter – Ashley, 25 – three step grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Mrs Forrest, who is originally from Newarthill in Lanarkshire, enjoys visiting friends, knitting and spending time in the garden with her husband.

Mr Forrest, who is from Whitburn, is on the committee of Whitburn Juniors Football Club and helps out at matches.

The couple have just returned from a five-day break in Newquay, and are looking forward to going to Torquay in July.

When it comes to a long and happy marriage, Mr Forrest believes "trust" is the secret to success.

He added: "We love one another. We fall out every now and then but nobody's perfect. We always make up. We have been quite happy, we have had our medical troubles and that but we get on with it – it's all you can do."

Mrs Forrest said: "We didn't have what the young ones have now, it wasn't easy because we didn't always have money but we just got on with it."

The couple have lived in the same home in Whitburn for the last 48 years.